"Consort, the imperial physician said a few days ago that you are in poor health and must not get angry."

"Get out of my way! Don't I even have the right to be angry? Why? Why can they all get pregnant? Princess Yun only had a miscarriage not long ago, and she's pregnant again. My child has been gone for so long, why can't I get pregnant!"

Since her daughter's death, Nian Yunrong has finally managed to escape the pain of losing her child.

Honestly, she was filled with hatred. During that time, she kept imagining all sorts of "what ifs": if she had taken good care of herself during her pregnancy, if the prince had sent the imperial physician sooner, if she had treated her daughter better back then, maybe the child wouldn't have left her.

She admitted that she harbored some resentment towards the prince. But what could she do?

So she started drinking all sorts of tonics, but still couldn't conceive. Gradually, the prince visited less often. Although the gifts continued to flow into her courtyard like water, she remained uneasy.

Now, Yun Gege is pregnant again, and she finally couldn't hold back any longer.

"Consort, the imperial physician already mentioned this when he came to take your pulse last time: you've been taking too many tonics, and coupled with your unstable emotions, it's actually affecting your ability to conceive."

"Hmph! Is that so? Well, he did give me a heads-up."

A wisp of smoke appeared. So, as expected, the master was still planning to make a move against Princess Yun.

"Qingyan, I remember last month, the Prince bestowed upon you a fine ginseng root and several bolts of satin from Suzhou, right?"

"Yes, Consort."

"Find it and send it to Princess Yun."

“Consort, not to mention that you particularly like that satin, the ginseng is also of a rare age. Would you like to send something else over?”

"No need, just do as I say."

"...yes."

At the same time, the gifts from the Fujin flowed into Yunhui's courtyard like a stream.

“Princess, Princess Yun is pregnant. The First Lady and the Second Lady have both given her rewards. Do you think we should also show our appreciation?”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking. Do you remember, a few years ago, when I was pregnant with Hongzhou, the Fujin (wife of the princess) gave me a hairpin as a reward?”

"Are you referring to that silver hairpin that can be used to test for poison?"

Geng Youran nodded.

"Back then, before my wife went mad, she specially had someone make this hairpin for me. Anyway, I don't need it now, so find it and send it over along with the food I just made."

After returning, Geng Youran and Qianxue went to the small kitchen and made some 'Poria cocos cake' and 'Jujube paste pastry' that pregnant women could eat.

Geng Youran used to make 'Poria cocos cakes' often, while Poria cocos jelly is even simpler.

The Poria cocos powder was prepared in advance, mixed with flour and sugar, and then sifted.

Mix the baking powder and water and let it stand. Pour the mixture into the rice flour and stir to form a thick batter. Place the batter in a warm place to ferment until it doubles in size.

Line a mold with parchment paper, pour in the fermented batter, and sprinkle some dried fruit on top. Place the mold in a steamer and steam until cooked through.

The preparation of 'Jujube Paste Square Pastry' is relatively more complicated.

The first step is to make the jujube paste filling.

Remove the pits from the red dates, boil them in water until cooked, and then mash them into a paste.

Add an appropriate amount of oil and sugar to a pot and stir-fry the date paste until it becomes thick. Set aside.

Next, make the puff pastry.

Mix the flour and sugar evenly.

Stir the lard until smooth, then add the egg whites and water and stir well.

Pour the mixed liquid into the dry ingredients, knead into a smooth dough, and let it rise.

When the dough has almost fermented, divide the puff pastry dough into several small portions, and roll each portion into a thin sheet.

Place an appropriate amount of jujube paste filling on a thin sheet of puff pastry, then wrap it up tightly.

Use a mold to press the wrapped jujube paste pastry into a square shape.

Place the jujube paste square pastries into a preheated oven and bake at an appropriate temperature until the surface is golden brown.

"Xiao Anzi, keep an eye on the fire, don't burn my pastries."

"Don't worry, Master."

Xiao Anzi is considered one of Geng Youran's older brothers, so he naturally knows exactly what to do about this.

While the snacks were cooling down, Geng Youran and Qianxue went back to their room for a short rest, which led to the conversation just now.

"Princess, shall I deliver it, or would you like to go yourself?"

"I'll go myself, so people won't suspect us."

"yes."

The two, master and servant, arrived with gifts and happened to meet Wanru and her servant.

"Sister, what a coincidence."

"Wanru, you're here too."

"Both the primary wife and the secondary primary wife have sent gifts, so we can't let them find fault with us."

What did you give me?

"I embroidered a pair of pillows. Pregnant women don't sleep well anyway, so a comfortable pillow will make Yun Gege and her baby more comfortable. What about you?"

“I made some snacks that pregnant women can eat, and I also found the silver hairpin that the princess consort gave me a few years ago.”

"Silver hairpin?"

Wanru immediately understood and entered Yunhui's courtyard while chatting and laughing with Geng Youran.

"Princess, Princess Geng and Princess Niohuru have arrived."

"Really? Please invite them in."

Because of her pregnancy, Yunhui's status has risen accordingly, but she has remembered the lesson from last time and has stayed in her own little world, not making any moves easily.

As far as she knew, both Geng Gege and Niu Hulu Gege were people who didn't like to go out much, so she had to be careful since the two of them came together this time.

"Sister, you don't need to get up, just lie down and rest."

Geng Youran entered the room and saw that Yun Hui had already gotten up and was preparing to get out of bed, so she quickly went over to help her.

"You're not feeling well right now, so you should take good care of yourself. There's no need for so much formality."

"If my sisters come to visit in person, wouldn't it be impolite of me to do so?"

"Look at what you're saying. Your sister Niu Hulu and I are not such mean people."

"That's not what my sister meant."

Yunhui quickly explained.

Geng Youran and Niu Hulu Wanru were amused by Yunhui's reaction.

"Yunhui, don't overthink it. Sister Geng was just teasing you. We came here because we have something to give you. A yellow oriole!"

"Princess".

Huangli handed the item in her hand to her master.

Wanru took it and opened it in front of Yunhui:

"These are a pair of pillows I made myself. The thread used is all real silk, which I specially asked the prince for. The filling is made of cattail fluff. After becoming pregnant, I tend to sweat a lot, so there's nothing more comfortable than using these pillows."

Yunhui took one of the pillows and weighed it in her hand. It was indeed light, and the embroidery on it felt particularly comfortable to the touch.

"Sister is so thoughtful, she even thought of this."

"After all, I've been through this myself. I figured you must be getting a lot of tonics and supplements these days, so I thought I'd send you something you might need. Don't think it's too cheap."

"Sister, you're too kind. I like it very much."

As he spoke, he placed the pillow in his hand behind his back.

Seeing this, Geng Youran also brought out her own gift.