Consort Zhuang doesn't want palace intrigue; she just wants to raise her child and live a caref

Li Quan hurried into the hall, his face beaming with undisguised joy.

At this moment, Su Nuannuan was enjoying Jinse's head massage with her eyes closed. When she heard him come in, she raised her hand to signal Jinse to stop, opened her eyes, and asked softly with a slight smile, "Oh, what good thing is it that makes our Chief Steward Li so happy? Tell me quickly."

Li Quan hurriedly stepped forward, respectfully bowed deeply to Su Nuannuan, then straightened up, bowing again with obvious delight, and said, "Your Majesty, the third young master of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion has delivered the feathers you requested to the Imperial Household Department. When I went to collect them, the third young master specifically instructed me to convey a message to Your Majesty—'The Lady of Ding'an Marquis is pregnant!'"

Upon hearing this news, Su Nuannuan's eyes lit up instantly, her face filled with surprise and joy. She couldn't wait to ask, "Is this true?"

Li Quan quickly nodded and replied, "Your Majesty, this is what the Third Young Master said himself, so it must be true."

Upon hearing this, Su Nuannuan clapped her hands and cheered, laughing excitedly like a child: "Haha, that's wonderful! Now, my elder brother finally has a successor, and my parents can hold their lovely grandchildren soon!"

Seeing Su Nuannuan's joyful expression, Jinse smiled and said softly, "Your Majesty, in my opinion, the Second Young Master and the Third Young Master are probably not going to have an easy time from now on."

Upon hearing this, Su Nuannuan slightly suppressed her smile, but her eyes still sparkled with laughter as she nodded in agreement, "That's right. Eldest brother already has a child, but second and third brothers haven't even settled down yet. I bet Mother is getting anxious and urging them to get married." With that, another burst of silvery laughter echoed through the palace.

"By the way, what about the batch of colorful feathers that my third brother sent? Why can't I find them?" Su Nuannuan stared at Li Quan with her beautiful eyes, her eyebrows furrowed slightly, and asked in confusion.

Li Quan quickly bowed and respectfully replied, "Your Majesty, this servant has already ordered someone to carefully send those feathers to the East Wing Palace for safekeeping."

Su Nuannuan nodded slightly in agreement and said slowly, "That's very good. Tomorrow, I will personally go to the East Wing to take a closer look."

At this moment, a palace maid hurried in; it was Yaoqin, Su Nuannuan's personal maid. She stepped forward, bowed, and respectfully announced, "Your Highness, Eunuch Yuan from the Hall of Diligent Governance requests an audience."

Su Nuannuan parted her lips slightly and said calmly, "Let him in!"

Before long, a thin, fair-skinned eunuch strode in. He approached Su Nuan, bowed, and said, "This servant greets Consort Zhuang."

Su Nuannuan gently raised her hand and said softly, "Rise! Little Yuan, has Your Majesty come to convey any imperial decree?"

Xiao Yuanzi straightened up and respectfully replied, "Your Majesty, an unexpected situation has arisen today. For some unknown reason, both the Second Prince and the Third Prince have developed persistent high fevers. The Empress Dowager is extremely anxious and immediately sent someone to the Hall of Diligent Governance to request His Majesty to come and visit them. Therefore, His Majesty has specially sent this servant to inform Your Majesty that His Majesty will be unable to dine with Your Majesty tonight. I hope Your Majesty will forgive him."

"Have you summoned the imperial physician?" Su Nuannuan's tone carried a hint of anxiety and concern.

"Your Majesty, yes! After learning the news, the Empress Dowager immediately sent someone to invite Physician Li," Xiao Yuanzi replied respectfully.

"What did the imperial physician say? What is the actual situation?" Su Nuannuan frowned slightly, her eyes filled with anxiety, and her hands unconsciously clenched the silk handkerchief in her hands.

