Days passed by, and winter arrived in the blink of an eye.

A chill permeated the entire capital city, and most of the people were already wearing light cotton-padded coats.

It's hard to find cool and refreshing food on the streets anymore; everywhere you look, you find warm and comforting foods.

The Princess's Residence, Study.

Shang Changge, dressed as lavishly and ostentatiously as ever, sat on a golden nanmu chair, reading the message sent by Changsun Yanheng.

There are two messages:

Firstly, he has already regained power with the help of his beautiful younger brother.

Secondly, in recent months, Jin Lou has repeatedly sent people to Southern Liang to persuade the emperor of Southern Liang to join him in a rebellion.

"Tsk."

Shang Changge was a little surprised, but not much, since it was part of the script.

After burning the letter, Shang Changge leaned her head against the back of the nanmu chair, closed her eyes, and recounted the events that had occurred during this period.

Murong Huai, who was also her uncle, was dismissed from his position as the Grand Master of the Court of Judicial Review because of the case of Ge Yunshu's fifth uncle, Ge Wuqing.

Actually, it wasn't that bad, but the old emperor did dismiss his uncle from his post.

She interpreted this as the old emperor's retaliation, a counterattack against their killing of the three Ge brothers and their disruption of the amnesty plan.

The powerful minister's maternal grandfather was very angry about this.

According to the beauty's younger brother, ever since then, the old man has not only frequently caused trouble for Emperor Mingde in court, but also...

Privately, he also openly and secretly spoke ill of the Emperor to the beauty's younger brother, his intentions were quite clear.

The old emperor made a move, and so did others.

The beautiful younger brother has been sending fifty people into the palace through that secret passage for replacement.

Her hundred elite troops and several talented individuals, acquired through the exchange of ordinary goods, have begun to take shape and are showing promise after training.

At most another month,

She could then secretly return most of the people in the mansion to her younger brother and replace them with her own.

As for Shang Rui...

Shang Rui's public image during this period can be described in a few words:

Despondency, self-abandonment, neglecting one's duties, indulging in beautiful women and fine wine, seeking pleasure...

Emperor Mingde not only scolded Shang Rui in court after the failed attempt to recruit him to Gejiazhuang, but he also scolded him two, three, four, five, six, seven, and eight times afterward.

Not only did they hurl insults, but each time the insults became more and more offensive...

After the eighth time, Shang Rui stopped attending court.

He reverted to his carefree and frivolous prince ways, and even became more unrestrained.

Now, everyone in the capital city and even Qingyan knows that the emperor and the third prince have fallen out.

As before, Emperor Mingde only favored the crown prince. In addition to the crown prince, there was another prince who recently gained Emperor Mingde's favor:

Shang Ye.

Shang Changge: "Tsk tsk tsk!"

This time, Shang Changge clicked her tongue three times in a row, her narrow, beautiful phoenix eyes showing a strong and obvious interest, finding the situation extremely interesting.

"Knock knock." It was Qingyao.

Qingyao: "Princess, the carriage is ready."

Fifteen minutes later,

Shang Changge appeared at the most famous theater in the capital city and discussed with the owner the need to replace a group of actors.

Yes, entertainers.

It wasn't that she had recently developed a fondness for watching and listening to operas; it was just that the noise from the princess's martial arts training ground at certain times needed to be masked by the sound of opera singing.

Shang Changge was very generous, and the theater owner, a businessman, smiled so much his eyes narrowed into slits, nodding and bowing in agreement:

"Yes, of course! You'll have to choose for yourself, they're all getting their makeup done right now..."

In order to fit the persona of "love of opera" that she had established for herself recently, Shang Changge personally went around and selected some people.

Yeah, I only pick the ones with the loudest voices.

Half an hour later.

Shang Changge left the theater, boarded a carriage, and headed to the restaurant where she had arranged to meet Xiao Ji.

She timed her departure perfectly, arriving at the restaurant just in time for dinner.

"Creak—"

The door to the private room closed, and Duoming and Qingyao stood guard at the door.

Inside the private room, Shang Changge was already sitting on Xiao Ji's lap, hugging Xiao Ji like a giant heater and sighing comfortably.

Xiao Ji was used to it and obediently let his little rascal use him as a hand warmer.

After drinking a pot of hot tea, his thin lips, no longer cold, landed a kiss on Shang Changge's graceful swan neck, a sigh of helplessness mixed with a playful remark:

"If I had known that the princess would cling to me so much after it got cold, I should have gone to the temple to burn incense and pray to God to make it get cold quickly."

Shang Changge hugged the giant human-shaped heater even tighter, only answering when she felt herself slowly 'thawing' and coming back to life:

"If General Xiao can make the weather colder or hotter by burning incense and praying to Buddha at the temple, then I will have to worship General Xiao."

In this way, Qingyan will no longer suffer from droughts or floods, and every year will be blessed with favorable weather.

Xiao Ji was amused and changed his position to pull the woman, who was clinging to him like an octopus, into his arms.

A large, calloused hand enveloped Shang Changge's hand, using internal force to warm it instantly.

Xiao Ji: "Why are you so afraid of the cold? It's only the beginning of winter. What will happen to my delicate princess when it snows heavily in a while?"

Shang Changge grasped Xiao Ji's hand in return. Her beautiful face, though seemingly joking, conveyed a deep sincerity.

"To prevent me from freezing to death, please transfer your inner strength to me."

After spending some time together, Xiao Ji not only figured out Shang Changge's personality, but also learned to imitate him very well.

He grasped Shang Changge's hand in return, his handsome, sculpted face also displaying sincerity, his voice still mature and mellow:

"Does the princess want my inner strength? The princess clearly wants my life."

The two knew perfectly well that internal energy could not be transferred, so they often used it to make harmless jokes.

Shang Changge lightly kicked the man's calf, finding the situation both amusing and exasperating:

"Xiao Ji, you're becoming more and more like me."

Xiao Ji's entire body is made up of muscles that have been trained over many years, and each muscle is full of explosive power.

Shang Changge's kick was insignificant to Xiao Ji, but Xiao Ji became increasingly cunning after thoroughly studying Xiao Xizhi's Thirty-Six Strategies for Love.

Xiao Ji: "Ouch, the princess kicked me hard."

After crying out in pain, General Xiao said with a wronged tone that he needed a kiss to feel better, and then naturally and naturally kissed Shang Changge's lips.

While enjoying General Xiao's increasingly skilled and praiseworthy kisses, Shang Changge secretly gave General Xiao a thumbs up: 6!

Since this man has completely lost all shame, he has not only come up with one outrageous act after another, but his tricks have also become increasingly varied.

After winter sets in,

It got dark earlier than before winter, and the two of them ate their dinner at a leisurely pace. When they came out after dinner, it was just getting dark.

The streets are bustling tonight because it's Qingyan's Lantern Festival.

After a short while, Shang Changge was carrying the flamboyant crab lantern in one hand, while Xiao Ji held her other hand firmly.

Walking along a street lined with lanterns, bustling with people, filled with laughter and laughter.

With a bright smile, she occasionally exchanged a few words with Xiao Ji. Suddenly, Shang Changge keenly sensed a gaze upon her.

Looking up, I precisely spotted a somewhat familiar figure who quickly turned and disappeared into the crowd.

Hey, you've finally reappeared after so many days.

Ge Yunshu.