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

Lin Zhizhi stared coldly at Cheng Huilan with her beautiful eyes, wanting to say something but only able to make a "woo-woo" sound.

You can scold her, but you can't talk about her mother. At this moment, she even stretched out her leg.

Seeing Cheng Huilan's clumsy body tripped by her, she subconsciously tried to back away, bumping straight into Lin Shangya's body.

"You better behave yourself, don't think you can run away." Lin Shangya warned, and then reached out and pinched Lin Zhizhi's waist hard.

Lin Zhizhi felt that the cloth in her mouth tasted earthy and she didn't know what it had been used to hold, which made her feel nauseous.

Seeing her dry heaving repeatedly, as if she were really about to vomit, Lin Shangya pinched her nose and said, "She's really being dramatic. It's just a piece of fabric, and she's reacting so strongly."

Cheng Huilan stumbled to her feet, dusted herself off, and said angrily, "You wretched girl, you didn't even help your mother up! You just stood by and watched me fall? You heartless ingrate, I should have thrown you into the pond back then too."

The eldest aunt, being an experienced woman, was somewhat suspicious upon seeing Lin Zhizhi's appearance.

She blurted out instinctively, "Could she be pregnant?"

Seeing that Lin Zhizhi looked pale and dazed as if she was exhausted, she did not respond to her words at all.

If it was acting, then Lin Zhizhi's acting skills are truly superb.

After all, her aunt had watched Lin Zhizhi grow up since she was a child, and she never thought that Lin Zhizhi had such abilities.

Then she thought she was overthinking it, and then she heard Lin Shangya's uneasy words, "Really? We've worked in the manor for so many years and have never seen anyone pregnant."

"Impossible. Even if a mistress is pregnant, it would be a princess or a concubine. It could never be her," Cheng Huilan said decisively. If Lin Zhizhi was really pregnant, it would disrupt their newly formulated plan.

Lin Shangya's second aunt would never allow a woman with children to serve her son.

Lin Zhizhi was dragged back to her residence by the two men. It was a village built near the capital, with many families living there.

It was time to return home, and many people had gathered on the path.

Cheng Huilan didn't dare to take Lin Zhizhi back directly, so she urged Lin Shangya to call their neighbor Erniu.

Before long, a seemingly honest-looking young man followed Lin Shangya with a solicitous expression.

The young man greeted Cheng Huilan somewhat shyly, saying, "Auntie."

"Hmm." Cheng Huilan responded indifferently, but Lin Shangya tugged at her sleeve.

Since she still needed to ask for a favor, Cheng Huilan's attitude warmed up a bit. "Erniu, have you had dinner? I'm sorry to have called you out so late. You must be exhausted after a long day at work."

Erniu chuckled sheepishly, then scratched his head awkwardly. "We're eating right now. Auntie and Changya, why don't you come to my house and eat with us?"

He knew that Lin Shangya's family was living under the roof of her second aunt and their lives were not easy, so he would always secretly give her some food.

This was the first time he had ever seen Lin Shangya come to his house to find him. He thought that Lin Shangya had seen through his thoughts and was interested in him, so he was even more nervous and didn't know what to do.

"No need," Cheng Huilan replied. "Lin Shangya, did you tell Erniu what you wanted to talk to him about?"

"Not yet, Mother, there were too many people earlier." Lin Shangya looked embarrassed. Erniu made a living with his skills and was quite popular in the village.

He rejected so many eligible daughters he was introduced to, saying he wasn't in a hurry, but instead took a fancy to Lin Shangya when she was at her most disheveled.

I just felt that this girl was kind-hearted, and she never complained even when she was bullied. She had a good temper.

She works at home all day, is beautiful, and knows how to manage a household.

As for why Lin Shangya's family was kicked out of the Prince's Mansion, it was not important to him.

He knew that working for those wealthy families was not easy, and he was able to support his own family anyway, so Lin Shangya didn't need to go out and serve others anymore.

But in Cheng Huilan's eyes, Erniu was not the ideal husband she wanted.

Her daughter was destined to marry into a wealthy family in the capital and enjoy a life of luxury, so she naturally never liked Erniu.

If she hadn't needed something from him, she would never have paid any attention to Erniu, let alone exchanged pleasantries with him.

When Erniu heard Lin Shangya say that she wanted to sell Lin Zhizhi to her second aunt's family to be her daughter-in-law, he refused to agree no matter what.

"How can you do something like human trafficking? If the officials catch you, you'll go to jail." Erniu waved his hands repeatedly; he was an honest man.

I've always blushed when I lied since I was a child, so how could I do such a despicable thing?

Lin Shangya was impatient, but on the surface she appeared to be still in shock.

She seemed deeply wronged, saying, "You saw how pretty she was, and you felt sorry for her, didn't you?"

"What? What heart? Shangya, you're the only one in my heart. No matter how beautiful she is, it has nothing to do with me." Erniu was clumsy with words but anxious. He tried to take Lin Shangya's hand, but she easily dodged him.

Then I saw Lin Shangya, looking sad and on the verge of tears, wiping away imaginary tears. "She was a noblewoman from the capital who thought she had bewitched her master, so she cruelly sold her off. I felt sorry for her, and I thought it would be better for her to be my cousin's wife than to be sold to such a place. Although my cousin is a bit simple-minded, my aunt and the others are good people and would never mistreat her."

They were unwilling to reveal anything about Lin Zhizhi's identity or which family she came from.

These statements simply cannot withstand scrutiny, and upon closer examination, they are riddled with flaws.

But Erniu's eyes were only on Lin Shangya, who was shedding tears, and his heart was trembling with pain. He couldn't think of anything else.

He only wanted to fulfill Lin Shangya's requests; she was so kind, she would never do anything to harm others.

They must have wanted to save this poor woman to resort to such a desperate measure.

Erniu then said in a simple and honest manner, "The Li family is a good family, they're just not very reliable, but it's still better than being sold off."

Seeing that his tone had softened, Lin Shangya said, "How about this, you say you bought it from the city and ask them if they want it. Take some silver from it and give it to this poor woman as part of her dowry, so she won't be bullied when she marries into the family."

Hearing her say that, Cheng Huilan wanted to stop her. What kind of nonsense was this? Could Erniu really believe it?

To everyone's surprise, Erniu readily agreed, "You're right, I'll listen to you."

Cheng Huilan rolled her eyes, feeling that Erniu hadn't listened to what Lin Shangya was saying at all.

He was staring straight at her, his eyes seemingly devoid of anything else.

Lin Shangya felt uncomfortable, but dared not show it.

Forced to maintain a smile, she handed Lin Zhizhi to him and said, "Listen carefully to what I have to say, and don't give anything away once we enter the courtyard."

The two whispered to each other for a while, and Lin Zhizhi had some doubts in her heart.

Then Erniu forcefully pushed him towards Lin Shangya's second aunt's house. Along the way, they were inevitably surrounded by onlookers and whispers.