The room fell silent as everyone stared at the Fourth Master. Lanqin also gazed intently at him, the man who held the power of life and death over the entire household. His joys and sorrows determined the joys and sorrows of some, and his favors determined the happiness of some women for a lifetime.

Fourth Master looked around at the women in the room, his gaze finally settling on Lanqin, who stood before him. He saw the hope in her eyes and heard the voice of her heart.

"Madam Niu, confined to the South Courtyard, all expenses halved, and no one is allowed to enter or visit you."

"Lady Li is to be confined to the East Courtyard, with expenses comparable to those of a concubine. The Third Prince and the Fourth Prince have both been moved to the Front Courtyard, and no one is permitted to enter to visit them."

Tears finally streamed down her face from those deep, clear eyes. Lanqin felt as if she were suffocating from the pain in her heart. The words she had spoken to her by the bedside yesterday, "If I were not a prince, perhaps I could be your husband," still echoed in her ears. And today, those same thin lips uttered words of imprisonment...

Three days later, the head nanny sent people to take away Niu Baoquan, Li Shubao, and Zi Ran. Granny Wang was left behind to guard the gate, as it was said that according to Lanqin's expenses, these people should no longer stay here.

When they left, Niu Baoquan cried the most. This grown man in his forties actually held onto the door of the South Courtyard and cried with reluctance.

Lanqin didn't come out to see them off; it was Nianxue and Xicha who relayed the princess's words, telling them to do well in their new place.

Li's situation was even worse; only Mingyan remained, while everyone else was reassigned. It was said that the Third Prince and Fourth Prince were moved to the front courtyard, but the Fourth Prince was too young, only a little over a year old, and was ultimately sent to the main courtyard to be raised by his wife. Upon hearing this news, Li fainted.

In the first month of the forty-fourth year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, heavy snow fell for almost half a month. The cold, like a ferocious beast unleashing its tyranny, ruthlessly afflicted everyone who suffered it.

Because the expenses in the South Courtyard have been halved, even the most basic heating charcoal is rationed daily. Lanqin used to have three braziers in her room, but now she only has one left. And it can't be kept burning from morning till night. Because during this cold winter, the nights are often even colder, so Nianxue keeps the brazier burning all morning, and it's basically extinguished by noon.

At 5 PM, she would light the brazier again and place it in Lanqin's room.

Originally, Lanqin suggested that the two of them simply move their beds in, but Nianxue refused. She insisted on staying in their room with Xicha, sleeping together, and adding an extra blanket so that it would be warm for the two of them to squeeze together.

The daily meals returned to their original state, with Xi Cha fetching them from the kitchen herself.

Huang, the eunuch, was fortunate enough to escape any repercussions and remained in charge of the kitchen.

When Xi Cha came to fetch the food, she experienced the coldness of human relationships firsthand. Every time she came to fetch the food, she was always pushed to the last, regardless of whether she came first or not. The people who came later always got to serve their food before her.

On several occasions, Song's maid Qingping saw Xicha stamping her feet and waiting outside, but no one paid any attention to her.

Qingping, taking advantage of Song's status, asked the kitchen staff to bring out Lanqin's meal along with hers, but Steward Huang said no in front of them.

Xi Cha was furious and questioned him about why she always got her tea last, even though she arrived first.

Manager Huang just chuckled and ignored him.

There's no reason given; I'm just going to make you wait.

Nianxue knew about Xicha's experience in the kitchen, because she herself had to wait a long time to get daily necessities such as silver charcoal and candles from the Imperial Household Department. The two maids silently endured these things without telling Lanqin.

Since being confined, Lanqin has stayed in her room reading and writing all day long, often without saying a word.

The two maids were anxious, but dared not reveal what had happened outside.

Fortunately, Fu Bao was not taken away. Only when Lan Qin held and played with it did her eyes show a bit of life.

Gradually, the entire South Courtyard was increasingly covered by snow. The snow outside was almost halfway up the wall. Because no one came to help clear the snow, those lackeys who used to fawn over the Red and White Courtyard were now avoiding it like the plague.

The poor road conditions made it even more difficult for Nianxue and Xicha to go out and collect their daily expenses.

That day, Nianxue carried the heavy silver charcoal towards the south courtyard, making the journey extremely difficult. The snow was so deep, and with the heavy load, her feet sank into the snow and she couldn't pull them out.

What usually takes a few minutes took Nianxue almost half an hour to walk.

After returning, Nianxue started sneezing because she had been in the snow for too long and had been exposed to the cold wind, which had caused the cold to enter her body.

That evening, Nianxue developed a high fever. Xicha quickly got up, put on a coat, and wrung out a handkerchief to help Nianxue lower her temperature. She then used the method Lanqin had taught her to bring down her fever.

Seeing that Nianxue had started talking nonsense, Xicha finally couldn't hold back anymore. She ran to Lanqin and knocked on the door.

"Princess! Princess!" Xicha called anxiously from outside the door, disregarding everything else.

"What's wrong?" Lanqin's voice came from inside the house.

"Princess, Nianxue has a high fever. I applied a towel to her head, but it's been over an hour and the fever hasn't gone down." Xicha was timid by nature and always relied on Nianxue. If she lost Nianxue, she would have to take care of Nianxue alone tomorrow and manage Lanqin's expenses for the day. Thinking of this, Xicha couldn't help but cry out in fear.

A sudden movement was heard inside the room, and after a while, the door was pushed open from the inside. Lanqin, her hair disheveled and wearing a thick cotton coat, said anxiously, "Why are you crying? Come on, let's go see Nianxue!"

Seeing that Lanqin seemed to have regained her focus after a two-week daze, Xicha quickly wiped her nose and choked out, "Princess, you~"

Lanqin pulled her and immediately walked into Nianxue's room. Before Xicha could finish her sentence, she was stopped by the chill that filled the room.

"Gege, Gege~" Nianxue was running a high fever, but she was calling out for Lanqin.

She must have been dreaming about something; her forehead was covered in sweat, and her mouth was dry. Her loose, damp hair hung down on her forehead.

"Nianxue, I'm here. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid, open your eyes, okay?" Lanqin touched Nianxue's forehead tenderly; it was burning hot.

“Princess, Nianxue looks really scary. We need to get a doctor to take a look at her,” Xicha said.

"It's the middle of the night, where are we going to find someone? If we're going to invite someone, we should invite them tomorrow." Lanqin immediately instructed Xicha to pull Nianxue's blanket back a little, and then the two of them together unbuttoned Nianxue's clothes a bit, revealing her hands and feet.

"Princess, won't she get even colder like this? She already caught a cold in the first place," Xicha said, puzzled.

"She has a high fever right now, we need to bring it down. It's alright. Go get some strips of cloth, soak them in warm water, and keep wiping her legs," Lanqin said hurriedly.