"I just want to hold you!"
...
"We’re finally ho~
There’s no place like it~"
Lu Yuan and his group stood on the covered walkway of the central courtyard, feeling a wave of emotion as they gazed upon the deeply familiar scene.
The old butler and so of the staff had seen that everything was fine yesterday afternoon, so they had ridden back ahead of them.
They had restored the central courtyard to its original state.
"Hurry, hurry, it’s warm inside. We’ve been freezing to death these past few days."
Zhao Qiao’Er said, pulling Su Liyan along as they hurried toward the East Wing.
Before, she’d never thought much about how cold it was outside in winter.
But ever since they’d started using the Underground Heating System, she found she really couldn’t stand the cold whenever she went out.
Especially considering where they had all been sleeping these last few days: either in a mountain ravine or out on a lake.
None of them were proper places to sleep, not with the wind howling and whipping around them.
The Spirit Stone Furnace and charcoal braziers were completely useless against it.
Zhao Qiao’Er and Su Liyan walked ahead, while Lu Yuan ambled along behind them.
After a few steps, however, Lu Yuan paused. He stopped and looked at Song iqin, who was still standing in the sa spot.
"Co on, let’s go ho. Aren’t you cold?"
Song iqin stood on the walkway, quietly surveying the small courtyard.
After a long look, she finally turned back to Lu Yuan and said with a sigh,
"I never thought much of it when I visited before.
But looking at it now, I feel like...
I’m going to be living here for the rest of my life."
Hearing Song iqin’s words, Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow and gave her a wicked smile.
"That’s not necessarily true."
Hm?
Song iqin looked at Lu Yuan, confused. ’What does he an, ’not necessarily true’?’
Lu Yuan tilted his chin up and said,
"Once we have kids and run out of room, we might have to build a bigger house to live in."
Song iqin gazed at Lu Yuan’s mischievous grin. Whatever she was thinking, a blush crept onto her cheeks as she said,
"Just how many kids would we have to have to not fit in a courtyard this big?"
Lu Yuan said with an amused look,
"Who knows? You’ve heard for yourself how... vigorous I am, Aunt Song~"
Hearing this, Song iqin shot Lu Yuan a bashful glare and chided him coquettishly.
"You’re like a bull in heat every night, can’t you be a little quieter?!
You’re so loud nobody can sleep!"
Lu Yuan just chuckled without saying more. He reached out, pulled Song iqin toward him, and smiled.
"Alright, enough with the sentintal sighs.
Let’s get ho before you freeze."
Like a shy young bride, Song iqin let Lu Yuan pull her along.
But as he pulled her, Lu Yuan let go of her hand.
Before Song iqin could say anything, she felt that sa hand slide around her waist.
Song iqin’s body stiffened for a mont, but then it quickly relaxed.
She lifted her head, her beautiful face looking lush and alluring as she pouted at Lu Yuan.
"Why are you getting so handsy?"
Lu Yuan tilted his head and shot her a look.
"What about it?!
Am I not allowed to hold you?"
Song iqin looked at Lu Yuan, incredibly shy, yet her gaze didn’t waver. She stared boldly at him and said in a honeyed voice,
"Go on, then~"
...
「The next few days.」
The end of the year was fast approaching, and Aunt Zhao couldn’t slack off even if she wanted to.
In such a large household, she had to decide who got bonuses and who got gifts.
Who was staying for the New Year and who was going ho.
Aunt Zhao had to handle all these miscellaneous tasks.
She also had to settle the main accounts.
She had to calculate everything in detail and also arrange for next year’s ore mining.
Aunt Zhao had to do it all; no one else could figure it out.
Of course, this year was different from previous years because Song iqin had arrived.
And Song iqin was a proud woman.
She certainly wasn’t the type to just sit around doing nothing from now on.
So, Song iqin helped out with the accounting.
His wife, Su Liyan, also joined in to help.
Lu Yuan didn’t need anyone to wait on him these days. When he had free ti, he would go out and check on the progress of the factory outside the city.
After all, it was nearing completion. Once the New Year passed, they would have to start hiring people.
Lu Yuan couldn’t slack off either; this was sothing only he could handle.
Since Lu Yuan wasn’t ho and the two "aunts" were busy with the household accounts, Su Liyan simply joined them.
She was idle anyway.
