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

Yingzhu had thought about it in secret, but she was too embarrassed to bring it up, worried that he wouldn't agree.

Today, when he mentioned the reward, Yingzhu thought of asking him to give it a try.

"My mother has difficulty walking, and my brother and I used to take care of her at home. Now that I am at Prince Rui's residence and my brother has gone to the Imperial Academy, there is no one to take care of my mother, and I am worried about it."

"This servant dares to ask Your Highness to send a maid to take care of her for a year. After I give birth and return home, I will no longer need a maid. I cannot afford to hire a maid at the moment, so please deduct it from the one thousand taels of reward money!"

Liang Yunqian raised his long eyebrows slightly, "You seem to have forgotten that the thousand taels are not yours yet, and you are not pregnant."

"She'll conceive sooner or later! I have faith in you, Your Highness, after all, you're so powerful in the tent..."

As she spoke the last sentence, her cheeks flushed crimson, and she smiled shyly.

Although her words had a hint of flattery, they did sound pleasant. However, Liang Yunqian saw through her intentions at a glance.

"You're just being sweet-talking because you want a reward, aren't you?"

Yingzhu knew her own status clearly; she had no right to demand that he agree.

She did this for two reasons: first, she was worried about her mother's condition; second, in her previous life, her mother died tragically during her pregnancy.

To change her mother's fate and prevent the Xu family from harming her, someone must stay by her mother's side.

The maidservant sent by Liang Yunqian was the best choice. With his people guarding the place, the Xu family would not be able to do anything.

But Yingzhu knew that Liang Yunqian was a strange person, and the more she begged, the less likely he would agree, so she chose to back down.

"This is merely my wish. If Your Highness deems this request excessive, then please disregard what I said."

She only showed a sad expression and did not insist any further.

After a moment's consideration, Liang Yunqian finally responded calmly, "I promised to reward you, and I always keep my word. Once you've recovered, I'll choose a maidservant for you to take back and look after your mother."

Yingzhu was overjoyed. "So that means I can go home to visit my family once I'm healed?"

"You're always sickly and unlucky. When you'll recover isn't up to me."

Well... it's hard to hear, but it's the truth. He had already agreed, but she kept having accidents, which delayed her return until now.

"Although I have suffered many misfortunes, I am fortunate that you, Your Highness, have come to my rescue, turning a major disaster into a minor one. If it weren't for your protection, I fear I would have suffered even more!"

If others frequently suffer misfortune, they will harbor resentment and become depressed, but she still had a smile on her face and was even grateful for his help, without harboring any resentment because of these experiences.

Her mindset seems to be different from that of ordinary people.

Liang Yunqian stared at her blankly for a while, then, realizing he had been lost in thought, he immediately looked away.

"I'm only looking at the facts, not deliberately protecting you. Don't flatter yourself."

"What this servant has no shortage of is self-awareness. This servant and the young master will only talk about offspring, not feelings."

Yingzhu reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Sitting like this for so long is making my knees a little sore. Would you mind if I moved to another spot, Your Highness?"

As she spoke, her knuckles seemed to casually caress the back of his neck, the touch so light it was like a feather brushing against him, constantly teasing him.

Liang Yunqian's breathing grew heavier, and he picked her up and placed her in the tent.

She was lying flat when he suddenly turned her over, and she was now lying on her side in the tent.

Before Yingzhu could understand his intentions, he had already taken the opportunity to lie down and embrace her from behind.

"Aren't you afraid of pain? Let's try a different position tonight."

He changes his posture every night. Who is that fire-avoidance book for anyway?

Yingzhu only saw the book on the first night, and she never saw it again after that. She only heard him mention it, so it seems that he had studied it in private! Otherwise, how could he remember so many patterns?

But she had to admit that she couldn't reach her knees in that position.

It's rare to find someone as cold-hearted and ruthless as Liang Yunqian who actually has a conscience and considers such details!

Fine! In order to have a child, she had no choice but to cooperate.

At first she was somewhat reluctant, but he simply lay on top of her in the same position, and the fire in his heart quickly burned away her very soul.

Liang Yunqian didn't know what was wrong with him. He felt no affection for others, but when he saw Shen Yingzhu, he inexplicably had feelings for her.

What kind of magic does she possess?

Leaving aside the theory of fate, how can this strange phenomenon be explained?

These doubts were quickly extinguished by the blazing flames. He had no time to ponder them anymore; he only wanted to perceive her presence more clearly...

The night was short and the dream was over. After a long period of drowsiness, when Yingzhu opened her eyes again, it was already broad daylight.

She woke up instantly, sat up, and said, "Qingfeng, what time is it? Why didn't you wake me? I still have to go to Deshan Hall to read scriptures."

Qingfeng slowly walked in carrying water, smiling as she advised, "Miss, there's no need to rush. The young master instructed that you don't need to study the scriptures today; he will tell the Princess Consort."

