The Grand Secretary has no heir? His concubine gives birth to triplets.

"Xiao San, did you hear that?"

A crisp, decisive reply came from the shadows outside the door.

"Understood. I will immediately order someone to keep an eye on things. They won't miss anything, whether it's a few fish bought for the kitchen or a few feet of cloth added to the sewing room."

Jiang Guo'er couldn't help but laugh.

"Your subordinate takes his leave."

A figure flashed by, and the room fell silent again.

Jiang Guo'er bent down and strung the last pearl, neatly tying a knot.

A lustrous and slender pearl waist chain is perfectly intact.

She held the two ends of the waist chain and waved it in front of Pei Yan.

"It's fixed, Your Excellency. Would you like to wear it now?"

Pei Yan took the waist chain, but did not tie it around his own waist.

He took Jiang Guo'er's hand and wrapped the beaded chain around her wrist twice.

The tiny South Sea pearls felt cool and comfortable against my skin.

Pei Yan tightened the end of the thread and pulled her closer to him.

"Since you repaired this gift yourself, you should try it out for me first."

Jiang Guo'er stared wide-eyed with her large, watery almond-shaped eyes.

"Can I try wearing a pearl waist chain around my wrist?"

"able."

Pei Yan pressed his thumb against the inside of her wrist, repeatedly rubbing her delicate wrist bones through the beads, as if he were playing with a fine piece of jade.

"A gift from Shunshun can be tied anywhere."

Jiang Guo'er tried to pull her hand away, but he held it even tighter, and their sleeves brushed against each other, creating a soft rustling sound.

"Your Excellency, please don't push your luck."

"If I were to push my luck...would you still be able to sit so calmly?"

Pei Yan spoke with utmost seriousness.

Jiang Guo'er's face was burning hot, and she raised her hand to cover his mouth.

"Shut up."

Pei Yan took the opportunity to lower his head and peck her palm.

She quickly withdrew her hand, the beaded chain jingling softly on her wrist.

After the two bickered for a while, Jiang Guo'er, slightly out of breath, pushed him away and straightened her clothes.

"It's not enough to just check the servants. We also need to investigate whether the Tan and Xiao families will form a marriage alliance before we can feel at ease."

"What plan have you come up with?"

Pei Yan leaned back against the pillow, but still held her wrist in his hand.

"Isn't Lingyi's birthday coming up soon?" Jiang Guo'er wondered.

"This is the first birthday banquet for the Prime Minister's wife since she entered the family. Let's take this opportunity to send out invitations widely."

"Invite all the matriarchs of the prominent families in the capital, as well as the wives of officials of the fourth rank and above, to the mansion."

These noblewomen knew everything about which family was arranging a marriage, which family had lost a concubine, and which family was experiencing trouble in their harem.

"If the Xiao and Tan families truly intend to form a marriage alliance, word will inevitably leak out."

A hint of a smile appeared in Pei Yan's eyes.

"Why only those of rank four or above?"

"How could the Tan family possibly look up to a low-ranking official? They don't even have the chance to interact with him normally, so how would they know about this?"

This man clearly knows everything, yet he deliberately teases her. Jiang Guo'er pouted in dissatisfaction.

"Besides, we are the Prime Minister's residence; we can't set the threshold too low."

Pei Yan was amused by her shrewd and protective demeanor, and his chest trembled slightly.

"Okay, you can discuss the birthday party arrangements with Lingyi."

Pei Yan stretched out his long arm and pulled her onto his lap.

"Now that we've finished discussing the important matters, let's settle the score from last night."

Jiang Guo'er quickly supported his shoulder, "What account?"

Pei Yan untied the pearl chain from her wrist and placed it at her half-open neckline.

The cool South Sea pearl clung to her neck, moving downwards.

A tiny string of beads immediately slid down her collar into her snow-white undergarment, causing her body to tremble uncontrollably.

"Last night, Madam hit me hard; she left several red marks on my waist."

Pei Yan nibbled on her earlobe, his voice extremely hoarse, "Tonight, you should give me a little more sweetness."

The room was filled with enchanting beauty; the canopy curtains of the bed swayed gently, and the soft tinkling of pearls created a harmonious sound.

Much later.

Jiang Guo'er raised her neck, leaned against the pillow and panted. She accidentally reached down and wiped her genitals with her hand. It was so sticky.

