The adult who had been lost in thought was called twice.

He chuckled and said, "I think the Seventh Princess's handwriting is quite good."

Sure enough, His Majesty laughed and said, "She's not good enough yet. It would be good if she could learn even a tenth of what her mother learned."

Yun Ji sighed.

The seventh princess chuckled and continued writing, extremely proud of herself.

The sleet eventually turned into heavy snow, because it was initially sleet, but then it froze solid.

The weather suddenly turned completely cold. Before, although it felt cold, it was alright in early winter. But now it's suddenly plunged people into the cold of winter.

Nothing much has been happening lately.

To be precise, nothing happened in the palace.

The Crown Prince's household was often the target of jealousy because his favorite concubine was pregnant.

The Empress Dowager Xu appeared kind on the surface, but she didn't think that way in her heart.

The other two concubines, and Madam Feng who entered the mansion this year, which one of them didn't hate her?

After all, she was nominally the most favored concubine in the inner quarters. For most of the month, the Crown Prince stayed in her room.

It was someone who used to serve me.

So even though the eldest prince was on high alert, Rong'er still miscarried in November.

Although the women in the backyard all claimed innocence, they were simply not caught red-handed.

Generation after generation, this has always been the case for women in the backyard.

Unable to go out and do anything else, confined to the backyard, they naturally start scheming about offspring and favoritism.

The eldest prince was deeply saddened, as he loved Rong'er very much.

Since I was born out of wedlock, I didn't feel that being born out of wedlock meant much of a difference.

Perhaps they understand, but they don't have much genuine feeling about it.

So when his beloved woman miscarried, it was a more serious matter for him.

Madam Xu was not someone to be trifled with. Now that the Crown Prince wanted to explain things to her clearly, she also lost her temper.

"She's just a concubine who served His Highness from the beginning. It's her good fortune that she got pregnant, and I'm already grateful that she gave birth. There are so many people in the harem, and I am His Highness's principal wife. Madam Feng is a lady bestowed upon us by His Majesty this year. The other two are all concubines who entered the mansion properly. Which one of them doesn't deserve His Highness's favor? It wasn't my fault that she miscarried. If His Highness wants to blame me, I won't accept it. No mistress of a household is responsible for a concubine's miscarriage."

The eldest prince's lungs hurt from being pushed so hard.

He left without a word.

Therefore, Madam Xu hated Rong'er even more. She made things difficult for her time and time again, but she never let the eldest prince find any fault with her.

One cannot openly favor a concubine over one's wife.

But because he wanted to protect her, he went even closer to Rong'er's room.

As a result, everyone in the backyard came to hate her.

It was incredibly lively.

No one in the Second Prince's household is pregnant yet. As for the Third Prince, he is still observing mourning for his mother and cannot have children for the time being.

However, the eldest princess brought good news: she is pregnant.

The matter from back then is now in the past, and His Majesty has bestowed many gifts upon us.

Following the rules, Yan Nangui bestowed gifts and ordered the Imperial Household Department to send over a nursing care nurse.

Just before the Lunar New Year, another incident occurred at the Crown Prince's residence.

The principal wife suffered a miscarriage.

Although the last incident didn't turn out very well, the eldest prince still listens to Consort Ning and can't refuse to go to the main courtyard.

Now, the wife, who was only one month pregnant, suddenly miscarried.

The investigation revealed that it was Rong'er who was responsible.

Or rather, someone framed her. In any case, the blame was pointed directly at Rong'er.

The eldest prince forbade his principal wife from touching her.

Enraged, Madam Xu dragged her body, which had just suffered a miscarriage, into the palace and went straight to Zhaochun Palace to file a complaint.

"Even though I am not good, I am still the principal wife. Before, because she miscarried, His Highness scolded her without even asking what happened. I was so angry that I talked back. I didn't expect that hussy to hold a grudge and actually attack me. The medicine was in her room, so who else could it be?" The First Prince's wife cried.

"Help her sit up, get her a hot water bottle, and go fetch Consort Ning," Yan Nangui said.

Jiangxiang served hot water bottles, foot warmers, and ginger soup.

Consort Ning was already on her way, both angry and furious.

This Xu family is so insensible. How could she go directly to the Empress?

But you can't say it like that. Trying to appease her only makes her angrier.

Upon arriving at Zhaochun Palace and clarifying the situation, Consort Ning angrily retorted, "That worthless wretch has been bewitched by a mere maid. Since it was that Rong'er who drugged him, she should be apprehended and punished. He deserves to be killed or beaten. He's out of his mind, daring to obstruct us."

"The New Year is just around the corner, and all this commotion and uproar is hardly entertaining. What will the First Prince say when His Majesty asks?" Yan Nangui asked.

"Your Majesty is right. It is all my fault for failing to raise my son properly," said Consort Ning.

“Speaking of failing to raise children, I’ve had my share of mistakes. Here’s what we’ll do: send Xu back first. You’re such a temperamental child. No matter what, your health is the most important thing. If you ruin it now, will you still be able to have children? Go back and rest well, and you can come in around the New Year. I’ll send you some tonics to help you recover. Now let the First Prince come in. His Majesty will inevitably ask about it. Let’s invite His Majesty over as well.”

Madam Xu hurriedly thanked the Empress: "Your Majesty, I thank you. I acted impulsively and broke the rules. I will never dare to do it again."

"You're still young, so a few mistakes are fine. But I have no respect for people who scheme against their offspring. If you're so capable, go ahead and kill the lady. You're the legal wife, and she's a concubine. As long as you're right, killing her won't matter. Whether you schemed against her unborn child or she schemed against yours, I don't care. Remember these words, and go back," Yan Nangui said.

Mrs. Xu, her heart pounding, agreed and took her leave.

Half an hour later, His Majesty arrived first.

After a while, the eldest prince hurriedly entered.

"Your subject pays respects to the Emperor, Empress, and Consort. The journey was quite long, and I apologize for the delay." He had rushed in, but before coming, he had inquired with the Empress Dowager in the main courtyard.

Although the principal wife was still angry, they were husband and wife after all, and she dared not keep quiet about what had just happened.

"You've only been married a short time, and you're already making a scene in the palace. What's wrong with you two?" Shu Chengfeng said angrily.

He really didn't understand that.

After all, back then, he only messed around in the backyard, no matter how much trouble he caused there.

I've never seen anyone directly cause a scene in the palace. Even when Consort Jing was spoiled and ignorant back then, this didn't happen.

"Your subject knows his mistake. It's all because your subject failed to manage the inner quarters properly." The eldest prince was furious and also hated Xu for being so ignorant.

"Whether the inner quarters are well managed or not isn't that important. To be honest, your father wasn't particularly good at managing the inner quarters. But if you want the inner quarters to be peaceful, you, as the mistress of the household, need to act impartially. Whom you favor is your business. Back when your father favored Consort Xiang, how many days a month could they spend together? Yet it didn't turn out like this for him."

Shu Chengfeng was taken aback and glanced at Yan Nangui awkwardly: "Hey, what are you saying?"

“Then I can’t say that we can’t show favoritism and that we have to treat everyone equally, right? Everyone has their preferences.” Yan Nangui smiled.