Without comparison, there is no comfort.

The maids and servants of Moyuxuan thought that their princess's cooking skills were already terrible, but they didn't expect that it wasn't the worst. After all, their princess only burned the pot and didn't burn the kitchen down.

More importantly, although their princess was not a good cook, the emperor had bestowed upon her the title of imperial chef, a privilege that no one else had.

With the help of those ladies from prominent families, Shen Wan regained half of her lost face, but the ministers' memorials accusing her of failing to properly educate her daughters flew onto the emperor's desk like snowflakes, piling up into a small mountain.

For the next three days, Shen Wan did not leave the Lingwang Mansion, and even rarely went out of Moyuxuan, focusing all her attention on making brocade robes for Xie Jingyan.

Shen Wan decided to have Xie Jingyan wear the brocade robe she made to the Prince of Jin's mansion for the wedding banquet, so that everyone could see that although she, the Princess Consort of Ling, was not good at cooking, she was good at embroidery and had embroidery skills that were presentable.

That day, Shen Wan sat in front of the embroidery frame, embroidering patterns on a brocade robe. She embroidered for half a day, and her neck was sore and stiff. Yin Shuang said, "Your Highness, take a break before you continue embroidering. You've exhausted yourself. The Prince will be worried about you."

Shen Wan was indeed exhausted. These past few days, she had been making brocade robes for Xie Jingyan, and she was so tired that she could fall asleep almost as soon as she lay down at night, without even having a dream, and would sleep soundly until dawn.

Haitang brought over some pastries, and Shenwan got up, washed her hands, and ate them.

She ate one piece, still wanting more, and took another. Just as she was eating, the maid Dong'er lifted the beaded curtain and came in, saying, "Your Highness, a maid from the Marquis's mansion just brought news that Hong Kui, the maid who served the Second Young Master before his death, is pregnant. The Second Madam is overjoyed, and her illness has almost completely disappeared."

Although Shen Wan was married, her father, elder brother, and fourth wife were still in the Marquis's mansion. Shen Wan was worried, so she bribed two well-informed maids and servants to inform her immediately of any disturbances in the Pingyang Marquis's mansion.

Upon hearing that Shen Li's maid was pregnant, Shen Wan slowed down her chewing of the pastries.

Shen Wan wasn't surprised at all, because something similar had happened in her past life. She remembered that Shen Li was arranging a marriage at that time, and the Second Madam, fearing it would affect Shen Li's marriage, wanted to give the maid an abortion pill and sell her off. The maid knelt on the ground and begged for mercy. Later, the Second Master arrived, and the maid rushed over and grabbed the Second Master's leg, begging him to save her. The maid said something that angered the Second Master, who kicked her, sending her flying far away and killing her on the spot.

The fact that the Second Master kicked a maid to death made the entire Marquis's mansion think he was too ruthless. This matter also alarmed Shen Jing, who even scolded the Second Master a few times. It takes two to tango. The maid was pregnant, and the fault lay with Shen Li. The Second Madam wanted to abort the child and sell the maid, which was already ruthless enough. The Second Master didn't even spare the maid's life. The Marquis's mansion in Pingyang had never had such a ruthless person before.

In her past life, the maid concealed her pregnancy for three months, but accidentally revealed it and was kicked to death that very day. In this life, she is also pregnant, but her treatment is completely different.

Shen Li died suddenly. Regardless of whether the child in the maid's womb is a boy or a girl, it is Shen Li's only bloodline left in the world. The second madam has no choice but to treat that maid like an ancestor, fearing that there might be any mishap to the child in her womb.

However, in his previous life, after the Second Master kicked the maid to death, he punished Shen Li by making him kneel in the ancestral hall to reflect on his actions. Shen Li said that the child the maid was carrying was not his. He had touched the maid four months ago. If it were really his, she would not have been only three months pregnant. Moreover, all the maids around him who had been touched by him would take contraceptives and would not be able to get pregnant. However, since there was no way to verify the story, the matter was left unresolved.

