No wonder the Crown Prince had set up some kind of leather partition. He wanted to build a stage and treat the emperor and his ministers to a fine show.
He really had come up with something like that!
"Second Master, Second Master? Second Master!"
It took several calls before Sun Shaozong snapped back to his senses. He hurriedly scooped up Ruan Rong's legs and laid them across his knees, gently kneading them as he perfunctorily replied, "Go on. I'm listening."
With her due date approaching, the swelling in Ruan Rong's calves had grown increasingly severe. There were no specialized miracle medicines in this day and age, so the maids could only frequently pound and massage them for what little relief it provided.
Now that Sun Shaozong had taken over, his technique might not have been as practiced as the maids', but she was greatly enjoying it nonetheless.
Thus, she did not hold his earlier distraction against him and continued their previous topic. "There is really nothing much left to prepare. Though you have not been home these past days, we sisters have not been idle either. We asked Miss Xing about everything and only selected the very best."
Naturally, she was referring to taking Xing Xiuyan as a concubine.
It had originally been decided that she would be brought into the household before the New Year. Now that it had been delayed for nearly half a year, it would not do to put it off any longer.
Ping Er had actually waited just as long, but she had been born a servant and had also spent several years as a bedchamber maid. Whether in status or family background, she was far inferior to Xing Xiuyan.
So even though Ruan Rong was closer to her, she had still placed Xing