At night, Qingchen sat at the table, staring at the lamp without saying a word.

The room was heated by an underfloor heating system, and there was a brazier burning in the corner, but she still felt cold.

There are no such things in prison. It's freezing cold right now, and who knows how he's suffering in there. Does he have warm clothes to wear? Does he have a blanket to cover himself with? Does he have hot water to drink? Will he be tortured? She couldn't bear to think about these things; just thinking about them made her heart ache.

Qingchen had been sitting at the table for two hours. She knew very well that what she should do now was not to overthink or grieve, but to find a way to rescue him as soon as possible.

But what could she do all by herself? Things happened so suddenly, she wasn't prepared at all, and the case was presented in front of the entire court, with the emperor, the supreme ruler, being the one who imprisoned her.

She had no clue how to get him out, no idea what to do!

Even if you reach the third rank in officialdom, what good will it do?

Anxious and flustered, she felt tense yet powerless. She tried to force herself to calm down and write down solutions, but when she picked up the pen, she couldn't write a single word.

My hands are frozen stiff.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. She said somewhat impatiently to the door, "I already said I'm not eating, take it away."

After a moment, the person outside the door said, "It's me."

The familiar voice, as cold and aloof as the person.

She sighed softly, feeling guilty, put down her pen, and went to open the door.

Lu Shenyun stood outside the door, dressed in a black robe and cloak, his ears red from the cold above his white fur collar. He was covered in snow and looked travel-worn.

I heard there's been trouble in the outskirts of Beijing again. It's almost Chinese New Year, and Huang Yu isn't here. He'll probably be busy running around everywhere.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know it was you." Qingchen looked at him apologetically.

"It's getting late, I..." Lu Shenyun knew he shouldn't be here at this time, but he couldn't help worrying about her. "You haven't rested yet, have you?"

Qingchen shook his head and turned slightly to the side. "Not yet. Come in and sit down."

He brushed the snow off his clothes outside before carrying a box inside.

“I heard about what happened in the court… I was afraid you wouldn’t have an appetite and wouldn’t be able to eat, so I brought some pastries.” He spoke carefully.

He placed the box on the table; it was carved with exquisite patterns. After speaking, he opened the food box with his rough fingers, carefully took out several plates of pastries, and placed them in front of her.

Several plates of pastries, made very small and delicate, were like beautiful flowers blooming in this gloomy winter, as if they were specially made for women.

The pastries were still slightly steaming. His home was not close by, so one can imagine how he braved the wind and snow to ride his horse after the pastries were taken out of the oven.

Qingchen felt a slight swelling in her heart after reading it.

“This is plum-scented jujube paste cake.” Lu Shenyun picked up one of the dishes, took out the prepared chopsticks from the food box, placed them on the side of the dish, and handed it to him. “When I was a child, I didn’t want to eat, and my mother would make it for me. It’s sweet with a little sourness, and it’s very appetizing.”

Qingchen nodded and reached out to take it.

"Smack!"

Unfortunately, she had been writing for too long, and her hands had become numb with cold. She didn't hold the plate properly, and it fell to the ground and shattered instantly. The pieces of jujube cake were soft and sticky, and with that, they were all broken apart.

"I'm sorry, I've let you down..." Qingchen hurriedly apologized, bending down to pick it up, but Lu Shenyun grabbed her wrist.

"I'll do it." He quickly squatted down and cleaned up the broken bowls and leftovers on the ground in a few swift movements.

She watched silently, a feeling she couldn't quite describe welling up inside her.

After Lu Shenyun finished cleaning up, he pushed another plate in front of her and said, "It's broken, but there are other things. Here, try this."

She picked up a piece and took a bite. It was soft, sweet, and melted in her mouth. At least her taste buds hadn't been numb from the cold.

His gaze followed her hand holding the chopsticks. "Is it good?"

"It's really delicious... Thank you."

He smiled contentedly. Seeing that her tea was running low, he added some more hot tea to her cup.

