After the weather got hot, people in the capital city didn't like to go out much. Everyone preferred to stay at home to cool off, and wealthy families would stay in rooms with ice to beat the heat.

"How could he treat me like that! Am I not attractive enough?" Yongle said angrily.

She slumped onto the table, sullenly tapping her small teacup with one finger, making it wobble and produce an annoying noise.

Shen Qingyu remained silent for a while, then got up and took two books from the room, pushing them in front of Yongle.

She really didn't want to hear her future sister-in-law complaining that her brother was too chaste and unwilling to have a premarital trial marriage with her.

As Yongle looked at the two books in front of her, "The Meditation Mantra" and "Tao Te Ching," her right eyelid twitched uncomfortably.

Okay, she's got the wrong person.

But Song Yaozhu has been so busy lately!

"Hmph, I'm not talking to you anymore. I'm going to find Song Yaozhu to give me some advice. I'm going to kill that loser Cui Yan! I'm so angry!"

After saying that, she lifted her skirt and ran off in a hurry, leaving behind the two books on the table. On her way out, she ran into Cao Zhi, who was carrying two fish.

When Cao Zhi heard that she was going to the Prince of Xiaoyao's mansion, he asked her to bring a fish over.

So, two hours later, Yongle and Song Yaozhu drank fresh fish soup together.

"I still find it hard to believe you're pregnant!"

Yongle gulped down the fish soup in the bowl, then reached out and waved his hand over her lower abdomen, only to be slapped away by Xie Liwei with his fan.

"What are you doing? What if you scare my son?" Xie Liwei said with disgust.

Yongle: "..."

"It's not even human-shaped, and you can be scared by that? It doesn't deserve to be Song Yaozhu's child!" After saying that, she sighed, "I originally wanted to ask you for advice on how to kill that good-for-nothing Cui Yan. Now that you're pregnant, I'll have to find someone else!"

"Is this to accumulate good karma for my child?" Song Yaozhu teased. She leaned against the chaise longue, without any makeup, yet she was so beautiful that Yongle was momentarily stunned.

"Of course, she's my sister after all!"

"What if it's a son?"

"Forget it, it's better to put the baby back in the womb and see if it can turn into a daughter than to have a son like Xie Liwei."

Xie Liwei: "......"

What did he do?

"You don't need to worry too much. There are plenty of people who want to vent their anger over this," Song Yaozhu said with a smile.

"Huh? You mean my father and mother? I know they'll definitely avenge me, but it's not as satisfying as doing it myself!"

"Then you should just find someone to put him in a sack and beat him up!" Song Yaozhu said, resting her chin on her hand. "Don't think of your fiancé as too naive. He's not a lamb."

“His father and grandfather were both honest and simple people, so he can’t be that bad! I’d better handle this matter.”

Song Yaozhu and Xie Liwei exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with pity for each other, seeing that "the silly girl was blinded by love."

She's so easy to fool.

After Yongle left, Song Yaozhu ate a piece of melon and casually asked, "How did Young Master Shen end up in your plum garden last year? And how did he run into Yongle? It was such a coincidence. But if it weren't for that coincidence, Yongle probably wouldn't have taken a liking to him."

Xie Liwei shrugged, his eyes darting around, a feigned act of covering for his underling while not wanting to deceive his wife.

"I don't know!"

Song Yaozhu kicked his shin, turned over, and said, "I'm sleepy, coax me to sleep."

Xie Liwei readily agreed to be her body pillow, fanning her with one hand.

Song Yaozhu said she was sleepy, but she still couldn't fall asleep.

Why would the Fifth Prince step forward at this time?

"Perhaps they feel they've endured long enough," Xie Liwei said nonchalantly.

The timing is perfect: Gao Ping is imprisoned, the Crown Prince's mother is guilty, and the Third Prince has been sent to his fiefdom and is not allowed to enter the capital without an imperial edict. As a prince who is not favored, he has become a hot commodity.

If he were to try to win over court officials at this time, many would probably want to join him.

How old are you?

Xie Liwei recalled for a moment and said, "Fifteen."

"Oh. Such a good age, it would be a shame to die."

Xie Liwei patted her on the back, listening to her voice gradually become longer and more drawn out.

The Fifth Prince had no enmity with them, but his birth mother, Consort Shu, did.

Her birth mother, Consort Shu, was a girl whom Xie Wanqing had saved. She said she wanted to serve Xie Wanqing for the rest of her life to repay her kindness. Xie Wanqing declined several times, but finally couldn't refuse and let her stay.

Later, she climbed into the emperor's bed and gave birth to a prince. When Yuwen Wuji wanted to kill her, he fed her poison.

After her death, she was promoted to Consort Shu, becoming the head of the palace. However, she faded into obscurity, becoming the least prominent of the four consorts.

Everyone says she makes a living off Gao Ping, but look at her, she's raised her son quite well.

"Sister, don't blame me! I did it all for my child! I was forced!" Consort Shu's tears blurred her makeup, leaving her looking utterly disheveled. Her hands trembled as she held the poison, spilling the liquid from the swaying bowl. Her eyes were filled with fear and dread, but she gritted her teeth and forced Xie Wanqing to drink the entire bowl of poison.

"Sister, please don't come looking for me as a ghost! I'll burn lots and lots of paper money for you! I was really forced into this; my child is in their hands! Waaah..."

An annoying voice echoed in her mind, and Song Yaozhu frowned, clutching Xie Liwei's clothes tightly in anger.

She hated those people who, despite their own desire for wealth and status, insisted on putting on a victim's act, as if they had been forced into a corner.

To act hypocritically is utterly shameless.

Xie Liwei extended a finger, inserted it into her fist, pried open her clenched fist, and held her palm in his hand.

She slowly relaxed her furrowed brows while she was asleep.

When Granny Qin came in to add ice, she saw this scene and whispered, "Why don't we lay the princess down to sleep? Your body is going to go numb."

"It's alright, she won't sleep for long." Xie Liwei enjoyed the time when she needed him.

Seeing the couple in such a state, Granny Qin couldn't help but break into a big smile.

Oh dear, the Prince's manor will soon have a little master! She must call Caijin and Caiyin to help her make the swaddling clothes!

Make several different patterns and rotate them!

Just as the two of them were enjoying their sweet time together, the Song family was hit by a series of terrible news.

Old Master Song discovered that one of his calligraphy and paintings was missing!

He knew very well what he had written. If this calligraphy and painting were to be misused by someone with ulterior motives, the Song family's foundation would be in jeopardy!

"Tell me, where did my calligraphy and painting go!"

The old man tapped his cane loudly, and the whole family kept their heads down and remained silent.

"This calligraphy and painting is a matter of life and death for our entire household!"