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

Yingzhu took out a pine nut from her small purse and cracked it open with her teeth, making a sound just like a mouse stealing a nut.

Upon hearing the commotion, the embroidered tiger cat's fluffy ears instantly stood up, and it leaped down from Liang Yunqian's arms!

It went straight behind the screen, meowing as if it had discovered something extraordinary.

Liang Yunqian followed the cat's footsteps around to the back of the screen, where he saw Shen Yingzhu kneeling on the ground.

Although she was kneeling there, her back was straight, and she showed no sign of submission.

Its slender body stands alone like an autumn chrysanthemum, unwavering and steadfast, always maintaining its integrity.

"Why do you kneel as a punishment?"

Yingzhu didn't answer, but only glanced at Xu Fanglin who followed closely behind, her eyes sparkling as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

Seeing that Shi Zifeng's brows were furrowed, Xu Fanglin, worried that Yingzhu might say something inappropriate, took the initiative to speak.

"She served the young master last night and thought she was half a master, so she beat the maid at will. That's why I made her kneel down to observe the rules."

Qiuhe immediately stepped forward and cried, "Your Highness, this finger mark on my face was made by Yingzhu. She disregarded the dignity of the Princess Consort and beat me. You must stand up for the Princess Consort!"

Qiuhe's words struck a chord with Xu Fanglin, who secretly praised Qiuhe for her perceptiveness.

Liang Yunqian stood with his hands behind his back, scrutinizing Yingzhu kneeling on the ground. "Why did you take action?"

Yingzhu slowly raised her eyes and looked at Xu Fanglin. Xu Fanglin narrowed her eyes slightly, as if warning her not to speak carelessly.

If you can't tell the truth, then tell a lie.

"Qiuhe said she saw a fire-avoidance diagram in the young master's room. She said that I used tricks to seduce the young master and called me a vixen. I couldn't stand it, so I took action."

Yingzhu dared to lie because she was certain that Xu Fanglin would never dare to repeat the truth that Qiuhe had just told Liang Yunqian!

Once the true relationship between Yingzhu's mother and Xu's father is revealed, the Xu family will surely suffer!

Just as she expected, when Liang Yunqian questioned Qiuhe, Xu Fanglin covered her mouth and coughed lightly.

Left with no other choice, Qiuhe had to nod in agreement.

"The young master is an upright man and does not like those who seduce and bewitch him. I was just kindly reminding her not to use such dirty methods, but she didn't appreciate it and instead hit me."

As Qiuhe began to sob again, Yingzhu sneered inwardly, thinking to herself, "How many men are truly serious? Most of them are just pretending to be serious."

Last night, Liang Yunqian was still reciting the fire-avoidance diagram to her!

To Liang Yunqian, Qiuhe's words were not a pleasant compliment; he simply thought she was meddling in other people's business.

"My room is not open to maids at will. Even when searching for someone, they must wait in the outer room. How did you manage to see what was inside the tent?"

Liang Yunqian glared at her, and Qiuhe was so frightened that she immediately knelt down.

She was so focused on accusing Yingzhu that she completely forgot about the rules.

Qiuhe was reprimanded, and Xu Fanglin lost face.

"Even if Qiuhe is at fault, it should be the mistress who deals with it. Yingzhu, a mere maid, has laid a hand on someone; isn't that disrupting the rules of the manor?"

"You're right, the maid shouldn't have laid a hand on her."

Upon hearing Liang Yunqian's words, Xu Fanglin's lips curled into a smug smile as she glanced at Yingzhu.

However, he changed the subject and continued, "But the concubine has the right to discipline the maids who serve her, so from now on, Qiuhe will serve Shen Yingzhu."

Yingzhu lowered her eyes respectfully, a barely perceptible smile appearing at the corner of her eyes.

Like that cat, Liang Yunqian was extremely territorial. In particular, the pressure of having offspring made him especially wary of women who entered his room without permission.

Qiuhe's actions crossed his bottom line, and Xu Fanglin should have dealt with her severely. However, in order to punish Yingzhu, she ignored Qiuhe's guilt and even said that Yingzhu was not qualified to punish Qiuhe.

This move is tantamount to shooting herself in the foot! She's going against Liang Yunqian, so how could he possibly tolerate her?

Xu Fanglin's smile froze instantly. The young master had actually assigned her maid to Shen Yingzhu?

"A concubine is still a maid; why would she need maids to serve her? There's no such rule!"

Trying to reason with him about rules? Well, he'll set a precedent for Shen Yingzhu!

"Didn't you say she's fertile? Since she has the responsibility of conceiving, she should be taken care of."

Liang Yunqian's voice was cold and his expression solemn as he declared arrogantly, like a resounding slap to Xu Fanglin's face.

Her husband actually made an exception for a lowly concubine, disrespecting her and making her feel utterly humiliated.

Being suddenly transferred, and to Shen Yingzhu, whom she looked down upon the most, Qiuhe couldn't swallow this insult.

"Princess Consort, I have served you for many years, and the hairstyle I do is the one that pleases you the most. Please, I beg you to plead with the Prince not to let me leave you."