After a few more bites, Qingchen put down her chopsticks. "I'm sorry, I'm a little full." There were still many pastries left, but she really couldn't eat anymore.

"It's good that you've eaten." Lu Shenyun wasn't good with words, and after hesitating for a moment, he finally asked the question that had been weighing on his mind, "Are you still thinking about what happened in court today... Are you worried about him?"

She didn't want to lie to him, so she nodded. "The court was in chaos today. The grain from Shandong was clearly in Xu Yan's granary, but Zhang Mao, the Shandong Provincial Governor, accused the teacher of embezzlement. The Emperor imprisoned them all and ordered the Three Judicial Offices to conduct a joint trial. I heard that most of the officials in the Three Judicial Offices are Xu Yan's men, so..."

In the candlelight, her eyes were bright, filled with endless worry, and her thin shoulders looked helpless. After speaking, she picked up the teacup he had filled and held it to warm her hands.

Lu Shenyun stood up, took off his cloak, went behind her, and draped it over her back. Then, he stood silently for a moment, before finally reaching out and gently embracing her from behind.

Qingchen paused for a moment, blinked, and didn't move.

“I’m here to help you,” he comforted softly, his voice a little clumsy but as gentle as he could. “You still have me. I also know people in the Three Judicial Offices.”

The lights were burning brightly, and his embrace was warm.

For a moment, Qingchen didn't know what to say.

The Lu family was a lineage of Imperial Guards, serving several emperors and always remaining neutral in court, never participating in factional struggles. He was also a loner, naturally aloof and cold, disliking meddling in others' affairs. Huang Yu had also said that he had seen too much of the intrigue and power struggles in court, so he didn't have much of a fixation on absolute right and wrong, only focusing on fulfilling his duties and being loyal to the country.

This matter originally had nothing to do with him. Although she needed anyone's help, a voice in her heart kept reminding her not to involve him.

Because she might not be able to pay it back.

Just as Qingchen was about to speak, Lu Shenyun released her, picked up the cup on the table, took a sip of tea, and said, "...It's getting late, I'll be going now."

Although he was cold by nature, his heart wasn't made of stone. He couldn't bear to see her so sad for Song Yue, or her hesitant to accept his help.

Lu Shenyun walked away without turning around or looking back.

Qingchen watched his back through the window until he disappeared from sight, then she suddenly remembered that his cloak was still on her.

A few days later, Zhao Qiran was indeed imprisoned as well. Although Song Yue took all the blame upon himself, Xu Yan was relentless, insisting that Zhao Qiran was an accomplice in the embezzlement.

Xu's faction wasn't idle either. On one hand, they were scheming to exonerate Xu Yan, and on the other hand, they were impeaching numerous members of the School of Mind, attempting to further muddy the waters of the court, deceive the emperor, and mislead the people. Qingchen was Song Yue's student and a high-ranking official of the third rank, so she should have been one of their top targets. However, because she had only recently returned from the campaign in Yunnan and seemed to have little connection with Song Yue, and had recently been expelled from the school, everyone put her aside for the time being.

Faced with the attacks from Xu's faction, the followers of the School of Mind were naturally unwilling to sit idly by and wait for their fate. They submitted memorials to defend themselves, refute the attacks, and even impeach Xu's faction. In these days, memorials from all sides poured into the Qianqing Palace like snowflakes, piling up on Zhu Rui's desk.

Zhu Rui was naturally annoyed. He couldn't decide whether to deal with them or not, so he simply locked up another group of people and interrogated them all at once.

His mood worsened, and he continued to sleep poorly at night. Soon after, he fell ill and remained bedridden for days. Now, the person in power in both the court and the harem had become Consort Zheng. The people in the palace were always opportunistic and adept at reading the room, and they all followed her lead.

