Qingyin's Seitai-in also fell completely silent.

Thanks to the capable people brought by General Nian's mansion and their extravagant wealth, the henchmen in Qingtai Courtyard remained loyal to the end, making it impossible for those with ulterior motives to find an opportunity to turn them against their own side or win them over.

Therefore, before Yixiu could even make a move or meet with her, she heard the good news from Qingtai Courtyard—Qingyin was pregnant. Now she had a perfectly legitimate reason for Yinzhen to exempt Qingyin from paying her respects to the Fujin until the child was born. Not to mention how absurd this decision was, it was as if the Fujin's face was being rubbed into the ground. Qingyin didn't care, Yinzhen didn't care, and no matter how angry Yixiu was, there was nothing she could do. She could only send the news to her aunt in the palace, Consort De, Uya.

In Yonghe Palace, Consort De, who had received Yixiu's letter, rubbed her worried head. "Is Yixiu really that impatient? The Nian family is powerful, so it's inevitable that Yinzhen will favor them for a while longer. Why did she bring up me directly?"

Ma Ma, Consort De's confidante, smiled as she looked at Consort De's face and said, "Your Majesty, this Lady Nian has gone too far. The Fourth Prince has violated etiquette because of her, so you still need to teach him a lesson."

Hearing what Granny Ma said, Consort De's tightly furrowed brows relaxed again. It was indeed her eldest son's behavior that had gone too far. It was one thing to dote on a subject's concubine, but this was simply outrageous.

Thinking of this, the next day, the maid who had stopped Yinzhen from having a chat at Yonghe Palace returned to the place where only Consort De and the Fourth Prince were present, and then consciously withdrew, leaving the space to the not-so-close mother and son.

Seeing the cold-eyed, frowning Consort De, Yinzhen knew the purpose of his visit. He calmly stood aside and waited for Consort De to speak first.

Seeing that Yinzhen remained silent and unresponsive, Consort De's anger intensified. As expected of someone raised by that vile woman from the Tongjia clan, he simply didn't know how to be filial. Thinking of this, she said irritably, "The child in Lady Nian's belly cannot be kept!"

"No!" Yinzhen retorted firmly, looking at the astonished Consort De, he continued:

“The Nian family is different. I can handle them. Mother doesn’t need to worry.”

“Nian Gengyao is a general with military power, high position and great influence. What can you use to resist him? Besides, I don’t believe you don’t have ambitions for the position above.” Consort De looked at Yinzhen fiercely, and her eyes darkened further in response to Yinzhen’s resolute expression.

The two parted on bad terms during their conversation.

Watching Yinzhen leave, Consort De made up her mind: "That woman, Nian, absolutely cannot have a child."

— — — — — — — — — —

Qingyin was happily lying in Qingtai Courtyard, unaware that she had directly incurred the displeasure of the palace's big boss. Today, she was wearing a delicate pink cheongsam, which made her look even more beautiful and charming. She was sitting on the swing set up by Yinzhen, swinging her two long and slender legs with great interest.

Her lively and adorable appearance also captivated the people hiding in the tree. The man was a bodyguard assigned by Yinzhen to Qingyin. This was a personal bodyguard given by the emperor to protect the princes. Ever since the incident with Consort De, Yinzhen had directly arranged for him to guard Qingyin. Originally, the bodyguard should have explicitly refused, since his direct superior should now be His Majesty. However, after seeing Consort Nian's face, the bodyguard couldn't bring himself to refuse.

From then on, an invisible shadow appeared beside Qingyin.

Of course, Qingyin knew about this person, but she treated him as if he were invisible and continued to do her own thing. Her current task was to give birth to her baby, and she would not consider anything else for the time being.

Bored, Qingyin joined Songzhi and Dongmei in playing cards, but the two of them always secretly let her win, causing her to lose a lot of fun. Soon, she lost interest in the cards and lay on the bed like a salted fish. While she was on the bed, her soul was watching movies and playing games in the system space.

However, the unsuspecting Yinzhen didn't think that way. Seeing Qingyin's lack of interest, he directly suggested taking her to the Lantern Festival.

As darkness fell and Qingyin had just taken a short nap, she was gently awakened by Yinzhen. Opening her eyes, she smiled at Yinzhen, thinking about going out to admire the lanterns, and said, "Your Highness is going to take me to admire the lanterns."

"Yes, get up quickly." Yinzhen's eyes were clear and calm, as if he wasn't the one who had taken a nap with Qingyin. He responded to Qingyin's words, got up, and called the servants in to serve him.

Since it was a private outing, Yinzhen had prepared two identical cyan robes. The workmanship appeared somewhat plain, but a closer look revealed the fabric was anything but simple. Wearing the cyan robes, Yinzhen softened his sharp features, appearing more gentle. Qingyin, on the other hand, was perfectly complemented by the robes; instead of appearing plain, the robes softened the aggressiveness of her stunning beauty, making her seem like an approachable fairy. Yinzhen couldn't take his eyes off her and secretly took her fair hand. They rode in a carriage to the busiest street.

During the Lantern Festival, lanterns and decorations were everywhere, and the colorful lanterns illuminated the entire street, making it lively and bustling. In particular, the occasional ambiguous glances and gestures between handsome young men and shy young women on the street added a touch of joy to this grand and lively scene.

Seeing the bustling, crowded streets, Yinzhen suddenly regretted bringing Shilan to the street. However, seeing the bright joy in Shilan's eyes, he couldn't help but feel the joy of first love and finally winning over his sweetheart. He could only resolve to hold Shilan's hand tightly and protect her from harm.

Wearing a veil, Qingyin looked at the various beautiful lanterns held by men and women and couldn't help but exclaim, "How lively!"

She and Yinzhen held hands, followed by several guards, but they kept a distance from each other. If you looked closely at their clothes, they were dressed very casually, just like any other young men and women out having fun.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!