Yingzhu smoothed her hair, got out of the tent, and put on her shoes. "What did he say?"

"The Crown Prince told the Princess that you can't even recite the Heart Sutra. If you don't recite it smoothly when you get to Deshan Hall, the Bodhisattva will think that you are not sincere. You have to memorize the Heart Sutra in the room first."

Yingzhu chuckled, "That's quite a good excuse. Why didn't I think of that?"

"It's no use for you to come up with these ideas, Miss! The Princess will only think they're just excuses. Only if the Prince himself speaks to her will it be effective."

Yingzhu nodded in agreement, "You're right. The princess is only concerned about the prince's reputation. Those words are actually not important."

Miss Shen doesn't have to travel back and forth, and Qingfeng is happy for her. However, there is one thing Qingfeng still needs to remind her of.

"However, the princess said that you must memorize the Heart Sutra within three days, and then you still have to go to Deshan Hall to study the sutra. It's just the same old talk about thinking about having offspring."

Yingzhu already knew it by heart; she was just pretending! It's good to have three days of peace and quiet.

Liang Yunqian didn't argue with her anymore and continued to teach her new strokes.

Over the next three days, Yingzhu was much quieter and didn't cause any more trouble. However, it was unknown whether there was any progress in Liang Yunqian's investigation into the switch of Ningxue Dew.

He neither brought it up nor did Yingzhu ask any further questions.

Her injuries had healed, and fearing another accident, she dared not delay any longer and planned to return to her parents' home. Unexpectedly, Liang Yunqian actually said he would accompany her.

Yingzhu was just a concubine, so he didn't need to accompany her. And he probably wasn't concerned about her; he just wanted to take the opportunity to go to her house and look for clues.

Ultimately, Liang Yunqian still suspected her origins and suspected that she was colluding with the Taoist priest for ulterior motives.

If she refused, he would suspect her of having ulterior motives, so Yingzhu readily agreed.

However, he still had to attend court, and Yingzhu had to wait for him to return before she could set off.

At the end of winter, it was the day Yingzhu had arranged to return to her parents' home. In order not to be late, she took her things and waited at the gate of the Prince's Mansion at Chenshi (7-9 AM), just waiting for Liang Yunqian to return before setting off.

As usual, the people at the gate of the mansion wanted to search Shen Yingzhu's baggage, but Qingfeng immediately rebuked them.

"Are you blind?! Miss Shen is a concubine of the young master, and he granted her special permission to return home to visit her family. How dare you touch her belongings?"

No sooner had Yingzhu come out than Xu Fanglin followed, saying softly:

"When maids leave the manor and return home, their belongings must be checked; this is the rule! They are simply following the rules, so why make things difficult for them?"

Yingzhu was not annoyed, but smiled gently, "There are eight more gifts prepared by the young master. Please check them one by one."

Upon hearing that the gifts were prepared by the Crown Prince, the guards at the gate dared not inspect them any further and made way for them.

Xu Fanglin's face froze. She looked back and realized that there were still several servants carrying gifts!

Only concubines receive eight gifts when they return home. Shen Yingzhu was just a maidservant, yet the prince prepared eight gifts for her as well.

But this was prepared by Liang Yunqian, and these servants were all from Tingsongyuan, so Xu Fanglin couldn't say anything and just gave the orders in a cold voice.

"Since the young master has shown you mercy and allowed you to return to your parents' home, then go and come back as soon as possible, and don't delay."

"This servant must wait for the young master to return; he said he would accompany this servant back to her parents' home."

Every decision Liang Yunqian made was unexpected by Xu Fanglin, and she became even angrier after hearing this, as she was already annoyed.

"No need to wait any longer. I have business with the young master, and he is unavailable to accompany you today. You may return home by yourself!"

In reality, Yingzhu didn't care whether Liang Yunqian accompanied her or not, but if Xu Fanglin did care, then she would have to fight for it.

"This servant must obey the young master's arrangements and dare not make decisions on her own."

"Shen Yingzhu, what do you mean? Don't forget I'm your master! How dare you disobey my orders?"

Xu Fanglin had barely finished speaking when the rumble of a carriage was heard.

She, who had just been so arrogant, immediately frowned and hurried forward to wait for him.

The carriage slowly came to a stop in front of the gate of Prince Derui's Mansion.

The cotton curtain on the side was lifted by a large, well-defined hand, and the slender fingers were slightly bent, revealing a stern and handsome face.

"What's all the noise about so early in the morning?"

Xu Fanglin spoke first, her voice urgent, "Young Master, you're finally back! My brother is in trouble, please go and save him!"

Logically, Yingzhu should have acted more magnanimously, but she didn't want to today. She deliberately pouted and said in a coquettish voice:

"Young Master, you promised to accompany me back to my parents' home, you won't go back on your word, will you?"