Crown Prince Zhu Yuluo is fourteen years old, not exactly a child, but also quite old, with Consort Zheng as his mother. He has no mother to support him in the harem, his only maternal relative, the Gu family, has been raided and their property confiscated, and now his father, the Emperor, is ill… In short, he is currently a crown prince without any real power. Therefore, Consort Zheng confines him to Cining Palace, allowing him to go nowhere except for lectures at the Wenhua Hall, and forbidding him from seeing anyone except for a few teachers she has appointed.

The Ming Dynasty was in turmoil, both in the imperial court and the palace, and the world outside was in dire straits. The weather was too cold, and people were starving and freezing to death one after another. News of the White Lotus Rebellion continued to arrive, and the signs of the Prince of Shu amassing troops were becoming increasingly clear.

This is what they mean by a chaotic world.

These days, besides handling daily official duties, Qingchen has something even more important to do: running around for those who shouldn't be in prison.

She wasn't quite sure how the joint trial by the three judicial authorities would proceed, and she had never even tried to use connections to save someone. Her intention to help was clearly haphazard and without any strategy.

She sought out Lan Tan, Gu Shaoheng, Chen An from the Hanlin Academy, Han Yuanshu from the Ministry of Works, and her former classmates from when she was a probationary official... In short, she contacted everyone she could. She tried her best to find out what was going on in the prison, who was collecting evidence in the three judicial departments, and the backgrounds and preferences of the three presiding judges.

Wearing thick clothes and trudging through thick snow, she ran up and down, inside and out. The winter plum blossoms of the Ministry of Works, the pines and cypresses of the Hanlin Academy, the icicles under the eaves of the Thousand-Step Corridor... nothing was more familiar to her this winter.

"Thank you, Lord Han."

"Thank you, Chen An."

"Shaoheng, thank you."

This winter, the two words she uttered most often were "thank you." It seemed that every "thank you" could give Song Yueduo a glimmer of hope.

All I ask is that he doesn't get sick, isn't tortured, and doesn't give up while he's in prison.

...

Of the three presiding judges in the Three Judicial Offices, two were members of Xu's faction, while only the Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review was neutral.

That day, after Qingchen finished her duty, she waited for him at the gate of his house. As it was getting dark, his carriage returned to the gate. As soon as he got out of the carriage, she went up to stop him.

"Lord Luo, I apologize for taking up your time. I have something I'd like to say to you."

As soon as he finished speaking, the other party said, "Lord Shen, I know that you are here today for your teacher, and I admire your talent and ability. But does Lord Shen not know that during the joint trial by the three judicial authorities, no one is allowed to plead with the presiding judge, and the presiding judge should not have any dealings with any party in the case, let alone show favoritism? I'm sorry, Lord Shen, it's not convenient to discuss this further. I must return to my residence first."

"Wait!" She stopped him, sniffing her nose, which was almost numb from the cold. "I understand what you're saying. I know I shouldn't be here now, and I know you, Lord Luo, will not show favoritism. But, sir, I've come here to beg you not to show favoritism, to ask you to follow the laws of the Ming Dynasty in everything you do, and to judge cases based solely on solid evidence. Sir, don't you think it's a sad thing that I've come all this way to say this to you?"

He frowned upon hearing this.

Qingchen continued, “But the Ming Dynasty is in chaos now. Many people deceive their superiors and subordinates, call a deer a horse, and force good people into prostitution for their own benefit, leading people to abandon good and embrace evil. Lord Luo, I know that Xu Yanshu is deeply rooted and powerful, and the other two presiding judges are his men. You are the only neutral one, but I suppose you have been coerced to some extent this time. What I want to say to you is that upholding justice is not easy, and I urge you to stay true to your original aspirations.”

Fine snowflakes drifted down slowly, and her voice trembled slightly.

"Lord Shen, since you know you shouldn't be coming to me now, aren't you afraid of being implicated and imprisoned for pleading for your teacher?"

"Are you afraid of death, sir?"

"Aren't you afraid?"

"If all those who fought alongside you are dead, and you are the only one left to live, enduring the darkness of this world alone, are you still afraid of death, sir?"

