"Madam, it is this servant's fortune to be able to serve the Heir Apparent. I dare not claim any credit, especially since I have not yet conceived, and I am unworthy of any reward."
Yun Shu bit her lip, lowered her head, and pretended to speak with a shy expression.
Upon hearing this, Madam Mu laughed but then said with a hint of frustration,
"You really are honest. Conceiving a child isn't that easy, or I wouldn't be so worried about it. But one thing at a time—today, I will reward you for your service in attending the bedchamber.
If you ever do conceive, I will directly remove your Slave Status. Whatever you want, it will be yours!"
The imperial physicians from the palace had already examined her son, and they all said there was no major issue—just let nature take its course, and a child would come eventually.
But three years had passed, and still, no one had conceived!
Madam Mu was worried.
Worried to death.
With her son's disinterest in women, he spent at most eight or nine nights a month in the rear courtyard.
When he was busy with court affairs, the time was even less.
Moreover, she had specifically instructed the servants and matrons in her son's courtyard to pay attention to the duration of his activities in the bedchamber.
Too short, far too short.
Madam Mu even doubted whether her son had actually succeeded in the act!
But no matter how anxious she was, she could never ask her son about such matters directly.
When she asked her daughter-in-law, her daughter-in-law would only say everything was fine, leaving Madam Mu to stew in her frustration.
However!!
Last night, when Yun Shu went to attend the bedchamber, the two of them spent at least half an hour together!!
When Madam Mu heard this news, she couldn't believe it at first, but then she was overjoyed, absolutely delighted.
This meant her son was extremely fond of this maid, Yun Shu, and was willing to spend more time with her!
Spending more time together was good—it increased the chances of having a child.
That was why, upon seeing Yun Shu, she immediately praised her for her service in attending the bedchamber and offered her a reward.
"Madam, there is indeed a favor this servant would like to ask. I beg for your grace."
After politely declining once, Yun Shu saw that Madam was determined to reward her, so she knelt on the ground and said,
"This servant wishes to continue serving by your side."
"You are already the Shizi's bedchamber maid. It wouldn't be appropriate for you to stay by my side any longer." Hearing this, Madam Mu was reminded of something and immediately said,
"Here's what we'll do: you will go to serve the Shizi personally. The Shizi never allowed maids to get close to him before, but now that you are his Chamber Maid, it's different."
Yun Shu was slightly taken aback by this but also felt it was a good thing.
After all, she needed to find ways to increase the Heir Apparent's favorability toward her and engage in more intimate activities with him to earn Favor Points. Being his personal maid would make it easier to get close to him.
"This servant will follow Madam's arrangements." Yun Shu agreed.
However, the Heir Apparent valued rules and disliked being served by maids, so he might not agree to this arrangement.
Madam Mu glanced at Hong Ling, thinking she shouldn't favor one over the other and create too much imbalance, so she decided to have Hong Ling also serve as the Shizi's personal maid.
Hong Ling had just been worried she wouldn't be able to go, so upon hearing this, she immediately breathed a sigh of relief and knelt to express her gratitude.
However, despite Madam Mu's well-intentioned arrangements, Lu Jin Yan did not agree!
In the evening, after returning from the government office, Lu Jin Yan came to pay his respects to his mother as usual. Madam Mu took the opportunity to tell him about assigning Yun Shu and Hong Ling as his personal maids.
"Mother, you know I dislike having maids serve me closely." Lu Jin Yan said expressionlessly, his voice cold as he refused.
"They are Chamber Maids—it's different!" Madam Mu emphasized.
In the past, my son also had maidservants attending to him. Later, some maidservants tried to climb into his bed, which annoyed him, so he replaced all those serving him with young male attendants.
At that time, my son wasn’t married yet, and Madam Mu approved of this arrangement. There was nothing wrong with keeping oneself pure and chaste. Back then, she was still thinking that she couldn’t let a concubine-born eldest son be born first.
But now, her son doesn’t even have a legitimate son or a concubine-born son, let alone a concubine-born daughter. Madam Mu is growing increasingly anxious.
Since the bedchamber maids have already succeeded in climbing into his bed, wouldn’t it be good and convenient to have them serve by his side?
"Since they are now my concubines, how to arrange for them will be handled by me and Liu Shi. There’s no need for Mother to trouble herself," Lu Jin Yan said again.
Madam Mu glared at her son angrily but ultimately didn’t continue the argument.
Because she had already forced her son once to agree to take Yun Shu and Hong Ling as bedchamber maids, and he had chosen to concede.
She didn’t want to strain their relationship too much, and besides, her son wasn’t someone she could control.
Yun Shu and Hong Ling stood to the side, listening to this conversation.
Hong Ling pursed her lips, suppressing the disappointment in her heart, not daring to show it.
Yun Shu had already anticipated this, so she didn’t feel disappointed either.
But at that moment—
[Host, a mission has arrived! Please obtain 500 Favor Points within three days. The System will reward you with 5,000 Favor Points. This is a beginner’s discount—tenfold return. If you miss it, it won’t come again.]
Yun Shu, …
Five hundred points?!
Why not just say she should sleep with Lu Jin Yan again within three days!
For someone as ascetic as the Heir Apparent, this kind of mission was practically hellish.
The Heir Apparent favored his concubines only once a month—that was his rule, ensuring the concubines had no favor to compete over and maintaining peace in the rear courtyard.
She had already used up her quota for this month.
Moreover, Hong Ling’s turn to attend the bedchamber was scheduled three days later.
If she intervened now, it would mean snatching Hong Ling’s opportunity and pushing her own scheduled day even further back.
This would be her unilaterally tearing up their tacit understanding and sounding the horn of attack against Hong Ling.
But with so many Favor Points at stake, giving up would be painful!
Besides, wasn’t she working so hard to fulfill the childbearing KPI? It was all for work.
Once it was confirmed a month later that she was pregnant, her current efforts to compete for favor would become her achievements and medals—proof that she wasn’t unruly or shameless.
There are no difficult jobs, only brave workers!
She was already a Chamber Maid and pregnant. There was no turning back now. She could only keep climbing higher, ensuring she and her children had enough support.
After finishing her self-motivational pep talk, Yun Shu knelt directly before the Madam and the Heir Apparent, her face flushed with embarrassment yet resolute, as if ready to face death, and said,
"This servant has something to say."
"Speak," the Madam said gently, thinking that if Yun Shu could make her son nod in agreement, she would be happy to see it happen.
Lu Jin Yan glanced at Yun Shu, involuntarily recalling how audacious this maid had been the previous night.
"These two days are my most fertile period. This servant boldly requests that the Heir Apparent allow me to attend the bedchamber again tonight to increase the chances of conception."
After speaking, Yun Shu lowered her head deeply, her face flushed red, looking utterly ashamed and as if she had no face left to show.
Lu Jin Yan hadn’t expected her to use such a method to compete for favor. He was momentarily stunned and didn’t speak immediately, instead pondering whether she was talking nonsense or if there was some basis to her claim.
Her tricks for competing for favor were truly endless and quite novel.
Hong Ling's expression stiffened, her gaze towards Yun Shu instantly turning gloomy.
To vie for favor, Yun Shu actually dared to use such shameless tactics, openly asking the Heir Apparent for an opportunity to attend the bedchamber.
How could she utter such disgraceful words!
This wretched woman—she had truly misjudged her before, thinking she had some sense of dignity and shame!
Yet she had just become a Chamber Maid and already cast aside all pretense of decency!
Madam Mu was also greatly surprised upon hearing this and quickly asked,
"How do you know you are most likely to conceive these two days? Who did you consult? Is it accurate?"