Binding Spring Love

As dusk fell, Shen Qianyu rose from a corner and walked out of the East Palace.

Having spent many years in the inner palace, he was already intimately familiar with all the dark and secluded paths.

Before long, he arrived at the Imperial Garden.

Today's banquet is attended by ladies and young women from various prominent families in the capital. Shen Qianyu knows very little about the aristocratic families of the capital, especially those of high social standing. For many years, he has been unable to use his status as the crown prince to get close to anyone. Although he killed Duan Yiting three years ago and used his name to switch places, he was still exposed, so he rarely appears in public.

He really didn't want to miss this opportunity to get to know people.

Shen Qianyu walked along the wall to the back of the artificial hill and quietly observed everyone in the garden.

Most of those present were supporters of the Third Prince. Although the First Prince had the support of his maternal clan, his scandalous behavior in the harem in his early years was known to all. Although the Emperor did not make it public in order to protect the Empress's dignity, many people still knew about it.

Originally, the three and five were evenly matched, but after Jiang Xingjian returned to the capital after resurrecting himself, the reputation of the Marquis of Chengyang's mansion was completely ruined, and those opportunists all flocked to the Third Prince's banner.

Thinking of the scene when he met Lin Jiayue at the Marquis of Chengyang's residence that day, Shen Qianyu chuckled.

In just a few months, the century-old family was turned into a notorious and chaotic place, even jeopardizing the foundation of the Fifth Prince.

There are countless generals of this caliber in the world. If we could gather three or five of them under our command and send them to the Crown Prince's maternal family and the Song family, he could probably secure his position as the Crown Prince within three years.

Just as Shen Qianyu was pondering how to cultivate a talented person like Lin Jiayue, he saw Song Wan and her maid walk to a short distance away from him and admire the palace lanterns.

The location was secluded and hidden, allowing them to see everyone without revealing themselves. Shen Qianyu raised an eyebrow, wondering whether Song Wan's actions were unintentional or deliberate.

He leaned back, concealing himself in the shadows.

"Miss, there are riddles here."

Hengwu pointed to several palace lanterns and smiled, "I recognize these characters, Miss, why don't you guess them?"

Song Wan turned to look at the palace lanterns on the corridor. The dim candlelight reflected on her face, making her already outstanding beauty even more exquisite and unparalleled, like a dream.

A socialite and a beautiful woman, a rare find.

The eight characters silently surfaced in Shen Qianyu's mind, and only now did he begin to understand why Jiang Yan was so preoccupied with his sister-in-law and so obsessed with her.

"Miss, Your Majesty."

Song Wan smiled faintly: "Flawless white jade."

"dark."

"impressive."

Hengwu covered her lips: "Miss, you've read so many books, you don't even need to think about these riddles."

Song Wan smiled and said, "I still need to think about it, but I'm thinking about it a bit faster."

She laughed lightly, completely unlike her cautious and guarded demeanor at the Marquis's residence.

After the palace banquet, Consort Yun sent people to escort Song Wan back to her residence. As soon as she stepped out of the sedan chair, she noticed that the old woman in the inner courtyard had a strange expression on her face and was looking at her furtively, which was unusual.

Song Wan asked a maid in the courtyard to find out what had happened in the mansion that day.

The maid returned and said, "Reporting to the eldest mistress, it turns out that Concubine Lin from Xiuyan Pavilion fainted in the courtyard during the day. After calling the family physician, they said... said that Concubine Lin is pregnant."

Song Wan frowned, surprised.

Jiang Xingjian had never allowed Lin Jiayue to drink the contraceptive soup, yet now she even had a son born out of wedlock?

"May I inform the madam?"

The maid nodded: "Madam understands."

"That's good then, thank you for your hard work."

Hengzhi saw the maid off and then turned back to help Song Wan with her makeup and hair. The three of them, mistress and servant, did not mention Lin Jiayue's pregnancy again; whether the eldest son was born or not was none of their business.

