Xie Liwei chuckled and pulled her calf over to start massaging it.

After the start of autumn, the daytime weather remains hot, but the temperature drops sharply at night.

Xie Liwei's palms were dry, and pressing them made Song Yaozhu's mind start to wander.

"I've heard that women often experience swelling and discomfort in their calves during late pregnancy. I'll massage them for you every day."

Song Yaozhu felt a warmth in her heart upon hearing this, as she had also witnessed Gao Ping's pregnancy. As Gao Ping's belly grew larger, walking became difficult, and her calves were always swollen. Sometimes, her beautiful little feet would swell up like steamed buns, obscuring their original delicate features and appearing both frightening and disgusting.

Yuwen Wuji never inquired about her health. Whenever she mentioned it to him, he would always say, "All women are the same. It's not like I can just go and check on her and she'll be fine."

In his eyes, pregnancy and childbirth were women's business. He, as the husband, only needed to sow the seed. As for the subsequent gestation, growth, and harvest, he disregarded them all, believing that was a woman's responsibility.

Yuwen Wuji is just a microcosm of all men in the world. They all believe that a man's ambition should lie in his country and in the court, and they would never set their sights on his wife in the inner quarters.

A person who doesn't even care about his family is still believed by the people to be able to handle national affairs well and to care about people like them who have no blood relation.

“Ah Li.” Song Yaozhu raised her hand to brush away the stray hairs that had fallen across Xie Liwei’s forehead, her fingers touching the silver mask on his face.

"You haven't told me how you got the injury on your face."

Xie Liwei, as if trying to please her, rubbed his face against her palm.

"It was done by spies left in Shangjing by the Western Rong."

Song Yaozhu's pupils contracted, and she immediately realized what was happening.

"How could spies from the Western Rong reach the capital?" At the beginning of the founding of the Great Chen Dynasty, the Western Rong were severely damaged. It was already difficult for their people to operate on the border of the Great Chen Dynasty. How could there be any spies who could sneak into the capital?

It goes without saying who's behind this!

"Yuwen Wuji, he's absolutely depraved!" Song Yaozhu wished she could tear this bastard to pieces.

Does he even know what he's doing? He conspired with an enemy state to assassinate Xie Liwei. The Western Rong are indeed taking the blame, but they've also got evidence against him. How will he appease the people now?

She didn't care whether Yuwen Wuji lived or died. What she cared about was that if the Western Rong invaded and this matter was made public, the people's hearts would be unsettled, the country would be torn apart, and the world would be in chaos again.

With the other princes away, the Prince of Yan held considerable military power.

"The Crown Prince went to Yunzhou to provide disaster relief and comfort the people. There are also people in the court who speak up for Prince Yong. The Fifth Prince is now frequently seen by the Emperor's side."

After listening to Xie Liwei's words, Song Yaozhu understood the meaning behind them.

"The Crown Prince has been sent out to gain experience. If the trip goes smoothly, the whole world will remember the Crown Prince's good deeds. The Prince of Yong has been away from the capital for more than half a year, and he is being mentioned frequently now, which means that some families have pledged allegiance to him. The Fifth Prince was deliberately promoted by Yuwen Wuji, who wanted him to rise to power and share power with the Crown Prince."

After massaging her right leg, Xie Liwei switched to her left leg.

"Which family do you think will pledge allegiance to Prince Yong, Sister?"

“The Lu family of Fanyang,” Song Yaozhu said with certainty. “The Imperial Noble Consort now holds great power, but she has no children.”

Upon hearing this, the two exchanged a smile, their eyes revealing an unspoken understanding.

Upon returning to the capital, Consort Zhen, Song Wenyue, felt that her people within the palace were beginning to face obstacles. The palace maids and eunuchs all sided with the powerful Imperial Noble Consort, while she... well...

People are cold-hearted.

"Your Highness, the Prince Xiaoyao's residence has sent some things in."

Upon hearing this, Song Wenyue jumped up immediately, like a startled cat.

"The Carefree Prince's Mansion!"

What good intentions could that bitch Song Yaozhu possibly have!

"Give it to me!"

A palace maid quickly presented a box, which, when opened, contained a porcelain box.

Upon seeing the porcelain box, Song Wenyue's pupils contracted. Wasn't this the box that contained the Jade Bone Regenerating Cream?

There was also a letter under the porcelain box. Song Wenyue unfolded the letter and read it. At the beginning, Song Yaozhu greeted her adopted younger sister and then talked about many private things, such as the various changes in her body after becoming pregnant and how she thought of her sister.

She said she had been overthinking things during her pregnancy, and before she got pregnant, she didn't understand why her mother was biased, which made her very resentful. Now that she has a child, she is gradually understanding her mother and wants to repair her relationship with her mother and sister.

She also said that she had heard that a woman's birth canal was no longer the same after childbirth, so she specially sought out this secret medicine to give to her sister, hoping that she would one day regain favor.

In addition, she also gave a box of toys for children to play with.

Song Wenyue saw the letter and then tore it to shreds.

Can Song Yaozhu really be that kind-hearted?

If it weren't for her, I wouldn't have entered the palace and married such an old man!

If it weren't for her, I might have become the Princess Consort of Yong!

"My sister, though she hasn't read many books, is full of wicked schemes!" After saying that, she picked up a torn letter and looked at it. The small, delicate characters on the paper were exquisite and refined; one could not write such beautiful characters without more than ten years of practice.

"Hmph, if I hadn't rejected her, she wouldn't have been able to marry so well!"

The thought of Song Yaozhu's carefree life now filled her with resentment. She completely forgot how afraid she had been of Xie Liwei's infamy, and she didn't believe that Song Yaozhu's ability to establish herself in the Prince's mansion was due to her own abilities, but rather to her charity.

However, she described many emotional changes after becoming a mother in her letter, which indeed touched her deeply.

It wasn't because of her child, but because the Imperial Noble Consort had no children!

Now, in the harem, the Imperial Noble Consort holds absolute power, and she has no children of her own, while I have a prince who is still too young to understand anything! This child is both a lifesaver and a death warrant!

If she were an imperial concubine, she would kill her, seize her child, and then carefully raise her into her own puppet.

Song Yaozhu's letter reminded her that she might already be fish on Lu Yinghong's chopping board.

She picked up the porcelain box from the box and sneered a few times.

"Promote the wonderful things my sister gave me."

The palace maid responded and withdrew.

Yuwen Wuji also heard about the Xiaoyao Prince's Mansion sending things to Song Wenyue at Huangjue Temple. When Xie Liwei was mentioned, he couldn't help but think of Song Yaozhu, who looked seven or eight parts like Xie Wanqing, and sighed again.

This made her hate Xie Liwei even more.

At his age, he gradually became aware of his body's decline. For example, if he didn't sleep well the night before, he would feel unwell all day and need to drink ginseng tea to refresh himself.

As he grew older, he found Xie Liwei increasingly unpleasant to look at.

Because he had seen the other party's unparalleled elegance, the admiration of all the talented men in the capital, and his infuriatingly arrogant demeanor.

Subconsciously, he compared himself to Xie Liwei.

He absolutely refused to admit that he was inferior to him!