The Marquis's line has ended? The pregnant maid is pregnant again!

Shen Qinghe had heard the name Ye Shu more than once.

Shen Qinghe stood at the gate of the courtyard, leaning against the wall to hide herself, unable to make a decision for a moment.

The chrysanthemum pastry is best eaten while it's hot, but Ye Shu must have just arrived. If she has something to say to Lu Jihan, even if Shen Qinghe doesn't go in and only lets Qing'er in, it would still be a disturbance to both of them.

Ye Shu's voice continued to come from inside the courtyard: "Cousin, you are so thoughtful. Your sister hasn't come for so long, yet you still remember her preferences. Knowing that I like playing chess, you prepared everything in the courtyard early on."

"However, my cousin's chess skills seem to have improved."

At this moment, Shen Qinghe finally heard Lu Jihan's voice: "Your chess skills are still the best."

Shen Qinghe rarely heard Lu Jihan praise someone like that.

As soon as Ye Shu said those words, Qing'er, who was standing next to her, seemed to recognize the voice. She reached out and tugged at Shen Qinghe's clothes, leaning closer to remind her, "Sister, the one playing chess with the Marquis in the courtyard seems to be Miss Biao."

At this point, Qing'er lowered her voice to remind her, "Sister, you must be careful. This cousin was raised in the old lady's courtyard since she was a child. She's eighteen now, and for almost ten years she's been raised by the old lady. I've heard the old nannies say that the Marquis and the cousin grew up together and have a deep bond, like childhood sweethearts."

Qing'er pursed her lips: "However, Miss Biao married into her husband's family two months ago. I suppose the relationship between Miss Biao and the Marquis is just a little deeper than usual, but not quite the deep affection between a man and a woman."

Shen Qinghe grew up in the old lady's courtyard, so she naturally knew these things.

Since Shen Qinghe entered the old lady's courtyard, she had had many interactions with her cousin. Because of this, and with the information she gained from her previous life, Shen Qinghe was quite certain that the person Lu Jihan loved was her cousin, Ye Shu.

Shen Qinghe made a quick decision and instructed Qing'er: "Qing'er, I'm feeling a bit tired now. You can take these chrysanthemum pastries to the Marquis. If he asks, just say that I'm feeling tired and resting in the courtyard."

"Okay." Although Qing'er didn't understand, in front of Shen Qinghe, she always did whatever Shen Qinghe said.

As soon as Qing'er entered the courtyard, she delivered the chrysanthemum pastries.

At this moment, Lu Jihan was sitting on a stone bench in the courtyard, playing chess with Ye Shu in front of him.

Lu Jihan noticed Qing'er as soon as she entered, and saw her put down the food box and come over to answer her.

Before Qing'er could speak, Lu Jihan asked, "Where is she?"

Qing'er replied as instructed by Shen Qinghe: "Reporting to the Marquis, these chrysanthemum pastries were made by my sister herself, but the process is quite complicated. To make them as beautiful as they are, not a single step can be omitted, so my sister felt a little tired after making them and went back to her room to rest."

"She always likes to do that." Upon hearing this, Lu Jihan's smile gradually spread to his eyes, and his heart softened.

That girl is already pregnant. It's tiring enough to give birth, and she still has to think about cooking for him.

Lu Jihan felt a warmth in his heart and made up his mind to go to her room after finishing the game of chess, because he couldn't let her feel cold.

Seeing Lu Jihan ask this question, Ye Shu noticed something different: although Lu Jihan spoke a few words lightly when he asked the question, his chess-playing action had stopped in mid-air, and it was obvious that his attention was no longer on the chess.

Ye Shu keenly noticed his choice of words: "She? Who is she?"

With this curiosity in mind, Ye Shu looked at the chrysanthemum pastries in front of her and smiled, "These chrysanthemum pastries are so well made, they're so lifelike, they really look like several autumn chrysanthemums blooming in the frost! Cousin, may I ask who made these chrysanthemum pastries?"

Lu Jihan finally placed the chess piece in his hand and calmly replied, "My concubine."

At this point, Lu Jihan couldn't help but smile, his tone changing slightly: "She's a good cook."

A concubine? Upon hearing this, Ye Shu immediately felt alarmed. Her cousin had never been interested in women, let alone favored any of his wives or concubines in his harem.

But where is this concubine now?

Ye Shu's gaze fell on Lu Jihan's face, and she easily saw the corners of Lu Jihan's mouth curving up when he mentioned Shen Qinghe.

After finishing the game of chess, Ye Shu left Lu Jihan's study and took her leave.

After Ye Shu left, Lu Jihan went to Shen Qinghe's place.

Upon entering the courtyard, they found only Qing'er and no sign of Shen Qinghe. They could faintly smell the fragrance of chrysanthemums.

Following the scent of chrysanthemums, I found it was coming from the small kitchen in the corner of the yard, where a stove seemed to be burning.

Lu Jihan turned his head and saw Xiao Ni busy in the kitchen, seemingly humming a song.

The singing and the fragrance of chrysanthemums blended together, like an invisible rope binding Lu Jihan's feet and leading him step by step toward the kitchen.

Shen Qinghe is making the remaining chrysanthemum pastries right now. Naturally, chrysanthemum pastries taste best when they're hot.

Shen Qinghe had just finished making one portion and sent it to Lu Jihan, then came back to make another portion for the old lady.

After Qing'er returned, Shen Qinghe asked Qing'er to tidy up the room while she cooked in the kitchen.

