The Song family carriage moved steadily and slowly. Song Wan sat inside with lowered eyes, her spirits far from as high as when she had first set out. Heng Zhi and Jinshu were both reluctant to disturb their young miss, so one quietly gazed out the carriage while the other silently bowed her head in complete silence.

“Miss, it’s Concubine Liu.”

Heng Zhi spoke in surprise, pointing at the woman outside in tattered clothes with a face covered in sores, her eyes wide with shock.

“It really is her.”

Song Wan murmured softly, leaning toward Heng Zhi to carefully examine Liu Zhu in the distance. In the past at the Marquis Estate, Song Wan hadn’t often dealt with Liu Zhu and wasn’t particularly familiar with her. But in her few impressions of their encounters, Liu Zhu had always dressed alluringly and youthfully, not at all like a concubine who had borne two children.

Yet the current Liu Zhu wore shabby, worn-out clothes, her face red and swollen with numerous sores and pockmarks. Beside her followed a man with an oil-stained face, a bald head, and a pockmarked complexion. The man strode ahead with large steps, occasionally cursing at Liu Zhu when he saw she hadn’t kept up.

Song Wan listened to the squealing and shrieking cries carried by the wind from the street, then settled back into her seat.

Through the carriage curtain, Heng Zhi saw the beggar man raise his hand and tuck Liu Zhu under his arm, forcefully dragging her forward.

Unable to bear it, she said softly, “Miss, should this servant go forward and offer some assistance?”

Song Wan didn’t answer immediately, seeming to contemplate. Only after the carriage had passed and Liu Zhu’s figure could no longer be seen did she say indifferently, “Cause and effect were determined long ago. No need to interfere.”

Jinshu and Heng Zhi exchanged glances, both feeling somewhat puzzled.

After returning to the Song Estate, Song Wan sat resting on the daybed when Heng Zhi hesitantly spoke, “Is Miss feeling unwell today?”

Song Wan shook her head. “Second Master has passed away.”

“The Jiang family’s Second Master?”

With a soft acknowledgment, Song Wan said, “Today, go find Nanny Lang and have her go to Zhitong Temple to offer some incense and perform a Buddhist ceremony for Second Master.”

The Marquis of Chengyang’s estate would likely have no intention of managing Jiang Yan’s funeral arrangements. She truly couldn’t bear it.

Having received her orders, Heng Zhi also showed a look of regret as she went to find Old Pozi Lang.

Winter gradually grew colder. Song Wan ordinarily disliked going out, so day after day she remained in the estate reading books and playing the qin to pass the time. In her youth she had been fairly lively, but after six years of widowhood her temperament had been worn down considerably. Now she was increasingly lazy about moving around.

By coincidence, today there was heavy snow. Song Wan wrapped herself in the red fox fur cloak bestowed by Imperial Consort Yun and left her courtyard to admire the snow scenery.

When Song Fu entered the courtyard, he saw her nestled in her fur cape, standing dazedly beneath a tree.

“Go prepare a hand warmer for Miss.”

The maid beside Song Fu nodded and hurriedly went to fetch a hand warmer for Song Wan.

“Elder Brother, what brings you here today?”

Seeing Song Fu standing in the courtyard, Song Wan smiled slightly and came forward to greet him.

“Today is my rest day, so I thought I’d come see you. Also, someone entrusted me to bring something for you.”

Handing a small box to Song Wan, Song Fu said, “Eunuch Wan from Dong Chang asked me to give this to you. I don’t know what it is.”

Song Wan was also somewhat curious, but anything from Dong Chang was certainly related to Ji Rong. She lowered her head slightly and opened it in front of Song Fu.

Inside the palm-sized box was a pure gold filigree container embedded with various colorful gems, extremely dazzling. She gently lifted it, and with a click, small drawers the width of a finger sprang out from all four sides of the little box.

“It’s an exquisite item.”

Seeing that Song Wan quite liked it, Song Fu praised softly.

“Indeed exquisite.”

Beneath the box was pressed a small note. Song Wan picked it up and quickly read through it a few times, unable to help revealing a faint smile.

