A life of ups and downs is pure joy

"You are different today than usual. You drank a few more glasses of wine." Xiao Yi said to Li Jiaxin who was a little drunk.

"Being back in the mansion to serve my husband and the old lady, Jiaxin was very happy and ate a lot." Li Jiaxin put down her wine cup and said with a smile.

"Don't force yourself if you can't hold your liquor. It's not good for a woman to drink too much cold wine." Xiao Yi put the wine jug in front of Li Jiaxin aside and said.

"Well, I'll listen to my husband." Michelle Reis nodded and then picked up some dishes for Xiao Yi and put them in the bowl.

"Eat it yourself."

"I came back late and just found out that my husband was coming. I didn't cook many of his favorite dishes." Michelle Reis said nervously.

"You've put a lot of effort into cooking the meal yourself. The table is very rich with five or six dishes." Xiao Yi said as he picked up a piece of winter bamboo shoots for Li Jiaxin.

Michelle Reis looked at Xiao Yi in disbelief. From the time she married him until now, this was the first time she had seen him treat her so gently.

"Why don't you like winter bamboo shoots?" Xiao Yi asked curiously when he saw the woman was in a daze and was reluctant to pick up the chopsticks. He really didn't know what Michelle Reis liked to eat.

"I love it. Winter bamboo shoots are delicious." Li Jiaxin picked up some with chopsticks, put it to her mouth and took a light bite, then raised her eyes and looked at Xiao Yi shyly.

"The young lady liked the picture of beauty you embroidered very much. She asked Xier to use medicine to remove the poison and hung it in the room." Xiao Yi said.

"It's my blessing that the young lady likes it. I'll embroider more beautiful ones and send them to you in the future." Li Jiaxin said, and then added, "I must let Xi'er check it before I give it to you."

"Well, I'm sorry for putting you in trouble about that matter." Xiao Yi looked at the woman's graceful and cautious look and spoke.

"This little grievance is nothing. The young lady and husband have already cleared Jiaxin's name." Li Jiaxin nodded and said.

"She believed in you from the beginning to the end, which surprised me. It seems that the cakes and fruits you made every day didn't go to that greedy woman in vain."

When Xiao Yi mentioned Lin Qinghuan, he couldn't help but smile. Li Jiaxin looked at his happy face and felt a little lonely in her heart, but then she smiled as usual.

"This is all my cooking skill. Since the young lady likes it, I changed the dish and made it for her. If you like it..." Li Jiaxin hesitated to speak. She knew that she shouldn't think too much. She also knew that the reason why Xiao Yi came today was arranged by Lin Qinghuan.

"Well, I've always loved the snacks you make." Xiao Yi didn't embarrass the woman.

Li Jiaxin looked at Xiao Yi with a knowing smile, and the man also smiled at her.

"Go and get some sobering tea or soup." Xiao Yi said to the maid at the door.

After dinner, the two played a few more games of chess. Michelle Reis was also very nervous. She didn't know whether she should ask him to stay in a subtle way as she did before or watch him return to Qingbo Courtyard as usual.

"Why are you not in the mood to play chess? Even an idiot wouldn't place the piece here, so why did you put it down?" Xiao Yi noticed that Li Jiaxin was absent-minded.

"I see that it's getting late. My husband, are you ready to go... go back..." Michelle Reis's voice became smaller and weaker.

"Why don't you want me to stay?" Xiao Yi picked up the white piece that Li Jiaxin had accidentally dropped and returned it to her in shock.

"My husband wants to... wants to stay tonight... OK... OK." Michelle Reis was so happy and surprised that she became incoherent.

In Qingbo Courtyard, Lin Qinghuan had asked someone to blow out the candles and was lying on the bed alone. She thought of some intimate words Liu Ji had said to her a few days ago, which seemed like a request, forcing her to obey.

"I watched Jiaxin grow up. She was born into an official family. She suffered a lot of grievances with Yier over the years. I feel sorry for her." Liu Ji said while holding Lin Qinghuan's hand and wiping away her tears.

"Sister Li is a good woman. I have liked her since I came to your house and regard her as my sister." Lin Qinghuan didn't understand what Liu Ji meant and could only say this.

"Yier dotes on you the most now and listens to you. Can you persuade him? Even if he doesn't like you, you can at least give her some hope so that she has someone to rely on, okay?" Liu Ji looked at Lin Qinghuan, her eyes full of pleading.

Lin Qinghuan smiled and said, "Mother, you are embarrassing your daughter-in-law by saying this. Sister Li served her husband before Huan'er did, and she will have a lot to rely on in the future!" Lin Qinghuan knew what Liu Ji meant, but she didn't want to stop it.

