Li Mama's words made the Fujin think for a long time, until the Fourth Prince suddenly came to the main courtyard, interrupting her quiet contemplation. She finally got to see the Fourth Prince staying overnight in the main courtyard.

The next morning, the Fourth Prince got up very early. His wife wanted to get up with him, but he stopped her. This time, she didn't insist like before, partly because she was exhausted from working these past few days, and partly because she listened to Li Mama's advice not to argue with the prince anymore.

"Granny, go and summon all the eunuchs who served the First Prince. I want to ask them myself." The Princess Consort, while having her hair combed by Dongxue, suddenly remembered something and said this to Granny Li.

Granny Li glanced at the Princess Consort and asked, "Does the Princess Consort suspect that the First Prince's drowning was not an accident?"

The princess consort suppressed her tenderness and said coldly, "Nothing is accidental. Aren't there enough people in this backyard watching Honghui? And even if it was an accident, someone has to take responsibility for Honghui's death! I will never let Hui'er die like this without knowing why."

A ruthless glint flashed in the Fujin's exquisite eyes. If Li Mama hadn't just seen it, she would have really thought that the Fujin had accepted Honghui's death.

"Niohuru clan?" Without even thinking, Li Mama knew who the Fujin was referring to.

"If she hadn't made that stupid skateboard, how could Honghui have fallen into the lake?" The Fujin's voice became unusually sharp, like a crow's.

“Madam, it’s not the right time for you to fall out with her. Your relationship with the master has just improved, and your most important task now is to take this opportunity to win back his heart,” Li Mama advised.

"I know, but with Lady Niu's current favor, I'm afraid I can't compete with her!" The Fujin's eyes immediately dimmed a little.

“Isn’t there still the Ninth Princess? Originally, we only hoped that she would share Niu’s favor. Now that the First Prince is gone, if the Ninth Princess can give birth to a prince for you, and then be adopted into your family, then you will have a legitimate son again.” Li Mama’s eyes became as cunning as a nine-tailed fox. “Then, you can promise her the position of a secondary consort. In my opinion, you should be able to persuade the Ninth Princess.”

After hearing this, the Princess Consort's eyes flickered, and she pondered for a moment before saying, "That girl Yan Yu is very cunning. And if she really gives birth to a son, she probably won't be willing to let him be adopted by me." The Princess Consort had known this little sister of hers since she was a few years old. Once, Fei Yanggu obtained some spoils of war from the battlefield, including a pair of Mongolian scimitars. The blades were modeled after the style of Central Asian knives, and the hilts were inlaid with various gemstones, making them quite valuable. Fei Yanggu gave one of the two scimitars to the Princess Consort and the Fourth Princess, born to another concubine, while giving Yan Yu a slightly more ordinary jade pendant. However, the five-year-old Ninth Princess insisted on taking the scimitar from the Fourth Princess. Afterwards, the Princess Consort asked the Fourth Princess about it, but the latter seemed very afraid of Yan Yu, saying that her master wouldn't tell. After that incident, the Fujin (principal wife) began to look at her ninth sister with new respect. Such a young age and such cunning and ruthlessness; she was willing to do anything for herself, disregarding even family ties. From then on, the Fujin disliked her greatly. Letting her into the household was a spur-of-the-moment decision, but now that Honghui was gone, she had to rely more and more on her sister's favor with the Fourth Prince.

“Madam, Ninth Princess isn’t as difficult to control as you think. In my opinion, Ninth Princess is just impetuous. As long as we grasp this weakness, we can manage her well,” said Granny Li.

"Well, that's the worst-case scenario. If only I could give birth to another legitimate son." With that, the Fujin lowered her eyes to her belly. Although she had just been grieving Honghui's passing, she was now eager to give herself a fresh start. Perhaps the Fujin was inherently selfish. To ensure Honghui's position as the eldest legitimate son and his future inheritance of the Fourth Prince's title, she had forced him to study and learn to read from a very young age. If she hadn't pushed Honghui so hard, depriving him of the joy and freedom a child should have, perhaps Honghui wouldn't have been so obsessed with skateboarding, and perhaps those with ulterior motives wouldn't have taken advantage of him. However, it's always easy for people to blame others, but very rarely to reflect on themselves.

Granny Li glanced at the Fujin with a complicated expression and said, "Since the Fujin has this intention, this old servant will do her best to fulfill the master's wish. If you want to conceive, you must get the master to come to the main courtyard to stay overnight often."

The Fujin's expression froze. She thought for a moment how long it had been since the Fourth Prince had spent the night in the main courtyard—almost none. She could be said to be living a life of widowhood. Although she coveted the title of the primary Fujin, without the Fourth Prince's favor, she would probably have been ridiculed behind her back long ago. He had come here last night, but mostly to comfort her after just losing her son.

“Madam, there’s no need to worry. The eldest prince is gone, and the master has no legitimate eldest son for the time being. If this old servant is not mistaken, the master may come back to the main courtyard to spend the night,” said Granny Li.

"You mean, the master still wants a legitimate son?" the Fujin asked in astonishment, raising her hand.

Granny Li gave a faint smile and said, "That's right. The master is an extremely calm and rational person. Without a legitimate eldest son, how can he be valued by the emperor? Look at the current crown prince. Although he already has several sons, they are all born out of wedlock. It is said that the fact that the crown prince has no legitimate son has already been criticized by some ministers."

"The Crown Prince is being criticized for not having a legitimate son?" the Fujin asked, frowning.

“That’s right. When I returned to the manor last time, I heard Lord Wuge say that. Lord Xinghui was also there at the time, and there was even a rumor circulating in the palace that the Crown Prince had an overly close relationship with one of the Emperor’s concubines.” Before saying this, Granny Li had dismissed all the maids, leaving only her and the Fujin in the room, so that they could speak in such a private manner.

"Such a thing actually happened! The Crown Prince is truly absurd," the Princess Consort murmured.

"In my humble opinion," said Granny Li, giving the Fujin a disapproving look, "our master isn't content to be just a prince. He definitely wants a legitimate son. If you, Fujin, can change your attitude and learn a little flattery, you'll surely have another son." Her words were clearly saying: Fujin, you were too self-centered before. Your man isn't an ordinary man; he has countless beauties in his harem. If you don't flatter them, someone else will!

The princess raised her hand to stroke her face and said softly, "Can this face still keep the master?"

Granny Li quickly went to her side, took her slightly cold hand, and encouraged her, "Madam, you're only twenty-five, still in the prime of your life. You don't know, but that lady in the palace gave birth to the Fourteenth Prince at twenty-nine. You're four years younger than her then, how could it be impossible?"