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Shen Chuwei’s hand was held by Xiao Jinyan, and she was forced to follow his pace.

"Your Highness, where are you taking your concubine?"

"You’ll know once we get there." Xiao Jinyan had long legs, but his pace was not fast, allowing Shen Chuwei to easily keep up.

Since Xiao Jinyan remained silent, Shen Chuwei stopped asking.

Following Xiao Jinyan all the way into Xiyun Pavilion, she cast a puzzled glance at the room she once lived in, feeling a bit unfamiliar after such a long time away.

Although she hadn’t stayed there, Gui Xiang would clean the room every day as if someone were living in it.

"Your Highness, are you looking for something inside?"

"Hmm." Xiao Jinyan led her to where they had made the height marking before, and Shen Chuwei, with a confused expression, was pressed against the wall by Xiao Jinyan.

She looked up at Xiao Jinyan, who was a good half a head taller than herself, from this angle, she could see his sexy Adam’s apple and even the thick, long eyelashes that women would envy.

Could it be, he brought her here just to pin her against the wall?

Xiao Jinyan measured the distance between the mark and the top of her head; over two years, she had grown quite a bit.

But in front of him, she still appeared petite and exquisite.

"You’ve grown so much in over two years."

Xiao Jinyan used his slender fingers to show Shen Chuwei how much she had grown.

Suddenly remembering the height mark Xiao Jinyan had made for her two years ago, Shen Chuwei turned back to look at the wall and saw that although old, the mark was clearly visible.

Looking at the distance Xiao Jinyan was indicating, she had grown by about seven centimeters, which meant she was now 162cm tall.

She said with some pride, "Your Highness, you see, eating more does help, your concubine has grown so much."

Xiao Jinyan chuckled lightly, "Indeed, you have grown quite a bit."

"Your Highness, rest assured, with a father like you who has such excellent genes, our son won’t be short," Shen Chuwei expressed that it was alright for her to be a bit short; she wouldn’t hold them back.

A daughter of the same height as her wouldn’t be bad either.

"Taotao is still young now, there’s no need to worry about this, but..." Xiao Jinyan paused here.

Shen Chuwei urged, "But what?"

Xiao Jinyan said, "Now, the most important thing is, there are some etiquettes that you should learn."

Upon hearing about learning etiquette, Shen Chuwei felt like her head was about to explode.

She tugged at Xiao Jinyan’s sleeve, "Your Highness, is it too late for regrets now?"

Xiao Jinyan spoke very gently, "Too late."

Shen Chuwei’s shoulders drooped; tough days were ahead.

Xiao Jinyan held her hand to cheer her up, "You are so smart, those etiquettes should be easy for you to learn."

"Your Highness, you are mistaken, your concubine is extremely dull, and no amount of teaching can carve rotten wood," Shen Chuwei protested pitifully.

Xiao Jinyan had no choice but to pull out his ultimate trump card, "Once you finish learning the etiquette for the Grand Ceremony, whatever you want to eat, my palace will satisfy you."

Upon hearing this, Shen Chuwei’s eyes brightened, "Really?"

Xiao Jinyan: "When have I ever deceived you?"

"...But, it’s just too difficult." Even with delicious food ahead, Shen Chuwei still felt the task was arduous.

The next day, the Etiquette Instructor Madam came to Hehuan Hall to teach the future Crown Princess etiquette.

The Etiquette Instructor Madam, over fifty this year, was a senior in the palace, unlike other kind madams, she, like Rong Madam, had a stern demeanor without frivolous smiles.

First was the Etiquette Instructor Madam’s demonstration, followed by Shen Chuwei practicing it once.

Shen Chuwei was walking properly when she was suddenly stopped by someone pressing on her shoulders, "Lady Shen, you must keep your shoulders up; only then will you exhibit the dignity and majesty of the Crown Princess."

"Understood, Etiquette Instructor Madam," Shen Chuwei held her shoulders up, flicked her small handkerchief, and took a few steps before being stopped by the Etiquette Instructor Madam again.

"Lady Shen, you shouldn’t walk too fast. During the Grand Ceremony, the dress you will be wearing is heavy. You must take each step carefully to convey the aura of the Crown Princess."

"Convey the aura of the Crown Princess." Shen Chuwei nodded emphatically and took tiny steps, advancing slowly...～

"Lady Shen, you can’t walk like this during the Grand Ceremony; you need to lift your feet."

When Shen Chuwei started walking by lifting her legs, unsurprisingly, she heard the Etiquette Instructor Madam remind her again, "Lady Shen, you shouldn’t lift your legs too high."

Being of a salted fish temperament, Shen Chuwei liked to lie down after eating. After walking for a while, the agony of not being able to lie down on the couch right in front of her was quite uncomfortable.

Listening to the Etiquette Instructor Madam’s repetitive and tireless words, she suddenly thought of someone... Rong Madam～

Shen Chuwei walked a few steps, and before the Etiquette Instructor Madam could speak, she turned around with a smile and said.

