Yang Haiyan was making toys for the children: plush toys, plush balls, cloth diapers, and so on.

Of course, the cloth diapers were made of cotton, different from modern ones.

Suddenly, Qin Fang burst in, looking troubled, as if something serious had happened. “What happened in the capital?”

Qin Fang handed her a letter. “Take a look; this is a letter from the teacher.”

Yang Haiyan took the letter and read it.

After finishing, she was left somewhat stunned.

In Du Ke’s letter, he mentioned only one thing: he and Shen Lixian had gone to Batou County due to the grain partnership plan, and General Ao was the garrison commander of that county.

Du Ke had met General Ao once, and because General Ao had helped Qin Fang, Du Ke was grateful to him.

Thus, when General Ao invited Du Ke and Shen Lixian to the general’s residence for a meal, they didn’t refuse.

However, it was there that Shen Lixian encountered a palace maid and that future crown prince.

Having seen the prince’s portrait and realizing the prince resembled his own younger sister, Shen Lixian recognized him immediately.

After learning about the maid’s story, he confirmed that this child was indeed his nephew.

Along with Shen Lixian, they were searching for the emperor’s confidants regarding the prince, so even though Shen Lixian didn’t want to bring the child back to the capital, the emperor’s men were just following orders.

They took the child back to the capital ahead of him.

In the original plot, when the prince appeared, he was already a young man, and while he looked somewhat similar to the princess in childhood, the differences became significant as he grew.

Therefore, the adult prince did not resemble the late Empress Yuan, and the identity arranged for him by the emperor was plausible.

However, at present, this prince was only seven years old, and his features closely resembled those of Empress Yuan.

Thus, it would be inappropriate to arrange a different identity for him.

Consequently, the emperor sought a mature young woman from the Shen family to impersonate his birth mother, who, of course, had already “passed away.”

The emperor’s story went like this: After the late Prince Yuan passed away, he never forgot about the late princess and always reminisced about the Shen family’s former residence.

One day, after drinking, he encountered a young girl who bore a striking resemblance to the late princess.

Mistaking it for a dream involving the prince’s residence, he took advantage of her.

When he woke up, the girl had vanished, and he thought it was just a dream.

He paid no mind until recently when that girl passed away.

Before her death, she revealed the child’s background to him, prompting him to bring the child back.

Thus, the emperor posthumously honored the deceased girl as a noble consort, and that prince became the second prince.

Now, with the emergence of the second prince in the capital, there was turmoil.

The first prince was from the Ren family, while the second prince was from the Shen family.

The Shen family, which originally stood in a neutral position with merely the title of Marquis of Cheng’en, now found their stance completely altered with the arrival of a prince.

After reading Du Ke’s letter, Yang Haiyan was truly stunned for a long time.

The late Empress Yuan was the emperor’s enduring fixation, a cherished memory that no one could compete with.

Thus, as long as the second prince did not betray the nation, he would be the emperor’s attempt to atone for past losses.

In the original plot, the second prince grew up alongside the male lead Han Zhen, but now he was in General Ao’s residence.

Without the male lead by the second prince’s side, could he still ascend to the throne smoothly?

More importantly… from Du Ke’s letter, it seemed he also did not know the second prince’s true identity.

Should Yang Haiyan inform Du Ke about this?

Du Ke was the emperor’s confidant.

If the emperor wanted to find power for the second prince, he would definitely seek out Du Ke.

What choice would Du Ke make if he learned the second prince’s true identity?

Thinking about this, Yang Haiyan dismissed the idea.

Regardless of whether Du Ke knew or not, as long as it was the emperor’s order, could he have a choice?

“Yanyan… Yanyan, what’s wrong?” Seeing her in silence, Qin Fang thought she was frightened.

“Yanyan, are you alright? Don’t worry; this matter doesn’t involve us.”

Yang Haiyan shook her head. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

Was it really the arrangement of fate?

In this lifetime, the second prince had no connection to the male lead, but because of the grain partnership plan she proposed, he was still found by the emperor.

At different times, the character in the original plot had already grown up, while the current version was still a child.

Simply put, it would be easier to deal with him now, and without the male lead by his side, would he grow up safely?

Yang Haiyan felt heavy-hearted.

Carrying such a secret, combined with the fact that the plot had already diverged from the original storyline, she felt a surge of unease.

Suddenly, she let out a small exclamation.

“What’s wrong?” Qin Fang asked nervously.

He regretted showing her the letter, knowing it might have triggered her.

Yang Haiyan shook her head, “It’s nothing; the baby just kicked me.”

She placed her hand on her belly, feeling her previously restless heart gradually settle.

No matter how the plot changed, as long as their family was safe, that was all that mattered.

She would protect her child well.

“I want to feel… This child is very naughty; every time I touch, he stops moving.”

Since she started feeling the baby’s movements, Yang Haiyan could sense it every few days.

