Charcoal braziers burned in the room.

On the table, the maids were preparing a hot pot. The base was mutton broth, bubbling and gurgling, its fragrant aroma permeating the air.

They had agreed to eat hot pot together at this time, yet Chu Yi still hadn’t come over.

Before Yun Chu could ask, Luwei stood at the side and said, “Princess Consort, the Prince has been detained in the study by Princess Qinghua.”

Luwei was a senior maid Yun Chu had promoted from among the second-rank maids after Tingxue married out. She had a steady temperament and was thorough in her work. Previously, she had been Tingxue’s capable assistant, and now she could perfectly fill Tingxue’s position.

Yun Chu’s expression showed no particular emotion. She turned her head to see the two children staring longingly at the pot, practically drooling.

She couldn’t help but smile. “Your father is delayed for a bit. Let’s start eating first.”

She had the maids serve each child a small bowl of mutton broth, then began blanching vegetables.

The mother and two children had just started eating when the curtain of the warm chamber was lifted. The sound of maids paying their respects came from the doorway, followed immediately by Chu Yi striding in.

A maid hurriedly served him a bowl of mutton broth.

Yun Chu could tell his mood seemed quite good.

Could she have been mistaken—had Princess Qinghua not gone to sow discord and complain?

“Why are you looking at me like that?” The corners of Chu Yi’s mouth curved in a smile. “I just asked the physician. Pregnant women can eat mutton, but not too much.”

This wasn’t Yun Chu’s first pregnancy, so naturally she knew these things. Moreover, because something had gone wrong with her first pregnancy, she was being especially careful this time. What she couldn’t eat, what she could eat, and how much she could eat—she was very clear about all of it. Even if she herself momentarily forgot, the maids around her remembered it all for her.

The two children quickly finished eating and went to the side room, chatting with each other.

Yun Chu still had a decent appetite and continued eating while Chu Yi kept blanching vegetables and serving them to her.

After she had eaten her fill, she couldn’t help but ask, “Why are you so happy?”

“Because I’ve once again realized that you care about me.” Chu Yi reached out to smooth back a strand of hair that had fallen loose. “There’s nothing more worth being happy about than that.”

Yun Chu rubbed her forehead.

Last time, when she agreed to let Ding Dong become a concubine, he said he was happy.

This time, when she refused to let Princess Qinghua send women into the prince’s residence, he was even happier.

He could always see the positive side of any situation.

Perhaps it was because she was the one doing these things.

The couple had just finished their meal when a young maid from the courtyard came in to report, “Prince, Princess Consort, a nanny from the Princess’s side has come with a message.”

Chu Yi raised his hand to let her in.

“This old servant pays respects to the Prince and Princess Consort.” The old nanny kept her head lowered. “The Princess returned to the capital in haste and is short-staffed. She wishes to ask the Princess Consort for someone.”

Chu Yi said coolly, “If she’s short-staffed, then go buy some people from outside.”

He wasn’t going to indulge his second sister, or she’d constantly stir up trouble.

The old nanny’s expression stiffened. She never imagined that the Prince would refuse such a simple request for a servant.

She could only press on, “The Princess wishes to have that maid called Ding Dong and earnestly requests that the Prince and Princess Consort part with her.”

The expression on Chu Yi’s face relaxed somewhat.

That girl named Ding Dong was indeed superfluous at the prince’s residence.

Previously, when Ding Dong had come to him asking for ginseng, he had been thinking of finding an excuse to send her off to Luochuan anyway, to avoid the eyesore.

Since his second sister was asking, giving her to second sister wasn’t out of the question.

He turned to look at Yun Chu, seeking his wife’s opinion.

Yun Chu took a sip of tea. “Second sister rarely makes a request. Let Ding Dong go serve second sister then.”

She wanted to see exactly what Princess Qinghua was thinking.

After she had firmly refused, after Chu Yi had given his warning, if Princess Qinghua still wanted to cause trouble, then this family relationship wasn’t worth maintaining.

