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

Xu Fanglin subtly criticized Shen Yingzhu for overestimating herself!

"The young master only spends time with you when he has free time, out of respect for you being my personal maid. Now he has important matters to attend to and can't keep you company. Go back by yourself and don't make a fool of yourself here!"

Whether or not she made a fool of herself is not up to Xu Fanglin to decide, but rather up to Liang Yunqian.

Yingzhu's eyes glistened as she looked at him with a pitiful expression, her chin trembling slightly.

"It was my overstepping. I will leave now so as not to disturb the young master and his wife."

She slowly turned around, taking one step, two steps, and as she took her third step, she heard Liang Yunqian's voice behind her.

"Wait a minute---"

Yingzhu turned around, feigning surprise, and saw Liang Yunqian turn to Xu Fanglin and say:

"Your Excellency has already promised Shen Yingzhu that you would accompany her back to her parents' home, and you should keep your word."

"But my younger brother has gotten into some trouble, and I need to trouble the young master to resolve it!"

In front of everyone, Xu Fanglin felt uncomfortable explaining the specific reasons. She wanted to tell Liang Yunqian the whole story in private, but he wouldn't give her that chance.

"Then we'll wait until Master returns home. First come, first served is the proper order."

Liang Yunqian's words left Xu Fanglin speechless. She wanted to say something more, but he had already looked away and turned to Shen Yingzhu.

"Come up."

Yingzhu was stunned for a moment before she came to her senses.

Xu Fanglin was humiliated when she was abandoned by the Crown Prince in public. She seemed to hear whispers around her, probably laughing at her, the Crown Prince's wife, for being less valued by the Crown Prince than a concubine.

Xu Fanglin glared at Shen Yingzhu with eyes as sharp as knives, wishing she could gouge a hole in her.

Yingzhu could see it out of the corner of her eye, but she ignored Xu Fanglin and stepped onto the carriage using the horse stool.

With a flick of the whip, the coachman drove the carriage away, leaving Xu Fanglin stranded at the gate of the Prince's mansion, looking utterly ridiculous!

The carriage was filled with burning charcoal, and the warm comfort enveloped her, so Yingzhu no longer needed to hunch her hands.

Noticing that he was still wearing his crimson official robes, Yingzhu asked in surprise, "Young Master, aren't you going back to your residence to change?"

"You're already waiting at the door. If I go back to the manor to change, it will delay me again. Can you wait?"

Yingzhu chuckled awkwardly, "I was so eager to get home that I thought waiting at the door would be faster. I forgot that the young master needed to change his clothes. Please forgive me."

"You're usually so easygoing, never fighting or grabbing anything. Why are you suddenly fighting today?"

Liang Yunqian raised his long eyebrows slightly as he scrutinized her. Yingzhu was surprised that he knew her so well.

Her reason for arguing wasn't just to compete with Xu Fanglin; there was another reason as well.

"The Crown Princess said that her brother had an accident at the Water Moon Pavilion, and that he offended the son of Prince Zhuang. One is your cousin, and the other is your brother-in-law. They are both relatives, so Your Highness will be in a dilemma if you go."

"Visiting prostitutes is not honorable, and if it gets out of hand, everyone will be in the wrong. I think Your Highness doesn't need to get involved, which is why I don't want you to get involved."

Liang Yunqian stared at her for a long time, his eyes unfathomable.

"Whether or not to save him is my business. What right do you have to presume to know my thoughts?"

"Because you are my god of wealth! I'm counting on you to give me a thousand taels of silver as a reward! I feel it's necessary to remind you of anything that might be detrimental to you."

As for what you ultimately decide to do, that's up to you.

Xu Fanglin's younger brother, Xu Zhao, always bullies Yingzhu's younger brother, Shen Songyan. Yingzhu should take this opportunity to teach Xu Zhao a lesson so that he knows that not everyone can cover for him when he gets into trouble.

Liang Yunqian didn't say anything more, and Yingzhu stopped there.

This was the first time she had ever sat in such a luxurious carriage. The carriage moved smoothly, and the interior was carpeted and furnished with a small tea table. The built-in table could hold teacups, so there was no fear of spilling.

Yingzhu skipped breakfast when she woke up. She glanced at the pastries on the table and realized she was quite hungry, so she took a piece of auspicious rose cake.

After eating half a piece, she felt choked and then poured herself some tea.

Liang Yunqian, who had been resting with his eyes closed, was disturbed by her noise and slowly opened his eyes.

It didn't seem right to pour water only for himself, so Yingzhu poured him a glass of water as well.

Unexpectedly, the carriage suddenly lurched, and the tea spilled out, splashing onto Liang Yunqian's clothes!

Yingzhu was startled and quickly put down her teacup, getting up to wipe the water stains off his clothes.

As she cleaned up, she apologized. Liang Yunqian's eyes darkened. "Shen Yingzhu, did you do this on purpose?"

"What do you mean by 'intentionally'?" Yingzhu looked up in confusion, then looked down and belatedly realized that the spot she had cleaned for him was directly below the jade belt!

No wonder she seemed to have bumped into something just now...

Yingzhu's beautiful face flushed crimson. "The road back to my home wasn't smooth, and the carriage swayed. My hand suddenly trembled, and that's why I spilled it. It was an accident, not intentional. Your Highness, you've been wronged!"

