A very malicious thought arose in her heart; did not her husband want a son of his own flesh and blood?
Then let that cheap woman never be able to give birth to a child!
As Mrs. Lai contemplated such thoughts, she kept silent, believing that the only one who could help her with her affairs was her most trusted confidante.
Besides her daughter, there was no one else, and Mrs. Li, her daughter-in-law, was not someone she could trust.
Once Mrs. Lai quieted down, the whole family felt a sigh of relief, harboring the same thought in each of their hearts; it would be best if Mother-in-law followed them over there to eat, making their family of eight enjoy their meals even more.
Hongji finished his meal quickly and said softly to his wife,
"Wife, I’ll be working overtime to make some small toys for our son, you go to sleep with him first."
Mrs. Li nodded her head and did not stop her husband from giving fatherly love to their son, only telling him not to stay up too late.
Seeing the son and daughter-in-law speaking softly in such an intimate manner made Mrs. Lai uncomfortable, she sneered "Hmph," and then, flinging her hands, left with the little maid supporting her back to her room.
Hongji, seeing his mother’s attitude towards himself and his wife, pretended not to hear and was eager to go about his own business.
Mrs. Li looked at her mother-in-law’s staggering figure with a hint of pity in her heart.
It was only a small sympathy as a woman, because to sympathize with the Mother-in-law over this whole affair would be to harm oneself.
Hongji arrived at his tool room, which he and his father had specifically reserved in the house as a woodworking space, filled with various woodworking tools.
There were also some pieces of wood that had already been repaired and dried out waiting in the room, and Hongji took out the blueprint from his bosom, already having an idea in mind.
The frame for the baby walker could be made from larger pieces of wood, but not too large, and of course, the part where the baby sat needed to be made from fabric to be softer.
With this in mind, he went back to his room and gave his wife a task, asking her to make a cushion for the baby seat.
Mrs. Li looked at the not-so-complicated cushion, and as there was such fabric in the room, she knew that to ensure the baby’s comfort and the durability of the cushion, a flexible fabric was needed.
Hongji returned to the tool room; not only did he want a baby walker for his son, but he also intended to make a little table on the walker, with fun toys on both sides.
He kept busy until late into the night, finishing all the parts and the frame, only needing to assemble them together.
Hongji looked at the parts he had made and polished, revealing an excited smile.
Mrs. Li did not wait for her husband to come back before sleeping; the past few days had been too exhausting and she fell asleep as soon as she hit the bed.
Hongji, leaving the tool room, saw that the lights were out in his family’s rooms, except for the little house where his father and the concubine were, which still had a light on.
Seeing the baby walker cotton cushion his wife had placed on the table filled him with joy, and the day’s fatigue seemed to lessen at the sight of his sleeping wife and son.
He quietly entered the room and stealthily fetched water to wash his face and feet.
He then gently went to bed without blowing out the small lamp, immediately lying down and falling asleep.
Mrs. Li awoke when her husband came to sleep, but finding him by her side made her turn over comfortably.
When she awoke in the middle of the night to take her son to urinate, she lovingly handled everything herself.
The little son was quite sensible, not crying or fussing, obediently urinating as his mother held him half-asleep, and was also well-behaved while breastfeeding.
During these tasks, Mrs. Li would also steal glances at her soundly sleeping husband.
Seeing that her husband did not wake up despite their movements, she knew he must be very tired.
When Mrs. Li awoke again, she found her husband was no longer in bed, with only the little son peacefully sleeping beside her.
With a knowing look, she glanced at the table and saw that the cushion she had made yesterday was no longer there.
She smiled with a sigh, knowing her husband must have gotten up early to work on the baby walker for their little son.
Ye Shiqi got ready for the day, with the maid helping her dress; she took care of washing her face and brushing her teeth by herself.
At this young age, she didn’t need any makeup, using only a bit of skincare water she made herself.
This skincare water was distilled from petals and "Space Water" from her space, helping her skin to recover from the winter’s cold wind and sunburn.
She had given this ordinary skincare water a name, calling it "skincare water," a name unique as it was only shared between her mother and each of her five sisters, with no one else having the privilege.
Of course, the maids by her side did not have this privilege either; it wasn’t that Ye Shiqi was too stingy, but that some secrets could not be let known to the maids.