In February, the snow in the capital hadn't yet melted away and the underfloor heating was still in use in the Jintong Courtyard. There were freshly cut plum blossoms in a porcelain vase on a flower stand. A light hint of the fragrance mixed with the warmth, creating a delightful atmosphere.

Song Zaishui had some free time and went to Wei Changying's mansion to visit her. Having sat down, she saw her cousin's huge belly under her full high-waisted, magnolia-print dress with its crimson red lapels and large sleeves, saying, "Are you having a baby soon?"

Wei Changying counted with her fingers, saying, "It's eight months now. Not there yet."

Song Zaishui wasn't married and didn't know much about these things, so her random guess was wrong. She said with a smile, "Two months will go by quickly. It seems that I have to press on with my work, otherwise the clothes for each season that I have promised my nephew will not be finished."

"I'm joking with you, cousin!" Wei Changying laughed, saying, "You are in charge of the family now. How can you have enough time to do all that? Besides, the Grannies, Qin'ge and the others have already made many clothes. Mother has also told embroiderers to make several sets of clothes, so I don't think it will have the chance to wear all this clothing."

Song Zaishui asked in false astonishment, "Ha! When did you become this compassionate? I'm so surprised! I thought you would say 'What? Cousin, you haven't finished making the clothes! Didn't you promise me this a long time ago? How can you break your promise to your unborn nephew? Quickly go back and get started on it.' I was ready to apologize to you!"

The maidservants waiting nearby all covered their lips, giggling. Wei Changying embarrassedly threw a kumquat into her arms, "Cousin, you are being evil. When have I ever said things like that?"

Song Zaishui took the kumquat out from her skirt and laughed, saying, "You are soon to be a mother, so you are more considerate and sensible than before. Previously, the moment I saw you, I got a headache, but now it's not like that anymore. This is all thanks to my little unborn nephew! I'm sure he will be a good and considerate boy. Look now, though he hasn't even been born, I, his aunt, have already benefited from him."

"It was your own headache, cousin." Wei Changying spoke to her disgruntledly. To change the topic, she plucked out Song Zaishui's embroidered handkerchief from where it was tucked in her bracelet, asking, "Oh, have you recently learned a new embroidery technique, cousin? This stitching is not like what you usually do, but it's not bad. The design of the Chausie trying to capture a butterfly is quite fun, but just the Chausie... Isn't it a bit too fat? How can it capture butterflies like this? It seems that it is difficult for it to even walk. Did you use Snowball as the model?"

Song Zaishui said with a faint smile, "Although it is fat, it is very flexible. When you visited me for the first time last year, you saw that I had some parrots there, didn't you?"

Wei Changying laughed, asking, "Did it eat another one?"

"Another one? After Duanmu Wuse returned home, my sister-in-law had to recover from her illness, and I had to look after the household. I didn't pay much attention to it, so it ate most of them and so there is only one left!" Song Zaishui sighed, saying, "I really hated to see that parrot getting frightened again. Look, so I exchanged it for this handkerchief. You said that this handkerchief is nicely embroidered. Well, it seems that I got a good bargain. I have not only found the parrot a place where Snowball can't harm it, but I have also gained something nice."

On hearing that, Wei Changying asked, "Didn't you embroider this handkerchief, cousin? Was it Deng Wanwan?"

"Although Wanwan is good at embroidery, she doesn't do this style." Song Zaishui smiled meaningfully, saying, "In fact, I could get this person's embroidered handkerchief, thanks to you."

“Eh?”

"The Fifth Miss of the Su Family has frequently been visiting her cousin, my sister-in-law, these days." Song Zaishui said calmly, "The Fifth Miss was respectful and warm towards me, keeping calling me 'Sister'. Gradually, we become familiar with each other."

When Wei Changying heard the name "Su Nianchu", she raised her eyebrows and ordered her maidservants to leave, "All of you, leave!" When the room was cleared, she asked Song Zaishui in a low voice, "What was Su Nianchu like? To be honest, my cousin, I only caught a glimpse of her at Princess Linchuan's birthday banquet when cousin Su pointed her out to me. I didn't even talk to her. I'm so surprised that she has been promised to Changfeng!"

Song Zaishui said, "At first, I thought it was my Grandaunt’s idea! By the time she came to me for some advice on the pretext of visiting her cousin, I realized it is not that." Having pondered for a moment, she said, "She seems good and looks good, looking radiant and beautiful. Her manners are also good. After all, she is the daughter of a Princess, a girl raised by gentlefolks! She has a gentle temperament. Frankly, she is a nice person."

"Cousin, you know how Changfeng is. Do you think she makes a good match?" Wei Changying asked.

Song Zaishui thought for a while before saying, "It's hard to say. I can tell that Su Nianchu is very loved by her family, as she is a little naive. She is neither a shrewd person nor is she good at scheming, but she has one merit, her willingness to learn and to change. I'm guessing, perhaps, Princess Lingxian and her husband really want this marriage to happen, don't they? I'm not sure how much she can learn. Besides, the person who went to Fengzhou to deliver the imperial edict hasn't returned yet, so I don't know when she will be getting married."

Wei Changying frowned, saying, "I'm not picking on her, but..." She lowered her voice, "My second aunt from my parents' family is gone. Do you think there will be peace between Changfeng and our second uncle in the future? Even if the second uncle can still get along with him, his children will never approve! Can an ordinary daughter of an eminent family cope in such a situation?"

