In December, Su Luo collected grain from four granaries in Yongle County.

There were about 80,000 dan in total. Some of it was her own private grain reserve, which she could use to prepare for unforeseen circumstances.

In early December, Su Luo still hadn't received any news from Nangong Chiyu; she had sent countless letters.

Sometimes the letters would be returned, with the explanation that heavy snow had blocked the mountains around Beichuan City, and the letters could not be delivered.

Therefore, Su Luo guessed that the reason why Nangong Chiyu was unable to write back to her was because of this.

Looking at the table full of letters sent from the capital to his study, all of them reporting how much profit they had made in their businesses.

Du Siyuan's pharmaceutical factory is in high demand every day. Since the beginning of winter, he has found more than ten processing plants outside. Now, the income of just one pharmaceutical factory is almost on par with that of the Shen's Chamber of Commerce.

Not to mention Su Luo also has a soy sauce factory. She made a plan for Changping Village, and if the drought passes next year, the soy sauce factory will be expanded.

It's used to make baijiu (Chinese white liquor), as well as rice vinegar, cooking wine, and other condiments.

This year's cotton harvest, Fu Man Lou, Wan Xiu Ge—Su Luo's space was already overflowing with her wealth. She still had half of her money stored in Shen's Money House.

Unbeknownst to her, she herself was unaware of how much wealth she actually possessed. If it were to be compared in terms of cash, she could rival the Shen family.

Just then, Su Luo saw Butler Shi rushing in through the window, his face beaming with excitement and joy.

"Your Highness, Your Highness, what great news! He has passed the exam! He has passed the exam! The young master has passed the imperial examination and become a student."

Today is the day the results of the preliminary examinations are announced. Su Luo is busy and cannot go to check, but Zhao Ruyun and Sun Feizhang are going.

Su Luo knew Yan Chuan's skill level without even thinking that this would be no challenge for him.

"As expected, there is great joy at the Chen family today. Steward Shi, give each of the maids and servants in the mansion a reward of ten taels of silver. Everyone has worked hard during Yan Chuan's preparation for the exam."

Ten taels of silver! That's more than the servants earn in a year.

Su Luo was just happy and casually gave them the reward, so everyone working in the Chen family dared to do their best.

"Yes, Your Highness, thank you for the reward."

Butler Shi bowed to Su Luo in gratitude. In order to send Su Luo the news in advance, she had returned before the old lady and others.

After saying that, she took out the letters she had brought back from Fumanlou. They often used pigeons to deliver messages, but they couldn't avoid writing letters.

"Your Highness, these are all business correspondence. Most of them are from the Shen Family Chamber of Commerce, and some are from Wanxiu Pavilion, you..."

"Put it down. Let me look at this list of goods first, then I'll look at these."

Before Butler Shi could finish speaking, Su Luo interrupted him. However, seeing that he was still there, Su Luo put down her pen and asked.

"Is there anything else?"

Butler Shi had nothing else to say but wanted to remind Su Luo.

"Your Highness, among those letters, one is from Master Xie, and another is from Beichuan City. Would you like to read them first?"

Butler Shi's eyes were so sharp, how could he not see that Su Luo was always worried about Prince Yu?

They finally received a letter from Beichuan City. Although it was sent in the name of their estate, it was hard to say whether Prince Yu was hiding something and doing it in this way.

Upon hearing Butler Shi's words, the goods list in front of Su Luo instantly went blank. She put down her book and pen and hurriedly flipped through the pile of more than thirty letters.

In that instant, Su Luo felt her hands were powerless, filled with numbness, and for the first time, she felt that she was moving so slowly.

When she turned to the envelope addressed to Beichuan City, there was no name Nangong Chiyu on the outside, but Su Luo recognized Nangong Chiyu's handwriting.

This is his letter, written in his own hand.

Su Luo opened it and was relieved to see what was inside.

Nangong Chiyu let her know he was safe and sound, and also received several letters she had written, but because of the heavy snow in Beichuan City, he was unable to deliver the letters to her.

As for the war situation between the two countries, just as Su Luo had predicted, the war had ended due to the heavy snow. The snow in Beichuan was enough to cover half a grown man, making it difficult for him to move around.

This year, with cotton-padded clothes to keep warm, almost no one died from the cold. It was just that heavy snow blocked the mountains, and their food supplies were insufficient.

The food they are currently eating comes from the two farms that Su Luo cultivated in Beichuan City, and thankfully, they still have the grain from those two farms.

The issue of provisions was a matter of military intelligence, and he feared that the Northern Liang people would intercept the letter, which was why he did not write it to Su Luo in his own name.

After reporting that everything was safe, Nangong Chiyu wanted to ensure that the grain supplies were delivered to Beichuan City in time when the snow melted after the New Year. He also reported this to the court, but hoped that Su Luo could also think of more ways to help.

Finally, there was a secret message he wrote to Su Luo, saying that he missed her.

After reading the letter, Su Luo finally relaxed and a long-lost smile of relief appeared on her face.

"Steward Shi, today is a double celebration. Each person in the manor will receive an additional ten taels of silver as a reward."

Su Luo smiled and put the letter into her sleeve. When she saw Zhao Ruyun and the others return, she immediately ran out to tell Zhao Ruyun the good news.

“Grandma, Grandma, Huai Xu wrote a letter. He said he is fine and there is nothing wrong.”

Having just learned that Yanchuan had passed the imperial examination, and with that fondness still lingering, now there's news of Huaixu. It seems the Heavenly Master is favoring the Chen family.

"Did Huai Xu mention any injuries? Did they catch a cold? Are their blankets thick enough?"

Zhao Ruyun asked Su Luo everything she could think of.

"Don't worry, Mother-in-law, he's fine. You don't need to worry."

After saying that, Su Luo called Yan Chuan and Yi Huan: "Yan Chuan, Yi Huan, quickly help Grandma inside, we'll talk about your fathers inside."

"Yes, Mother!"

After Yan Chuan passed the preliminary examination, he wore a proper long gown, no longer the kind worn in the academy, and was recognized as a student of the preliminary examination by the Nanning Kingdom.

If he passes the imperial examination and becomes a scholar, his family will be exempt from taxes. However, Su Luo already has the right to tax exemption; otherwise, she could have obtained this privilege by relying on Yan Chuan in the future.

"Butler Shi, come here too, I need your help with something."

If Su Luo and Zhao Ruyun wanted to discuss family matters, it would be inappropriate for Steward Shi to go over, but since Su Luo had called him, it meant she wanted him to help.

"yes!"

Back in the hall, Su Luo told Zhao Ruyun and the two children everything in the letter, and they learned about Nangong Chiyu's situation.

Upon hearing that Nangong Chiyu was currently in dire need of food supplies, Zhao Ruyun's first thought was of her family's several granaries.

"Luo Luo, we have more food than we can eat. Why don't we give it all to Huai Xu and the others? If they don't have enough to eat, how will they have the strength to resist the enemy?"

With Su Luo around, Zhao Ruyun felt as if Su Luo could accomplish anything.

“Mother-in-law, I can manage to send cotton-padded clothes, but sending grain is too much. I can’t do it right now. We can only wait for the imperial court to make arrangements.”