Early in the morning, the Fujin's maid, Chunliu, came to the west courtyard. Lanqin had slept soundly all night and hadn't gotten up yet.

She was exhausted from being tormented by the Fourth Prince yesterday, and her lower back was sore. Fortunately, the Fourth Prince stayed at the Princess's place that night. If he had come again, she wouldn't have been able to serve him.

Nianxue was sweeping the dust that had accumulated overnight at the door of the house when she saw Chunliu, a maid from the Fujin's courtyard, and a young eunuch carrying several bolts of silk heading towards Madam Yin's direction.

Meanwhile, Madam Yin was sitting in front of her dressing table, letting her maid, Ye Ying, comb her hair.

"Princess, let me style your hair into a beautiful updo today," Ye Ying said, looking at the jewelry that her master had bestowed upon her in the jewelry box.

"No matter how well it's combed, all I remember is that Niohuru clanswoman, who hasn't come to my place in a long time," said Madam Yin, rubbing the tips of her hair listlessly.

"Princess, the more you are like this, the more you should dress yourself up. Maybe the master will see you by chance and come over." Ye Ying also noticed that Madam Yin had been unhappy these days, her appetite had not been good, and she had lost some weight.

Just then, someone outside called out, "Is Princess Yin here?"

In a panic, Madam Yin realized that she was too disheveled to go out and meet people, so she sent Ye Ying out to check on her.

It turned out to be Chunliu, the wife of the Fujin (principal wife).

"Princess, it's Sister Chunliu from the Fujin's quarters! The Fujin even gave you a reward!" Ye Ying replied happily.

"Please invite my sister to have some tea and snacks, and come quickly to help me comb my hair." Princess Yin was immediately delighted. With the Fujin's help, there should be a chance to see the Fourth Prince.

After Ye Ying came in and helped her comb her hair, she helped Madam Yin out.

Chunliu curtsied to Madam Yin and said, "The Princess Consort remembers that these silks are quite suitable for the Princess, so she had me send them to her early this morning."

"Thank you for your concern, Madam. Thank you for your trouble, Sister Chunliu." Madam Yin instructed Ye Ying to take the silk from the little eunuch's hand. After looking at it for a few moments, she found it to be truly beautiful. She would cut out a few outfits for the Fourth Prince to wear, and he would surely be unable to take his eyes off them.

“This servant looks at Consort Yin and sees that she has lost a lot of weight,” Chunliu asked.

“Gege’s appetite has been much worse lately, and she doesn’t eat much at all,” Ye Ying said to Chun Liu.

At this moment, Madam Yin suddenly felt nauseous and gagged, startling the two maids.

"Princess Yin, what's wrong? Quick, drink some tea to calm down." Seeing that she looked uncomfortable, Chunliu also helped Yeying pour a cup of tea for Madam Yin.

Madam Yin took the drink, drank a sip, and quickly thanked her, saying, "Thank you for your concern, Sister Chunliu. I do feel a little nauseous. It started yesterday, and I don't know why."

Chunliu glanced at Madam Yin and said to Yeying, "Take good care of your princess. I'll go tell the Fujin (Madam) to find you a doctor to take a look."

The Princess Consort's backyard.

"You saw her nausea with your own eyes?" The princess consort stood up from the couch and asked anxiously.

“I saw it with my own eyes; that Lady Yin gagged and vomited, and she also lost a lot of weight,” Chunliu reported.

The princess slowly sat down again, and Li, the old nanny behind her, said, "Is Princess Yin pregnant?"

The princess frowned, sighing inwardly: Another one is pregnant. Why is everyone else having children, but the prince won't give me another one...

"Go and convey my message: have Doctor Bai take Princess Yin's pulse!" the Fujin said in a deep voice.

...

Lanqin had slept enough and finally got up.

Hearing a noise from the inner room, Nianxue immediately went in and saw Lanqin sitting on the bed with her eyes closed, meditating!

"Princess, let me help you change your clothes," Nianxue said as she walked to the bedside and used a ruyi knot to lift the gauze curtains.

"Has the master sent anyone to deliver a message?" Lanqin asked, opening her eyes.

Nianxue shook her head, but smiled gently, as if to say: "Princess, you've finally started to care about Master. Now it feels like three autumns have passed since you last saw him."

Lanqin ignored her smiling face, got up from the bed, walked to the dressing table, and said to Nianxue, "Quickly comb my hair, I want to go for a walk in the garden today."

"Princess, I heard that Consort Li has been confined to her quarters, and the Third Prince is going to be moved to the front courtyard." Nianxue overheard the old women at the west gate discussing this. These women were all very knowledgeable about what was happening in the mansion, while the mistresses like the princess were completely unaware of it.

Lanqin looked surprised, thinking to herself: Oh no, Fourth Master, you're going to get me killed. This Consort Li will hate me to death.

Just then, Xicha rushed in from outside, saying, "Princess! Princess Yin next door is pregnant!!"

Lanqin was startled, and Nianxue was also stunned, almost dropping the comb in her hand.

"Why are you so alarmed about someone else's good news!" Nianxue snapped at Xicha.

"This servant knows her mistake, Princess. This servant just saw the Fourth Master come, but he went to Princess Yin's place." Xi Cha lowered her head and told what she had seen outside.

Nianxue glanced at Xicha again and comforted her, "Princess, Princess Yin was favored by the master for a few days a while ago and is now pregnant. It's perfectly normal. You're still young, and the master dotes on you. You'll definitely have children in the future."

Lanqin smiled and said, "Alright, hurry up and comb my hair so I can congratulate Sister Yin. Xicha, go to my cabinet and see if you can give Princess Yin some gifts."

After Lanqin finished speaking, she stopped smiling, sat up straight, and let Nianxue play with her head.

Sad? No! Heartbroken? No! Jealous? Maybe a little bit!

Lanqin did feel a little uncomfortable, even though she knew she wasn't the only woman in the Fourth Master's harem, and that the Fourth Master wasn't just hers. But when she heard that Madam Yin was pregnant, her heart still felt a sudden pang. But it was only a moment; in an instant, she felt nothing more.

"Gege Niu!" Su Peisheng called out from outside, wondering where everyone in the house had gone.

Fourth Master strode in, and seeing that Lanqin hadn't finished combing her hair, he glanced at Nianxue and said, "Why aren't you ready yet? Do you not have enough maids?"

Upon hearing this, Nianxue and Xicha immediately felt uneasy, as if they were being reprimanded for not serving the princess properly.

Lanqin thought to herself: "Hmph, she just went to visit that girl who's carrying your child, and now she's here scolding me!"

However, she smiled sweetly and said, "I overslept, Master. I heard that Sister Yin is pregnant. I was just thinking about what to send her." When Fourth Master waved his hand, Nianxue put down the comb and left with Xicha.

Fourth Master walked behind Lanqin, picked up a comb, and began to comb her hair. "Are you jealous?"