“It’s so boring for Bao Ning to be here all alone. That’s where the unmarried noble ladies play. Cui Zhu, take Miss Song over there.” Zhou Ying didn’t wait for Song Xia to say anything and directly had someone take Bao Ning over.

Ye Wanrou nodded to her daughter, and Song Baoning obediently followed.

They all knew perfectly well what Zhou Ying's purpose was today. If they knew and still couldn't avoid it, then they would be truly foolish.

"It's been so long since I've seen Mother. She's still in such good spirits." Zhou Ying smiled broadly, a stark contrast to her appearance at the Zhou residence.

Song Xia laughed, "No one in the manor dares to disobey me. If someone disobeys, I just punish them. There's nothing unpleasant about it, so how can I not be in good spirits?"

Sure enough, Zhou Ying's smile faded, probably because she was thinking about Liu Fangniang's fate.

"My mother is still as unrestrained as ever."

"I am the most powerful person in this county, what do I need to worry about?"

Zhou Ying gently touched her slightly protruding belly: "I'm pregnant with the Prince's child, is Mother happy?"

"Your Majesty is right. The imperial grandson is about to be born. Who in the world wouldn't be happy?"

Song Xia's loud voice quickly attracted attention. Zhao Concubine's family approached and said, "Imperial grandson? He hasn't even been born yet, and you already know he's an imperial grandson?"

"She's pregnant, can't she even look forward to it?"

"Even if he is a grandson of the emperor, he is only the fourth son of Prince Huai. What's so special about him?"

"We don't care, but others do!"

The two chatted back and forth, and Song Xia didn't refute them, just smiled faintly.

Zhou Ying coldly observed them. Having been in the manor for so long, she had long seen through their true colors. Not one of them wished her well or hoped that she would give birth to the child safely, not even her stepmother.

Unfortunately, Prince Huai now values ​​her and the child in her womb very much.

So she smiled gently: "As long as Your Highness likes it, that's fine."

"You..." Her provocative manner infuriated Consort Zhao's family.

"Mother, are the flowers beautiful today?"

"The flowers in Prince Huai's mansion are all carefully tended by gardeners, how could they not be beautiful?"

"If Mother likes it, bring two more pots when we return to the manor. The same goes for the Crown Princess. His Highness won't mind because of me."

"No, thank you." Ye Wanrou refused expressionlessly. "Although the Prince Cheng's residence is not as grand as the Prince Huai's residence, it doesn't lack these two pots of flowers."

Ye Wanrou's face fell when she thought that the two siblings had designs on Bao Ning today.

"Your Highness, the concubine is still in the early stages of pregnancy and should take more rest. We will not linger here any longer."

Zhou Ying watched their retreating figures with a cold smile. Sure enough, her choice to marry His Highness was the right one. Before, she had no right to have a face-to-face conversation with these two.

After today, they will have to fawn over her even more, since Song Baoning has no choice but to marry her brother. If they want Song Baoning to have a good life in the future, how can they not put up with it?

Little did she know that after Ye Wanrou left, she turned to Song Xia and said, "Her skills are too shallow. If the Prince Huai ever treats her coldly, she will suffer without us having to lift a finger."

"After enduring so many years, how can we suppress this? There'll be plenty of laughs to come!"

After a while, Song Xia and Ye Wanrou noticed that something seemed to have happened to Song Baoning. Just as they were about to get up, they were stopped by the maids.

"Princess and Crown Princess need not worry, someone has already taken Miss Song to change her clothes."

The two women exchanged a glance, thinking to themselves that it had finally come.

In the front yard, after a maid whispered something, Zhou Shuqing followed her with excited eyes. What he didn't know was that as soon as he left, another maid came looking for him. This maid was sent by Zhou Ying.

Zhou Ying sat in the pavilion, waiting for the situation to unfold, secretly wondering what expressions her good stepmother and the Crown Prince's wife would have later.

The only unmarried legitimate daughter of the prestigious Prince Cheng's mansion, she lost her composure at Prince Huai's residence, willing to sacrifice her reputation to have a secret rendezvous with a man, tsk...

To put it bluntly, even if she were from the Prince Cheng's mansion, a young lady who had lost her reputation would feel unworthy of her brother and could only wrong him.

If it weren't for Song Xia and Zhou Yuqing, someone as outstanding as her brother could have married even a princess, which is a waste for Song Baoning.

Zhou Ying counted the time, and as a maid hurriedly ran out, she smiled and said, "They're here!"

What's all the rush about?

"Your Highness, something terrible has happened! Young Master Zhou..."

What happened to my brother?

"Young Master Zhou is entangled with a woman and cannot escape, and is also..."

"He's speaking haltingly, and what is he doing?"

"And the Princess Consort even saw them."

Zhou Ying was slightly taken aback. The Princess Consort? Wasn't the old lady from the Duke's mansion the one she had led over? But the Princess Consort was even better. Now Song Baoning's reputation was completely ruined. Apart from becoming a nun, she could only marry her brother.

"Aren't you going to take me to see it?"

Zhou Ying walked past Song Xia and Ye Wanrou: "Mother and the Crown Princess, shall we go and take a look too?"

The two frowned and followed behind. Just as they turned a corner, Song Baoning ran up to them, saying, "Mother, Aunt."

Zhou Ying's eyes widened. What was Song Baoning doing here?

"Where did you go? I didn't see you earlier."

"My skirt got a little tea stain, so I went to the lotus pond to get some fresh air. Mother, where are you going?"

Song Xia smiled and said, "I heard that Zhou Shuqing is being pestered by a woman. We're just about to go see who's so bold."

Zhou Ying's hands began to tremble. What had gone wrong? Why wasn't it Song Baoning?

Ye Wanrou patted her daughter's hand: "It's not appropriate for you to go see her. Have the maid take you back to the pavilion."

"Mm." Song Baoning nodded obediently, but inwardly she was very disappointed that she couldn't witness such excitement firsthand.

Zhou Ying hurried along. When Song Xia and Ye Wanrou arrived, they saw the princess's men surrounding Zhou Shuqing and Wu Yushi's illegitimate daughter. Zhou Shuqing was disheveled, his face was dark, and his mouth was stuffed with cloth. The illegitimate daughter was already delirious.

"Oh dear, this..." The old lady of the Duke's mansion, who arrived late, covered her eyes, "A man and a woman alone together, even if they couldn't control themselves, how could they do it in the Prince's mansion..."

Zhou Ying nearly lost her balance; she felt like the sky was about to collapse.

"Consort Zhou, how do you explain this?"

"Your Highness, this is absolutely a misunderstanding. Please, Your Highness, see the truth and clear my brother's name."

"Innocence?" an old nanny asked in a shrill voice. "This old servant saw with his own eyes that Young Master Zhou took the initiative to hug Miss Wu, and Miss Wu did not refuse."

Song Xia then said with difficulty, "If you are so in love, why didn't you tell me to propose? Why did you have to meet secretly and almost ruin the Hundred Flowers Banquet at the Prince's Mansion today?"

Then she apologized again: "Your Highness, it is my fault for not disciplining you properly. Please forgive me."

The princess was very understanding: "Even the county princess could not have predicted this. However, since Miss Wu has lost her innocence today, we still need to come up with a solution."

"If Lord Wu doesn't mind, I will go and propose marriage tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Ying's face turned even paler, and Zhou Shuqing struggled to get up, but to no avail.