I'm a humble concubine. My acting skills are off the charts. You can check my performance.

Meng Yanzhen watched the whole process, his little face turned pale with fright, but after seeing Zhao Fangyu handling the situation appropriately, he gradually stopped worrying.

Zhao Fangyu received the Queen's reward that day, and in the evening he sent the Queen a recipe for calming incense.

At midnight, the emperor stayed in the queen's palace, and Meng Yanzhen pulled Zhao Fangyu to his bed.

She had just been diagnosed with pregnancy two days ago, and now she was pregnant. She was afraid of the dark, so the candles in the room were lit all night long.

"You are so brave. You are just a medal winner, but you dare to say so much in front of the Queen!"

Zhao Fangyu hugged the pillow, his eyes tired, "If I don't tell him, the eldest prince won't let me go."

"My cousin is in good health and has been in the palace for many years without a child. How could someone find me even though I was so far away in the Sutra Repository? This is not a coincidence."

The peaceful months before entering the palace seemed like a dream, a mirage that could be shattered with a single poke.

Meng Yanzhen was thinking of something, and gently touched his belly: "Then you are taking too much risk. Gossip can make a person a tiger. Aren't you afraid that it will be spread out?"

Zhao Fangyu laughed and said, "It would be better if the news got out. It would be better if the news made me look like an arrogant and low-class girl. Who would dare to marry me when they see me?"

Being too good-looking is not always a good thing. Since Zhao Fangyu was born, he has been treated with a lot of leniency because of his appearance, but this has also added to his troubles. The moment he entered the palace, Zhao Fangyu clearly understood that this was not a path to heaven, but a road of no return full of thorns. It is impossible to escape without bloodshed.

Even being a nun for the rest of her life is better than marrying a prince or becoming the new concubine of the old emperor.

With her looks, some people hoped that she could become the new concubine and share the favor of the favorite concubine, while others hoped that she would stay in the Sutra Hall all her life and be an honest female official with honors.

Everyone in the palace knew that Meng Yanzhen was pregnant. If she gave birth to a son, it would mean that the emperor had a son in his old age. She was also a favorite concubine, so how could a high-ranking concubine sit still? Even the eldest prince couldn't sit still.

After all, the old emperor is still alive. If he lives to see the child reach adulthood...it is still unknown who will become the crown prince.

Zhao Fangyu represented the Zhao family in the palace. The Zhao family was an important family in the Ministry of Revenue. Whoever married her would be related to the Ministry of Revenue.

The eldest prince was on bad terms with her, and naturally other princes were eyeing her covetously.

Before leaving, Pei Yan handed her a letter, saying that he was out on official business and that if she had any questions, she could contact Pei De of the Southern Pacification Division. He also said that there were many people spying outside the palace recently, so she should be careful.

Zhao Fangyu smiled bitterly. How could she, a female official with a special honor, pay attention? She couldn't have three heads and six arms, and couldn't escape the deep palace walls. She escaped Zhao Minshan, but not the eldest prince and the royal family.

Meng Yanzhen smoothed Zhao Fangyu's frown and slowly advised, "If you really don't want to marry into the royal family, you don't have to resort to such means. It's too dangerous."

Zhao Fangyu picked up the hot wine on the table and drank it in one gulp: "I'm tired of being depressed, just treat me as crazy."

"Those crazy words came from the heart."

"If someone hears me say such things and still wants to marry me, I will respect his courage."

"I am the daughter of an official, after all. You can't really kill me. My father is still working diligently in the Ministry of Revenue to guard the national treasury. I was rude, but it was the eldest prince who set a trap for me. At most, he just reprimanded my father."

Zhao Fangyu didn't care at all. She didn't care about scolding Zhao Minshan or beating him in court.

"If I am punished, what will the soldiers in Longxi think? No one is a fool."

She was talking about more than just Longxi. The entire Daliang border was like Longxi.

"Women in Daliang have been doing business since ancient times, with shops opening from the main street to the end of the street. In the end, all I can say is that I did not follow etiquette and my words were inappropriate."

As for an unmarried woman talking about the seven grounds for divorce... maybe she will become a nun in the future, so how can the seven grounds for divorce still affect her?

Meng Yan really didn't know what she was planning, and was still worried about her: "Then aren't you afraid that someone will tamper with the recipe for the tranquilizing incense you gave to the Queen?"

Seeing that Meng Yan really couldn't sleep, Zhao Fangyu simply got up. Inside the imperial palace, the two of them spoke in low voices, just whispers. They were not afraid even if the Jinyiwei came.

"The tranquilizing incense has been examined by three imperial physicians. What I sent was the prescription, not the finished incense. If there is a problem, it is not my fault."

"Since you want to be a fence-sitter, you can't just rely on your cousin."

"If we want to defeat the eldest prince, he alone is not enough." Zhao Fangyu lightly tapped Meng Yanzhen's belly.

Meng Yanzhen thought about it carefully and felt that what he said at the time was a little funny.

Her cousins are so smart that it's a little scary.

She faced the eldest prince as a female official with honors, and even planned to cut off his thoughts. It was simply... so bold!

The calmness of the past few months, the stunning success today, and even her usual kindness and wealth were all disguises revealed by her.

A fence-sitter who looks smart but has limited intelligence.

Her father was an important official, and had the favor of Longxi. It would be difficult for her to marry a prince or emperor. For the superior, this was a very useful knife.

The calculations step by step seem bold, but in fact they are just walking on a tightrope.

"Aren't you afraid of accidents?" If the emperor was a petty-minded person, he might let the Jinyiwei kill Zhao Fangyu in secret.

Zhao Fangyu's eyes were sleepy, but also somewhat relieved: "Life is short, and I have done everything I can."

The Song Dynasty after Zhu Xi and Cheng Yixue...was the beginning of women being restricted to the extreme.

Countless people in later generations disciplined women because of Zhu Xi and Cheng Yixue. Even in the 21st century before Zhao Fangyu traveled through time, there were still women being put into pig cages in the mountains...

This is not the Song Dynasty in her world, but she knows that there are living people around her. If she can really change the influence of Zhu Xi and Cheng Yi's Neo-Confucianism, then even if she dies, she will be willing to die and it will be a worthy death.

Zhao Fangyu didn't know what she should do. She also wanted to live a good life, but there were always people disturbing her. It seemed that it was very difficult for her to live a stable and healthy life.

In that case, just go with the flow.

In the next few days, many noble ladies came to the Sutra Hall to look for Zhao Fangyu.

Zhao Fangyu was silent most of the time, like a living mascot. When she was really pressed, she would invite everyone to play the zither together and discuss the Dao with the music.

The prying eyes around seemed to disappear, and the eldest prince and Zhang Yingying also seemed to disappear together, disappearing from Zhao Fangyu's side.

Zhao Fangyu spent three months in such a peaceful life.

Until one day, Hongzhu came in from outside the palace and asked Zhao Fangyu who was sitting in the inner room: "Sister Runyi, the lotus flowers in the lotus pond are blooming, and the people in the imperial kitchen are picking lotus pods. Do you want to go?"

"Sister Yang brought back quite a few lotus pods."

Zhao Fangyu put down the brush and ink in his hand, smiling: "Really? Where?"

When Hongzhu saw Zhao Fangyu was going there, she immediately smiled and said, "It's over there at the lotus pond. The people in the imperial kitchen said they were going to have a lotus banquet, so they have hired a lot of people to pick lotus pods, and some are digging lotus roots."

Zhao Fangyu looked very interested and said hesitantly, "Then wait a moment, I'll deliver the things to my cousin first, and then we'll go to the lotus pond together."