"This concubine greets Fourth Master!" Yan Yu pretended not to know that he was beside her and immediately stood up timidly to bow.

"No need for formalities, Yu'er. Your zither playing is so good today. I've never seen you play before." The Fourth Prince walked to Yan Yu's side and gently stroked the surface of the zither.

"Your playing skills must be excellent, Master. Why don't you play a tune?" Yan Yu saw that the Fourth Master had plucked the strings a few times and knew that he must be a master of music.

"Very well, it's been a long time since I've played. After hearing your piece today, I couldn't help but want to play the zither." The Fourth Master's slightly annoyed mood dissipated by more than half after listening to Yan Yu's "High Mountains and Flowing Water".

"Then I am truly fortunate to hear this." Yan Yu made way for the Fourth Master to sit down, while she and two maids stood to one side.

Fourth Master looked at the Jiao Wei Qin in front of him, calmed his mind for a while, and then placed his hands on the strings.

As expected, Fourth Master was indeed very skilled at playing the instrument. Yan Yuzhan stood to the side, secretly pleased: she had indeed made the right bet this time, playing to his tastes!

As the elegant and gentle zither music flowed from the small pavilion, the slight irritation in Fourth Master's heart was completely washed away, as if by rain.

When the piece ended, Yan Yu immediately clapped her hands and said with feigned surprise, "Master, you played much better than me. I really made a fool of myself just now."

"You played very well. When I have time in the future, I will personally teach you a thing or two, and you should be able to improve further."

Fourth Master was in a much better mood at this moment, and he was much gentler towards Yan Yu.

"Really? You can teach me to play the zither, Master? I'm so excited and looking forward to it!" Yan Yu said, overjoyed.

The Fourth Prince thought for a moment, realizing that he hadn't favored any other women in the inner quarters since bringing Lanqin into the palace. Feeling a little guilty, he said, "Tonight, Ye will teach you, how about it?"

Yan Yu nodded, feigning magnanimity, and said, "You're going to see your elder sister, aren't you, Master?"

Fourth Master nodded, and Yan Yu immediately said, "It's all my fault for delaying you, Your Highness. Please go quickly."

Fourth Master glanced at Yan Yu, quite pleased with her for being so sensible. He had seen her casually throw the steamed bun on the ground earlier and had deliberately been cold to her for a long time. It seemed she knew she was wrong, which was why she could say such things today.

"Come on, let's go see your elder sister together!" Fourth Master suddenly grabbed Yan Yu's hand and pulled her towards the main courtyard.

In the main courtyard, the Princess Consort was practicing her daily calligraphy in her study. Granny Li stood to one side, grinding ink for her.

"The master hasn't been to the South Courtyard for several days now. It seems like he hasn't been there since he returned from the palace that day," said Granny Li.

“But it’s not like the master didn’t go anywhere else!” The princess raised her hand and rubbed her wrist.

"It's said that the master has been busy with court affairs lately, and I'm afraid his mind is all on that," said Granny Li.

"Has the Thirteenth Prince come today?" The Fujin continued writing on the Xuan paper, densely writing down lines of Wei-style small characters, estimating it would take about an hour.

"Yes, we had lunch with Master in the front courtyard. Later, something happened in front of our mansion. Master and the Thirteenth Prince went out together," said Granny Li.

"Do you know what it is?" the princess asked as she wrote.

"He said he didn't know. He only saw Fourth Master walking into the crowd from afar, and it seemed like someone was setting up a stall at the door and hawking things." This is what the person Li Mama had placed at the gatehouse told her.

"Master, the master has arrived!" Chunliu suddenly walked to the study door and announced.

The princess paused, and immediately a drop of ink slid down.

"Madam, let this old servant fix your hair," said Granny Li happily. Since the Fourth Prince returned with Lanqin, he hadn't come to the main courtyard for several days. She was really worried that the Fourth Prince and Madam would go back to their old ways.

"It's too late, help me up," the princess said calmly, her legs feeling a little numb from sitting for so long.

As Li Mama helped the Fujin to her feet and they slowly walked to the door, the hem of the Fourth Prince's dark blue robe appeared before her. The Fujin immediately put on a gentle and dignified smile, about to speak, when she caught a glimpse of the figure behind the Fourth Prince.

"Elder sister~" Yan Yu called out obediently.

The Fujin quickly replied, "You haven't come for many days, why did you remember to come see me today?" After saying that, she stepped past the Fourth Prince, took Yan Yu's hand and asked with concern.

"I saw Yan Yu playing the zither beautifully in the pavilion today. Unfortunately, she also mentioned that she hadn't paid her respects to you for many days, so I brought her along," Fourth Master said with a smile.

"Since you're here, let's have a meal together," the Fujin instructed Li Mama. "Go and tell the kitchen to prepare the dishes that Fourth Master and Yu'er like."

"I'm sorry to bother you, elder sister." Yan Yu said with an expression as if she was afraid of disturbing the Fujin and the Fourth Prince.

“We sisters serve the Fourth Prince together, so there’s no question of disturbing him. You often come here for meals, don’t you? It’s just that you haven’t been coming as often lately,” the Fujin said meaningfully.

Before long, a table of food was brought out. As soon as the kitchen staff heard that it was for the Fourth Prince, his wife, and Princess Yan Yu, they immediately began to prepare. These were some of the most important people in the mansion, and they had to be served well.

Looking at the table full of fish, meat, chicken and duck, the Fourth Prince didn't have much of an appetite. He suddenly remembered the meals served to the Little Princess, which always whetted his appetite.

Oh, my lady, when will you ever put your mind to something?!

"Yan Yu, you've lost a lot of weight lately. Here, have a piece of chicken." The princess put a piece of chicken in Yan Yu's bowl.

Yan Yu hadn't touched her chopsticks yet, but she picked up a few bamboo shoots to eat. When she saw the slightly greasy piece of chicken in her bowl, she suddenly felt nauseous.

Wow~~

The princess felt a chill in her heart, thinking: Here it comes~~

Fourth Master asked in confusion, "Yu'er, what's wrong?"

Yan Yu covered her small, diamond-shaped mouth with a handkerchief and said aggrievedly, "I don't know why, but I haven't had a good appetite lately. I feel nauseous when I smell greasy things. My elder sister just said that I've lost a lot of weight, which is because I haven't had an appetite these days."

"Hasn't a doctor been consulted?" the Fujin said knowingly, but she still had to play along with Yan Yu and continue the act.

"No, it shouldn't be anything serious," Yan Yu said timidly.

"Quickly, go and have Doctor Zhou take Princess Yan Yu's pulse," Fourth Master said to Granny Li, who was waiting at the door.

"No need to trouble yourself, it's just a lack of appetite, I don't think it's anything serious," Yan Yu said, feigning reluctance.

"You should listen to the master. Are you pregnant?" The princess asked, noticing the prince's expression.

"You're pregnant!!" Yan Yu's eyes widened, and she said in a daze, "That can't be!"

“What’s impossible? You are my princess. If you are really pregnant and don’t even know it, you would be too careless,” the Fourth Prince said.