"Sister Geng, I'm just going to check on Hongzhou's sleeping face. I'll be relieved as long as I see he's alright," Lanqin said.

After hesitating for a while, Madam Geng smiled and led Lanqin to see Hongzhou. Hongzhou was indeed asleep, and there was a scrape on his left cheek, which was wrapped with gauze.

Lanqin looked at Hongzhou's small face with heartache, and really wanted to hug and hold him. He didn't look much like Hongli; he looked more like the Fourth Prince.

Lanqin tried her best to suppress the urge to hug Hongzhou, and stared at him for a while before coming out of Hongzhou's room.

Lanqin had been carefully observing Hongzhou's room and the maids serving him, and she could tell that Madam Geng cared a lot about Hongzhou. She felt a little better; Hongzhou was being well taken care of here, and she still had Hongli. As long as the two princes could grow up safely, that would be the best outcome.

"Thank you for taking care of Hongzhou, sister. Hongzhou seems to be doing well, all thanks to your diligent care," Lanqin said.

“Hongzhou is the apple of my eye, and now I’m putting all my energy into him,” Geng said.

"Alright, I have other things to attend to, so I won't bother you any longer, elder sister." Lanqin wasn't in the mood to stay any longer, so she took her leave.

The two walked under the shade of the trees. Seeing that Lanqin remained silent, Cui Niang comforted her, "Your Highness, when the Seventh Prince grows up, he will know that his birth mother is Your Highness."

Lan Qin smiled and said, "No, I don't want him to know. If he knew that Sister Geng wasn't his biological mother, but that I was, how painful it would be for him. Why didn't I raise him, but instead gave him to someone else to raise? He would find it incomprehensible. So perhaps Hongzhou was destined to be Sister Geng's son, it just happened to fall into my hands."

Cui Niang was surprised that Lan Qin thought this way, and immediately said, "Your Majesty is truly kind and benevolent. I noticed that Consort Geng seemed very reluctant for Your Majesty to visit the Seventh Prince. Is she afraid that Your Majesty will take the Seventh Prince back one day? I didn't expect that Your Majesty has no intention of recognizing the Seventh Prince back at all."

Lanqin said, "I don't want Hongzhou to suffer the same pain as Master again. His birth mother is right in front of him, yet he thinks about why he can't be raised by her. So I'm making it clear that when Hongzhou grows up, he will always be Sister Geng's son."

Meanwhile, after seeing Lanqin and her servant off, Madam Geng sat somewhat absentmindedly on her master's couch.

"My lady, some fresh water chestnuts and lotus pods were sent over by the head nanny today. Why don't you help me peel them?" Green Lan knew what Geng was thinking, so she deliberately tried to distract her.

“Alright, there’s nothing else to do anyway. Hongzhou still needs to sleep a little longer. Go get it,” Geng said. Just now, she had been as wary of Lanqin as a mother beast guarding her child. But as soon as Lanqin left, she immediately relaxed, and suddenly felt afraid again.

"Green Lan, has this princess offended her?" Geng asked.

“The concubine has always treated the princess very well and won’t blame her for this. The princess is overthinking it,” said Green Orchid.

“But I feel extremely repulsed whenever I see her near Hongzhou. What’s wrong with me? Hongzhou is, after all, her son. I’m sure this will make her unhappy,” Geng said.

“Your Highness, the Consort voluntarily entrusted the Seventh Prince to your care. It wasn't you who asked for him back. I think the Consort was just worried about the Seventh Prince, so she came to check on him, which is perfectly normal,” said Green Orchid. As an observer, she could naturally see things clearly.

"Is that so?" Geng asked.

“Yes, Princess, why don’t we peel those lotus seeds and water chestnuts together?” said Green Orchid.

Geng nodded and said nothing more.

She knew in her heart that she was terrified that Lanqin would one day return and take Hongzhou back. If she hadn't established a mother-son bond with Hongzhou by then, it would be impossible for her to become Hongzhou's mother.

As for Madam Nian, her son Hongsheng is already one year and three months old and can run and jump around. Under Madam Nian's watchful eye every day, nothing bad has happened.

After Bai Zhi returned and reported Lan Qin's attitude, she had been thinking about how to arrange the room for the newlyweds. Fourth Master hadn't come for quite some time, and she hadn't been able to see him, which made Nian Shi even more unhappy.

"My lady, I heard that Princess Wuya is pregnant. This is getting more and more exciting." Cuiling noticed the displeasure in Nian's eyes and immediately ran over to tell her.

"Hmph, she was just a concubine, but because she's the master's cousin, Consort De was able to promote her rank. Alas, she's pregnant now, she'll be a force to be reckoned with in the future," said Lady Nian.

"Anyway, this servant thinks she seems interested in the concubine in the South Courtyard, but she has never bothered you, Master," Cui Ling said.

“Hehe, but if she has a child, she might have a chance to be on equal footing with me in the future,” Lady Nian said, frowning.

“My lady, there’s no need to worry too much. However, since you’ve just become pregnant, it’s still unknown whether you can have a safe pregnancy and whether you can give birth safely,” Cui Ling said.

“Yes. You’re right. But the way Consort Niu seems to ignore all her little tasks really surprises and disgusts me,” said Lady Nian.

"Perhaps she thinks our master is not easy to mess with, while the one in the South Courtyard is easier to talk to," Cui Ling said.

"No, she probably thinks that the one in the South Courtyard is her biggest enemy. Hehe, while they fight like the snipe and the clam, this Fujin (wife of the princess) reaps the benefits!" said Madam Nian.

"That's right, it would be good if those two fought to the death over there," Madam Nian said with a light smile.

“Master, why don’t you use this as an excuse to talk to the Master about the new lady’s arrival in the manor? That way, the Master will know how much effort the Princess has put into it,” Cui Ling suggested.

“But every time the master comes back, he’s either in the front yard or the south courtyard. It’s not easy for me, his concubine, to see him.” Lady Nian was gradually becoming dissatisfied.

“My lady, you’ve focused all your attention on the Fifth Prince for the past year or so, neglecting to win over the Master. Now that the Fifth Prince is over a year old, you should pay more attention to the Master,” Cui Ling said.

"Yes. I understand." Lady Nian had actually written to her elder brother, Nian Gengyao, confiding in him about her situation in the Fourth Prince's household. Although she was unwilling to admit that her feelings for the Fourth Prince seemed to stem more from her family, she no longer had the ability to gain his favor. She had become accustomed to relying on her family's influence to secure more attention and status within the Fourth Prince's household.