"In this food box are some pastries I made, which are not irritating for pregnant women. I noticed you looked a little thinner when I paid my respects, so I must have had a poor appetite these past few days. Also, in this small box is a silver hairpin. It was a gift from my wife when I was pregnant with Hongzhou, and it was used specifically to test for poison."

At this point, Yunhui's expression stiffened.

"Sister, don't be afraid. This is just in case."

"Thank you, sister."

Yunhui was somewhat moved at this moment.

Unlike those superficial rewards, Geng Gege and Niu Hulu Gege genuinely cared about her and gave her practical gifts.

"My two elder sisters, to be honest, ever since my miscarriage, I've often felt uneasy. Now that I'm pregnant with this child, I often can't sleep well, and I feel nauseous at the sight of food. These things you two sent are exactly what I need."

"I'm glad I could help you. Your sister Geng and I had very few problems during our pregnancies and our deliveries went smoothly. I hope you can have the same result when the time comes."

"Then thank you both for your kind words."

After sitting for a while, seeing that Yunhui seemed tired, Geng Youran and Niu Hulu Wanru left. After they left, Luyin went to her mistress's bedside:

"Princess, should I put away these two princesses' belongings for now?"

"No need. If there were any problems, they wouldn't have come to deliver it themselves."

Yunhui trusted Geng Youran and Niohuru Wanrong relatively more.

"Put away the satin that Consort Nian gave you; it's too precious. As for the tonics that the Prince gave you, put them away too. The Prince is busy with affairs lately; we'll prepare them for him when he comes back."

"yes."

Yunhui's caution surprised the maid, Lüyin. She hadn't expected that her mistress would rather believe Geng Gege and Niu Hulu Gege than the Fujin and the Consort.

Upon returning to the courtyard, Geng Youran suddenly felt somewhat tired.

"Princess, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing, I'm just a little tired. I guess I'm not suited to dealing with these kinds of things."

Qianxue smiled and helped her mistress to bed to rest.

Meanwhile, Yunhui's movements were also reported to the Fujin.

"Those two people left?"

"Reporting to my wife, I'm leaving."

"Those two usually receive quite a few rewards, so why have they become so stingy?"

It turned out that Geng Youran had secretly placed the box containing the silver hairpin in the food box, so the Fujin's spies only saw Qianxue holding the food box and were unaware of the silver hairpin.

The old woman standing nearby spoke up:

"The two princes have grown up now, and I guess the two princesses want to save some money for them."

Ulanara gave a mocking 'humph':

"That's just how she is, a princess. She's clearly never seen much of the world and has such a short-sighted view of things. Putting aside the prince's future plans, even now that he's a prince, he certainly won't mistreat them when they get married."

“What the princess says makes sense.”

"By the way, keep a close eye on Yun Gege. Make sure there's no repeat of the miscarriage that happened last time."

"This servant understands."

Ulanara nodded, satisfied, and went back to her room to rest.

After that, whenever Yinzhen wasn't busy, he would visit Yunhui and stay overnight at various courtyards. He stayed at Geng Youran's place the most.

"Princess, why are you up so early?"

"Last night the prince asked me to make some snacks and send them to the palace today."

"Is it for the Emperor?"

"He didn't say."

It wasn't actually for the emperor.

The Second Prince's wife, Lady Shi, has passed away. These pastries are what Yinzhen (the Prince of Yinzhen) is going to take to the deposed Crown Prince, Yinreng.

Because she wasn't sure who she was making them for, Geng You Ran could only make some more common ones, like 'Poria cocos cake' and 'almond cake'.

"Your Highness, Consort Geng has sent some refreshments."

"Let's go to Xian'an Palace to see Second Brother."

"Yes, sir."

Upon arriving at Xian'an Palace, there were only a few eunuchs and maids inside. The door to the main room was closed, and standing in the courtyard, one could not hear any sound from inside.

He summoned a random eunuch and asked:

"Is the Second Prince resting inside?"

The young eunuch was probably new; his answers to questions were trembling.

"Your Highness, the Second Prince has kept the door closed this morning and won't let us in, so we don't know anything about it."

Yinzhen frowned, worried that Yinreng might do something foolish, and quickly went to knock on the door.

"Second brother, it's me, the fourth brother. Are you still sleeping?"

What are you doing here?

Only when they heard someone answer from inside did the people in the courtyard feel relieved.

"Father Emperor sent his younger brother to see you."

The door opened, revealing a man with disheveled hair, his clothes open, and a lifeless look in his eyes. His eyes were swollen, as if he had been crying.

"Did Father Emperor send you to check if Grandpa is dead or not?"

Seeing his second brother in this state, Yinzhen felt a strange mix of emotions, while Yinreng thought his younger brother was just there to watch the spectacle.

"Second brother, why are you ruining yourself like this?"

Yinreng gave a bitter smile:

“Waste myself? Do I need to waste myself? Shi passed away, and I didn’t even get to see her one last time.”

Yinzhen could tell that besides sadness, there was also resentment towards his father in those words.

Once upon a time, his second brother was the person he admired most.

Although his biological mother was gone, the Emperor favored his second brother the most, taking him under his wing and personally caring for him. As for him, although his biological mother was still alive, she saw him as a thorn in her side, and the Emperor didn't care about him either.

"Second brother, I have something to say, but I'm not sure if I should."

"Speak."

"Second brother, you feel wronged, but you have also hurt Father's feelings. Father has personally taught his son for so many years, but in the end, he wants to join forces with the ministers to overthrow him. This doesn't make sense."

“That’s because Suo’etu and his ilk are ambitious! I have never thought of rebelling! To outsiders, the position of ‘Crown Prince’ is second only to the emperor, but to me, it has been decades of torment.”

Yinzhen never expected Yinreng to suddenly erupt.

"I know you all think I've gone mad, trying to do something so rebellious. But I've said it before, I never intended to do that! I've been the Crown Prince for decades, how could I not know that if I had stayed put, that position might very well have been mine? But this is the royal family, where the emperor and his subjects are always above father and son. Being suspected and used is normal; my eldest brother and eighth brother have never stopped scheming. Even you, fourth brother, dare you say you have no ambition at all? My position, though it looks glamorous, is actually nothing more than a target in Father Emperor's hands."

Then Yinreng turned around and looked at Yinzhen with a mocking expression:

"Fourth brother, after living for so long, I never expected you to still be so naive. Don't be ridiculous!"