Lanqin and Xicha worked tirelessly through the night, taking turns watching over Nianxue and constantly trying to lower her fever. As dawn approached, Lanqin took a gold hairpin from her jewelry box and handed it to Xicha, saying, "Go find Eunuch Su, give him this, and ask him to have Doctor Zhou prescribe some medicine to expel the cold from her body. No need for anyone else to come."

Xi Cha took the gold hairpin, put on a thick cotton coat, and was about to go out when she suddenly heard Lan Qin shout, "Go to the kitchen and get some salt, the more the better."

Xi Cha asked, puzzled, "Princess, why did you bring back salt?"

"Melting Snow!" Lanqin said, and then walked towards Nianxue's house.

Following Lanqin's instructions, Xicha found Zhao Quan, Su Peisheng's apprentice, at the front gate. Upon seeing that it was Xicha from the South Courtyard, Zhao Quan seemed reluctant to announce her arrival.

Xi Cha then pleaded, "My princess needs Eunuch Su's help, and we would also appreciate it if Eunuch Zhao could do her a favor."

Zhao Quan then said in a sarcastic tone, "Oh, my master is currently serving the master, so he probably won't have time to see you. I think you should go back."

Zhao Quan usually greets everyone from the South Courtyard with a smile, but this time, seeing that Lanqin has been sidelined by the Fourth Master, his face changed quite quickly.

Seeing that he still wouldn't budge, Xicha had no choice but to give up. As she walked, she remembered someone who might be able to help the princess.

Thinking of this, Xi Cha quickly turned around and headed towards the west courtyard.

That's right, the person Xicha wants to find is the Geng family.

Geng had always been on good terms with Lanqin, so Xicha thought that Geng was the only person who could help Lanqin.

At this moment, Madam Geng was drinking red tea, sitting on a warm couch watching someone embroider.

"Gege Geng, these were sent over by our princess. She said these are all things she likes, and she asked you to embroider some of them." Chun Tao relayed Yan Yu's words while showing Geng the embroidery patterns.

"Alright, Green Lan, pour Chun Tao a cup of tea. I'd like to take a look." Madam Geng glanced at Chun Tao discreetly and picked out a few patterns from the ones she had brought out.

At this moment, Cui'er came in to announce that Xi Cha from the South Courtyard was requesting an audience.

Geng was momentarily stunned, but Lülan said, "Why are you looking for the Princess now? Is something wrong over there?"

Chun Tao wasn't familiar with the maids in the South Courtyard, so she just drank her tea and didn't pay much attention to their conversation.

"Tell her to wait in the side room. I'll go later." Madam Geng glanced at Chun Tao, then continued looking at the patterns in her hand without making a sound.

Yan Yu was in a great mood after eliminating Li Shi and Lan Qin with ease, and naturally no longer cared about Geng Shi.

Xi Cha was led into a side room by Lü Lan to wait, and after watching for a while, Geng sent Chun Tao away.

Seeing that the room was as cold as an ice cellar, Xi Cha knew that Geng's life was not easy either.

Lost in thought, the door creaked open.

Geng appeared, dressed in an apricot-colored cotton robe, holding a gilded flat-bottomed hand warmer in her hands, her expression similar to usual.

Xi Cha quickly curtsied and said to Madam Geng, "Gege Geng, I have come with great courage to ask you to help our master."

Madam Geng's eyes flickered slightly as she said, "Sister Niu is being held captive by Fourth Master. I may wish to help, but I am powerless to do so!"

Xi Cha quickly said, "Gege, you misunderstand. I don't want to ask you to plead for my master. I just want to ask you to call Doctor Zhou and ask him to prescribe some medicine to bring down the fever."

Upon hearing this, Madam Geng couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong? Is Sister Niu ill?"

Xi Cha waved her hand and said, "No, it's Nian Xue. The princess sent me out to find Su Peisheng, but he has been serving the master and has no time to see me. That's when I thought of Princess Geng. She is the closest to my princess. I beg Princess Geng to lend a hand."

Madam Geng understood, and after a moment's thought, she said, "If I want to see Doctor Zhou, I should first inform the Fujin (Madam's wife). However, since my sister needs it, Lulan, go and tell the Fujin that I have caught a cold and would like Doctor Zhou to come over."

Green Orchid glanced at Madam Geng, puzzled as to why she was helping the mistress and servant in the South Courtyard. She knew that Madam Geng had already allied with Yan Yu, so why was she suddenly trying to help Madam Niu? Wouldn't that be tantamount to turning against Yan Yu?

"What, don't you understand what I'm saying? Hurry up and go~~" Madam Geng said in a harsher tone, her usual gentle demeanor completely gone.

Green Orchid dared not disobey, so she immediately curtsied and left.

Xi Cha gratefully bowed to Madam Geng again and said, "Thank you, Lady Geng. I have found the right person."

Madam Geng smiled gently and said to Xicha, "It's cold here. Come, come with me to my room and wait for a while."

In less than half an hour, Doctor Zhou arrived at Madam Geng's house with Lülan.

At first, Doctor Zhou was reluctant to prescribe medicine. After all, everything in the South Courtyard was under lockdown, and it was impossible to call a doctor when the maid was sick. They could only leave it to fate. So, Madam Geng said to Doctor Zhou, "Doctor Zhou, there is no one else here. Just pretend that you have prescribed medicine for me. Once we leave this room, we can pretend that we didn't see anything. Wouldn't that be better?"

After thinking for a moment, Dr. Zhou remembered that Lanqin had always been very polite to him and had given him many purses. He also thought that what Madam Geng said was true, so he prescribed a medicine for Xicha.

Madam Geng then ordered Lülan to personally accompany Doctor Zhou to get the medicine, while she had Xicha keep her company and talk to her.

"How is your princess now?" Geng asked.

“At first, the princess didn’t speak for several days, just reading or lying down all day. We servants were terrified. It was only because Nianxue fell ill that the princess seemed to come back to her senses,” Xicha said.

Madam Geng's gaze darkened, and she said to Xicha, "Master has already ordered that no one is allowed to visit. Although I wish to see my sister, the rules are simply in place."

Xi Cha was already very grateful to Madam Geng at this moment. Seeing her say this, she said, "Gege won't blame Geng Gege. Besides, Geng Gege even got medicine for Nianxue. She really helped us a lot."

Madam Geng smiled without saying a word. After Lülan brought back the medicine she had prepared and handed it to Xicha, she told her to hurry back.

"Princess, why did you help them? It wouldn't be good if Princess Yan Yu found out!" Green Lan finally couldn't help but ask after Xi Cha left.

"Didn't you see how she humiliated me by calling a second-class maid?" Geng's eyes were now filled with cold light, and her gentle and soft demeanor from before was nowhere to be seen.

"You mean those paper drawings that Chun Tao brought earlier?" Lu Lan asked.

“If I lose Nanxiaoyuan, I’m afraid I’ll be nothing in her eyes, so I can’t let Niu Shi disappear completely,” Geng Shi murmured, gazing at the heavy snow outside.