The palace banquet inevitably involved overt and covert conflicts.

Between the palace consorts and among the various noble ladies, needles hidden in cotton, exchanges back and forth—it was quite lively.

After Yun Chu had eaten and drunk her fill, she suddenly felt tired. Normally at this time she would already be asleep, and now she could barely hold on.

Just then the Emperor stood up, and when everyone wasn’t paying attention, Li Jingshu also quietly rose and left her seat.

Yun Chu gave Chu Yi a meaningful look.

Chu Yi stood up and helped Yun Chu to her feet. The two children also rose with them. After the family bid farewell to the Empress, they left the palace early.

Yun Chu fell asleep in the carriage.

Suddenly she woke with a start and sat up straight.

Chu Yi, who was lying on the floor and hadn’t yet slept, was reading letters by the weak candlelight. He immediately tossed aside the letters and moved closer to her. “Where do you feel unwell? Are you hungry or thirsty?”

“Today is New Year’s Eve.” Yun Chu slapped her forehead. “How could I forget about staying up to welcome the new year? I still need to give the children their New Year’s money.”

Chu Yi laughed. “After you fell asleep, the two little ones also went to sleep. The New Year’s money you prepared, I placed under their pillows. They’ll see it when they wake up tomorrow morning.”

Yu-geer now lived alone in the Star Gazing Pavilion, while Changsheng didn’t yet have her own courtyard and stayed in the west wing of the main courtyard, accompanied by maids.

Hearing that Chu Yi had already taken care of it, Yun Chu finally relaxed and lay back down.

She slept very well that night. The next day was the first day of the new year.

On the first day they entered the palace to pay New Year’s respects, on the second day they returned to the Yun family to pay respects, and the third and fourth days also had various activities, though Yun Chu didn’t participate due to her pregnancy.

On the sixth day of the new year, Princess Qinghua left the capital, leaving her legitimate eldest son Meng Shen at Prince Pingxi’s residence. On the seventh day he would formally begin attending the Imperial Academy.

Early on the morning of the seventh day, Yun Chu deliberately rose early to personally see Yu-geer and Meng Shen onto the carriage. After watching the two children depart, she prepared to go back to sleep.

But she noticed a small figure hiding by the residence’s courtyard wall.

Qiutong called out coldly in a loud voice, “Who’s hiding there?”

The figure immediately emerged—it was Xie Shiyun.

He walked before Yun Chu. “Greetings to the Princess Consort. These are New Year’s gifts I’ve prepared for the Princess Consort and the Young County Princess.”

He handed over two pieces of calligraphy.

“Peace and Joy.”

“Mother and Child Safe.”

Two pieces of calligraphy, very proper and neat—clearly written by a child.

Yun Chu knew that he had only formally begun studying for a little over half a year. To be able to write such brush calligraphy was already quite good.

“Please don’t disdain them, Princess Consort. I—I’ll be going now.”

Having given the calligraphy, Xie Shiyun turned and walked away.

“Wait.” Yun Chu called out to him, grabbed a large handful of candy from a servant’s hand and pressed it into his. “Even if you don’t like eating candy, you must eat some. On New Year’s one must eat sweet things.”

Xie Shiyun’s nose stung with emotion.

Last time at the Prince’s residence, the Princess Consort had rewarded him and told him to buy candy, and he had said he didn’t like eating candy.

In truth, he loved eating candy. Every time his concubine mother had money, she would go to the street to buy candy for him to eat, but his concubine mother was dead.

He sniffled and said, “I thank the Princess Consort for her grace.”

He clutched the candy and slowly walked away.

Yun Chu had someone carefully store the calligraphy “Mother and Child Safe”—this was what she most hoped for now.

Then she took the calligraphy “Peace and Joy” to give to Changsheng.

Chu Changsheng and Xie Xian had just finished their lessons. The two girls were talking about something and laughing happily.

“Changsheng, this is a New Year’s gift that Yun-geer just brought for you.” Yun Chu walked in and handed over the calligraphy.

Xie Xian spoke up. “On the first day of the new year, Shiyun came to my house and also gave me a piece of calligraphy, also with the four characters ‘Peace and Joy.'”