The man did not speak.

Qingchen continued, "I know your predicament, sir. But think about it, if Xu Yan is not eliminated, you will be under this coercion forever. If Song Yue is wronged, you will also lose your appetite and sleep."

"Your Excellency, you have served in the Court of Judicial Review for so many years, rising from Assistant Minister to Chief Minister, then to Vice Minister and Minister. You must have been coerced by the Xu faction and forced to do things against your will, right? So many files of wrongful convictions and miscarriages of justice are still lying quietly in your office, and you have been forced to do so without recourse. If Your Excellency trusts me, I will strive to be promoted to the Grand Secretariat next year. Once I am in the Grand Secretariat, I will request the Emperor to review the cases handled by the Court of Judicial Review. At that time, the cases Your Excellency wishes to overturn can naturally be overturned..."

"The exoneration of those who are still imprisoned and wronged, and those who have died unjustly, rests solely on your decision, Your Excellency."

The two stood facing each other in silence for a long while before the man said, "Even if I agree to your request, I will only have one seat in the joint trial by the three judicial authorities."

"I understand. But as long as there is hope, even if it's just a glimmer, it's not too little. Thank you, sir!"

After receiving the other party's approval, Qingchen bowed repeatedly to express her gratitude, and then left with a red nose.

Under the eaves of the Luo residence, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review watched her retreating figure, his brows furrowed in deep thought.

Today, she was the second person to come looking for him. Before her, there was Lu Shenyun, who never meddled in other people's business.

Lu Shenyun was someone he had watched grow up, and using the relationship between their two families to ask him for help was not something Lu Shenyun would do.

Days passed by, and the end of the year was drawing ever closer.

The weather remained cold, and the people of the capital thought the weather would warm up every day, only to find it even colder the next day.

The three judicial departments were handling the corruption case step by step, collecting evidence, finding witnesses, taking statements... Everyone seemed very busy, but the trial was never held.

Whether Zhang Mao was senile from old age or feigning madness, his statements were always inconsistent, and he would change his testimony every few days. As a result, the three judicial departments found it even more difficult to conduct a proper trial.

Although the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review was willing to help Song Yue, the diligence of just one department was not enough, as the Ministry of Justice and the Censorate were not cooperating at all. Fortunately, Song Yue and the others were imprisoned in the Court of Judicial Review prison, where the weather was cold, and all he could do was to make them more comfortable and warm.

That's all.

While Qingchen was busy running around, Xu Silin was also busy. In addition to planning for his father, he was also inquiring about her whereabouts.

She was doing it for Song Yue, and he was doing it for his father. Their goals were different, and they were bound to clash one day.

Xu Silin sat on the couch by the window, holding a book he couldn't possibly read, and sighed.

Although he had long been aware of this, he was still filled with jealousy whenever he heard his spies report who she had gone to see and how worried she was about Song Yue.

In this cold weather, she should be staying in a warm house, wrapped in a fur coat, warming herself by the fireplace, living the life of a pampered lady. She should have a comfortable and peaceful life, with a group of servants attending to her, and a husband who loves her unconditionally. Why should she suffer so much, running around for that person?

When will she give him a chance to take care of her?

As he pondered this, another trusted confidant reported: "Young Master, Lord Shen went to see Lord Luo of the Dali Temple a few days ago."

Xu Silin remained silent for a moment after listening.

She went to make trouble again, this time even going directly to the presiding judge. Didn't she know that was forbidden and would implicate her?

"Young master, do you have any orders? Should we teach that Luo fellow a lesson first?"

"No need for now," he said after thinking for a moment. "Let's see what happens."

On the one hand, the case has not yet officially gone to trial; on the other hand, he does not want to confront her directly so soon.

The three judicial departments dragging out the trial was at his behest. He was observing Zhu Rui's reaction, waiting for the right moment. Although his father's imprisonment was unpleasant, it could buy them time.

