"Let me be frank with you. You can raise him, but you have to let him know that he is not our biological son." Su Qiuya said.

"How can you be so cruel?" Aunt Qing said.

"Yes, I am cruel." Su Qiuya sneered. "I worked so hard to run the shop to support you guys, and now you're taking advantage of me and even want me to raise my second sister's child. Have I ever had a good life since I married you?"

Su Qiuya felt wronged. She had sacrificed so much for this family. She looked at Liu Yanbo and said, "If you want to adopt him as your son or daughter, then we should get a divorce. It's not that I can't have children, but there's no way I'm going to adopt this child."

Even if she is not pregnant now, Su Qiuya would not help Liu Yuqin raise a child for nothing.

Why should I do so many things? Why shouldn't Liu Yuqin raise the child?

"I'm not lying. Talking about divorce all the time is so boring." Su Qiuya said, "Let's get divorced. You can remarry, and I can remarry too. We won't bother each other."

"This child isn't ours, so of course we can't let him call us mom and dad." Liu Yanbo couldn't bear to part with Su Qiuya. He looked at Aunt Qing and said, "Mother, let Second Sister make her own decision. If she doesn't want to raise the child, she can give him away. She doesn't have to stay with us."

Liu Yanbo believed his wife had been wronged. "If all else fails, we can send the child to the Mei family."

"What's the point of sending the child to the Mei family? There's no way the Mei family could raise this child well." Aunt Qing frowned. They forced the second young master Mei to divorce.

"At least this child has the blood of the Mei family. They shouldn't be so cold-hearted." Liu Yanbo said, "At least he won't lack food and clothing."

"Yes." Su Qiuya said, "If it were me, I would give birth to this child. If it's a boy, I won't get married again. It doesn't matter. As long as this son is filial to me, that's all."

Su Qiuya knew that Liu Yuqin would never marry again. She just wanted to marry into a wealthy family. Her first marriage was to the Mei family, so her second marriage would definitely not be better than the first.

Didn’t you see that the eldest daughter of Huo Bo’s family, Mrs. Huo, married the chief academic officer of the Imperial College? Mrs. Huo was the legitimate daughter of the Huo family, so it wasn’t easy for her to remarry.

"If you want to remarry and you're worried about the child affecting your second sister, you can have an abortion right now." Su Qiuya said, "Why do you have to give birth to the child?"

Aunt Qing was reluctant to tell Su Qiuya that Liu Yuqin's health was not so good, as she was afraid that Su Qiuya would spread the news.

Even though Aunt Qing didn't say those words, Su Qiuya felt that there was something wrong. Aunt Qing and Liu Yuqin were both very selfish people. How could Liu Yuqin be willing to give birth to that child?

Liu Yuqin didn't love the second young master Mei that much. If she really loved him, she would never have divorced him.

"Or is it that my second sister's health is not good and she can't have an abortion?" Su Qiuya said.

"Okay, stop talking." Aunt Qing said, "Since you don't want to raise him, I'll do it."

"Mom, everything you eat, use, and wear is basically bought with my money. Your little money has long been spent. You raise that child, isn't it us who raise him?" Su Qiuya said, "You say it so lightly."

Aunt Qing stared at Su Qiuya. This daughter-in-law really didn't give her any face at all.

"What should we do then?" asked Aunt Qing.

"It's actually quite simple. Doesn't my second sister have a house? Then let the child live there, and a wet nurse will take care of him." Su Qiuya said, "As for you, if you visit from time to time, the wet nurse won't dare to bully the child."

Su Qiuya originally thought that Liu Yuqin shouldn't live in the second room all the time. Liu Yuqin's maids were also here. With more people, the cost was also higher. Even if Su Qiuya didn't give the two maids a monthly salary, they still ate in the second room. The two maids basically didn't do anything, they just served Liu Yuqin.

How could Su Qiuya be willing to let those two maids eat and live for free? Su Qiuya had already had some objections, not to mention that Liu Yuqin was always dissatisfied with this and that.

The second branch is not a marquis's mansion, and is not even as good as the previous Mei family.

Su Qiuya thought Liu Yuqin was too troublesome. Who would live in someone else's house and still make such a fuss? For someone like Liu Yuqin, they should let her know that they couldn't always serve her.

