Yu Ying, who was half-sitting in the tent, coughed a few times and said in a hoarse voice despite her headache, "The doctor said that my illness is not serious and I will be fine after a few days of rest. Fourth Master, you can go about your business and don't need to come and keep me company."

In the past, Hongli would play along with her act, saying polite words, but now he was no longer willing to bother pretending to be harmonious.

"If you hadn't sent people to invite me time and time again, do you think I would have come?"

The truth was painful to hear, and Yu Ying felt embarrassed. Her face flushed as she explained, "I didn't send anyone to invite you. I guess the servants were afraid of taking responsibility, so they took it upon themselves to do so."

Hongli had heard this familiar excuse enough. "It's you again who didn't know. It seems that the servants in your household all like to act on their own initiative and don't know any rules!"

Yu Ying could still hear the obvious sarcasm. She sighed softly, lowered her head sadly, and clenched her fingers tightly, saying:

“I know that Fourth Master still resents me for what happened to Granny Cui, and you won’t believe anything I say anymore.”

Hongli could understand her feelings, but he could not agree with her actions. "Everyone has servants who are special to them. It's one thing to be biased and indulgent on ordinary days! But if they make a big mistake, and you still ignore right and wrong and blindly favor them, what will others think?"

To use the guise of kindness to protect evildoers is tantamount to aiding and abetting wickedness! As my wife, you can't even distinguish right from wrong; how can you manage a household like this?

Now that Granny Cui is gone, Yu Ying is heartbroken. How could she possibly listen to anything he says? But arguing would only make him angrier, so Yu Ying could only go along with him.

"Fourth Master's reprimand is absolutely correct. I will reflect deeply on my actions."

Her attitude was very perfunctory. In fact, Hongli didn't expect her to really repent. He only came here today for one thing.

"Your wife is unwell, so there is no need for you to manage the affairs of the household, so as not to disturb your recovery. From now on, all household affairs will be handled by Gao Xiuwen."

Hongli said this because he had asked Su Yushan last night if she was willing to participate in managing household affairs. If she was willing, he would hand over this power to her. However, Yushan did not have that idea.

Firstly, it was due to her status, and secondly, it was because she disliked socializing. Once she took over household affairs, she would have to deal with different matters every day, whether big or small, which was quite troublesome.

She would rather spend more time with Yan Yan than waste that time on this.

Su Yushan made it clear that she did not want to take over, and Hongli respected her wishes, so he handed over the power of managing the household to Gao Xiuwen as a punishment for the Fujin.

In reality, Yu Ying didn't like to manage these household affairs, but managing the household was a symbol of power for a Fujin (princess). Now that Hongli forbade her to manage household affairs, the other maids would definitely laugh at her behind her back.

However, Hongli was a vengeful man and wouldn't let things go easily. If she tried to win him over again, she would only anger him. After weighing the pros and cons, she chose to comply. In any case, Consort Xi would find out sooner or later and would take care of things for her then. Therefore, Yuying was not in a hurry and respectfully replied:

"I will obey Fourth Master's orders."

As he rose, Hongli stood with his hands behind his back and coldly warned,

"As your husband, I have indeed not given you the affection you deserve, but our marriage was a political alliance, devoid of any affection. You should have known this from the beginning. If you behave yourself, I can still give you some face. But if you dare to use our daughter's illness to harm Yushan and her child again, I will never tolerate it again!"

Unwilling to bear the blame, Yu Ying hurriedly clarified, "Fourth Master, I never expect you to have any feelings for me, but I really didn't know about bribing the wizard!"

She was unaware of the situation, so why would Granny Cui take such a huge risk for no reason? This doesn't make sense. "I now even suspect that my daughter's illness was deliberately caused by someone!"

Hongli's guess shocked Yuying to the core. She immediately sat up straight and said, "Heaven and earth bear witness, Fourth Master! Our daughter is my own flesh and blood, which I carried for ten months and gave birth to. Every cry of hers breaks my heart. How could I deliberately make her sick? Fourth Master's words are simply too cruel!"

You can't see into someone's heart; who knows what kind of face lies beneath her kind mask? "I used to believe you, but now..."

Hongli didn't finish his sentence, but changed the subject, saying, "This matter ends here. I won't pursue it any further. You'd better take care of yourself!"

At this moment, Hongli's expression was indifferent, mixed with a hint of disdain. Yuying felt a sharp pain in her heart. It seemed that Hongli had become suspicious of her. Unfortunately, this suspicion was ingrained in his bones, and she didn't even have a chance to dispel it!

Witnessing his resolute departure, Yu Ying felt like she was sitting on pins and needles. Although she could not win Hongli's favor, she should at least gain his trust and respect.

If even these two things are gone, what's the point of her being a princess consort?

But how can this stalemate be broken? Perhaps only when she gives birth to a legitimate son will there be a chance to reconcile...

Su Yushan didn't care what Hongli said to his wife; what she cared about most right now was her sister's marriage.

At the end of October, it was the day Su Yuchan and Zheng Lin got married. Hongli gave her five hundred taels of silver and Su Yushan gave her two hundred taels of silver as her dowry.

When her younger sister got married into the Zheng family, Su Yushan was unable to see her off in person due to her special status, and could only send her blessings from afar.

That night, the dragon and phoenix wedding candles burned brightly. The newlyweds sat in front of the tent. The bride, Yu Chan, was both nervous and expectant, as she had been looking forward to this day for a long time. However, Zheng Lin frowned deeply and remained silent, sitting upright beside her without moving, seemingly without any expectation for this wedding night.

Back then, he was engaged to Su Yushan, the eldest daughter of the Su family. The two were deeply in love and made vows of eternal love. However, fate played a cruel trick on him, and he ended up marrying Su Yuchan, the second daughter of the Su family.

Even now, Zheng Lin has never let go of the past, so how could he possibly be willing to consummate his marriage with Yu Chan?

Seeing that Zheng Lin's gaze was indifferent, as if he had no intention of consummating the marriage, Yu Chan was not angry, because she had already guessed this scene.

She wanted to marry Zheng Lin so that he could live a carefree life. Other women might not be able to tolerate him having someone in his heart, but Yu Chan could understand and tolerate it. After all, that person was her sister, and they could never be together in this lifetime. Even if Zheng Lin would occasionally think about her, it wouldn't matter. As long as Yu Chan could stay by his side, that would be enough!

She firmly believed that sincerity can move mountains. One day, Zheng Lin would see her good qualities and open his heart to accept her.

She wasn't in a hurry; she could wait, patiently waiting for that day to arrive.

As winter deepens and snow falls, the north wind howls, and in the blink of an eye, it is already mid-December. The once-every-five-years eunuch purge has arrived. The palace has been basically cleared out, and now it is the turn of the princes' mansions outside the palace to be checked.

Li Yu took the medicine a day in advance, and then went to the investigation with trepidation.

Yunfang had no heart to serve Yushan today and waited anxiously at home, but she waited from morning till afternoon for a full four hours without seeing him return.

Oh no! Could it be that Li Yu has been found out and is being tortured again?

Unable to sit still with worry, Yunfang rushed to the mansion to ask the Fourth Master if there was any news about Li Yu. However, upon arriving at the mansion, she witnessed a scene that shocked her beyond belief!