Embarrassed, she half-squatted there, and the carriage swayed again. Losing her balance, Yingzhu instantly fell into his arms!

At this moment, Yingzhu didn't even have the face to look up. She felt that she was in a situation she couldn't clear her name even if she jumped into the Yellow River!

Liang Yunqian grabbed her wrist and pulled her upwards.

Before Yingzhu knew it, she was sitting in his lap!

She looked up helplessly and saw that Liang Yunqian's dark eyes were ignited by flames, with the corners of his eyes slightly red.

Her cherry lips were moist and delicate, and her innocent eyes were both pure and charming, which made Liang Yunqian's heart burn with desire.

"You have so many tricks up your sleeve, you can't even behave yourself in a carriage."

Seeing him lean closer, Yingzhu instinctively stepped back. "Young Master, what are you doing? This is a carriage, you can't..."

"Knowing it's a carriage, why are you still so disobedient and dare to press buttons randomly?"

"No, I didn't, don't talk nonsense."

In a moment of desperation, Yingzhu blocked his lips with her index finger.

Her fingers gently brushed across his lips, like a feather tickling his heart.

Realizing he had been distracted by her, Liang Yunqian took a deep breath, released her, straightened his clothes, and sat back down.

He reverted to his aloof self, completely different from the man who had just been moved by affection.

Taking advantage of the situation, Yingzhu returned to her seat and drank half a cup of tea to calm her nerves.

The atmosphere became somewhat awkward, and neither of them spoke again. Yingzhu would occasionally lift the curtain to check the way, hoping to return home soon and reunite with her mother.

When Shen's mother learned that her daughter was coming home today, she was so happy that she went out to buy groceries early in the morning.

When she returned from grocery shopping, a tall, elderly woman passing by called out to her at the intersection.

"I haven't seen your Yingzhu in a long time. Where did Yingzhu go? My sister's nephew is handsome and has a house and land. I'm thinking it would be perfect to marry him to Yingzhu."

Mother Shen smiled awkwardly, unwilling to elaborate, "I appreciate Sister Sun's kindness, but Yingzhu has gone to visit relatives and doesn't plan to get married for the time being."

Shen's mother had only taken a few steps when Qin, the neighbor across the street, grabbed Sun's aunt.

"Don't you know? Her daughter went to work as a maid for an old businessman. Well, 'maid' is a euphemism; she's really becoming his concubine!"

Grandma Sun's eyes widened. "Really? Yingzhu is quite pretty. Even if she broke off her engagement with Xingzhou, she could find a respectable family to marry. Why would she become someone's concubine?"

Miss Qin scoffed, "I heard that she wasn't even a concubine, just a bed warmer. She relied on her pretty face and coveted wealth and status, and was easily seduced."

"An old man in his fifties or sixties, old enough to be her father, and she can actually tolerate it? In a few years, after he gets tired of her, she'll be kicked out, without even a proper title. Who will want her then?"

Shen's mother was a kind-hearted person and did not want to get into conflicts with others. However, she could not bear it any longer when these people made such a fuss about her daughter, so she immediately took her back home.

"Have you fed the pigs? Have you cooked the meal? You're just spouting nonsense about my daughter!"

"Do you dare say your daughter isn't working as a maid? I saw an old man come to pick her up in a carriage the other day!"

Miss Qin's story was so convincing that everyone believed her.

Enraged, Shen's mother stepped forward to stop them, and the two started fighting after exchanging a few words. Neighbors, hearing the commotion, came out to break up the fight.

Just as everyone was struggling, a red-roofed carriage slowly came to a stop.

Such a magnificent carriage had actually stopped here, leaving the astonished crowd stunned and unable to move.

The carriage curtain was lifted, and Shen Yingzhu's light and agile figure stepped out first. "Mother! I'm back!"

Upon hearing her daughter's voice, Shen's mother's eyes immediately welled up with tears.

Noticing that her mother's clothes had been pulled and disheveled, Yingzhu's face immediately darkened. "Who's bullying my mother?"

Miss Qin, who was staring intently at the carriage, clicked her tongue and exclaimed, "See? I wasn't wrong, was I? Yingzhu came back in such a luxurious carriage to warm the old man's bed. Everyone saw it! You can't deny it."

The neighbors who were watching were talking amongst themselves, and their eyes were filled with disdain as they looked at Yingzhu.

From the day she made the decision, Yingzhu had already anticipated this outcome.

In the past, she would have been filled with shame and indignation, but after her rebirth, her only goal was revenge, and she wouldn't care about the opinions of those insignificant people.

But what saddened her most was that her mother was being insulted, yet she still stood in front of her and argued her case.

"Don't speak ill of my daughter! Get out of here!"

"Yingzhu, quickly bring out the old man you're serving, let us see him!"

Miss Qin covered her mouth and chuckled, and the crowd joined in the commotion.

"That's right! Come out! It's just business, why are you acting so high and mighty? Why aren't you getting off the carriage?"

"It must be because she's too old; her legs aren't strong, and she walks too slowly. Yingzhu, go and help her!"

Despite Qin's repeated requests, Yingzhu reassured her mother and then turned to walk to the carriage.

"Welcome alighting from the carriage, sir. They say you have trouble walking, so please be careful not to fall!"