The dawn of early winter arrived later and later.

It also became increasingly difficult for Yun Chu to crawl out of her warm bed.

However, she had her own principles to uphold. After squinting her eyes for a moment, she got up and put on plain clothes, following Qiutong to the courtyard to practice martial arts.

Since she had started practicing martial arts, half a year had passed. She discovered that her strength had grown increasingly powerful, and her reactions had become increasingly agile. Though she still couldn’t reach the level of fighting ten opponents alone, protecting herself was no longer a problem at all.

The maids Tingxue and Tingfeng who practiced martial arts with her had also become much stronger physically than before.

“Next, this servant will begin teaching Miss how to use the short sword.”

Qiutong also held a short sword in her hand. She demonstrated a set of sword techniques before Yun Chu, then taught her carefully, move by move.

With a foundation established, Yun Chu learned faster and faster.

“Mother, what are you doing?”

A child’s voice rang out in the morning light.

Yun Chu turned her head and saw the little one lying at the doorway, his small head poking out, looking over here curiously.

Tingxue quickly went over and draped a thick outer robe over the young master.

“So Mother practices martial arts every morning. I’ve been living with Mother for so long, and I’m only finding out now.” The little one pouted. “I want to learn too.”

Yun Chu sheathed her short sword and walked over to pick him up. “Of course you can learn, but you must first take good care of your health.”

“My health is already great.” The little one nestled in Yun Chu’s embrace. “Learning martial arts is men’s business. Mother, you shouldn’t learn it anymore—it’s really too hard. Right now Father King can protect you, and when Father King grows old, I’ll be grown up and I can protect Mother.”

Yun Chu felt sweeter than if she had eaten honey.

She carried the child inside and dressed him. “You focus on studying well for now. When it’s time to learn martial arts, naturally you’ll be able to learn.”

Having practiced for half a year, she knew how arduous martial arts training was. She couldn’t bear for the child to suffer.

After getting dressed and eating breakfast, Yun Chu sent Yu’er to the other side of the door opening. Steward Cheng took the little one to the front courtyard, then sent him to the Imperial Academy.

The sky had already brightened considerably.

Yun Chu woke the little girl from bed. “Changsheng, get up. After breakfast, Mother will take you to a fun place.”

The little girl’s confused big eyes blinked, and it took quite a while before she was fully awake.

She sat obediently on the bed. She didn’t simply let Yun Chu dress her—she put on what she could by herself. She was incredibly well-behaved.

Yun Chu was taking the child to the shelter.

Today was the first day the shelter officially accepted orphans.

There would be many children there. Being with children of the same age would be good for Changsheng’s physical and mental well-being.

She brought her personal attendants Tingxue and Qiutong, along with four guards, and took a carriage toward the shelter on the outskirts of the capital.

After traveling for about half an hour, she saw that rows of houses had been built on the shelter’s grounds. Walls enclosed the buildings, and there was also a low mountain and a lake. With mountains and water, the view was refreshing and pleasant.

“Chu’er, you’ve come.”

Yun Qin walked ahead to welcome Yun Chu’s arrival.

Though she was several years older than Yun Chu and was her cousin, her branch of the family was too distant. She absolutely didn’t dare put on airs as an older cousin in front of Yun Chu.

“Cousin Qin is too polite.” Yun Chu got out of the carriage holding the child. “Is everything ready?”

After taking charge of the shelter, Yun Qin had moved out of her natal family’s home. She ate and lived at the shelter, and all matters here were managed by Yun Qin.

“Everything is ready.” Yun Qin said with a smile. “We’re just waiting for you to unveil the plaque.”

As she spoke, her gaze swept over the child in Yun Chu’s arms. She wondered whose child this was and why she was so close to Chu’er.

The Xie family had a little girl about this age. Could this be the Xie family’s child?

But regardless of who this child was, it wasn’t something she, a distant cousin, could inquire about.

Yun Qin led Yun Chu’s group to the main entrance.

Looking up, she saw a plaque hanging above the gate, covered by red cloth.

At the entrance stood many children dressed in rags. The oldest was around ten years old, and the youngest was still an infant, held in the arms of a shelter worker.

A small portion of these children had been cruelly sent here by their families.

Most were orphans who wandered and begged. After hearing about the shelter’s existence, they had agreed to come here to see what the situation was.

Yun Chu handed Changsheng to Tingxue to hold.

The little girl had already become familiar with Tingxue and the others, so being held by someone else wouldn’t be a problem.

Yun Chu walked up the steps and stood beneath the plaque, looking at the large group of homeless orphans standing at the entrance.

“I am Yun Chu. Some of you may recognize me, but you don’t know what I have experienced.” Her gentle voice flowed like a babbling brook into everyone’s ears. “At a certain moment in the past, I fell into endless darkness. It was a child’s laughter that pulled me out of that darkness. To me, children are the purest beings in this world… Perhaps it was from that moment that a seed was planted in my heart. I wanted to save homeless children, to create a warm home for them.”

She reached out and pulled down the red silk cloth, revealing three characters: Hall of Compassion for Orphans.

“From now on, the Hall of Compassion for Orphans is your home.” She said with a smile. “Perhaps you have resented life, perhaps you’ve thought of giving up on your own lives, but I want to ask you to continue believing that each and every one of you is the most unique existence in this world. In the past, you were alone. From now on, you are family… No matter how cold the winter is, we will eventually welcome the spring when flowers bloom.”

When she finished speaking, those children with guarded expressions slowly let down their defenses and looked curiously inside the gate.

Yun Chu smiled. “Children who decide to stay here, come inside to register your names, then follow me to collect bedding and clothes. Don’t delay mealtime.”

Aside from those infants abandoned by their parents who couldn’t make choices, the older children looked at each other, all somewhat hesitant.

“What’s there to fear…” one of the older children said in a low voice. “This is only the first day. Even if they’re bad people, they won’t reveal their true colors this quickly. At the very least, we can get a meal, and we can take bedding and clothes with us. No matter how you look at it, we’re the ones benefiting. Let’s go, let’s go inside!”

With the oldest child taking the lead, the other children immediately followed.

Yun Qin sat at the entrance, registering them. “What’s your name, where are you from, why did you come to the Hall of Compassion for Orphans alone… It’s okay if you don’t remember. We’re registering this information to process household registration for you…”

The children who had filled out their information followed Yun Chu inside.

As soon as they entered, these children felt that this place was completely different from a broken-down temple. The buildings were new, the tables and chairs inside were all new, and they could vaguely see neatly arranged beds in the side rooms.

“Boys and girls, stand separately.” Yun Chu stood at the front. “Form orderly lines, one by one.”

At this moment, Chen Defu had people use handcarts to bring the newly purchased bedding and clothes. More than a dozen handcarts were piled full.

The scent of sun-dried cotton entered the children’s nostrils. Each of them showed expressions of disbelief.

Such new bedding was for them?

It seemed there was also a fragrant aroma at the tip of their noses—it was the smell of meat!

This group of children’s mouths immediately began to water.