Pei Meiniang asked her maidservant Manman to spread the word. As expected, Wei Changying sent someone to tell Wei Zhengyin about it almost immediately. Upon receiving the news, Wei Zhengyin intentionally went out just to bump into Mrs. Deng. After taking a closer look, she did realize something was off.

When she returned to her room, she spoke to Granny Qu, “Mrs. Deng is hiding her pregnancy on purpose. It’s obviously because she doesn't want Madam Qian to use this as an excuse to control her. Do you think whether we should…?”

However, Granny Qu reminded her, “Isn't it a good thing for first young madam to leave the capital with first young master? The second young madam is now back at her mother's house, and the rear courtyard is now run by both first young madam and third young madam. With first young madam gone, third young madam will be the only one in charge. The young madams have been in charge for a few years now, and third young madam is capable and not someone who can't be trusted to be in charge. Do you think first young madam would fight for power and authority with her inferiors? Third young madam is from the second branch. Do you think first young madam would not worry about her? I bet she’s dying to find a wife for fourth young master so that she could be back in power! Our young master is already nineteen this year and is the same age as Miss Song. Although she’s slightly older than him by a few days, she has her own lineal eldest son already. Although our young master is a man, it's not a good idea to delay his marriage any longer. In addition to that, our young master is currently recovering from his injuries at the Ji Family. If first young madam decided to act promptly, she could’ve even decided on his marriage matters before he leaves for Eastern Hu again.”

What Granny Qu said enlightened Wei Zhengyin as she nodded her head repeatedly. She was eager for Mrs. Deng to leave the capital as soon as possible. But on second thought, she was worried that Mrs. Deng was already trying her best to hide her morning sickness now. What if she had a miscarriage due to the constant bumps on the road? It would be really troublesome if she had to come back to recover. Wei Zhengyin had already helped her during Su Yulee's marriage. This time, for the sake of her son's marriage, she had to lend her another helping hand once more. She asked Ji Qubing and Mrs. Huang for some ways to protect, calm, and nourish the fetus, as well as some medications in case of emergencies. She wrapped them up and used something else to cover them to hide them from public view.

When it was dark and the courtyard door was still unlocked, she sent a smart maidservant over secretly and instructed her that she would rather have it sent over another time than let Madam Qian find it out.

The good thing was that since Madam Qian wasn’t aware that Mrs. Deng was pregnant, and the latter was always too timid to speak up for herself, Madam Qian did not keep an eye on her too much. On top of that, although Mrs. Deng was Madam Qian’s puppet, she was still the young madam in charge, so she had a few spies and connections here and there. The maidservant sent the items successfully and went to the third branch to tell Wei Zhengyin everything. “First young madam was shocked when she saw me. At first, she was puzzled when she saw the cloth I brought for her. I asked her to open it. Only then did she realize your efforts and tears came to her eyes.”

It didn’t end here. “I told first young madam that Madam found out that she was pregnant a long time ago and knew why she was hiding it. It’s just that Madam is the daughter-in-law of the eldest branch, and the relationship between Madam and first young madam makes things complicated. I told her that Madam was afraid that the more she talked to you, the more harm she would bring you, so she could only pretend that she was unaware of this matter. However, Lingnan is a long way from the capital and the roads are very bumpy. Hence, you asked someone to gather all the remedies that might be useful. There were also some ready-to-use medicines, which were all from Miracle Doctor Ji. The usage and purpose were written on the paper, which the medicine was wrapped in. These were prepared just in case first young madam could not get the medicine she needed on the way or in Lingnan. In short, Madam knows how hard it is for first young madam all these years. Hence, Madam sincerely hopes that first young madam will be able to give birth to an heir in peace and prosperity and that both the mother and child will be safe and sound.”

The maidservant got a little emotional at this point and only started talking after a short pause, “First young madam stood up from her seat immediately. Without saying a word, she kowtowed three times to the direction of the third branch! All the maidservants around her couldn't even pull her back up! If it hadn't been for Granny who was beside her who reminded her to be careful of hurting the baby in her tummy, I'm afraid she would have continued to kowtow! When first young madam got up, she was in tears and asked me to tell you that she would never ever forget your kindness! She would do anything you asked her to in the future, even if it meant breaking her bones! If there were a next life, she would be willing to work for you no matter how hard it would be!”

