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

Auntie said happily, "This is a good idea. As long as you and the prince get together and you get pregnant with the prince's eldest son, even if he is born out of wedlock, you can still gain status through your son."

The two had a wonderful idea, but it was nothing to fear. If it were so easy to conceive, the household would not have been without newborns for so long.

The news that Lin Zhizhi had become a concubine spread quickly, and the princess and Consort Feng sent gifts as a symbolic gesture.

The concubine was ruthless enough that Mu Yuan was forced to kneel and walk with a limp, following behind the servant, and dared not cause any more trouble for Lin Zhizhi.

[Passive Anti-Drug Activation: The hairpin contains musk, and the safflower has been soaked in precious medicinal herbs. The surface of the hawthorn pastry is not poisonous, but consuming it with tainted tea will cause infertility. Please be careful, host.]

Lin Zhizhi's pupils contracted. She knew the two had ill intentions, but she didn't expect that most of the things they sent would be problematic.

Even Lin Shangya joined in the fun, wearing a fake smile. It was this false kindness that had deceived Lin Zhizhi for so long.

Seeing her cold attitude, Lin Shangya took the initiative to link arms with her and said, "Good sister, I know you're upset because of what happened yesterday. Mother always likes to take chances when she does things. I've already talked to her about it, and she definitely won't dare to do it again next time. Calm down."

Lin Zhizhi raised her eyelids and glanced at her.

Then I heard her continue speaking to herself, "I apologize to you, how about I treat you to tea and snacks at the most famous Xiangminglou?"

"Where did you get the money?"

Lin Shangya didn't expect her to be so disrespectful, and her smile froze.

Over the years, her family had received a lot of help from Lin Zhizhi's parents, and her aunt had repeatedly complained about being poor. Naturally, she couldn't tell Lin Zhizhi how comfortable she was living thanks to this kindness.

I always felt that Lin Zhizhi was much sharper than before. Is she really that kind of person?

"I recently met some girlfriends, so I wanted to invite you to join us. They'll treat us."

Lin Shangya still fantasized that Lin Zhizhi would offer to pay the bill, so that she could save face in front of the Fifth Prince's concubines.

Unexpectedly, Lin Zhizhi said, "I'm not going."

Seeing that she was so disrespectful, Lin Shangya was annoyed. She had already apologized in a humble manner, what more did she want from her?

Lin Zhizhi, however, changed her tune, saying, "If I am already a concubine in the household, it is not appropriate for me to show my face in public anymore."

Lin Shangya's face stiffened, her heart burning with jealousy. She had only just become a concubine, yet this mere maid dared to presume upon her status.

If Lin Zhizhi had agreed to her mother's suggestion yesterday, she should have been the one to become a concubine.

She nearly ground her teeth to powder, but pretended to be sad. "My sister is indeed different from before. I can understand why she doesn't want to associate with us poor relatives anymore. I originally thought it was a good thing that my sister was shy and wanted to interact with more people, but I didn't expect that she looked down on the people I knew and thought they were unworthy to befriend you."

Looking at her hypocritical, heartbroken appearance, Lin Zhizhi wondered why she hadn't noticed earlier that her cousin was putting on an act and liked to distort the truth and smear people.

Having suffered countless losses at her hands in the past, Lin Zhizhi's reputation has been getting worse and worse, while Lin Shangya has gained a good reputation for protecting her younger sister.

"When did your cousin and her friend meet?" She asked with a worried expression, as if she was afraid that Lin Shangya would overthink things.

In her past life, she was unaware that Lin Shangya and the Fifth Prince were using each other. When she accompanied Lin Shangya to meet the Fifth Prince's concubine, she happened to witness the Prince and Liu Gulan meeting with a friend.

After the prince was reprimanded, Lin Shangya got her wish and had the opportunity to get close to him, but for some reason she was not able to become his concubine.

Looking back now, it's likely that Liu Gulan, who knew how things were going all along, gave him hints, leading the prince to believe that she and Lin Shangya were the ones in the mansion who colluded with the Fifth Prince to deliberately spread rumors.

If Liu Gulan truly wanted to help the prince, she wouldn't have waited until the incident escalated into a major scandal before offering a solution. She must have wanted the prince to remember this timely act of kindness.

"I've already made an appointment with someone in three days. Sister, are you still thinking about the Prince's magnificent performance last night, and now you're daydreaming and lost in thought?"

"Cousin, you're not married yet, how can you keep spouting such vulgarities? If others hear you, they'll think you're a restless person, how will you ever get married?" Lin Zhizhi earnestly advised, watching her face turn a deep purplish-red.

Lin Shangya was not from a prestigious family and had never learned those rules since childhood.

Having lived in the mansion for many years, she had overheard many lewd remarks made by the servants in private, and Lin Zhizhi had always been too shy to speak up.

Now that they dared to rebuke her to her face, Lin Shangya, who had been repeatedly humiliated, was so angry that she almost couldn't breathe and her vision went black.

She felt that Lin Zhizhi had become incredibly arrogant after hooking up with the prince, and didn't take her cousin seriously at all.

"I was only thinking of my cousin," Lin Zhizhi retorted.

Lin Shangya casually picked up the tea on the table and drank it. "This is truly a fine product sent by the princess. I smelled it earlier and it was this year's new tea."

Then she reached for the hawthorn cake, and Lin Zhizhi instinctively stopped her, only to hear her say, "Why are you being so stingy now? So much will go bad if you can't finish it all. What's wrong with giving your sister a piece?"

She pushed Lin Zhizhi's hand away. She rarely got to eat such delicious food, and because the sweets were too sweet, she poured tea out of the pot.

In her previous life, she became a concubine in a way that was not respectable, and on the surface, she was a secondary consort, so the princess did not bestow so many gifts upon her.

If it weren't for the system's assistance, she wouldn't have been able to notice that the pastry and tea were incompatible.

Originally, Lin Shangya was not a greedy person, but she did not get any benefits from Lin Zhizhi and instead got a lot of annoyance.

Having long developed a habit of seeking bargains, she set her sights on these foods.

I heard that she got a stomachache after returning home and refused to come out of the outhouse. In the end, she lost her footing and fell inside. I'm afraid she won't have time to come and see Lin Zhizhi for the next few days.

Lin Zhizhi got up early to wash up. Her clothes were mostly simple and durable, which made her delicate face look even more beautiful.

The old woman who was in charge of teaching got up even earlier and waited for her, because she was familiar with Lin Zhizhi's mother and had watched her grow up since she was a child.

They instructed him with extra care: "Be careful when serving in the cubicle at night. Don't look around or talk too much. Never act on your own without your master's summons, understand?"

"I know." Lin Zhizhi opened the book that the old woman in charge of teaching had handed her. The ink lines were vivid and lifelike, depicting two little figures being intimate in different poses. Embarrassed, she quickly closed the book.

I never imagined it would be the Fire Avoidance Diagram; I had to learn these things during the day.

Seeing her embarrassment, the head maid spoke up: "Although you have the opportunity to be close to your masters, a concubine is still a maid. You have always been diligent and eager to learn since you were little, and you must become familiar with these things. If your masters summon you to tidy up or wash, or ask you to help, and you are too shy to move, you will be the one who suffers from the beating."