Before long, the door opened, and the midwife, holding a baby wrapped in a small blanket, smiled and curtsied, "Congratulations, Fourth Master! Your wife has given birth, and both mother and child are safe. It's a little prince!"

As soon as the baby was born, Yu Ying asked the midwife. Upon learning it was a boy, she breathed a sigh of relief and secretly thanked God for blessing her with a son!

Dong Ling also bowed happily, "Congratulations to Fourth Master on the birth of your eldest son!"

Is he happy? Hongli paused for a moment, then thought it over. It did seem like a happy occasion. After all, a legitimate son was what his father and mother had been hoping for most. With a legitimate son, his mission would be complete, and his mother probably wouldn't interfere in his family affairs anymore, right?

After taking the child from the midwife, Hongli glanced at him and felt that the child's features resembled his wife's, but not his.

He then handed the child to the midwife and turned to his wife, saying, "You've worked hard. Get some rest. I won't bother you any longer. Come over when you have time."

When did she ever complain about him disturbing her? It was all just his excuse!

She suffered so much for him, and all he said was "you've had a hard time"? Even without love, is there not even a trace of kinship?

Hongli's indifferent reaction made Yuying even more disappointed. At that moment, she couldn't help but think that if she had a difficult childbirth today and failed to give birth safely, perhaps Hongli would not have felt sad at all, and might even feel fortunate.

Even if she were gone, the Emperor would still arrange another consort for Hongli. Su Yushan, a Han woman, could never become a prince's consort! She had no chance!

Hidden under the covers, Yu Ying slowly clenched her fingers into a fist. She silently warned herself not to get angry at this heartless man. She still had to go through postpartum confinement, and getting angry was the worst thing to do during that time. He didn't cherish her, so she had to take care of herself.

For the sake of the Fucha family, she had to live well and secure her position as the Fujin (principal wife) so that she could bring benefits to her family when Hongli ascended the throne in the future!

The news of the birth of the prince's son quickly spread throughout the mansion, and both Princess Gao and Princess Fucha came to offer their congratulations and visit the young prince.

Su Yushan did not show herself. Knowing that the Fujin (wife of the princess) did not like her, why should she go and make things worse? She only sent someone to deliver tonics.

When Yunfang came to deliver the gift, Princess Fucha chuckled and said, "Sister Su is truly a busy person, so busy that she couldn't even come to visit the Princess Consort in person, and sent a maid instead."

Knowing that the Fourth Prince did not like Princess Fucha, Yunfang was unwilling to swallow her anger in the face of her provocations, and calmly responded with a smile.

"The princess is indeed quite busy. The fourth prince said his throat was not feeling well, and the princess is currently stewing pears for him in the small kitchen! She will come to visit the princess when she has time. Please forgive her, princess."

Every time, Su Yushan loved to bring up Hongli; she really loved to show off! Even her maid was incredibly arrogant. Yuying was indignant, but with outsiders present, she couldn't be impolite and could only feign magnanimity.

"It's alright, it's enough that Sister Su has such a kind intention. What's more important is Fourth Master's health. Tell your princess to take good care of Fourth Master."

Yunfang agreed, then curtsied and took her leave.

After she left, Princess Fucha felt indignant on behalf of the Fujin (principal wife), saying, "Fun, Su Yushan is becoming more and more arrogant, and she doesn't respect you at all. You should find an opportunity to warn her."

Deliberately picking a fight? Yu Ying disdained such a despicable tactic. "Fourth Master dotes on her. If I were to discipline her, he would feel sorry for her and think I was targeting her. Why should I upset him? They're all his women anyway. Let him dote on whomever he wants!"

When her attempts to sow discord failed, Princess Fucha sighed and said, "Your Majesty, you have such a good temper. The Fourth Prince will get tired of that little vixen sooner or later and see how good you are."

Princess Gao smiled and advised from the side, "Now that the Princess has given birth to a legitimate son, the Fourth Prince will definitely pay more attention to the Princess and the young prince. Your good fortune has arrived, Princess!"

Yu Ying responded with a faint smile. Her status was already noble enough, but Hongli did not take her seriously. She wondered if this legitimate son could live up to Hongli's expectations and bring her some good fortune.

The people in Lanzhao Courtyard were outwardly friendly but inwardly at odds, each with their own thoughts, while the Huatang Pavilion was peaceful and harmonious.

Now Yan Yan is one year and two months old. With nothing else to do, Su Yushan and Yun Fang are learning to make little clothes for Yan Yan.

She's good at painting, but when it comes to embroidery, she's struggled to get the hang of it despite studying for a long time. For her, needlework is much harder to master than a paintbrush.

For example, Yunfang embroidered this little tiger so cutely, delicately and symmetrically, while hers was crooked and uneven, completely asymmetrical, to the point that she lost all patience.

"Why is my embroidery so ugly? Making clothes is so hard!"

Yunfang smiled and said, "Making clothes for children is about the thought behind it; beauty or ugliness is not important. You didn't learn before, so it's not easy for you to learn now. Practice slowly and don't rush. Everyone has their own strengths. I can make clothes, but if you ask me to hold a pen and paint, I absolutely cannot learn."

Although there are people in charge of the children's clothes, Yu Shan also wants to see Yan Yan wear the little clothes she made herself. That's why she is trying hard to learn. Yan Yan is still young, so she won't dislike her skills, right?

Around noon, when Hongli returned home after finishing his work at the Ministry of Revenue, he saw Yushan making little clothes and couldn't help but sigh, "You really only have Yanyan in your heart. I don't deserve to have clothes made by your own hands."

Yunfang exclaimed, "How sour! Is Fourth Master jealous of the Little Prince?"

"What's there to envy?" Su Yushan glared at him and spread out the clothes in her hands for him to see. "Look at my embroidery, it's not even presentable. Yan Yan doesn't understand aesthetics and won't complain, but you are picky. If I make clothes for you, would you even wear them out?"

Hongli glanced down at her, inwardly sighing that his Shanshan was good in every way, except for her embroidery skills, which were unbearable to look at! However, since she wanted to learn this, he was determined not to discourage her, and instead flattered her against his will:

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!