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

This work is mostly done by the maids around the Princess Consort or the Crown Prince's wife. Whoever is in a good position will serve. Xia Guo went first, so why did Liang Yunqian have to call Shen Yingzhu?

Was he deliberately tormenting her, or was he trying to keep her in a certain way?

What a coincidence that he had to come along at that exact moment?

Xu Fanglin suddenly regretted that she should have let Shen Yingzhu leave earlier.

Yingzhu, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, turned back again, walked up to him, and reached out to untie the ties of his fur coat.

After taking off the mink coat, Yingzhu had to use a handkerchief to wipe the snow from his hair.

He was so tall that she had to stand on tiptoe to reach the pearl-encrusted crown on his head.

There were snowflakes in his black hair, and as he wiped them away, a handkerchief and his little finger accidentally brushed against his ear.

In an instant, a strange feeling washed over his hair and rushed straight to his heart.

Shen Yingzhu, however, seemed completely oblivious and continued wiping.

At this moment, Yingzhu was very close to him, but her curled eyelashes remained lowered, never meeting his gaze.

It was as if he were just a pine tree, not a person; she was only responsible for doing the work, without any emotion.

She was obedient and attentive, and hadn't done anything wrong, yet he felt uncomfortable.

"Where's your hand warmer?"

"I didn't bring it."

Yingzhu answered concisely, her voice soft.

Upon hearing this, Xu Fanglin was about to give him his hand warmer, but before he could get up, Zhao Tangwei had already stood up and walked over.

"Cousin, you just came from outside, your hands must be cold. Here's a hand warmer for you."

With a smile and a heart full of joy, she handed over the hand warmer, but Liang Yunqian didn't even glance at it.

"I don't like hand warmers with scented diffusers."

When her good intentions were rejected, Zhao Tang's smile gradually froze. At that moment, she seemed to hear soft laughter around her, probably mocking her.

Seeing Zhao Tang's slightly red lips pursed, Liang Yunshan immediately got up and walked towards her.

"Tangwei, I love hand warmers with scented diffusers. My hands are cold, can I borrow one to warm them up?"

Zhao Tangwei was unwilling to give her hand warmer to another man, but Liang Yunqian refused in public, which embarrassed her. The grievance overwhelmed her rationality, and she threw the hand warmer to Liang Yunshan in a fit of pique.

Liang Yunshan was prepared to be rejected, but to her surprise, she gave it to him so easily!

Clutching the hand warmer tightly, Liang Yunshan was overjoyed. "Tang Wei, you're so good to me..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhao Tangwei had already turned and left, showing no patience whatsoever to listen to him.

It doesn't matter; as long as he has her hand warmer and can smell her fragrance, he will be content.

Consort Li couldn't help but roll her eyes; she couldn't stand seeing her son so useless.

Yingzhu was too lazy to watch their scheming and all she wanted was to rest. However, Liang Yunqian kept asking her to pour tea or fetch fruit, showing no intention of letting her leave.

Sixth Young Master Liang Yunchuan stared intently at Liang Yunqian, "Third Brother, what happened to your lips? Why is there a wound?"

Liang Yunqian raised his eyebrows slightly and looked at Shen Yingzhu.

Yingzhu nervously tugged at her handkerchief, pretending not to hear, only to hear Liang Yunqian casually reply, "It was the cat that made it."

"Huh? Isn't Amber usually quite docile? Why has she suddenly become so fierce?"

Liang Yunchuan felt something was off. Liang Yunshan, who was standing to the side, saw this and chuckled, "Amber only knows how to scratch people, how could it bite Third Brother's lips? Third Brother is probably talking about another cat."

Liang Yunshan gave him a wink, and Liang Yunchuan glanced at Shen Yingzhu, pondered for a moment, and understood.

"Hmm---I get it. This cat is pretty wild; it even dares to bark at Third Brother?"

Zhao Tangwei hadn't thought much of it at first, but after hearing what they said, she belatedly realized that the wound on Liang Yunqian's lip was actually Shen Yingzhu's handiwork!

How dare she, a mere concubine, be so audacious?

If Liang Yunqian hadn't gone too far last night, would Yingzhu have yelled at him? She was almost out of breath then, and she wasn't even allowed to find a way to save herself?

However, she couldn't talk about those details, yet she was subjected to such malicious speculation and ridicule. Those laughs were like a river pouring into her ears, making her ears ring and leaving her so embarrassed that she couldn't lift her head.

At that moment, Yingzhu's face turned bright red. Her chin trembled slightly, and she couldn't think of a word to defend herself. If she spoke, it would be the same as admitting that she was the one who shouted, which would be even more embarrassing.

Liang Yunqian didn't want to go into details with them, so he just casually said it was a cat. Little did he expect that Liang Yunshan would take it as a joke and chat about it with others.

