With her head down, pounding and boiling the medicine, Lu Qiqi's eyes were almost blurry.

She and Nineteen finally managed to finish making the frostbite ointment before having a late-night snack.

She beckoned to Nineteen and said, "Come here, let me try it on you first. This medicine works really fast once you get it."

Previously, Lu Qiqi had noticed the frostbite on Shijiu's hands. That day, during the snowball fight, the two of them were like wild horses, throwing snowballs at each other wantonly.

The person wasn't hurt by the snowballs, but their hands were freezing.

Nineteen also had to prepare meals for Song Yanqing every day, so her situation was naturally much more serious than Song Yanqing's.

Nineteen, who had been busy all day, was surprised to find that Lu Qiqi would apply the frostbite medicine to him as soon as it was ready.

For a moment, he was afraid that the pus on his hands would frighten Lu Qiqi.

He scratched his head nervously, looking embarrassed. "May I have some, village head, so I can use it when I get back?"

Lu Qiqi was all too familiar with his expression. From childhood to adulthood, whenever her junior brothers and sisters committed a crime and dared not go back to their master, they would stand in front of her just like Shijiu.

Lu Qiqi naturally wouldn't let him leave so easily, so she pretended to be angry and said, "Let me see your hand."

Seeing that he couldn't escape, Nineteen could only extend his left hand, which wasn't so ugly, in front of her.

His fingers were swollen into little chubby pieces, and his middle and ring fingers looked scratched, leaving several broken marks.

Lu Qiqi handed him the frostbite medicine and told him to apply it himself.

Nineteen took the frostbite medicine, then turned his back and walked to the low table before applying the medicine to the injured and frostbitten area.

The cool touch instantly enveloped the area where the medicine was applied.

Nineteen looked up in surprise and said, "Village Chief, this medicine feels so cool and comfortable when applied!"

Of course, Lu Qiqi added not only mint to the frostbite medicine, but also safflower and the divine spring water that was a gift from heaven.

Lu Qiqi smiled and said, "Keep this box of ointment safe and use it yourself. It won't be as effective as this when you make frostbite medicine later."

After all, she didn't have any expensive safflower on hand to grind into powder and make frostbite medicine.

Nineteen didn't understand the reason, but he felt that this was a custom-made gift from Lu Qiqi. He chuckled and said, "I don't give it to others, I just give some to my brothers."

Lu Qiqi thought to himself, he was the nineteenth child, if it were given to his older brothers, he probably wouldn't even have a box left.

However, she didn't say anything discouraging. She walked to the copper basin next to her, washed her hands, and prepared to apply frostbite ointment to herself.

She placed her hands into the copper basin, remembering Song Yanqing. "Nineteen, your young master hasn't come back for dinner. It's getting darker and darker, why hasn't he returned yet?"

She withdrew her hand from the copper basin and was about to take a handkerchief to wipe the water off her hands when a handkerchief was handed to her from the side.

A deep, husky voice came from beside me, “Don’t worry, you weren’t lured away by anyone, nor were you carried off by wolves.”

The voice was familiar, and in the distance, there were sounds of someone trying to suppress a laugh but letting it slip out.

Lu Qiqi turned around and saw a familiar face. Her eyes lit up instantly. "You're back."

For some reason, even though it had only been half a day, she felt as if he had been gone for a long time.

Song Yanqing did not approach her, but instead took two steps back. To avoid making her suspicious, he said, "I just came back from outside, and I'm covered in snow."

As he spoke, he untied the rope around his neck and handed the black cloak to Nineteen.

Nineteen was quite perceptive. Seeing Song Yanqing return to the main tent, he went back to prepare hot water for Song Yanqing to wash his face.

When Song Yanqing saw the many bottles and jars on the desk, he asked, "Are these medicines you made to treat frostbite?"

Lu Qiqi walked up to him, took his cold hand in hers, and warmed it with her own warm palm.

"It's cold." Song Yanqing subconsciously tried to pull her hand back.

Lu Qiqi didn't give him a chance to pull his hand back, "I don't mind, I'll warm you up."

Song Yanqing's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed, momentarily speechless.

He never imagined that one day he would be completely subdued by a little girl.

What I never expected was that he, a grown man, would be cherished and protected by a young girl.

We don't know when the large hands will warm up, but the temperature inside the tent is definitely rising.

Soon, Lu Qiqi noticed that Song Yanqing's hands were not only large, but also had distinct knuckles, compared to her own small, round hands...

They can't be compared.

Thinking of this, Lu Qiqi withdrew her hand.

Just then, Nineteen walked into the tent carrying a copper basin.

"Your Highness, the water is here."

Upon hearing this, Song Yanqing stepped forward, took Lu Qiqi's hand, and washed their hands together.

Shijiu, being quite sensible, lifted the curtain and withdrew.

The two intertwined their fingers, wishing they could wash the spaces between their fingers clean, before slowly taking them out of the water.

After wiping her hands, Song Yanqing led her to the desk, put his hand on her shoulder, and helped her sit down.

Picking up the plaster next to him, he asked, "Is this frostbite ointment applied directly to the hands?"

Lu Qiqi was completely bewildered by the handwashing action just now. To Song Yanqing's words, she nodded blankly, "Yes."

The cool ointment felt burning hot on the back of Lu Qiqi's hand.

After a long pause, Song Yanqing finally released her hand, prompting her to ask with some doubt, "Where did you go today? What happened?"

Based on her understanding of him, Song Yanqing wouldn't act this way without a reason.

Song Yanqing didn't offer any further explanation. The struggle for imperial power was too bloody, and he knew she wasn't a delicate flower, but he didn't want to offend her ears.

He gently shook his head, and Lu Qiqi didn't ask any further questions. Instead, she talked to him about frostbite medicine and adding insulation to the tents.

After she raised two points, she came up with a solution: "Add an insulation layer to the tents; we can use the haystacks from the grain camp."

Frostbite ointments can also be formulated using herbal recipes. You can use whatever medicinal herbs you have available; the efficacy may be slightly affected, but not drastically.

Song Yanqing thought her method was excellent, but there was still one problem: frostbite medicine was not so easy to prepare in winter compared to other medicines.

He said, "We always prepare these medicinal herbs in winter, but I didn't expect this year to be so unusual."

Lu Qiqi understood his difficulties. With 70,000 troops guarding the border city, covered in snow, he had already exhausted all his efforts to prepare to this extent.

Otherwise, the tens of thousands of soldiers in the Eastern Camp would not have suffered only a little over a thousand frostbite injuries.

In years of severe snow disasters, the army was reduced by half, but they were still lucky to survive.

It's not impossible for the entire army to be wiped out.

Just as she was about to comfort him, she heard his voice, "If your frostbite medicine works, it will be a great benefit to the entire army."

He had witnessed snowy years where ordinary people froze to death in their homes, not to mention the soldiers guarding the borders, how many of them were able to return home alive.

The Great Jin Dynasty enjoys such a glorious state entirely thanks to the prosperous era created by our ancestors.