Pei Zhi slammed the comb down on the table. "What nonsense are you spouting?"

Afu was so frightened that she immediately knelt on the ground, saying, "This servant knows her crime."

"Get up," Pei Zhi instructed Afu. "Don't make things up without evidence, especially something like this."

How could Pei Yin, an unmarried young woman, be brewing medicine to prevent miscarriage in her own courtyard?

"I was overthinking it. I was assigned by the madam to serve the concubine when she was pregnant. I was the one who prepared the medicine to help her have a healthy pregnancy."

Afu lowered her head. "It smells exactly the same today, that's why I spoke out of turn."

“It’s not uncommon for medicines to be similar in this world. If you were to leave the courtyard and someone else heard you say that, your mother would beat you to death with sticks.”

Pei Zhi said sternly, "When the time comes, I won't get away with it either."

The maids in Pei Zhi's courtyard gossiped about Pei Yin.

Ah Fu will definitely not have a good ending, and inevitably, the people in the mansion will think that Pei Zhi is jealous of Pei Yin, which is why she sent the maid to spread rumors.

"This servant will never dare to do it again."

Pei Zhi instructed, "From now on, don't say a word about what happens in that courtyard, understand?"

"Yes." Afu nodded hurriedly.

In Pei Yin's courtyard, A Tao served Pei Yin her medicine and then handed her a candied fruit.

"Girl, are you feeling better?"

Pei Yin clutched her stomach and nodded slightly.

A few days ago, it was supposed to be her period, but it was delayed.

Pei Yin had a bad feeling and pretended to go out to the temple to burn incense.

Fearing being discovered, Pei Yin put on a veil and even took a detour to a clinic outside the city.

When the doctor heard about Pei Yin's situation, he only said that it was too early to detect pregnancy, but it was very likely that she was pregnant.

A few days after Pei Yin returned to the manor, she began to feel nauseous.

Since her period was late, Pei Yin guessed that she was probably pregnant.

Atao asked worriedly, "Miss, when should we tell the Second Prince about this?"

A perfectly healthy young woman suddenly becomes pregnant; if word gets out, it will be quite a scandal.

"It's still early in the month, so it's not very convenient to go to the temple. I'll tell him then, in a few days, it will be the Princess's birthday banquet."

When Pei Yin learned from her father that her marriage had fallen through, she was naturally unwilling to accept it.

Since her family wouldn't fight for her, she would fight for it herself.

When Pei Yin chatted with Consort Shu before, she learned that Consort Shu asked the Second Prince to go to the temple to burn incense and pray to Buddha on the sixteenth of every month, asking Buddha to bless the Emperor with good health.

Therefore, Pei Yin waited specifically for the sixteenth day to go to the temple and intercept the Second Prince.

Pei Yin had met the Second Prince a few times before at Consort Shu's residence, and the Second Prince also remembered Pei Yin.

The Second Prince was aware that their marriage had not gone through.

The second prince originally had no objection to this.

Anyway, his marriage was always arranged by his mother, and he just had to comply.

He would marry whomever his mother told him to marry.

But when he saw Pei Yin looking at him with such sorrowful eyes, the Second Prince felt a pang of sympathy.

Pei Yin dressed up specially when she went to intercept the Second Prince.

Previously, in Consort Shu's palace, Pei Yin bribed the palace servants to inquire about the type of woman the Second Prince liked.

Pei Yin dressed up specifically to match the Second Prince's preferences that day.

The Second Prince had previously found Pei Yin to be plain-looking, but upon seeing her suddenly become a sight to behold, he was somewhat tempted.

Pei Yin lowered her stance again, saying that she loved the Second Prince and was willing to be his concubine.

Unfortunately, the two were destined to be apart.

The second prince, being a man who had already tasted the forbidden fruit at a young age, was overcome with emotion and made some promises.

The second time they were at the temple, Pei Yin offered herself to the Second Prince.

Pei Yin was helpless; the Second Prince was an incompetent and ignorant man.

The second prince was not proficient in any of the arts, such as playing the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting.

Unable to retain the Second Prince with these methods, Pei Yin had no choice but to go all the way.

Moreover, it's not easy for a young lady like her to come out. If she doesn't use some tricks, the Second Prince will probably be seduced by other women in the mansion soon, and he won't remember her anymore.

Pei Yin had no choice but to abandon her sense of shame and discard all the upbringing she had cultivated over the years.

Fortunately, she was healthy and became pregnant with the emperor's grandson so quickly.

There are no grandchildren in the family now. The eldest prince has passed away, and the second prince has not yet married a principal wife or a concubine.

This child is her bargaining chip for securing her position.

Pei Yin doesn't need to worry. If the Duke's Mansion doesn't help her, then so be it, it's a fight to the death.

Anyway, they don't care about her, so why should she care about them?

Before they knew it, it was the day of the Princess's birthday banquet.

That day, Pei Zhi was woken up early by her maid to do her hair and makeup. To put it bluntly, the maid dared not make a single mistake.

After dressing up, she had breakfast in Pei's mother's courtyard, then went to the front yard to meet up with Pei's father and son. The group then took a carriage and headed to the princess's residence in a grand procession.

The princess's residence is not located in the most bustling area of ​​the capital, so it takes quite a distance for a carriage to get there.

Today, there were an extremely large number of people going to the princess's residence to offer birthday greetings, and Pei Zhi actually experienced a traffic jam in this era.

Pei Zhi got up a little early in the morning and took a nap by the side.

Pei Yin covered her mouth with a handkerchief and couldn't help but gag.

Pei Zhi was startled awake by the sound and looked at Pei Yin.

Pei's mother also asked with concern, "Are you alright?"

"It's nothing, it's just that the carriages are all gathered together and the smell is too strong."

Pei Yin took a dried apricot out of her purse and popped it into her mouth. After tasting its sour flavor, she felt much better.

Pei's mother asked in confusion, "I remember you never liked dried fruit, you thought it was sour."

Pei Yin calmly explained, "We're not going to a birthday banquet today. My daughter was worried about encountering this situation on the way, so she made preparations in advance."

Pei Yin held out her purse. "Mother, sister, would you like some?"

Pei's mother shook her head, "I'm too old, my teeth aren't good, I can't eat these."

Pei Zhi lazily refused, "I'm sleepy, I don't want to eat."

Pei's mother reached out and straightened Pei Zhi's skirt, nagging, "Just lean on it like that, don't wrinkle your clothes, or it won't look good."

Pei Yin gazed at the scene of motherly love and filial piety before her, and clenched the purse in her hand.

She did nothing wrong. If she hadn't taken this risky step, what would she have done in the future?

We wasted a lot of time on the way before finally arriving at the princess's residence.

In front of the Princess's Mansion, many carriages were parked, with passengers disembarking.

After registering the gifts, the Pei family, mother and daughters, went to the backyard.

Duke Pei and Pei Minxue went to the front courtyard, where men and women sat at separate tables.

Upon entering the princess's residence, Pei Yin gave a wink to her maid, A Tao, who nodded knowingly and discreetly fell behind the group.

Because men and women were seated separately, Pei Yin had no choice but to contact the Second Prince in advance.

But today, the Second Prince will definitely come.

Before coming, Pei Yin had instructed her personal maid, A Tao, to go to the front courtyard to find the Second Prince.

A maidservant going to the front yard wouldn't attract any attention.