As the Crown Prince personally raised by Emperor Kangxi, Yinreng had been expected to be flawless since childhood.
Likewise, his personal likes and dislikes were not meant to be known by others.
Over the years, aside from He Zhong, who roughly knew what kinds of dishes he preferred, very few people knew that the Crown Prince had a sweet tooth.
So when he noticed that most of the dishes served in Yu Mu’s courtyard leaned toward sweet and tangy flavors—exactly to his taste—he simply assumed it was a coincidence.
It wasn’t until one day, when Yu Mu specially prepared a dessert she called egg tarts, claiming she had made them herself, that he realized perhaps she truly did know his preferences.
The egg tarts were wonderfully sweet.
Sweet enough to melt his heart.
He suddenly found that Yu Mu seemed to grow prettier with every passing day.
Had she simply matured over the past few days?
No…
It was as though she had grown into exactly the kind of woman he liked.
Yinreng didn’t realize that Yu Mu hadn’t actually become more beautiful.
Rather…
She had become more important in his heart.
Because of that, everything about her seemed beautiful in his eyes.
Yinreng’s way of showing affection was simple.
He visited Yu Mu more and more often.
Whenever he came across something nice, he would have a copy sent to Qingzhi Courtyard for her.
Yu Mu could also feel how well Yinreng treated her now.
Ever since she’d entered Yuqing Palace, he was either spending time in Qingzhi Courtyard or working in the study at the front courtyard.
For a while, she almost felt as though they were an ordinary married couple.
But reality arrived far too quickly.
The Crown Prince’s elder brother’s wife—the First Princess Consort—became pregnant again.
Ever since marrying the First Prince, she had already given birth twice.
Unfortunately, both children had been daughters.
That left the ambitious First Prince deeply frustrated.
He had always wanted to father the first legitimate grandson of the imperial family before the Crown Prince did.
Consort Hui, his birth mother, saw things much more clearly.
As far as she was concerned, as long as the first grandchild of Emperor Kangxi’s next generation came from the First Prince’s household, it didn’t matter whether the child was born to the principal wife or a concubine.
But Yinzhi wasn’t willing to settle for that.
Because of his rivalry with the Crown Prince, he desperately wanted his firstborn to be a legitimate son.
He didn’t want his child to grow up with the same awkward status he felt burdened by.
As a result, enormous pressure fell upon the First Princess Consort.
Fortunately, she was naturally fertile, and her pregnancies usually went smoothly.
The only disappointment…
Was that she kept giving birth to daughters.
Now that she was pregnant again, Consort Hui had already arranged for imperial physicians to monitor her condition closely.
She wanted to know as early as possible whether this child would finally be a boy.
When the First Princess Consort had conceived her first child, Yinreng had actually been rather anxious.
Even so, he had never forced the women in his own household to drink contraceptive medicine.
Unfortunately, none of them became pregnant.
The same happened during her second pregnancy.
Since she had once again delivered a daughter, Yinreng privately assumed this third pregnancy would probably be another girl.
He personally had nothing against daughters.
He simply doubted his elder brother felt the same way.
Still…
The First Princess Consort’s pregnancy reminded him that there were several women waiting in his own rear court.
Secondary Consort Liujia would be entering the palace next month.
Before then…
He should spend some time with the other women as well.
So that evening, just as Yu Mu had finished preparing dinner and was waiting for him…
Deshi arrived with a message.
“The Crown Prince has gone to Bamboo Fragrance Courtyard.”
The entire Qingzhi Courtyard instantly fell silent.
It was so quiet that a pin dropping to the floor could probably have been heard.
Yu Mu had always known Yinreng would eventually visit the other women.
But when that moment actually arrived…
So suddenly…
She still found it difficult to accept.
Especially after spending nearly every day with him over the past weeks.
Their feelings had warmed rapidly.
They had practically been inseparable.
Madam Zhang and the others all looked at Yu Mu nervously.
They had witnessed firsthand how close the two of them had become.
Now, without saying a single word beforehand, the Crown Prince had gone to another woman’s room.
Everyone feared their mistress wouldn’t be able to bear it.
“Your Ladyship…”
Lüxiu hurried to comfort her.
“I heard the First Princess Consort is pregnant.”
“His Highness probably went there because he hopes someone in the rear court will conceive a child.”
“But in His Highness’s heart…”
“You must still be the most important.”
The moment Madam Zhang heard those words, her heart skipped a beat.
Oh no.
Doesn’t that make it sound like our mistress can’t bear children?
She immediately interrupted.
“Your Ladyship, don’t listen to Lüxiu.”
“In this old servant’s opinion, His Highness only went to comfort the ladies because Secondary Consort Liujia will be entering the palace next month.”
Yu Mu gave a faint smile.
“I know.”
“I understand.”
“You don’t have to worry so much.”
She truly did understand.
She had simply spent the past few weeks pretending those other women didn’t exist.
If she never saw them…
Never thought about them…
Then perhaps they weren’t really there.
