Holding a teacup, Mu Jiebang walked into the room with the gait of an old cadre, his gaze briefly brushing over his wife’s twisted expression, and laughed softly.

Liao Jinxiang, dissatisfied with his seemingly mocking and sarcastic attitude, harshly questioned, "What are you laughing at? I’m angry for the Mu Family’s sake."

Compared to Liao Jinxiang’s aging, increasingly plump figure, with soft flesh around her waist and abdomen starting to loosen, Mu Jiebang, over fifty, was well-maintained and appeared energetic.

With his tasteful attire, standing next to Liao Jinxiang, they looked like siblings.

Heaven and earth, Mu Jiebang was clearly older than Liao Jinxiang by a few years.

Just a moment ago when she got angry, glaring at her husband’s charming appearance, Liao Jinxiang’s anger subsided quicker than she expected.

A father who could produce a son as handsome as Mu Zhuoming surely didn’t look bad himself.

Mu Jiebang, with mediocre abilities, could barely hold onto the Mu Family’s status, making sure it didn’t fall from the ranks of the top three noble families—an effort he had exhausted himself for—but he was proud to have a son who was many times more capable than himself.

The Mu Family seemed to be on the brink of prosperity, but his son married an infertile woman.

He was very dissatisfied with this.

However, unlike Liao Jinxiang, he wouldn’t plainly express his discontent.

His son, though filial, was inherently indifferent. Their identity as biological parents did not sway his decisions.

Even so, the thin relationship between father and son still needed careful management.

In this regard, Mu Jiebang was more scheming.

With his wife charging ahead, he only needed to be a considerate and tolerant old father.

Mu Jiebang leisurely sipped tea from his teacup, absentmindedly complimenting his wife, "Yes, yes, you have the most credit."

"But you know Zhuo Ming’s temperament; no one can force him to do something he doesn’t want."

Mu Jiebang said, "In the end, the fate of the Mu Family is destined to be as it is."

Hearing her husband’s slightly forlorn tone, Liao Jinxiang felt uncomfortable.

Her eyes darted around, and she said, "As long as Su Li agrees, we can secretly raise a woman who is good at giving birth."

Because right now, worldwide, not only is there an issue of low fertility rates among citizens, but there is also a rapidly worsening societal problem of imbalanced gender ratios, with more men than women. Therefore, the monogamous system is strictly enforced; anyone found monopolizing social resources would be deemed to have committed a serious violation.

Once labeled with such a violation, they would be prioritized during compulsory spouse matching.

Previously, it was forgotten to mention that spouses matched through compulsory means are not protected by marriage laws; they are more like breeding sows forced into a union, and if they don’t conceive within a certain period, they are redistributed and paired repeatedly until they successfully conceive to fulfill their obligations and be released from it.

In other words, compared to being unmarried at forty and being forcibly matched with a spouse without the ability to divorce, it is obvious that people ruining families and hoarding social resources, with the end being reduced to breeding machines, have a more tragic outcome.

The imperial rule in Hua Country still has stringent laws in some aspects.

Of course, it’s not without loopholes.

For example, these stringent laws only target citizens below the rank of Nobles.

Among Nobles, it’s not uncommon to keep mistresses and Xiao San; however, the Mu Family’s current status does not yet spare them from this trouble.

Mu Jiebang was somewhat tempted, "I’m just afraid Zhuo Ming wouldn’t agree."

Liao Jinxiang: "I won’t tell our son, I’ll talk to Su Li; she will agree."

"When she comes over later, I’ll make her agree... as long as it’s not from my son’s subjective will, even if it’s exposed, it won’t be a problem."

-------------

Liao Jinxiang thought she had it well planned, but she never considered that Su Li wasn’t planning to bother dealing with them at all.

When Mu Zhuoming’s call came through, Su Li was soaking in a petal bath.

She hummed and hawed a few responses, and after hanging up, she promptly forgot about it.

If it were the original owner, she would have been happy to entertain her husband’s parents.

Su Li, however, had no interest in it.

One’s own parents should be cherished by oneself.....

In her past life, it was the same; Mu Zhuoming asked the original owner to frequently accompany his parents at the old house.

Although Mu Zhuoming’s parents didn’t abuse the original owner, sometimes their hurtful words had a greater impact than physical harm.

In her past life, the original owner’s mother-in-law made an absurd request for surrogacy.

However, the original owner refused; love is possessive and doesn’t allow any impurities.

Besides, if surrogacy really resulted in a pregnancy, her status would become awkward.

Under imperial rule, the laws binding citizens were stringent, but they were lenient towards women who had given birth.

Much like in her past life, due to Bai Lu Yue’s methods, she technically violated laws regarding family destruction, but since she contributed by giving birth, she wasn’t penalized.

Focusing on her achievements in having five children, the authorities overlooked much of her actions.

Even when she moved into the Mu Family with her children, no one said anything.

After the original owner’s depression-related death, Bai Lu Yue quickly secured the position of the Mu Family’s Mrs. Mu.

Tsk, tsk, tsk, Su Li for the first time found this an absurd yet intriguing world.

Mu Zhuoming assumed that with a single call, Su Li would comply with his wishes.

Mu Jiebang and Liao Jinxiang also thought that if their son said a word, their daughter-in-law would eagerly run over to heed their instructions.

They kept waiting at home, but kept waiting in vain.

Mu Jiebang took another sip of tea, nodding in subtle satisfaction.

His mind might be a bit dull and his abilities mediocre, but so what... Su Ming, that old fox, is clever—he’s even had two kids, achieving the perfect combination—but doesn’t he still come to flatter him?

His daughter being sickly and infertile was already a loss to the Mu Family. The fact that he was willing to accept their proactively offered benefits demonstrated his broad-mindedness.

The Mu couple both harbored their own thoughts and waited until evening,their daughter-in-law’s silhouette still had not appeared.

And what was the much-anticipated Su Li doing?

Shh, she was planning a hundred-billion-dollar project.

With the Su Family’s careful attention, Su Li almost forgot her serious business due to indulgence.

At this time, the lovely Wubo should have already taken root and sprouted in Bai Lu Yue’s belly.

How big might a month-old fetus be?

As big as a soybean, or a peanut?

-------------

Correct answer: neither.

In a shabby little house, Bai Lu Yue stared in horror at her belly, ballooning as if inflated, in the mirror.

Just barely a month, how could she have a noticeable belly already?

Even if she lacked common sense, she knew perfectly well that a one-month pregnancy should hardly show a bump at all.