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

Granny Yao replied dismissively, "Then go find the person who burned the earthen ceiling! What do you want from me?"

Qingfeng sighed anxiously, "I looked for them, but they said that if the young master doesn't go to Wenzhu Pavilion, why is the firewood burning so brightly? They also said that it's been cloudy lately, and there's less and less firewood, so they have to use it sparingly and refuse to add more."

So I have no choice but to come to you for help. Please provide some charcoal; it might be enough to tide me over and prevent Aunt Shen from freezing.

Granny Yao's droopy eyelids twitched slightly as she declined:

"Aunt Shen is the Crown Prince's personal maid. Go and find the Crown Prince to arrange the charcoal distribution."

"I just went there! But the Crown Princess said that Consort Shen has been promoted to a concubine and is no longer under her jurisdiction. She told me not to ask her about the charcoal-making, but to come to you instead, saying that you are the one in charge of the allowances at Ting Song Garden."

The Crown Princess is actually not going to do anything about it? If Granny Yao takes on this task, wouldn't she be offending the Crown Princess?

Granny Yao, unwilling to get involved in such a mess, immediately distanced herself from the situation.

"Isn't this wrong? Consort Shen hasn't even held her wedding banquet yet! The young master only said it, it hasn't been officially confirmed, so her allowance shouldn't be my responsibility. I have no right to allocate her any allowance. You should go see the Princess!"

Seeing that no one took it seriously, Qingfeng became anxious and her eyes reddened.

"I've already contacted three groups of people, but you all refused to help. Aunt Shen is still sick! She's pregnant, and you're just going to mistreat her like this?"

Granny Yao frowned impatiently, "You can't just say things like that! It's not like I ate the charcoal. The distribution of the allowances in each place is in accordance with the regulations of the manor. I'm just doing what the rules say."

Aunt Shen's current position is awkward, neither high nor low, and the young master hasn't given any instructions. How dare I arbitrarily allocate allowances? If I go back on my word, I'll be the one punished!

Granny Yao continued to recline on her chair, cracking melon seeds, when suddenly a dark figure slowly approached.

His tall figure blocked the faint sunlight, and Granny Yao complained impatiently.

"Who is it? No sense of propriety, blocking the light!"

She turned her head, ready to reprimand him, when she was shocked to find that the person who came was wearing a silver-gray brocade robe, with persimmon calyx patterns embroidered on the robe. The dazzling luxury blinded her!

Startled, she dropped the sunflower seeds in her hand, immediately stood up, and bowed respectfully.

"Young Master? You...you're free today! Is there anything you need?"

Liang Yunqian's dark eyes narrowed slightly. "Granny Yao is really busy! So busy that she can't even handle her own allowance?"

Granny Yao broke out in a cold sweat and said with a forced smile:

"The main reason is that Consort Shen's status is special, and this old servant dares not make decisions on her behalf regarding this matter."

"If you can't handle it, why don't you consult me? Why push Qingfeng to the Princess? I've heard that the Princess has to decide the distribution of provisions at Tingsong Garden?"

Liang Yunqian's voice suddenly turned cold, and only then did Granny Yao realize that the young master must have arrived long ago, and that he had actually heard so much!

The princess and the crown prince had a strained relationship, so her words were indeed inappropriate. Feeling guilty, Granny Yao immediately knelt down.

"This old servant is confused, this old servant did not mean that, everything is up to the young master to decide."

Liang Yunqian immediately ordered, "Lianchuan, go and replace the person who was burning the earthen stove for Wenzhuxuan. Also, allocate my share of red charcoal to Shen Yingzhu, twenty catties per day!"

Upon hearing this, Yao Mama, who was kneeling on the ground, was so shocked that her eyes widened. She wanted to say that concubines were not qualified to use red charcoal, but she stopped herself from speaking.

The prince is already angry; if she says anything more, she will only cause trouble.

Upon hearing this, Qingfeng was overjoyed and curtsied, saying:

"Thank you, Your Highness, for allocating your allowance. At least Aunt Shen won't have to suffer from the cold anymore."

Liang Yunqian turned and walked out, asking as he went, "Yingzhu is sick? How many days has she been sick?"

"It's been three days already."

Three days? Was that the last time she came to Tingsongyuan? She got sick after going back?

"Why didn't you report this sooner?"

"Aunt Shen said that Your Highness dislikes her and doesn't want to see her. She forbade me from telling Your Highness about her illness, because she was afraid that Your Highness would think she was faking it."

As she spoke, Qingfeng, her eyes red and choked with sobs, said:

"But she was really sick. She was supposed to get better after taking the medicine and resting, but they didn't properly heat the floor, and even the maids, seeing that Consort Shen had fallen out of favor, didn't serve her properly. They only brought her warm porridge, and Consort Shen had to eat it while she was freezing. Her illness hasn't improved at all..."

Qingfeng finally found an opportunity and decided to file a complaint against all those who bullied Aunt Shen.

Liang Yunqian quickened his pace. "Who said she's fallen out of favor?"

"Your Highness, you haven't visited Wenzhu Pavilion for several days. They all think that Consort Shen has fallen out of favor..."

Qingfeng carefully uttered these words, then secretly observed the prince's expression. She saw that his brows were furrowed and his strides were getting longer and longer, so she had to jog to keep up.

Inside the Wenzhu Pavilion, Yingzhu was sitting on the couch doing needlework, coughing occasionally.

Liang Yunqian lifted the square-patterned cotton curtain and saw this scene.

He slowed his pace and approached. Yingzhu noticed the shadow cast on the ground and realized someone was near.

She raised her watery eyes slightly and saw that it was Liang Yunqian. She immediately put the embroidery in her hand back into the basket and covered it with a cloth.

"Young Master? Why did you suddenly appear? You walked so quietly, it startled me!"

Startled, Yingzhu gently touched her chest. Her complexion was no longer rosy; it was pale, and she suppressed her cough.

Liang Yunqian poured her a cup of hot tea and handed it to her. "Qingfeng said you were sick, why aren't you resting? You're still doing embroidery?"

Yingzhu took the teacup, took a sip, and said, "Lying down for too long gives me a headache. I'll sit up and rest for a bit to pass the time."

"You're sick but you don't say a word? How long are you planning to tough it out?"

"It's just a cold, nothing serious. I'll be fine after a few days of rest." With that, Yingzhu quietly moved away from him.

"Your Highness should stay away from me, lest you suffer from my illness."

Her tone was a mix of grievance and defiance; her slightly pursed chin trembled slightly, and she sat at the table leaning slightly to the side, not facing him, clearly wary of him.

"I'm not a sickly person, I'm not as fragile as you think."

Liang Yunqian walked to the table, lifted his robe and sat down, but she turned to the other side without making a sound, only uttered a soft "hmm", and then lowered her eyes and remained silent.

The surroundings were silent. She didn't say a word, but simply rolled up the handkerchief and wrapped it around her index finger, as if she didn't welcome his arrival.

Such silence was very unsettling, and Liang Yunqian was the first to break the silence.

"You...don't you have anything to say to me?"

She wanted to speak that day, but Liang Yunqian didn't give her the chance.

Now, facing him again, Yingzhu no longer had the courage to explain. Coupled with the hurt she felt, she didn't speak directly, but instead pouted her red lips and said reproachfully:

"No matter what I say, you'll assume I'm just making excuses, so why should I bother arguing?"

He had already asked her, giving her a chance to clarify, but she was still sulking.

"If you don't want to talk about it, then leave now. I won't keep you from recovering."

With that, Liang Yunqian stood up and walked out. His steps were unusually slow, as he waited for her to speak, to see if she would try to stop him.