Shen Qinghe's favorite time is when she's cooking, because that's when she can focus the most. Once she's focused, she can clear her mind and not think about anything else.

Just focus on preparing the food in front of you; don't worry about Ye Shu next door.

Shen Qinghe kneaded the dough, kneading the oil paste into it. She kneaded, rolled, and rolled it up again, spread the oil paste on it, and continued kneading and rolling. She repeated this process many times until she could wrap the chrysanthemum and jujube filling inside.

Use a knife to cut a few petals from the wrapped chrysanthemum pastry, then put it into the oil and fry until golden brown and blooming.

Shen Qinghe was unusually relaxed and carefree, and couldn't help but hum a little tune as she hummed, turning the dough in her hands into blooming embryos.

Upon seeing this, she immediately felt more relaxed.

Little did they know, Lu Jihan was already standing at the door, but he didn't rush in because he was looking at the little girl in the kitchen.

As soon as Lu Jihan arrived at the door, his gaze fell on the little girl as if it belonged to someone else.

The little girl was standing in front of the table, wearing a coarse cloth apron with the sleeves rolled up to her forearms, bending over and kneading a ball of golden-yellow dough.

Her kneading movements were skillful and powerful, her whole body swaying with the movements, her waist tightly tied with the apron straps, making her appear exceptionally slender.

Her hair was casually tied up with a wooden hairpin, revealing a small section of fair and smooth skin at the back of her neck.

Her hands never stopped moving, kneading dough, rolling out bread and making pastry. Although she was alone, she performed these actions with incredible skill, as if she had repeated them countless times, in an orderly manner.

Shen Qinghe's face was devoid of a smile, displaying only a serious and relaxed demeanor towards the things before her. Her eyebrows and eyes unconsciously lifted, giving off an air of unparalleled tranquility.

It was as if the little girl in front of him was isolated from the world; all that remained in her eyes was the dough in front of her.

She was humming a cheerful tune, and just listening to her made me feel a little more relaxed.

The irritability that arose in the morning due to court affairs gradually dissipated as he listened to the lighthearted tune hummed by Shen Qinghe.

Lu Jihan's gaze lingered on her face, neck, and arms.

She reached up and wiped the sweat from her forehead, completely forgetting that her palm was covered in flour. She touched her forehead again, and her face was covered in flour stains, making her look like a little clown.

Lu Jihan couldn't help but chuckle, charmed by her lively and cheerful appearance, and a soft laugh escaped his thin lips.

Upon hearing this laugh, Shen Qinghe immediately stopped what she was doing and stood there stunned for a moment.

She quickly realized what was happening: "Sir, what brings you here?"

Isn't he playing chess with his "white moonlight" (his ideal woman/girlfriend)? How can he play chess with her so fast?

Shen Qinghe thought that Lu Jihan wouldn't come over until at least evening, so she could do whatever she wanted.

Seeing that Shen Qinghe showed no surprise at seeing him, only astonishment, Lu Jihan suddenly felt a little annoyed.

"Why can't I come?" Lu Jihan raised an eyebrow, his expression becoming more arrogant. He walked over to Shen Qinghe's side and used his fingertips to wipe the powder off her face.

Lu Jihan's expression wasn't exactly gentle, but the way he wiped the powder off Shen Qinghe's face was incredibly thoughtful and considerate.

He said with disdain, "Why did you make yourself look like this?"

Shen Qinghe was puzzled. She had never looked at her current appearance in a bronze mirror before, and she was quite uneasy about what Lu Jihan had suddenly said.

She blinked and asked softly, "How does it look?"

Lu Jihan's fingertips caressed Shen Qinghe's delicate skin. He was being looked at by those clear eyes, which now held a hint of nervousness and were somewhat taken aback.

For some reason, Lu Jihan felt a tickle in his heart.

"How adorable," Lu Jihan couldn't help but think to himself, his Adam's apple bobbing as he said, "It's like the little tabby cat in my mother's yard."

It was common knowledge throughout the Hou family that the Lady Hou loved cats, and she did indeed keep a tabby cat in the courtyard a few years ago.

At that time, Shen Qinghe was still serving in the old lady's courtyard. She had seen her two or three times when she occasionally went out to do errands for the old lady. She was an extremely cute tabby cat.

Now that Lady Hou has gone to Mount Wutai, she has never been seen again.

Shen Qinghe stared directly at Lu Jihan, cutting straight to the heart of his words: "So, is Your Highness praising my cuteness?"

Upon hearing those words, Lu Jihan's ears immediately turned red. His eyes widened, and his lips moved slightly: "If that's what you think, there's nothing I can do about it."

Shen Qinghe wasn't intimidated by his pretense at all; her eyes immediately crinkled into a smile: "Then Master is just praising my cuteness!"

Lu Jihan remained silent, looking at the young woman in front of him without saying a word. In this bamboo garden, which of his wives and concubines wasn't shy and bashful?

In the past, Lu Jihan had some understanding of relationships between men and women, but not much.

Observing how her parents interacted, if her father said something like that, her mother would naturally understand.

But his mother wouldn't say it aloud, much less directly. In Lu Jihan's impression and understanding, shouldn't it always be a mutual understanding, but one that's too shy to say it out loud?

But this girl in front of him was different. She was different from the very beginning. She had to say whatever she found out, as if she was afraid he wouldn't admit it.

Lu Jihan had nothing to say, and with a flushed face, he turned and went into the courtyard.