"Etiquette Instructor Madam, you teach so well, could you demonstrate a few more times for me to observe?"

Hearing Lady Shen’s sweet voice, the Etiquette Instructor Madam did not refuse, "Then Lady Shen must watch carefully, for this etiquette cannot be taken lightly."

"What Etiquette Instructor Madam says is right, I will watch very carefully," Shen Chuwei nodded vigorously, then went to sit on the couch, picked up some pastries, and began to eat.

Chun Xi brewed two cups of hot tea and placed one of them in front of Shen Chuwei.

As Shen Chuwei ate the pastries and drank her tea, she watched the instructor teaching them how to walk and knew she could not learn it.

To walk with the presence of the Crown Princess?

So difficult.

"Lady Shen, come here and walk a few more times."

As the teaching maid turned around, Shen Chuwei hurriedly stuffed the remaining pastries into her mouth, picked up her teacup and took a few sips to swallow the pastries.

Before Shen Chuwei could start walking, she heard Susu’s pitiful crying. Without guessing, it was surely because she had woken up hungry and no one was attending to her, so she felt wronged.

"Teaching maid, please sit down for a while and have some tea," Shen Chuwei said as she walked over, by which time Chun Xi had already picked up Susu and was comforting her.

"Give her to me." Shen Chuwei now urgently needed Susu to stick to her so she could slack off for a bit.

Seeing the crown prince’s son awake, the teaching maid couldn’t really say anything, so she sat down to wait.

Shen Chuwei fed Susu until she was full and then sat on the couch with Susu in her arms, gently patting her back.

After eating her fill, Susu was in a great mood. She grabbed Shen Chuwei’s collar with her little hands and looked at the teaching maid with a smile.

The teaching maid had spent most of her life in the palace surrounded by elderly peers or young palace maids.

Now, seeing such a little and tender baby, she couldn’t resist taking a few more glances, and once she looked, she couldn’t take her eyes off her.

As Susu lay on Shen Chuwei’s shoulder, she sucked on her finger, and when she noticed someone staring at her, she smiled a few more times.

When she smiled, there were shallow dimples on her cheeks, which looked especially sweet.

The teaching maid thought to herself, this child really is adorable.

Susu smacked her lips and stretched her little arms toward the teaching maid as if to greet her.

When the teaching maid saw this, she thought Susu wanted her to hold her, "Lady Shen, let this servant hold the crown prince’s son too."

Shen Chuwei didn’t refuse, "Sure."

The teaching maid took Susu into her arms. The little one’s body was soft, and her occasional smiles melted everyone’s heart.

For a moment, she forgot that she was here to teach Lady Shen etiquette, not to play with the baby.

Shen Chuwei, having some free time, continued to eat her pastries, watching the teaching maid entertain Susu and couldn’t help but laugh.

After the teaching maid left, she suddenly remembered the reason she had come to Hehuan Hall, and it turned out she had held the precious baby for a long time.

That night, after the two little ones fell asleep, Shen Chuwei lay down in bed with Xiao Jinyan and brought up the subject of today’s etiquette lessons.

"Xiao Jiu, how did it go with your studies?"

Shen Chuwei said, "It went quite well; the teaching maid is very kind."

Kind?

The teaching maid was famously strict, and Xiao Jiu actually called her kind?

"You’re the first one to call the teaching maid kind."

"Really?" Lady Shen had seen the teaching maid holding Susu today, and she indeed looked incredibly kind.

At this moment, it was so quiet in the bed that one could almost hear each other’s heartbeat.

Holding the tender beauty in his arms, Xiao Jinyan couldn’t hold back and lowered his head to kiss her.

Shen Chuwei wrapped her arms tightly around Xiao Jinyan’s neck.

In the middle of the act, they suddenly heard a "yi ya..." hum.

That sound was too familiar; the most likely source was Susu.

As long as the daughter wasn’t crying, Xiao Jinyan didn’t bother and lowered his head to continue what he was doing.

Seeing Xiao Jinyan unconcerned, Shen Chuwei nudged him with her hand, "Jinyan, Susu seems to have woken up."

Xiao Jinyan kissed the corner of Shen Chuwei’s lips and said in a husky voice, "No one’s attending to her; she’ll fall back to sleep soon."

But that "yi ya yi ya" sound showed no signs of stopping.

By now, Susu had flipped over, wriggled out from under the covers, and kicked her way onto her brother’s face, blissfully unaware.

Her little hands fumbled around, latched onto a small bell and out of curiosity, gave it a shake, ringing it pleasantly.

Susu immediately smiled happily and even let out a "giggle."

To Xiao Jinyan’s ears, this was disrupting his mood.

Shen Chuwei hid in Xiao Jinyan’s arms and gently pinched his arm, with a soft voice said, "Jinyan, go hold Susu."

At this crucial moment, she wanted him to go hold their daughter?

ps: One update