At the end of October, the first heavy snow fell in the capital. Song Yaozhu had planned to visit the Dowager Consort, but the snow delayed her.

With the Emperor's order to dig the canal underway, preparations were in full swing in all the prefectures. Because of the prophecy of the scholar, many merchants stockpiled charcoal, hoping to sell it at a good price this year. However, because everyone was hoarding, the price of charcoal did not rise.

The Peng family even set aside space in their shop, providing charcoal and hot water to warm those suffering from the cold.

With the Peng family's righteous act as a precedent, those who wanted to make a fortune from charcoal fires had their dreams shattered.

Song Yaozhu's morning sickness has subsided, and her lower abdomen has become protruding, feeling both hard and soft to the touch, evoking a strange mix of emotions.

She still seemed unable to accept that her body was nurturing another life.

On the day the snow stopped, Yongle ran to the Prince Xiaoyao's mansion to have a snowball fight with her.

Song Yaozhu teased her, "You should go to your sister for a snowball fight. She has so many kids at the Tzu Chi Foundation to play with."

“But nobody plays with you! I see you cooped up in this yard all day, I can’t just watch you suffocate.”

Upon hearing this, Song Yaozhu felt a warmth in her heart.

Having survived two assassination attempts, she could always sense Xie Liwei's anxiety whenever she went out. Even though he tried his best to hide it, she could still detect it.

To avoid worrying her loved one, she stopped going out.

She understood Xie Liwei's worries. Having regained what he had lost, he was naturally more afraid of losing himself again than others.

Although he felt constrained by it, wasn't it a sweet burden?

Seeing Song Yaozhu's saccharine smile, Yongle couldn't help but click his tongue.

Hmph, so what if she has a husband? Doesn't she have one too?

"This kind of weather is perfect for hot pot. Have someone prepare it. I'll have Shen Qingque and Cao Zhi eat here after they finish their shifts. Later, I'll send a message to my sister and ask her to come too."

Song Yaozhu rolled her eyes at her, "You really don't consider yourself an outsider."

"It's just a meal, what's there to be so formal about? Can't you be more generous? Can't you even afford to treat me to a meal?"

Song Yaozhu: "......"

Why isn't she being more open and honest? Is this even a matter of the pot? She's already making her own decisions; if this continues, she'll get increasingly arrogant!

"Alright, alright, you can have this palace. I'll find somewhere else to stay."

"That won't do. If you leave, no one here will listen to me!"

The two bickered, and Xie Liwei returned in the wind and snow, carrying the chill of the outside air with him, his brows seemingly frozen by the cold weather.

"What's wrong?"

"A civil unrest has broken out in Xuzhou." Xie Liwei took off his outer robe and handed it to his maid. "The Yunzhou people who were staying in Xuzhou were ostracized by the locals. Some people put rat poison in the relief grain, which killed many people. The two sides fought, resulting in many deaths and injuries among the Xuzhou people as well. Now the Xuzhou people are demanding that the Yunzhou people be sent back to the city, but the Yunzhou people are not having it."

Upon hearing this, Song Yaozhu knew that someone was manipulating things behind the scenes.

Moreover, this matter is similar to what happened to the King of Qin back then; it was caused by the people's coercion. If the prefect of Xuzhou handles it improperly, it will lead to another civil unrest.

"Poisoning? Who would do such a thing!" Yongle was so shocked that her jaw almost dropped. Although she was not an innocent little girl who knew nothing, poisoning the disaster relief food was simply outrageous!

Those people were already suffering enough. They had no home to return to. Even on the land of Dachen, they lived as dependents, relying on others for survival.

If it weren't for a natural disaster, who would want to leave their home?

"What does the prefect of Xuzhou think?"

Xie Liwei's expression was grim. He shook his head, indicating that he didn't know either. The prefect of Xuzhou wasn't one of his men, so it was difficult for him to discern his thoughts.

They all knew that someone was behind this, but they didn't know who it was or why.

"I have already sent people to Xuzhou at top speed, but..." By the time their men arrive, the people behind them may have already succeeded.

Although they finally got to eat the hot pot, they weren't enjoying it. The three men talked about things in Xuzhou while they ate, and the three women couldn't offer any help.

Song Yaozhu wondered, who would be the biggest beneficiary of the Xuzhou civil unrest?

"Have we all forgotten someone?" Song Yaozhu suddenly broke the silence. "Prince Yong, Yuwen Aimin."

Shen Qingque suddenly realized this, "Before, when he was in Xuzhou, he won a lot of good reputation by cooperating with Xuzhou to resettle the disaster victims, but the Crown Prince guarding Yunzhou has attracted a lot of praise and overshadowed the Prince of Yong. This must be something he is very unwilling to see."

"So he used his fiefdom to give the crown prince a warning while also establishing his own authority."

"If all goes well, Yunzhou might be incorporated into his fiefdom."

"Killing two birds with one stone, which expert advised Prince Yong?"

Everyone at the table was silent. Yongle bit his chopsticks, his big, round eyes looking around blankly at this person and that person.

Shen Qingyu put a full bowl of meat on her plate, indicating that she should just eat the rice obediently.

After Yongle finished eating, he suggested having a snowball fight, but everyone quietly avoided the suggestion. Shen Qingque turned to Xie Liwei and said, "I've heard that the tea at the Prince's residence is quite good. I wonder if I may have the honor of trying it?"

Cao Zhi looked at Shen Qingyu with a sheepish grin, unable to utter a single word. Shen Qingyu looked at him, awkwardly turned her face away, then turned back to ask him, "Want to go see the plum blossoms at the Prince's residence?"

Xie Liwei's flowers are famously beautiful in the capital, but isn't it too inappropriate to use his palace as a place for romance?

Well, bringing together a couple in love is also a good deed.

Yongle reluctantly followed Song Yaozhu back to the house to watch the two grown men compete in tea, but the tea competition between the two handsome men was quite interesting.

Both of them had long, beautiful fingers, and their movements were fluid and graceful, with their clothes fluttering and the water gurgling, captivating the viewer.

Yongle held the cup and looked at Shen Qingque with starry eyes, "My husband is amazing."

Song Yaozhu clicked her tongue: "Mine isn't bad either."

"Your family member is old."

Xie Liwei & Song Yaozhu: Expelled from the Carefree Prince's Mansion!!!

Shen Qingque quickly tried to cover it up: "My wife must have drunk too much at the banquet. As her aunt and uncle, the Princess and the Prince will surely forgive her."

Xie Liwei snorted, thinking to himself that he was a generation older than her, so he wouldn't hold it against her.

As long as his own princess doesn't dislike him, that's fine.

After seeing everyone off that evening, Xie Liwei hugged Song Yaozhu's waist and said aggrievedly, "I'm so much older than you, do you think I'm old?"

Song Yaozhu: "......"

She's the one who's pregnant, right? She should be the one feeling melancholic and sentimental, shouldn't she?

"I don't mind."

"How heartbroken you would be if I went before you..."

Song Yaozhu: "You won't."

"What if?"

Song Yaozhu couldn't stand it anymore and slapped him hard on the back: "Go to sleep!"

"oh......"