Sure enough, the Fourth Prince got busy again, working non-stop since entering the palace. He returned home later and later each day, but no matter how late, he would always come to the South Courtyard to see Lanqin. At first, Lanqin waited for him, but later she couldn't stay awake any longer. With him coming later and later each day, she was so tired she would fall asleep. Sometimes, she would wake up halfway through her sleep, suddenly turning over and finding someone beside her. Her heart would skip a beat, and she would wake up to find the Fourth Prince sleeping next to her. Sometimes Lanqin slept too much during the day and couldn't fall back asleep at night. At these times, she would quietly gaze at the Fourth Prince's sleeping face, or gently touch his nose or eyebrows with her fingers, but she dared not actually wake him, nor could she bear to. After all, the Fourth Prince had been busy all day in the palace; if he didn't sleep well at night, he would definitely be unwell the next day. Although Lanqin sometimes couldn't resist playing around with these little things, at this moment, she had completely given her heart to the Fourth Prince.

Time always flies by like a sharp sword, leaving no trace, and it's already gone. In the blink of an eye, Lanqin had been lying in bed for about ten days, and her health finally improved. However, Nianxue still stewed all sorts of tonics for Lanqin every day, and the little princess really did become rosy-cheeked.

That day, Lanqin played with Fubao in the courtyard as usual. After resting for a while, Gengshi came in, supported by Lulan.

“Sister, you seem to be feeling much better! I came to see you a few days ago and you weren’t in very good spirits, but you seem to be much better today.” Geng Shi said as she walked up to Lan Qin, holding an octagonal gauze fan with a beautiful design.

"Sister, you've finally arrived! I've been so bored. I've been lying in bed all day. If I don't get up soon, I'll really become bedridden!" Lanqin couldn't help but blurt out another word that Gengshi couldn't understand.

The two walked hand in hand into the Tang house. Nianxue brought over a plate of watermelon, and Lanqin handed a chilled slice of watermelon to Gengshi.

"To my shame, I can only eat this chilled watermelon every time I come to my sister's place," Geng said jokingly as she took the watermelon and held it in her hands.

“If you like it, you can come and eat it every day,” Lanqin said. “I’m feeling better now and can’t eat cold food. Can you help me eat it?” She didn’t want to give the ice to Geng Shi, as that would break the rules of the manor. The ice she had was already a special favor from the Fourth Prince. If she took it upon herself to give it to someone else, she was afraid it would cause gossip in the inner quarters.

“Okay, then I’ll come and help you eat chilled watermelon every day. Hehe, by the way, your illness this time is really strange. I didn’t expect that a simple cold would keep you bedridden for ten days or half a month. Sister, you have to take better care of yourself in the future. This is too scary.” Madam Geng picked up the watermelon and took a small bite.

"Yes, I also find it strange. A mere cold can cause this. I'm really amazed at my own frail health!" Lanqin said unintentionally.

"I heard that my sister had menstruation. Has she left yet?" Since the last time she visited Lanqin, Madam Geng discovered that Lanqin had menstruation and then found that Nianxue was constantly stewing various nourishing medicinal herbs for Lanqin to take. She immediately became suspicious.

Moreover, since Lanqin fell ill, the Fourth Prince had hardly visited any other courtyards. This led the women in the inner quarters to wonder what illness Lanqin had, as she was not only bedridden but also required various expensive tonics. The Fourth Prince had strictly ordered anyone who knew the truth to keep quiet, so no one truly understood what had happened. While Lanqin was bedridden, Madam Geng came, Madam Song came, and naturally, Consort Li also came. Nianxue explained that Lanqin was lying in bed because of a cold and a high fever that had weakened her body.

"I still had some yesterday, but it's strange. I usually finish in three to five days, but this time my period has been intermittent and delayed for more than ten days," Lanqin said, puzzled. She even asked Nianxue to invite Doctor Zhou to take her pulse, but the doctor said it was just due to physical weakness and irregular menstruation. At that moment, Lanqin felt like a million grass mud horses were galloping through her mind. She thought to herself, when she was Lin Mengyao, she had irregular periods, and now she's transmigrated into Niohuru Lanqin and she also has irregular periods.

"Have you consulted Doctor Zhou?" Madam Geng was even more puzzled. When she was still unmarried at home, she had seen her elder sister give birth and also witnessed her miscarry. Now, Lanqin's condition was very similar to a miscarriage. She had been lying in bed for ten days to half a month, taking various nourishing herbs, and bleeding from below for more than ten days.

“Sister, is it really a cold? I feel like it looks like…” Geng was about to say “miscarriage” when she noticed Nianxue winking at her from behind Lanqin, meaning to stop her from making any more guesses.

"Like what?" Lanqin asked, seeing that she was only halfway through her sentence.

"Like irregular menstruation!" Geng suppressed her doubts and casually uttered this common ailment among women.

Nianxue breathed a sigh of relief behind Lanqin, while Gengshi, who had witnessed everything, was almost certain of her judgment. What puzzled her was that Lanqin seemed completely unaware of anything, while her maidservant clearly seemed to know something.

When Madam Geng came out of Lanqin's place, the sun was already setting. She took the hand of Lülan and walked towards the west courtyard. Although the evening sunlight was not as strong as at noon, the power of the afterglow was still not to be underestimated. Madam Geng and her servants chose to walk in the shaded areas.

“Princess, this Princess Niu doesn’t seem to have irregular menstruation, according to the maid,” said Green Orchid.

"What, you figured it out too?" Madam Geng had been thinking about Lanqin's matter, but after hearing what she said, she seemed even more certain of her guess.

“Hmm, but it’s strange. Doctor Zhou should be able to diagnose it, so the master couldn’t possibly not know, and neither could Niu Gege’s maids. It’s just that Niu Gege seems to know nothing at all, which is really strange,” Green Orchid added.

"What's so strange about that? It must be that Fourth Master gave the order not to tell Sister Niu." As she spoke, Madam Geng sighed inwardly: Fourth Master cherishes and loves Lanqin dearly, but seems to completely forget about her.

"Princess, shall we go again tomorrow?" Green Lan asked, because Lanqin had once held Geng's hand and asked her to come to her place every day to talk.

“Since we have nothing to do in the west courtyard, let’s go,” said Madam Geng. After the two walked through the green area, there was a stretch of path without any cover. They walked quickly along the base of the wall, and by the time they returned to the west courtyard, they were still covered in sweat.

"Cui'er, go fetch some water. The princess is sweating and will need to take a bath later," Green Lan instructed another maid of Geng Shi. She was assigned to the household by the head nanny when Geng Shi entered the mansion.