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

Princess Rui also found it strange; could a slap in the face leave fingerprints?

She could only see a few long, reddish finger marks on Baolan's face, but not the fingerprints themselves.

"Yunqian, how do we verify this?"

Liang Yunqian didn't explain, but whispered to Lian Chuan, "Go and prepare seaweed ash and a soft brush."

Lian Chuan immediately went to do it. Once everything was ready, Lian Chuan followed the prince's instructions, dipped a soft brush into an appropriate amount of seaweed ash powder, and then gently and evenly applied it to Bao Lan's left cheek.

Baolan didn't understand the prince's intentions, but she dared not move and could only cooperate.

Yingzhu observed carefully and saw that after the excess seaweed ash fell off, gray fingerprints began to appear on Baolan's cheeks!

Then Liang Yunqian had Shen Yingzhu, Qingfeng, Baolan, and Granny Yao press their fingerprints on a piece of paper next to them.

After a careful comparison, Yingzhu sneered:

"Comparing it to the fingerprints on her face, these are Baolan's own fingerprints! What did I tell you? She's hitting herself, I didn't wrong her."

This outcome was beyond Princess Rui's expectations. The maid she had trained had actually done such a thing and had been exposed in public. It wasn't just Baolan who lost face; Princess Rui herself had also lost all face!

Enraged, Princess Rui pointed at her, "Baolan, how dare you! You dare to forge fingerprints, stir up trouble, and slander Yingzhu and Qingfeng?"

The fingerprints were clearly visible, leaving Baolan with no way to deny it. Overwhelmed with shame and indignation, she made an excuse:

"This servant did not slander Qingfeng. Qingfeng did indeed hit me; she pinched my arm until it bled. That's a fact!"

Qingfeng was bold and outspoken. "I already admitted to pinching you, but you were the one who struck first. And I didn't slap you in the face. You just made empty threats and threw dirty water on me, and now you even dare to slander Miss Shen!"

"Who told you to insult me ​​first? If you hadn't brought up the fact that I failed to serve the prince in bed, would I have resorted to violence? It's all your fault for having such a sharp tongue!"

Bao Lan tried to downplay the issue, but Qing Feng wouldn't be misled by her.

"Your Highness, you didn't see how arrogant Baolan is! You told Miss Shen to rest a little longer, but Baolan woke her up and said she had no right to sleep in."

Miss Shen swallowed her anger and ignored her, but the woman only escalated her anger, saying that Miss Shen had dirtied the bed curtains. "How can the curtains be clean when you're serving the young master? Isn't this clearly targeting Miss Shen?"

Qingfeng, not one to back down, simply repeated all of Baolan's malicious words.

Liang Yunqian's dark eyes narrowed. He raised his black boot and stepped on Baolan's fingers, which were on the ground when she knelt down!

"And who are you? My woman, what right do you have to discipline her?"

Baolan cried out in pain, but dared not pull her hand away.

She reluctantly raised her eyes, catching sight of Princess Rui's dark face. Baolan racked her brains to explain:

"This servant was just kindly reminding Miss Shen not to stay up too late. She should get up earlier to pay her respects to Her Highness the Princess, as a sign of filial piety."

Although Baolan's words sound hypocritical, they are still a kind of logic. After all, Baolan is her person, and if Baolan is punished, Princess Rui will lose face.

As a princess, she couldn't let a few maids embarrass her!

"What Baolan said makes sense. Yingzhu should indeed get up early, but not to pay her respects to me."

Starting tomorrow, after each time you serve Yunqian, come to Deshan Hall at Chenshi (7-9 AM) to copy scriptures and pray to Buddha for your early pregnancy.

Before Yingzhu could respond, Liang Yunqian spoke up, "Shen Yingzhu can't write, so she can't copy the scriptures."

"If she can't write, she can read and memorize. If she can't memorize it in one day, she can try in two. Practice makes perfect, and she will eventually be able to memorize it."

Seeing that Liang Yunqian's brows were furrowed and he was about to retort, Yingzhu spoke first: "It is my honor to be able to read scriptures with Your Highness the Princess. From now on, I will no longer sleep in and will definitely get up early to read scriptures."

