On our wedding night, my wife acted strangely.

Nangong Min quickly gestured for her to sit down, then sat down herself, smiling at her: "We're all family, you can call me whatever you want, don't be so reserved."

Consort Hui tucked the small garment under the quilt, looking somewhat embarrassed.

It wasn't for any other reason than that she and Yang Siyu didn't get along back in the palace.

At that time, Yang Siyu was a concubine, and Nangong Min was Yang Siyu's daughter and the eldest princess of the court. She did a lot of things to trip up this woman behind her back.

Although everyone eventually came to terms with it and reconciled, the feeling of guilt still surfaced every time he saw Nangong Min.

Nangong Min clearly saw what she was thinking, smiled slightly, asked Shishi to bring over the oranges, peeled one herself, and handed it to Consort Hui.

"Try it, it's quite juicy."

Consort Hui took it, broke off a piece, and put it in her mouth.

It is indeed very sweet.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

"Don't mention it." Nangong Min peeled one for herself and asked as she ate, "How are you feeling? Is your stomach still feeling heavy?"

"Much better, just a little heavy. Dr. Li said it should be fine in the next few days."

"That's good." Nangong Min nodded. "I've also inquired about the midwives. They're the same ones who delivered my baby last time, so they're very experienced. I also asked Shishi to prepare hot water and towels, which are in the next room so they can be used anytime."

Consort Hui was taken aback.

She hadn't expected Nangong Min to be so meticulous.

"What's wrong, Your Highness...?"

"What's wrong?" Nangong Min continued peeling the orange. "You're the prince's woman, and you're carrying his child. If I, as the legal wife, don't take care of you, who will?"

These words were too blunt. Consort Hui blushed and lowered her head, unsure of what to say.

She was once Nangong Min's stepmother, but now they've become sisters. It's truly ironic how fate works.

Seeing her like this, Nangong Min put down the oranges and said seriously, "Miss Su, let me tell you the truth. I know about what happened in the palace before, and my mother has told me about it too. But that's in the past. Now we're in the Prince's mansion, and we're all the Prince's women, so there's no need to remember those things anymore."

Consort Hui raised her head, her eyes slightly red.

"I've let down the Princess and Sister Yang, in the past..."

"The past is past, and even the Prince doesn't hold it against us. I'm not the kind of person who holds grudges, and neither is my mother. So just focus on giving birth to the child and don't think about anything else."

Consort Hui bit her lip and nodded.

The room was quiet for a while.

Nangong Min then spoke up, "By the way, did the Prince tell you about the twins?"

"I did." Consort Hui's expression relaxed a bit, and her eyes lit up when she talked about children. "The Prince even said he wanted twins, a boy and a girl."

"Hehehe, he's dreaming," Nangong Min laughed. "But twins are indeed a good thing; the Prince's mansion finally has an heir."

"Doesn't the princess mind?"

The question was a bit abrupt, but it was also particularly important to Consort Hui. Lately, she had been feeling uneasy, constantly feeling that as an outsider and someone who came from the palace, she was far inferior to Nangong Min.

Nangong Min glanced at her and shook her head.

"What do I care? I have Chengye myself, and I know how the Prince treats me. You have your child, and I'll raise my Chengye. There's no conflict, but..."

Consort Hui unconsciously clenched the corner of the quilt.

"But what?"

"The heir will definitely be Chengye, understand?"

It means that your child cannot vie for the throne and must live an honest and law-abiding life.

If you cross the line... you should know that Nangong Min is not as traditional and compliant as she appears on the surface; she is ruthless and vicious.

Over the past year, almost all the things Lin Yi couldn't bring himself to do were done by her.

Consort Hui was certainly aware of this.

Nangong Jin was obsessed with seizing the throne, which is why he fell out with the other princes in the palace.

Consort Hui nodded: "I understand. I will educate my children well so that they can all assist Cheng Ye."

"No." Nangong Min shook her head and said, "I don't need them to assist Chengye, because the prince said that he has other plans for your children. They will probably join the army or go into business. In short, I hope that our children can be brothers and sisters, not like the royal family."

"Yes, definitely." Consort Hui stared intently at Nangong Min's face.

The latter chuckled, "Hehehe, yes, it definitely will."

"Your Highness is so generous; I will remember it forever."

