"Why are there so many things?" Prince Cheng knew that his daughter and grandson were returning today, so he deliberately did not go on duty.

"It's not much, Father, you can take it without worry."

Prince Cheng only asked that one question and didn't pay much attention to it. Anyway, there would be plenty of opportunities to subsidize his daughter and grandson.

He pinched Zhou Yuqing's arm and said, "You're too thin. Now that you're here with your grandpa, I'll help you get some nourishment."

Zhou Yuqing kept smiling, letting his grandfather pinch his arms and legs.

"Cousin!" Just as he was about to say something, a cheerful figure in bright yellow ran up to him.

"Cousin." Zhou Yuqing patted the girl's head, envying her healthy body and carefree personality.

Song Baoning, holding Zhou Yuqing's hand, asked Song Xia, "Aunt, will you be able to stay longer this time?"

Song Xia jokingly asked her, "How long do you want us to stay?"

"It would be best if you stayed here and never went back to the Zhou residence."

"Don't you have any manners?" Ye Wanrou chased after him. "Look at you! You have no manners at all. You're almost a grown-up, how can you still hug your cousin like this?"

"Our relationship is purely sibling, Mother, you don't understand."

Ye Wanrou shook her head: "I understand, but do outsiders understand? If people see this, they'll gossip."

Song Baoning reluctantly let go. Why are there so many worries now that she's grown up? She used to be able to play with her cousin without any problems.

Zhou Yuqing nodded: "Aunt is right, Baoning, you can't do that again."

Song Baoning sighed regretfully, "What? Cousin, aren't you my biological brother? Then no one will say anything."

"What? Does that mean you're disgusted with me?" A cheerful male voice rang out from outside the Prince's mansion. It was Song Runsheng, who was rushing back after finishing his errand.

Song Runsheng was only three years older than Zhou Yuqing, but he was more than a head taller. He was a member of the imperial family and did not need to take the imperial examination. Last year, His Majesty specially appointed him as an imperial bodyguard, and he had just returned from his duty.

Song Xia exclaimed, "Runsheng has grown so tall!"

Zhou Yuqing looked up in envy, wishing he were as tall and strong as his cousin, so his mother wouldn't have to worry.

"Cousin!" He bowed respectfully, and Song Runsheng returned the greeting with a fist salute, patting his shoulder with measured force. "While you're staying at the Prince's Mansion, your cousin will guide you through your training."

"Thank you very much, cousin."

Prince Cheng pushed him away with disdain: "Forget about your reckless nature, I'll teach you myself."

Song Runsheng wasn't angry, but pretended to be jealous and said, "I knew I'd become a pitiful little thing when my cousin came back. Sister, you've already fallen out of favor, yet you're still so close to Yuqing?"

Song Baoning pouted: "Do you think I'm like you?!"

“That’s right.” Prince Cheng also puffed out his beard. “Baoning will always be my darling. Your attempts to sow discord will be futile.”

Ye Wanrou covered her mouth and laughed: "If you know what's good for you, you should quickly welcome your aunt and cousin in. That way, your grandfather can give you a chicken wing to eat later."

Song Runsheng waved his hand and sighed, "Why isn't there a chicken with three legs in this world?"

The crowd burst into laughter. It was quite amusing, really. The royal family of this dynasty all loved to eat chicken, apparently because the founding emperor himself started out by raising chickens. Now that the whole country belonged to the Song dynasty, they could eat as many chickens as they wanted. However, they would still argue over who got the chicken leg.

Before Song Xia got married, she and her older brother each had one. Later, when her sister-in-law married into the family, she and her sister-in-law each had one.

Now that there are more and more people in the family, the family rules have not changed: only two whole chicken legs are left for each meal and given to the two youngest children.

Looking at her son, Song Xia saw that he was indeed in much better spirits. The environment changes one's mood, and one's mood affects one's health. He no longer had any worries as long as he didn't have to see the Zhou family.

She still lived in the courtyard she had before she got married. Yuqing was a boy. When he was a child, he lived in the same courtyard as her when he returned to the Prince's Mansion. Later, a separate courtyard was prepared for him next to Song Runsheng's.

At the Prince's residence, everything was already arranged and taken care of by her sister-in-law, and there was no one scheming against her. Song Xia sighed with relief.

"It's better to be a daughter!"

Ye Wanrou said enviously, "Only you could have such a good life. When I was in the Ye family, my days were not as good as when I was in the Prince's mansion."

Song Xia smiled and said, "Isn't this your sister-in-law?"

"Stop flattering me. You know that's not what I meant. I heard that your illegitimate daughter went to distribute porridge with you a couple of days ago, and then ran back crying?"

"Hmm." Song Xia nodded lazily, "Spoiled and pampered, she can't endure that kind of hardship."

"Too young, so many people are watching!"

"I brought her there on purpose; I had long anticipated that this day would come."

Ye Wanrou raised an eyebrow: "Aren't you afraid she'll damage Yu Ge'er's reputation?"

"She's just a concubine's daughter, and she wasn't raised under my name. How much influence can she have on Yu-ge'er? Besides, I don't plan for Yu-ge'er to take the imperial examination route."

“It’s not worth ruining your health for the imperial examinations. When Yu’er is a little older, I’ll ask my father to find him a leisurely job, preferably one that doesn’t require him to be on duty. After all, we’re not counting on Yu’er to support the family.”

"That's what I think too. Health is the only real thing; everything else is just fluff."

Ye Wanrou nodded, then asked Zhou Ying, "You're not the type to deliberately argue with a child, so why did you suddenly come up with that trick?"

"It's because she and her aunt are always hoping something bad will happen to Yu-ge'er. Not only that, they're also trying to get me to find her a good marriage. Guess who they've got their eyes on?"

Ye Wanrou was taken aback: "Could it be Runsheng?"

"Exactly, they really have a dream. Do they think they can even dream of Runsheng? So I used this incident to completely frame her for disrespecting the mistress of the house. She can forget about ever attending any banquets with me again. With fewer opportunities to interact with Runsheng, there will be fewer opportunities to scheme against her."

"How dare they even think of that? Runsheng is going to inherit the royal family in the future. Even if the title falls into his hands, he will still be a first-class marquis. Why would he marry a concubine's daughter?"

Song Xia's eyes darkened slightly: "I'm not afraid of their wishful thinking, I'm afraid of them using underhanded tactics."

In a past life, Zhou Ying and Liu Fangniang took a liking to Runsheng. However, because she went with Yuqing, the Zhou family broke off ties with the Wang family. Later, in order to marry Runsheng in a legitimate way, they did not hesitate to drug him. It was Runsheng's strong will that allowed him to escape the disaster.

From then on, Zhou Ying and Liu Fangniang became wary, and Zhou Ying and Liu Fangniang never found another opportunity, so they changed their targets.

Zhou Ying was lucky. Although she later married a son of a concubine, he was a son of a marquis. After the heir of the marquis's family passed away, the son of the concubine naturally inherited the marquis's family.

Song Xia was amazed when she suddenly realized how lucky they were! Could there really be such a coincidence in the world?

First, the legitimate son of the Zhou family passed away, and Zhou Yongli and Old Madam Liu got a good deal. Then, her Yuqing passed away in her previous life, and Zhou Shuqing got a good deal. After Zhou Ying married the illegitimate son of the Marquis's family, the illegitimate son got a good deal again...

Song Xia became increasingly alarmed as she thought about it, and the fact that she had been drugged while pregnant with Yu Qing made her even more certain of her suspicions.