Cheng'er had a little soup on his lips. Xu Zifan chuckled and put down his teacup to wipe it off for him. "Eat slowly, or you'll end up with a smeared face."
Princess Zhang felt extremely anxious when she saw that he hadn't drunk any tea. Just then, Xu Zifan picked up his teacup again. The princess glanced at him subtly out of the corner of her eye, holding her breath and waiting. Suddenly, Xu Zifan put the teacup down and said, "Princess, Li's allowance will be halved. Later, have someone send her a Buddhist scripture so she can properly copy it and reflect on her mistakes. Stop thinking about harming others all day long; harming others will ultimately harm yourself, and no one can escape it."
"Yes, Your Highness," the princess replied with a smile, but her heart was pounding. She felt as if the words were directed at her. This wasn't the first time she had harmed someone; what woman in the harem hadn't stained her hands with blood if she lived a long life? But this was the first time she had harmed her own husband, and she couldn't help but feel nervous.
However, remembering her son's failed attempt to seize the throne in her previous life, she hardened her heart again. Although Xu Zifan hadn't mistreated her and her son, what would become of them if another son were chosen to inherit the throne? Cheng'er was given a lowly title of prince, and her family had fallen into decline. This time, she absolutely wouldn't allow such a thing to happen. Xu Zifan only needed Cheng'er as his son; the one in the concubine's womb would be aborted sooner or later.
Xu Zifan ate a few bites of food and began to eat, naturally no longer drinking tea. Soon the cup of tea that had gone cold was taken away, and then the princess personally served him soup, secretly putting the medicine from her spatial storage into the bowl under the cover of her sleeve.
Xu Zifan sighed inwardly. If he hadn't had a system, a spatial dimension, studied medicine, or cultivated immortality when he first transmigrated, how could he have escaped such a trap? Only he, now, could have escaped unscathed and taken control of the entire situation.
He deliberately startled the princess, then casually asked as he picked up the soup bowl, "Cheng'er, would you like some soup? Your father will feed you."
"Yes! Thank you, Father!" Cheng'er happily put down her chopsticks and looked at Xu Zifan.
The princess's face tightened, and she hurriedly reached out, "Let me do it." As she spoke, she knocked the bowl to the ground with a loud thud, startling Cheng'er!
Xu Zifan took the handkerchief handed to him by the servant, wiped his hands, patted Cheng'er's head and smiled, "Don't be afraid, Father will serve you another bowl."
Xu Zifan didn't blame the princess for her rashness. He served Cheng'er another bowl of soup, showing his great love for the child. The princess, however, was terrified. Cold sweat soaked her undergarments! She dared not make any further moves, fearing she might accidentally hurt her son. If she caused him to be unable to have children for the rest of his life, she would never forgive herself.
Xu Zifan would never hurt Cheng'er. He wiped Cheng'er's mouth and said with a smile, "Cheng'er is very intelligent, much better than I was when I was young. I will personally teach him. Let Cheng'er move to my place tomorrow."
The princess suddenly clenched her handkerchief, and said with an unnatural smile, "Your Highness, Cheng'er is still young. Otherwise, he could study with you during the day and return to my courtyard to rest at night, which would make it easier for me to take care of him."
Xu Zifan waved his hand, "With so many servants, how can Cheng'er not be taken care of? Hu Feng, you personally oversee the arrangements. If anything goes wrong with Cheng'er, you will be held responsible."
"Yes, Your Highness." Hu Feng replied with a smile. He was pleased that his master's eldest son was so clever. The incident of using children as a raft in the inner quarters had just occurred, so he should be cautious. However, he was somewhat surprised that the prince didn't even trust the princess and had entrusted the matter to him.
Since Xu Zifan had already said so, the princess could say nothing more. Cheng'er, on the other hand, was very happy, his little face full of smiles, which made the princess feel a lump in her throat. She had gone to such lengths to plan for her son, yet he was not close to her and was even somewhat afraid of her, while he was so close to Xu Zifan. How could she feel at ease with this?
After the meal, Xu Zifan chatted with Cheng'er for a while before leaving. A moment later, a servant reported to the princess, "Your Highness, the prince has gone to Qixia Courtyard."
The princess sat in front of the mirror, removed her hairpins and rings, and snorted coldly, "Li has grown bold, daring to frame me! Send me, the Buddha, over here and tell her that since she is reflecting on her mistakes, she should eat the vegetarian food from the nunnery every day, and not be extravagant and disturb the peace."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Li Yurong has been confined to her quarters for three months because of this incident. There's no chance she can turn things around now. Isn't she completely at the mercy of others? The hardships in the inner quarters are never on the surface. Bland food and disrespectful servants are enough to make Li Yurong suffer endlessly.
The princess believed that it was because she had fabricated evidence in time that Li Yurong had such an end. She couldn't help but feel proud. She looked at her own appearance carefully in the mirror. She was only twenty years old, in the prime of her life. It was so good to be able to start her life over again.
She dismissed the crowd, took out a beauty-enhancing pill from her spatial storage, swallowed it, and smiled at herself in the mirror. After her rebirth, she discovered this spatial pharmacy, with cabinets covering an entire wall filled with various medicines, all miraculous elixirs. Now, Cheng'er had taken the medicine and become strong and exceptionally intelligent, while she herself was radiant and glowing. She was certain she wouldn't repeat her past mistakes in this life.
