Huaping hastened her steps and departed.

Zhou Wen returned to his room, refreshed himself, changed into a sky-blue casual attire, and walked along the corridor towards the rear courtyard.

He first passed by the Fengyi Hall where Princess Huarong resided.

In the courtyard, the young maids diligently wiped the leaves of the flowers, supervised by the head maid Yingyue. Seeing Zhou Wen appear at the end of the corridor, Yingyue approached.

Zhou Wen stood with hands behind his back and asked, “Has the princess awakened?”

Yingyue replied, “Just woke up. She went to visit Miss Feng in the Taoran Hall.”

Zhou Wen nodded knowingly and headed straight to the Taoran Hall.

Yesterday evening, Princess Huarong had just brought Miss Feng Yuanyuan back to the mansion. They hadn’t had time to arrange additional help in the Taoran Hall, so only two maids were temporarily assigned—one fetching water, and the other kneeling in the inner room.

Princess Huarong sat by the bed, one hand gently touching Feng Yuanyuan’s unconscious forehead. It was burning hot, causing her to furrow her brows.

“To have a fever like this, she probably fell ill last night. Didn’t you come in to check?” She withdrew her hand and looked at the kneeling maid in front of her.

The maid trembled and apologized, “This servant slept too soundly. Please punish me, Princess.”

Weiyun stood beside them, remorseful, “It’s also my fault. I forgot to instruct her properly.”

Princess Huarong lowered her eyelashes.

Born into the royal family, she had a nurse who slept in the same room and took care of her attentively until the age of three. Even after that, although the nurse slept in the adjacent room, she would come in several times at night to check on her in case of any discomfort.

If Feng Yuanyuan were her child, the maids would have taken care of her without her orders. However, in the eyes of the young maids, including Weiyun, Feng Yuanyuan was just an ordinary orphan brought back by the princess, not worth the extra effort.

“Step back.” Princess Huarong calmly spoke.

The nervous maid retreated uneasily.

Princess Huarong turned her gaze back to Feng Yuanyuan. Her cheeks were rosy, and her curled eyelashes tightly shut, concealing those pitiable eyes.

Steady footsteps echoed from outside. Princess Huarong lifted her head and glimpsed Zhou Wen, then casually looked away.

She could choose to disregard the young regional prince, but Weiyun dared not be disrespectful, respectfully greeting, “My lord.”

Zhou Wen responded with a nod, entered the room, and approached the bed.

On the bed lay a frail girl. Due to her illness, it was challenging to focus on whether her features were attractive.

Zhou Wen bent down, pulled out Feng Yuanyuan’s small hand from the blanket, and placed his slender fingertips on her delicate wrist. After checking her pulse for a moment, he covered her back up and said to Princess Huarong, “She probably stayed in the mountains for too long and caught a chill.”

He didn’t need to hide that he knew her because Chen Jing would report Feng Yuanyuan’s origin to him.

Princess Huarong didn’t mind either.

Feng Yuanyuan had stayed in the mountains for five nights, enduring rain in between. Considering her current condition, she was surprisingly resilient.

“Leave her to the maid’s care. Your health is precious, and you shouldn’t worry about this child’s illness.”

Standing beside Princess Huarong, Zhou Wen gently advised.

Princess Huarong seemed to ignore him.

Zhou Wen smiled, turned, and left.

Although they were a married couple, they exchanged very few words throughout the year. Weiyun was familiar with this situation and respectfully saw him off.

Not long after Zhou Wen left, the chief imperial physician arrived. After examining Feng Yuanyuan, his diagnosis aligned with Zhou Wen’s.

“I’ll go prescribe the medicine. Taking it for three days in a row will surely bring down the fever. Your Highness, please don’t worry.”

“Yes, I appreciate your efforts, sir.”

The little maid followed the esteemed imperial physician, responsible for purchasing medicinal ingredients and preparing medicine.

Princess Huarong couldn’t help here, so she was about to leave when she noticed Feng Yuanyuan, who was sleeping, frowning in discomfort. Her expression was filled with pain.

The young girl’s pale lips moved slightly, and Princess Huarong leaned in to listen, realizing that she was calling for “Mother.”

Princess Huarong paused for a moment, sat back down, and instructed Weiyun, “Go and wet a cloth.”

Weiyun hurried to prepare and quickly brought a copper basin, wetting the cloth and wringing it halfway dry.

She wanted to apply the cloth to Feng Yuanyuan’s forehead but was intercepted by Princess Huarong.

Weiyun watched in astonishment as her noble and unparalleled princess personally took care of an orphaned girl from the common people.

The cool and damp cloth temporarily relieved Feng Yuanyuan’s discomfort. Although she was in a coma, she could sense someone accompanying her. This instinctively made her turn her head, as if wanting to be closer to the person.

Her little red face still had traces of tears from earlier, and Princess Huarong instinctively took out a handkerchief and gently wiped them away.

Feng Yuanyuan fell back into a deep sleep.

Princess Huarong maintained her bent posture, closely observing this pitiful girl she had brought back, a beautiful and precious pearl-like girl.

In fact, she had always wanted a daughter, someone delicate and charming who would playfully ask for jewelry gifts and cuddle in her arms.

Unfortunately, she married Zhou Wen.

How could she possibly bear children for a family plotting rebellion?

Before leaving the capital, she personally requested her father, the emperor, for a bowl of infertility soup.

Her own suffering didn’t matter, but she didn’t want to burden another child.

Perhaps, there truly was a higher power at work.