The concubine, a former cannon fodder, becomes pregnant, and the childless prince spoils her rotten.

If no one had guided him, he would never have ended up in his bed by chance, given that he was in such a coma. Unfortunately, he had eaten something wrong and was unable to control himself.

How could Lin Zhizhi, a mere maid who grew up in the mansion, possibly obtain such potent drugs?

Seeing that he remained silent, Lin Zhizhi dared not act rashly, feeling uneasy as she wondered if Cen Jingyi had believed what she had said.

If she cannot successfully become the prince's concubine, then the nameless and unmarried child in her womb may not even have the chance to be born.

She then said again, "There were outsiders present at the time, so my reputation is not important. If someone says that Your Highness is indulging in beautiful women and has many wives and concubines and maids at home... it will be detrimental to Your Highness. I don't want them to spread rumors about Your Highness."

"them?"

"It's the servants in the mansion who talk about these things in their spare time, but I don't think the prince is like that at all, because he's always too clumsy with words to argue with them."

These trivial words would not have reached Cen Jingyi's ears. By the time he realized it and tried to stop it, the rumors had already spread like wildfire throughout the city, infuriating the emperor so much that he scolded him in the imperial study for an entire afternoon.

Fortunately, he had not yet lost the hearts of the people. It was Liu Gulan who devised a plan to help Cen Jingyi receive envoys from a neighboring country and thus salvage his image in the emperor's eyes.

She tried desperately to appear harmless and devoted to the prince, hoping that if he could realize it sooner, there would still be a way to salvage the situation.

Cen Jingyi looked at her with a rather complicated expression. He felt that she was pretending to be stupid, but her seemingly casual words did remind him of something.

He said casually, "It's because I'm too strict with the servants in my household and don't allow them to gossip, that's why they find amusement in it."

Lin Zhizhi's palms were sweating with nervousness; the prince would never normally mention these things to her.

Could he be testing her?

"This servant just feels that this is not right. The prince treats us very well and gives us generous rewards, but..."

"Don't be afraid, tell me."

Lin Zhizhi closed her eyes, looking as if she were ready to die. "It's just that the money bestowed by other households is delayed or less distributed to the servants. If all the servants were delayed or received less, it wouldn't matter, but the servants who serve the concubine receive more money. It's not that they are dissatisfied with the prince, they just don't like it."

Everyone understands the principle that it is not scarcity but inequality that is to be feared, but these rumors, once they spread from the Prince's residence, must have been sabotaged by someone.

The surroundings suddenly fell silent, so quiet that it seemed as if only the sound of a heartbeat could be heard. Lin Zhizhi's heart jumped into her throat.

Directly pointing out that she was a concubine was a risky move; it was just unknown what the prince would think of her.

After a long pause, he asked, "Did the Princess tell you to say these things?"

There was no surprise in his words. Lin Zhizhi was stunned. Did the prince already know about the princess's temperament? And also about the concubine's actions?

"No, it's because the concubine made Mu Yuan treat me that way, and I harbor resentment, which is why I complained."

She slightly opened her eyes to observe Cen Jingyi's expression. If she really pinned all the blame on the princess, the prince would be unwilling to believe her because she had ulterior motives.

"You haven't changed at all, you still keep your true feelings to yourself." Cen Jingyi slowly relaxed, and seeing the joy on Lin Zhizhi's face, he then invited her into the room.

Cen Jingyi, in his conscious state, showed no sign of holding back, and Lin Zhizhi felt as if all the bones in her body were about to be shattered.

A wave of heat rose around her, and the room's sweet fragrance made her feel intoxicated. Gazing at the man's lustful face, she feigned shyness and tried to hide.

But her waist was held captive with nowhere to escape, and she suppressed her sobs, with only heavy breathing all she could hear.

As if she had been licked by a ferocious tiger, leaving terrifying marks on her body once again, she could only endure the soreness and pain to make the bed.

My legs were so sore and weak. I wanted to speed up my movements, but then I gasped for breath. I was afraid of disturbing the person on the bed, so I had to endure the discomfort.

Cen Jingyi watched her diligently doing her duties, without taking advantage of her favor to demand to be served, nor overstepping her bounds by asking how to punish the concubine. Her temperament was quite good.

Lin Zhizhi had been secretly observing him and noticed that the prince was no longer as disgusted with or avoiding her as before.

Now that we've passed this hurdle for the time being, we need to be even more careful in our actions from now on.

As soon as he stepped out of the inner room, he noticed that Mu Yuan was kneeling at the door to keep watch as punishment. It seemed that the concubine had sent her to gather information and also wanted to show her face in front of the prince.

I don't know how much of what she said before she took to heart.

If the concubine finds out, who knows how many ways she'll have to control her.

Upon seeing her, Mu Yuan acted as if she had seen something utterly despicable, threatening, "Don't think you can do whatever you want just because you've latched onto the prince and become his concubine. You just wait!"

Judging from her expression, she didn't hear anything, so it seems the prince didn't let anyone near the inner room.

At this moment in Jinting Courtyard, the cleaning lady beside the princess whispered, "No bloodstains were found."

The princess caught a glimpse of a swarming figure in the shadows and recognized it as Lin Zhizhi's aunt. She said, "The prince has taken a woman who is not a virgin as a concubine. If this gets out, it will damage his reputation. Please do not say anything more."

"Yes."

The old woman did see the blood-stained sheets yesterday and mentioned it to the prince, but he didn't pay any attention.

They assumed it was a hidden ailment on the prince's buttocks from a battle, and felt ashamed, so they didn't mention it to the princess.

Auntie rushed back to look for Lin Shangya, and was seen by Lin Zhizhi.

She paused and quietly followed, only to hear her aunt's loud voice echoing in the courtyard, "My dear girl, I overheard Lin Zhizhi fooling around with some wild man. So what if she becomes the prince's concubine? The prince's interest will only last two days. He'll get tired of her sooner or later. You still have a chance."

The aunt felt relieved, seeing these snobbish people mock them for trying to overstep their bounds.

She wanted to let these people know that her daughter was no less capable than Lin Zhizhi, and that she would become the mistress of the Prince's mansion sooner or later, and then they would suffer.

"Mother, keep your voice down. This isn't something to be proud of." Lin Shangya tried to maintain her gentle and kind image, but in reality, she was overjoyed and her face was beaming with happiness.

"The princess has never interfered in affairs, but the concubine will not let her off easily. If she finds out about this..." The aunt was unusually excited, as if she could see her daughter becoming the mistress.

Lin Shangya shook her head: "Consort Feng is petty. Even if she succeeds in ruining Lin Zhizhi, she will never give me the chance to get close to the Prince."

"Besides, you took her money and led the princess to arrest your second aunt. She's probably afraid you'll mention this to the princess. Be careful from now on, lest she find something wrong and kick you out."

"The Fifth Prince and the Prince have always been at odds. I know the concubines in his room. As long as they create an opportunity for me to be with the Prince, I can find a random man to frame Lin Zhizhi."

"If I just pretend that my cousin has made a mistake and I am willing to do anything to atone for her sins, I think the prince will treat me differently."