"This is really hard to say." Song Zaishui smiled, saying, "Take me as an example. As I was engaged to that person from when I was little, my grandmother had always schooled me according to the requirements of a future empress. Ever since I was young, I had never expected to live with my husband alone, two people for all our lives. After all, my grandmother was always telling me to have magnanimity towards the emperor's harem and concubines. It was for my own good! However, if my family had never received gold Ruyi Jade, I think my grandmother would have loved me as much as my Grandaunt loved you. If I had been loved as much as that, even though I wouldn't have been as difficult as you were, I would still have been immature."

She added, "If you had been me, being taught by my grandmother and growing up with restrictions, you would have been similar to me. Although I'm no longer a Crown-Princess-to-be, as the saying goes 'A leopard cannot change its spots', I have developed my temperament and I won't change much."

Wei Changying said, "Cousin, you are right. A pampered person in a peaceful time could be put in charge when danger comes, but this is only a possibility. I don't know what Su Nianchu will be like in the future, but I only have one brother."

Song Zaishui pursed her lips, saying, "We are lineal cousins. Su Nianchu is still an outsider to us now. Why would I be on her side instead of being on your and Changfeng's side? Still, look, now the imperial edict has been issued. I'm not out of touch with reality. Thinking of the previous engagement, I was totally lost as well. Thankfully, Su Nianchu is not like that person, as I see this girl learning things very attentively. Whether she does it because of her parents' orders, or she herself admires Changfeng's knowledge, she could be put in charge of things. You should look on the bright side. My Grandaunt and aunt are very capable people, so as long as she is willing to learn, there is no need to worry!"

Thinking of her grandmother and mother, Wei Changying felt relieved. She sighed with mixed feelings and said, "Before I was married, I was always worried that I would have tricky sisters-in-law, so I thought I should be more understanding when I became someone else's sister-in-law. Surprisingly, my elder and younger sisters-in-law treat me very well. However, it's me who is critical of my future sister-in-law who hasn't actually offended me."

"You and Su Nianchu are not the same." Song Zaishui disagreed with her, "Changfeng's status is not yet established. His opponent is your uncle. In terms of seniority, Changfeng is at a disadvantage, so my Grandaunt and aunt hoped to find him a wife who can support him and whose family can also be of help, which makes sense. This will not only be good for Changfeng himself but will also be good for his future wife and children. However, Shen Yaoye's status was established before you were married. To be frank, you are able to have your current position in the Shen Family because of him. For example, that was why Pei Meiniang tried to please you. Even if you are more capable, there is not much more you can improve. If you aren't very capable, as long as you don't make any huge mistakes, once Shen Yaoye takes over Mingpei Hall, you will be the Family Mother of the Shen Family. So as long as you are not too stupid, everything will be fine."

Wei Changying couldn't help but say, "It's not as easy as you say, cousin! His taking over Mingpei Hall is not a sure thing. As for the situation in Western Liang..." She sighed and said, "Mother has always told me to be smart and not to be a burden to my husband!"

Song Zaishui said with a smile, "Look, isn't this the same way you think nowadays? Anyway, in my opinion, your father-in-law is in his prime, and with the support of Count Xiangning, Shen Yaoye's position is stable! Unless he makes a big mistake, he will definitely take over Mingpei Hall. If he takes over Mingpei Hall, who will be in charge if you, the first wife, are not in charge? Since Madam Su is Shen Yaoye's mother, she naturally hopes that the more of Shen Yaoye's burden you can share, the better it will be."

Although Song Zaishui had said that Su Nianchu could possibly be the right person for Wei Changfeng, Wei Changying was still slightly upset as this concerned her only brother's marriage. However, she had no other choice but to write to Fengzhou. As she didn't want to continue this topic, she changed the subject, starting to talk about the Song Family, "It's been almost a year since I arrived in the capital, but I haven't even met my uncle."

When she had visited the mansion of the Minister of the Public last year, as it hadn't been his day off, Song Yuwang had been on duty in the palace, so the uncle and the niece had missed each other. Later on, she had been busy with all sorts of things and hadn't visited there again. Afterwards, she had found out that she was pregnant and had spent a few days stabilizing her condition. By the time of the New Year holiday, her condition was finally stable, so it should have been time to visit her uncle, but then, her second aunt from her old family had died of an illness.

In the first month of the year, she had been in mourning, so apparently, she couldn't visit her relatives. Therefore, Wei Changying had still not been able to see her only uncle even now. Thinking about it, Wei Changying didn't know whether she should laugh or sigh.

Song Zaishui said, "Anyway, you are in the capital now. There will always be time to visit him. No matter what, my father will come to the banquet celebrating my little nephew's birth and will come to see him."

Since Song Yuwang had been mentioned, Wei Changying asked about Mrs. Huo, "Is my first cousin-in-law well now?"

"She has not completely recovered, so she is still letting me take care of things, but she can get up, starting to look after some things." Song Zaishui said calmly, "She is a smart person and is very easy to get along with."

Wei Changying smiled, saying, "This is because you are smarter. If it were me, it would give me a headache to get along with such a sister-in-law."

Song Zaishui smiled, saying, "If you had an elder brother who married this sister-in-law of mine, she would treat you like her own younger sister! For the sake of my Grandaunt and aunt, she would at least do so."

"Since my second cousin and Duanmu Wuse are divorced, is there a suitable person now?" Thinking of her aunt's early death, and how Song Zaishui had expressed her sad feelings several times in the past, speaking about her helplessness in not having a biological mother to shelter her, Wei Changying changed the topic again.

When the words had just fallen, Song Zaishui smiled meaningfully and said, "Have a guess?"