Qin Weixi chuckled upon hearing this...

The next day, the sun pierced through the clouds, and a ray of light shone through the window lattice into the green gauze window. Qin Weixi then got out of bed. Pu Niang heard the noise from inside the green gauze window and smiled as she pushed open the door and entered.

"Miss hasn't slept so soundly in a long time."

After getting off the bed, Qin Weixi washed up and took the comb from in front of the dressing table, handing it to Pu Niang with a smile, saying, "Thank you for your hard work, Pu Niang."

Pu Niang took the comb with a smile and gently combed her hair while looking at her in the bronze mirror with a smile.

Pu Niang suddenly said, "Miss's hair is so black and shiny, it looks good with any hairpin."

“Oh, Pu Niang, you think everything about Miss is wonderful. Back then, Miss grew a lot of white hair in just a few days. You and Madam were afraid that Miss would be sad, so every night when Miss was fast asleep, you would pluck them out for her. The old lady would be there with an oil lamp to light your way. I remember it all clearly!” Feng Hua pushed open the door and entered, carrying a food tray.

"You're so talkative. Didn't the salted duck eggs from this morning shut you up? Did you feed Xiao Zhoufeng? Did you give it a bath?" Pu Niang pretended to be stern as she looked at Feng Hua.

Qin Weixi smiled at Feng Hua, then thought of Zi Jin, who had been appearing and disappearing mysteriously late at night for several days: "Where is Zi Jin?"

Feng Hua winked at Qin Weixi in the bronze mirror: "Since Sister Zijin has been seeing Sister Queshe at the Luo residence lately, she often sneaks out at night to look for Mutong." Then, seeing that Pu Niang was deliberately looking at her with a stern face, she quickly slipped out again, leaving only her laughter in the courtyard: "Pu Niang, Pu Niang, Miss knows, how could she not know?"

Pu Niang immediately stopped what she was doing, walked around to look at her, and saw the girl blinking her big, bright eyes. Pu Niang felt a pang of pain in her heart.

"Oh my..." Just as Pu Niang was about to speak, Qin Weixi suddenly hugged her and snuggled against her: "Pu Niang, Pu Niang, your arms smell so good."

Pu Niang's heart softened instantly, and she affectionately stroked the top of her head: "Did something happen?"

Qin Weixi closed her eyes, a smile playing on her lips: "What could possibly happen to me?"

Pu Niang was unwilling to agree: "Silly girl, I've watched you grow up, how could I not see through your thoughts? You think I didn't know you were secretly sharpening hairpins in the library the other day?"

Qin Weixi chuckled upon hearing this, looked up at her, and teased, "So it turns out that Pu Niang knows everything. Pu Niang is always around me."

She stared intently at the few streaks of white on Pu Niang's black hair, then suddenly lowered her eyes. After a long while, she looked up at Pu Niang with a smile and said, "Pu Niang, we've been back in the capital for a while now. Grandmother isn't well, and Mother must need you by her side. How about you teach me the art of makeup that Mother taught you?"

Pu Niang's gaze sharpened, but then she heard her continue, "Pu Niang, I want you to go back, back to Jiangnan, to live peacefully with your father, mother, and grandmother, to live a long and healthy life, without having to live in fear every day."

Pu Niang looked at her, at this child who had been orphaned at a young age. The girl opened her clear, bright eyes, the corners of which were red. Just like that year when she first entered Jiangnan, when she first woke up from her dream, the difference was that in that year, the little girl's eyes were filled with confusion and endless hatred.

"Wherever Xi-yatou is, I will be there."

“I will not return to Jiangnan.” Pu Niang remained unmoved.

The old woman and the young girl looked at each other, and finally Qin Weixi gave in first: "Pu Niang, Pu Niang, after this matter is over, I want to choose a small courtyard with mountains and water, flowers and grass outside, a country road, and a peach orchard covering the hillside. I can lie in the peach orchard and smell the birds and flowers. Pu Niang only needs to call out, 'Xi Ya is ready to eat,' and I will stroll through the peach orchard to that small courtyard."

Pu Niang shook her head and chuckled, "Silly girl, that's not a paradise on earth. Where in this world is there such a place?" But her eyes were full of longing.

