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

These words, seemingly casual and unintentional, stirred up a great deal of discussion, leaving everyone in the room deep in thought.

Cen Jingyi said with a stern face, "The fact that Lin Zhizhi is pregnant must not be told."

"I will take care of it." The princess forced a smile, as if she was genuinely happy for Lin Zhizhi. "Now that Zhizhi is pregnant, no one will criticize me anymore once the child is born."

She seemed to remember something and quickly loosened her grip.

The imperial concubine would certainly not agree to Lin Zhizhi, who was born into slavery, raising the eldest son of the royal family. Feng Yao came from a prominent family, but she was ultimately a concubine.

Even if the imperial concubine disliked her, her deep-rooted belief still led her to want her imperial grandson to be raised under the care of the legitimate princess.

Even if the child were to be born by chance, she wouldn't need to put in much effort in the end; the imperial concubine would take the initiative to hand the child over to her.

We must not panic now, lest Cen Jingyi notice anything amiss and become more wary of her.

The princess finally relaxed, and the shock of learning that Lin Zhizhi was pregnant had lessened considerably.

If Lin Zhizhi were to become known, the first place that would be affected would be the Crown Prince's residence.

Now that they've taken this good omen, they're bound to do something about it.

This could be detrimental to the baby in Lin Zhizhi's womb.

This hard-won child is not only cherished by Lin Zhizhi, but also by Cen Jingyi.

For some reason, Cen Jingyi noticed that Lin Zhizhi was stroking her belly with a smile on her face, appearing much more mature and gentle than before.

[Passive Anti-Toxin Detection: Monitors trace amounts of toxic gases produced around the host. Do not inhale for extended periods as this may affect fetal development.]

Lin Zhizhi glanced at the princess without showing any emotion. No wonder it was so difficult to conceive in the family in her previous life. Even when she finally got pregnant, she would miscarry, and the cause could never be found.

The princess often hangs out with them and frequently smells this strange odor, so even if the child is born, there might be problems.

In her previous life, Lin Zhizhi wondered why the princess was often unwell and even frequently entrusted the affairs of the mansion to the concubine.

And why do you often care about the sisters in the mansion and go around to them?

It now appears that besides vying with the concubine for control of the household affairs, they also harbored other motives.

Perhaps because she had smelled that odor too much, Lin Zhizhi felt extremely tired, and her complexion did not look good.

The princess showed no sign of leaving.

Cen Jingyi seemed to want to say something, but since he couldn't continue pursuing what happened in the palace, he had no choice but to let it go.

The princess gently comforted her, "Sister, don't be angry with Yueqi. Perhaps there's some misunderstanding between you. Since she did offend the Crown Princess and almost implicated me, I will definitely punish her."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Lin Zhizhi stood up to curtsy, but the princess stopped her.

"Now that you are pregnant, you can be exempted from these formalities. We just need to wait for you to give birth to the eldest son of the Prince's Mansion, so that the rumors outside will be dispelled."

Her tone was gentle and calm, and her face was smiling; she seemed like the best person imaginable.

Judging from her words and actions alone, who would have thought she had such a vicious heart?

Lin Zhizhi felt a chill run through her body, and her heart ached terribly.

It turns out that the path she wanted to take was so difficult.

The baby in her womb was truly a blessing. If it weren't for this child, she would have had to rack her brains trying to figure out how to break free from the situation she had just been in.

This incident also served as a wake-up call for Lin Zhizhi, reminding her that she absolutely could not allow the princess and the concubine to have the opportunity to unite against her.

The prince and princess stood there for a long time, and Cen Jingyi tried several times to ask the princess to leave first, clearly having something to say.

But each time, the princess would quip him off, and he would stay until it was completely dark.

Lin Zhizhi's mother lit a candle and, in the dim light, watched Lin Zhizhi as she drifted off to sleep.

The princess suddenly suggested, "Lin Zhizhi is pregnant with our eldest son, so it's not appropriate for her to continue as a maidservant. Why not make her a concubine? That way, when the child is born, she'll have a more respectable status as a mother."

"We'll discuss this later," Cen Jingyi said, not immediately agreeing.

The princess wanted Lin Zhizhi to completely lose the opportunity to manage the shop's accounts, although she didn't intend to do it in this way.

Unexpectedly, the proposal was rejected. The princess's expression remained unchanged. Did the prince still want to continue to rely on Lin Zhizhi?

It seems this child has come at a really bad time.

"It's getting late, let Lin Zhizhi get some rest." Cen Jingyi left after saying this.

After lingering for a while, seeing that Lin Zhizhi's complexion was getting worse, the princess told her to take good care of herself before getting up and leaving.

After she returned to the hospital, Lin Zhizhi's mother went up to check on her with great concern.

But Lin Zhizhi had regained her spirits, a smile still playing on her lips. "Mother, did you sense something that made you open the window?"

"You silly child." Seeing that Lin Zhizhi's sickly appearance was feigned, her mother was slightly relieved. "I smelled this kind of scent in the palace before. It lingered in the courtyard of a concubine who had miscarried. Later, I heard that the concubine was pregnant with a three-legged monster, which is why she miscarried before her due date. I heard that she went mad after being banished to the Cold Palace and is still there imitating the crying of a baby."

Lin Zhizhi's mother had seen too many similar things, and at this moment her expression was melancholy, her eyes full of worry.

She had already heard about what happened today, and it was truly dangerous.

She spoke earnestly, "You shouldn't have gotten involved."

"My master has ordered me to go over, how can I refuse?" Lin Zhizhi slowly leaned against the bed. The smell in the room had dissipated considerably, and the nauseating feeling had completely subsided.

"That princess was only pretending to befriend you, and there's also a concubine eyeing you covetously. How are you supposed to manage in the palace? Now you're pregnant again. It's a good thing to be pregnant with the prince's child, but the problem is how to protect it."

Lin Zhizhi's mother was deeply worried, thinking about how to protect her daughter's life.

"Mother, you don't need to worry about me. At least for now, the Prince still wants to protect me." Lin Zhizhi's emotions were fluctuating greatly due to her physical condition.

Now things are much better. Thinking back on what just happened, Cen Jingyi puts down the account book and doesn't listen to Liu Gulan's words at all.

It's already clearly biased, and I imagine the princess has noticed it too.

But since he's trying to befriend her again today, he probably has other motives.

At that moment, Feng Yao had just learned that Lin Zhizhi was pregnant.

He immediately collapsed to the ground, utterly disoriented. "How could she be pregnant? How could she possibly be pregnant?"

Feng Yao has been in the household for many years but has not given birth to any children. How long has Lin Zhizhi been a concubine?

This was also unexpected by Granny Li. She said coldly, "Lin Zhizhi is young and healthy, and the prince is also fine. It's normal for her to get pregnant, but to conceive in such a short time, she certainly has some tricks up her sleeve."