"Alright, alright, let's not talk about these things since we're all family." Nangong Min walked to the bedside and sat down, gently touching Consort Hui's belly. "Has the baby moved?"

"It keeps moving." Consort Hui pulled her hand and placed it on the left side of her stomach. "Can you feel it?"

Nangong Min placed her hand on it and waited a few seconds. Sure enough, she felt a slight bump.

"Wow, he's really kicking!" Nangong Min laughed. "He's got some strength, just like someone from our Lin family!"

"Absolutely, those two were practically fighting inside."

The two women sat there chatting and laughing, talking about everything from children to making clothes, and then about the food at the Prince's mansion.

Consort Hui finally relaxed and was no longer as reserved as before.

Nangong Min is indeed insightful; she's not the kind of person who says she doesn't care but holds a grudge.

She genuinely didn't care.

In her view, it was normal for Lin Yi to have several women around him. As long as things didn't get chaotic in the harem, her position as the legal wife would be as secure as a mountain.

Moreover, Consort Hui's situation was special; she came while pregnant.

Consort Hui asked, "Your Highness, would you like to stay for lunch?"

"Sure, I don't have anything else to do anyway."

"Hongcui, go and serve the meal."

"Why."

Hongcui hurried to the kitchen to tell them to add more dishes, and Zhang Ma also busied herself with preparations.

The meal was simple, just a few side dishes and a bowl of soup, but the atmosphere was wonderful.

When Nangong Min left, Consort Hui, supported by Zhang Ma and Hongcui, saw her off at the door.

The two stood under the veranda, bathed in the warm winter sun.

"Princess, please come often."

"Okay, after you give birth, I'll bring Chengye over to play."

"it is good."

Nangong Min took Shishi away.

Consort Hui stood there watching her figure disappear through the moon gate, then turned to Hongcui and said, "Alas, back in the palace... I really did a lot of awful things..."

Hongcui didn't know how to respond, so she could only say, "Miss, that's all in the past."

"It's all in the past." Consort Hui turned and went back into the house, but after taking a few steps, she looked back again. "Hongcui."

"exist."

Do you think I'll have a good life in the future?

"Yes!" Hongcui said decisively, "You're already living a good life now, and it will only get better in the future!"

"Hehehe..." Consort Hui smiled but didn't say anything, and slowly went back to her room, supporting her waist.

……

Lin Yi has been pondering something for the past two days.

Nowadays, there are more and more women in the Prince's mansion.

Nangong Min, Mimi, Yifei, Su Meier, Consort Hui, Yang Siyu, Guo Fu, and Zhuzhu, who came to serve them during their bath, along with a large group of maids.

Aside from managing household chores and doing embroidery, people don't have much to do for leisure.

Winter is cold, and it's inconvenient to go out. We can't just let them sit and count bricks every day, can we? We have to find some fun for them.

After thinking it over and over, Lin Yi came up with the idea of ​​mahjong.

This thing is great.

Four people at a table, it's effortless, suitable for all ages, and can also enhance relationships.

In my past life, when I was in the army, I would go home on leave and have a few meals with my mom and aunt. I still remember the rules.

Just do it.

The next morning, Lin Yi asked Lin An to find two carpenters in the city who did fine work, and then brought them to his study to explain his requirements.

"Make 136 blocks of wood this big." Lin Yi gestured to them to indicate the size, roughly the thickness of a thumb and two inches long. "Use hardwood, either nanmu or sandalwood will do, and make sure it's smooth to the touch."

The two craftsmen looked at each other, wondering what they were supposed to do.

But it sounds simple, not difficult at all.

"Then carve the numbers on them, four of each number from one to nine, in three different ways..." Lin Yi wrote out all the numbers for the mahjong tiles on scrap paper, then asked them, "Can you make them?"

The older craftsman leaned over to look and nodded, saying, "Your Highness, this is very simple, it can be done. The only question is how to carve these characters? Should it be relief or intaglio?"

"Engrave it in intaglio, and then fill it in with paint, separating red and green." Lin Yi thought for a moment and then added, "Use red for the swastika, green for the strip, and alternating red and green for the circle. Use black for the east, west, south, and north, red for the center, green for the hair, and leave the white blank."

"Okay, I understand."

"How long will it take to finish?"

"If that's all... one day will be enough."

"Then finish it today, and bring it to the main courtyard when it's done."

"Yes."