The clingy concubine ran away, and the sickly prince lost control.

If Cui Rou stays at the Duke's mansion to recover from her injuries, there will be no peace and quiet.

Lying on the stretcher, Cui Rou glared fiercely at Luo Qingyan, vowing that once she recovered, she would never let her go.

Pei Shiyuan's current dissatisfaction with her stems entirely from Luo Qingyan's appearance.

"Go back and rest!"

The old lady rubbed her temples, wondering how she could have ever fallen for such a troublesome girl as Cui Rou.

They refused to return to Qinghe and even bought back the girl named Yinxing.

She had to write to Qinghe and make sure to bring Cui Rou away.

If the future mistress of the Duke's mansion is to be from the Cui family, then the woman must be replaced.

Back at Linfeng Residence.

The food in the yard had been cleaned up, and the faint fragrance of flowers, along with the flickering candlelight, became an indelible light in the darkness.

"Young Master, Miss Cui is seriously injured and left with a disability. It will probably be difficult for her to get married. Can you take responsibility?"

Having gone through so much, Luo Qingyan was certain that Pei Shiyuan didn't like Cui Rou. But having hurt her so badly, Cui Rou would never be able to get married, and Pei Shiyuan would have to take responsibility for her future.

"She brought this on herself," Pei Shiyuan said coldly.

Given Cui Rou's personality, it's lucky she didn't die.

"Why don't you take her in as a concubine? It's not good for her to be the mistress of the house if she's crippled."

Luo Qingyan felt that this was the outcome, even though she didn't want it and didn't like Cui Rou, but there was nothing she could do.

"You've certainly thought this through thoroughly," Pei Shiyuan said coldly. "You want Cui Rou to enter the manor?"

Luo Qingyan subconsciously shook her head, then nodded: "I can't decide this."

"If you can't decide, why are you meddling?" Pei Shiyuan spread his arms, asking Luo Qingyan to help him change his clothes.

Luo Qingyan frowned, feeling her mind was in turmoil. Why did she want to know if Cui Rou would enter the Duke's mansion?

Bringing herself back to reality, Luo Qingyan unbuttoned Pei Shiyuan's clothes one by one, and said gently, "Thank you, Your Highness, for celebrating my birthday."

"You're welcome."

Suddenly, Pei Shiyuan felt Luo Qingyan was very close, her face practically pressed against his chest, so he took two steps back to create some distance.

Is this woman up to no good again?

Didn't we agree to wait until things settled down before having children?

Luo Qingyan didn't do it on purpose. Pei Shiyuan was tall and she was petite, a head shorter. To unbutton the collar of his shirt, she had to stand on tiptoe and get closer to reach him.

Pei Shiyuan's seemingly reactive reaction made Luo Qingyan instantly understand, and she then remembered something else: "Your Highness, does the Jiang family physician suspect us? When you were poisoned by the 'spirit,' he wanted to take my pulse."

"The physicians at the Jiang family are highly skilled; they'll figure out I'm still a girl sooner or later. That will break the old lady's heart."

"Moreover, I've been at the Duke's mansion for almost two months now. This month, the old lady will probably think of having the Jiang family physician take my pulse to see if I'm pregnant."

"I'll tell Mother about tomorrow morning's greetings. Hurry up, I'm sleepy."

Pei Shiyuan urged her on, but Luo Qingyan hesitated. For some reason, whenever her hand brushed against his body, it made him feel itchy, and soon he felt hot all over.

"OK."

Luo Qingyan quickened her pace, and Pei Shiyuan sensed something was wrong even more. He suddenly turned around in embarrassment, lifting the hem of his clothes to cover himself: "Alright, go sleep in the side room! I can do it myself."

Pei Shiyuan was annoyed by his recent repeated transgressions. His willpower had weakened, all because of Luo Qingyan, who insisted on consummating the marriage at every opportunity, causing him to constantly think about it and making it impossible for him to calm down. He took a deep breath and felt a little more relaxed.

"Oh." Luo Qingyan glanced at Pei Shiyuan's flushed cheeks, then walked away dejectedly, thinking to herself, "At such a young age, what is he holding back for?"

