Who said the heir would die out? The concubine is pregnant again!

"dislike."

Her reply consisted of only three words, which Liang Yunqian hadn't even had time to process before she blurted them out.

While she was silent, Liang Yunqian considered various possibilities. One was that she actually liked him and had developed feelings for him over time.

Another scenario:

Even if she really didn't like him, she would still say she liked him against her will because of his status.

To protect herself, Yingzhu often says things she doesn't mean, and Liang Yunqian has gotten used to it.

However, the answer was beyond his expectations; she actually said she didn't like him.

These three words, seemingly light and airy, felt like a flying knife piercing his heart, causing a sharp pain.

"Why? I am the dignified heir of Prince Rui, in what way am I inferior to Liang Xingzhou? You once loved him, why can't you love me?"

Yingzhu looked back at him, without flinching or showing any fear.

"Because... I'm afraid of you. No matter how many times you promise, things will always change. I can never control your emotions; I don't know when you'll get angry or question me."

For example, even if you come to the plum garden today, you only care about your own face and don't care about my condition at all.

I've had a fever for two days, my throat and eyes are burning, and the fever hasn't gone down yet. Did you even notice I was sick? No! All you can think about is whether something happened between me and Liang Xingzhou, and all you can do is question me!

You terrify and frighten me; you never make me feel secure or at ease. How can I possibly like you?

Yingzhu's voice wasn't loud, but it was like a sudden landslide that quickly swallowed him up, almost suffocating him.

Only then did Liang Yunqian belatedly realize how seriously ill Yingzhu was!

"I... saw that your eyes were red, but I thought you were emotional because you saw Liang Xingzhou coming to find you, and that's why your eyes were red from crying."

Yingzhu suddenly smiled. See, she was right after all.

"That's why I say you only care about yourself. You get angry and question me not because you care about me, but because you care about your dignity as the Crown Prince!"

"You keep asking me if I like you, just to see if I can win over Liang Xingzhou. You don't care about my situation at all. If you had observed carefully, you would know how much I'm suffering, but you didn't..."

When she said this, Yingzhu's eyes were unusually dim, and a bitter smile appeared on her lips.

It was indeed his oversight this time, but she shouldn't have erased all the protection he had shown.

"If I didn't care about you, I wouldn't have come looking for you, much less taken you away from Plum Garden."

Looking back on the situation, Yingzhu only regretted that she was too perceptive and could capture all his emotional changes.

"Just now I begged you to take me away, but you didn't agree at all. Later, Liang Xingzhou said he would take me away, and you didn't want to lose face, so you reluctantly took me away in order to win against him. Actually, you still don't trust me."

Liang Yunqian did hesitate, but it didn't mean he didn't trust her.

Just as he was about to return her hand, Liang Xingzhou interrupted him. By the time he came to his senses, Yingzhu had already withdrawn her hand.

She actually interpreted that brief moment of hesitation in this way?

Then what about all those days he's been doing, sending people to look for her?

A joke?

"Is this how you see me? Do you think I'm only good at comparing and competing?"

"Otherwise what? If you trusted me, why didn't you come over in two or three days?"

During those days of waiting, Yingzhu suffered terribly, so much so that when she saw Liang Yunqian today, she felt no joy, only worry and indignation.

"You only came after Liang Xingzhou showed up, wasn't it because you were afraid I'd go with him and embarrass you as the young master?"

In order to find her, Liang Yunqian used his connections and sent people to search day and night, but she actually thought that he stood by and did nothing, and that he came with Liang Xingzhou.

Such speculation angered and disappointed Liang Yunqian.

He suddenly didn't want to explain anything anymore.

"Whatever you say goes. Liang Xingzhou genuinely cares about you, while I'm just pretending! If I hadn't appeared and interrupted, you two could have continued reminiscing, your love blossoming. He might even have tricked you into eloping!"

You must be very touched, thinking he still cares about you. My appearance disrupted your plans, and you were afraid I would hold him accountable, so you chose me against your will, right?

How many times has this happened? No matter how she explains, Liang Yunqian will still be suspicious.

"Shut up! Do you think I'm that shameless?"

Enraged, Yingzhu raised her hand, but Liang Yunqian grabbed her wrist and retorted with red eyes.

"What? Are you angry because I called you out?"

His promise was still ringing in my ears, but in just a few days, he changed his mind again.

Yingzhu gave a bitter, indignant smile. "I shouldn't have believed your nonsense! You've never truly believed me!"

"And what about you? You believed a few sweet words from Liang Xingzhou. When you saw him injured, you immediately called his name anxiously. Do you still dare to say you don't care about him?"

I said I didn't push him, he fell down on his own, and you never believed me.

Liang Yunqian questioned her repeatedly, but Yingzhu's emotions fluctuated so much that she had difficulty breathing and was clutching her chest, gasping for air.

Before she could catch her breath, Yingzhu's eyes rolled back, and she fainted.

Seeing this, Liang Yunqian panicked and immediately helped her up.

