Since Yinzhen didn't mind, and since the storybook was something she was really interested in, she picked it up and continued reading.

Yinzhen sat down on the small wooden couch. He had come in a hurry and was a little thirsty, so he took the little princess's cup and started drinking water.

Tong Cheng'er didn't even have time to stop them, but considering that the two of them had already done more intimate things, it didn't seem like a big deal to share a cup.

And so, Tong Cheng'er read the storybook, Yinzhen sat beside her watching her, and Consort Wuya lay unconscious on the bed.

It's quite harmonious.

Now that Yinzhen had left the palace to establish his own residence, he could not stay overnight in the palace under normal circumstances. It was almost time for the palace gates to be locked, and Yinzhen thought it was time to go back. As for his mother, the young consort had been looking after her for so long and had taken care of her enough.

He was about to say he wanted to leave.

At this moment, Consort Wuya woke up.

Consort Wuya was a little confused when she woke up. She turned her head but did not see the familiar servants. Instead, she saw her son and daughter-in-law relaxing on the wooden bed not far away.

Now she was completely sober, and then she remembered what had happened that day. She couldn't help but get angry. This daughter-in-law was really going too far. She came to her Yonghe Palace and acted as if she didn't belong there. She was giving orders to the servants in her palace, and she was even more enthusiastic about it than she was.

In a fit of anger, she fainted. When she woke up, she saw her wretched daughter-in-law and her son, whom she wished she had never given birth to.

This makes things even worse.

"What are you doing here?" Consort Wuya said with disgust.

Yinzhen and Tong Cheng'er stood up.

Yinzhen said, "Mother is not feeling well, so my wife came to take care of her. I finished my work early today, so I came to see Mother as well. I found out that Mother had fainted, so my wife and I stayed with Mother."

Looking at the wooden bed with two soft pillows and a small table in front of it, where there was plenty of food and drink, Wu Yapin realized how her good son and daughter-in-law had been "acting like tyrants" while she was unconscious.

That's absolutely outrageous.

"I am ill, and you still have the mind to enjoy yourselves? Is this how you serve someone who is ill? The world is going to the dogs! How could I have given birth to such an unfilial son!"

Tong Cheng'er was displeased upon hearing this. How could he speak like that!

Tong Cheng'er's eyes flashed coldly as she said, "Mother, I have to say something about what you're saying. My husband comes to see you as soon as he gets off his business trip, and he stays by your side every step of the way. Even if you are ungrateful, you can't slander my husband like that!"

"Besides, does Mother expect me and Grandpa to stand and wait for her to wake up? Even if Grandpa and I were willing to do it, wouldn't that ruin Mother's reputation as a loving mother? After all, even the most ruthless Mother wouldn't be so heartless as to make her son stand and serve her when she's sick."

"As for the tea and snacks on the table, Mother is in a deep sleep and we don't know when she will wake up. Does Mother really want us, her juniors, to be thirsty and hungry all the time? If Mother says she is willing, then we have nothing to say."

Consort Wuya was angered again.

“You, you… you have a sharp tongue! Guards, Fourth Princess Consort is disrespecting her mother-in-law, slap her!”

Because she was so angry, Consort Wuya's face was somewhat ferocious when she said this, and her tone was indescribably vicious.

Looking at her like that, Tong Cheng'er thought to herself, "She's probably confused from anger!"

Just as Tong Cheng'er was about to say something, Yinzhen spoke up, saying, "Mother, please calm down. Your wife was just praised by Father for being very filial. If you were to beat your wife for disrespecting your mother-in-law, you might be going against Father's orders. Please think it over."

At this moment, Consort Wuya regained her senses and, after hearing Yinzhen's words, realized that corporal punishment was indeed not advisable.

However, the usual tricks used to make things difficult for her daughter-in-law were ineffective, and she couldn't resort to corporal punishment, so Consort Wuya was at a loss.

So I got angry at myself again.

Tong Cheng'er then spoke up, "Mother, please calm down. Your daughter-in-law is clumsy and stupid. If there is anything I have done wrong, please point it out and I will definitely correct it. If you feel that your daughter-in-law cannot eat or drink anything from Yonghe Palace, I will definitely prepare my own tea and snacks before I come next time."

“Your daughter-in-law didn’t know that Mother had such rules before. I was ungrateful. How about this, Mother, please calculate the amount of what your daughter-in-law ate, drank and used in Yonghe Palace. Your family gave you a lot of dowry, which should be enough to compensate you.”

Finally, Tong Cheng'er cautiously asked her, "Mother, do you think this is alright?"

Is that alright?

Damn it, she's furious. Does she think she's short of money for tea and snacks?

Tong Cheng'er's expression was very sincere when she said this.

This left Consort Wuya completely confused as to whether she had done it on purpose or not. But regardless of whether it was intentional or not, she didn't want to see her daughter-in-law again until she found a way to deal with her.

So Consort Wuya kicked the two of them out.

After leaving Yonghe Palace, Tong Cheng'er breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing her like this, Yinzhen asked, "If you don't want to come, next time when Mother claims to be ill and asks you to take care of her, just say that you are not feeling well and it is inconvenient for you to take care of her. Don't worry too much about it."

Tong Cheng'er nodded: "Looking back, I reckon that after this one time, Mother won't be so foolish as to send me to take care of her next time. But if it really happens again, it won't matter. Anyway, Mother isn't afraid. I'm spoiled and clumsy, so I can just have the palace maids from Yonghe Palace serve Mother. It won't tire me out."

When Yinzhen saw how blunt she was, he couldn't help but laugh: "Only you would dare to say something like that to me, aren't you afraid I'll overthink it?"

Tong Cheng'er asked him, "Won't you overthink it?"

Yinzhen shook his head: "No."

He had been extremely kind and righteous to his mother, Consort Wuya.

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