Qin Weixi said, "Yes, definitely. Pu Niang will live a good life there."

But as Pu Niang often says, she is not alone in facing the injustices of this world. Once this matter is over, her father, mother, and grandmother from the Luo family can be in Jiangnan, but what about her ambitious brother, Luo Ling, who once passed the imperial examinations three times?

When the Qin family is exonerated, and Uncle Chu can finally rest in peace, will it also be the time for everyone to go their separate ways again? For ten years, the Luo family has never had a moment of peace with her, and she will do everything in her power to protect everyone she wants to protect.

*

After the court assembly, outside the main hall, Liang Shuwen descended the steps with court officials he was on good terms with. Just then, a colleague approached him, intending to invite him to dinner that evening. Upon hearing this, Liang Shuwen politely declined, waving his hand dismissively: "I have no mood for drinking today."

A colleague approached and asked, "When Grand Secretary Liang is on his days off at home, doesn't he often enjoy a little drink?"

After listening, Liang Shuwen gazed into the distance from the stone steps, clasped his hands in front of him, and sighed softly, "I am worried about His Majesty! This young Marquis Jingning went to the Northwest, supposedly an exile, but in reality, he went to enjoy a life of luxury thanks to His Majesty's favor. You all saw him injure Minister Cai of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices with his sword in the imperial court back then. In recent years, instead of tempering his temper, he has become even more outrageous. When General Chu died so tragically, the hearts of the soldiers who followed him to the battlefield were still cold, but this young Marquis Jingning just left like that, instead returning to the capital to live a carefree and wealthy life. Do you think they won't feel heartbroken?"

The courtier, having overheard his young daughter recounting the scene at the Emperor's siblings' birthday banquet yesterday, shook his head repeatedly. Glancing at his colleague beside him, he disregarded rank and kindly advised, "Grand Secretary Liang, how come you're regressing with age? Have you been drinking too much? You'll ruin yourself with that mouth sooner or later. Who is that Marquis of Jingning? Since he returned to the capital this spring, have you seen him attend countless banquets at the palace? What kind of banquets were they? They were family banquets specially prepared for him by the Emperor and Empress. And who is General Chu Lanzhe? He is His Majesty's close friend, like a brother. His Majesty is benevolent and kind; how could he not treat General Chu's orphan well?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? I didn't drink too much. This is just..." Liang Shuwen stammered for a moment, then waved his sleeve and was about to descend the steps again.

Zhou Quan walked over leisurely from behind.

Zhou Quan glanced at him and said earnestly, "Grand Secretary Liang! This young marquis can't stay in the capital, nor can he stay. What else can be done? Does it mean that if the three great families of yesteryear—the Chu, Qin, and Luo families—all go far away, Grand Secretary Liang can enjoy his wine to his heart's content?" Zhou Quan leaned closer to Liang Shuwen, "It's because the young marquis took over your son's position that Grand Secretary Liang harbors resentment!" He sighed softly and said in a low voice, "Speaking of which, I dreamt of Lord Gao a few days ago!"

This elusive peacemaker.

Seeing that the visitor was neither friend nor foe, Liang Shuwen gritted his teeth and couldn't help but feel a surge of resentment in his heart.

He said in a low voice, "Lord Zhou seems to have many insights. Could you please share them with me?"

"Huh?" Zhou Quan, sitting opposite him, suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "Grand Secretary Liang, I remember these scratches on your face have been there for quite some time now. How come they've left scars? It seems you haven't been properly treated. You know, with all the wind, sand, rain, and snow in the Northwest, Grand Secretary Liang's delicate skin is vulnerable. If the wind blows on it, wouldn't you be dreaming of your ancestors that very night?"

Zhou Quan's exclamation drew the attention of many court officials who had already descended the stone steps. Upon hearing his unreserved words, they all smiled.

Upon seeing this, Liang Shuwen immediately straightened his face. Being much older than him, he acted without much restraint, straightening his posture as if to speak and gently reprimand him as an elder. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone walking down from outside the hall. This was none other than His Majesty's capable aide, the future "pillar of the court" to the Crown Prince. Who knows when His Majesty might be in a great mood and issue an order, and this person would be the one to enter the cabinet, someone he would see every day from then on.

