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

Granny Li's face was filled with malice. At this moment, she was both anxious and resentful, and could only look in the direction where Lin Zhizhi had fled.

She wondered to herself who dared to oppose the concubine and so blatantly rescue the person.

It certainly wouldn't be the one in the manor. The princess would also wish for Lin Zhizhi's unborn child to die as soon as possible, so why would she go to the trouble of saving her?

Feng Yao and Liu Gulan were clearly not so lucky; they were both captured and taken up the mountain along with Granny Li.

When they were thrown into the woodshed and imprisoned, they were in a sorry state. Their clothes had been torn by the bandits during their escape, and Liu Gulan had a large gash on her face, from which blood was seeping out.

"Won't it leave a scar? How can these bandits be so crude and stupid? Don't they even know who they're supposed to capture?" Liu Gulan cursed angrily, not daring to ask Feng Yao how she handled things.

He could only vent his anger on the bandits, and his words became increasingly vulgar.

Feng Yao was preoccupied with other things and didn't hear what Liu Gulan was saying at all.

After a long pause, he muttered, "A blessing from heaven, protecting the mother from disaster... No way?"

"What did you say?" Liu Gulan didn't hear clearly at first, but after realizing what she was saying, she looked completely unconcerned.

She comforted her, saying, "Don't think too much, Consort. It's just feudal superstition spreading rumors. How could such a strange thing happen? Lin Zhizhi was just lucky at best. Fortunately, we didn't give ourselves away, so the coachman probably won't think it was us."

Granny Li was slightly relieved. Fortunately, the driver ran back to warn them that they could still be saved.

Feng Yao, reassured by Liu Gulan's words, looked at Granny Li with displeasure.

Her tone was tinged with impatience, "What kind of work have you done? How could you let Lin Zhizhi get away?"

"A master came to her rescue. This old servant suspects that the prince sent someone to guard her." At this moment, Granny Li only wanted to exonerate herself, spouting nonsense. Anyway, she didn't know the person who rescued her; she just thought he was highly skilled in martial arts.

These words almost made Feng Yao lose her balance, causing her to stumble and lean against the wooden wall of the woodshed.

He felt no pain in his body, and the color drained from his face and his arrogant expression vanished instantly, leaving only sorrow and disbelief in his eyes.

She shook her head. "How could that be? Why would the prince treat her so specially? Besides, the prince wouldn't raise assassins."

Feng Yao has been in charge of the Wangfu’s household affairs for many years. If there were such extra expenses, how could they have been kept from her eyes?

Granny Li dared not respond, for she had no evidence to begin with, and the guard had not revealed his identity.

Fortunately, Liu Gulan smoothed things over, saying, "Perhaps Lin Zhizhi has hooked up with someone outside. She hooked up with a poor scholar named Fang Bin before."

"That must be it." Feng Yao patted her chest, and her heart, which had been pounding like a drum, finally felt a little better.

At that moment, she gritted her teeth and said in a low voice, "We absolutely cannot let her go. I don't believe she can be so lucky every time."

Lin Zhizhi, who was being talked about, was carried for a long time before she heard the sound of a carriage speeding by.

The guard seemed to recognize the person who came. As soon as the carriage stopped, Lin Zhizhi was put into the carriage.

Lin Zhizhi only relaxed when she saw her mother holding Fang Qiao. She felt her legs go weak and she almost knelt down.

"Mother, Qiao'er..." Lin Zhizhi called out weakly, "It's you. But how do you know people from the martial arts world?"

At this moment, she still held a sliver of hope that perhaps the prince truly cared for her.

"When Fang Qiao came to me in such a hurry, I felt something was wrong, so I went to the palace to ask the imperial concubine for help. In order to gain attention, I had no choice but to say that you were pregnant and that Feng Yao had taken you away." Xu Jie hurriedly explained, looking Lin Zhizhi up and down.

Seeing the bruises and swelling on her wrists and face, my heart clenched.

Feng Yao was ruthless and used such harsh methods to injure people to this extent.

"How are you? Are you alright?" Xu Jie asked with concern. "I will definitely report this matter when the Prince returns."

"So what if I told them?" Lin Zhizhi said indifferently. "Liu Gulan is her person, and they didn't give anything away in front of the coachman."

Even their conversations inside the carriage were conducted in hushed tones, and it was the bandits who ultimately abducted them.

If no evidence of their collusion with bandits can be found, even if the prince believes their one-sided story, he cannot directly punish them.

After all, it's good for Feng Yao to have powerful backers.

Lin Zhizhi gave a helpless smile at the end. She felt a little disappointed after her expectations were dashed, but she quickly adjusted her mood.

Given her status, she shouldn't have too many extravagant desires.

Just then, Xu Jie quietly placed a seal made of warm jade into Lin Zhizhi's palm.

He whispered in her ear, "Originally, the Imperial Concubine was not going to interfere when she learned you were pregnant, but she was willing to send someone to rescue you after seeing this thing the Prince left me."

He seemed to notice that Lin Zhizhi was in a low mood, so he explained it to her, but there was a smile in his eyes.

"Mother..." Lin Zhizhi hesitated, her feelings a mixture of helplessness and surprise.

Fang Qiao, who was watching the commotion from the sidelines, noticed something and laughed out loud, saying, "Sister, you're so shy."

"It's so dangerous, why did Mother bring her here?"

"She was frightened by the concubine and dared not follow your father, only recognizing me." Xu Jie genuinely liked Fang Qiao; the child was too clever. If it weren't for her, Feng Yao would have really succeeded today.

Lin Zhizhi's heart finally calmed down a little, and Liu Gulan and Feng Yao had already begun their next plan.

"We'll continue to wait here for someone to rescue us. Since the Prince isn't here and the Princess isn't taking any action, we'll make a scene at the Imperial Concubine's place." Liu Gulan couldn't swallow her anger either. "The three of us have been arrested, only the coachman and Lin Zhizhi escaped."

"We called her out. In this rush, all we can do is say that she's the one who paid for these bandits to get our attention." Feng Yao suddenly realized something. "Lin Zhizhi's mother is in charge of the treasury. The accounts are lost and there's no way to verify them. The prince isn't here, and the princess doesn't know where the money in the mansion is going. Even if they bring out the accounts, we can't tell if they're true or false."

This matter can only be carried out while the prince is not in the capital; otherwise, it would be tantamount to courting death.

Liu Gulan asked, somewhat speechless, "You still haven't found that tattered account book?"

Now Feng Yao was also in an awkward position. She had sent people to search when Lin Zhizhi's family was away, but there was no trace of the account book.

"I advise you to think of another way. It's hard to believe that the accounts and the theft of silver to support bandits are the only things that matter." Liu Gulan had previously tried to frame Lin Zhizhi with the account book, but she was kicked out by Cen Jingyi as soon as she entered. She then felt that the account book was really unimportant.

The three women were discussing the matter when Granny Li had an idea. "Why don't we leak the news that she's pregnant? With a little guidance, we can make her think she's carrying twins, and then we won't have to lift a finger..."