The soft, glistening droplet collapsed onto his shoulder and lost consciousness.

"Yingzhu? Yingzhu!"

He called out urgently, but seeing her cheeks flushed, Liang Yunqian immediately raised his hand to touch her forehead, and felt a burning heat on the back of his hand!

Since she was so ill, Liang Yunqian couldn't press the matter any further. He poured her some warm water and carefully fed it to her lips.

Unfortunately, she was unconscious and couldn't swallow it; the water only moistened her lips before flowing down from the corners of her mouth.

Liang Yunqian immediately took a handkerchief and wiped her down. He stopped feeding her water and only instructed the coachman to speed up the horse and fetch a doctor after returning to the mansion.

Upon arriving at the gate of the Prince's Mansion, Yingzhu was still unconscious. Liang Yunqian wrapped her in his robe, then picked her up and stepped off the carriage using a stool.

Upon seeing that Consort Shen had fainted, Lian Chuan hurriedly asked, "Young Master, shall I have someone prepare a palanquin?"

The carriage had to be prepared, and Yingzhu was already unconscious and could not sit steadily, swaying from side to side. Her robe could not cover her properly, and with the wind so strong outside, if she caught a chill, it would worsen her condition.

"No need to delay, I'll take her back. You send someone to invite Doctor Xue to Wenzhuxuan."

Liang Yunqian walked in on foot, and Lian Chuan went to carry out the order.

The journey wasn't far, but it wasn't short either. Although Yingzhu wasn't heavy, he carried her all the way without considering suicide.

Despite his aching arms, Liang Yunqian persevered and, ignoring the surprised looks from the people in the mansion, openly carried Yingzhu back to the mansion.

Someone spotted Consort Shen fainting in the Crown Prince's arms and rushed to Deshan Hall to report to the Princess.

Even in the dead of winter, fine beads of sweat had already appeared on Liang Yunqian's forehead.

Qingfeng followed closely behind. After returning to Wenzhu Pavilion, she and the young master helped Aunt Shen into the tent, and then immediately went to prepare hot water.

Yingzhu remained unconscious, her mind hazy, as if she were sinking deeper and deeper into mud, unable to climb out.

After a long, dazed feeling, she wearily opened her eyes and found that her surroundings had changed.

"This is... Wenzhuxuan?"

"Master, you're finally awake!" Hearing her voice, Qingfeng rushed over to help her up.

"This is Wenzhu Pavilion. We're back! You fainted in the carriage, and it was the young master who carried you back."

Yingzhu rubbed her temples, vaguely remembering that she seemed to be arguing with Liang Yunqian before she fainted.

The two had a very unpleasant argument, but he didn't abandon her; instead, he carried her back to the house.

That's true. He's such a proud person, if he doesn't carry her, who else can? Qingfeng can't carry her, so he has to do it himself.

She didn't respond, and Qingfeng could tell that Aunt Shen was not happy, so she didn't mention the young master again.

With her help, Yingzhu sat up and changed her clothes.

The Wenzhu Pavilion has an underground heating system, and its constant temperature is indeed more comfortable than that of the Plum Garden.

Thirsty, she walked to the table and sat down. She had only taken a few sips of water when she heard a commotion outside, as if people were arguing.

Qingfeng went out for a quick look and returned shortly after.

"It's the Crown Princess. She said she came to visit me while I was sick, but she was stopped by the guards at the door."

"Guards? Why would there be guards outside Wenzhu Pavilion?"

"It was arranged by the Crown Prince. He had been watching over you here, but then someone came to report that there was something important to discuss, so he left the manor."

However, he was worried that the Princess and others might disturb your rest, so he sent guards to stand watch outside. This shows that the Crown Prince still cares about you.

Liang Yunqian is always like this, sometimes good and sometimes bad.

When he was in a good mood, Yingzhu was indeed very pleased, but when he was unhappy, his words were like knives, showing no regard for her feelings.

After doing it many times, Yingzhu only felt very tired, and she didn't even want to think about why Liang Yunqian did it.

There's no point in exploring a fickle mind.

"His only concern is himself. Since the guards are stopping him, let's ignore it and pretend we didn't hear anything."

Xu Fanglin came over in person, but he couldn't even get a glimpse of Shen Yingzhu.

Outraged, she went to complain to Princess Rui, "Mother, look! You just sent Shen Yingzhu away, and the Prince said he wouldn't care, but he secretly brought her back."

They even assigned her guards! What kind of decorum is this? Why would a concubine need guards? This is clearly an attempt to keep us, mother and daughter, away from her!"

Princess Rui immediately ordered men to guard the main gate.

"When you see the Crown Prince return, ask him to come over and tell him I want to see him."

The guards obeyed and went to guard the gate of the Prince's mansion. They waited for an hour before finally seeing the prince's carriage!

The guards immediately stepped forward to report that the Princess Consort had invited them.

Without needing to guess, Liang Yunqian knew that the princess had come to him about Shen Yingzhu.