Back and forth: I brought supplies to help the impoverished prince

During the gradually colder months, Qiao Shinian taught Wen Jiu how to swim.

The wind was howling and the snow was heavy.

The year has come to an end.

A month after Wen Jiu dropped out of school, Emperor Zhou went to question Wen Jiu as if he had just found out about it. It was not known what Wen Jiu said, but Princess Yu'an's hostility towards Wen Jiu had weakened a lot.

Although Wen Jiu and Qiao Shinian had always dealt with Princess Yu'an's targeting coldly, it would eventually affect other people. Among the eight palace maids who came with Wen Jiu, a girl named Yumei committed suicide by jumping into a well for no reason.

Because of this incident, Qiao Shinian gave fifteen taels of silver to each of the palace maids and eunuchs below, asking them to live well and come to her if they have any problems, and she and Wen Jiu would find a way to solve it.

It was also because of this incident that the smile on Qiao Shinian's face faded a little.

She blamed herself for the sarcasm in her words. She thought, if she had simply comforted Wen Jiu at that time, it would have been better. Or if she had knelt down and apologized like everyone else, then the 17-year-old girl would not have died.

The girl cleans the house very well and is always smiling at her.

Will the remaining people be killed so easily by Princess Yu'an?

"Sister, is the banquet tonight ready?" Wen Jiu asked, looking at Qiao Shinian who was in a daze.

Thanks to their preparations from the beginning, they now have enough clothes and food, and they also have enough carbon to keep warm.

Qiao Shinian looked at her and Wen Jiu's faces in the bronze mirror and nodded: "Okay, don't worry, I won't make any mistakes."

"Are you still thinking about Yumei?" Wen Jiu stood up and gently hugged Qiao Shinian. They were both very familiar with this action of hugging each other.

Qiao Shinian responded: "Well, I hate Princess Yu'an."

"We are not strong enough to protect the people around us." Wen Jiu leaned on Qiao Shinian and stated the established facts in a calm voice, "If we are strong enough, if our power can suppress everything, then everyone will bow down to us."

Wen Jiu didn't think that Yumei's death would have any impact on him, but he knew that it had an impact on Qiao Shinian. Good people would blame themselves for the mistakes and thus fall into internal friction.

"She was wrong. She treated human life as worthless. It was her instructions that led to Yumei's death." Wen Jiu said in a low voice, but his eyes were looking through the open window at the people who were peeking at the situation inside.

The wind was howling in the cold. Chunxue came in with a warm gray rabbit fur cloak, lowered her head and whispered, "Your Highness, the lunch banquet is about to begin. We should go out."

Qiao Shinian let go of Wen Jiu and smiled: "I know, so I will adjust my mood quickly. I will be fine, I just feel sorry for Yumei for being implicated by our struggle."

"They have been aware of this since the moment they set out with us. Sister, that is why we must live even more. Only if we live, their deaths will not be in vain.

Only if we are alive can we avenge them, and if we return alive, their families can still be taken care of by us.

This all started with me, and I will end it all with my own hands.

I will bear all the sins, and you don't have to bear the burden in your heart."

Wen Jiu put on a rabbit fur cloak and turned to walk out.

Qiao Shinian took the hot water bottle handed to him by Chunxue, tightened his heavy white rabbit fur cloak, and followed Wen Jiu's footsteps.

The winter is very cold. There seems to be endless snow in Zhouguo in winter. It seems that the sun has been abandoned. Every day is gloomy and it seems to be snowing every moment.

Originally, it was the palace servants' job to clear the snow from the main roads, but now, the guards and the palace servants work together to clear the main roads.

When they walked side by side with Wen Jiu, holding an umbrella, to the entrance of Renhe Hall, they could see the lively scene inside. Emperor Zhou was sitting in the middle, and sitting with him was not a favored concubine, nor the empress, the mother of the country.

"That's the empress dowager. Sister, you probably haven't seen her. I heard that she just came back from Cining Temple two days ago. The person next to her is Princess Youan." Wen Jiu said as he walked in front, and Qiao Shinian followed behind him with his head down.