Yun Chu silently sighed. After Tingyu’s death, Xie Shiyun had also become a child with meticulous thoughts. Afraid she would overthink it, he even gave two identical gifts.

“I was too careless and didn’t prepare anything.” Chu Changsheng rested her chin on her hand and thought. “Yun is studying, so I’ll give him a new inkstone. Mother, is that all right?”

Yun Chu naturally nodded.

Chu Changsheng entrusted Xie Xian to deliver the gift. Xie Xian agreed, but about going to the Xie family, she still felt somewhat afraid in her heart—afraid of encountering her former eldest brother Xie Shi’an.

She thought for a moment, wrote a note, jumped down from the carriage, and spent two copper coins to have a beggar deliver it to the Xie family.

Two copper coins could buy two large white steamed buns. The beggar knocked on the Xie family’s door and directly handed in the items. “For someone named Xie Shiyun.”

The one receiving the items was Yuan Shi.

Yuan Shi’s father-in-law, husband, and son Xie Jingyu had all been scholars. She could tell at a glance that the inkstone was quite valuable.

Along with the inkstone was a note that read: “Sheng’s return gift.”

She hurried to find Xie Shiyun. “Yun-geer, who is this Sheng? When did you become acquainted with a noble person?”

Xie Shiyun snatched it away in one motion, the corners of his mouth revealing a smile. He immediately hid the inkstone under his desk and said, “A friend I met last time when I was begging for food.”

At the mention of begging for food, Yuan Shi’s heart filled with guilt. It was her uselessness that had forced her own grandson to go out begging.

“Grandmother, don’t tell eldest brother.” Xie Shiyun lowered his head. “It’s because I made a mistake that eldest brother forbade you from giving me food and drink. If you mention my begging, eldest brother will surely feel guilty.”

Yuan Shi nodded. “As long as you don’t blame your eldest brother, your good brotherly relationship is stronger than anything.”

Xie Shiyun nodded obediently.

That evening, Yun Chu ordered the kitchen to prepare a table of dishes and had Meng Shen come to her courtyard to eat.

Chu Changsheng and Yu-geer entered the warm pavilion chatting and laughing. Meng Shen fell back a few steps and sat properly in the lowest seat.

Yun Chu smiled and asked, “Shen-geer, how did you find the Imperial Academy today?”

She saw Meng Shen’s expression freeze for a moment, then he said, “Thank you for your concern, maternal aunt. I feel the teachers at the Imperial Academy have deeper learning than my previous teacher.”

“That’s good then.” Yun Chu served him a piece of fish. She didn’t know if it was her imagination, but she always felt something wasn’t quite right with Meng Shen.

For several days in a row, Meng Shen dined at Yun Chu’s place.

At first Yun Chu might have thought she was overthinking, but with Meng Shen’s spirits remaining low for so many consecutive days, she realized that perhaps something had happened at the Imperial Academy.

After the meal ended, Yun Chu looked at her son. “Yu-geer, has your cousin Shen quarreled with anyone at the Imperial Academy?”

Chu Hongyu shook his head. “Shen-ge is amazing. Teacher Wang especially likes Shen-ge.”

Yun Chu pondered—could it be that she was overthinking?

The next day when entering the palace to pay respects, from the palace gate to Changqiu Palace, with a slight detour, one could pass by the Imperial Academy.

Yun Chu had the palace attendants carrying the sedan chair take a detour.

Although Princess Qinghua wasn’t a proper person, Meng Shen was a good child.

Since he was living at the Prince’s residence, she as his maternal aunt had to take responsibility.

She lifted the sedan curtain to look outside. It happened to be the Imperial Academy’s class break, and she saw several children about Yu-geer’s age playing and making noise at the entrance to the study hall.

She looked carefully but couldn’t see Yu-geer anywhere.

So she held onto a maid’s hand to descend from the sedan chair, walked a few steps, and through the window saw the small child sitting in the study hall, reading.

While others were playing.

He was studying diligently.

When they first met, he had been a playful child.

But in this past year or so, he had grown. He was reading at every moment—in the blink of an eye he seemed to have grown up.

Yun Chu’s face revealed a proud smile.

Her gaze shifted, and she saw Meng Shen walking out of the study hall with an unhappy expression.