As Shen Wan munched on her pastries, she pondered this matter. If Shen Li hadn't lied, and the child the maid was carrying truly wasn't his, then whose child was it?

Thinking of the Second Master's unusual behavior, Shen Wan's eyes widened suddenly.

Could the maid be carrying the second master's child?

If word got out that a father had laid a hand on his son's maid, both father and son would lose face. The second master was afraid that the maid would expose the affair and kill her on the spot, so he kicked her to death.

But upon closer reflection, it seems unlikely. The second wife kept a tight rein on the second master. Besides the second wife, the second master only had two concubines by his side, and the second wife had even placed them there voluntarily. The second master hadn't even touched the maids serving the second wife, so how could he have touched the maids serving his own son? Besides, he wouldn't have had the chance to touch them anyway.

Shen Wan shook her head, trying to clear these chaotic thoughts from her mind.

Shen Wan continued eating her pastries. Dong'er withdrew and walked to the outside of the beaded curtain. The little maid Qiu'er ran into the room and happily reported, "Your Highness, Young Master Yun has arrived."

Second cousin?

Shen Wan was stunned for a moment.

Realizing what had happened, she quickly put down the half-eaten pastry in her hand and got up to greet him.

After leaving Moyuxuan, they hadn't walked more than a few steps when they saw Steward Zhou leading Young Master Yun Lang over from afar.

The Yun family helped Xie Jingyan invite Doctor Tao and found rare medicinal herbs to cure Xie Jingyan's poison. As distinguished guests of the Ling Prince's Mansion, they were allowed to pass without prior notice and were personally attended to by Steward Zhou.

Shen Wan walked over with a smile, "Why did you suddenly return to the capital, Second Cousin?"

Although Shen Wan is only a cousin, her three cousins ​​in the Yun family treat her like their own sister. She has everything that Yun Mo and Yun Rui have, and she also has things that Yun Mo and Yun Rui don't have.

However, the Yun family's business spanned various prefectures and counties of the Great Chu, and her eldest cousin was forced to stay in the capital, so they rarely met. Her second and third cousins ​​were always on the move, so she could hardly see them more than twice a year. Therefore, Shen Wan cherished every meeting with her.

However, in the previous life, the second cousin had not returned to the capital at this time. It was the eldest cousin who saved his cousin's wife at Huguo Temple, got engaged, and was busy preparing for the wedding banquet. He had no time to take care of the business, so he called the second cousin back to help.

Why did you return so far ahead of schedule in this life?

Yun Lang said, "I don't know either. Half a month ago, my elder brother sent me a letter by carrier pigeon, asking me to return to the capital as soon as possible. I thought something terrible had happened in the manor, so I rushed back day and night. But when I returned, everything was fine. It was my elder brother who had disappeared with my cousin."

Shen Wan was stunned. "My older brother isn't in Kyoto either?"

Yun Lang nodded, "Grandfather said that he left the capital with my eldest brother."

My older cousin must have left Beijing to attend to matters in Meizhou, but why would my older brother leave Beijing with him?

Even the maternal grandfather didn't know where the eldest cousin went, otherwise he wouldn't have kept quiet about the second cousin.

Not knowing why Yun Qi was keeping it a secret, Shen Wan was afraid of ruining her cousin's plans, so she didn't say much.

Yun Lang looked at Shen Wan and said, "I thought you were getting married a long time ago, so I prepared congratulatory gifts for you everywhere. I didn't expect that by the time I returned to the capital, you would already be married. As your cousin, I didn't even get to drink your wedding wine with Prince Ling."

Yun Lang looked regretful and said to Chen Wan, "It's all because my cousin isn't coming back. You can't make up for it now."

Yun Lang laughed and said, "I missed the wedding banquet, but I will definitely attend my nephew's one-month celebration in the future."