That very day, Ding Dong packed her belongings and went to Princess Qinghua’s courtyard.

The next morning, Yun Chu slept until the hour of the dragon before getting up. Now she only needed to go to the palace to pay respects on the first and fifteenth of each month. With no one coming to pay respects to her on ordinary days, and having also stopped martial arts practice, she could sleep as late as she wanted.

After rising and getting dressed, she walked to the outer room to see Chu Yi sitting in the seat she usually occupied, handling the prince’s residence administrative affairs.

Nanny He stood with her head bowed before Chu Yi, on edge. Only when she saw Yun Chu emerge did she relax slightly.

Yun Chu walked over with a smile. “You’re someone who handles great matters. Let me take care of household affairs.”

“The books say, ‘If one cannot sweep a single room, how can one sweep the world?'” Chu Yi looked at her. “Only after managing household matters well can one better handle court affairs. Just sit beside me and watch me handle things. If I do anything poorly, Chu’er, you teach me.”

Yun Chu sat down on the couch, eating a little from time to time and drinking tea now and then.

Because she had slept extremely well at night, she wasn’t drowsy now, just particularly bored.

Calculating the time, there was still half an hour before Changsheng finished school, and Ge’er wouldn’t finish until evening. Only when the two children returned would she have something to do.

Chu Yi set down the account books and looked at Nanny He.

Nanny He immediately gave a start, afraid she had done something wrong and provoked the Prince’s anger.

“What are the famous theater troupes in the capital?”

Nanny He quickly replied, “In answer to the Prince, the most famous is Peach Blossom Garden. When prominent families in the capital hold banquets, they all invite the Peach Blossom Garden theater troupe to perform.”

“Make arrangements to buy this theater troupe, no matter the cost.” Chu Yi said quietly, “Best if they can enter the prince’s residence to perform by the day after tomorrow.”

Yun Chu’s fingers paused. “Why buy a theater troupe?”

“To make it convenient for you to watch opera.” Chu Yi reached out to pat her head. “I’m afraid you’re too bored.”

Yun Chu was indeed a bit bored, but she didn’t want to watch opera—she didn’t enjoy it.

She discovered that people were better off staying busy; otherwise, each day was too hard to endure.

At this moment, Cheng Qi walked in from outside.

Cheng Qi was a cousin from Chengxu’s clan who also worked under Chu Yi. Chengxu had just married and been given leave, so during this period it was Cheng Qi rushing about handling affairs.

“Prince, this subordinate arranged for two people to disguise themselves as gamblers and managed to enter Prince Gongxi’s sphere of influence through various means, but they cannot penetrate the inner circle. Please instruct this subordinate on what to do next!”

Yun Chu immediately sat up straight.

She knew that under Xie Shi’an’s vigorous cultivation, the capital’s underworld had become part of Prince Gongxi’s sphere of influence.

The core of this faction was naturally Xie Shi’an.

Although Xie Shi’an was young, his cunning and scheming were beyond comparison with ordinary people. Gaining Xie Shi’an’s trust wouldn’t be easy.

Moreover, this underworld faction hadn’t demonstrated much value in her previous life. At least before her death, Prince Gongxi hadn’t used this faction to accomplish anything particularly significant.

Yun Chu suddenly remembered something.

In her previous life, there seemed to have been a case of imperial examination fraud in the capital. Xie Jingyu and Xie Shi’an, with their family producing two top scholars, were naturally implicated. The two were investigated for over half a month before being proven innocent.

She vaguely remembered that many at court had impeached Prince Gongxi, asserting that the case had inseparable connections to Prince Gongxi and the Gui family… Not long after, the Court of Judicial Review closed the case, saying it had all been fabricated by a group of scholars who couldn’t pass the imperial examinations, and the matter was thus swept under the rug.

Was it truly unrelated to Prince Gongxi?