Yinreng's desire to truly punish Shi Xiuzhu is not feasible for the time being.

He had to strike a balance between Tong Wanyan and the Crown Princess in front of Emperor Kangxi and his ministers.

It was fine before there was no Crown Princess, but now that the Eastern Palace has a mistress, the Crown Prince can no longer openly favor the concubine and neglect the principal wife.

Shi Xiuzhu dared to occasionally contradict him precisely because he knew his own importance and had always portrayed Yinreng well in front of outsiders.

She has something to rely on, which gives her the courage to act boldly.

Before Emperor Kangxi abdicated, the relationship between Tong Wanyan, Yinreng, and Shi Xiuzhu had to be balanced and checked.

Yinreng was well aware of this, and therefore he had been looking for an opportunity to put Shi Xiuzhu in a bad light.

Today's unexpected event has actually presented a rare and valuable opportunity.

Knowing he had made a mistake, Shi Xiuzhu walked out of the South Courtyard dejectedly, facing Yinreng's cold face.

Tong Wanyan asked Chunque to carry Hongsheng away, and she pulled Yinreng back into the room to sit down.

"That's just how the Crown Princess is. Why did you argue with her today, Your Highness?" Tong Wanyan nestled in his arms and asked softly.

Yinreng was as gentle as the warm sun in spring when he was with her: "She has been traveling to various places with Lord Shi since she was a child. She has become too arrogant and has a carefree temper. I reckon that the royal family is nothing to her."

Yinreng's guess was spot on. Tong Wanyan nodded in agreement: "Perhaps it's not just because she's traveled all over the country since she was young, but also because of the Wei-Jin culture. The Crown Princess prefers the Wei-Jin period. Even if she's occasionally critical, her behavior is almost exactly like that of people from that time. The Wei-Jin aristocratic families were noble, while the royal family was not as noble. She's probably too attached to appearances."

Tong Wanyan and Shi Xiuzhu spent a long time together, and Tong Wanyan understood Shi Xiuzhu's character thoroughly.

“However, isn’t it precisely because of this that the Crown Princess doesn’t care about the power of the Empress’s family or her personal feelings, and instead has ambitions beyond the palace? There are gains and losses. Your Highness has frightened her today, and she should be more cautious in the future.” Tong Wanyan understood Yinreng’s heart.

Yinreng rested his head on Tong Wanyan's neck, his chin on her shoulder, and said in a muffled voice, "Those are all empty words. I have plenty of ways to teach her a lesson. I'm angry for other reasons."

Tong Wanyan asked curiously, "Oh?"

Yinreng grumbled, "Hongsheng isn't important. No matter how she tries to fool me, I still have to call her Father when it's time. There's no mistake. What angers me is that she's always clinging to you. She's clearly trying to squeeze me out of your heart."

Ultimately, it all came down to jealousy.

Tong Wanyan beamed with joy, hugged Yinreng's face, and gave him a deep kiss.

The light red lip print on Yinreng's face looked exceptionally handsome.

Tong Wanyan narrowed her eyes in satisfaction and said with a smile, "My heart belongs only to you, Master. Even if there are bewitching demons and monsters, my heart for you will never waver."

To show her loyalty, Tong Wanyan decisively placed Yinreng's hand on her heart.

But where is the heart?

Yinreng pressed his hand on the soft, elastic spot, his blood rushing to his brain.

"My darling, you're seducing me." Yinreng gently bit Tong Wanyan's earlobe, his hot breath sending a shiver down her spine.

"It's over," Tong Wanyan thought, clutching her back and closing her eyes.

Once Yinreng, consumed by jealousy, showed a marked increase in his fighting spirit.

As a result, the water in the South Courtyard was changed several times, and Tong Wanyan lay in bed too lazy to even move a finger. She skipped dinner and slept straight until the next day.

The morning sunlight streams onto the bed, its warm glow gently waking you up.

Tong Wanyan got up halfway, rubbed her sore back, and lay back down: "Beast."

