Seeing that Lanqin didn't seem to blame her, Xueying smiled and said, "Thank you for the compliment, Your Majesty."

Lanqin glanced at Yonglian playing outside the window, then looked at Xueying and asked, "How many years have you been married to Hongli?"

Upon hearing Lanqin's words, Xueying was puzzled as to why Lanqin would ask such a question. Xueying blinked and said, "It's been almost nine years."

"Nine years..." For nine years, Xueying had not conceived a child with Hongli. Although Lanqin had never complained, she no longer wanted to stand idly by. In the future, Lanqin would be traveling with the Fourth Master and would probably not see Hongli and the others for a long time.

Over the years, although Hongli has had many concubines and princesses in his household, and recently even brought in three more princesses, the only children in Hongli's household are Yonglian and the newborn princess, both born to Mingyu. There is also Yongzhang, born to Lady Su. This made Lanqin feel compelled to remind Xueying. Having spent so many years in the palace, Lanqin naturally knew the ins and outs of the situation. In the past, she could refrain from interfering in the affairs of Hongli's harem, but now she was constantly worried about how long Yonglian could live.

Therefore, Lanqin could no longer indulge in this behavior. Just now, when she was bestowing the Guanyin statue that granted Xueying a child, she wanted to both elevate Xueying and remind Mingyu, but Mingyu had Yonglian come up to interrupt her. So, how could Lanqin not know Mingyu's thoughts?

After a moment's thought, Lanqin looked at Xueying seriously and said, word by word, "You have been married to Hongli for nine years, but you have had no children in those nine years. Do you know why?"

Xueying was stunned. She had never doubted anything before, but blurted out, "I have a cold uterus, so..."

Before Xueying could finish speaking, Lanqin interrupted her, looking intently at her and asking, "But you've been treating her for years, why haven't you seen any results? Don't you ever suspect there might be some other reason?"

Lanqin's words struck Xueying like a thunderbolt. Xueying only knew that she had uterine coldness. She had privately consulted the imperial physicians, and Hongli even found her a doctor in the capital who specialized in treating uterine coldness. Xueying had also used a lot of medicine, but her condition had never improved.

Although Hongli was busy with official duties, he did visit her residence, but there was still no good news. Xueying had always believed that she was destined to have no children, but at this moment...

Thinking of this, Xueying felt as if a thousand ants were crawling inside her, making it hard to breathe. "Could it be..."

Seeing the disbelief on Xueying's face, Lanqin knew she seemed to understand, so she stopped beating around the bush and directly pointed out, "Perhaps someone doesn't want you to be pregnant."

Upon hearing Lanqin's words, Xueying became even more certain of her thoughts. She was filled with mixed emotions and clenched her fists tightly.

Lanqin knew that Xueying needed to sort out her thoughts, and seeing that Xueying had also come to her senses, she did not keep her any longer. "You may go back now, you don't need to stay with me."

After Xueying left, Lanqin stood by the window and watched Yonglian playing hopscotch with the palace maids outside the house. It was a game that she had taught him.

Lanqin thought about it. She had always known the fates of these people. She was now trying to change the Fourth Master's opportunities, which were indeed different for him. But what about the others? Could she control their destinies? Lanqin really didn't know what to do.