In recent days, many more people have been imprisoned, including members of Xu's faction and followers of Xinxue. Under his direction, the political situation in the court has become increasingly murky, but Zhu Rui seems completely unconcerned about how the cases are progressing.

This means that he has made up his mind to abandon the Xu family this time, regardless of the outcome of the trial.

This is an outcome Xu Silin didn't want to see, but had to face. So now, they only have one path left to take. This is also the escape route Xu Yan left for the Xu family.

"Have the people from Sichuan arrived yet?" he asked.

"We've arrived. We've already checked into the inn."

"Prepare the carriage, I'm going to see him," he ordered. "This matter must not be known to anyone else."

"yes."

That night, Xu Silin spent the entire night in the inn having a private conversation with the man from Sichuan.

By the time they returned to the mansion, it was already daylight.

Exhausted, he took off his clothes, got into bed, collapsed onto the bed, and quickly fell asleep.

In a half-dream, half-awake state, I dreamt of Qingchen again.

It's Chinese New Year.

On the eve of the Lunar New Year, the Shen residence was rather deserted.

After having New Year's Eve dinner with his father, Qingchen put on a cloak and sat down in the small pavilion in the courtyard.

These days, she has been running around non-stop, meeting with different people, inquiring, and collecting evidence, but the three judicial departments are in no hurry at all. Zhu Rui is ill and has no time to care, so they come even more leisurely, and in the days leading up to the New Year, they simply do nothing.

She was anxious on one hand, and somewhat lost on the other, as if she had completely gone in the wrong direction and couldn't muster any strength.

The three judicial departments had two other presiding judges, both tough nuts to crack, and she hadn't decided whether to meet with them. They were Xu's faction, long-standing allies with Xu Yan, with deeply entrenched ties; what right did she have to persuade them?

It's too difficult.

After finishing his New Year's Eve dinner at home, Lu Shenyun returned to his room without spending much time with his family.

The mansion was bustling with activity, decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, and adorned with bright red couplets and paper-cut window decorations, but he couldn't feel any joy in his heart; he felt rather depressed.

His mother, Madam Gu, was worried about him, so she went to his room to check on him and asked him if something was bothering him, but he shook his head.

Madam Gu said, "In a couple of days, on the third day of the Lunar New Year, we'll go to the Xie family to pay our respects. This time, we'll seriously discuss your marriage to Huiying. You're not getting any younger, we can't put it off any longer."

This was not what Lu Shenyun wanted to hear. However, since it was the New Year, he did not want to argue with his mother and cause any unpleasantness, so he simply made up an excuse that "there were matters to attend to at court," went to the stable to fetch a horse, and went out.

The streets on Lunar New Year's Eve were deserted, dimly lit, and snow was falling.

He rode his horse aimlessly, unaware that he had arrived at Qingchen's residence.

The servant, seeing it was him, invited him in without announcing his arrival. Everyone had a general sense that the court was in turmoil this year. So, it wasn't surprising that the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard would come to their door on New Year's Eve.

Qingchen sat blankly in the pavilion, staring at the snow. The cloak behind him barely covered his body, as it had already been blown up by the wind.

She could feel the cold, but she seemed to be numb. Numb, she didn't want to move. She just wanted to lie in the snow like the person in her dream and be buried by the snow little by little.

Another Lunar New Year has arrived. But Song Yue is in prison.

Back then, before anything happened, they could find warmth in each other. It was simple, joyful, and filled with the most genuine affection and excitement from the bottom of their hearts.

Feel happiness.

But now… Suddenly, she saw someone walking towards her from the shadows, and she was momentarily stunned.

Upon recognizing Lu Shenyun, Qingchen closed her eyes slightly and smiled gently, "You've come."

Lu Shenyun nodded and brushed the snow off his shoulder. "...I don't want to stay at home."

"Why?" Shouldn't today be lively?

"Miss you."

"..."

Can I stay here tonight?