"That's right." Liu Yanbo nodded. He also thought Su Qiuya's idea was good. "Second sister still has some dowry, enough to support herself and the child. It's fine for her to remarry or take care of the child. If you want to go there more often, you can go there. You don't have to worry about these things in the shop. Besides, you rarely help out, right?"

Liu Yanbo felt sorry for Su Qiuya. When he looked at his wife's red eyes, he felt that Aunt Qing was going too far.

After my second sister moved in, my mother treated her like a spoiled brat.

This made Liu Yanbo very happy. His mother wanted to live with him in his old age, but his mother was always mean to his wife. His wife worked so hard for so many things, but she was not recognized. Liu Yanbo was a little sad.

Liu Yanbo had some resentment towards Concubine Qing. He wondered if he had not been held back by Concubine Qing before, would he still be able to pass the imperial examinations and become a Jinshi? Because of Concubine Qing's delay, even if he passed the examination, he would still be ranked very low.

"If that doesn't work, you can go out early and come back late, and you can bring lunch with you." Liu Yanbo added, "At least I don't have to support you, and you can help me with some things."

"Stop talking." Aunt Qing didn't want to listen any more. She felt that Liu Yanbo was angry. If her son wasn't angry, how could he say such a thing?

"My second sister is pregnant. Should we send someone to the Marquis of Jingning's mansion to inform them?" Liu Yanbo asked, "After all, she didn't sever ties with the mansion. We did."

"What's the point of telling them? They won't help your second sister raise the child. They might even laugh at her." Aunt Qing didn't want Liu's mother to laugh at her. "With your second sister like this, they won't help her find a good husband."

"Didn't they not find someone for my second sister? Didn't you choose to marry the one from the Mei family?" Su Qiuya asked, "Didn't you say before that the Marquis's wife didn't find a good match, and that it was a blessing that you found your own? It's really a blessing, it turned out like this."

Su Qiuya spoke like this. She didn't want to give Aunt Qing any face at all. She just wanted to let them know that she also had a temper.

"You..." Aunt Qing was furious. She pointed at Su Qiuya and then looked at Liu Yanbo, "This is your good wife. She's not filial at all!"

"It's unfilial. The Marquis's wife was originally our legal mother, and we haven't been filial to her before." Su Qiuya said, "And yet you listen to me and criticize me."

Su Qiuya sincerely believed that Liu's mother was too kind to people like Qing Yi Niang. The reason why Liu's mother did not deal with Qing Yi Niang was perhaps because she knew what kind of person Qing Yi Niang was.

At the Marquis of Jingning's mansion, when Liu's father learned that Liu Yuqin was pregnant, he frowned. Even so, he did not think of taking Liu Yuqin back.

Now, the people in the family are living well. If Liu Yuqin were to come back, who knows what this family would become.

Father Liu went to discuss with Mother Liu what to do about this matter.

"What else can we do? It all depends on her decision: whether to give birth to the child or abort it," said Mother Liu. "If she's determined to give birth to the child, then she should treat the child well. After all, the child is her own. No matter who the biological father is, or whether he's divorced from her, she should take good care of the child."

"That's right." Father Liu nodded.

"Actually, we don't have to worry about these things," said Mother Liu. "As far as I know, your daughter still has some money and a house. Otherwise, her mother would always help take care of her. But she doesn't believe me, Lord. You should know that when I arranged a marriage for her, she refused to accept it. They all thought the match I suggested was not good."

There was no way that Liu's mother would help Liu Yuqin much. She was willing to send more things to the people in the fourth room because the fourth room was more sensible.

It was impossible for Liu Yuqin to thank the Marquis' Mansion. She would only think that the Marquis' Mansion did not give her enough.

"She already got a dowry when she got married," said Liu's mother. "She still has quite a bit of stuff. Think about Fang Jie'er. Before Fang Jie'er got married, you gave her another fifty taels of silver. Fifty taels of silver is nothing in the capital, and it's much less than what Yuqin has. If we really had to compensate them, and compensate them one by one, how much would be left in the house?"

