"Madam, the Fourteenth Madam requests an audience."

Yuling, who is literate, is reading the account book to Yihua. Yihua has been feeling unwell in her eyes these past two days; her vision is a bit blurry, which she suspects is due to overuse of her eyes and resulting in decreased eyesight.

So she found the family physician and got some medicine to improve her eyesight, and Yu Ling read the daily accounts to her, since she had plenty of time anyway.

Yu Xue's voice interrupted Yi Hua's mental calculations.

Yi Hua waved for Yu Ling to stop. The account book was placed on the table, and Wan Yan hurriedly walked in.

"Fourth Sister-in-law, Mother Consort said that we can come to you for help with anything. I trust Mother Consort and I trust you, Fourth Sister-in-law." Wanyan sat opposite Yihua, tears welling up in her eyes.

Yi Hua felt a little annoyed. Every time Wanyan came to see her, she would start with the same excuse; she could recite it by heart. It was just her using the concubines in the palace as an excuse to make sure she wouldn't do her job.

As long as Wanyan's requests are not excessive, Yihua will try her best to fulfill her wishes for the sake of Yinzhen's mother-son relationship.

"Fourteenth sister-in-law, you're being too polite," Yi Hua said, pushing the fruit plate on the table toward Wanyan.

Seeing that there were no outsiders in the room, Wanyan Shi revealed her purpose: "Fourth Sister-in-law, recently Eighth Sister-in-law has been coming to chat with me. She has been stripped of her power to manage the household and is bored all day long. It would be good for her to keep me company."

Yi Hua's smile faded slightly upon hearing this. She hadn't settled accounts with Wanyan Shi for the incident where the eldest princess had her face injured. Whether she was foolishly manipulated or ruthlessly conspired with the eighth prince's wife to harm her family, it was unforgivable.

However, fearing that catching rats might damage the jade bottle, Yi Hua did not plan to do anything to Wanyan Shi for the time being.

It's unbelievable that after such a thing happened, Wanyan is still willing to hang out with the Eighth Prince's wife. What are they talking about that's so captivating?

"The Eighth Prince's wife said that she can't do anything now, not even the matter of welcoming the Second Prince's wife into the mansion. She can only manage her dowry and find amusement every day."

“One day she wore a very dazzling set of jewelry, which looked very valuable. Fourth Sister-in-law, I was just curious and asked her about it. She said it was a business on the water, very profitable.” Wanyan’s words became a little unclear at the end, and Yihua understood that she had been fooled into doing something wrong because she was greedy for money.

"Fourth Sister-in-law will surely understand. It sounds glamorous to be a prince's wife, but with all the etiquette and filial piety from the various clansmen and the palace, the meager salary is simply not enough to make ends meet. Our master doesn't have a decent job like Fourth Brother, so it's understandable that I'm anxious to find a solution," Wanyan Shi complained.

Yi Hua couldn't empathize. After all, as far as she knew, since the Fourteenth Prince established his own residence, all his expenses had come from the Imperial Household Department, and he was being supported by Emperor Kangxi. Could it be that Wanyan was unaware of the situation and had been misled by the Eighth Prince's wife?

Yi Hua just smiled and didn't speak. Wan Yan Shi stopped talking and then paused for a while before continuing, "My eighth sister-in-law heard about my predicament and said she could sell me a few shops that would make money, specializing in selling these imported goods. Because they are novel and unique, sales are guaranteed."

"I even had my dowry attendants go to the shops to check them out, and they were indeed profitable. So I spent a lot of money to buy out these shops from Eighth Sister-in-law." As Wanyan spoke, she became annoyed.

"Who knew this shop had problems? It was shut down by the Imperial Household Department, who said it was a money laundering place."

Wanyan was on the verge of tears: "Fourth Sister-in-law, I just took over the shop, what does this have to do with me?"

"Did you go to see the Eighth Prince's wife?" Yi Hua asked anyway, even though she already knew the answer.

Wanyan was so angry she gritted her teeth: "Of course I looked for them, but my eighth sister-in-law turned against me and said she had never seen these shops before."

"Where are the transaction documents?"

"It's definitely not the Eighth Prince's wife's name that's written. The authorities investigated and said she's from Jiangnan, but her background is unknown. Where can we find her in this vast world?!"

Wanyan grabbed Yihua's hand: "Fourth Sister-in-law, I don't dare to tell Fourteenth Prince about this. Please help me."

Yi Hua forcefully pulled her wrist back; it was bruised and purple from being pinched. She gently rubbed it a few times.

“This isn’t some petty squabble among the women of your household, where I might just say a few words in your favor. This is a contest between men, and I will speak to the Fourth Master. After that, I can’t guarantee anything.”

"Fourth Sister-in-law!" Wanyan was a little flustered; she was really afraid of the Fourteenth Prince's stubborn temper.

Yi Hua served tea to the guests and saw them off. She didn't want to know what Wanyan's considerations were in not distancing herself from the Eighth Prince's wife.

When Yinzhen returned that evening, Yihua relayed Wanyan's words: "Your Highness, there are many things that Fourteenth Brother's wife has been vague about. Fourteenth Brother is most likely still in the dark. Eighth Prince should be making his move soon."

Yinzhen nodded: "I understand. The Eighth Prince really never stops causing trouble. First it was the Tenth Prince, then you, and now he's targeting the Fourteenth Prince. It seems that the estrangement from the Ninth and Tenth Princes has caused him far more harm than he imagined!"

After a while, Yinzhen added, "As annoying as a mad dog."

Yi Hua nestled against Yin Zhen's chest, laughing so hard she was shaking. She found Yin Zhen's way of making sarcastic remarks particularly endearing.

Yinzhen held Yihua to prevent her from falling: "Fourteenth is also a pig-brain; he can't even manage the people in the manor."

"Father really favors the Fourteenth Prince." It was rare to hear a hint of melancholy in Yinzhen's words, so Yihua leaned out and kissed Yinzhen's chin.

"What are you saying, sir? Does the Emperor not favor Honghui? In my opinion, it's a case of loving the house because of the crow."

Yinzhen pinched Yihua's nose: "Then I'm afraid I'm the one who's the crow."

When Honghui was mentioned, Yinzhen's mood improved considerably, after all, this son who made people green with envy was his!

Yi Hua sat up, her eyes sparkling, and shared her son's gossip with Yinzhen: "Your Majesty, a few days ago, the young lady from the Fucha family came and said she wanted to thank him for saving her life."

"Guess what? Honghui actually changed into the silver-white robe I just tailored for him and went to show off his feathers in front of that young lady. Hahahaha." Yi Hua clearly remembered the funny part and laughed uncontrollably.

Yinzhen shook his head: "This child matured early, unlike his mother."

"Hmm?" Yi Hua gave him a confused look.

Yinzhen covered Yihua's eyes with his hand, feeling his heart pounding.

He knew that he was now deeply in love.

He could see that his wife genuinely wanted to live a good life with him, but that was all. The warmth and passion in her eyes had faded, and he didn't like that.

Thinking this, Yinzhen suddenly lowered his head and bit Yihua's lips hard until the taste of rust filled their mouths.

Yi Hua forcefully pushed Yin Zhen away: "What are you doing?"

I knew you liked dogs, I didn't expect you were actually born in the Year of the Dog. You bit too hard, it even drew blood.

Yinzhen licked his lips: "Collect some interest in advance."

Yi Hua turned over and went to sleep, covering her slightly sore lips. She thought Yin Zhen was acting strangely and decided not to pay attention to this person who was acting crazy in the middle of the night. She closed her eyes and fell asleep.

Hearing the familiar breathing sound, Yinzhen sighed.