After flirting with the aloof prince, the concubine ran away pregnant.

Lady Hou put down her teacup, her tone becoming calmer: "Don't be silly, it's rare for Xun'er to have such a caring person by her side."

The atmosphere in the hall subtly changed after those words were spoken.

Madam Zou lowered her head and drank her tea, her lips twitching slightly, whether in a smile or something else was unclear. The other wives exchanged glances but remained silent.

Xie Yun merely raised an eyebrow, her tone somewhat arrogant: "Just a concubine? If brother likes her, he can just promote another one."

"I rarely ask for someone, how could my brother refuse?"

She said this in a light, casual tone, as if she were talking about something insignificant.

Afu knelt down.

She lowered her head, her voice perfectly gentle: "Miss, you flatter me. I am overwhelmed with gratitude. Of course, I would be more than willing to serve you."

Xie Yun's lips curved slightly.

Afu didn't look up and continued, "But I am a servant in the young master's household and dare not make decisions on my own. How about I first offer the recipe for plum snow cheese to the eldest young lady, and she can have the cook in the manor try making it? As for my matter, the young master can make a decision when he returns."

These words were perfectly worded, both praising Xie Yun and not agreeing to her request, thus passing the buck to Xie Xun.

Xie Yun's smile faded slightly.

She stared at Afu for a moment, then spoke: "You're my brother's person, and you said you were willing to follow me. What, do you want to serve two masters?"

That doesn't make any sense; it sounds like someone is deliberately nitpicking.

Lady Hou frowned, about to speak, when Afu had already kowtowed, her voice steady: "This servant is a servant of the Hou family. I will obey the orders of my masters."

"This servant dares not have any disloyal intentions, but I dare not make decisions on my own. Please understand, young lady."

This is saying, "I will listen to my master, but now my master is the heir apparent. You can have people, but you have to discuss it beforehand."

Xie Yun understood.

She leaned back in her chair, picked up her teacup, and took a slow sip, her gaze fixed on Afu as if she were sizing up a disobedient cat.

"She certainly knows how to talk." She set down her teacup, her tone indifferent. "No wonder my brother—"

Before he could finish speaking, a series of rapid, childish coughs suddenly came from behind him.

"Cough cough—cough—"

Xie Yun's expression changed, and she suddenly turned around.

The little boy in the bright red robe had his mouth open, his face flushed red, and his little hands scratching wildly at his throat.

The plum sorbet on the plate in front of me was scooped up messily, and one of the plums that were supposed to be on top was missing.

"Lin'er!" Xie Yun scooped the child up in her arms and patted his back. "What did you eat? Throw it out! Throw it out now!"

The child was speechless, his eyes were wide open, and his lips had begun to turn purple.

The entire main hall was in complete chaos.

"He choked on a green plum!" the wet nurse cried out in a panic.

Xie Yun turned pale with anxiety and patted the child's back hard, but the more she patted, the more the child coughed, and the plum got stuck even deeper.

"Stop filming!" Lady Hou stood up, her voice tense. "Quickly, fetch a doctor! Go now!"

The maids and servants rushed out in a chaotic manner. Some shouted, "Please call a doctor!" Others shouted, "Bring vinegar!" Some stood at the door, unsure of which way to go.

Xie Yun's husband, Wei Changsheng, also rushed over from the outer hall. He immediately took the child and tried to gag the child's throat, but the child still couldn't cough anything up.

After hesitating for a moment, Afu pushed through the crowd and squeezed forward, saying, "Young master, please let me try."

Xie Yun was frantic and at a loss. When she saw her coming, she was stunned for a moment, then shouted sharply, "What do you know? Get out of my way!"

Afu didn't say anything more, and directly reached out and took the child from Wei Changsheng's arms.

Xie Yun was startled and instinctively tried to snatch it away, but Afu had already turned to the side, wrapped her arms around the child from behind, made a fist with one hand and placed it above his navel, and wrapped the other hand around the fist, pulling it inward and upward forcefully.

a bit.

