The mother and wife were chatting eagerly, and the father-in-law and his family were interjecting. Jingheng couldn't find a chance to talk to Qin Xiaoxiao alone, and he couldn't help but feel depressed. He regretted that he didn't stop the stone and let them get the news one day later.

His mood was ignored until everyone had a lively meal and accommodation was arranged for Qin Huai and Princess Huguo. The young couple who returned to the room finally had a chance to be alone.

This time Jingheng didn't drink much wine, and he was very clear-headed. He put one hand around her weakly and put the other on her belly. There was warmth and joy between his brows and eyes.

"Brother Li, I'm really pregnant now. Do you think it's a daughter or a son?" Qin Xiaoxiao has been thinking about this question all day. She has no gender preference for her child, she is just curious.

"It's my daughter, she will look like you!" Jing Heng said matter-of-factly, as if his eyes could see the gender of the child through his belly.

Qin Xiaoxiao didn't know where his affirmation came from, and couldn't help but ask: "Why is it a daughter who looks like me? Not a son who looks like you?"

Jing Heng touched her face, with a look of reminiscence on his face: "Your daughter will be pampered, but my son will be beaten."

"Pfft~" Qin Xiaoxiao couldn't help but laugh, never expecting this reason: "So you also know that you have a bad temper and deserve a beating, but no one should dare to beat you, right?"

He has a face that can scare a child to tears. He doesn't look like a good person at first glance. It would be nice if he didn't cause trouble and beat others up.

"It is true that no one dares to beat me, but I will not show mercy to the one in your belly." Jing Heng's tone was sharp, as if this could scare the fetus that wanted to grow into a male fetus into a female fetus.

Qin Xiaoxiao was speechless, swatted his hand away and said fiercely: "Even your son came out of my belly. If you dare to beat him, don't blame me for helping my son beat you!"

Even though he knew that what Qin Xiaoxiao said was a joke, Jingheng still inevitably became jealous and forced her to take it back, otherwise he would make her look better.

Qin Xiaoxiao refused, saying that he didn't have the temperament to be a father. How could a father want to beat the child before it was born and be jealous of the child?

Jing Heng did not argue, and directly blocked her with what she had made up last time, which fully proved that they were both the same, and neither wanted his status in the other's heart to be lower than that of the child.

Those words indeed came from Qin Xiaoxiao's mouth. She was indefensible and refused to admit it. She made some nonsense, hoping to tell him that she was not so childish and compete with her children for favor.

Jing Heng just looked at her with a smile, an expression that said, "You're right, I won't tell you."

Qin Xiaoxiao was annoyed for a while, not wanting to get entangled with him on this issue anymore, so he wisely changed the subject: "Brother Li, Brother Chen came to the capital to see you a few days ago. Is he working under you now?"

Jing Heng nodded and his expression became serious: "He is still getting familiar with it. He is currently doing some errands in the Maritime Trade Department."

Qin Xiaoxiao quickly asked: "How is Brother Chen capable? Can he pass your test and stay in the Maritime Trade Department?"

Jing Heng said truthfully: "He is quite flexible in mind and studious. As long as he doesn't have other thoughts, I will keep him."

Qin Xiaoxiao asked curiously: "What are the other thoughts? Brother Chen has been working in my house for two years, and has also done business. He has never made any mistakes, and he has never done anything secretly because of my family's trust in him.

Take advantage of it."

Jing Heng explained: "Some people in the DPRK saw the huge benefits hidden in sea trade. Seeing that I could spend money to supervise this matter, they wanted to get a piece of the pie. I have never agreed. Now I promote all the people who work.

, they just want to put their own people in first..."

Seeing that she was listening seriously, he rubbed her head and continued: "As time goes by, they will all know Chen Feng's origins, and they will definitely think that Chen Feng is someone I trust. There is no guarantee that they will use Chen Feng to intervene in the Maritime Trade Department.

affairs."

Qin Xiao smiled and said seriously: "Brother Li, you'd better take a closer look, don't worry about me."

"Yes, I know." Jing Heng kissed her on the forehead, grateful that she was sensible and would never use her feelings to threaten him in business matters.

The two chatted for a while about sea trade. Jingheng would talk about the difficulties he encountered, and Qin Xiaoxiao would give some effective suggestions. Jingheng became more and more energetic as he listened.

However, Qin Xiaoxiao always felt sleepy because she was pregnant. She closed her eyes as she spoke, and soon her breathing became shallow and she fell into a deep sleep.

Jing Heng hugged her weakly, feeling that her body temperature was a little higher than his own. He didn't dare to hold her in his arms like before, for fear of waking her up because of the heat and causing trouble for her to sleep well, even covering her with a quilt.

