After writing for most of the day, she was indeed quite tired.

Rong Rong asked, “What’s left in the kitchen? Just bring something for me to eat here.”

“It’s already prepared,” Su Xin waved her hand, and a little eunuch came in with a food tray.

There wasn’t a lot of variety, but it was exquisitely prepared—two meat dishes, two vegetable dishes, a bowl of soup, and a plate of cakes, all at the standard the kitchen used for the Crown Prince and Yuan Bao.

Rong Rong sat by the food tray and began to eat.

Su Xin stood respectfully by her side.

After Rong Rong finished, she brought a basin of water for Rong Rong to wash her hands and face.

Since Su Xin came to the Eastern Palace, Rong Rong had lived almost like a semi-master.

Aside from taking care of Yuan Bao, all other daily needs were managed by Su Xin.

Su Xin always wore a smile.

Rong Rong wasn’t particularly fond of her, but having her around made the place feel less lonely.

“Miss, are you going to rest now?” Su Xin asked.

“It’s fine. I won’t be sleeping today. I’ll just have some tea and relax for a bit,” Rong Rong replied.

Her creative flow was strong today; she was writing an exciting part where a widow bids farewell to a young man.

She planned to write immediately after eating, but her wrist and arm were sore from holding the pen for so long, so she needed to rest a bit first.

Su Xin stood behind Rong Rong and said, “Let me give you a massage.” Without waiting for Rong Rong’s consent, she began to knead her shoulders and neck.

Su Xin’s technique was quite good.

After the initial discomfort, her joints and shoulders began to feel much better.

“Miss, you’ve been resting indoors all day and might not know what’s happening outside,” Su Xin said.

Rong Rong squinted her eyes and enjoyed the massage. “Hmm? What’s happening outside?”

“The Crown Prince has sent the three people from Ruyi Pavilion out of the Eastern Palace.”

Since they were sent away, Liang Mu Chen should be fine.

However, if the Crown Prince was planning to cause trouble for Liang Muchen after the wedding, he should have kept her in the Eastern Palace, taking good care of her and ensuring her health rather than rushing her out.

Seeing Rong Rong’s frown, Su Xin guessed that she might be displeased and decided not to say more.

Originally, Rong Rong was pleased with her progress on the manuscript, but now, the mention of Liang Muchen unsettled her.

Liang Muchen would soon become the mistress of Yuhua Palace and the Eastern Palace.

The days of writing in this small study, with the aroma of incense, were numbered.

To Liang Mu Chen, it might seem like Rong Rong was occupying her place.

Rong Rong felt a pang of bitterness and recalled what the Empress said about leaving Yuan Bao in her care, which made her slightly uneasy.

Yuan Bao was the Crown Prince’s eldest son; Liang Muchen would likely view him as an eyesore.

Liang Muchen would surely be reluctant to care for Yuan Bao, just as the Prince’s concubine didn’t want to raise Liu Yu.

Both Liu Yu and Yuan Bao were illegitimate children, and others wouldn’t want them to gain any more favor.

They might even prefer to neglect them.

Rong Rong couldn’t leave the Eastern Palace or the Crown Prince; she needed a position in the Eastern Palace to take proper care of Yuan Bao.

She couldn’t provide Yuan Bao with the best background, but the most she could do was offer the most love.

Although Liang Mu Chen didn’t seem to be a deeply scheming person, she was still an unmarried young woman.

Once she married into the Eastern Palace and became the Crown Princess, she might not remain as simple as she is now.

One day, she might become as scheming as the Empress.

When that time came, how would Yuan Bao fare under Liang Muchen’s care?

Yuan Bao was Liu Zhen’s child, and he would protect him, but if Liang Muchen had her own child, it was hard to say whether Liu Zhen’s heart would shift.

Rongrong’s mood darkened again.

Seeing that her words had upset Rongrong, Su Xin silently massaged her shoulders, not daring to say more.

Even after Su Xin finished, Rongrong’s mind remained troubled.

Her thoughts drifted back to the events of yesterday.

The physician had said that Liang Muchen’s head injury was severe and could not have been caused by an accidental fall into the water.

Moreover, the railing on the wooden plank road wasn’t low; it would have been impossible to fall into the water by accident unless someone had deliberately pushed her.

Was it possible someone had knocked Liang Muchen unconscious and then thrown her into the water?

The thought startled Rongrong.

Someone was trying to harm Liang Muchen.

But who could it be?

Rongrong instinctively began to consider the possibilities and felt a shiver run down her spine.

Liang Muchen, as the future Crown Princess, would have enemies who coveted the Crown Prince.

Liu Zhen had many admirers, such as Xie Yuanrui.

However, in the East Palace, the only person who would be vying for Liang Muchen’s position was Rongrong herself, at least in the eyes of others.

Previously, Rongrong hadn’t thought much of it, but now, reflecting on the situation, she noticed several suspicious points.

The eunuch who had spoken to her when she left Yuhua Palace did seem familiar, but he usually worked in the grass field and only appeared when Yuanbao played cuju (a traditional Chinese game) with him.

