Rebirth: So what if my husband is a little crazy? He loves me.

Chapter 217 Real and Fake Fertility-Enhancing Drugs

The political situation in the court quietly changed due to Consort Zheng's illness. Prince Yi began to move around more, and it seemed that the emperor had no objections.

Crown Prince Li Heng had been tricked and was restless and agitated from praying for blessings all day long. Li Heng just hoped that this awful period would end soon.

Zhou Qianqian served the Empress meticulously during the day, earning high praise from Empress Ning.

At night, she would use every means to pull Li Heng to her bed and serve him tenderly. Li Heng enjoyed it, but after each time, he would make Zhou Qianqian drink the medicine to help him conceive.

Zhou Qianqian always obediently finished drinking it.

Li Heng was very satisfied with this, unaware that the medicine had been replaced with a real fertility-enhancing drug.

The selection of imperial concubines was thus put on hold, and Consort Zheng's illness began to gradually improve. The emperor was overjoyed and rewarded the Imperial Observatory, and ordered the harem to continue praying for blessings.

After enduring more than ten days, Shen Li was finally able to eat meat openly. By this time, she had returned to the Gu residence and still went to the imperial palace for a short visit every day before returning.

Gu Chang'an was so busy that he was rarely seen, only returning home to sleep at night.

However, Shen Li heard that the implementation of the government's policies had already shown initial results, and the people were full of praise for them, while the local gentry and wealthy households were grumbling and calculating whether they should continue to own so much land next year.

Shen Li and Cheng Ruojin had met a few times. Cheng Ruojin would come over to visit from time to time, and Shen Li got along quite well with her. They often exchanged food or small trinkets to keep each other entertained.

The two would even chat about gossip in Beijing and make plans to go on outings together.

Shen Li originally wanted to go sightseeing near the palace with Gu Chang'an, but now it seems that Gu Chang'an is not available, so she invited Cheng Ruojin and her sister to go together.

The day before the outing, she went to the imperial palace to teach young Li Che to draw. When he heard about the outing, he asked, "Is Miss Shen going too?"

"Yes, she loves to play and keeps asking to go hunting."

"Can Master take me there?" Li Che's clear eyes revealed a look of longing.

"I'm afraid that won't work. His Majesty and the Empress will not allow it, and I cannot bear the responsibility if anything goes wrong." Shen Li's expression became more serious as she said this.

She never expected that Li Che, who usually seemed so composed, would enjoy going on outings. She wished she hadn't said anything.

“Then I will go and beg the Empress Dowager. If she agrees, then Master will not be able to refuse.” Li Che immediately thought of the key point.

Shen Li was both amused and exasperated: "I've never seen Your Highness so playful before."

"Go...go see the scenery outside so you can paint." Li Che avoided looking at Shen Li.

"Then Your Highness must first persuade Her Majesty." Shen Li shrugged; she wouldn't help.

"Okay." Li Che's reply was full of energy, because he had always been decisive and wouldn't act recklessly since he was a child, so his mother trusted him completely.

After finishing her lecture, Shen Li left the palace and returned to the Hanlin Academy. When she got home in the afternoon, she received a message from the Empress through a eunuch, instructing her to take good care of Li Che.

She shook her head slightly; that little one really did have a way with things.

"Lianqiao, go back to the Shen family and ask your mother to borrow some soldiers from the garrison. Get some elite soldiers that she has personally trained. They will come with us up the mountain tomorrow," Shen Li instructed.

Although the Gu family also had its own soldiers, Gu Chang'an's foundation was still shallow and the strength of his soldiers was not as good as that of the Shen family. Moreover, the Shen family's soldiers were all selected and trained by his mother, and they were stronger than the elite soldiers of the three major camps.

"Sister-in-law, are we going on an outing tomorrow?" Liu Yue heard the imperial edict and approached the eunuch after he left. "Can you take me with you? I want to go out and have some fun too."

"No, I have important guests with me tomorrow. If anything goes wrong, I'll lose my head. I don't have time to worry about you." Shen Li refused without even thinking.

"I can take care of myself, I don't need to bother you, cousin-in-law." Liu Yue said, reaching out to tug at Shen Li's sleeve.

Shen Li slightly raised her hand and looked down at her: "I heard that your aunt and uncle want to find you a good marriage. Your cousin and I are helping you look for someone. Do you have anyone in mind?"

"This...this..." Liu Yue felt a little guilty upon hearing this and withdrew her hand, saying, "I didn't..."

"If not, that's easy to handle. Marriage is a major life event, decided by parents and matchmakers. Since you've entrusted it to us, you just need to wait to get married." Shen Li's tone was almost devoid of emotion, and her expression was also very indifferent.

"No..." Liu Yue quickly shook her head when she sensed something was wrong: "I have someone I like, so there's no need for you to bother me, cousin and cousin-in-law."

"That's too formal. You and your husband are close relatives, so you should help each other. Just tell me who you like, and I'll make the decision for you." Shen Li had no intention of letting her off the hook.

"This...I..." Liu Yue hesitated, unsure if now was the right time to speak.

"Does my cousin have any concerns?" Shen Li raised an eyebrow and said, "Then go back and think about it. Tell me when you've made up your mind."

"Okay, thank you, cousin-in-law." Liu Yue finally breathed a sigh of relief, now she could go back and discuss it with her parents.

Peony snorted only after she had walked away, "Let her keep daydreaming."

"Miss, that Consort Zhou has promised her that she can come into the manor as a concubine, so you should be careful," Yu Die reminded her from the side.

"You could fool her with that, but you actually believed it?" Shen Li tapped Yu Die's head. "Do you think it's so easy to get into the Gu family?"

"Hmm." Yu Die covered her forehead and said, "You mean that concubine lied to her?"

Shen Li remained noncommittal.

She is still officially the Crown Prince's person, at least for the time being, and hasn't shown any flaws. Even the Crown Prince is trying his best to win her over, so how could Zhou Qianqian ruin this relationship for Liu Yue?

Even if we take a step back and assume the worst, Zhou Qianqian can't bear the consequences of provoking her, especially at this crucial moment when the Crown Prince is at a disadvantage.

"Then wasn't she being used and even helping the man count the money?" Yu Die suddenly realized. She had seen Liu Yue dreaming of marrying into the family and having children for the adults more than once.

"She thought she could get involved in court intrigues with just a little bit of cleverness. But the people here are all ruthless; who can tell the truth?" Shen Li said, feeling exhausted.

Yu Die nodded, "I can really learn a lot from Miss."

"My lord, the embroidery pattern for the official robes is finished. I've added gold and silver threads; please take a look." Caiyun walked out of the side room with the embroidery pattern in her hand.

"It's really beautiful, Sister Caiyun has such good craftsmanship." Shen Li held the embroidery pattern in her hand and examined it against the light. The pair of egrets with added gold and silver threads looked much more spirited, and their eyes looked bright.

"You flatter me, sir. These are just minor skills of mine." Caiyun was a little shy from the praise.

"Sister is too modest. Look how pretty she is," Shen Li asked the maid beside her.

The maids all nodded in approval, but Yu Die was more cautious: "Miss, I noticed that the officials' court robes are all made to be simple, to show that they are honest and upright. Isn't this too ostentatious?"

Caiyun felt a little awkward upon hearing this. She didn't understand it and just wanted to make the embroidery look nice.