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

The petite woman was soft and weak, leaning against his shoulder.

Only with his support could Yingzhu barely stand for a while. However, the glares around her were too sharp, and she dared not lean on him. She forced herself to push him away and stand on her own.

Liang Yunqian did not let go of her, but helped her to a chair to sit next to Xu Fanglin.

Xu Fanglin immediately sat up straight, feeling that this action was very offensive!

Shen Yingzhu was just a concubine, so why should she be treated as an equal by her?

Yingzhu felt extremely uncomfortable. She had barely sat down when she tried to get up. "Young Master, this is against the rules. I am just a maid and cannot sit here."

"You still have the nerve to think about rules? Doesn't your leg hurt anymore?"

She knelt for so long, how could she not be in pain?

Yingzhu sniffed pitifully, "It hurts a lot, but it should be fine if I just bear with it."

"Isn't it better to sleep in? I told you not to come to read the scriptures, but you insisted on coming anyway. If you hadn't come all this way today, you wouldn't have been tricked by someone."

Yingzhu looked up in surprise, unable to believe that Liang Yunqian would say such a thing in public.

He was ostensibly being sarcastic towards her, but was he actually questioning Princess Rui?

Princess Rui could easily tell that Liang Yunqian was making a veiled attack.

Everyone knows that she issued that order, yet he questioned it in public, clearly showing he didn't respect his adoptive mother!

Seeing that Princess Rui's face was ashen, Xu Fanglin, as her daughter-in-law, could not stand idly by and advised her:

"Your Highness, your mother is only thinking about your offspring. That's why she had Yingzhu recite scriptures and pray for blessings. Your mother had no intention of harming Yingzhu. It was all Aunt Zhou and Baolan who caused this trouble."

Princess Rui's heart sank, and she retorted with indignation.

"Am I not protecting Yingzhu enough? No one cares more about your offspring than I do! I only allowed her to study the scriptures with me because I hope she gets pregnant as soon as possible. Others probably don't even have this opportunity!"

The words "granted permission" sounded truly laughable to Yingzhu.

Getting up early to read scriptures is clearly torture; let others have this honor! She doesn't care!

She wouldn't have been willing to come if it weren't for the greater good.

Xu Fanglin quietly chimed in agreement.

"Historically, only the principal wife had the opportunity to study the classics with her mother-in-law. However, my mother made an exception for Yingzhu, allowing her to be a concubine and study the classics with her. This is indeed a special honor for Yingzhu!"

"Is that so?" Liang Yunqian glanced at them, his tone growing colder.

"Since the Crown Princess considers this an honor, starting tomorrow, you will replace Shen Yingzhu and accompany the Crown Princess to the Deshan Hall to recite scriptures and pray for blessings, asking the Bodhisattva to bless her with a pregnancy!"

Upon hearing this, Yingzhu's eyes lit up instantly, even though she had just felt pain in her legs. She quickly rubbed her forehead and turned her face away to hide the smile that was about to spill from her lips.

Yesterday, Liang Yunqian was still venting his anger on Yingzhu. Yingzhu no longer dared to expect him to stand up for her. But Xu Fanglin actually boosted the morale of Princess Rui just to ridicule her.

This is something Liang Yunqian absolutely hates! Even if it weren't to help Yingzhu get revenge, Liang Yunqian wouldn't let Xu Fanglin off easily!

Meeting Liang Yunqian's gloomy gaze, Xu Fanglin belatedly realized that she had said something she shouldn't have.

But she was only trying to ridicule Shen Yingzhu; in reality, she had no desire to accompany Princess Rui in reciting scriptures!

"Unfortunately, I am not fertile. The young master's illness has not yet been cured, so I am unable to bear children for you for the time being. It is no use for me to recite the scriptures! Only when Shen Yingzhu recites the scriptures herself can we show our sincerity."

Yingzhu thought to herself that Xu Fanglin was making more mistakes the more anxious she was, actually mentioning Liang Yunqian's illness in public?

Although it was an open secret, men are still concerned about their image. Princess Rui had already ordered that the matter of the thunder vine not be mentioned in public, yet Xu Fanglin openly said that he was still ill. What man would want to hear such a thing?

Sitting in the armchair, Yingzhu glanced up and saw that Liang Yunqian's face was gloomy and his slender fingers were slowly curling up.

"The Crown Princess often says she cares about having children. To show her sincerity, starting tomorrow, you will also accompany the Crown Princess and Shen Yingzhu in reciting scriptures, so that the Bodhisattva can feel your sincerity as the legitimate wife!"

Xu Fanglin was unwilling to replace Shen Yingzhu, so Liang Yunqian changed his mind and asked her to accompany him. In short, he wouldn't let her leisurely watch the fun.

Princess Rui didn't have any objections. As long as her authority as the matriarch remained, she would let Liang Yunqian do whatever he wanted.

She knew that Liang Yunqian was not on her side, but she still had to show some leniency on the surface.

Xu Fanglin originally came to watch the excitement, but little did she expect that she would get herself involved in it!