Their position was at the very end, which was a sign of power given to them by Emperor Zhou at the beginning, and it has remained so ever since.

If the princes of a country sit at the very end, it means that they are not even as good as the ministers.

At the end, near the door, the New Year’s Eve dinner had not started yet, the door was open, and the temperature inside was not very high.

When Qiao Shinian was putting away his umbrella, he gave the hot water bottle in his hand to Chunxue who was even colder outside the door. Wen Jiu's cushion was wet. When Qiao Shinian saw it, he called the eunuch who was busy in the hall.

"The cushion of our prince is wet. Are you responsible?!" Her expression was not very good and her tone was full of suppressed anger.

The young eunuch glanced at Wen Jiu's cushion, then lowered his head and said respectfully, "Miss, Princess Yu'an accidentally knocked over the wine on the table when she passed by here, so it got wet."

The eunuch's meaning was very clear. This was done by Princess Yu'an. Don't make trouble for him. This is what you deserve.

"Then change it quickly." Qiao Shinian gritted his teeth.

"The banquet is about to start. It's too late. You just sit down." The young eunuch pulled the corner of the clothes in Qiao Shinian's hand and ran away in small steps.

Qiao Shinian looked at Wen Jiu, who was standing aside with a gloomy face, wondering what he was thinking. She walked over, picked up the cushion of the stool and put it aside, then folded her cloak and placed it on top.

“The Princess You’an was the daughter of the late Prince Li. She died while trying to block the wine for Emperor Zhou during the battle for the throne. When Princess Li heard the sad news, she wanted to follow Prince Li. But later she found out she was pregnant. She died of hemorrhage while giving birth to Princess You’an.

Therefore, Princess Youan was raised by the Queen Mother since she was a child. Although she does not often appear in the public eye, her status is very noble and not someone that ordinary people can offend. Even the princesses in the palace dare not offend her. "

Wen Jiu whispered to Qiao Shinian who was squatting beside him to introduce the new characters.

Qiao Shinian tilted his head slightly and looked towards a very quiet and elegant girl, wearing a delicate pink short jacket, but her face and behavior were mature and steady beyond her age.

"Yeah, she's a pretty girl." Qiao Shinian said in a low voice, and then his eyes fell on Princess Yu'an, and he was quite disgusted: "They are both children, why are they so different?"

Wen Jiu shrugged, "In my sister's words, it's because I feel I am favored and I am fearless."

Qiao Shinian turned around and looked at the people attending today's banquet. In addition to members of the royal family, there were also some court officials.

"There can't be any second-rank officials at Emperor Zhou's New Year's Eve dinner. They're all first-rank officials. Even the princess's husband is not qualified to come." Seeing Qiao Shinian looking at those people in official uniforms, Wen Jiu explained in a low voice.

Qiao Shinian nodded, and then followed Wen Jiu in reducing his presence.

As the last person came in, the door of the hall was slowly closed by the two eunuchs standing inside.

Qiao Shinian looked at the man and felt that he looked familiar. She knew that he was a person of high status.

"That's the wise king." Wen Jiu turned to look at Qiao Shinian, followed her gaze, and said in a low voice.

Qiao Shinian nodded. This was the second time he met this wise king with quite a story since he came to Zhou State.

The last banquet was at night and she couldn’t see the other person’s face clearly, but now she saw that the wise king was truly a handsome man.

In the light, the wise king's face was half hidden in the shadows, but from the outline, he was a man with very beautiful bones.

Realizing that someone was looking at him, Mu Qingchen raised his head and looked back, but did not find the owner of the gaze.

His sight fell on Wen Jiu at the end. There was no emotion in his calm eyes. He just turned his gaze to his royal brother who was sitting high, and his most beloved imperial concubine.

He is the only one of the late emperor's descendants still alive, and he probably knows why he is alive, thanks to the imperial concubine's life-saving grace.