Wei Zhengyin helped her due to her own motives and intentions. Upon hearing the maidservant’s description, she sighed, “This poor child has really suffered enough under Madam Qian's hands! Even her daughter died at a young age due to Madam Qian’s torture. No wonder she doesn't dare to give birth now that she’s still under Madam Qian's control. Look how emotional she is just because I sent her these items.”

Granny Qu sighed, “It's no wonder first young madam is so emotional. Madam, for you it might just be a simple gesture of help. But to her, it’s two lives.”

“Two lives, huh.” Wei Zhengyin pursed her lips and said, “I’ll help her once and for all. Consider it as me doing good for the sake of Yuwu.” With Ji Qubing around, she did a lot of good deeds easily. A couple of days later, she sent the same maidservant to Mrs. Deng with a stack of prescriptions for the prevention and treatment of diseases that outsiders were prone to suffer when they went to Lingnan. She also added some prescriptions for the relief of the pestilence that was often found in that area. Because there were no secret techniques involved, Ji Qubing didn’t ask for too much money. But with Ji Qubing’s name and with the statement “Third young madam specially asked for them from Miracle Doctor Ji”, these prescriptions were worth more than a million in the eyes of Mrs. Deng and her husband.

Su Ruoqian and Mrs. Deng were so grateful to third young madam, but it was hard for them to express their gratitude to her due to the spies of Madam Qian and the others. On the day of departure, the family gathered in the main hall to see them off, along with the elders who gave instructions respectively. The couple did not dare to say anything to the third young madam, but they kowtowed to her and her husband extra loudly and sincerely.

18th of May was just two days after Su Ruoqian's departure with Mrs. Deng, which was the birth anniversary of Princess Linchuan. In previous years, the Emperor who was in favor of her had made the Empress host a banquet to celebrate her birthday, and all the noblewomen in the capital were brought into the royal palace to celebrate the Princess's birthday. But this year, Dowager Duchess Ji passed away in the first month of the lunar year. Dowager Duchess Ji was the Emperor’s concubine mother. With only five months after her death, it was inappropriate for them to host a big celebration.

Therefore, the Empress scaled down the size of the banquet and only invited the First Rank Madam, Second Rank Madam, their daughters, and their daughters-in-law to the royal palace for the Princess’s celebration.

Wei Changying didn't attend as she was still mourning her second aunt Mrs. Duanmu, but Shen Cangning came back and told her, “Princess Anji is looking for you!”

“Did Her Highness mention why?” Wei Changying asked curiously.

“Her Highness said that Madam Zhenyi didn’t have an appetite lately, and she heard that Granny Huang, who was close to you, was good at taking care of your health. Hence, she wanted to ask for a few recipes of some small dishes or snacks that would lift her appetite.” Shen Cangning leaned over and put her arm around Wei Changying, “I think Her Highness meant something else. There must be something else she wanted to tell you. Third sister-in-law, can’t you tell me? Since when did you and Her Highness become so familiar with each other? We are all a bit afraid of Princess Anji, but it seems like you’re not afraid of her at all?”

Wei Changying smiled and nudged the tip of her nose, saying, “I'm not going to tell you! You didn't tell me about your secret with Mrs. Deng last year, so I won't tell you now, either!”

“Third sister-in-law, you’re so mean!” Shen Cangning pouted, “You're my sister-in-law and you're older than me. You should give in to me!”

Wei Changying smiled and said, “There's no secret. It is exactly what you heard. What else could it be?”

Shen Cangning cuddled up to her and said softly, “Well, that’s because you have many secrets! Third sister-in-law, don't think I don't know that Madam Zhenyi fell sick not long after she fell out of favor and could not recover from her illness for so many years. Many people said that it was because she was drugged! Maybe Princess Anji wanted to find Granny Huang for another reason! The Royal Kitchen and the Sixth Bureau have always been very stingy with Doujin Palace. Even if Princess Anji got the recipe, she wouldn’t be able to get all the ingredients she needed. In that case, everything will be useless! I’m guessing that what Princess Anji actually had in mind was to find out who harmed Madam Zhenyi!”