Seeing that Liang Yunqian's attitude was firm and left no room for negotiation, Xu Fanglin had no choice but to agree and dared not argue any further.

As Zhou Zisu observed the situation, she suddenly realized that this Shen Yingzhu seemed to be even more cunning than rumored!

The atmosphere here was tense, and Xiu Xuexuan also found evidence. Chen Mama and others immediately came over with the evidence to report back.

"Your Majesties, I led my men to Xiuxue Pavilion and finally found the bottle of Ningxue Dew!"

Granny Chen handed the Snow Dew to Princess Rui. Princess Rui first used the fire pearl to examine the bottom of the bottle, saying, "There is the unique mark you mentioned here."

Zhou Zisu took a closer look and indeed saw the character "甲" on the bottom of the bottle!

"This is the Snow Dew my master created! Granny Chen, where did you find it?"

Granny Chen glared at Baolan, who was kneeling to the side, and said, "It was found in Baolan's little box."

Mei Xin was also present, and she saw everything clearly.

"We searched the entire house but couldn't find it. Finally, we pried open Baolan's little box and found it. She must have taken advantage of her aunt going to the flower room to switch the bottles and remove the seals to change them, managing to fool everyone!"

Baolan's eyes were swollen from crying. "I'm innocent! I didn't switch the babies! Why would I risk doing this?"

After a moment's thought, Zhou Zisu guessed the reason.

"There are people in the capital who resell it at high prices. You must know how valuable Ningxue Dew is, so you wanted to steal it and sell it. But if this fake bottle really ended up in the hands of the Princess Consort, you were afraid of being discovered and getting into trouble. That's why you deliberately bumped into Miss Shen and shifted the blame to her!"

Yingzhu silently sorted through their accusations. At first glance, they seemed reasonable, but something seemed off.

"If Baolan really did switch the bottles, then where did Baolan get the similar bottles from?"

"There are shops in the capital that sell counterfeit Snow Dew. The bottles are almost identical, but they don't have seals. Baolan bought some too, and her maid who lives with her can testify to that."

Mei Xin said the maid's name was Yuan'er, and Princess Rui immediately summoned Yuan'er to confront her.

Yuan'er had never seen such a grand scene before. She trembled as soon as she entered the door, her legs went weak, and she knelt on the ground.

"Sister Baolan said that she was not ugly, and had delicate features, but the prince did not let her serve him in bed, probably because she was not fair-skinned enough. A woman who is fair-skinned is especially charming."

She wanted to whiten her skin, so she bought counterfeit Snow White Dew. It did initially make her skin a little whiter, but later her face started to ulcerate, so she stopped using it.

Zhou Zisu suddenly realized, "Facial ulcers? That means there's cinnabar! It matches what the doctor said, this fake Snow Dew is the one Baolan bought!"

Before this, Princess Rui did not want to believe that Baolan was the one who did it, but now that there are witnesses and physical evidence, Princess Rui was so angry that she was trembling.

"You caused trouble before, but I didn't kick you out because of my relationship with your mother. But you're still restless and you've tampered with the Ningxue Dew!"

That was something meant to be presented to the Empress Dowager! You dare touch it? You're asking for trouble! Guards, arrest her and hand her over to the authorities!

At the command of Princess Rui, the guards immediately stepped forward and took Baolan away.

Yingzhu was finally exonerated, but she couldn't be happy. Her intuition told her that something was amiss. However, with the evidence laid out before her and Princess Rui's judgment already made, she couldn't say anything.

Zhou Zisu clutched her chest and breathed a sigh of relief. "Yunqian, this matter has finally been investigated. Fortunately, Ningxue Dew is still here. It would have been such a pity if it had been destroyed!"

Go take care of your important business! Don't worry about me, and don't let me delay your important matters!

She looked at Liang Yunqian with tender eyes, urging him to leave the mansion, but Liang Yunqian did not respond and turned to Shen Yingzhu instead.

Yingzhu had already stood up with the help of the handrail and was moving her feet with difficulty.

"If you can't walk, don't force yourself," Liang Yunqian ordered in a deep voice. "Someone, prepare a palanquin."

Xu Fanglin wanted to stop it, saying it was against the rules, but she was refuted by the prince after only saying one sentence and was punished by being forced to read the scriptures with him.

In addition, Granny Cui had reminded her to try to go along with the young master's wishes and not to go against him.

After thinking it over, Xu Fanglin stopped herself and didn't say anything more.

Ignored, Zhou Zisu couldn't sit still any longer and immediately reminded him, "Yunqian, Miss Shen is just a concubine; she's not qualified to ride in a carriage, is she?"

Yingzhu didn't want to sit down yet! Her knees were sore that she couldn't be bothered to listen to their argument; she just wanted to go back to her room and rest.

Liang Yunqian slowly raised his eyebrows. "You're right."

Zhou Zisu secretly rejoiced; it seemed that Yun Qian still listened to her!

Unexpectedly, in the next instant, Liang Yunqian suddenly picked up Shen Yingzhu and carried her horizontally!

"Since she cannot ride in a carriage, then I, the Crown Prince, will personally carry her back!"