Before Liu Heng arrived, Lin Yuqiao was very anxious, wondering if he would believe her.

What if, because of Liu Ling's matter, the Crown Princess forbids Li Shi from visiting her again?

Therefore, when Liu Heng appeared before her, the first thing she said to him was, "You have to believe me!"

Liu Heng looked at the aggrieved-looking person in front of him with some surprise.

“My mother would never do something so childish. Even I wouldn’t do it.”

Although she has a low threshold for laughter and her character isn't great, laughing at a child falling down is just ridiculous. This is clearly Liu Ling being unreasonable.

Because of her protruding belly, Lin Yuqiao could only press her abdomen against Liu Heng's body, bury her face in his clothes, and recount the events of the day in fits and starts.

Then, repeating it again, "My mother really did laugh! She wouldn't laugh!"

Her eyes were a little red, and she felt a pang of sadness thinking about Li's worries. It was all her fault for being useless, making Li have to lower herself to a bratty child and put up with her temper.

When Liu Heng first learned about this, he didn't take it to heart. But now, seeing her so aggrieved, he was puzzled and quickly patted her back to comfort her gently.

"It's okay, I know."

"So you believe me?"

Lin Yuqiao looked up at Liu Heng, her eyes watery and her face full of anticipation.

"Yes, I believe it."

Regarding Liu Ling's accusation that Lady Chenliang had mocked her, Liu Heng simply thought she was being childish. He knew that Liu Ling was usually proud, self-possessed, and very strong-willed. Her fall today must have been something she found embarrassing.

And to be honest, Liu Heng really didn't think that Lady Chen Lianghou would mock a child like her. Even a normal adult wouldn't do such a thing.

Furthermore, Liu Ling was just a girl, and there was no conflict of interest between the Lin and Li families. He couldn't understand why they would harbor malice towards Liu Ling for no reason.

"It's such a small thing, why are you worried about it like this?"

He put his arm around her shoulder and sat her down on the couch. Liu Heng turned to the side, stroked her hair with his hand, and asked her with a light smile.

"If the Crown Princess hears what the First Princess says and believes it, what if she stops my mother from visiting me again, or openly expresses to others that she doesn't like my mother? Then she will be sad when she appears in other places in the future."

After calming down, Lin Yuqiao realized she had overreacted. As an adult, worrying about a child causing trouble was indeed quite cowardly.

Ultimately, she felt the reason stemmed from Li's behavior; Li's overly worried attitude made her anxious as well.

As for Lady Li, she was concerned about the Crown Princess's presence and feared that she might use Liu Ling's affair to target her. Ultimately, it was her awkward position; apart from Liu Heng, she didn't have many other support.

Hearing Lin Yuqiao's words, Liu Heng pondered for a moment. He had never imagined that Lin would be so afraid of the Crown Princess.

He had always upheld the legitimacy of his principal wife, and his only concern in the past was that she might become unstable in the inner court, leading to infighting among the wives and concubines and causing unrest in the household. Therefore, for many years he had consistently shown unparalleled trust and support for the Crown Princess, and the inner court, as he had predicted, remained stable and peaceful.

Later, after realizing his feelings for Lin, he was worried that she might become too ambitious and pose a threat to the Crown Princess. Therefore, he always paid attention to his words and actions and refused to show her too much affection.

He was trying to prevent that possibility from happening, not wanting to see her one day become like the women in the palace he had seen before—ruthless, vicious, and insatiable.

However, he suddenly realized that something was amiss.

The title of Crown Princess itself carries authority and power; she is the sole ruler in the inner palace. Furthermore, with sons and daughters, and Liu Kang already appointed as the Imperial Grandson, her position is even more secure.

Even Lin, who had his favor and promises and was pregnant, still showed such reverence for the Crown Princess; others would be even more so.

His long-term maintenance of it has been so successful that it has created hidden worries.

If he were still the Prince of Huaiyang, his wife would be unmatched in the inner court, which would be beneficial to the stability and harmony of the Prince's residence. However, now that he is the Crown Prince, it is not a good thing for his wife to have absolute power in the inner court.

The previous dynasty perished due to the interference of empress dowagers in politics, and even during the reign of Emperor Wenxuan of this dynasty, there was the incident of Empress Dowager Hu causing chaos in politics.

When Empress Dowager Hu was empress, she dominated the harem. After Emperor Wenxuan died, she manipulated her underage son, Emperor Wucheng, to arbitrarily interfere in politics, appointing relatives of the Hu family and sycophantic officials. During the ten years of Empress Dowager Hu's misrule, the country was almost thrown into chaos.

Even if he is not a figure like Emperor Wenxuan, the Crown Princess will be the future Empress. He can give her the status and respect due to a legitimate wife, but he cannot let her presence be too strong. In any case, it is not a good thing if only the Empress is powerful in the harem.

Having found a new way of thinking, Liu Heng couldn't help but think of Han Shiyi and the others who used to live in the backyard.

He knew that when the Crown Princess was still a princess, she had used drugs on others in order to give birth to the eldest son of the legitimate heir. He also felt that the eldest son should be born to the princess so that the lineage would be legitimate.

However, after that, none of Consort Han and the others conceived, and the Crown Princess's methods had gone a bit too far. He hadn't cared before, so he wanted to investigate further, but now, thinking about it, he felt that the Crown Princess was not a person he could trust.

In addition, since he had already made Liu Kang the Crown Prince, the Crown Princess was still worried that Lin Shi would pose a threat to her, so she selected two concubines for him. After he refused to accept them, she even reprimanded Lin Shi to show her dissatisfaction.

