Every day, Mrs. Zhou would also come on time to help with the cooking. However, what surprised Lin He this time wasn't Mrs. Zhou’s assistance, but that her uncle’s son, Qingshan, had voluntarily shown up to help. Lin He was a bit taken aback. Qingshan wasn't exactly a bad person, but he was quite lazy; he had never offered to help with anything at his own home before. Could it be that Mrs. He had some scheme in mind, deliberately sending Qingshan over to curry favor, perhaps intending for him to start working at their house?

Yet, after observing for a few days, Lin He felt that wasn't quite it. When Qingshan came to "help," he didn't actually do much. Lin He often saw him wandering around her courtyard. Normally, cooking in the courtyard was women's work, so what was Qingshan doing here? It struck her as odd.

Lin He paid closer attention over the next few days. She pretended to direct the maids in the courtyard while secretly observing Qingshan. After a while, Lin He finally pieced things together. Qingshan claimed to be helping daily, occasionally strolling over to the construction site, and eating lunch there. But every day, Qingshan would find excuses several times to come into the courtyard, often managing to exchange a few words with Dongyu, the maid from Mrs. Zhao’s side.

Dongyu knew Qingshan was the son of Lin He’s uncle. Whenever Qingshan arrived, Lin He’s maids were busy working and wouldn't talk to him. However, Dongyu would be unusually solicitous toward Qingshan, serving him tea and fetching water. Normally, when working alongside Lin He's maids, Dongyu wouldn't exert herself much, always picking the easier tasks, but she waited on Qingshan with meticulous care.

Several more days passed like this. It wasn't just Lin He who noticed; even Ziqing mentioned it to Lin He when they were alone: “Miss, that Dongyu from the Old Madam’s place never does any work when she comes over. She pretends to work when you are here, but when you’re not around, she just sits idly. And when Young Master Qingshan comes, those two seem to get along swimmingly.”

Lin He thought Qingshan truly hadn't changed his ways. After the mess caused by Song Yue-mei, which had thrown the household into chaos, Song Yue-mei, pregnant now, was still trying to seduce the grandmother's maid. And now, while their house was being built, if she hadn't noticed, who knew what trouble those two might have gotten into.

However, after hearing Ziqing, Lin He only instructed her not to spread rumors, saying she would handle it herself. Lin He told Mrs. Huang about the situation. The next day, Mrs. Huang sent Dongyu back to Mrs. Zhao’s quarters, telling the maid to relay the message: “We have enough help here now. Hongxia and Hongyun both need assistance on that side, so Dongyu doesn’t need to come over anymore.”

Mrs. Zhao didn't think much of it. She figured having Dongyu working at home would indeed ease her own chores and allow her more time to go out, so she told Dongyu not to go anymore and to stay home and work. Qingshan, seeing Dongyu stop coming, inquired subtly, and within a few days, he too found an excuse to stop showing up to help.

Lin He’s family didn't pay much mind to these matters. Qingshan’s petty affairs were not their concern, especially with the major undertaking of house construction keeping everyone busy.

The bustling days passed quickly, and suddenly it was the latter half of the seventh month. For the past few days, Mrs. Zhao hadn't dared to leave her room—Hongxia was due to give birth around this time. Mrs. Huang visited daily to check on Hongxia and the others, having already prepared all the necessary items and even securing a midwife.

On the fifth day of the eighth month, the construction work at Lin He's place was still in full swing. To put it mildly, everyone associated with Lin He's household or helping out was constantly busy, always having some small task to manage if not heavy labor.

After breakfast that day, Hongxia’s stomach began to cramp. Mrs. Zhao was extremely nervous and sent Dongyu to summon Mrs. Huang and Mrs. Zhou. Hongyun was also in the room, and with these few women present, things should be manageable.

Originally, Mrs. Zhao hadn't intended to involve Mrs. Zhou, but in her scheme, she couldn't manage with just Mrs. Huang and herself. After much deliberation, she decided to include Mrs. Zhou. When Mrs. Zhou heard what Mrs. Zhao revealed, she was stunned. She had never suspected that the meek Hongyun had woven such a colossal lie, and she had never suspected anything along those lines herself.

But Mrs. Zhou could understand. She knew what it was like to be a woman struggling in life, and naturally, she understood why Hongyun needed to do this. She was willing to help. Mrs. Zhao’s plan was to have one midwife stationed in Hongxia’s room. When Hongxia went into labor, Hongyun would pretend to go into labor at the same time. Mrs. Huang and Mrs. Zhou would stay with Hongyun. With the midwife in Hongxia’s room and Dongyu assisting her, and since this wasn't Hongxia’s first birth, everything should be fine on that front.

As for Hongyun’s side, since no one else would enter that room, whatever was said afterward could be entirely dictated by them. If they said the baby was born, that's what it would be. They could simply say that Da Sheng and the others could be notified that the child had arrived. Furthermore, since Er Niu’s family was building a house, things were already chaotic, making it easier to conceal any minor slip-ups with fewer people around.

Mrs. Zhao felt this plan was foolproof. Even if the midwife was hazy and didn't grasp the full extent of the deception, afterward, she could claim the baby died shortly after birth, only passing away after the midwife had already left. This situation would be hard to disprove. Their only hope now was that Hongxia must deliver a son. If it were a girl, it would be fate, unchangeable. But looking at Hongxia’s belly, Mrs. Zhao was confident it would be a boy.

Hongxia’s stomach pains lasted the entire morning, and the baby was born around noon. Mrs. Zhao immediately spread the infant’s legs and saw it was indeed a boy. Only then did the stone in Mrs. Zhao’s heart finally settle. The midwife still had duties, like cleaning the baby, but Mrs. Zhao quickly gave her a generous sum of silver and sent her away. The midwife, though slightly puzzled, left contentedly after receiving the money.

Immediately after Hongxia gave birth, Mrs. Zhao carried the baby over to Hongyun’s quarters. Hongyun and the others were overjoyed to learn Hongxia had truly birthed a son, congratulating Hongyun on gaining a precious heir. Looking at the tiny infant in her arms, Hongyun’s guilt began to lessen.

After arranging everything, Mrs. Zhao dispatched Dongyu to inform Da Sheng and the others that Hongyun had given birth. Dongyu found it peculiar: Hongyun was supposedly in labor, but there was hardly any commotion. Also, Hongxia’s baby was perfectly healthy when born, but suddenly the Old Madam declared it dead and quickly arranged a burial. It was strange, but Dongyu herself had never given birth and wasn't clear on such matters, so she simply followed Mrs. Zhao's instructions.