He also lifted a corner and only covered her belly.

Looking at her peaceful sleeping face, he couldn't help but be fascinated. Then, as if he couldn't get enough kisses, he kissed her forehead several times, placed one hand on her belly, and his eyes softened unconsciously.

Perhaps because of the familiar people around her, Qin Xiaoxiao slept particularly deeply that night. She didn't wake up even when the people around her got up and left her early in the morning. Unexpectedly, someone stood in front of the bed and looked at her quietly for a long time. Before leaving,

Kissed her several times.

Jing Heng was in charge of the Maritime Trade Department, and Qin Huai was a minister. Both of them had endless official duties to deal with. After getting up, they didn't even have time to eat breakfast, so they hit the horse and left together.

Princess Huguo had nothing to do, so she stayed at the Qin family for two more days. After making sure that Qin Xiaoxiao could eat, sleep, and had no other bad symptoms, she returned to Beijing with confidence and reported to Queen Mother Jing.

In fact, she wanted to take Qin Xiaoxiao back to Beijing with her, but she couldn't ride on horseback or in a carriage, and she could still ride in a sedan chair. However, she knew from Jing Heng that Qin Xiaoxiao liked to stay in the Qin family to raise her baby, so she didn't mention returning to Beijing again.

, I just told Mingyue and a few good people to take care of her.

Shitou continued to stay in the Qin family. When he had nothing to do, he helped the Qin family with work. He could cut rice, harvest the rice, and grind the ears of rice. It was more efficient than Qin Shan's work, which made the Qin family feel a lot more relaxed.

When the villagers saw that Princess Protector had left but Qin Xiaoxiao stayed at Qin's house, they naturally started talking again.

Later, Zhao Caoer gossiped with others and quickly revealed the fact that Qin Xiaoxiao was pregnant. Only then did the villagers know the reason why Qin Xiaoxiao did not return to her husband's house.

This incident made Lin Qiuniang a little unhappy. She usually only announced the good news after she was three months pregnant, so as not to offend the fetal god and affect the growth of the fetus.

After Qin Xiaoxiao found out, she had to explain: "Mom, you also know the second aunt's temperament. She didn't mean to say it to others. Didn't she come to the door to apologize? Don't argue with her."

Lin Qiuniang said depressedly: "I didn't say anything because I knew what kind of temper she was. If she really had bad intentions, I would have gone to war with her long ago."

Qin Xiaoxiao covered her mouth and laughed: "So Mom can still fight? I have always thought that Mom is gentle and generous, and she never gets angry with others."

Lin Qiuniang felt comfortable being flattered by her daughter, and she concealed it with a straight face: "The clay figurine still has a bad temper. If I were like your second aunt and held a grudge over the sesame and mung beans, I would have to quarrel with her every day.

"

Qin Xiaoxiao boasted fiercely: "Yes, yes, my mother is the most tolerant. Haven't you seen that my grandparents like you as my daughter-in-law the most?"

Lin Qiuniang felt embarrassed, patted the back of her hand and said, "Don't say this nonsense. Your grandma always holds a bowl of water flat. If your second aunt hears this, she may misunderstand."

Qin Xiaoxiao knew this and said hurriedly: "I'll just tell you in front of you. I won't let my second aunt know about it."

Lin Qiuniang was coaxed by her daughter, and her mood became better, and she no longer cared about Zhao Caoer's revelation that her daughter was pregnant.

After that, people often came to visit, wanting to see how Qin Xiaoxiao, who married into a high-ranking family, raised a child, and wanted to find out how many mouthfuls she ate each meal.

Qin Xiaoxiao thought they were here to chat with her and relieve her boredom, but she didn't feel bored. She also heard many strange stories about pregnancy and childbirth from them, which greatly enriched her daily life during pregnancy.

Compared with her leisurely life, the Qin family was very busy. After the rice was dried and put into the warehouse, they began to plant dates. As in previous years, they took the lead in knocking down the jujubes from the old jujube trees and loading them into baskets, waiting for the palace people.

He pulled it away and then dropped the jujubes in the jujube garden.

This year is another good harvest year, and the growth of jujubes is similar to last year. The Qin family estimated that the harvest should be about the same. However, the price was two cents cheaper than last year, and the final income was dozens of taels less than last year.

When the dates were falling, Qin Xiaoxiao and Xueya were sitting in the yard doing accounting, and Mingyue and the others were also helping.

Xueya's belly is eight months old, and it looks very big. She can't even see her toes when she walks.

