When the steward of the estate conveyed this good news to the tenants, they all had tears in their eyes, knelt down in the direction of Jindu City, and kowtowed three times in reverence.

For Gu Qinlan, this might be a trivial matter. But for them, it was a matter of life and death for their entire family.

After delivering the message, Hongye asked the steward of the estate to take her to the home of the peasant woman who had tragically committed suicide.

This tenant farmer lived in poverty, with seven or eight children. The male head of the household was lazy and loved to eat, and the family's livelihood depended entirely on the harvest from the fields.

The sudden downpour flooded almost all the crops in the fields. The husband then ate the last of their stored food. The wife, unable to tolerate this, argued with him and was subsequently beaten severely.

In despair, the woman chose to end her own life.

Hongye had only heard the steward briefly mention the woman who hanged herself, and had not personally visited the tenant farmer's house.

Now, she wanted to personally hand the silver over to this family, so she made this special trip.

Stepping into the dilapidated tenant's house, Hongye's brows furrowed involuntarily.

This tenant farmer's family was extremely poor; their three dilapidated rooms were on the verge of collapse, as if they might crumble at any moment. Several children were barely clothed, their eyes vacant. And the peasant woman's body lay there forlornly in the muddy yard, covered only by a tattered piece of straw.

The family was so poor that they couldn't even afford a decent piece of mourning cloth.

When the man heard the steward introduce Hongye as someone who had come to distribute silver, his eyes immediately lit up with fanaticism. He knelt down impatiently, wiping his rough hands repeatedly on his muddy clothes, and then stretched them out to Hongye with trembling hands: "Thank you for your generosity, madam."

However, Hongye did not hand over the silver to him, but instead turned her head and looked at the other people in his family.

After looking around, she found that apart from this adult man, there were no other adults present.

The steward explained, "His parents have long since passed away, and his brothers and sisters have all separated and established their own households."

It seems that this sum of money really can only be given to him.

Hongye was extremely unwilling. If she handed over the money to him, she was afraid that the peasant woman would still not be able to get a proper funeral.

But as he hesitated, a small, dirty hand, about half a year old, suddenly reached out: "Sister, give me the money, and I will definitely give my mother a grand funeral."

The speaker was a girl who looked to be only ten years old. Her hair was dry and yellow like withered grass, her body was covered in mud, and her clothes were no longer recognizable as their original colors.

"You brat, what are you doing? Look at your filthy appearance! Don't offend our distinguished guest! Go back inside!" The man hurriedly pushed his daughter away, turned to Hongye, revealing a set of yellowed teeth, and said with a fawning expression, "Please don't take offense, young lady. My daughter is a little simple-minded; please don't hold it against her. This silver..."

The little girl's eyes reddened with anxiety, and she was almost crying: "Sister, I'm not stupid. Please, don't give the money to my father. He won't use it to bury my mother."

"You brat, shut up! If you dare to talk nonsense again, I'll slap you!" the man cursed angrily as he raised his hand to strike.

However, his hand was halfway through its swing when it was firmly restrained by Hongye.

With a little force from Hongye, the man screamed in pain like a pig being slaughtered: "Ouch, my arm! Girl, spare me! Spare me!"

Hongye pushed him away, her face as cold as ice: "This money is a funeral gift from the madam, don't covet it!"

After saying that, she turned her head and looked at the little girl with gentle eyes: "I'm giving you this silver. Are you capable of protecting it? Do you need my assistance?"

In the instant the girl turned to look at her mother's body, her gaze was as resolute as the stars: "I can protect everyone! Thank you for your kindness, sister, but your help can only solve our immediate problem and cannot support us for a lifetime. Therefore, I must be self-reliant and strong."

A hint of approval flashed in Hongye's eyes. She then handed over the silver in her hand and asked gently, "What's your name?"

The little girl carefully accepted the silver, then knelt down with a thud, gesturing for her friends behind her to kneel as well: "My name is Lu Xinmei. I am grateful for your kindness, sister. Please tell the Crown Prince's wife that Xinmei will remember your profound kindness. I will definitely lead my younger brothers and sisters to work diligently and repay your kindness with practical actions."

Several children, covered in dust and dirt, knelt down in front of Hongye, kowtowing repeatedly in gratitude.

Seeing this scene, Hongye felt an indescribable pang of sorrow welling up in her heart.

As they parted, Hongye decisively grabbed the man and said, "If you dare to even think about those five taels of silver, I'll twist your head off!"

The man hesitated, quickly swearing that he had no greed.

Hongye left the man behind, glanced back at Lu Xinmei, and said, "Take good care of yourself. If you encounter any difficulties, go find the steward at the manor."

Lu Xinmei knelt down again and kowtowed three times to Hongye, the mud on her forehead scattering as she kowtowed.

Hongye returned to the manor with a heavy heart and confided in Gu Qinlan what she had seen and heard.

After hearing this, Gu Qinlan couldn't help but sigh: "Everyone in the world suffers greatly, but fortunately this girl is capable of being independent. Tell the steward of the estate to take good care of her."

However, there are many suffering people in this world, how many can she save? Besides, urgent measures can only address the symptoms, and desperate situations require change. She has already helped one person, and the rest are up to fate.

Hongye nodded in understanding.

Just then, a servant rushed over and said, "Madam, someone has delivered an invitation."

The person who sent the invitation was none other than Luo's mother, who had invited Gu Qinlan to Taibai Tower three days ago to discuss cooperation.

Today is the last day of the agreement, and Gu Qinlan has long put the matter out of her mind.

She immediately instructed the servant: "Return the invitation and tell the person who sent it that there is no need to come again."

The servant accepted the order and left.

Hongye frowned and asked suspiciously, "Miss, what exactly is Madam Luo plotting?"

Gu Qinlan spoke calmly, as if she were recounting something insignificant: "It's merely an attempt to form an alliance, but I have no intention of getting involved in her conflicts."

A hint of confusion flashed in Hongye's eyes: "An alliance?"

Gu Qinlan's thoughts drifted back to that day, and the image of the child following closely behind Madam Luo came to mind. "Madam Luo probably won't give up easily. You need to inform Polang to ensure the safety of the eldest young master going to and from school in the near future. Also, remind the two young ladies that if there is no urgent matter, it is best not to go out in the next few days. If they must go out, they should be accompanied by several people."

"Yes, sir!"

In the following days, Gu Qinlan stayed at home and rarely went out, and the other people in the Duan Prince's Mansion also reduced the number of times they went out.

The entire Prince Duan's residence was shrouded in tranquility, completely unknown to the outside world, with news tightly sealed off.

However, this tranquility did not last.