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

"He's been my neighbor for years. Would you believe me if I said I knew absolutely nothing about his work? You're not just overthinking things, are you?"

Yingzhu appeared completely at ease, and after a moment's thought, Liang Yunqian realized it was only human nature.

After clearing his throat, Liang Yunqian said:

"I wasn't thinking about anything else. I was just wondering that your current identity is just that of someone with the same name as his fiancée. He can't see your face, so in his mind, you shouldn't be the Yingzhu he knows."

As your brother-in-law, it's normal for him to give you a safety lock, but giving you a wooden carving is unusual. Who would give a wooden carving as a gift? Unless it has special meaning, this wooden carving is worthless.

Yingzhu was also pondering the wood carving. "The calico he carved is the one I keep. Maybe... he's questioning my identity."

"So I'm wondering if Liang Xingzhou is pretending to be blind?"

"Impossible, right?" Yingzhu's deer-like eyes widened as she pondered to herself.

"Didn't the prince invite many doctors? Even the imperial physician. If he's pretending to be blind, won't he be exposed?"

"Blindness is a rare condition, and it's difficult to determine from the pulse alone; it all depends on his words."

Liang Yunqian found it increasingly suspicious. "Perhaps the Song mother and son are greedy for wealth and glory, and that's why they are feigning illness to gain the king's sympathy."

"Aunt Song is not that kind of person. She raised her son all by herself. How much suffering has she endured over the years?"

If she truly coveted wealth and status, she should have come to the Prince's mansion to acknowledge her family long ago. Why wait until Liang Xingzhou was twenty-one to come?

Yingzhu's confident tone made Liang Yunqian very uncomfortable. "You trust an outsider, but not me?"

"Even though I broke off the engagement with him, Aunt Song and I are still neighbors and have helped each other for so many years. You have no idea how much hardship our two families have endured, nor do you know how honest Aunt Song is."

Your unfounded suspicions about Aunt Song are far too hasty. I can avoid suspicion, but that doesn't mean you can't distinguish right from wrong.

"Is she a good person?" Liang Yunqian sneered.

"Then why didn't she tell Liang Xingzhou the truth about the broken engagement? Why did she ask my father to help you change your voice?"

Ultimately, she loves her son the most; she won't care about your situation or difficulties at all.

Liang Yunqian's few words left Yingzhu speechless.

Aunt Song was indeed very kind to her, but she hadn't spoken to her since Aunt Song entered the mansion, probably to avoid suspicion.

According to Prince Rui, this was indeed Aunt Song's idea, and Yingzhu had no way to refute it.

"You're right. No matter how kind she is, her own son comes first. She will definitely prioritize Liang Xingzhou's safety. She will ask others to make sacrifices and give way to her son's medical treatment, regardless of whether I am willing or not."

Seeing Yingzhu's gloomy expression and her silent chin-resting posture, Liang Yunqian couldn't help but wonder if his tone had been too harsh.

"She was kind to you before only because you were engaged. She thought you would marry into their family in the future, so she treated you well. But things are different now."

You've already broken off the engagement and are no longer her daughter-in-law. She'll only use you and won't care about your difficulties. You don't need to be swayed by so-called neighborly affection anymore, or imagine her as a great philanthropist.

He softened his tone and patiently persuaded her. Yingzhu nodded and forced a smile.

"I was oversimplifying things. Human nature is complex. I don't care what Aunt Song is thinking. I'll just focus on my own business."

As she spoke, Yingzhu closed the wooden gift box and pushed it in front of Liang Yunqian.

"Do whatever you want with it!"

Liang Yunqian raised his eyebrows in surprise, "This was a gift from him to you, and you actually gave it to me?"

"Didn't you burn the wood carving last time? How dare I keep it safe? You'll just come after me again."

"..." So it's not that she doesn't care, but she's just worried about his attitude?

After burning the wood carving that time, Yingzhu held a grudge against him for a long time. Liang Yunqian learned his lesson and would never make the same mistake again.

