But the thoughts that Jiang Wang and his son Jiang Xuan were showing made her worry about her daughter's future.

However, she was not a pedantic person. If Yan'er and Jiang Xuan really got along well and were happy together, she would not interfere or try to break them up.

Back home, Lu Chengye had changed out of his court robes and was wearing an indigo brocade casual outfit. He smiled as he went out to greet his wife and children.

Lu Yan knew that her mother was pregnant, so she didn't dare to bother her. But children are always clingy. However, the little one was very perceptive. Since she couldn't cling to her mother, she would cling to her father instead.

The little girl ran towards her father from afar. Lu Chengye looked at his daughter's small face full of smiles and his heart softened. He squatted down, opened his arms, picked her up, and lifted her above his head, which made the little girl cheer, "Daddy, lift me higher!"

Watching the father and daughter bickering, Shen Mingrong felt comforted, and the fatigue he had brought back from outside belatedly dissipated.

Seeing the weariness etched on his wife's face, Lu Chengye put down his daughter and walked towards her with a smile.

"What's wrong? You don't look well. Did someone bully you?"

The way the speaker spoke, as if to a child, made Shen Mingrong chuckle.

"Who dares to bully me? I am the youngest Duchess of Tianzhong. Who would dare to mess with me?"

Shen Mingrong laughed self-deprecatingly, and Lu Chengye gently grasped his hand hidden in his sleeve. "If you don't like that kind of scene, just find an excuse to decline in the future. Whether you go or not is up to you. I just want you to be happy."

“Inheriting the business…”

A sudden surge of warmth rushed through Shen Mingrong's heart, her eyes stung, and tears welled up in her eyes.

She never believed she could find her ideal husband. She had always seen through the ways of the world and felt that these things were all illusory. The so-called ideal husband was nothing more than someone with desires in their heart, someone whose desires were insatiable, and that desires were nothing more than the fault of greed.

Before marrying into the family, she only wanted to treat her husband with respect. If they got along well, they would live peacefully together. If not, they would try not to offend each other and maintain a safe distance.

But what she didn't expect was that Lu Chengye would treat her so considerately and gently, which was something she hadn't anticipated.

"It's not that I dislike it, but perhaps it's because His Majesty is pregnant that I feel a bit tired after a little socializing. I'm also thinking of going back to see my mother, otherwise I wouldn't go back."

Mentioning his mother-in-law, Lu Chengye squeezed his wife's palm and smiled, "I couldn't go today. I wonder how your mother and father are doing?"

Shen Mingrong then gave a gentle smile. "Both of you are in good health. It's just that my mother has been very worried about Shen Mingshu lately. I don't know how to comfort her. She's not someone who's easy to persuade."

Upon hearing this, Lu Chengye frowned. "Shen Mingshu is so difficult to teach, it's better to let her out and not keep her in the house. Such a person is a curse, keeping her around will only harm you."

"That's what I think too. I advised my mother and father to talk to each other and decide to separate the family and live separately. Now that the third wife, Madam Lin, is also going back to the capital, the eldest branch and the third branch have a history of conflict. I suppose they don't want to share the same well with the third branch. Now is the perfect time to propose separating the family."

Upon hearing this, Lu Chengye's eyebrows twitched slightly, and he patted his wife's hand with a smile, saying, "Alright, don't worry about this. You're pregnant now, so just take good care of yourself. Leave the rest to me. You're a married woman now, so don't always shoulder everything yourself."

Shen Mingrong sighed, not taking these words to heart. Everyone has their own things to do, and no one can really take responsibility for you. This is also her principle in dealing with marital relationships: take responsibility for your own affairs.

To her surprise, two days later, Madam Gu came to the Rongguo Duke's Mansion to see her and brought good news: her father had agreed to the division of the family property and decided to bring it up with the eldest branch of the family.

Shen Mingrong was overjoyed, and Madam Gu praised her son-in-law with a smile: "You must treat Chengye well. He is a hard-working child and has to worry about you. Although this is your blessing, if you do not cherish this blessing, Heaven will take it away."

"I didn't expect him to tell Father. I just mentioned it casually."

Madam Gu patted her daughter's hand, her face full of relief, "I misjudged you before, and I was worried that your husband would treat you badly. Now it seems that all my worries were unnecessary!"

Seeing her daughter, Gu couldn't help but think of herself. "Mother, I've benefited from your influence. I'm completely heartbroken now and don't want to discipline Ming Shu anymore. Lin should be going to the capital tomorrow. When she comes back, I'll let her take the child back and discipline her herself."

Shen Mingrong couldn't help but laugh. "Mother, she's already over twenty. Others her age have kids running around, but you still call her a child. It's because you treat her like a child that she's still so immature at this age."

"Alright, alright, Mom knows everything. From now on, I won't concern myself with these things or these people anymore!"

Back home, heavily pregnant Shen Ming'e sat dejectedly in the inner room of her three-courtyard house.

"Didn't you say that you used to have a good relationship with the Empress? Why did you ignore the Crown Prince when he came? Instead, you were closer to the Duchess of Rongguo. The Duchess of Rongguo is from the second branch of the family, while you are from the third branch. You should be closer to her. Could it be that you lied to me all along?"

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!