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Upon receiving the news, Mrs. Lu came to visit Li Xia, accompanied by Li Xin. Mrs. Lu instructed Li Xia to be careful. Li Xin's eyes were filled with envy; she had been married for a year and a half but still had no children. Her mother-in-law, Lady Cao, had been dropping hints about it. Li Xin was anxious but just couldn't conceive.

"You should relax. Sometimes wanting it too much has the opposite effect," Li Xia advised Li Xin.

"I know that in theory, but how can I relax?" Li Xin didn't hide her feelings from Li Xia.

Li Xia didn't know what else to say. Li Xin took out some small clothes she had made. "I don't know if it's a boy or a girl, so I made these little clothes with blue fabric."

Li Xia accepted the small clothes, noticing the fine stitching and carefully finished edges. "These are beautifully made. From now on, I'll leave my child's clothes to you, sister." Li Xia had no desire to make clothes; embroidering her own wedding dress was enough for this lifetime.

"Gladly!" Li Xin happily agreed, pleased to have something to occupy herself with.

Xu Xinyue arrived a day later. She immediately inquired about Li Xia's eating and sleeping habits.

"Pregnant women generally like to sleep, and you've always been a bit lazy. You need to be careful not to sleep all day," she said, then instructed Qiu Shui to watch Li Xia and make sure she didn't just eat and sleep all day. This wasn't good for Li Xia's body or the baby.

Ever since learning of Li Xia's pregnancy, Qiu Shui had been on high alert, constantly taking notes on the advice given by Old Madam Lu, Mrs. Lu, and Xu Xinyue, preparing to supervise Li Xia carefully.

Li Xia felt that her body was fine, and she had used her special ability to check that the baby was healthy too. However, she was willing to listen to her family's concerns and advice. Whether she followed it or not was her own business.

During the New Year gatherings and paying respects, Li Xia excused herself from all of them, citing poor health. Even for her maiden family, she had said early on that she would rest at home and not visit. Lu XuanNing went in Li Xia's place.

Only after three full months did the Lu family announce Li Xia's pregnancy to others. Li Xin began visiting more frequently. She adored the child in Li Xia's belly and made many small clothes.

Chengen Marquis' Wife, seeing this, privately spoke to Cao Fugui many times, urging him to try harder as she also wanted to hold a grandchild. Cao Fugui showed some responsibility, saying, "A child would disrupt our married life. Let's wait two more years before having a child."

"Is this your idea, or your wife's?" Lady Cao asked, looking at Cao Fugui.

"Of course it's mine. Mother, you must keep this secret for me. I haven't dared to tell Xin, she's always wanted children. You don't know, but she's made so many little clothes since her sister got pregnant," Cao Fugui said in a low voice.

"You're not lying to me?" Lady Cao didn't believe him.

"Of course not. Xin and I are both healthy. If I wanted to, Xin would have been pregnant long ago. I truly feel that I'm busy with work now and have no time to take care of a child," Cao Fugui felt more convinced as he spoke.

"You have no time to care for a child? I have time. I can look after the child with your wife," Lady Cao was nearly driven to distraction by her son.

"It's not the same. Your care is yours, my care as a father is different," Cao Fugui's attitude made Lady Cao so angry she didn't know what to do.

"Mother, let's settle it like this. I'll be busy following the Crown Prince for the next two years, with no time for family matters. We'll have a child in two years when the situation is settled, and I'll be at ease," Cao Fugui said.

"Could there be changes in the Crown Prince's affairs?" Lady Cao asked, looking uneasy.

"It's hard to say now, who knows what the future holds? The Fourth Prince has already died," Cao Fugui couldn't say much about this now.

Lady Cao was no ordinary lady. With her husband not managing affairs, she handled everything in the marquis' mansion, and knew much about outside matters too. Seeing Cao Fugui speak thus, she said no more. As for whether she believed Cao Fugui's excuse, only she knew.

However, when Li Xin paid respects to her mother-in-law, she felt less pressure than before.

Lu XuanNing accompanied Li Xia on daily walks to exercise. He also intensified his own exercises, and his leg improved significantly. The palace banquet incident had shown people that despite his leg injury, Lu XuanNing was not a useless person. More people came to seek Lu XuanNing out.

But Lu XuanNing didn't like these visitors. For him, the most important thing now was taking care of Li Xia and the baby in her belly.

The two new parents-to-be discussed child-rearing issues. Li Xia's tastes changed daily since becoming pregnant. Lu XuanNing's main concern each day was how to satisfy her appetite, disregarding everything else.

Lu XuanNing's complete indulgence of Li Xia made Xu Xinyue, who came to visit, unable to resist telling her not to go too far.

"Mother, how am I bullying him?" Li Xia said, turning to Lu XuanNing, asking him to say whether she had bullied him.

"Mother, Xia is the one suffering through pregnancy. What I do is nothing," Lu XuanNing was very satisfied with Li Xia's coquettish behavior towards him. Li Xia had always been too independent before, seeming capable of doing everything herself. This had sometimes made Lu XuanNing feel a bit defeated and worried that Li Xia might leave him one day.

"XuanNing, I want to eat donkey meat flatbread. Go buy some for me," Li Xia now wanted to eat whatever came to mind. Lu XuanNing got up to go buy it.

Seeing that Lu XuanNing and Li Xia were both willing participants, Xu Xinyue said no more. She took out some small clothes she had made to show Li Xia.

"I made a few sets of clothes for the child." Xu Xinyue had used blue, gender-neutral fabric, suitable for either a boy or a girl.

Li Xia accepted the small clothes made of fine cotton, noticing the dense stitching and outward-facing thread ends to avoid scratching the child. Since Li Xia became pregnant, Xinyue brought a few pieces of clothing for the unborn child every time she visited. Adding to the small clothes sent by Old Madam Lu, Mrs. Lu, Li Xin, and others.

"Mother, you don't need to make these anymore. Qiu Shui has already made dozens of these small clothes, and grandmother and mother have also had many made and sent over. After the child is born, we could use one and throw one away, and still not use them all up," Li Xia felt that two outfits for the child would be enough, and too many were unnecessary.

"I enjoy making them for my grandchild," Xu Xinyue rolled her eyes at Li Xia. She looked at Li Xia's belly, then glanced around the room to make sure they were alone. "Has the Lu family said anything about wanting a grandson?"

Li Xia had married above her station, which put her at a disadvantage. Her natal family couldn't make decisions for her, and Xu Xinyue, her birth mother, was even less able to say anything. Since Li Xia married into the Lu family, Xu Xinyue hadn't gone a single day without worrying about her.

"Grandpa and Grandma both hope it's a girl," Li Xia said. However, she had used her special ability to sense that it was a boy.

So when Qiu Shui was making baby clothes, she had her make male styles. To outsiders, it seemed that Li Xia particularly wanted a son. Lu XuanNing was even worried about what would happen if they had a daughter and Li Xia didn't accept her. Because of this, he had a heart-to-heart talk with Li Xia, explaining that whether it was a boy or a girl, as long as it was born to Li Xia, he would love the child dearly.