Qiu He pleaded desperately, and Xu Fanglin's eyes flickered slightly as she comforted Qiu He.

"Yingzhu is destined for a healthy pregnancy. When she becomes pregnant, you will serve her, which will be a great service to you. Why don't you quickly thank the Crown Prince for his kindness?"

Qiuhe thought the Crown Princess would argue her case, but to her surprise, she agreed.

She didn't understand why, but she still knelt down and kowtowed, reluctantly agreeing.

Liang Yunqian glanced at Yingzhu kneeling on the ground. "Get up!"

Yingzhu tried to get up, but couldn't stand up and could only support herself on the ground with her hands.

The next instant, a pair of large hands appeared in front of her.

As Yingzhu looked up, she saw Liang Yunqian, who was looking down at her, with his dark eyes half-closed and his palm outstretched towards her.

Yingzhu slightly raised her slender fingers, placed them on his palm, and used the support to stand up. She gracefully bowed in gratitude, "Thank you for your trouble, Your Highness."

Once she stood still, he promptly withdrew his hand without pulling her any further.

Liang Yunqian publicly defended Shen Yingzhu, causing Xu Fanglin to lose face.

She closed her eyes, telling herself to stay calm. Once Shen Yingzhu became pregnant, she would never allow that vixen to get close to Liang Yunqian again!

Taking advantage of the situation, Yingzhu suggested, "Since the young master is here as well, I will serve you both tea to fulfill our proper etiquette."

With Liang Yunqian present, and having just punished Qiuhe, Xu Fanglin couldn't afford to do anything under his watchful eye.

Yingzhu served the tea smoothly, unlike in her previous life when Xu Fanglin burned her fingers.

Having achieved her goal, Yingzhu took her leave at the appropriate time.

Once outside the room, the maid Dongzhi clasped her hands together, saying, "I was so afraid that the young master would be cold-hearted and let you be bullied. Thank goodness, he protects you and even made Qiuhe your maid to stand up for you."

Yingzhu wasn't naive enough to think this was Liang Yunqian's way of showing affection for her. He was only doing this to warn Xu Fanglin not to act on his own initiative and go against his wishes.

Yingzhu was merely taking advantage of his power, acting like a fox borrowing the tiger's might.

"The Crown Prince handled the matter impartially, and it wasn't that he was biased towards me."

"Your Highness is insightful and discerning, which is truly rare. However, Qiuhe is no pushover. Once she comes to your side, she will likely cause trouble. You must be very careful."

The only person who would say these words to her is Fuyue.

Xu's father was a hypocrite. He was worried that Yingzhu's mother, Shen, would expose the matter. In addition to threatening Yingzhu and her siblings, he would send them some things every six months so that Shen would think he still had some conscience.

Over the years, it was Dongzhi who delivered things to Yingzhu's house. Dongzhi would also send extra items, and Yingzhu was naturally grateful.

"Thank you for reminding me, I'll be on guard against her."

Xu Fanglin had already spoken, saying that if Yingzhu did not accept Qiuhe, she would offend both the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess.

Since Xu Fanglin wanted to use Qiuhe to monitor her, she would do as Xu Fanglin wished, keep the person here first, and then find an opportunity to return the favor with a big gift...

After dealing with Xu Fanglin, Yingzhu went to Deshan Hall, only to be told that guests had arrived at the Prince's Mansion and that Princess Rui was receiving guests. Yingzhu could only come to pay her respects the next day.

After returning home, she was not idle, as Xu Fanglin assigned her many tasks.

Working during the day and serving Liang Yunqian at night, Yingzhu was as busy as a spinning top, never stopping for a moment.

But she wouldn't give in to this; she would find an opportunity as soon as possible to break free from Xu Fanglin's control...

Before she knew it, dusk had fallen, and Yingzhu had to go serve Liang Yunqian again.

When she arrived at Tingsong Garden, there was no one inside.

Liang Yunqian wasn't inside, so she couldn't go in and could only wait in the corridor.

The sky cleared up today, but the snow hadn't melted yet. As night fell, a chill crept in, and Yingzhu walked back and forth, hugging her arms to keep warm.

A young eunuch hurried over, "The young master is soaking in the hot spring, and I suddenly have a stomachache. These are the clothes the young master needs to change into. Please bring them to me, miss."

Yingzhu recognized Xiao Chuanzi at a glance. In her previous life, it was he who came to her for help. Yingzhu foolishly went to the hot spring and was scolded and punished by Liang Yunqian, who believed that she had ulterior motives.

Yingzhu later learned that a woman had drugged him near the hot spring, so Liang Yunqian ordered that no woman be allowed to approach the hot spring.

Xiao Chuanzi's actions are clearly intended to harm Yingzhu. If Yingzhu goes there, she will surely be disliked by Liang Yunqian!

Having learned from her past life, Yingzhu should have refused, but she decided to go anyway.

Those thorns thrown at her will become stepping stones for her to climb the ladder to success!

Having made up her mind, Yingzhu took the clothes and headed to the hot spring.

This time, she's going to meet Liang Yunqian in a different way!