She would be willing to have children even if it weren't for Pei Shiyuan's good looks.

Where can you find someone this good-looking once you leave the Duke's mansion?

In the side room, Luo Qingyan hugged the emerald, feeling a little guilty as she thought about how the old lady would find out tomorrow that she and Pei Shiyuan hadn't consummated their marriage.

The following day, Yi Anju.

"What? Yuan'er, you've actually fooled your mother?"

When the old lady learned that Luo Qingyan and Pei Shiyuan had not consummated their marriage, she stood up abruptly.

"It's not too late to have offspring after we find out who wants to harm the Duke's mansion."

Pei Shiyuan's firm tone left no room for doubt.

Luo Qingyan looked at the old lady with guilt and embarrassment; she had really tried her best.

Pei Shiyuan wouldn't budge no matter what.

The old lady slowly sat back down. Yes! The Duke fought for the court all his life. Who exactly wanted to harm the Duke's mansion?

"Madam, the young master is in good health. It is fine to have children later."

Luo Qingyan offered words of comfort.

The old lady was always unhappy, and glanced at Luo Qingyan: "That's true. However, you still have to serve the young master as before."

The word "formerly" was emphasized.

Luo Qingyan understood; she still needed to seize the opportunity to serve the emperor and conceive a child as soon as possible.

"Yes, madam, I will."

No matter how unhappy the old lady was, she would no longer punish Luo Qingyan by making her kneel. She had saved the young master's life, so she was a benefactor of the Duke's mansion.

Even if the mistress enters the household later, and there are three or four wives and concubines, they are not allowed to interfere with Luo Qingyan's behavior.

As long as Luo Qingyan behaves herself, the Duke's Mansion can guarantee her a worry-free life for the rest of her life.

"Don't worry about Rou'er's affairs. The Duke's mansion is not suitable for her. I will handle it."

The old lady changed the subject, expressing her concern that Pei Shiyuan might take further action against Cui Rou.

If Cui Rou gets into trouble again, it will be difficult to explain to her older brother.

Pei Shiyuan nodded.

After breakfast, Luo Qingyan escorted Granny Liu and Rainbow back to Kangning Pavilion, where they had stayed at the Duke's Mansion the previous night.

Inside the carriage.

"Sister Luo, the young master is so good to you," Rainbow said in a sweet voice.

"Our girl is so lucky," said Granny Liu with a kind smile. "It would be even better if she had another child."

Since the prince is currently doting on the girl, she should seize the opportunity to have a child while things are still going strong.

If the prince takes a new concubine one day, the girl's position will be secure because of her child.

"Granny, the fate of our descendants depends on destiny. For now, let's focus on making the Kangning Pavilion business a success and not let the young master down."

She needs to earn more money to feel at ease.

Pei Shiyuan spent no less than ten thousand taels to open Kangning Pavilion for her, so she had to work hard. Although the books he gave her were a headache to look at, she still gritted her teeth and studied them every day. She did learn a lot, including business acumen, arithmetic, and so on.

As the carriage arrived at the entrance of Kangning Pavilion, Luo Qingyan had just lifted the curtain to get out when she looked up and saw someone spitting at the Kangning Pavilion signboard placed downstairs.

"Who is she? She's so awful."

Rainbow roared, "I'll get a big broom and slap her!"

"Wait a minute, I know who she is, it's Luo Haitang." Luo Qingyan pulled Caihong back.

"Young Miss has always bullied us. We tolerated it before, but now she's targeting Kangning Pavilion. Miss, you can't let this go. This is not only bullying us, but also disregarding the Duke's Mansion and daring to bully the young master." Granny Liu glared at the person angrily. "I'm going to reason with her. In broad daylight, with so many people around, let's see how she tries to argue."

Luo Qingyan looked Luo Haitang up and down; she was wearing men's clothes.

"Granny, don't go. Luo Haitang wouldn't disguise herself and follow her just to spit out a mouthful of phlegm."

The three of them got back into the carriage and followed Luo Haitang all the way.

A painted boat? Luo Haitang's carriage finally stopped at a painted boat.