Despite being called a beast, Yinreng walked to court with a swagger, a look of utter satisfaction on his face.

Fortunately, on the way from the palace to the court, he only encountered palace maids and eunuchs. As servants, they dared not look up at their masters, thus preventing Yinreng's image as a wise and intelligent crown prince from being ruined.

Feeling uneasy, Shi Xiuzhu stayed in her courtyard for three days straight, focusing on managing the affairs of the backyard for Yinreng.

She thought she could get away with it this way, but Yinreng was a petty person who had been stamped and implicated by Yinti.

Princess Shi was invited by Yinreng, ostensibly to visit the Crown Princess.

When Shi Xiuzhu was busy flipping through the accounts and her head was spinning, she suddenly saw her mother standing in front of her, and she was completely taken aback.

"Mother, when did you arrive? I didn't receive an invitation. We haven't prepared anything yet, please make your own things, I'll go get someone to pour some tea." Shi Xiuzhu closed the account book in her hand and put it aside.

Shi Fujin turned her head and her gaze fell on the teacup that had been half-empty.

"I've been inside for almost half an incense stick's time. The Crown Prince said he wanted to give you a surprise, so he specially sent Lord Ling to summon me to the palace early this morning to visit Her Majesty," said Consort Shi in a gentle voice.

Shi Xiuzhu could hear the gritted teeth in his words.

Sure enough, after she dismissed the servants and closed the door, Consort Shi stepped forward and pinched her ear: "What kind of mess have you made this time that made the Crown Prince invite me into the palace? Your father always says you're clever, and the Emperor and the noblewomen outside the palace all praise you as a very competent Crown Princess. But in my opinion, you're reckless and audacious. If you don't cause trouble, fine, but if you do, it'll be something truly outrageous."

No one knows a daughter better than her mother. The usually virtuous and dignified Madam Shi became even more irritable when she saw Shi Xiuzhu's guilty look.

Shi Xiuzhu fears neither heaven nor earth, but he fears Shi Fujin the most.

"Mother, I didn't do anything wrong. The master invited you to the palace to keep me company because he saw that I was helping him with his worries and hardships," Shi Xiuzhu said without batting an eye.

She didn't believe that Yinreng could tell the truth to Shi Fujin.

Yinreng did not fully understand the situation, but he sent Lingpu to Shi Fujin with a message: Did the Crown Princess eat bear's heart and leopard's gall when she was young?

With just this one sentence, there was no need to mention anything else; Lady Shi understood perfectly well.

Princess Shi was grateful to Yinreng for doing this. He had not offended Shi Xiuzhu, which showed his magnanimity.

"Do you think your mother was deceived into growing up?" Shi Fujin's eyes were icy cold.

Shi Xiuzhu forced himself to help her sit down properly: "Mother, you forced me to say this."

Consort Shi sneered: "Do you think that just because you're the Crown Princess, I can't hit you anymore?"

Shi Xiuzhu reflexively pulled his hand away; he had been punished with a ruler on his hands as a child, and it had hurt him terribly. Shi Fujin was both a loving and strict mother; she was quite formidable.

"Mother, I lied to the Second Prince and told him to call me Father," Shi Xiuzhu stammered softly.

Lady Shi was dumbfounded. Her lips trembled, and she asked in a strained voice, "Which Second Prince?"

Neither the eldest nor the youngest prince could possibly call Shi Xiuzhu "father".

This brat has been having wild ideas since she was little, always thinking of herself as a boy. I thought the palace maids could straighten her out, but who knew that once things are crooked, they can never be straightened.

"Are you crazy!" After holding it in for a long time, Shi Fujin finally uttered these three words.

Shi Xiuzhu pulled her head back and said, "I was just teasing Hongsheng. He's too young to speak properly, how was I supposed to know that he would overhear me? I've already been punished. Master made me sort out a lot of old accounts. The accounts are messy and incomplete. I've been so tired these past few days that I haven't been able to sleep well. Mother, look at my dark circles, it looks like I've been punched twice."