He’s only five years old, how could he possibly lift Zhi? Before he could even pick him up, the two of them tumbled onto the floor with a thud.

They didn’t get hurt, and Zhi immediately burst into giggles, crawling up to lie on his brother, signaling for him to do it again.

Min gestured to Mrs. Zhou and the others not to help them, laughing along, as the two began playing on the floor. Upon hearing the commotion, Xiqiu came out and saw the two kids rolling around on the ground. She chuckled, pulling Zhi up and said to Min, "The floor is cold, be careful not to catch a chill."

Following her advice, Min stood up and dusted off Zhi’s clothes. Zhi stared at his brother with a silly grin, then tugged on Min’s clothes with his feet, while Min held his hand, saying, "Brother, when will you start walking? Then we can go to the yard to play. I could teach you to run, and in the summer we can even go boating on the Qing River."

Zhi didn’t understand but nodded eagerly.

Min pouted at Xiqiu and asked, "Mother, when will Zhi start talking?" He wanted to hear his brother call him "brother."

"Soon," Xiqiu said with a smile. "He said ’dad’ last night, and then ’speak.’ In some time, he should be able to talk." Hearing this, Min got excited, squatted in front of Zhi, and teased, "Brother, brother... Zhi, give it a try."

Zhi focused on Min’s lips, trying to mimic him but couldn’t say anything.

Min was disappointed, and Mrs. Zhou reassured him from the side, "Young Master Min, boys often start talking a bit later. But surely in the next month or two, Young Master Zhi will call you brother."

"Really?" said Min, his eyes lighting up with a smile.

When it was time to eat, he eagerly took the bowl from Mrs. Zhou with a smile, saying, "I’ll feed my brother." Today, Zhi was having noodles, and Nanny Cen specifically watched the kitchen make shorter noodles as per Xiqiu’s instructions. Min was struggling to twirl the noodles onto his chopsticks and bring them to Zhi’s mouth.

Seeing his brother feeding him today, Zhi grinned widely in happiness. But after waiting with his mouth open for a long time and still not getting any noodles, he impatiently grabbed the noodles from the chopsticks and brought them to his mouth...

"Young Master Min, let me feed him instead," Mrs. Zhou said cautiously, glancing at Xiqiu, and reached for the bowl Min was holding. Despite his efforts, Min failed to get the noodles into Zhi’s mouth, and seeing Zhi happily munching on the noodles he grabbed himself, he dispiritedly returned the bowl to Mrs. Zhou. Xiqiu looked at Min pouting and then at Zhi’s noodle-covered face, couldn’t help but laugh.

After eating, the three of them played for a while, then coaxed the two kids to sleep. Xiqiu sat at the bedside sewing a summer shirt for Min, and soon Nanny Tang from the First Madam’s side arrived with the invitation list for the Grand Dowager’s birthday banquet for Xiqiu to review. She also brought Xiao Yanji’s longbow. Nanny Tang chuckled, "The First Madam said it’d be a pity to keep it, since Zhi likes these things. It would be better to let him play with it."

Xiqiu laughed and asked Chunliu to put it away carefully, "He’s still young, he’ll break it if he plays with it now. It’s better to give it to him when he’s older." She paused and added, "Thank my sister-in-law for me."

Nanny Tang replied with a laugh, noticing the clothes in Xiqiu’s hands and holding her gaze for a moment.

The Fourth Madam treats Young Master Min just like before, sewing his close-fitting clothes by hand herself, Nanny Tang nodded approvingly to herself and added, "Today our Madam went back to her mother’s home and only returned by noon. She wanted to come over but felt tired, so she sent me instead."

Xiqiu was taken aback and looked at Nanny Tang, who was smiling warmly at her. Then she understood. Nanny Tang was informing her that the First Madam went to her maternal family today. Could it be that she had come to understand or found a way to handle her family’s matters, hence letting Nanny Tang pass the message?

She probably knew that First Young Madam Tang had asked her to persuade her, right?

A slight smile formed on her lips, and she nodded. Nanny Tang knew Xiqiu understood her meaning.

There was nothing noteworthy about the invitation list. Nanny Tang stayed for a while to chat, mentioning that Xiao Yanzheng stayed at the mansion last night, and laughed, "He left for home with Master Pang after dark." She covered her mouth, smiling.

Xiqiu also smiled, now that Master Pang’s father and mother had returned to Guangxi, only the two of them were left at home. Master Pang probably couldn’t bear to leave Xiao Yanzheng for even a moment, as they were in the honeymoon phase.

"The Grand Dowager even teased, saying that in a few days, they might have a grandchild to hold," Nanny Tang added with a laugh.

If that were true, it would indeed be a wonderful thing.

That evening, Fourth Master Xiao returned, and Xiqiu told him about Nanny Tang’s visit earlier that day, "She brought me the guest list for the banquet and also brought over the bow that my brother used frequently before he passed."

Fourth Master Xiao’s eyes paused momentarily, and he nodded slightly.

Xiqiu sat down in front of him, looking at him, she asked, "A few days ago, it was said that the palace is selecting concubines. Is the list coming out soon?" Fourth Master Xiao nodded upon hearing this, "It should be out tomorrow. In a few days, the chosen ladies from various places will enter the palace."

Xiqiu nodded thoughtfully, thinking about Empress Shen. It was said that the Eldest Prince was intelligent and well-liked by the Emperor. However, the Second Prince seemed a bit dull; at over a year old, he still couldn’t talk, which made the Emperor somewhat indifferent towards him compared to the Eldest Prince. On the other hand, the Eldest Princess, being female, received more affection than even the Eldest Prince, which was also much appreciated by the Empress.

No matter how much one liked the Princess, since the Eldest Prince’s birth, the Empress had not had any more children.

This time, with new concubines entering the palace, it was indeed a significant crisis for her.

The Shen Family had also been actively moving around these days.

The next day, after having breakfast, Biwu came in smiling and reported, "Madam, there’s an old lady at the door saying she’s a nanny from the Marquis Jinxiang’s family, here to pay respects to you."

Upon hearing this, Xiqiu thought of Ruan Pingrong. She nodded slightly and said, "Let her in."

Biwu nodded, turned, and led a nanny dressed in autumn-scented attire inside, who knelt formally and greeted Xiqiu with a smile, "This servant is a nanny beside the Second Miss of the Marquis Jinxiang’s family, here to greet Madam."

"Please get up, Nanny." Xiqiu said with a smile, pointing to one of the stools, "Have a seat and let’s talk."

The nanny thanked her, then elegantly and confidently sat halfway down on the stool, taking a cup of tea from Biwu and holding it. Smiling, she said, "It’s like this, our Miss sent me to inquire if Madam would be free tomorrow, as she, along with a cousin, would like to visit and pay respects to you."

The other day when they parted, Ruan Pingrong had mentioned coming over to play. She nodded slightly and smiled, saying, "They are welcome anytime, there’s no need to send a messenger. Tell them I’m free tomorrow, they can come over directly."