The people in the East Palace typically didn’t move around freely, so why had that eunuch appeared outside Yuhua Palace yesterday and informed her that Yuanbao was playing by the pool?

In reality, Yuanbao hadn’t played in the water or been near the pool.

Clearly, that eunuch had deliberately misled her.

Why did he want to lead her to the pool?

Was the intended target not Liang Muchen but herself?

Or perhaps the mastermind intended to kill Liang Muchen and frame her by leading her to the pool?

Thinking about it, if she hadn’t encountered Xie Yuanchu and had continued on, she would have been the one to discover Liang Muchen in the water.

She naturally wouldn’t have ignored the situation and would have tried to rescue Liang Muchen.

However, when everyone arrived and learned that she had discovered Liang Muchen first, all the suspicion would have fallen on her.

Even now, with Xie Yuanchu as a witness, others might still suspect her.

Even Liang Muchen herself might be cursing her as the top rival in her heart!

Her thoughts were in disarray, and she couldn’t write a single coherent sentence.

After sitting at the desk for a while without finishing a sentence, Su Xin knocked on the door again.

“Miss, there’s a message from outside saying that Miss Zhenzhen from the Jingning Marquis’s residence has come to see you.”

Why would Zhenzhen come at this time?

Rongrong was a bit surprised, but she hesitated for a moment before feeling a flicker of joy. “Bring Miss Zhenzhen to Yuhua Palace.”

After giving this order, Rongrong regretted it. Yuhua Palace had never allowed outsiders to enter, especially someone like Zhenzhen, who was a servant from the Marquis’s residence.

However, Su Xin did not show any sign of disagreement and respectfully said, “Yes,” before withdrawing.

Rong Rong let out a sigh of relief, feeling a bit of quiet joy.

She tidied up the small study and then headed towards the tea room.

She had already put away the tea utensils used by the Crown Prince and Yuan Bao and had asked someone to bring in a set of exquisite Jingdezhen tea utensils.

This set was elegant and flawless, with a pure white porcelain surface.

Rong Rong had noticed it and decided to keep it in Yuhua Palace, waiting for the right moment to use it.

Now was the perfect occasion to present it to Zhen Zhen.

Just as she had finished preparing the tea, Zhenzhen arrived.

While Zhen Zhen had seen Rong Rong’s impressive demeanor in the Eastern Palace before, this time, as she was led into Yuhua Palace and saw Rong Rong sitting on a cushion, focused on the gilded tea kettle, carefully skimming off the foam with a tea spoon, she was deeply impressed.

Tea preparation was a mandatory skill for noble sons and daughters in the capital.

The Jingning Marquis’s residence had even hired a tea master to teach the three young ladies of the house.

Xie Yuanchu had considered having Zhen Zhen and Rong Rong learn from the three young ladies to serve him tea in the study.

However, Rong Rong was too impatient and stopped after only ten days of lessons, while Zhen Zhen, being more patient, learned for over two months.

But now, seeing Rong Rong’s graceful and skilled tea-making, Zhen Zhen felt that Rong Rong surpassed her by a significant margin, even more so than the three young ladies from the Marquis’s residence.

Rong Rong’s technique was almost on par with the tea master’s.

When did Rong Rong learn to make tea?

Did she learn it in the Eastern Palace?

But she hadn’t been in the Eastern Palace for long, and with the need to take care of Yuan Bao, how could she have had time to learn tea-making?

Rong Rong, sitting on the cushion, finished dealing with the tea foam and looked up to see Zhen Zhen, smiling and waving at her, “Why are you standing there? Come in and sit down.”

Zhen Zhen came to her senses and walked into the tea room.

Rong Rong gestured to a cushion, “Sit down.”

Although the cushion was exquisitely embroidered and not something used by servants, Zhen Zhen sat down, feeling a mix of emotions.

“Rong Rong, is this the Crown Prince’s sleeping quarters?” Zhen Zhen asked.

Rong Rong nodded.

Zhen Zhen hesitated and asked, “So you… live here regularly?”

Rong Rong nodded again, but then realized what Zhen Zhen might be thinking and quickly explained, “Yuan Bao needs someone to stay with him at night, so I live here with him. The Crown Prince has a separate room.”

“I see.” Zhen Zhen’s doubts were not completely dispelled by this explanation.

Seeing the respect from the Eastern Palace servants towards Rong Rong and her comfortable demeanor in such a luxurious tea room, Zhen Zhen wondered how a four-year-old child’s affection could lead to such treatment.

Zhen Zhen felt that there was a vast difference between her and Rong Rong now, and perhaps it was not appropriate for her to visit today.

Unaware of Zhen Zhen’s thoughts, Rong Rong poured the clear tea into a small tea bowl and handed it to Zhen Zhen.

“Try it.”

Zhen Zhen took the tea bowl and took a sip.

“Why are you drinking so quickly?” Rongrong laughed and was about to tease her a bit, but suddenly noticed the worry in Zhenzhen’s expression and asked, “Is something wrong?”

“It’s nothing with me,” Zhenzhen sighed lightly, “but there’s been a major issue at the Jingning Marquis’s residence.”