Qin Xiaoxiao couldn't help but tremble every time she saw her, fearing that she would accidentally fall or hit something. As long as Xueya was in front of her, she couldn't control her hands and wanted to touch Xueya's belly.

However, Mrs. Miao told her not to touch her too often, saying it would be bad for the baby in her belly. Although she couldn't tell what was wrong with her, she still remembered it and only dared to touch Xueya lightly every time she saw her.

Now that he had some free time, Qin Xiaoxiao's claws started to move again.

Seeing her useless look that she wanted to touch but didn't dare to touch, Xue Ya rolled her eyes and straightened her swollen legs: "Your belly will be like this in a few months, too. My belly is dry."

What?"

Qin Xiaoxiao rubbed her paws and said with a smile: "Touching myself feels different from touching others. Besides, my belly is still flat. It feels the same as when I was not pregnant."

Xueya glanced at her round-faced plate and mocked: "What the hell? I think your belly is not bulging, and your meat is growing. I advise you to eat less on weekdays, so as not to be in the next village.

Even an old sow can’t keep up with you!”

Qin Xiaoxiao touched her face, it still felt tender and soft, and said nonchalantly: "It doesn't matter, I am so good-looking, even if I am fat, I can't starve the child in my belly just to be thin."

Xue Ya was almost defeated by her shamelessness, and what she said was even more straightforward: "How can you look good if you become fat like a pig? If your brother-in-law is as fat as a pig, would you be willing to sleep with him every day?"

After hearing this, Qin Xiaoxiao finally understood her intention and said happily: "Sister Xueya, don't worry, I'm not eating too much. It's just that I get fat more easily than you. It's inevitable to gain weight after pregnancy. When the child is born,

I will find a way to lose weight."

Xue Ya snorted: "What should I worry about? It's not me who is so fat! After three months, you should return to Beijing as soon as possible. No married girl like you can't wait to be in her parents' home."

Give birth to the baby!"

Qin Xiaoxiao was used to her awkward look and was not angry: "Brother Li is not a sexy person, and he is so busy every day. Even if someone wants to do something while I am away, Brother Li can't let her get what she wants."

She has known Brother Li for so many years, and she still has some confidence. Besides, her mother and the Queen Mother will not interfere in her and Brother Li's affairs, and will prevent the Holy Father from causing trouble at this time. She is not worried about Brother Li's mischief.

"Okay, as long as you know what's going on, don't worry too much about men. You have to take care of them when it's time to take care of them."

Xueya's unreserved education to Qin Xiaoxiao was based on the lessons she learned from other women: "There is no cat in the world that doesn't steal fish. If he is interested in you now, he may not steal it. One day he will get tired of it and want to find something new."

Yes, it will be too late if you want to take care of it..."

Qin Xiaoxiao was stunned for a moment. If she didn't know that she and An An had a good relationship, she would have suspected that An An had done something secretive behind her back.

Seeing that she listened seriously, Xueya felt satisfied and continued: "With the identity of brother-in-law, there are many fish to tempt him. Can you guarantee that he can carry one or two fish, and you can also guarantee that he can carry a full house.

Fish of the earth!”

Qin Xiaoxiao thought it made some sense, but she was not shaken in her heart: "It's hard to talk about this kind of thing. More than ten years ago, Brother Li only liked to raise koi carp, and now he doesn't raise any other fish."

When Xueya heard this, she suddenly felt that what she said had become boring. She would not believe someone so stupidly.

Seeing that she was silent, Qin Xiaoxiao was about to speak when several baskets of jujubes were brought over to be weighed, so he stopped talking and continued accounting.

After half a month of busy work, the jujubes on the tree were almost finished. A few hanging high or hidden among the branches and leaves were left to the birds stationed nearby.

It is true that these birds will peck at jujubes, but they will also eat pests. The jujubes on the branches are their reward.

Capital City, Maritime Trade Department.

Jing Heng was busy all morning, and after dealing with an urgent matter, he was finally able to take a break and drink tea. Looking at the official business piled up on the desk, he couldn't help but rub his forehead, and the red blood in his eyes was looming.

.

There are more and more things going on these days, and he has to find time to go to Qingshan Village to visit Qin Xiaoxiao. He has to leave early and come back late every day. He has not had a good sleep for several days.

At this time, Scissors walked in quickly and said respectfully: "Master Marquis, the Queen Mother announces that you will enter the palace to accompany me to the palace."

When Jing Heng heard this, he suddenly thought that it had been almost half a month since he went to the palace to pay his respects to his grandmother. He felt guilty in his heart and decisively got up and walked out: "If someone comes looking for you, let him come back in an hour and a half."
Chapter completed!