Liu Fangniang has been in a particularly good mood these past two days, just waiting for Zhou Yuqing to die, which would then crush Song Xia, and she would naturally be promoted to the position of Zhou's legal wife.

Madam Liu of Fushou Hall was also eating heartily. She had long disliked Song Xia. She was clearly the mother-in-law, but Song Xia always acted like royalty, reluctantly paying her respects. She wondered how Song Xia would act so arrogantly after losing her son.

It would be best if Song Xia went along too. She wanted Yongli to make Fangniang his official wife, so that the Liu family would no longer have to worry about declining.

Zhou Ying also wrote a letter to Zhou Shuqing at the academy to tell him the good news. Zhou Shuqing's expression did not change after reading it. He just burned the letter himself and did not ask for leave to go back and see his bad older brother.

In his view, his stepmother and elder brother were ungrateful and didn't know what was good for them. Since they didn't have the talent, why bother trying to catch up?

"Brother Zhou, Brother Zhao said he's going out for drinks, shall we go together?"

"Okay, I'll change my clothes and come right away."

The man asked in surprise, "Why are you being so agreeable today? You always said you'd write a couple more policy essays when I asked you to."

Zhou Shuqing smiled slightly: "I just thought that I couldn't just keep burying myself in books all the time; I had to relax a bit."

"You've finally figured it out."

Just when everyone thought it was a done deal, and even Song Xia's maternal family, the Prince Cheng's Mansion, heard the news, Zhou Yuqing woke up.

“Mother…” Zhou Yuqing opened her eyes and called out weakly.

"He's awake! He's awake! The young master is awake!"

"What are you yelling about? Go and call Physician Zhang!" Song Xia said in a low voice, but her eyes never left her son.

"Mother, don't worry, your son is alright." Zhou Yuqing smiled weakly.

"Now that you're awake, I'm not worried anymore. I'm sorry, I was wrong. I'll never pressure you again. As long as you're healthy, that's all that matters."

Zhou Yuqing was taken aback, clearly not expecting his mother to apologize to him.

However, he didn't take the suggestion not to pressure him. He'll definitely want to go back to school once he gets better.

Little did he know that Song Xia had truly made up her mind this time; even if he wanted to study in the future, Song Xia would not allow him to.

"What's wrong with Yu-ge'er?" A worried female voice came from outside. Her concern was different from the feigned concern of Liu Fangniang and the others. She was Ye Wanrou, Song Xia's sister-in-law.

"I heard that Yu-ge'er hasn't woken up for days. What happened? Why didn't you tell the family anything?"

"Sister-in-law," Song Xia said, bowing her head, "I just didn't want you to worry."

"If you don't want us to worry about what's being spread everywhere, wouldn't we be even more worried?" Ye Wanrou walked in and saw that Zhou Yuqing was awake, which put her mind at ease.

"aunt."

"Don't get up, just lie still." Looking at the emaciated child, Ye Wanrou's eyes reddened with heartache.

Then he blamed Song Xia: "Look at how you take care of your child, how did he turn out like this?"

"I admit I was wrong before."

Upon hearing her mother admit her mistake again, Zhou Yuqing glanced at her once more.

"It's good that you're awake. What did the imperial physician say?"

"I've already sent someone to fetch Physician Zhang."

Physician Zhang was calmer than everyone except Song Xia. After all, he had been checking Zhou Yuqing's pulse every day for the past few days. Although Zhou Yuqing hadn't woken up, her pulse had been steady. He didn't know how the outside world had spread such rumors.

It's understandable that Song Xia is too busy caring about her son to manage the household, but what are the rest of the Zhou family doing? Or is it intentional?

Why are there so few stable families among these wealthy households?

"These past few days of sleep have given your body some rest. You look tired now because you've been sleeping for too long. You'll be fine once you eat something. Remember to feed you liquid food."

His words relieved everyone in Han Hui Courtyard, especially Ye Wanrou. She knew that her nephew was her sister-in-law's lifeline. If something happened to her nephew, her sister-in-law would probably not be able to bear it, and even her father-in-law, the Prince, might fall ill.

The younger sister-in-law only has one son. In their Prince's mansion, there are only three children: her son and her daughter. They are all the Prince's lifeblood.

"My father sent me to bring two old ginseng roots, which I obtained from His Majesty on special occasion."

"I'm sorry to have troubled you, Father."

“Father only has you as his daughter and Yuqing as his grandson. If he doesn’t think about you, who else would he think about? Now that Yuqing has woken up, I can go back and report back.”

Zhou Yuqing kept smiling. In fact, he was more handsome than his father Zhou Yongli and his half-brother Zhou Shuqing. However, he was thinner, had less flesh on his face, and his lips were paler, so he did not look as energetic as Zhou Shuli.

Ye Wanrou had always adored her nephew, and seeing him smile like that, she couldn't help but clutch her chest: "Everyone outside says that Zhou Shuqing is a gentleman like jade, but that's because they haven't seen you, Yuqing. Otherwise, the title of the number one young master in the capital would definitely belong to you."

"Aunt, you're joking again."

“Your aunt is telling the truth. Once you’re fully recovered, your cousin will take you out more often, and everyone will know that your aunt isn’t lying.”

Song Xia nodded: "Going out more is better than staying at home. In a few days, I will take Yuqing back to the Prince's Mansion to stay."

"Then Father will be happy. Bao Ning also misses her cousin Yu Qing! She likes to brag, just like me. She often tells her friends that she has a god-like cousin, but no one believes her. They're all just waiting to go out with Yu Qing and prove them wrong!"

Speaking of her niece Bao Ning, Song Xia smiled genuinely. Her niece was much cuter than Zhou Ying, the illegitimate daughter.

It's laughable that Zhou Ying used to be jealous of the many expensive jewelry I gave my niece. Does she even realize that she's a concubine's daughter who wished for my death and Yuqing's death? Does she deserve it?

The two women, an aunt and her sister-in-law, were chatting jokingly when someone, utterly inconsiderate, interrupted them.

"I heard that my in-laws have arrived, so I came to entertain them and also to see Yu-ge'er. Is Yu-ge'er alright? Could something really have happened to him? What should we do?" Before even entering the door, Liu Fangniang's eyes were already red.

Ye Wanrou scoffed: "Who's related to your concubine by marriage?"

She then said to Song Xia, "You are too kind-hearted. A concubine is so unruly, why don't you teach her a lesson?"

Song Xia said calmly, "She is the master's beloved and the old lady's niece. How can I possibly discipline her?"

Hearing her sister-in-law's tone, Ye Wanrou understood: "If you can't manage her, then I will. Calling me, the wife of the heir apparent, by marriage is an insult to the reputation of the Chengjun Prince's Mansion. Come on, slap her and make her kneel outside the courtyard."

Liu Fangniang then exclaimed in panic, "I am a concubine of the Zhou family. You cannot control me, Madam. Are you just going to let your family bully me? Where is the dignity of the Zhou family?"

Ye Wanrou sneered: "You even dare to threaten the principal wife, which shows how lawless you are. Even if Zhou Yongli were here today, I, the wife of the heir, would dare to punish him. Do you know that you are damaging the face of the royal family!"

Liu Fangniang's face turned pale, and she hurriedly winked at her maid, signaling her to bring reinforcements.

Neither Ye Wanrou nor Song Xia stopped them. So what if Zhou Yongli was called over? What could that coward Zhou Yongli possibly say?