One Luo Songyue left, and another obstacle appeared.

Liang Shuwen then shifted his gaze to Zhou Quan, who was staring at him with wide eyes. Look, there's another peacemaker, a troublemaker. He couldn't help but feel that the capital city was gradually showing signs of change.

Luo Ling happened to be looking at the two people on the steps, and walked up to them with a gentle and refined manner, nodding humbly to Liang Shuwen in greeting.

Upon seeing this, Liang Shuwen immediately fell silent, clenched his fists again, stretched his neck, and nodded slightly, thus completing his greeting.

Inside the Jingning Marquis's residence.

It was midday, the sun was blazing, and there weren't many pedestrians on the streets. Suddenly, two carriages stopped outside the Jingning Marquis's residence and knocked on the gate. It turned out to be Chen Guiyi, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, and Xu Shangshi of the Imperial Kitchen, each leading their respective staff into the residence.

The Emperor's original intention was that the borderlands were desolate, and the young Marquis Jingning, only thirteen or fourteen years old, had gone to the northwest. The Emperor couldn't bear it and felt guilty towards his old friend, so now that he had returned to the capital, he naturally wanted to do everything he could to make amends.

Even a mountain of gold is nothing to a child who has lost his father at a young age, not to mention that the current emperor has almost emptied his own treasury over the years, and most of the jewelry, jade, calligraphy and antiques have been given to the Jingning Marquis's mansion.

Now that the Marquis of Jingning has returned to the capital, the vast Marquis's mansion has no one to manage the household affairs. Since food is the most important thing for the people, we should try our best to make up for it in terms of food.

Chen Guiyi said respectfully, "His Majesty was afraid that you, Young Marquis, wouldn't be used to the food, so he brought everyone along. Young Marquis, what do you think..."

Inside the Fanyin Hall, Chu Yening looked at the young eunuch from the Imperial Kitchen who stood quietly with his head down, and the female official who kept glancing at him. He smiled softly and said, "Since this is His Majesty's gift, why should I refuse it? Keep them all." Then he led the entire household to accept the imperial decree and express their gratitude, and kept Chen Guiyi and Xu Shangshi for a cup of tea.

Chen Guiyi glanced around the main hall of the Marquis's residence before turning his gaze away. He politely declined the tea, and Xu Shangshi had no reason to drink it. Chu Yening then personally escorted him and Xu Shangshi out of the Marquis's residence.

"Young Marquis, please wait. Today, His Majesty specifically instructed me and Xu Shangshi to deliver the Chief Steward Cai and Chief Steward Jin of the Imperial Kitchen. Now that they have been delivered safely, I can finally put my mind at ease and return to report."

Chu Yening smiled even more "amiably" than him, and said cheerfully, "I heard that Eunuch Chen has been serving His Majesty for nearly ten years. I have only been back in the capital for a short time, but I feel much more at ease with Eunuch Chen than I did with Eunuch Sun back then."

Chen Guiyi was slightly taken aback, then smiled and said, "His Majesty treats the young marquis like his own son, and I have seen it all these years. If I were to accidentally offend the young marquis, wouldn't I be punished when I return to the palace?"

Chu Yening laughed heartily: "It's precisely because Eunuch Chen is serving His Majesty that some things are inconvenient. Otherwise, Yening would have liked to invite Eunuch Chen to go to the theater to listen to a play."

"Oh, it's that theater called Woxue Pavilion. I'm sure Eunuch Chen knows about it."

Chen Guiyi suddenly looked up and their eyes met. After a brief moment, Chen Guiyi smiled and asked, "I have heard of it. Isn't this the place where you and Young Master Tao were assassinated after listening to opera? But none of those bandits survived, and His Majesty is also uneasy. Young Master, you should take some capable assistants with you when you go out." After saying that, he bowed to Chu Yening and said, "This servant will return to the palace to report now. Young Master, please stay here."

Chu Yening watched Chen Guiyi leave with a smile on his lips, until the sedan chair turned a corner after leaving the main road. But his gaze gradually turned as cold as winter ice.

-----------------------

Author's Note: Thank you for reading. Happy holidays, everyone! [Heart emoji]