"Then let her live on her own." Father Liu didn't dare to offer compensation to these people. "Don't bother with it."

When Father Liu heard Mother Liu say that, he could sense her displeasure. Mother Liu had been exiled to the northwest with him and suffered hardship, and the things in the eldest house were mainly built up by Liu Yulian.

"You can compensate them, but you can't use what Sister Lian earns to compensate them," Mother Liu said bluntly. "You know how hard she worked back then. She read so many books when she was young, which was partly due to us, but what child would be so great just by reading so many books?"

Mother Liu hopes that Father Liu understands that everything they have now is not easy, and they must not be confused at this time.

"Yes, yes, yes." Father Liu said quickly, "It's my fault. They informed us, and we just need to know."

"A few days ago, someone from the Third House came to say that Sister Fang was pregnant," said Mother Liu. "Before the New Year, I didn't send anyone to give her any gifts. Now that she's pregnant, I'll prepare some gifts for the child when she gives birth."

The girl that Liu's mother wanted to marry was different from the sons of the Liu family. The child born by Liu Yanqing was surnamed Liu, and the child born by Liu Fang was surnamed Zhen. The Liu family did not need to prepare so many things for Liu Fang's child, and there was nothing wrong with them preparing more things for Liu Yanqing's child.

"Everyone's here to collect debts," Mother Liu lamented. "Everything costs money. If I hadn't asked someone to help sell some things at Sister Lian'er's shop, we might not have made that much money, and now we're even spending more than we earn. After we get back, we have to entertain everyone, and we have to treat them all. There are more maids and servants in the mansion now, and we have more things to spend money on, such as monthly wages, clothes...

Father Liu hadn't been involved in the backyard before, and didn't know much. But when he was in the northwest, he realized how important money was. A few cents could make a grown man feel overwhelmed. After they returned to the capital, Father Liu had no real job, his salary was not much, and the family property that had been confiscated had not been returned. They were indeed in a difficult situation.

"Don't prepare too much." Father Liu said, "We still have children at home. Brother Yun and Sister Jia need to be taken care of."

"Isn't that right?" Mother Liu said, "We can't ask the princess to pay for raising these two children."

Fortunately, Father Liu didn't say anything about giving Liu Yuqin anything extra, otherwise, Mother Liu would have to talk to Father Liu more. Mother Liu wasn't afraid of arguing with Father Liu, as she had experienced hardships with Father Liu in the northwest.

When Liu Yulian returned home, she learned that her parents almost had a quarrel, and she wondered what had happened.

"What else could it be? Your second sister is pregnant." When Princess Zhaoyang came to find Liu Yulian, she heard Liu Yulian asking, so she said, "From what those people said, your second sister should give birth to this child."

"Then give birth to the child." Liu Yulian had no objection. The child was not hers, so she didn't have to raise it herself.

"The Second House sent someone to talk about this matter, perhaps to test our attitude." Princess Zhaoyang said, "We have severed our ties with the Second House, but not with Liu Yuqin."

"Yes." Liu Yulian knew this. "They wouldn't expect us to raise the child, would they?"

Liu Yulian subconsciously thought of this. In later generations, some people had children but didn't want to raise them, so they just threw the children to their parents to raise.

"No, it's father and mother who should raise him." Liu Yulian said.

"They didn't say anything," Princess Zhaoyang said. "They should know we can't possibly agree, so even if they ask, it's useless. The people in the Second House are very concerned about their reputation, so how could they speak directly? Even if they did have that intention, they would definitely test the waters."

"There's no need to raise that child." Liu Yulian didn't feel bad for her nephew, but if the child stayed at the Marquis' Mansion, Liu Yuqin and the others would have an excuse to come more often. Seeing that Liu Qingyun and the others were living well, she was worried that the child would also have psychological problems.

It would be better to let Liu Yuqin raise the child by herself. Liu Yuqin also has a house.

Liu Yulian’s idea was similar to Su Qiuya’s. She just couldn’t let Liu Yuqin’s child stay at home.

"That's right." Princess Zhaoyang didn't want to raise the child either. "I'm not saying that raising stepchildren is necessary. Besides, why would I raise them? Your brother also makes money, and he supports the family, not me."