Two times.

Three times.

"What are you doing!" Xie Yun's voice was shrill and piercing.

After the fourth squeeze, the child coughed suddenly, and a green plum flew out of his mouth and landed on the ground with a thud.

Immediately afterwards, the child burst into tears.

The crying was loud and piercing, yet it was the most beautiful sound in the world.

Everyone in the main hall breathed a sigh of relief.

Xie Yun was stunned for a moment, then rushed over, snatched the child back from Afu's arms, hugged him tightly, and tears streamed down her face.

After giving her a grateful look, Wei Changsheng immediately went to look at the child. The couple surrounded the little boy, one wiping away tears and the other patting his back, creating a chaotic scene.

Lady Hou breathed a sigh of relief, took Cui Mama's hand and sat back down in her chair, closing her eyes briefly.

Standing to the side, Zou's expression was a mix of surprise and disappointment, while the wives from the collateral branches patted their chests and said, "May the Bodhisattva protect us."

Afu retreated to the corner, head down, looking at her still trembling fingers.

After the initial shock subsided, Madam Hou's gaze fell on Afu, who was standing in the corner. The scene of her saving the person was still vivid in her mind. Her voice carried a hint of approval: "Your method of treatment was novel and efficient. Could it be that you have studied medicine?"

Awei slightly bent her knees and lowered her head, her back still upright, and replied according to the words she had prepared beforehand: "Reporting to Madam, this servant has never formally studied medicine. In my early years in the countryside, I learned this folk remedy for emergency treatment from a barefoot doctor."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a maidservant led Doctor Lu into the room, his medicine chest clanging against the pillars.

The doctor first carefully felt the child's pulse, then examined the child's throat. After a moment, he bowed and replied, "Madam and Miss, the young master's airway has been completely cleared of the foreign object, and his lungs and internal organs are unharmed. Fortunately, the treatment was timely and did not cause any damage to his health."

Lady Hou's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down, and her brows and eyes relaxed.

She nodded to Afu: "It's rare to find someone as quick-witted and calm under pressure; you're quite resourceful."

Xie Yun, holding the frightened child, was filled with lingering fear and anger. She turned to the wet nurse serving the snacks, her voice suddenly turning cold and stern: "How did you take care of the young master? Such a blunder almost harmed my child!"

The wet nurse was so frightened that her legs went weak and she knelt down, holding the green plum with the pit in her palm, the flesh embedded in the hard pit.

She said in a trembling voice, "I didn't mean to. I thought it was a pitless green plum."

Zou, who was standing nearby, asked in confusion, "Huh, why is my cup seedless?"

Those around him looked at their own cups and said, "Mine doesn't have a pit either."

The wet nurse seemed to have grasped at a straw, straightening up and pleading, "Madam, please spare me! It's not that I didn't take good care of him, but rather it's a problem with the ingredients! The plums in this young master's ice cream weren't pitted; someone deliberately tried to harm him!"

Xie Yun turned to look at the green plums in the cup, and her face immediately darkened: "My green plums also have pits."

As soon as these words were spoken, all eyes in the room immediately turned to Afu, who was preparing desserts.

Upon seeing this, Granny Wen immediately apologized, her face full of shame: "This was my oversight. This plum sorbet was prepared by Miss Afu herself. I thought she used pitted plums. I..."

Afu gently clenched her fingers at her sides, a cold smile playing on her lips.

She sensed something was wrong when the child choked on Qingmei's nose. Now, seeing her calmly steer the conversation toward her, she knew that Granny Wen was behind it all.

While everyone else's plum sorbet bowls contained pitted fruit, Xie Yun's two bowls contained unpitted fruit.

Whether or not the child choked, it was her fault as long as someone pointed out the problem, especially since it almost caused a major disaster.

Xie Yun already felt sorry for her young son, and now that she knew this might be a mistake she had made, she was so angry that she almost lost her mind and was about to lash out.

She coldly ordered, "Drag Afu out and give her twenty strokes of the cane!"