"Great Aunt, please don't worry. The Prince and I will be fine. Haven't those two rebels been executed by the Emperor yesterday?" Leng Ruoli patiently comforted her.
"Yes, the capital will be peaceful for many years to come..." Madam Jiang couldn't help but sigh.
Afterward, as they chatted, they arrived at the entrance of the inner reception hall of the Xia mansion. Leng Ruoli's maternal grandfather and grandmother were already waiting at the entrance.
"Child Li, hurry inside and let your grandmother and grandfather see you." Madam Xia's face immediately broke into a kind smile upon seeing Leng Ruoli.
"Alright! Grandmother." Leng Ruoli replied as she strode quickly towards them.
Madam Xia's gaze carefully scanned Leng Ruoli, and she reached out to touch her, only to breathe a sigh of relief when she saw she was unharmed.
"Grandmother, Grandfather, you can rest assured now." Leng Ruoli said, then slowly turned in a circle in front of them.
Grand Tutor Xia and Madam Xia both nodded their heads with doting expressions. Just then, Madam Jiang, who was standing nearby, suddenly remembered something.
"Li'er, when your cousin Annan returned from the academy yesterday, he heard some merchants say that you and the Prince bought a lot of ingredients in the streets. Are you hosting a banquet? Do you need your Great Aunt's help?"
"Oh, about that, Great Aunt, the Prince and I bought so many ingredients to prepare for the manor. We are not holding any banquets at the manor." Leng Ruoli answered vaguely.
"Oh, oh, so that's how it is. Great Aunt thought you..." Madam Jiang said, specifically glancing at Leng Ruoli's flat abdomen.
"Great Aunt, what are you thinking?" Leng Ruoli was quite speechless. She had just turned seventeen, still too young. If this age were in her previous life, she would still be a high school student. She didn't want to be a mother so early. Moreover, she hadn't even consummated her marriage with Jun Mohan. Although they were now sleeping in the same bed, they hadn't yet planned to go that far. This was because Leng Ruoli had made an agreement with Jun Mohan that he could not force her to consummate their marriage before she turned eighteen, so they had both been abiding by this agreement. Speaking of which, Leng Ruoli had to admire Jun Mohan's self-control. Sometimes Leng Ruoli could feel that he was on the verge of being consumed by desire, yet he could still grit his teeth and endure, not seeking solace with other women, but instead running to her bathroom to take cold showers. Therefore, Leng Ruoli felt that a true man like Jun Mohan was very rare.
"You two have been married for a long time, Li'er. Why isn't your belly showing any signs yet?" Madam Jiang asked, her eyebrows slightly furrowed.
"Great Aunt, the Prince and I plan to have children a little later." Leng Ruoli said with a slightly awkward smile.
"Li'er, you are already seventeen. You should be a mother. Your second aunt and I both became mothers when we were just sixteen. Aren't you afraid the Emperor and Empress Dowager will urge you to have children?" Madam Jiang immediately lectured Leng Ruoli in front of Jun Mohan. Her main concern was that Leng Ruoli might not bear children for the Cold King, leading to his disdain for her. Although the Cold King doted on her so much now, and even the Emperor and Empress Dowager favored her, their attitudes might change immediately if they learned that Leng Ruoli could not have children, and she might even be neglected by them.
"Yes, Li'er, you are not young anymore. It's time to be a mother. If you have children and don't want to raise them, your grandmother and your two great aunts can help you raise them..." Leng Ruoli's maternal grandfather and her great uncle and great aunt nodded in agreement with Madam Xia's words. Leng Ruoli and Jun Mohan felt speechless, even though they understood what the Xia family was worried about.
At this moment, Jun Mohan answered first, "Grandmother, Great Aunt, Li'er told me that it is not good for a woman's body to bear children too early. Therefore, I plan to wait until Li'er is over eighteen before planning for children, which will also be beneficial for her body's recovery."
"As for my Father and Imperial Grandmother, they are very reasonable. They have never urged us to have children since Li'er married into the Cold King's manor. They will also follow our couple's wishes... My Father and Imperial Grandmother value Li'er more than their imperial descendants, so you can rest assured." Jun Mohan explained briefly to the Xia family. The Xia family finally put their hearts at ease after hearing Jun Mohan's words. However, men in the imperial family were often fickle. They would remind Leng Ruoli more in the future, as they did not wish to see her wronged.
"Since His Highness says so, then we were indeed worrying too much about this matter." Grand Tutor Xia cupped his hands in greeting.
"Grandfather, Grandmother, Great Uncle, and Great Aunt, please rest assured. Whether Li'er is willing to bear me children or not, I, Jun Mohan, will never leave her in this life. Moreover, I will only marry her as my wife in this lifetime..." Jun Mohan vowed solemnly in front of the Xia family. His words deeply moved Leng Ruoli's grandfather, grandmother, great uncle, and great aunt, who were on the verge of tears.
Immediately, Leng Ruoli quickly changed the subject. "Grandfather, Grandmother, Great Uncle, and Great Aunt, Li'er has brought a gift for each of you today." At this moment, Leng Ruoli took the gifts she had prepared earlier from Jun Mohan's hands and presented them one by one to her grandfather, grandmother, great uncle, and great aunt. The remaining three gifts included two for her second uncle and second aunt, and one for her eldest cousin, Xia Annan. Her second uncle and his wife were in Sangcheng today celebrating their mother's and uncle's birthdays, so they were not at the manor. Xia Annan had gone to the academy for classes. Therefore, Leng Ruoli decided to let her great aunt accept the remaining three gifts on their behalf and deliver them when the three of them returned to the manor.
"Li'er, you just needed to come, why bring so many gifts?" Madam Xia glanced at the contents of the gift bags and knew that what Leng Ruoli had brought was definitely good stuff.
"Grandmother, Li'er is usually very busy and rarely comes to see you in person. Moreover, we and Father will be going on a long trip in two days, and we don't know when we'll be back. So, we came to see Grandfather and Grandmother before we depart." Leng Ruoli originally wanted to tell the Xia family the purpose of their trip, but she stopped herself. As the saying goes, no hope, no disappointment. Until they found Xia Wan'er, the secret that Xia Wan'er might still be alive, she still shouldn't tell her maternal relatives yet.