"Your Majesty, before I arrived, the imperial physician had not yet given a definitive diagnosis. Therefore, I truly do not know the specific details," Xiao Yuanzi said cautiously, her head bowed.

"I understand." Su Nuannuan sighed softly, calmed herself down a bit, and turned to Yaoqin beside her, instructing, "Yaoqin, go and see Eunuch Xiaoyuan off."

“Yes, Your Highness.” Yaoqin responded first, then smiled and gestured to Xiao Yuanzi, saying, “Eunuch Xiao Yuan, please.”

The two walked out of the inner hall together and came to the outside. Yaoqin looked around and, seeing that no one was around, took out a purse from her sleeve, handed it to Xiaoyuanzi, and said softly, "Eunuch Xiaoyuanzi, please accept this little token of my appreciation."

Xiao Yuanzi's gaze fell on the purse, and she felt a chill run down her spine. She quickly declined, saying, "Miss Yaoqin, this is unacceptable! I have done nothing to deserve such a gift, how could I possibly accept your things?"

He knew in his heart that it was best to avoid provoking a mistress like Consort Zhuang, who had a prince by her side and was deeply favored by the emperor, so as not to bring trouble upon himself.

Yaoqin smiled slightly, stuffed the purse into Xiaoyuanzi's hand, and explained, "Eunuch Xiaoyuan, please don't misunderstand. This is just a small amount of money that our lady is giving you for a cup of herbal tea. Please don't find it offensive."

"Oh, thank you so much for your generous gift, Consort Zhuang. I really have to accept it, even if it's a bit shameless." Xiao Yuanzi's face was full of smiles as he spoke, and he respectfully accepted the seemingly light red envelope with both hands. His eyes were so narrowed into slits with laughter.

"The weather is getting hotter every day. It's so hot, and we're already troubling you, Eunuch Xiaoyuan, to make such a special trip," Yaoqin said softly.

"Oh, Miss Yaoqin, you're too kind! These are all things that this servant should do." Xiao Yuanzi quickly bowed and nodded in agreement, her attitude very humble.

And so, Yaoqin waited until she personally escorted Xiaoyuanzi to the gates of Cuiwei Palace before slowly turning around and walking lightly into the palace.

Xiao Yuanzi was overjoyed after leaving Cuiwei Palace. He happily took out the red envelope he had just received from his sleeve and carefully opened it.

When he saw the face value of the silver note inside the red envelope, his eyes widened, and he began to mutter to himself, "Wow, Consort Zhuang is so generous! A whole ten taels of silver! Tsk tsk tsk..."

After reciting the prayer, Xiao Yuanzi quickly and carefully folded the silver note, then gently placed it into his inner pocket, sealing the opening tightly as if afraid it might fall out accidentally. Having done all this, he happily strode towards the Cining Palace.

Meanwhile, inside the inner palace of Cuiwei Palace, Su Nuannuan sat on the couch, her brows slightly furrowed. She instructed Li Quan, who was standing beside her, "Li Quan, quickly go and find out for me why the Second Prince and the Third Prince suddenly developed high fevers. We must get to the bottom of this!"

"Yes, I'll go and find out the information right away." After hearing Su Nuannuan's order, Li Quan didn't dare to delay at all. He immediately bowed and then hurriedly left the inner hall to make the arrangements.

"Your Highness, it wasn't my arrangement." Jinse hurriedly explained to her mistress after watching Li Quan leave in a hurry. Her anxious appearance seemed as if she was afraid that her mistress would misunderstand her.

"I know you've always been by my side, so how could you have had the opportunity or the ability to make such an arrangement? But this time, it just so happened to be a lucky accident, solving my immediate problem." Su Nuannuan nodded slightly, her tone calm but carrying a hint of barely perceptible relief.

"Your Majesty, do you mean that this incident was deliberately targeted at the Second Prince and the Third Prince?" Jinse asked, her face full of doubt.

"Whether that's true or not, we just need to wait patiently for Li Quan to return to find out."