In the seven or eight days since their return from Liangshan,
the four of them had been thodically busy with their tasks.
...
「Dinnerti, on the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month.」
"We’re finally done! Why are your household’s accounts so difficult to calculate!"
Song iqin grumbled as she gathered the ledgers and sat down at the dinner table.
Aunt Zhao, however, smiled like a sly fox and said,
"Because we gave all the difficult accounts to you."
When Song iqin heard this, she exclaid petulantly,
"So that’s it, Zhao Qiao’Er! You were deliberately making things difficult for , weren’t you?!"
But Zhao Qiao’Er just laughed, quickly putting an arm around Song iqin and cooing,
"Oh, my dear sister, we just know how skilled you are with numbers~
I’ve been wanting to drag you over to do our books for ages.
This year, I finally got my wish~"
Zhao Qiao’Er’s words made Song iqin laugh in exasperation. She couldn’t help but roll her eyes and say,
"Oh, get away with you.
It’s not easy to earn a al in your house~"
Zhao Qiao’Er chuckled.
"Oh, it’s just this busy period before the New Year. Later on, you won’t even have a chance to be this busy if you wanted to.
Besides, these aren’t *my* family’s accounts, they’re *our* family’s accounts~"
After finishing, Zhao Qiao’Er turned to the other two and called out sweetly,
"Sweetheart, Liyan~
All the dishes are served. Co and eat~"
Lu Yuan and Su Liyan were over at a long table, fiddling with so red paper.
Without turning his head, Lu Yuan replied,
"In a minute. We’re almost done."
Seeing that Lu Yuan wasn’t coming, Zhao Qiao’Er and Song iqin didn’t pick up their chopsticks either. They asked curiously,
"What are you two working on?"
Lu Yuan turned and grinned at the two won.
"We’re having Liyan write the couplets for our central courtyard.
Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve, so we’ll put up the couplets and make dumplings ourselves. No need to trouble anyone else."
Zhao Qiao’Er and Song iqin’s interest was piqued, and they nodded repeatedly.
Then, Lu Yuan turned to his stunning wife beside him and smiled.
"Co on, let’s eat first. We can write after we’re done."
Only after Lu Yuan and Su Liyan were seated did Song iqin and Zhao Qiao’Er finally start eating.
Lu Yuan also began to eat heartily.
Su Liyan, however, wasn’t eating much.
She’d been picking at a small piece of lamb for ages without taking a bite.
"What’s wrong, honey?
Is the new cook’s food not to your liking?"
Lu Yuan asked, looking at Su Liyan with a puzzled expression.
His wife hadn’t been eating much for the past few days.
At first, he hadn’t thought much of it, since she was normally a light eater.
On top of that, the manor’s original cook wasn’t from Taiping City but from a neighboring county.
He had to go ho early for the New Year, so this was a newly assigned cook.
’Maybe she just doesn’t like the new dishes,’ he had thought.
But no matter what, how could she stare at one piece of at for so long without being able to eat it?
Lu Yuan himself had already finished most of a large bowl.
He was just about to get a refill when he noticed that sa piece of at was still in his wife’s bowl.
After Lu Yuan spoke, Zhao Qiao’Er and Song iqin blinked, then craned their necks to look into Su Liyan’s bowl.
They exchanged a glance, then both turned to Su Liyan with joyful expressions.
"Oh!!
Liyan, you couldn’t be pregnant, could you??"
Su Liyan was taken aback. An excited look flashed across her face, but then she thought for a mont and mumbled,
"But... but I don’t feel like throwing up or anything...
I just don’t really have an appetite..."
Zhao Qiao’Er and Song iqin imdiately put down their bowls and chopsticks and rushed to Su Liyan’s side.
Zhao Qiao’Er spoke first.
"Oh, pregnancy symptoms are different for everyone.
Not everyone gets morning sickness, and so people have no symptoms at all."
Song iqin, at her side, nodded eagerly.
"That’s right, that’s right! And judging by the timing, it’s about ti you got pregnant, Liyan."
After all...
’With him going at it like a bull in heat every night...’
’How could anyone *not* get pregnant!’
The next second, with a CLATTER, everyone turned to see that Lu Yuan had thrown down his bowl and chopsticks and was already running out the door.
The won quickly called out,
"Where are you going?"
Without looking back, Lu Yuan shouted,
"To get the Physician!"
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