However, thinking about how she had failed to drug Xu Zifan today and had almost harmed Cheng'er, her face turned extremely pale. And Xu Zifan actually wanted Cheng'er to move out. Although children grow up and will have their own yards, she couldn't have any more children. How could she be at ease with her only son? She wished she could keep him by her side every day. She had originally wanted Cheng'er to show his intelligence and gain Xu Zifan's favor, but who knew Xu Zifan would value him this much?
It was too late for regrets now. The princess could only think it over carefully and made arrangements to ensure Cheng'er's safety. She worried about it until late at night and couldn't fall asleep.
Xu Zifan led his men to Qixia Courtyard to inspect the place. With his permission, everything in the courtyard was arranged perfectly, and his men were replaced with servants who took great care of Xi yun.
While she was sleeping, Xu Zifan dismissed the servants, touched Xi Yun's forehead, and took her pulse by pulling her fingers.
The child was too young, and having fallen into the water and been frightened, this illness was no small matter. It seemed harmless, but in reality, it could very well linger for over a month. Xu Zifan took a drop of spiritual spring water and fed it to Xi Yun, then drew a calming talisman on Xi Yun's palm with his finger. Soon, Xi Yun's furrowed brow relaxed, and she slept soundly.
Xu Zifan stroked Xiyun's hair and sighed. The princess protected Cheng'er, but her desire for her son to succeed was too strict. Li Yurong, on the other hand, regarded Xiyun as someone else's child and believed that her daughter would eventually marry and would not be of any use. Therefore, she wanted to use her daughter to gain favor and have a son.
These women fought and schemed, but in the end, it was their children who suffered. Xi Yun died young, and Cheng'er was forced to study and practice martial arts, becoming increasingly withdrawn and averse to learning. Concubine Yang's son contracted smallpox and barely survived, but his personality turned distorted; he appeared cheerful on the surface but was actually extremely ruthless inside. The son of the doomed Liu was even more vicious, resorting to any means to achieve his goals. And the children of Bai Yueguang and the other concubines who entered the palace later—they were either dead, maimed, or had unkind personalities; not a single one grew up to be a normal, good child.
The original owner was infertile due to the princess's medicine, but the other women, with their special abilities, cured her without her even realizing it. They treated her like a stud, and every woman had to give birth to a son for them to fight for the throne in the future.
The original owner's inner court was rife with infighting, and he was constantly being asked to make decisions on important matters, which greatly annoyed him. How could he concentrate on vying for the throne when his inner court was in turmoil? Moreover, these women's families were also influenced by them, doing all sorts of inexplicable things and disrupting his plans. Ultimately, his failure to seize the throne was entirely expected.
Now that he has both children with him, no one else will be born except for the one in his concubine's womb. The children are innocent; it doesn't matter how these women fight, as long as no one tries to involve the children.
Xu Zifan instructed Shaohua to keep a close eye on the children, and after giving a few more instructions to the servants attending to Xiyun, he returned to his own courtyard. Qixia Courtyard was very close to his, just a few steps away.
Xu Zifan summoned Hu Feng and instructed him: "The inner quarters have been rather unsettled lately. Investigate secretly and find a pretext to send away any servants with problems, replacing them with our own people. Important places, such as the kitchen, must be controlled by trustworthy individuals to prevent any further incidents of harming people. Also, secretly seek out highly skilled doctors and invite them to stay in the mansion for an extended period, just in case."
Hu Feng listened attentively, memorizing every command, and solemnly replied, "Yes, Your Highness."
Xu Zifan told him to leave and then spent the night cultivating in his room. The Princess Consort had a portable pharmacy, Li Yurong had a rural spiritual spring space, Concubine Yang had a dimensional trading device, the post-apocalyptic Liu had the ability to communicate with plants, the beloved Chen had a favored concubine system, and the Liu who was willing to break off her engagement to marry him had a cultivation system. If he were weaker, he would have been devoured by these people until nothing was left.
Xu Zifan never underestimates his opponents. Even though he possesses a cheat-like advantage, he always makes thorough preparations in every life. What if his cheat-like advantage suddenly disappears? Then his own inherent strength becomes his greatest reliance.
Therefore, he would cultivate diligently in each life and build his own power. Even if the system and the spiritual spring disappeared one day, he would still have cultivation. Even if his cultivation disappeared, he would still have the power he had built. Even if his power was destroyed, he would still have thousands of years of knowledge to rebuild his power and remain invincible forever.
A night of cultivation left Xu Zifan feeling incredibly energetic. After breakfast, he went to court. He left Changsheng at home; Changsheng was easy to hide and possessed magical power, so keeping him in the mansion to oversee things was the best option, allowing him to focus on his duties without worry and preventing those few troublemakers from ruining things.
The original owner's plan was to live a simple life, feign weakness to lure others into his trap, and ultimately seize the throne. Xu Zifan, considering that his mission was to prevent those women from getting what they wanted, slightly adjusted his plan. Developing his power in secret was necessary, but he didn't intend to take the throne. For now, he should keep a low profile and remain a nobody in the court.
Now that the emperor is in poor health, the rivalry among the princes has become increasingly fierce, with them exchanging veiled remarks in court. After court, the fifth prince stopped Xu Zifan, looked at him with a mocking gaze, and said, "Sixth brother, I never noticed before, but you have such a handsome appearance that you're quite popular with girls."
The Fifth Prince loved swords and spears and spoke without much restraint. He discovered that the concubine he had betrothed wanted to break off the engagement because she had taken a liking to Xu Zifan. He harbored resentment and was extremely rude to Xu Zifan whenever he saw her.
Xu Zifan smiled faintly and said, "Fifth Brother is joking. I have always been a man of few desires. If I weren't in the royal family, I might have already become a monk. What do I care whether others like it or not?"