Seeing Wei Changying looking at herself speechlessly, Shen Cangning asked in triumph, “Am I right? Am I? Did I guess it correctly? Am I smart?”

“You are so smart, fourth sister!” Wei Changying said solemnly.

Shen Cangning was about to laugh out loud in triumph before she heard her saying, “But alas, you got it wrong!”

“Third sister-in-law, you are bad!” Shen Cangning was so angry that she shook off Wei Changying’s hand and crossed her arms to threaten her, “I'm going to wake up my little nephew so that he can make a fuss and give you a major headache!”

“Fourth Miss, please be cautious!” Before Wei Changying could say anything, the maidservants who came along with Shen Cangning became anxious and said, “Second grandson master is still young. Please don’t disturb him! If Madam finds it out, you will be punished heavily!”

This wasn’t a laughing matter as Madam Su treated her newborn grandson like he was a rare treasure. Even Wei Changying gained power instantly and surpassed both her sisters-in-law just because of her son. Although Shen Cangning was Madam Su's biological daughter, Madam Su disciplined her strictly by scolding her or even beating her. Madam Su would have beaten Shen Cangning up if she had known that Shen Cangning had dared to mess with her beloved grandson!

Maybe Shen Cangning wouldn't even be allowed to set foot in Jintong Courtyard from now on!

With her plan failed, Shen Cangning glared at her maidservants with hatred and said angrily, “Am I that stupid? I was just joking! If you guys talk like this, how can I still scare my third sister-in-law?”

Wei Changying smiled calmly, “Even if they don't say anything, fourth sister, you can't scare me, either! You're Shuguang’s aunt, and you've always been good to me, let alone my son! You wouldn’t bear to do so!”

Upon hearing that, Shen Cangning cuddled next to her and said flatteringly, “Sister-in-law, since you know I'm good to you, why don’t you tell me?”

“Fourth sister, why do you keep thinking about this all day long?” Wei Changying smiled and nudged between her eyebrows, “Stop fooling around. Her Highness just wants a few recipes. Next time when we need to go to the royal palace, if I still can't go, I'll ask you to bring them to her instead. You have to help me.”

Shen Cangning left reluctantly.

However, half an hour later, she came alone and said dully, “Sister-in-law, I have something I want to say to you alone.”

When Wei Changying dismissed the people around her as Shen Cangning had requested, Shen Cangning pouted while taking out something from her arms, “Alas! Her Highness, Princess Anji, asked me to bring this to you. She also wanted me to pass you a message. I didn't want to pass it to you at first since you wouldn't tell me the secret earlier just now. But thinking about it, I'd better give it to you in case there’s something important going on between the two of you.”

Wei Changying did not take the bait and said with a smile, “How would Her Highness ask you to bring something to me? What is it? I’m pretty curious.”

However, Shen Cangning would really pull out a hairpin-shaped object wrapped in a handkerchief. She opened it to reveal an old beaded flower. Wei Changying was slightly stunned as it looked pretty familiar as if she had seen it on Princess Anji's head before. Even if it was a random object Shen Cangning grabbed to lie to her, it wouldn't be easy considering it would be hard for her to go to the market to buy anything she wanted. Madam Su was very strict with her daughter, but Shen Cangning had everything a rich lady would have.

It was unlikely that Shen Cangning owned any old beaded flowers. Considering how fond she was of makeup and her looks, she’d be the first to change her old hairpins, jewelry, and makeup.

Wei Changying couldn't help but think of the last time she saw Princess Anji and what she said. Would it be that Princess Anji needed help? She then subconsciously asked, “What message did Her Highness ask you to pass to me?”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Shen Cangning put away the beaded flower and laughed out loud in triumph, “Ha-ha! I knew there was something going on between you and Her Highness! See! I caught you red-handed, didn’t I?”