This child was conceived when Meng Ruoyun's life had almost hit rock bottom, so she took this pregnancy very seriously. She checked not only what she ate, but also what she wore several times.

The maid said softly, "Your Highness, we don't really need to go through all this trouble."

“Now that the eldest son has returned to the capital and won a battle outside the Great Wall, he is someone His Majesty can trust…” the maid hesitated before speaking.

Meng Ruoyun frowned deeply: "Why bring him up?"

Although they share the same surname, Meng Huaiyi was not known in the capital to be from the Meng family. He was Meng Ruoyun's cousin. Seventeen years ago, Meng Huaiyi's parents died on the battlefield. Soon after, he left the Meng family and joined the Black-Clad Guard.

The Black-Clad Guards had a terrible reputation both among the common people and in the court, and Meng Ruoyun despised them: "He took shortcuts to get promoted and make money. I look down on people like that. So what if he won a battle? He's inherently despicable!"

Maid: ...

I'm exhausted. Forget it, I'm not going to say anything more.

Meng Ruoyun then thought of her younger brother, Meng Abao: "Abao is almost eighteen. I suppose Father will have him take the imperial examination this year. Entering officialdom through the imperial examination is the right path."

Mentioning her younger brother, Meng Ruoyun smiled gently again: "Once I give birth to this child safely, with my help in the palace, I believe Abao will be able to leave this world with more peace of mind."

But soon her expression turned serious: "I don't know how many people in the harem are eyeing this pregnancy, I must not be careless." Moreover, Meng Ruoyun had a strange feeling that this pregnancy was definitely a dragon prince.

“Prince Duan…is a kind and compassionate man.” Meng Ruoyun slowly spoke, touching her belly, and then looked up at her maid: “A-Lian, you are the only person I can trust by my side. Go and find Prince Duan. I have no help in the inner palace. If I want to protect the prince, I can only ask him for help.”

She likes to ask men outside the family for help, and you can't stop her.

The maid, A-Lian, didn't try to dissuade her, and respectfully replied with her head bowed, "Yes, Your Highness."

Meng Ruoyun finally managed a smile: "Alian, don't worry, I will remember the kindness you showed me in the Cold Palace. After I safely give birth to the little prince, I will ask my father to give your brother an official position, so that you can serve me in the palace with peace of mind."

Ah Lian forced a smile: "Thank you... thank you, Your Majesty."

After returning to her room, Ah Lian took out all the silver she had saved over the years since entering the palace. She couldn't bear the weight of the deep bond between her and her servant.

The maid who entered the palace with her to pay respects to Young Master Jin has died, and now her back aches terribly even from doing a little rough work.

He bestowed gifts upon his family... but why couldn't he see her suffering?

Clutching the silver coins tightly, A-Lian headed straight for the Imperial Household Department after leaving the palace. But before she could deliver the coins, she encountered a woman dressed similarly as a palace maid. A-Lian looked up at her, only to be startled by her appearance: "You…"

"Is this Miss A-Lian?" She smiled. "Our master has something to discuss with you."

...

After Jin Chang'an died and the Jin family was raided, Bai Yan's reputation as Princess Tianfu was utterly ruined among the literati families in the capital.

Nowadays, women value their reputation highly, especially those from scholarly families that pride themselves on being refined and virtuous, or from clans that have produced scholars. If a daughter from such a family is caught talking to a man outside the family, she will be scolded several times over.

Not long ago, an incident occurred in Beijing. In the outer suburbs of Beijing, there was a family surnamed Chen. The woman of the family had lost her husband and worked as an embroiderer in a textile factory to support her two children.

She was tricked out by her family and her husband's family, and not long after returning home, she was thrown into a well on charges of "adultery".

Princess Tianfu engaged in illicit affairs, disregarding her reputation. Since she had a powerful father, they couldn't do anything about it, so they turned to other women.

The embroiderers who had already entered the factory were filled with anxiety, and after this incident, the women in the capital were terrified. Unless their families were struggling to make ends meet, who would dare to ruin their reputation by working in a textile factory?

"You bastard!" Dan Niang's eyes turned red with anger: "What do you mean by 'indecent behavior'? She was just trying to earn a living for her two children! Saying a few words to the manager at the factory is considered unchaste?"

Bai Yan knew this was directed at her, so she lowered her eyes and said, "Go ask the embroiderers in the factory. If they are really scared and want to leave, I won't stop them. Just give them some money to leave."

"If you don't leave, you won't be allowed to leave the factory at will. If you need to send money home or go out to buy things, the guards will handle it."

"Go and post another notice: only female workers will be hired in the textile factory, no male workers will be retained. In the future, not only the embroiderers, but also the handymen, managers, and gatekeepers will all be replaced by women."

Dan Niang nodded: "Yes, Princess."

A dark glint flashed in Bai Yan's eyes, and her lips curled up coldly: If you want to fight her, then let's fight. She wants to see who wins and who loses!

Bai Qing was aware of the recent troubles at the textile factory, but the closer people were to the political center, the more easily they were influenced by the ideas in the vicinity. If he ordered women to work at the textile factory, the next day those literati would dare to use their pens to denounce him as a tyrant who disregarded Confucian principles.

Besides, given that a woman had already been thrown into a well, even the emperor wouldn't want to go against public opinion.

But... the textile factory can't expand its workforce, so what about the money? What about his army?

We just won a battle, solving the immediate crisis in the west, but what about the east? And the bandit problem in Jiangnan!

You can't win a war without an army, but you can't support an army without money.

Bai Qing was having a headache when the chief steward reported, "Your Majesty, the princess has arrived."

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