While Aunt Chun and Tong Guowei were having a passionate encounter, Tong Yuntong said to her trusted maid, "Aunt Chun has sent something over again."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Tong Yuntong has also been having a tough time lately. She was forced to discover a secret: she is not her mother's biological daughter.

The reason she was forced to do so was because Aunt Chun sent someone to tell her privately that eleven years ago, Aunt Chun and the Fujin were pregnant at the same time, and they happened to give birth at the same time. Since they were not in the mansion at the time, they had to give birth outside, and in the same place.

At the time, the Fujin (principal wife) didn't have many capable people around her, so she was tricked by Aunt Chun. That's why Tong Yuntong is now the legitimate daughter of the Tong family. Otherwise, she would just be a concubine's daughter who has to follow her stepmother's lead.

"Let's put it in the storeroom first, and then we'll visit Aunt Chun this afternoon."

“What the princess says is true.”

Tong Yuntong had only recently learned of this matter, and she felt a little flustered. She had been raised by her nanny since she was a child, and Hesheli had wanted to raise her herself, but was refused. As a result, Tong Yuntong and Hesheli were not particularly close.

Because Tong Guowei also intended to separate Hesheli from Tong Yuntong, now that Tong Yuntong knows about this, her biggest worry is the consequences of the matter being exposed. As for whether Hesheli will be sad or upset, she doesn't care.

In the afternoon, Aunt Chun met Tong Yuntong in a pavilion in the back courtyard.

Aunt Chun looked at Tong Yuntong with a loving expression.

Aunt Chun first dismissed all her servants, and Tong Yuntong also dismissed them.

Tong Yuntong's gaze towards Aunt Chun grew increasingly complicated. Although she wasn't close to Hesheli, she had heard Hesheli say behind Aunt Chun's back that she was a vixen.

Now, this "vixen" might be the person who gave birth to her; isn't that complicated?

With only the two of them left in the pavilion, Aunt Chun's gaze became even more unrestrained, her eyes overflowing with maternal love as she looked at Tong Yuntong.

"Tong'er..."

Tong Yuntong didn't want to acknowledge Aunt Chun as her birth mother, so she wasn't very moved by Aunt Chun calling her "Tong'er".

Instead, she was quite unhappy and frowned, saying, "Auntie."

Aunt Chun looked like she had said something wrong and said to Tong Yuntong, "It was Aunt Chun who was rash."

Tong Yuntong is only eleven years old this year. Although she is somewhat cunning, she is still very young. Aunt Chun saw through her thoughts at a glance and quickly comforted her, "Don't worry, Princess, Aunt won't tell anyone. After all, if the Fujin finds out about this, I'll probably be dead."

Tong Yuntong knew her father somewhat, and thought that it was unlikely he would die.

Tong Yuntong was also a little curious. Since Aunt Chun had been keeping it a secret for more than ten years, why didn't she just keep it a secret forever?

"What does my aunt want from me?"

Aunt Chun smiled bitterly, "It's no wonder you're so worried, Princess. Back then, the Fujin and I were pregnant at the same time, but the Fujin just wouldn't let me have a way out. The Fujin gave birth to a prince, and I gave birth to a princess. But that prince was unlucky; he was rejected after birth. Plus, the midwife wasn't from the household, so I had you pretend to be the Fujin's child. Otherwise, when the Fujin woke up and found out she had given birth to a stillborn baby, she definitely wouldn't let us off easily. It was unavoidable..."

Tong Yuntong's feelings became even more complicated. If what Aunt Chun said was true, then she would really be grateful to Aunt Chun.

Tong Yuntong: "My aunt hasn't said it all these years, why is she saying it now?"

Aunt Chun: "Didn't your father find you two palace maids? According to your father's plan, I'm afraid I'll never have the chance to recognize you in this lifetime. I was just glad you were doing well, but I can't stop thinking about you and can't sleep day and night. That's why I sent you this letter. Now that you're the daughter of the Fujin, I naturally won't reveal this matter. I just hope that if you have time, my daughter, you might as well talk to me, even if it's just once or twice!"

Tong Yuntong never expected that Aunt Chun would give such a reason.

She felt something, but not deeply.

"Since you know Father's plans, you should also know what the consequences will be if Father finds out. You should be more careful in the future, otherwise neither of us will have a good life."

Aunt Chun quickly said, "Don't worry, your father knows about your background. Otherwise, a weak woman like me wouldn't be able to manage everything so well."

Tong Yuntong was truly shocked. What was this? Her father and aunt had conspired to deceive the primary wife. Tong Yuntong was cunning and scheming, but only in the realm of vying for favor among young women. Now that she knew what Aunt Chun and her father had done, she was deeply shaken!

When Tong Yuntong left the pavilion, she looked utterly disillusioned. But after Tong Yuntong left, Aunt Chun reverted to her charming and coquettish demeanor in front of Tong Guowei, as if her previous kindness had been meaningless.

In the palace, knowing that Yinzhen was going to personally lead the expedition, the baby in Yunrong's belly had learned to be considerate and stopped experiencing morning sickness. Yunrong's appetite gradually increased, and Yinzhen was finally relieved.

Regarding the "deal" with Ma Qi, Yinzhen had privately told Yunrong not to worry, as he planned to play the long game. So Yunrong really wasn't worried and focused on her pregnancy.

The fetus was now firmly in place, and the imperial physician advised her to move around more to aid in childbirth. Given the limited hygiene conditions in ancient times, Yunrong was determined not to lose both her unborn child and her baby, so she followed the physician's advice.

So every day after dinner, Yunrong has to go for a walk to digest her food.

Yinzhen has been quite busy lately, so he sometimes comes home very late. Sometimes Yunrong wants to eat dinner by herself. If she weren't pregnant, Yunrong could wait for Yinzhen to eat together, but since she is pregnant, Yinzhen firmly refuses to let her.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!