"What kind of woman am I? Who are you to tell me? Openly discussing matters of the bedroom, what kind of behavior is this? Do you want outsiders to think that the sons of Prince Rui's mansion only know how to have fun?"

Liang Yunqian's voice turned cold instantly, and Liang Yunshan and Liang Yunchuan could no longer laugh.

Liang Yunchuan coughed lightly, his eyes lowered in a submissive manner, while Liang Yunshan replied lazily:

"Third Brother is right, we know we were wrong."

Consort Li, unable to bear seeing her son being reprimanded, immediately reprimanded Shen Yingzhu.

"Your concubine is far too audacious and shameless, daring to even grope the young master! Granny Li, how did you raise her?"

The woman named, Granny Li, immediately stood up and hurriedly tried to deflect the blame, saying, "I already reminded her to be more reserved, but she wouldn't listen to my advice."

"That means you failed to discipline her properly, and Granny Li neglected her duties. She's to be fined two months' salary!"

Consort Li raised her voice and gave the order. Princess Rui's eyes narrowed sharply. "Shen Yingzhu's mistake, yet you punish someone from my Deshan Hall? Who are you targeting?"

Consort Li remained completely unfazed and smiled slightly.

"Sister, you misunderstand. I am only addressing the matter, not the person. All the concubines of the young masters in the manor must be instructed by Granny Li. If something happens to a concubine, I will naturally hold Granny Li accountable."

The prince entrusted me with managing the inner quarters, so I must be fair and impartial. If I don't punish her just because she's one of your people, wouldn't that be considered protecting her? Then I wouldn't be able to manage the household in the future!

After the first Princess Rui passed away, Prince Rui entrusted the management of the empress's affairs to Consort Li.

Later, when the second Princess Consort Rui entered the household, Consort Li's father held military power, which Prince Rui valued highly. Therefore, he did not let her relinquish her power to manage the household affairs, and Consort Li continued to manage the affairs of the mansion.

Princess Rui only hoped to give birth to a son soon so she could stand tall and regain control of the household. Unfortunately, after so many years, she only had one daughter and no sons.

Consort Li has always been arrogant because she has a son and the power to manage the household.

This matter has always been a thorn in Princess Rui's side. The two usually have an undercurrent of tension, but they would never openly clash. However, today they are arguing over a lip injury.

Liang Yunqian initially didn't want to get involved in their dispute, but since this matter concerned Shen Yingzhu's reputation, if it were left unresolved, people would continue to gossip. Therefore, Liang Yunqian coldly stated...

"My fifth and sixth brothers are outspoken, and out of brotherly affection, I only gave them a verbal reprimand and did not punish them. Since Your Majesty insists on rules and fairness, then I must punish them to show that justice is served!"

Yunshan and Yunchuan were discussing their elder brother's private affairs, violating family rules and traditions. They are to be fined three months' wages and required to copy the *Liyun* (Book of Rites) three times!

A single chapter of "The Book of Rites" is nearly three thousand characters long; wouldn't three readings amount to almost ten thousand characters?

Upon hearing this, Liang Yunshan's face darkened, and she silently rebuked her mother for meddling in other people's business.

Originally, Third Brother didn't care, but she insisted on punishing Granny Li, which resulted in Liang Yunshan and Yunchuan also being punished. It was a loss for her!

Second Master Liang Yunguan clicked his tongue and sighed, "Yunqian, they are all your brothers. There's no need to make such a fuss over a woman. She's just a concubine, is it really worth it?"

What Yingzhu hates most is when men do something wrong or say something wrong, but don't admit it and try to smooth things over.

Saying "Is it really necessary?" as if others are making a mountain out of a molehill is the most disgusting kind of attitude!

"Does Second Master mean you're very magnanimous, that the Crown Prince can't take a joke? Are you questioning the Crown Prince's authority?"

Yingzhu's rhetorical question left Liang Yunguan speechless, his face turning ashen. He sat up straight and scoffed angrily:

"Shen Yingzhu, how dare you! Why are you interrupting our conversation? Is this your place to speak?"

Liang Yunqian slammed the teacup he was holding onto the table. His dark eyes narrowed as he glanced at Liang Yunguan.

"Shen Yingzhu is my person, so she's their sister-in-law. They should respect her and not joke about her!"

The word "little sister-in-law" shocked everyone present, causing them to gasp and whisper among themselves.

Xu Fanglin's face turned pale. Zhao Tangwei was sulking and didn't say anything. Zhou Zisu's moon-shaped eyes turned slightly.

"Yunqian, how dare you, a mere concubine of Miss Shen, address me as 'little sister-in-law'? The Crown Princess is still sitting here! How can you expect her to accept this?"