Mama Ma quickly comforted Lu Ruoyun, "No matter what, you are now the Prince's Consort. No matter how much she causes trouble, she can't surpass you. His Highness favors her now, simply because she carries his child. Pregnancy is a dangerous time for women. Will that child always be her protective charm? Besides, even if she gives birth safely, who can guarantee the child won't suffer misfortunes and fail to grow up? What then?"
"Leave her affairs to this old servant; you don't need to worry about them."
"Your most important task now is to also conceive a child. Additionally, you should visit the Empress more often as a daughter-in-law. After all, she is the one who can truly stand up for you."
"You know the Empress dislikes Su Qingyue."
Mama Ma soon pacified Lu Ruoyun and directed the maids to tidy up the messy room, replacing the furnishings with identical ones from the storeroom.
The maids worked silently, their movements fluid and practiced, indicating that they had performed similar tasks many times. Upon closer inspection, every item was placed exactly where it had been before Lu Ruoyun smashed them.
It was as if Lu Ruoyun had done nothing at all.
Not long after the room was tidied, the Second Prince arrived, announced by a maid.
The ferocity on Lu Ruoyun's face vanished, replaced by an infinite gentleness.
"Does Your Highness intend to rest here tonight?" Lu Ruoyun stepped forward.
"I came to talk with you," the Second Prince said, taking Lu Ruoyun's hand and leading her to a chaise lounge by the window.
"Yunyun, tell me, do you truly wish for Qingyue to return?" the Second Prince asked.
Lu Ruoyun was startled, not expecting such a question from the Second Prince.
Her fleeting hesitation was caught by the Second Prince, who continued, "I wish to hear the truth from you."
The truth?
Lu Ruoyun sneered inwardly, but a conflicted and distressed expression gradually appeared on her face.
"I thought I could guard my heart and play the role of the Prince's Consort. But, I underestimated myself," Lu Ruoyun's voice trembled slightly, eliciting pity from anyone who heard it.
"I don't care about the title of Prince's Consort; what I care about is being Your Highness's wife," Lu Ruoyun said with a bitter smile.
"Perhaps every wife in the world wishes for her husband's eyes and heart to be solely for her?"
"I thought I could calmly watch you and Sister Yue be deeply in love. But that was just my assumption! Every time I see Your Highness treat Sister Yue with such tender affection, it feels as though my flesh is being carved away by a knife."
"I can barely breathe from the pain."
"I don't want to be like this!"
"But I can't control myself!"
Tears streamed down Lu Ruoyun's face.
The Second Prince's expression grew complex, "So, you don't want Qingyue to return. You even hate the child in Qingyue's womb. You..."
Lu Ruoyun looked at the Second Prince in disbelief, "Your Highness, are you always suspecting me?"
"So, this is how I am in Your Highness's heart... If that's the case, then Your Highness should divorce me on the grounds of harming the royal heir." Lu Ruoyun spoke each word deliberately.
"I didn't say you were responsible for this incident," the Second Prince quickly replied.
"But Your Highness already sees me as someone capable of such actions. If it's not me this time, then next time Madam Yue has any discomfort, I will surely be implicated. If that is so, then my departure will prove my innocence. It will also allow me to abandon my unrealistic fantasies about Your Highness. Your Highness's heart has always belonged only to Madam Yue," Lu Ruoyun said despairingly.