Upon hearing this, Liang Yunqian glanced at Shen Yingzhu, his originally gentle gaze turning suspicious, and then gradually hardening.

He had originally intended to seek justice for Shen Yingzhu and severely punish Baolan, but now it seems there's no need for that.

Since she was ungrateful and acted on her own initiative, Liang Yunqian stopped paying attention to her and left in a huff.

Seeing this, Yingzhu knew that she had offended him again.

But she couldn't say anything in front of Princess Rui, so she could only find another opportunity to explain to him.

Princess Rui only instructed Yingzhu to read the scriptures, while Baolan was merely punished by kneeling and having her monthly salary reduced by two months.

In the end, Princess Rui showed leniency and did not severely punish Baolan.

That night, when Yingzhu went to Tingsongyuan again, Liang Yunqian was painting, and Amber was snuggled in her little nest, fast asleep.

Previously, Amber would wake up alertly whenever she heard her making a sound.

Now, when Yingzhu approaches it and strokes its little head, it doesn't react much. It just lazily raises its big eyes, glances at her, and then turns away, finding a comfortable position in its soft cat bed to continue sleeping.

Liang Yunqian knew she had arrived, but he couldn't even be bothered to glance at her.

Yingzhu spoke up first, "Young Master, do you have time to teach me to write tonight?"

Without a second thought, he coldly refused, "I don't have time. Go find the Princess to teach you."

"..." His temper is a bit too much.

Yingzhu could guess why he was angry.

She sighed softly before explaining why she had done it that way.

"The princess knows that Baolan is wrong, but she doesn't punish her. She's not protecting Baolan, but the face of the mistress of the palace. By making the servants read scriptures, she's nitpicking to prove that Baolan didn't cause trouble, and that the servants are the ones who are wrong."

So she knew all along!

"I've already found an excuse for you. You don't need to say anything; just stand behind me. Who gave you the right to make decisions on your own?"

Yingzhu believed that Liang Yunqian had the ability, but she couldn't just stand by and watch him confront Princess Rui.

"But the Princess is, after all, your elder, and I don't want you to offend her because of me."

"Would I, the young master, be afraid of her?"

Liang Yunqian thought Shen Yingzhu's concerns were unnecessary, and he even suspected that she had ulterior motives for doing so!

"You are certainly not afraid of her, but what if someone tells Prince Rui about this?"

Prince Rui already harbors resentment towards you because of the issue of having offspring. If someone with ulterior motives were to gossip behind your back, saying that you disrespected the Princess Consort because of a concubine, how would Prince Rui view you?

"This servant doesn't want to implicate you, and is even more afraid of offending Princess Rui and incurring her wrath. Princess Rui is clearly trying to intimidate me; even if I don't go to recite the scriptures, there will likely be other obstacles waiting for me."

Yingzhu's chin trembled slightly, unable to hide her grievance.

All her decisions were made with his sake in mind, but Liang Yunqian was not moved by her tears and stared at her with suspicion in his eyes.

"You're afraid of offending her, but not afraid of offending me, the young master?"

"The young master is fair and impartial and will not protect anyone, so this servant is naturally not afraid."

Yingzhu raised her chin slightly, her eyes looking at him clear and bright.

"So what? You mean the Princess Consort is showing favoritism? Protecting Baolan? Aren't you afraid I'll tell the Princess Consort that you've been talking behind her back?"

His focus is too peculiar; was he deliberately trying to scare her?

"Young Master wouldn't do such a treacherous thing! How could a grown man like you secretly complain about a woman? In the dead of winter, who doesn't want to sleep in?"

"I only didn't want people to say that you disobeyed the Princess for the sake of a mere concubine, which is why you reluctantly agreed to study the scriptures. You should understand my good intentions."

Having seen the wickedness of people's hearts, Liang Yunqian would not be easily moved by a woman!

"Is it out of good intentions? Or selfish motives?"

Meeting his probing gaze, Yingzhu's eyes flickered, and she lowered her head, fidgeting with her knuckles, and whispered:

"Your Highness is right, I did indeed have a selfish motive."