“Chu’er, what did you think of?”

Chu Yi turned his head to ask.

He knew that Chu’er had once had a dream, a dream related to the future.

Many scenes from that dream had been verified one by one.

He valued every word Yun Chu spoke, as well as every opinion she offered.

“Go investigate the details of past imperial examinations, whether Prince Gongxi and the Gui family interfered.” She spoke slowly. “If it’s proven, Prince Gongxi’s faction will be completely defeated.”

Chu Yi immediately said, “Cheng Qi, arrange for people to investigate at once. Act discreetly and avoid alerting them.”

They investigated for three to five days like this, but found nothing.

“Something’s not right.” Chu Yi’s brow furrowed. “Every year’s imperial examinations have some incidents, yet these records have all vanished from the archives together. This is far too suspicious.”

Yun Chu nodded.

The cleaner it was, the more problematic it became.

She smiled faintly. “Isn’t there a hidden blade near Prince Gongxi? Now let’s test whether this blade is sharp.”

Chu Yi was about to speak.

Yun Chu stopped him. “I’m truly suffocating at home. Let me handle this matter.”

Ever since becoming pregnant, she’d been cooped up at home every day with nothing to do. She’d take advantage of this opportunity to go out and about—it would ease both body and mind.

Chu Yi didn’t dare be careless. He arranged for shadow guards to follow her before agreeing to let her go out.

Snow had just fallen in the capital. The red eaves were covered with crystalline white snow, particularly beautiful to behold.

People came and went on the streets, all families out buying New Year goods. Everyone’s face was full of festive joy. In the blink of an eye, it was nearly New Year’s again.

The carriage slowly passed through the streets and soon arrived at the Xie family’s main gate.

Yun Chu lifted the curtain to look.

The once prosperous Xie residence gate had fallen into disrepair. The two characters for “Xie Residence” above were nowhere to be seen, and the two large stone lions had vanished to who knows where.

At that moment, the Xie residence’s main gate let out a creaking sound, like the dull noise from an old person’s chest. Then the gate opened, and an old woman came out with a shovel to clear the snow from the entrance.

This old woman was Yuan Shi.

Yun Chu hadn’t seen Yuan Shi for over a year.

This year had seemingly aged Yuan Shi by ten years. Her hair had turned white, her back was somewhat hunched, and in the cloth bundle on her back, she carried a child.

Calculating the time, this child of Concubine Tao’s was already a year and a half old. Just like in her previous life, the child still couldn’t walk and stared straight ahead with vacant eyes, without a trace of the cleverness that should belong to a child.

Seeing a carriage stop at the entrance, Yuan Shi raised her head to look. When she saw the face revealed at the carriage window, she was immediately stunned, her voice trembling. “Chu’er…”

At the beginning of the year, when Chu’er married, she had brought several children wanting to send betrothal gifts to the prince’s residence, but hadn’t even caught a glimpse of Chu’er’s shadow.

She never imagined that Chu’er, having become a princess consort, would actually appear at the Xie family’s main gate.

Afraid that Yun Chu would leave, Yuan Shi threw down the shovel and rushed over. “Chu’er!”

Yun Chu descended from the carriage, drawing her cloak around her, and spoke softly. “Why is Madam personally carrying a child and sweeping snow? Isn’t there still a servant woman?”

At this mention, Yuan Shi’s tears fell. “The household can’t pay monthly wages. She has a family to feed too. I couldn’t keep delaying her, so I gave her a tael of silver and let her go.”

“Ah, why speak of this? Chu’er, since you’ve passed by the Xie family, come in and sit for a while.” Yuan Shi forced a smile. “Jingyu is long gone. Even if you return to your former in-laws, no one will gossip. Come in quickly. I’ll pour you some hot tea.”

Yun Chu, supported by her maid, stepped inside.

The various scenic features that once adorned this courtyard were now desolate and barren, appearing extremely bleak.

She saw Gan Lai climbing a ladder against the wall in the courtyard, sweeping accumulated snow from the eaves.

Yuan Shi brought out a cup of water. “Thank goodness you bought that manservant for Wei ge’er back then, Chu’er. Without the manservant, who knows who would do this heavy labor.”

Yun Chu held the water cup without drinking and asked with a smile, “Where are the young masters?”

“An ge’er found work as an advisor to a high court official. He can bring back several hundred copper coins each month, so the family won’t starve.” Yuan Shi continued, “Wei ge’er… alas, he’s not ambitious. He was lazy to begin with, and when it gets cold, he says his leg hurts and becomes even lazier, lying on the couch all day. Yun ge’er has become more sensible though. Recently he’s been reading every day, and when he doesn’t understand something, he asks An ge’er.”

As she was speaking, Xie Shiwei came limping out from the back courtyard. “Mother… Mother, I miss Mother so much!”

“Wei ge’er, what nonsense are you shouting!” Yuan Shi’s face was stern. “Look carefully. This is the Princess Consort, the Princess Consort of Prince Pingxi, not your mother!”

“I…” Xie Shiwei looked carefully at Yun Chu, then pressed his lips together. “In such cold weather, the Princess Consort is still willing to come to the Xie family. She must still care about this son of hers. What’s wrong with me calling her Mother?”

Yun Chu shook her head. “Showing great disrespect to the imperial family is a capital offense.”

Xie Shiwei immediately shuddered.

“Princess… Princess Consort…” he began. “When the Princess Consort and the Prince had their wedding, I specially prepared a wedding gift. I’m only able to present it now. I hope the Princess Consort won’t blame me.”

He took out a wood carving from his breast.

Yun Chu immediately remembered—when she was still a Xie family wife, Yu ge’er had secretly lived in the Xie residence, and when he left, he had given her such a wood carving.

Yu ge’er’s wood carving had been clumsy and endearing. Xie Shiwei’s was more refined, and clearly often held and played with in his hand, appearing very smooth and lustrous.

“I’ve been married for a year. The wedding gift is unnecessary.” Yun Chu refused neither harshly nor gently.

Some children could be given one chance, like Xie Shiyun—first, he had little destructive power and posed no danger; second, he was willing to avenge Tingyu’s death, showing some human feeling; and third, being able to study under such conditions made her view him with some admiration.

As for Xie Shiwei, regardless of whether the Xie family was good or bad, rich or poor, he was hopeless mud that couldn’t support a wall. In short, he was thoroughly rotten.

Xie Shiwei opened his mouth wanting to say more when Xie Shiyun came out.

Hearing voices from the front, he thought Xie Shi’an had returned and specially brought his book to ask questions. He hadn’t expected to see Yun Chu.

His heart immediately leaped to his throat.

He was afraid Yun Chu had come to warn him not to get close to the Young County Princess anymore.

But seeing Yun Chu’s amiable expression, he became somewhat worried—worried that Yun Chu would mention the Young County Princess in front of the Xie family.

He had never told anyone in the Xie family about his interactions with the Young County Princess. He feared Xie Shi’an and Xie Shiwei harbored ill intentions…

“I pay my respects to the Princess Consort.”

Xie Shiyun bowed with complex feelings.

Yun Chu nodded faintly without saying much.

He quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

She had just sat for a short while when footsteps came from the entrance, along with San Jiu’s voice: “Young Master, be careful. The snow has melted and the ground is slippery.”

Hearing this, Yun Chu set down her cup and immediately stood up. “Madam, please attend to your business. I’ll take my leave now.”

Yuan Shi immediately tried to persuade her to stay. “An ge’er hasn’t seen you in a long time either. He’ll surely be very happy to see you’ve come…”