"Child, if there was no other way, I would have asked you to come here. When I was young, I couldn't bear to see the master go to Chen concubine's courtyard. Now it is difficult for you, but Jiaxin is such a pitiful child." Liu Ji knew that Lin Qinghuan was still a little girl, and it was indeed a bit unreasonable to do this.

"It's not that I'm putting things in a difficult position for Huan'er, but my husband doesn't listen to me in everything. I've always been the one serving him. He's so filial, why doesn't mother share the love and care with him personally?" Lin Qinghuan said tactfully.

"If this child really listens to me, I won't make things difficult for you here. I can see how much he loves you now. Only if you say it, Yi'er will listen." Liu Ji patted Lin Qinghuan's hand again and said.

Lin Qinghuan looked at her for a long time, and suddenly all the good feelings he had for her over the years disappeared in an instant. Her kindness had caused him so much trouble and torment in the years to come.

"Okay, Huan'er understands." Lin Qinghuan nodded helplessly.

"Child, you and Yi'er still have plenty of good times to spend lovingly together, but Jiaxin may have to rely on that little bit of support for the rest of her life, and that life will be hard to endure." Liu Ji said again.

Lin Qinghuan tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. He couldn't help but sneer, "I'm just dreaming after all. Your concubine is still your woman no matter what, and she has to bear children for you. Can we really live in love for the rest of our lives?"

Lin Qinghuan covered herself with the quilt and cried secretly. These days, she had tried every possible way to remind Xiao Yi that she was not in a good condition to serve her, and that her husband must spend more time with Sister Li after she returned home. Although Xiao Yi did not respond, he was so smart that he understood what she meant.

In the Huaying Pavilion, Michelle Reis looked at Xiao Yi who was already asleep beside her, and her face turned red unconsciously. She pulled the quilt to cover her shoulders and unconsciously moved closer to the man.

Early the next morning, a carriage arrived at the Lin Mansion. Li Xue happily jumped off to greet Chu Xia and Yun Xiang who were supporting Lin Qinghuan as they walked.

"Miss, Mother Huang has prepared a lot of delicious food. Do you want to ask someone to go to the cabinet to inform your son-in-law?" Li Xue chattered incessantly while sitting in the carriage, and Chu Xia kept winking at her.

"He is busy with official duties and won't go." Lin Qinghuan said casually, and continued to look at his stomach in a daze with his head down.

"There are so many delicious foods, but Young Master An Cai still doesn't have enough to eat, and the eldest master won't go hungry in the cabinet." Yun Xiang said unhappily.

Chu Xia looked at her in surprise. She didn't expect that the eldest master's maid would now completely fall in love with Lin Qinghuan.

Lin Qinghuan looked up at the angrily Yun Xiang, then smiled, "Yun Xiang is right. No matter what he does, there are so many people who want to serve his master."

"Girl, you finally smiled. You've had a sad face since you got up this morning. If the ancestors and the general see you when you return home, they'll start nagging you again." Chu Xia said in a low voice when she saw that Lin Qinghuan was no longer frowning.

"It's my fault for ruining your mood. What delicious food did Mother Huang prepare? Have Sister Wan'er and Sister Mo gone home yet?" Lin Qinghuan asked Li Xue again.

"Anyway, the kitchen is very busy. The mistress specifically asked that all the dishes be the girls' and boys' favorite dishes. Miss Wan should be on the way. Miss Mo can't go back today. It seems that something happened at home. She said early in the morning that she will have to go back to her parents' home on the second day of the New Year." Li Xue started to chatter again.

Lin Qinghuan chatted with a few people and his mood was not as bad as before. He didn't want to care about the trivial things in the backyard of the Xiao Mansion.

"Let me take a look. Hmm, Huan'er's belly is becoming more and more obvious." Old ancestor Cheng Ping happily invited Lin Qinghuan to stand in front of her, looked at her carefully for a long time and said.

"Grandma, I feel a little tired now. My belly will be as big as my elder sister's in the future. I won't even want to get out of bed." Lin Qingwan affectionately helped Lin Qinghuan sit down again. Lin Qinghuan said coquettishly.

"That's right. Daddy always says that I don't like to move. I'm really very tired. My waist feels sore and my stomach feels tight after walking a few steps." Lin Qingyao said as she sat on the pear-shaped cushioned stool next to her.

"It looks like Big Sister will give birth soon, so she must have a good rest now." Lin Qingwan said.

"Well, I estimate it will be at the end of the month. It would be better if he was born sooner, so as to free his mother." Lin Qingyao said while gently touching her belly.

"My baby will probably be born in early summer, and it will be quite hot then." Lin Qinghuan said as he counted on his fingers to calculate his due time.

"Summer is great. My eldest grandson Yu Zhi was born in summer." Cheng Ping said softly.

"Then grandma, when were we born?" Lin Qingyao asked deliberately.