Princess Zhaoyang rarely paid tribute to the Marquis's family. If she did, it was out of her own free will. She wouldn't have paid tribute to Liu Yuqin's child. What did Liu Yuqin's child have to do with her? If she took good care of Liu Yuqin's child, no one would have praised her. If she took good care of her stepchildren, people would have praised her as a good stepmother.

"Yes." Liu Yulian nodded.

In Shiyuan Village, the day before Liu Yanqing's baby's full month, they received something sent from the Jingning Marquisate. Liu's mother had roughly estimated when Liu Yanqing's baby would be born, and since it wouldn't be possible to rush the baby's birth date during the third day bath, she decided to go with the full month.

Liu's mother had things prepared for both boys and girls, and they were all given to the fourth room. This would prevent giving away items the children couldn't use; at least some would be usable. As for the items for the other gender, they would be kept, as Liu Yanqing and Lin Xiaowan would eventually have more children.

"The things they prepared are quite good." Aunt Zhao did not dislike those things. At least the eldest wife had prepared more things for them.

Neither the second nor the third house sent anything. It wasn't that they didn't know about Lin Xiaowan's pregnancy, but they probably thought it would be difficult to send anything from such a long distance. They also didn't ask anyone from the first house to bring anything; they simply didn't send anything.

Liu Yanqing didn't feel that sad, as his relationship with these two families was just average before.

After the separation, they didn't have much contact, which was quite normal.

"No one from the second and third houses sent anything." Liu Yanqing said, "But the people from the third house did send something to the Zhen family."

"You don't have to give them gifts in the future." This is what Aunt Zhao meant. It's just giving birth to a child, which is not a big deal. It doesn't matter if you don't give them gifts.

They have come a long way, and it may not be a good idea to ask someone to bring something just to send them something.

Aunt Zhao could only think so. She understood that Aunt Chai and Aunt Qing were people who were unwilling to suffer any loss. They probably thought that the people in the fourth room were useless and there was no need to take care of them.

"It's troublesome to send things back and forth." Aunt Zhao said, "You think asking someone to carry things doesn't cost money? It does cost some money. Otherwise, who will help you carry things?"

"Yes." Liu Yanqing said, "If they don't want to give it to us, then we won't give it to them in the future. That's fair. I don't necessarily want anything from them, that's all I'm saying."

Liu Yanqing didn't know how the second and third wives were faring. Whether they were doing well or badly, the fourth wife couldn't benefit from their wealth. Liu Yanqing thought it was better to be the first wife. After all, legitimate children were legitimate children, and legitimate children were more generous.

"Brother and the others are pretty good." Liu Yanqing chuckled.

"How could your eldest brother have thought of these things? Your stepmother must have prepared them," Aunt Zhao said. "Princess Zhaoyang married your eldest brother later, so a princess doesn't necessarily care about these things. It must be your stepmother who said so, that's why these things came about."

"Yes, that's right." Liu Yanqing also thought so. "Mom, why would you say that?"

Liu Yanqing was still a little curious. You know, his biological mother was a concubine, and his biological mother didn't like to mention Liu's mother.

"This is the truth," Aunt Zhao said. "I have to let you know, lest you don't know how to be filial to her. If you are more filial to her, she will be better to you."

Although the gift from the fourth house to the first house was small, the sentiment behind it was great.

Aunt Zhao, of course, thought her own son was good, and she also hoped that her granddaughter would get more. The life of the first wife's family was getting better and better, and the little things that slipped through the first wife's sewing were enough for the fourth wife to use for a long time.

"Don't flatter a horse without knowing where to flatter it," Aunt Zhao joked. "Don't flatter the donkey's hoof."

When families in the village had a baby girl, they generally didn't hold a full-month banquet, so Liu Yanqing didn't go either. It wasn't that he didn't want to, but even if he did, others wouldn't want to come, and if they did, they'd have to bring gifts.

Those people might even say that Liu Yanqing was crazy about money, or something else. Liu Yanqing simply invited a few people he was close to to have a drink together, as a way of celebrating his daughter's full moon.

"Drink less." Lin Xiaowan reminded Liu Yanqing that children cannot withstand the smell of alcohol.