After returning to the Eastern Palace, the Crown Prince summoned his advisors, intending to discuss in detail how he could regain his father's trust. However, the Crown Princess came over and handed him a secret letter.

He had been confined to the Eastern Palace during this time, and the imperial guards he had bribed had all been transferred away by Chengcheng, so no news could be sent in. Now that the imperial guards have withdrawn, he can also know about news from the outside, but he is still a little behind the people outside.

After he finished reading the letter, his eyes widened in fury.

"How could my mother do this to me!" The Crown Prince slammed the letter on the table. "Father must already know about this!"

The Crown Princess comforted him, saying, "Your Majesty forgave Your Highness after learning about this, which means the matter is over. Your Highness should not let this upset you and give those with ulterior motives an opportunity to take advantage of you."

The Crown Prince thought of the Fifth Prince, who was now more influential than him in the court, and felt resentful.

The Fifth Prince was indeed outstanding, the most outstanding of Yuwen Wuji's sons, and even more outstanding than his father, Yuwen Wuji.

Thinking of this, the Crown Prince sneered and said, "Crown Princess, sometimes a person's strengths can also be their cause of death."

The Crown Princess nodded. "Your Highness understands. I will have my father and brothers do it."

The art of flattery to death.

The court became strangely tense for a few moments after the Crown Prince's return. However, even with his return, it couldn't change the fact that the former Yong Prince faction had been divided between the Fifth Prince's faction and the Yan Prince's faction. Many of his own men had also switched sides upon seeing his downfall.

Now the Crown Prince is busy consolidating his power, and there is more and more open and covert struggle in the court. Even Consort Shu has focused her attention on helping her son fight against the Crown Prince, and has no time to pay attention to Song Yaozhu.

Meanwhile, the midwives and wet nurses who had long been kept in the Prince Xiaoyao's mansion had never been able to see their mistress.

The midwife was speechless. Counting the days, the woman was about to give birth, wasn't she? But since she moved into the palace, she had only seen the princess once through the screen and didn't even know what the princess looked like!

"I'm not saying this out of the old woman's whistle, but I haven't even seen the princess yet, how am I supposed to calculate her due date, how am I supposed to deliver her baby! What if I'm late and delay her delivery!" the midwife protested.

She had received a large sum of money, and she felt extremely guilty for not doing any work, as if she had taken the money for nothing.

The old woman guarding the courtyard was tall and strong, with muscular arms and a firm stance. She spoke with a powerful voice, saying sternly, "How dare you! Who do you think you are? Without the Princess's summons, do you think you can just see her whenever you want!"

The midwife knew she was of low social status, but she couldn't just sit idly by. She had to check on the princess's condition and decide when she would give birth.

"Someone will notify you when the princess will launch the attack; just be prepared at any time!"

After saying that, the old woman guarding the gate closed the courtyard door and locked it from the outside.

"This isn't a call for us to deliver babies, it's a call to arrest us and put us in jail!"

"Who's going to feed and treat you well while you're in jail?" the wet nurse retorted sarcastically. "What's your rush? It's not like you gave birth to her!"

He was spat on by the midwife who had been given a double dose of yin and yang, and then turned around and went back into the house.

She's now cut off from all communication, and she can't send messages out herself. Oh dear, she's accepted such a large sum of money; if she fails, will the other party take her life? No, she has to escape, escape now!

Song Yaozhu went into labor at the end of March. During the day, Madam Yin brought a midwife and wet nurse disguised as a nanny and maid to the mansion. After a spring rain that night, everything was quiet, and Song Yaozhu was about to give birth.

But the entire mansion was unusually quiet. The guards of the palace were the ones lighting the fire in the stove, and they were all very serious, as if lighting the fire had become a very solemn task.

With a pained expression, Granny Qin popped a piece of red ginseng into Song Yaozhu's mouth and said, "Your Highness, take a deep breath. Don't be afraid. We're all here with you!"

The contractions made Song Yaozhu's head covered in sweat, her nails dug into Xie Liwei's flesh, her upper teeth biting her lower lip, and a painful groan came from her throat.

The old women in the room were all busy working in an orderly manner. After a while, Granny Qin said, "Your Highness, you should go out now."

"No, I want to stay by the Princess's side."

Granny Qin looked at Song Yaozhu again. Song Yaozhu's face was full of fear and pleading, but she still refused in a very serious and stern tone.

"No! Please, Your Highness, leave!"

Before Xie Liwei was driven out, Song Yaozhu cried out in a rather mournful voice, "Father... Father..."

"I'm going to find Dad, don't be afraid!"

Before Xie Liwei could finish speaking, he was dragged and thrown out the door by Granny Qin. No one knew where this old woman got such strength.

Looking at Song Yaozhu, Qin Mama said earnestly, "Your Highness, I didn't let the Prince stay here for your own good in the future. There used to be a loving couple where the husband stayed by the wife's side when she gave birth. But ever since he witnessed a woman giving birth, he felt disgusted every time he saw his wife, and all their past affection vanished."

Granny Qin took a handkerchief to wipe Song Yaozhu's sweat, knowing that she was in so much pain that she couldn't speak.

"I've prepared some sweet soup, would you like some?"

Song Yaozhu nodded hurriedly, though the taste of the red ginseng in her mouth was really not good.

Xie Lu was already asleep when, in a daze, he was lifted out of bed and shivered a few times. Even though it was springtime, a sudden cold snap had struck, and being away from the warm blankets at night still made him shiver.

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was my son's bright and alert eyes. "Father, your daughter has been born!"

Xie Lu was still asleep. "Who gave birth?"

"Your daughter!" Xie Liwei exclaimed, his voice rising involuntarily.

Xie Lu reached out and touched Xie Liwei's forehead, then tugged at his own beard. Ouch! That hurts! Was he dreaming?

His ill-fated daughter had long since passed away, and he had no idea what was wrong with Xie Liwei late at night.

After yawning, Xie Lu burrowed back into the covers.

"That's your wife, not my daughter." Although this guy really wanted to be her son-in-law, now that the opportunity was gone, wasn't it?

"It really is my older sister! She gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl, and asked me to come and pick you up!"

Upon hearing the words "twins," Xie Lu immediately sat up, as if he had suddenly awakened to the truth.

"It's born? It's born!" Xie Lu began to put on his clothes, trembling. "Oh my, I'm going to be a grandfather!"

Xie Liwei: "......"

"Hurry, hurry! You brat, get the horse ready! I'm rushing back to hug my grandchildren as soon as possible!"

Xie Lu hurriedly put on his clothes, almost putting his shoes on the wrong feet.

"What did you mean by that just now? What do you mean by 'my daughter'?"