Now reality had finally caught up with her.
From Yinreng’s perspective…
She understood perfectly.
But that didn’t stop her heart from aching.
Looking at the table full of dishes she’d carefully prepared…
She suddenly lost all appetite.
“Take everything away.”
“I don’t feel like eating.”
“Your Ladyship!”
Lüxiu panicked.
“You can’t skip meals!”
“Please eat at least a little.”
“I’m not hungry.”
Yu Mu shook her head.
“Take it away.”
With that, she turned and walked back into her bedroom.
That night…
She barely slept.
Her thoughts kept wandering.
Who was Yinreng with right now?
Was he speaking to another woman in the same gentle voice he’d used with her?
Was he smiling at her too?
Comforting her?
The hand that had held Yu Mu’s only days ago…
Was it now wrapped around someone else’s waist?
The more she thought about it…
The more she felt like a resentful wife.
No wonder people always said the women of the imperial harem eventually became bitter.
When dozens of women shared a single man…
As long as you never fell in love, everything was manageable.
But once your heart became involved…
How could you possibly stop worrying?
Ironically…
The man occupying all of Yu Mu’s thoughts wasn’t having a particularly pleasant evening himself.
Tonight, Yinreng was staying in Lady Tang’s room.
Normally, he had found Lady Tang’s lively personality, playful teasing, and constant affection rather charming.
Tonight…
She only seemed noisy.
The furnishings in her room couldn’t compare with Qingzhi Courtyard.
She herself wasn’t nearly as interesting as Yu Mu.
Even her coquettish behavior now felt forced.
He honestly couldn’t understand why he had come.
He seriously suspected he’d been out of his mind earlier.
To be fair…
Lady Tang had done nothing wrong.
If anything, because Yinreng hadn’t visited her for so long, she had been more cautious and attentive than ever.
Sometimes…
When a man no longer likes someone…
Everything she does becomes wrong.
Yinreng practically forced himself to spend the night with Lady Tang.
If not for the sake of producing heirs…
He truly wouldn’t have chosen to make himself so uncomfortable.
The next morning, as soon as Yinreng rose, Lady Tang hurried to help him dress.
She could tell he wasn’t in a particularly good mood.
She simply didn’t know why.
Yinreng hadn’t been personally attended while getting dressed for quite some time.
Since the morning after their wedding, Yu Mu had never gotten up to serve him.
For exactly the same reason each day.
As a result, he had never experienced this sort of attentive service in Qingzhi Courtyard.
Still…
Having been raised with servants waiting on him his entire life, he accepted it calmly before returning to the front courtyard.
Lady Lin and Lady Zhang both looked at Lady Tang with undisguised envy.
After all…
She had been the first woman the Crown Prince visited.
Seeing their jealous expressions, Lady Tang quickly forgot the strange atmosphere from earlier that morning and began boasting proudly.
“The Crown Prince really doesn’t know how to take it easy on people.”
She sighed dramatically.
“My waist still aches from serving His Highness last night.”
“Oh well…”
“I won’t keep chatting with you two.”
“I’d better go back and get some rest.”
Swaying her hips exaggeratedly, she returned to her room.
She intended to recover properly.
That way, she would have enough energy to continue serving the Crown Prince again that night.
Once I bear His Highness a son…
I’ll become a Secondary Consort too.
She couldn’t help laughing to herself.
Unfortunately for Lady Tang…
That evening, Yinreng did return to Bamboo Fragrance Courtyard.
But…
He didn’t go to her room.
Instead…
He went to Lady Lin’s.
Throughout the day, Yinreng had been thinking.
Perhaps he simply disliked Lady Tang’s lively personality.
Lady Lin was always quiet and gentle.
Maybe that suited him better.
The moment Lady Tang heard the Crown Prince had arrived, she hurried outside to greet him.
She could only watch helplessly as he walked straight past her…
And entered Lady Lin’s courtyard instead.
She was so furious that she skipped dinner entirely and stormed back to her room.
With the Crown Prince nearby, she didn’t dare lose her temper openly.
Instead, she secretly vented all her frustration on her maidservants.
Lady Lin herself had never expected the Crown Prince to visit her.
But now that he’d come…
How could she possibly turn him away?
Naturally, she devoted herself wholeheartedly to serving him.
Because Yinreng rarely spent time in her rooms, however…
She knew almost nothing about his personal tastes.
The dinner she prepared consisted mainly of salty and spicy dishes.
Unfortunately…
The Crown Prince didn’t care for them.
After taking only a few bites, he quietly set down his chopsticks.
Lady Lin immediately followed suit.
“Your Highness…”
“Is the meal not to your liking?”
“If you’d prefer, I’ll have the kitchen prepare a few lighter dishes.”
“No need.”
Yinreng shook his head.
“The summer heat has left me with little appetite.”
“Let’s tidy up and retire for the night.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Lady Lin knew she had failed to satisfy him.
But she genuinely didn’t know what else she could have done.
After quietly washing up, she could only step forward to attend to him as best she could.