It turned out Ji Rong was saying that this winter he frequently applied the balm she had sent, and his chilblains on his hands and feet hadn’t recurred. Moreover, this winter he hadn’t experienced pain or itching again, so he had especially asked Wan Xiao to find a handy little item to send her to express his gratitude.

Seeing that the balm had truly spared Ji Rong considerable suffering, Song Wan felt delighted and quite pleased.

“If Elder Brother finds it convenient, could you help Wan’er bring some more things to Eunuch Ji Rong?”

“Of course. Supervisor Wan said if you have a reply, just let him know. It should be convenient.”

Song Wan nodded and had Heng Zhi fetch two more jars of the anti-chilblain balm from the storeroom to give to Song Fu.

“This item is quite effective. Tomorrow I’ll write out the formula and give it to the estate’s pharmacy, having them make some to distribute to the nannies doing rough work.”

Song Fu nodded, very supportive.

Since both siblings were in good spirits, Song Wan had Heng Zhi prepare a clay brazier under the covered walkway, and the two admired the scenery while warming wine and drinking together.

Song Fu said, “Now the Crown Prince’s position grows increasingly stable. Jiang Man can no longer create any disturbances. The overall situation seems settled. The estate should remain peaceful for at least another twenty years.”

The Crown Prince was flexible and willing to humble himself. In just over a hundred days, he had coaxed the court officials into willingly pledging their loyalty—truly rare. Though it had some relation to Emperor Wenhui’s sparse offspring, one couldn’t deny the Crown Prince was indeed skilled at winning people over.

Even Song Fu felt the Crown Prince was truly an enlightened ruler, making him willing to devote himself wholeheartedly and be at the Crown Prince’s disposal.

“That would be good.”

Upon hearing this, Song Wan’s brows curved slightly, her heart relaxed.

After the siblings finished their drinks, Song Fu took the items and departed.

By the time he received Song Wan’s return gift, it was already the second day. Shen Qianyu took the box Wan Xiao handed him and couldn’t wait to open it.

Seeing the two familiar porcelain jars inside, he wasn’t disappointed at all. Instead, he excitedly took the items out.

Song Wan’s reply was still very brief, only saying two things: telling Ji Rong to apply the balm more often, not to become careless and give up just because he hadn’t suffered this year, urging him to apply it daily to strive to eliminate this ailment at its root.

Shen Qianyu nodded silently. After opening the porcelain jar, he even had a palace maid find a silver spoon to carefully scoop out a dollop.

Wan Xiao watched his master’s solemn expression, as if performing some important task, repeatedly rubbing his palms and the backs of his hands.

What’s more, he even had the palace maid find thin cloth wraps to cover his hands, waiting with complete devotion for the balm to melt.

Watching and watching, Wan Xiao squinted and couldn’t bear to look anymore.

In the past, when his master walked through the palace under the identity of Ji Rong, during winter when the two of them were tired or thirsty, they would directly reach out and grab snow blocks from the ground to satisfy their hunger and quench their thirst.

Back then, both of them had chilblains on their hands and feet, yet he never saw his master show any signs of pain or itching. Didn’t he still bathe in cold water daily and wash in cold water all the same?

Back then, when he tucked his hands into his sleeves, he’d be called pretentious. Now seeing him like this, Wan Xiao didn’t even know what would be an appropriate description.

Wan Xiao turned his head, truly unable to bear watching anymore.

After an incense stick burned out, a palace maid came forward to clean Shen Qianyu’s palms. Seeing that the scars on his hands had faded considerably, he smiled with satisfaction.

“Your Highness, Minister Luo, Minister Huang, and Minister He have arrived.”

Ji Rong entered the room to report. Shen Qianyu nodded toward Wan Xiao, and the three of them departed together.

The court was currently busy selecting an imperial consort for the Crown Prince. Because the Crown Prince’s consort held such an important position, even the candidate list alone had taken a very long time to draft. Today the list was finally completed, so the three men couldn’t wait to deliver it to the Eastern Palace.

The truth was the Crown Prince’s age had already passed the ideal time. If they delayed further, they feared the Crown Prince might also follow Emperor Wenhui’s example with sparse offspring, creating complications.

As soon as the three men saw the Crown Prince, they presented the list in their hands. Shen Qianyu took it and scanned it briefly, then quickly knitted his brows.