Pei Yan, that bastard!

She felt a surge of resentment; they had clearly agreed that she should rest, but she still had to go through all this trouble.

She turned her head and saw Pei Yan leaning against the pillow with his eyes half-closed, his chest still heaving heavily, and a teasing thought arose in her heart.

"I broke my waist chain last night, and my hand still hurts. I need to touch something to feel better."

Pei Yan tossed aside the handkerchief in his hand, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly.

"What do you want to touch?"

Jiang Guo'er leaned against his shoulder, recalling the booklet on avoiding fire during pregnancy that Xue Lingyi had given her last time, which also contained a lot of silly poems.

She cleared her throat and slowly recited:

"I've heard that you've been practicing the art of 'Jade Pot Ice' for a long time, and the grooves on your abdomen are becoming increasingly clear."

"The green hills are slightly translucent, like jade ridges, and the grooves, deep and shallow, resemble carved ice."

"If the evening breeze gently unbuttons my clothes, I can then carefully examine them."

Pei Yan's ears turned bright red instantly after hearing this.

His usually indifferent and self-possessed eyes were churning with indescribable emotions.

Since she likes looking at his body so much, he can show it to her more often as the weather gets warmer.

His breathing became slightly heavy.

"How do you want to touch me? How do you want to look at me?"

Jiang Guo'er's eyes sparkled, and her slender fingers pointed to the open space outside the bed covered with a Persian carpet.

"Your Excellency, please stand there."

"Take off your undergarments and practice the Eight Pieces of Brocade in front of me while you're shirtless."

Pei Yan remained rooted to the spot, not moving.

Jiang Guo'er gently stroked her slightly protruding belly with her small hand, speaking as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"The Prime Minister is good at practicing the Eight Pieces of Brocade. So naturally the little one in his belly should see it first, so that he can learn it quickly in the future."

She leaned forward, her soft fingertips brushing against the skin on the side of his neck.

She wrapped the pearl chain around his long neck twice, with the pearl tail hanging down in front of his collarbone.

"Go, Your Excellency."

Pei Yan looked down at his current appearance.

The tiny pearls, no bigger than grains of rice, rested on his firm, muscular chest, rising and falling gently with his breath.

His blood rushed to one spot, and he let out a helpless chuckle. He then removed his sweat-soaked undergarment as instructed and stood upright before the bed.

Broad shoulders, narrow waist, and clearly defined muscle lines in the waist and abdomen.

The candlelight cast shadows on his wheat-colored skin, creating an interplay of light and shadow, like a meticulously painted picture.

He gained momentum.

Supporting the sky with both hands regulates the three jiaos!

With long arms outstretched overhead, the muscles in the shoulders and back tensed and relaxed, as smoothly as a fish flipping into the water.

Drawing the bow with both hands like shooting an eagle!

She leans to the side, drawing the bow, the muscles on her waist twisting into grooves of varying depths, a pearl waist chain hanging in front of her chest, swaying back and forth with the movement.

Jiang Guo'er rested her chin on her hand, squinted her eyes, and let her gaze slide from his shoulder down to his waist and then to his lower abdomen.

With each breath Pei Yan took, crisscrossing lines appeared faintly on his skin, and beads of sweat trickled down the deep vertical line in the middle.

She unconsciously swallowed.

When Pei Yan performed the "shaking his head and wagging his tail to dispel the fire in his heart" move, his waist twisted dramatically, and the string of pearls drew a white arc across his chest.

On the sweat-dampened skin, the beads seemed to turn into water droplets, dripping gently and captivatingly.

Jiang Guo'er's eyes burned as she watched.

She couldn't remember a few of the Eight Pieces of Brocade exercises at all; her mind was filled with thoughts like, "How does this person look? How can he be so good-looking?"

Her breathing had become light and shallow without her noticing.

Pei Yan finished his last move, the sweat on his forehead still damp, his taut abdominal muscles gleaming.

He didn't speak, he just stared straight at her, his eyes clearly saying: Have you seen enough?

Jiang Guo'er stretched out a finger, hooked it around the pearl waist chain hanging around his neck, and pulled hard with her wrist.

Pei Yan leaned forward, his knees hitting the edge of the bed, and step by step, he was pulled into the curtains by her.