The princess regretted it.

"Is my sister also in charge of the Lanxin Palace now?" Jiaoyu had a smile on her lips, but there was no warmth in her eyes. "Then should my sister accept the gift for Concubine Chun? Or should I ask someone else?" After she finished speaking, she raised her chin towards the palace maids following her. The palace maids immediately came forward with boxes in their hands, bowed over, and the gold-painted patterns on the brocade boxes shone coldly in the snow.

"Sister, you worry too much," Jin An glanced at the boxes sideways, and suddenly laughed out loud, avoiding the subtle meaning in her words, "Eunuch Fuquan and I are just ordered by our father to take care of things here for you." After she finished speaking, she turned sideways and whispered a few words to Han Shuang beside her. Han Shuang nodded and bowed, then took a few steps back and turned to go to the inner room.

"Sister, you're so thoughtful to come here despite the snow and wind." Jin An stepped aside to make way, his smile gentle yet distant. "It's just that Concubine Chun just gave birth, so I'm afraid she won't be able to see guests. I've already sent someone to inform her. If you're not in a hurry, you can go inside and wait for a moment."

After hearing the good news spread to the other palaces, Jiaoyu had heard rumors that Concubine Chun, er, now Concubine Chun, seemed to be having trouble giving birth. She wanted to see if mother and child were truly safe and to gather more information, so she braved the snow to come. Her arrival, coupled with Jin'an's obvious evasiveness and perfunctory tone, had already aroused her suspicions, and she decided to stay and see if she could uncover more.

Now that Jin'an had brought up the subject, she didn't refuse. She followed his lead and said, "Sister, you're so thoughtful. The wind and snow have chilled my bones all this way. A break is perfect." As she spoke, she led her group slowly into the house. As her fox fur cloak swept across the threshold, it kicked up a cloud of fine snowflakes.

After Jiaoyu and the others entered the house, Jin'an turned to look at Eunuch Fuquan, glanced at the people in the courtyard, and gave him a wink. Eunuch Fuquan bowed slightly and nodded, then turned and straightened his back. He waved the whisk in his hand and waved to the guards beside him, "Take them all away and settle them. No one is allowed to move around without permission."

The guards beside him quickly took the order and stepped forward, calling out to the people in the courtyard and leading them out. The wind and snow continued, and the traces left by these people in the courtyard were slowly, slowly filled and covered by the falling snow until they disappeared completely.

Jin An had already returned to his previous seat, and Jiao Yu had already taken a seat on the other side. However, the table next to Princess Jiao Yu was empty, not even a cup of hot tea—the people who had served her tea had been taken away.

Princess Jiaoyu's face was visibly gloomy, but because Jin'an had said before that his father was accompanying Concubine Chun at the moment, she had to endure it and not get angry.

Since there were few people in the room at the moment, Jiaoyu put away her previous friendly expression, and with a cold face and lowered eyelids, she looked at the hand warmer in her hands in silence. The knuckles of her fingers, which were tightly gripping the gilded hand warmer, were slightly white from excessive force.

Jin An caught a glimpse of her small movements from the corner of his eye, and the corner of his mouth curled up slightly. He picked up the teacup beside him, blew on it slowly, and took small sips, without any intention of actively talking. The atmosphere in the room was so quiet that only the crackling of the candle wick and the charcoal fire could be heard, and even the rustling of snowflakes hitting the window paper was particularly clear.

With a "creak", the door of the inner room opened and Han Shuang walked out quickly, accompanied by Nanny Su and Doctor Fang.

Nanny Su and Doctor Fang approached and bowed to Jin'an and Jiaoyu. Jiaoyu's face once again showed a gentle and proper expression. She raised her hand and gestured for the two to stand up, "Get up!"

Then she said to Madam Su, "Madam Su, I heard the good news that Concubine Chun gave birth to a prince, and I am happy for my father. I specially prepared some supplements and brocade, hoping that Concubine Chun and my fourth brother can use them."

As she spoke, she raised her hand to signal the maid behind her to present the gift. Her tone was deliberately friendly. "It's not very valuable, but it's the most we have in Jiaoyu Palace. Please don't despise it."

"Your Majesty, you are too kind. Concubine Chun has just given birth and is not suitable to meet guests yet. I hope you will not be offended! I would like to thank you on behalf of my queen." Nanny Su looked at the gift boxes placed on the table by the palace maids, bowed steadily as usual, and replied neither humbly nor arrogantly.

"Doctor Fang," Jin An's voice suddenly rang out, breaking the false peace. "My sister brought some gifts. I'm afraid I'll need you to take a look at them."

"Jin'an! What do you mean?" As soon as Jin'an finished speaking, Jiaoyu's expression suddenly changed. She stood up from her seat and questioned Jin'an sharply. "Are you suspecting that I'll tamper with these gifts?"

"Please be patient, my dear sister," Jin An gently placed the teacup on the table, her expression unchanged as she replied calmly, "I believe my dear sister wouldn't do anything so foolish. However, since this concerns Concubine Chun and my fourth brother, it's better to be cautious!" She raised her eyes to Jiao Yu, her gaze clear. "Besides, I'm doing this for my dear sister, isn't it?"

"You!" Jiaoyu was choked by Jin'an's words and was speechless, her chest heaving violently. After all, Jin'an's words made sense, and she couldn't refute them.

Helplessly, she could only grit her teeth and swallow her anger. After a long while, she suppressed her anger, calmed her mind, and said slowly, "Your Majesty, your sister is very thoughtful. It is you, your Majesty, who has failed to consider it. Then please ask Doctor Fang to examine it carefully. If there is anything in the future, this will prevent anyone from using this to accuse me!"

After she finished speaking, she flicked her long sleeves, sat down, and looked at Doctor Fang with a sneer on her lips, her eyes cold.

Doctor Fang groaned inwardly, but he had no choice. The Emperor had already ordered him to take charge of Concubine Chun's health, and these preventative checks were necessary. So, despite the shivers that pierced his spine, he could only curse inwardly. He didn't hesitate, immediately stepping forward to open the brocade boxes, pulling out the ginseng, bird's nest, and several rolls of tribute brocade. He carefully examined each item, not wanting to slack off.

"This is ginseng from Changbai Mountain!" Doctor Fang picked up the ginseng from the box, first putting it to his nose to smell it, then pinching the root with his fingertips and carefully examining it under the candlelight. The ginseng was plump and the root was intact, looking like a true treasure. But he didn't dare to be careless. He took a silver needle from the medicine box, gently inserted it into the ginseng, and then withdrew it. The silver needle's luster remained unchanged, with no blackening or discoloration.

"Hmph!" Jiaoyu couldn't help but snort coldly when she saw Doctor Fang's actions.