"You naughty grandson, are you afraid that grandma will be partial to you? My Yao'er's birthday is on the Lantern Festival, Mo'er's is on July 30th, Wan'er's is on April 7th, Yi'er's is on March 3rd, Huan'er and An's are on August 20th, Ru'er's is on November 12th, Kun'er is on November 14th, two days younger than Ru'er, and I, Zhichuan, was born on August 1st when the phoenix eye flowers are in bloom."

Grandma Lin said as she smiled lovingly.

"Grandma, Yao'er must know that grandma remembers everything. Look, she remembers every single one clearly. My grandma is the Daluo Immortal Ancestor in the sky." Lin Qingyao said sweetly.

"Look at this naughty girl. She has been very slippery since she was young." Grandma Lin looked at the nanny beside her and said, and saw that the nanny was also looking at the granddaughters in the room with a smile.

"My Yi'er is getting married on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. She looks much more ladylike recently." Grandma Lin looked at Lin Qingyi, who had been silent the whole time, and said, "She looked much prettier after dressing up than before."

"Grandma..." Lin Qingyi looked at her sisters shyly and called softly.

Seeing her shy look, Lin Qinghuan couldn't help laughing out loud. Seeing this, Lin Qingwan also covered her face with a handkerchief and laughed.

"Big sister, look at Huan'er, she laughed at me so loudly." Lin Qingyi said with a shy face as she looked at Lin Qinghuan who couldn't stop laughing.

"What can I do? I've been happy since I saw Fourth Sister since I was a child. Now I see a different Fourth Sister, how can I hold back? You're laughing so hard that the baby in my belly is upset. It hurts so much." Lin Qinghuan still smiled as she covered her belly.

"Are you okay?" Lin Qingwan asked when she saw Lin Qinghuan looking in pain.

"Ah, does it really hurt?" Lin Qingyi also walked over anxiously and asked with concern.

"It's okay, it's okay. It won't hurt as long as I don't look at Sister Yi. But I still want to see you every day." Lin Qinghuan slowed down and continued.

"Hmph, bad Qinghuan." Lin Qingyi said, tapping Lin Qinghuan's forehead lightly.

"Grandfather, meal has been served from Tengjing Pavilion." A maid in the yard reported in a raised voice.

"Let's go, my stomach is rumbling from playing." Lin Qingru walked forward obediently and supported her grandmother.

The personal maids who were waiting in the yard also came in one after another, supporting their own girls, and the group walked slowly towards Tengjing Pavilion.

After a happy family dinner, Lin Qingwan was about to go to Suheju with Lin Qinghuan to play the piano, but was stopped by Lin Qingyao.

"Third sister, if you have nothing urgent to do, come and chat with your elder sister in the yard." Lin Qingyao shouted.

"Aren't you taking mine?" Lin Qinghuan said dissatisfiedly.

"You go back and rest first. I have something to say to your fourth sister." Lin Qingyao winked at Lin Qinghuan and said.

"Then I'll go back to the yard and rest for a while, and then Fourth Sister will come and teach me how to play the piano." Lin Qinghuan understood a little and spoke.

"Well, big sister, there are oil stains on my clothes. I'll go back to the yard to change clothes and then come to find you." Lin Qingwan glanced at Lin Qinghuan who had already left, then took a step back and said to Lin Qingyao.

"Okay, then I'll wait for you in the yard." Lin Qingyao nodded when she saw this, and watched Lin Qingwan catch up with Lin Qinghuan and walk towards their yard.

"Miss, I think the fourth lady is still quite unfamiliar with you." Qiuxiang said dissatisfiedly, remembering that Lin Qingwan had deliberately taken a step back and kept some distance from Lin Qingyao.

"My sister has a cold personality. In the whole mansion, she is the only one who can confide in Huan'er. It's normal." Lin Qingyao said softly.

"But the eldest girl is my biological sister after all," Qiuxiang muttered.

"It's okay, they are all my sisters." Lin Qingyao said.

When Lin Qingwan came to find Lin Qingyao, the pregnant woman was already feeling a little sleepy. Lin Qingwan tiptoed forward and gently called her "big sister", and the sleepy person on the couch opened her eyes.

"Come here. I love to sleep now. I'm sorry to make you laugh." Lin Qingyao said with a smile, and motioned Lin Qingwan to sit down.

"Big sister is in a heavy body, so it's normal for her to be tired." Lin Qingwan said softly.

"Fourth sister, do you know why I called you today?" Lin Qingyao asked.

Lin Qingwan shook her head in confusion.

"You have been the most sensible and well-behaved since you were young, and Daddy always uses you as a role model for your younger brothers and sisters. But now, you make Daddy very anxious." After Lin Qingyao finished speaking, Lin Qingwan nervously tightened the handkerchief in her hand.

"What do you mean, elder sister? Did Wan'er do something wrong?" Lin Qingwan looked up at Lin Qingyao calmly and asked.