The moment Jiang Wei stepped through the door, she was stunned by what she saw inside: a solid mud floor, a simple earthen stove, a table with pots and pans on it, and a water vat with a chip in it.

In another corner of the room, there was a bed several tens of centimeters wide. A pale-faced woman with her hair haphazardly stuck to her face lay there, coughing intermittently, her body bobbing up and down.

Jiang Wei looked at the charcoal fire burning beside the bed, just like the embers at Granny Hua's house. Two children, dressed in thin clothes, sat by the fire, the boy guarding a small ceramic jar.

The other girl knelt by the bed, and when her mother coughed, she would soothe her.

He would occasionally steal glances at Jiang Wei, his eyes filled with envy.

Jiang Wei then understood why Granny Yang had been so anxious to call the boy back to the house.

"Mother-in-law, what illness does your daughter-in-law have? Has she seen a doctor? What medicine is she taking?" Jiang Wei asked with concern, smelling the aroma wafting from the earthenware pot.

Grandma Yang was a little flustered and didn't know how to answer. Her daughter-in-law had been suffering from the hardships of the past few years and had recently caught a cold. The ceramic jar didn't contain any medicine at all. It contained houttuynia cordata that she had picked from the mountain, dried it, and kept it at home. She would take it out from time to time to brew some tea for her daughter-in-law to drink, which could also stop the cough and relieve the fever.

"How many families are still here?" Jiang Wei asked, feeling distressed, when she saw that Granny Yang remained silent.

How could there be such a poor family living right under the emperor's nose?

Granny Hua glanced at Granny Yang and saw that she seemed distracted. Although she didn't understand why Jiang Wei was asking these questions, she answered truthfully, "There should be two or three hundred households."

"Is that how it is all?" Jiang Wei couldn't help but ask.

Granny Hua looked at Jiang Wei's shock and astonishment, trying to figure out what she was up to from her expression.

Unfortunately, she didn't realize that Jiang Wei's casual question might have been part of a larger plan.

"Good or bad, it's all pretty much the same."

Jiang Wei nodded and walked out, her face pale.

In the past, people only said that it was too cold, which is why so many people froze to death. It turns out there was so much more to it than meets the eye.

Jiang Wei was somewhat distraught; how could things have come to this?

Jiang Wei continued walking without saying a word, while Lian Sang silently followed behind.

As Jiang Wei walked, she felt as if she had bumped into a wall, but the wall was soft.

Jiang Wei wondered if she had accidentally damaged someone's wooden wall. She had seen the wall of Granny Yang's house and many other houses around here. The old houses here were all very fragile.

Jiang Wei quickly looked up, worried that she might accidentally knock down someone's wall and cause a draft to leak into their house.

Jiang Wei looked up and saw Xiao Zhan smiling at her. "What a coincidence, Miss Jiang."

Qingfeng, standing behind Xiao Zhan, chuckled to himself, 'So, he's already throwing himself into my arms! Master's progress is rapid! I guess I've also contributed to this by delivering the storybooks!'

Jiang Wei paused for a moment, then said, "Does Your Highness have time? I would like to invite you to a meal."

She pursed her lips and looked at Xiao Zhan earnestly, her expression expectant.

Xiao Zhan had never seen such an expression on her before, and he couldn't help but become serious. She must have something to tell him.

“Okay.” Xiao Zhan answered without hesitation, “Shall we leave now?”

"I'll go back with your daughter. Go and tell the driver to bring the carriage over," Xiao Zhan instructed Lian Sang.

Lian Sang bowed respectfully and then withdrew.

Jiang Wei always felt that Xiao Zhan treated his maid as his servant.

She frowned and glanced up at Xiao Zhan, but saw that he looked normal and she couldn't find any evidence.

Xiao Zhan brought Jiang Wei to Mingyu Pavilion and ordered a table full of her favorite pastries.

He picked up a piece and handed it to Jiang Wei, saying, "I've heard that eating something sweet when you're in a bad mood can cheer you up."

Jiang Wei took the pastries from Xiao Zhan's hand. She never imagined that Xiao Zhan, who had lived on the border for a long time, had also heard such words.

Jiang Wei took a bite of the pastry, hesitating whether to tell Xiao Zhan about it. He had just returned to the capital and held military power. How many people wanted to take military power from him, and how many people wanted to bring him down?

Besides, would telling him necessarily be helpful?

Seeing that she was in a dilemma, and that she had unknowingly finished a piece of pastry, Xiao Zhan handed her another one.

Jiang Wei reached out and took it, then put it in her mouth and bit into it, her mind completely focused on how she could better help them, the families of those heroes.

Jiang Wei ate the pastries bit by bit like a little rabbit, and ate several pieces in a row.

After she finished eating, Xiao Zhan handed her another piece, and after she finished eating that, he handed her another piece. Jiang Wei didn't even realize that it was a pastry from Xiao Zhan.

Seeing that she had almost finished eating, Xiao Zhan was worried that she might eat too much at once and have trouble digesting it. "Do you really like this store's pastries that much?" he asked her gently.

Jiang Wei snapped out of her reverie and looked at a plate of pastries on the table, half of which had been eaten. "Did I eat them?" she asked incredulously.

"I didn't even reach out to take it." Jiang Wei didn't remember reaching out to take it, so how did she manage to eat so much?

Xiao Zhan pointed to himself, indicating that he had taken it.

Jiang Wei's face flushed red. Had she become so unguarded with him?

She actually managed to eat half a plate of pastries that he handed her.

Xiao Zhan, worried that Jiang Wei might be thirsty, picked up a teacup from the table and poured her a cup of tea. Jiang Wei naturally took it and drank a sip.

Only then did she realize what had happened. Jiang Wei stared blankly at the cup in her hand, now convinced that she had eaten it.

After Jiang Wei finished her tea, Xiao Zhan slowly asked her, his voice extremely gentle as if coaxing a child, "Do you have something to tell me?"

Jiang Wei bit her lower lip and stared intently at Xiao Zhan, as if she had struggled for a long time. She opened her mouth to say something but then closed it again.

"Hmm?" Xiao Zhan leaned back, not in a hurry to wait for Jiang Wei to speak.

Jiang Wei took a breath. "Do you know the people on Le'an Street?"

Xiao Zhan paused, his hand tapping on the chair. "I know."

Jiang Wei leaned her head a little closer to the table. "Then you know..."

Seeing her so close, Xiao Zhan straightened up and naturally leaned his head towards Jiang Wei, as if the two were secretly plotting something.

Jiang Wei was stunned when she saw Xiao Zhan approaching. Seeing that Xiao Zhan did not make any further move, she said, "They are all the families of soldiers who died in battle and fought to protect their country."

Xiao Zhan said calmly, "I know."

"You know? Then why doesn't the imperial court care?" Jiang Wei sat up straight and questioned him.

Xiao Zhan wasn't angry with her. His voice said, "I've taken care of it. The compensation has been issued. I checked."

Jiang Wei, still unconvinced, asked again, "Then why are they living such a pitiful life? You didn't see it...."

Just as Hao was about to tell Xiao Zhan what she had seen and heard, she heard his voice, "I know that the compensation money did not reach them. I have been investigating this matter recently to find out who is so bold as to embezzle the compensation money."

Jiang Wei was even more shocked to hear Xiao Zhan's words: he even dared to embezzle pensions for the elderly and women.

Xiao Zhan changed the subject, "Miss Jiang is indeed a first-rate girl in this world. If everyone were as kind as Miss Jiang, how could our Great Xiao not prosper?" He praised Jiang Wei.