"Burning it will only make you miss it more, and might even make you resent me because of it. Why bother?"

Liang Yunqian picked up the wood carving and examined both sides. "Since you don't like it, I'll take it with me as a decoration."

"You treat Liang Xingzhou's wood carvings as mere ornaments?" Yingzhu exclaimed as if she had heard the biggest joke in the world.

"How did your heart suddenly become so big?"

Liang Yunqian smiled but remained silent, but Yingzhu always felt that his smile was malicious. Could he be up to something again?

"Now that you are the concubine the Empress Dowager has assigned to me, I am your rightful husband, and you have already broken off your engagement with him. Why would I care about him?"

Liang Yunqian's attitude surprised Yingzhu. She would keep the gold lock, knowing that she might have to give a gift when Liang Xingzhou held another banquet in the future.

But it's better to keep the wood carving out of sight than to see it. If Liang Yunqian wants it, then let him have it!

Liang Xingzhou was too familiar with her, and he would discover the flaw sooner or later. However, Yingzhu could not expose the matter directly, otherwise Prince Rui would assume that she deliberately undermined the brotherhood between the heir and the fourth prince.

Given the current situation, she can only cooperate reluctantly and try her best to avoid it. When the truth can no longer be concealed one day, at least Prince Rui won't blame her.

But in this Prince's mansion, the person who can truly determine her fate and living conditions is actually Liang Yunqian, so all she needs to do is maintain her relationship with Liang Yunqian and keep him on her side.

As long as he remains clear-headed and trusts her enough, no matter if it's Consort Li, Xu Fanglin, or Princess Rui, no matter who tries to use underhanded tactics, it won't work.

Even though it's a matter of mutual exploitation, mutual trust is still necessary for a long-term relationship to avoid a life of hardship.

That night, Liang Yunqian stayed at Wenzhuxuan again. Yingzhu was a little uneasy, worried that Princess Rui would cause her trouble again, but he reassured her not to worry.

"I have my own way of dealing with this, and I won't let her make things difficult for you anymore."

His tone was very confident, so Yingzhu stopped asking questions and waited to see what would happen next.

Upon learning that the Crown Prince had once again stayed overnight at Wenzhu Pavilion, Princess Rui knew that Shen Yingzhu had failed to dissuade him. However, Liang Yunqian had not come to pay his respects for the past two days, so Princess Rui couldn't wait any longer and simply went to Tingsong Garden to persuade him in person.

Yingzhu was also at Wenzhuxuan at that time, and she was practicing calligraphy.

Upon seeing Princess Rui approach, Yingzhu felt a sense of foreboding and rose to take her leave, but Princess Rui waved her hand.

"You don't need to avoid suspicion; your presence is just in the right place, as this matter concerns you."

Yingzhu, who had been stopped, stopped and stood silently to one side.

What Princess Rui said was all old news; Liang Yunqian had already heard Yingzhu repeat it to him.

He could confront her directly, and Princess Rui wouldn't dare to blame him; she would only think that Yingzhu had seduced him and that Yingzhu had ulterior motives.

In order to prevent Princess Rui from blaming Yingzhu again, Liang Yunqian decided to try a different approach.

"Mother, you may not know, but my illness is not yet cured. I have no desire or reaction to other women."

"What?" Upon hearing this, Princess Rui exclaimed in surprise, but then subconsciously lowered her voice for fear of being overheard.

"How could this be? The Tripterygium wilfordii has been diagnosed, and the doctor said you are recovering. Shen Yingzhu is pregnant, which proves you don't have any hidden illnesses!"

Hearing Liang Yunqian's reasons, Yingzhu slowly frowned, her already round deer eyes widening like walnuts.

She had previously asked him how he would explain things to Princess Rui, but he refused to elaborate.

She thought it was the perfect reason, but to her surprise, he said he had a hidden illness!

This reason sounds too far-fetched, doesn't it? Even Yingzhu doesn't believe it, so how will Princess Rui believe it? How can Liang Yunqian possibly argue his way out of this?