The underfloor heating in Chunying Garden was working perfectly, keeping the spring chill out of the curtains, and the warm steam clung to Yan Ning's forehead. Large beads of sweat fell, mingling with tears in her eyes. She didn't know how to think of Wu Chun now. Was it hatred? Or pity?

Wu Chun was barely in her early twenties when she was to die in the darkness, with neither her husband nor her children by her side. She had no idea where her family members, whom she desperately wanted to see, were, and whether they were alive or dead.

The carved screen, identical to that in the inner chamber of Jian Gong Zhai, had been removed to house Yun Wan's belongings. The only candlestick emitted a faint light, hidden in the darkness some distance away. Two layers of curtains gently brushed the floor, their presence almost imperceptible, like the lingering scent of Wu Chun's breath.

Yan Ning's throat tightened with sobs, and beside her, a maid from Chunying Garden knelt and wept softly. She rose unsteadily, grasping Zhu Xiang's outstretched hand to steady herself.

Wu Chun died, without any heart-wrenching sorrow or the lingering affection of others. She fell into a deep sleep in the dim, hazy morning light, before the first rays of dawn had even touched the Spring Cherry Garden, as serene and undisturbed as she was in life. If it weren't for Xi Ying's machinations, her body wouldn't have become so frail, and even Yun Xin would have been sickly.

But which of the women in this household was born with a heart of stone? They were merely struggling to survive in one game of chess after another, for their families and for themselves. Xi Ying was not wrong, Wu Chun was not wrong either; the only fault lay with this cannibalistic ideology of propriety. Women were to depend on men for survival, sacrificing themselves time and again in the power struggles among men.

As dawn broke, the old lady ordered Li Mama to escort Yunxin back to Chunying Garden. She slowly ran back to the main house, and upon seeing Yan Ning, she timidly greeted her, "Yunxin greets Grandmother!"

Yan Ning's tears froze, and she watched as Yun Xin's frail figure moved toward the bed. Standing beside Wu Chun, Yun Xin asked softly, "Is my mother too sick to get out of bed again?" Like Wu Chun, she preferred to wear off-white clothing, her milky-white brocade robe and trousers clinging to her small frame. Although she was older than Yun Wan, she looked much younger, not like a six-year-old child.

Yan Ning embraced Yun Xin, tears welling in her eyes falling onto the two small buns in Yun Xin's hair. She choked out, "Yes, your mother is not well. Go and play with your younger brother and sister!" Yan Ning then instructed the wet nurse, Zheng Shi, to take Yun Xin to Jian Gong Zhai.

Upon waking up, Dexuan found herself in Jian Gong Zhai and hurriedly ran to Yunwan's room to wake her up. While helping Dexuan and Yunwan get dressed, the wet nurse instructed their personal maids to fetch water for them to wash up.

After serving the two girls breakfast, the wet nurse took Dexuan and Yunwan to the tutor's quarters. Knowing that Yan Ning was not at Jian Gong Zhai that day, Yunwan took advantage of the tutor's convenience and secretly ran away with Dexuan. The two had just reached the hanging flower gate of the mansion when they ran into Fukang'an, who was returning home.

Fukang'an's worried expression vanished the moment he saw Yunwan and Dexuan. The two women stared at him wide-eyed, filled with curiosity; the Fucha residence wasn't a place anyone could freely enter and leave. Dexuan, seeing the guards' respectful demeanor towards Fukang'an, became suspicious. "Who are you, daring to trespass into my Fucha residence!"

The servant beside him wanted to speak up to remind them, but Fukang'an waved him off. He looked at Yunwan and Dexuan's curious and innocent faces with great interest.

Yunwan saw that Yan Ning had painted a portrait of Fukang'an, but the painting and the person were different, and Fukang'an's face looked more weathered and mature than it had been five years ago. She tugged at Dexuan's blue robe and said uncertainly, "Dexuan, he looks like our father!"

De Xuan pouted, "Yunwan, don't just claim any father. Mother said our father is a great general, he wears armor and iron clothes!" As he spoke, he looked at Fukang'an's deep crimson robe.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Fukang'an's worried expression vanished with a hearty laugh. He bent down and scooped up Yunwan and Dexuan, gazing at their jade-like, delicate faces. Only Yan Ning could bear him children with such exquisitely beautiful features. Without even asking the servants beside him, Fukang'an knew that these were Yan Ning's children.

Yunxin rarely studied at the teacher's place. Seeing that Yunwan and Dexuan had both run out, she followed them. When she reached the hanging flower gate, she happened to see Dexuan and Yunwan being carried by Fukang'an. She retreated even more timidly behind the hanging flower gate, secretly peeking out with her eyes filled with fear as she watched Yunwan and Dexuan struggling in Fukang'an's arms.

Butler Luo rushed from the backyard to find Fukang'an and report that Wuchun had passed away. He was startled to see Fukang'an, then knelt down, wiping away his tears, "This servant greets the General! Aunt An, Aunt An is gone!"

The children's commotion still lingered in their ears, but Butler Luo's soft voice pierced through Yunwan and Dexuan's cries of "Let us go!"

He returned from the palace only after learning that Wuchun was seriously ill, but upon seeing Yunwan and Dexuan, he forgot his original purpose for returning. Feeling somewhat guilty, he handed the two children in his arms to the servant beside him and strode towards Chunying Garden.

Spring Cherry Garden was no longer the same as it had been years ago; the strong smell of medicinal soup had mingled with the fragrance of flowers. Fukang'an walked hurriedly, not even paying attention to the servants who bowed to him, and rushed into the main room. The hot air that rushed towards him made his tightly furrowed brows even deeper.

He pulled Yan Ning, who was being supported by Zhu Xiang, into his arms and looked into her red and swollen eyes. "I'll handle things here. You go back to Jiangongzhai and take Yunxin to your place. Don't frighten her!"

Five years' worth of unspoken words lingered on Yan Ning's lips, echoing in her dreams a thousand times. She never imagined she would meet Fukang'an at the moment of Wuchun's death. She didn't believe in ghosts or gods, but she always felt that Wuchun's spirit was watching her and Fukang'an from somewhere in Chunying Garden. She nodded, took Zhuxiang's hand, and hurriedly left.

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