The Emperor immediately bestowed a finely crafted jade Ruyi upon her for her pregnancy, followed by a continuous stream of rewards being sent to Prince Ke's mansion.
Those around the Princess were naturally overjoyed, but Wen Yuwei was less pleased.
Although Prince Ke had once offered to let her change her name and return to the mansion to recuperate, she had refused.
Now, however, she could no longer return even if she wanted to.
About half a month ago, the Empress had sent people to find her. They were all experienced wet nurses from the palace, each one intimidating to behold.
One of them, with a sharp eye, immediately noticed that she was pregnant.
They didn't say much, but then left several experienced wet nurses to attend to her in the small courtyard.
While ostensibly attending to her, they were in fact monitoring her.
When the First Prince came, he saw this but did not speak up much in her defense.
As a result, Wen Yuwei's arrogance was suppressed considerably. Previously, she had maintained an appearance of being understanding and kind, but now she was frail and seemingly unable to care for herself, wishing that Prince Ke would stay in the small courtyard every day to support her.
Unfortunately, her wishful thinking didn't last long before Princess Ke became pregnant again.
One day, she threw a tantrum over this, smashing bowls and refusing to eat. The wet nurses from the palace were not known for their good temper.
One of them spoke to her coldly and directly.
"Miss should focus on preserving herself and the child. To put it bluntly, you are no longer considered precious."
Indeed, ever since learning that Princess Ke was pregnant, the First Prince had not appeared again. It was said that he stayed by the Princess's side every day, ensuring her well-being during her pregnancy.
She twisted the handkerchief in her hand repeatedly. No matter how clever and capable she was at scheming, she was still no match for the experienced old wet nurses from the palace.
As a result, her pregnancy did not go smoothly.
The Empress had originally sent people to order Wen Yuwei's death. As the niece of a traitorous official, how dare she openly seduce the First Prince? Wasn't this tarnishing the First Prince's reputation?
If it weren't for her unborn child, she would have been poisoned long ago.
The fact that she was still allowed to live was solely for the sake of the child.
Childbirth was a perilous journey for women, and without any need for them to intervene, Wen Yuwei would naturally meet her end.
Here, Wen Yuwei dared not speak out of anger.
Meanwhile, the Ninth Prince was both shocked, enraged, and furious because Long Guang, whom he had always cherished, had disappeared.
Unable to search openly, the Ninth Prince secretly dispatched many people to investigate everywhere.
However, he never expected that Duke Wei would accidentally discover that Long Guang was the Ninth Prince's male consort.
This was truly a case of misfortune compounding misfortune, like a boat sailing late and encountering a headwind.
In Duke Wei's mansion, he was severely reprimanding the Ninth Prince.
"Your Highness, are you unaware of our current predicament? The Sixth Prince has already made a name for himself in the southwest floods and is on the fast track to promotion. Then there's Princess Ke's second pregnancy, and the Emperor has bestowed so many rewards upon the Prince's mansion. If this matter is exposed, let alone the throne, I fear even the Emperor's last shred of affection will vanish. How could you be so foolish!"
The Ninth Prince, his secret exposed, felt his face flush with embarrassment.
Fortunately, only the two of them were in the study. When facing Duke Wei, he felt both reliance on his maternal grandfather and trust in his strategist.
Therefore, he did not conceal the matter and directly expressed his feelings for Long Guang.
"Grandfather, Long Guang has accompanied me through life and death for many years. You ask me to abandon him now, and I cannot. My Sixth Brother is merely a mediocre talent, a pawn the Emperor uses to checkmate me. What ability does he truly possess! As for children, blame the women in the inner chambers for being useless. After so long, not one has shown any signs of pregnancy. What does this have to do with me?"
He managed to absolve himself of any responsibility in his words.
Not only that, but he also looked down upon others.
Duke Wei looked at the Ninth Prince, whom he was desperately trying to elevate, and for the first time, he doubted himself.
Could such an arrogant and impatient person truly be capable of handling great responsibilities?
He was also somewhat confused for a moment.
Unfortunately, the Ninth Prince did not notice Duke Wei's emotional shift at all. He was solely focused on finding Long Guang.
At this moment, Long Guang was being secretly detained by the First Prince.
This was a huge handle!
The First Prince never dreamed that his Ninth Brother, with whom he had been competing for years, would dote on a man to the extent of neglecting the royal duty of procreation.
No wonder he had been with so many women over the years, yet not a single one had ever announced a pregnancy.
At first, he had wondered if it was a problem with his physical constitution. It turned out the truth was this.
This was quite surprising.
The reason he had stumbled upon Long Guang was entirely accidental.
He heard that when Liang Luo was brought out of Prince Li's mansion, she was covered in injuries.
He thought perhaps she knew something that would cause his Ninth Brother to treat her so violently. His original intention was to extract some secrets.
He did not expect that Liang Luo would use this to exchange for her future freedom.
Dealing with a banished criminal was a minor matter for him, the dignified Prince Ke.
Therefore, he released Liang Luo with one hand and sent people to secretly capture Long Guang with the other.
The purpose was to hold this handle and wait for the day to deliver a fatal blow to the Ninth Prince!
He had originally planned to keep Liang Luo under house arrest as well, but the people he sent unexpectedly let her escape.
A half-dead, fallen woman, what good future could she have?
When she could no longer endure, she would naturally know who her true supporter was. At that time, he wouldn't have to search for her; Liang Luo would obediently seek refuge with him. Therefore, the First Prince was not in a hurry.
Unfortunately, just as he believed he had control of everything, he was unaware that Su Cheng and Feng Jinlin were manipulating everything behind the scenes.
Liang Luo was surprised when she saw the two of them.
She had never been polite to them in the past. Why would they save her?
Su Cheng, fearing she would misunderstand, immediately said,
"Don't overthink it. You are still useful to us, which is why we saved you."
Liang Luo remained silent. At this moment, she had revealed the only secret she possessed. Where else could she be of use?
But even if she were to be used, she would rather stay here.
Compared to the nightmare in Prince Li's mansion and the uncertain future of exile, she preferred to be used.
"You should focus on recovering from your injuries first. We'll discuss everything once you're healed, especially your face. Recover your past appearance as soon as possible."
She had once been a pampered young lady from a noble family. Although not as naturally beautiful as Feng Jinyao, she was not far behind.
But now, she was emaciated and her spirit was withered.
This would not do.
Her throat was hoarse from not speaking for a long time.
When she heard Su Cheng say he wanted her to regain her past appearance, her heart skipped a beat.