Unfortunately, each time Qin Fang either happened to be on duty or when he touched her belly, the baby would be still.

For example, now, with Qin Fang’s hand on Yang Haiyan’s belly, he said to her stomach, “Be good, little daughter; move your little feet so your father can feel.”

Yang Haiyan nearly fainted upon hearing that; what a ridiculous statement!

Fortunately, the baby seemed to have its own temperament, as it had never reacted to Qin Fang’s coaxing.

This time, however…

“Ah!” Qin Fang let out a low exclamation.

Yang Haiyan was surprised, “He actually kicked you!”

Qin Fang grinned, “My daughter must really like me as her father. Come on, little girl, stretch out your little feet… Come on…”

However, this time, the fetus didn’t respond.

No matter how Qin Fang coaxed, Yang Haiyan felt a chill at his words, yet the baby still did not react.

Yang Haiyan was nine months pregnant and due to give birth in early April.

Her belly was quite large now.

Seeing that the baby hadn’t reacted, she felt pleased.

Unconsciously, she patted her belly and said, “The baby is really obedient; let’s ignore your father.”

However, as soon as her hand touched her belly, she felt the baby move inside again.

She wasn’t sure if it was a little fist or a little foot, but it brought her great joy.

Although Qin Fang didn’t receive another enthusiastic kick from his daughter, he was still very satisfied with his face pressed against Yang Haiyan’s belly.

They had previously discussed many names for their child but hadn’t settled on one yet.

Now, Qin Fang brought up the topic again, “Yanyan, what do you think we should name our daughter?”

Qin Fang was quite obsessed with having a daughter and was often annoyed by Han Zhen.

However, when considering names, they had thought about both boy and girl names.

Since the elders in the Qin family had limited characters they liked, the naming of their child was left to the couple.

If it was a girl, the nickname would be decided by Qin’s grandmother; if it was a boy, it would be given by Qin’s grandfather.

Yang Haiyan had no objections.

She wasn’t the type of sensitive pregnant woman who felt that her child’s name had to be chosen solely by herself.

Allowing the elders to choose nicknames for the children was a manifestation of their love, so she didn’t mind at all.

Yang Haiyan thought for a moment, “There were too many names before, and I can’t think of a good one. How about this… you choose the girl’s name, and I’ll choose the boy’s name?”

Since he liked daughters, she thought it would be nice to pamper him a bit.

In reality, she was just worried that Qin Fang wouldn’t put enough thought into the name for a son.

Qin Fang was overjoyed upon hearing this. “Then let’s name our daughter Qin Lingchao!” “Ling” denotes agility and vitality, and Qin Fang felt it was a great name.

Yang Haiyan repeated the name and found it acceptable, mainly because it was a name he had chosen, and she didn’t want to undermine his confidence. “Then for the boy, let’s call him… Qin Linyang.”

Ling and Yang… Qin Fang said, “Alright, it’s settled then. Grandfather said that since the Qin family established a family tree in his generation, in the future, the names of the second, third, and fourth sons who marry and have children will reference names from our side.”

Yang Haiyan replied, “That sounds good. When I was at the Yang residence, I heard that daughters from wealthy families couldn’t be listed in the family tree and couldn’t enter the family shrine. We can’t have that in our family. Whether it’s a daughter or a son, they are both treasures of their parents, born after ten months of pregnancy.”

She couldn’t change the national system and wouldn’t foolishly try to do so, but in their small family, she hoped for equal treatment of her children and that they wouldn’t be affected by feudal traditions.

Qin Fang said, “I agree with you. We’re not a big family; we don’t adhere to those customs.”

Qin Fang had absolute decision-making power in the Qin family, so he could make that call.

…..

In the palace…

“Your Majesty, please calm down. Given the situation, it’s useless to be angry,” Master Ren sighed as he looked at his daughter, who had smashed things all over the room.

The Ren family had always maintained a good relationship with the Shen family, hoping that they could help speak favorably during the Crown Prince incident.

After all, the Shen family had no concubines in the harem but was the maternal family of the late Empress Yuan, so their words still carried weight.

But who would have thought that the Shen family would produce a prince?

Ren Guifei was genuinely furious: “I never understood why the emperor didn’t appoint an empress at the beginning; now I see it was all for that little bastard.”

She had always cared about her image, appearing gentle and virtuous on the surface, but this time she didn’t even bother to maintain her usual façade, indicating how truly enraged she was. “Father, where does the emperor stand now? What does it mean for our Ren family?”

Ren Father said, “The emperor is powerful, young, and has the means to back him, so he has nothing to fear. But my daughter, don’t worry; there’s still time. No one knows if he will grow up safely. All you need to do is educate the Crown Prince well. After all, the Crown Prince was the legitimate eldest son when he was in the Wang residence; can the emperor really bypass him to make that one the Crown Prince?”