Regarding Princess Yanling and Munuha’s affair, everyone kept silent with tacit understanding, none daring to discuss it behind closed doors. His Majesty’s ambiguous attitude made most who knew about the incident pretend ignorance.

Munuha also remained in the diplomatic guesthouse, reluctant to venture out. It wasn’t fear of outside discussion or slander – as a man, why would he care about rumors? Rather, he felt something was amiss. Why had Princess Yanling fallen victim to a reverse scheme?

Was it Shen Xihe who schemed against Princess Yanling, or did Shen Xihe have secret help in escaping?

Various questions surfaced, leaving Munuha with an inexplicable sense of foreboding that he couldn’t shake.

There was also why he had lost control upon entering the room that day. The suspicious fragrance aroused his doubts.

Unfortunately, Prince Dai’s mansion wasn’t somewhere they could investigate, and to prevent exposure, they dared not let Emperor Youning investigate deeply. He couldn’t claim he was schemed against, so no one investigated the incense in the room.

These suspicious points convinced him someone was watching him with ill intent. He could only hide in the diplomatic guesthouse and observe secretly.

His hiding these past days left Xiao Huayong without options. Munuha had no relatives or friends in the capital to lure him out, and with Emperor Youning’s people watching him, Xiao Huayong couldn’t openly storm the diplomatic guesthouse to capture him.

Emperor Youning had been furious with Munuha these past days and wouldn’t summon him.

Though he hated Munuha, he wasn’t hasty. He simply let Munuha relax for a few days and lower his guard.

These days, Shen Xihe stayed in her princess mansion collecting snow water, picking plum blossoms for pickling, and corresponding with her father and brother. When Xue Jinqiao occasionally visited and caught her painting, she begged Shen Xihe to teach her.

Due to childhood events, Xue Jinqiao had delayed her early education. Later, as she improved, she grew impatient with such studies, focusing solely on martial arts to ensure no one could bully her again. Her somewhat neat handwriting came only from her great-aunt’s strict supervision.

Now, seeing Shen Xihe paint sparked her interest. Though Shen Xihe had never taught anyone and her painting skills weren’t exceptional, she was more than adequate as a beginner’s teacher, so she patiently instructed Xue Jinqiao.

“The Princess is truly gentle with Seventh Miss,” Biyu couldn’t help sighing after Xue Jinqiao left that day.

“Seventh Miss will be my sister-in-law, naturally I should be close to her,” Shen Xihe smiled as she saw Qi Pei being pushed over by servants.

After nearly a month of care, Qi Pei had greatly improved, his face showing some snow-like luster.

“This humble one comes to bid farewell to the Princess,” Qi Pei said.

“You’ve just finished your medicine course. With the cold weather and slippery ground, it’s not suitable to set out,” Shen Xihe reminded him.

“This humble one isn’t leaving the capital. My old servant has found me and secured a residence here,” Qi Pei explained. “As an unrelated man, I stayed before only due to urgent circumstances. Now I cannot remain in the Princess’s mansion.”

Hearing this, Shen Xihe nodded: “If so, then go.”

Qi Pei was silent for a moment before saying: “Princess, this humble one is disabled and knows I shouldn’t presume, but I still brazenly offer myself to serve in your household, to work for the Princess.”

Shen Xihe raised her eyebrows. She had never thought of recruiting Qi Pei. He was a youth even younger than her by a year. She saved him because it involved the Yang family, which happened to be an obstacle she needed to remove.

Later, it was Qi Pei’s request, approved by Emperor Youning, that Shen Xihe didn’t refuse, thus taking him in for treatment.

“I don’t keep useless people by my side,” she had no compassion for strangers.

Hearing this, Qi Pei instead showed a slight smile. He didn’t know how others would interpret Shen Xihe’s words, but he felt that though they seemed cold, they showed she didn’t discriminate between him and the able-bodied.

She didn’t measure worth by physical completeness, only by ability.

“I beg the Princess to give this humble one a chance to prove himself,” Qi Pei’s eyes were bright and determined.

“What kind of opportunity do you want?” Shen Xihe asked.

“The Qi family has traded for generations. This humble one grew up immersed in business. The Princess was born wealthy and surely doesn’t lack money, but this humble one hopes to ensure the Northwest Prince’s mansion also never lacks funds,” Qi Pei declared firmly.

Did the Northwest Prince’s mansion lack money? Of course not, but that wasn’t what Qi Pei meant.

Shen Xihe’s gaze calmly surveyed Qi Pei. After several breaths, she said quietly: “Do you know what you’re saying?”

“Princess, this humble one doesn’t question the Northwest Prince’s or Princess’s loyalty to the throne. But when life and death are at stake, isn’t it better to be prepared?” Qi Pei said respectfully.

The implication was that even without planning a rebellion, stockpiling wealth could help handle sudden changes and crises.

“Have you considered what your proposal means?” Shen Xihe asked quietly.

“That day, the Princess told me to live and bring glory to my ancestors, to comfort my brother and sister-in-law’s spirits in heaven,” Qi Pei said. “These days, this humble one has been thinking about the future. After careful consideration, I wish to serve the Princess.

The Princess and the Northwest Prince’s mansion have reached a point of success or death. I naturally know that my desire to serve the Princess also means success or death.”

He wanted to live on, yet couldn’t be trapped by past trauma. He could only seek new purposes to strive for, and Shen Xihe’s words about developing the Qi family gave the best meaning to survival.

But it was too difficult to walk this path alone. He needed support and protection, which meant he had to choose to manage finances for those in power.

Once involved in power struggles, one inevitably loses freedom of choice. The Shen clan had reached a point of either ascending to heaven or descending to hell. If he chose to serve others, he would eventually oppose his benefactor Shen Xihe, so he might as well choose her.

He would see whether the Qi family would rise with the Shens or be destroyed together.

“Since you understand all this and still choose to serve me, I’ll give you a chance,” Shen Xihe said after consideration. “I’ll give you one hundred gold pieces, with a one-year term. If you can turn one hundred gold into a thousand, I’ll accept you.”

“This humble one accepts the command,” Qi Pei agreed immediately.

Shen Xihe had Mo Yuan and Ah Xi escort him to his residence, agreeing that he could decide when to collect the money, with a one-year limit starting from that day.

“Princess, can he succeed?” Ziyu asked curiously.

To them, Qi Pei was just a pitiful child. Even the prosperous Independent Pavilion only made a thousand gold in profit annually, but after deducting costs, the actual net profit from both shops combined was only about five hundred gold.

This was in the capital, where Shen Xihe’s fragrances were genuinely good, earning the pursuit of noble ladies and gentlewomen.

“Whether he succeeds or fails, let him try,” Shen Xihe didn’t focus on the result.

The gloom in Qi Pei’s eyes had noticeably lessened. She gave him a chance to better understand himself. Success would be wonderful. Failure wouldn’t negate her previous careful advice.

Not giving him a chance at all would have been a fatal rejection for Qi Pei.