With the Lunar New Year approaching, the Fourth Prince has been busy with palace affairs. He has been staying in the front courtyard these days and hasn't set foot in the inner quarters. Only Su Peisheng knows how reluctant and somewhat helpless the Fourth Prince is about dealing with Princess Niu.

In that situation, if he didn't punish Niu Gege, it would be difficult to gain public support. Judging from the punishment, Li's punishment was significantly harsher than Niu Gege's; her treatment was equivalent to that of a concubine, essentially stripping her of her rank, and she was left with only Mingyan to serve her.

The fact that the punishments for the same crime of murdering Yan Yu and her unborn child are different speaks volumes.

Another person who shared the same thought was the Fujin, who was standing under the eaves listening to Granny Li report on various matters in the mansion.

"Master, as you instructed, we have already taken control of the two servants in charge of silver charcoal in the Internal Affairs Department," said Granny Li calmly, as if she were talking about a trivial matter.

"The Fourth Prince's treatment of them is clearly different, so this Princess Consort can't rest easy. We need to think of a way to make those two people who are confined suddenly die from a serious illness, so as to avoid future troubles." The Princess Consort raised her hand, which was covered with a red gold openwork tortoiseshell nail, and reached out to catch the fine snowflakes falling from the sky.

“In my humble opinion, perhaps this snowfall presents an opportunity,” said Granny Li, glancing at the Fujin.

"How is Li Shi doing?" The Fujin suddenly grabbed the snowflakes she was holding in her hand.

"I heard she's been causing a ruckus every day, but nobody pays any attention to her. It's ridiculous, really, that someone as insignificant as Madam Wang ended up helping us," said Granny Li.

"All of this is thanks to Granny. Let Wang approach the East Courtyard. She is indeed a good pawn to help me get rid of Li." The Princess Consort's lips curled into a cold smile. Ever since the First Prince left, she has rarely smiled.

"It's just that the master hasn't been to the inner quarters lately, so even though she was assigned to serve him, she hasn't had the chance," said Granny Li.

"Tell her to prepare well; there will always be opportunities. That girl Yan Yu has become increasingly presumptuous lately. If we don't find someone to balance her out, she'll start to look down on everyone," the Fujin said coldly.

"I've heard of a medicine that can be sprinkled on charcoal. As it burns, the smoke slowly seeps into the body, causing chronic poisoning and death to those who inhale it for a long time. Li Mama, go to Wu Ge's place and make sure he finds this medicine." The princess said grimly.

Granny Li glanced at the Fujin (principal wife), nodded in agreement, and went to carry out her duties.

The wife's temperament was getting colder and colder. After the death of the eldest prince, the fourth prince intended to repair their relationship, but not long after, the fourth prince reverted to his old ways and rarely set foot in the main courtyard. Even when he did come, he would only sit for a meal and rarely stay overnight.

Meanwhile, after taking several doses of medicine prescribed by Doctor Zhou, Nianxue gradually recovered. Lanqin was somewhat surprised to learn that Xicha hadn't been able to find Su Peisheng, but rather that Geng had helped her find Doctor Zhou. However, since Xicha had still been helpful, she asked Xicha to convey her gratitude to Geng.

On this day, Nianxue had almost recovered, so Lanqin said to the two maids, "While the son is not crying much this time, take those broken promises and go outside to scatter some along the roads you usually walk on."

Nianxue asked, puzzled, "Gege, can this salt be used to scrape off the snow?"

Lanqin nodded and said, "Yes, it's very effective. You two put on thicker clothes, and then sprinkle some of this salt out, and that will do."

Although Lanqin often came up with some strange and unusual ideas, Nianxue and Xicha were mostly confused at first, but in the end, they always achieved unexpected results. So the two of them didn't say much and, as Lanqin instructed, took the salt and went out.

At this moment, the empty south courtyard was unusually quiet. Lanqin looked up at the still overcast sky, where small snowflakes occasionally drifted down. Suddenly, she remembered the Fourth Master's promise to take her ice skating in the garden, as if it were a very, very long time ago.

Isn't it great now? Staying here, no one bothers me. I can finally live the homebody life I've always dreamed of!

Lanqin comforted herself, saying that she had recently picked up her old hobby again, reading every day without fail. Fortunately, none of the books in her study had been taken away, otherwise Lanqin might have really been bored to death. In addition, she had also started practicing calligraphy, and she found that sometimes writing calligraphy for an afternoon was indeed a calming and peaceful thing.

Meanwhile, Nianxue and Xicha, following Lanqin's instructions, lightly sprinkled salt on the snow on both sides of the road. Before they had gone far, they saw that the snow where the salt had been sprinkled had started to melt and slowly turned into water.

Gradually, with the actions of the two little girls, the thick snow at the entrance of the South Courtyard melted away.

"I didn't expect that Princess's idea would actually work. Salt can actually melt snow." Xi Cha was really happy because she had to go out from here every day to fetch food and water from the kitchen. The heavy snow for many days had made the roads very difficult to walk on. All the other places had been cleared, but only the South Courtyard was deserted.

“When has Princess ever let us down? I believe she will make a comeback sooner or later,” Nianxue said indignantly.

The two carried baskets into the courtyard, while Lanqin was already reading in the study. However, she felt a little cold because there wasn't enough charcoal, so she had to wrap herself in a quilt.

"Sigh, in the dead of winter, there's only two-thirds less charcoal than before, and the princess is freezing," Xicha said to Nianxue.

"Shh, keep your voice down. Gege has finally agreed to speak. What's the point of you saying this?" Nianxue interrupted her.

The two were talking quietly at the gate when suddenly there was a knock on the door.

Nianxue and Xicha exchanged a glance, both wondering: Who would come to the South Courtyard at this time?

Xi Cha reached the door before Nian Xue, unlatched it, and opened it. To her surprise, two unfamiliar servants stood outside, carrying a basket of charcoal.

"Excuse me, are you two delivering charcoal?" Xi Cha asked quickly upon seeing the charcoal.

“Indeed, the weather is getting colder and colder. The head nanny is thinking of Princess Niu and specially sent me to bring a basket of charcoal,” one of them said.

"That's wonderful! We're running low on charcoal. Thank you so much, please bring it in quickly." Xi Cha was surprised that someone had come to deliver charcoal at this moment, so she happily welcomed them inside.

"No, we'll leave the charcoal here. Please carry it inside yourself, young lady. Our master has ordered that no one is allowed to enter without permission," another person said.