Quick Wear: The first person to love the host

After settling Old Master Shen in, Su Ziyu prepared ink and paper that very night to write a letter to the Shen family in Jiangnan to let them know he was safe. As he put pen to paper, the night deepened and the dew grew heavy outside the window. He held his wrist suspended, writing each word with utmost care.

It was past midnight when he finished writing the letter, but he was still worried. He specifically instructed the steward to tell the doctor in the manor to be on high alert at night and to be ready to be summoned at any time.

The old man had traveled a long and arduous journey. Although he was not short of money, he was still an elderly man and his body could not withstand such a torment.

Stopping abruptly from your busy schedule might actually lead to health problems.

Fortunately, the night passed peacefully.

The next morning, after breakfast, Su Ziyu was still worried, so she personally went to invite Jiang Ba, a disciple of Doctor Jiang, to take her maternal grandfather's pulse.

After Doctor Jiang returned to the capital with the prince, Jiang Ba became the most skilled doctor in the mansion.

The young man gently pressed his fingertips on Old Master Shen's wrist, carefully examined it for a moment, and then released his hand, saying, "Old Master, your pulse is still stable, but the long journey has taken a toll on your energy. I will prescribe a tonifying and restorative prescription for you to take morning and evening, and you will be fine after seven days of rest."

Old Master Shen withdrew his hand, his mustache slightly twitching, and his voice booming: "I told you long ago, you're in great health! Back in the day, traveling all over the country escorting goods, it was common for you to go three days and three nights without closing your eyes..."

"Yes, yes, yes, my maternal grandfather was the most heroic and extraordinary." Su Ziyu smiled and took over the conversation, handing the old man a cup of warm ginseng tea.

He had heard these words since childhood and could almost recite them by heart, but hearing them again after a year, he felt that every word was soothing and warmed his heart.

His maternal grandfather truly cared for him, which is why he disregarded his advanced age and traveled thousands of miles north to visit him.

Thinking of this, Su Ziyu felt a deep sense of bitterness and guilt.

In fact, Old Master Shen woke up before dawn.

He first strolled leisurely around the palace, taking in the corridors, courtyards, and the servants sweeping and cleaning. Then, he seemingly casually pulled aside a few servants and asked them some questions indirectly.

Only after confirming that her grandson had not suffered any injustice in the past year did the anxiety that had been hanging over her all night begin to subside.

He thought of his youngest daughter who had died young, and a tightness gripped his chest.

When their daughter insisted on marrying that poor scholar, the Shen family not only did not look down on her, but also provided financial and logistical support for his studies and examinations.

Who would have thought that the man was a fickle lover who could only share hardship but not happiness!

Once he gained power, he began to despise his wife who had shared his hardships. His two grandchildren, at such a young age, lost their mother's protection…

But now, the grandson has entrusted his affairs to a prince.

Although the Shen family were merchants, they were not ignorant of worldly affairs. Their power and influence were as formidable as a royal palace; how could ordinary people possibly aspire to such a position?

Old Master Shen was not a rigid or pedantic person; it was just that the tragedy of his youngest daughter had made him like a frightened bird, and he could no longer bear the pain of a white-haired person burying a black-haired one.

His love was deep, hence his deep concern. He feared that his youngest daughter's offspring would suffer the same fate as her mother, enduring hardship and mistreatment, perhaps even...

He dared not think too deeply about the words "cut sleeve," feeling as if a huge boulder was pressing on his heart.

Su Zi noticed the worry on her grandfather's face, but she didn't say anything.

As the sun rose higher and its warm light filled the courtyard, he led Old Master Shen out to the wool workshops and general stores in the city.

Inside the workshop, female workers sat there, their fingers flying across the paper with exceptionally fluent movements, spinning the originally coarse wool into fine threads, and then weaving it into pieces of soft, thick fabric.

Grandpa Shen picked up a finished sweater, weighed it in his hand, and gently kneaded it, a look of surprise gradually appearing in his eyes.

"These are sweaters and long johns? That's quite unusual."

Although he had lived in Jiangnan for a long time and was used to seeing fine silks and satins, he could still see the beauty of this item at a glance. The damp cold of winter in Jiangnan was not as biting as the cold wind in the north, so there was no need for such thick clothes.

Here, however, the sweater is soft yet dense and windproof, warm without being bulky, making it a practical and ingenious item.

"You... took care of all of this?" The old man turned to look at his grandson beside him, his tone revealing a subtle change in his voice.

Su Ziyu said gently, "It was my grandson who tried to do it. The northern frontier is bitterly cold, and it is not easy for people to get through the winter, so I thought about whether we could make more use of the wool."

Grandpa Shen slowly nodded, his gaze sweeping over the sweaters and bolts of wool fabric, then over the busy but orderly artisans in the workshop, before returning to his grandson's clear and composed face.

This child, Ziyu, has a profound and far-reaching vision in his heart.

The heavy worry seemed to have eased a little in the warm air of the workshop.

He still disapproved of and was not optimistic about his grandson's relationship with the eldest prince, but he had to admit that his grandson was not a parasitic plant that depended on others for survival.

He stood there, his expression serene, with a small world he had built himself behind him.

The old man remained silent for a long time before finally raising his hand and gently pressing on his grandson's shoulder.

"Not bad." His voice was a little hoarse, but much more relaxed than before. "You did... really well."

The warmth of that hand seeped through the fabric, and Su Ziyu's eyes suddenly welled up with tears. He knew that his grandfather's "not bad" referred not only to the workshop and the sweater.

And finally, he saw the path he was trying to take, a path different from his mother's, a path that belonged to him.

-

Beijing.

A full year has passed since Qi Jinyu returned to the capital with the Xiongnu delegation.

This year is enough for many things to settle down, and enough for many undercurrents to surge into whirlpools.

The Xiongnu delegation that had traveled thousands of miles did not return to the grasslands with the "equal peace agreement" they had expected.

After a series of power struggles between Qi Jinyu and high-ranking officials of the court, the so-called "letter of state written by the Chanyu" brought by the delegation was criticized as "arrogant and impolite." After several revisions, it finally became a letter of surrender, acknowledging submission and paying tribute.

On the day they left Beijing, the remaining members of the delegation were ashen-faced, their former arrogance completely gone. A peace treaty had been reached, but it was not the peace they desired; rather, it was one tinged with defeat and humiliation.

As for the Second Prince Qi Haolian, his fate was sealed the moment the evidence of his treason was irrefutable.

Qi Hao knelt in the main hall, facing the secret letter, physical evidence, and even the identifications of some surrendered Xiongnu generals presented by Qi Jinyu, and had no way to refute them.

The last trace of warmth in the emperor's eyes vanished as he looked at his son, who was more trouble than he was worth.

"You wicked child!" The emperor's desk was slammed shut. "Do you know that treason and collusion with the enemy are punishable by death by a thousand cuts, bringing ruin upon your entire family?!"

Qi Hao's face turned ashen, and he collapsed to the ground.

Ultimately, after pleading with a group of civil officials, and in order to preserve the last shred of dignity for the royal family, Qi Haolian was stripped of all titles, ranks, and powers, and permanently confined to a heavily guarded, secluded villa near the imperial mausoleum on the outskirts of the capital, where he was not to leave until death.

His birth mother, the Empress, was "unable to properly educate her son" and was banished to the Cold Palace.

The core members of the faction were either executed or exiled, while those on the periphery were almost entirely demoted. A power struggle that lasted for several years ended tragically with the complete annihilation of the second prince's faction.