Song Wan turned off the light and went to sleep, but Lin Jiayue tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.

She rubbed her belly, sometimes crying and sometimes laughing, which startled Qianbi and Qinghong, causing them great concern.

"Is Auntie feeling unwell?"

Lin Jiayue murmured, "I don't feel anything right now. I heard that morning sickness usually starts after three months of pregnancy? The doctor said I'm still early in the pregnancy and can't feel anything yet."

She laughed as she spoke: "In this world, I now have a blood relative, a child connected to me by blood! I don't know if he's a boy or a girl, or if he looks like the Marquis or like me."

The two women, one in light blue and the other in light red, exchanged a glance and then lowered their heads.

"If it's a boy, I hope he can learn some martial arts, roam the world in the future, do some chivalrous deeds, and see the beautiful landscapes that I've never seen before."

"If it were a daughter..."

Lin Jiayue's eyes reddened, and she pursed her lips without saying a word.

A sudden wave of sadness washed over her: "It's time to do needlework."

Lin Jiayue took out a bamboo embroidery frame from the basket and began embroidering with a blank expression.

When Qianbi saw that she was sewing on the soft gauze she was wearing on her arm, she couldn't help but step forward to stop her. But before she could say anything, Qinghong pulled her back.

Qinghong shook her head, indicating that she shouldn't interfere.

The two tiptoed out, and Qianbi said, "Although Auntie used to say silly things and act a bit crazy, she never scolded us. Seeing her like this now makes me feel so sad."

Qinghong bit her lip: "Don't think so much. These things are none of our business as servants. The Marquis hasn't visited the concubine's courtyard for several days, but he'll probably come tonight. I think we should find a place to hide."

"What are you hiding from?"

"Are you stupid?"

Qinghong lowered her voice: "This child is absolutely unacceptable, absolutely unacceptable... what if the Marquis comes tonight with a bowl of abortifacient medicine? What will we do then?"

She certainly didn't dare to go up and stop her, but she couldn't bear to watch Lin Jiayue wail in pain.

"I'll find an excuse to go to the old lady's courtyard to avoid her for a while. As for what you do with yourself, that's none of my business."

After saying this, Qinghong sighed deeply, turned around and left Xiuyan Pavilion.

Jiang Xingjian returned to the mansion after 9 PM. He thought that all the courtyards in the mansion would have already closed for the night, but unexpectedly, as soon as he entered the inner courtyard, he heard the old woman on watch say that the madam had been waiting for him for a long time and that he must go to Fuhe Hall first upon his return.

Despite his doubts, Jiang Xingjian still rushed over.

Upon seeing him, Jiang's mother frowned deeply: "Do you know that Lin is pregnant?"

Jiang Xingjian was taken aback, then frowned deeply.

He forgot to give Lin Jiayue the contraceptive soup.

The Marquis's mansion has been in great chaos lately, and there is no mistress to manage these matters of the bedroom. How could a man like him possibly remember these things?

"I thought you were..."

Jiang's mother sighed, "If I had known earlier that you didn't intend for her to get pregnant, I should have had the physician give her a bowl of abortifacient medicine today to nip this problem in the bud."

Jiang Xingjian remained silent, his mind filled with sorrow.

After a long pause, he said, "I will handle this matter myself, Mother, you don't need to worry."

"This fetus cannot be kept; you must not be soft-hearted."

Jiang Xingjian pursed his lips, turned around and walked out.

When they arrived at Xiuyan Pavilion, Lin Jiayue was still awake. She was sitting in front of the candlelight, lost in thought. Qianbi stood beside her with drooping eyelids, looking so sleepy that she didn't even notice Jiang Xingjian entering the room.

He coughed lightly, and the two of them snapped out of their daze.

Upon seeing him, Lin Jiayue immediately smiled brightly: "I know you've been busy lately, so I didn't dare to bother you, but I thought you would come today, so I've been waiting."

"Jiang Xingjian, we're having a child."