He really couldn't feel at ease if the Crown Princess, who was so difficult to satisfy, were allowed to dominate the harem in the future.

"Don't be afraid, it won't happen. The Crown Princess is not the kind of person who can't distinguish right from wrong."

Watching Lin Yuqiao finish a cup of herbal tea to help with pregnancy, Liu Heng stroked her belly, his eyes deep and unfathomable.

"I'm overthinking it."

Lin Yuqiao also realized she was being a bit too sensitive. Perhaps the Crown Princess wasn't such a spoiled brat after all, and she shouldn't be so paranoid. How could she live her life if she couldn't stay calm every time something happened?

With the matter resolved quickly, Lin Yuqiao felt relieved. She took out the "Book of Victory" and had Liu Heng read it to her.

After listening to books on early childhood education and the Book of Poetry, she began to expand her knowledge to areas such as geography and agriculture.

The Book of Victory is a summary of experience in agricultural planting. It is somewhat profound and difficult to understand if you read it yourself. Moreover, it is not punctuated, so it is not very convenient to read.

However, when Liu Heng reads it to her, the words and sentences become clear and fluent, and she can ask questions whenever she doesn't understand something. It's both a process of self-learning and improving common sense, and a good way to provide prenatal education.

"In February, the ice has completely thawed, and it is time to cultivate fertile fields, gentle soils, and small areas along riverbanks. In March, the apricot blossoms are in full bloom, and it is time to cultivate sandy, white, and light soils. When the apricots begin to bloom, it is time to cultivate light and weak soils."

Liu Heng didn't object to her new hobby. The books she chose were quite practical, some of which he hadn't read carefully, so it was a good opportunity for him to review them. Agricultural techniques were also very important to the country. Explaining them to her also gave him some insights.

After finishing the three chapters, Liu Heng stopped.

"That's enough for tonight. You get some rest, I'm going to check on Ling-jie."

Lin Yuqiao watched him turn to leave and quickly grabbed his sleeve from behind. "Please convey my concern to the First Princess and the Crown Princess. I'll have Granny Jiang prepare some things to take with her. I was quite worried when I saw her fall during the day."

Although Liu Heng didn't make any other statement, Liu Ling, no matter how unlikable, was still his daughter, and she still had to do what was right in his eyes. Moreover, the main purpose was to express sincerity to the Crown Princess, showing that he was still honest and didn't want to cause trouble for her.

I hope she can also be at peace with herself, so that everyone can be happy.

Liu Heng nodded, satisfied with her actions. Although Liu Ling's performance during the day was somewhat unsatisfactory, he didn't want Lin Yuqiao to hold a grudge against a child like her.

When Liu Heng went to the Crown Princess's main courtyard, the Crown Princess was lecturing Liu Ling.

"You still don't realize your mistake? Even if Lady Chenliang had actually laughed, would you have been able to lose your composure like that?"

After feeling sorry for Liu Ling, the Crown Princess began to express her dissatisfaction.

Although she doted on her youngest daughter, especially after Liu Feng's death, the Crown Princess took extra care of Liu Ling, who was her youngest child, she still made sure to teach her the necessary things.

When the Crown Princess first saw Liu Ling's mouth full of blood, her heart nearly skipped a beat. Fortunately, Liu Ling's injuries were not serious. Her knocked-out front tooth was a bit difficult to treat now, but it would grow back after her permanent teeth came in.

After ascertaining the details of Liu Ling's injuries, the Crown Princess punished all those who had accompanied her. However, upon hearing Liu Ling recount her conflicts with Lady Chenliang and Lady Lin, she frowned.

The Crown Princess was surprised that Liu Ling would act this way. In her memory, her youngest daughter had always been well-behaved and clever. Although she was a bit strong-willed, she was quite sensible.

"She was disrespectful first."

Liu Ling couldn't hold back her tears, feeling extremely wronged.

She had always been pampered, and now that she had suffered so much, her mother was still going to punish her, which she found hard to accept.

The Crown Princess kept watching Liu Ling until tears streamed down her face. Then she sighed, sat down beside her, and wiped away her tears with a handkerchief.

"You must not be willful anymore. You must remember your manners in front of others. Even if Lady Chen Lianghou really makes fun of you, you must be magnanimous and composed. Making a public accusation will not show your wisdom."

The Crown Princess believed half of Liu Ling's words. She had met Lady Chenliang and thought she was quite shrewd and would never do such a thing.

However, she believed that Madam Lin's attitude towards Liu Ling was poor. Madam Lin was now almost exclusively favored by Liu Ling, and with her pregnancy, she was bound to become arrogant and might not even respect her anymore.

The current situation seems stable for the mother and son, with Liu Kang being established as the Crown Prince. However, the Crown Princess still feels uneasy and therefore needs to strengthen Liu Ling's education.

Liu Heng is in his prime, and he will have children in the future, but Liu Kang is getting old and can no longer please Liu Heng like a young child. Wasn't the reason the former crown prince was deposed precisely because of the long-standing discord between father and son?

Sometimes, she wished Liu Heng were still the Prince of Huaiyang. That way, both Liu Kang and Liu Ling could feel more at ease and freer.

“Abao, remember this: in this world, you can’t always do whatever you want. It’s the worst thing you can do to show all your emotions.”

Calling Liu Ling by her childhood name, the Crown Princess stroked the hair on her forehead and admonished her.

Liu Lingyi nodded, sobbing, in the Crown Princess's arms, indicating that she understood.

She looked at her daughter, feeling a pang of sadness.