After transmigrating into the book, I helped my mother reconcile with her divorced husband.

Lu Yun's eyes reddened: "Are you just going to do nothing and watch Madam leave?"

"Otherwise what?" Han Ting retorted, "What can I do besides watch you? Miss is so intelligent and her medical skills are so superb. Even she can't do anything about it, so what can you and I come up with?"

Lu Yun squatted on the ground: "She's only fifteen years old!"

Han Ting looked up at the sky: "If Heaven allows, we can both give our lives to save Miss's. Now, go investigate Ganzhou and the grain supplies. Don't let Miss be troubled by these things anymore."

Lu Yun pulled him back: "If we can't find out the truth, if we can't get a result, Miss, is it possible that... The palace nanny said that everyone has obsessions. As long as the obsession is there, even if there is only one breath left, they will try to live. Once the obsession is gone, the last breath will dissipate."

Han Ting lowered his head and flicked Lu Zhiyuan's forehead, mimicking her gesture: "The old woman was talking about someone else, not Miss. As for the matter in Ganzhou, if you and I don't investigate, Miss will. As for the grain supplies, if you and I can't find out, Miss will. Can you bear to let her drag her sick body to investigate these things? Can you bear to let her stay up all night under the lamp and exhaust herself? Lu Yun, you and I both know that Miss doesn't belong here. Sooner or later, she will leave."

Lu Yun wiped his eyes hard with his sleeve: "Let's go, let's investigate the charcoal matter. You go east and I'll go west, we'll meet in front of the Xie family's charcoal shop in an hour."

After he finished speaking, no one was left in front of the courtyard gate.

The guards hidden in the shadows peeked out and exchanged glances.

What did they hear? The Crown Princess is dying? Does the Crown Prince know about this? If he does, telling him would be like prying into the Crown Prince and Crown Princess's secrets. If he doesn't, wouldn't telling him cause trouble?

This secret, which they were forced to hear, tormented them to no end.

Guard 1: "It is said that the Crown Princess was born with a heart ailment, and the Xie and Lu families invited renowned doctors from all over the country, who determined that she would not live to adulthood. Your Highness should be aware of this, right?"

Guard Two: "They should know! When an ordinary family takes a wife, they have to check the family's reputation and ask about their ancestors for eight generations. When the royal family takes a concubine, how could they not investigate thoroughly?"

Guard 1: "Then we won't tell?"

Guard 2: "It's better to avoid trouble. Just pretend you didn't hear it."

After he finished speaking, the two guards shrank back.

Lu Yun stood at the door of a house and gently knocked. No one answered; even the children's noise had fallen silent. Peeking through the crack in the door, he saw two children. The older one was being held tightly in the arms of an old woman, while the younger one had its mouth covered by a young woman. Their heads were down, their expressions unreadable, but from their actions, they were clearly afraid.

After a while, seeing that there was no more sound coming from the doorway, the old woman looked up and said something to the young woman urgently. The young woman nodded and pushed the two children into the house.

The old woman was worried and looked towards the door.

Lu Yun knocked on the door again, and through the crack, the old woman picked up the wooden stick from the ground.

"Is anyone home? I'm a worker from the Xie family, here to ask if you need to buy charcoal."

Upon hearing that it was someone from the Xie family, the old woman breathed a sigh of relief, still holding the wooden stick in her hand, and said to Lu Yun outside the door, "We don't buy charcoal, go ask someone else."

Lu Yun said "Oh," and then said in a lower voice, "I don't know what's going on, but this year's charcoal won't sell. Before it gets too cold, let the manager transport the charcoal to the capital. Judging by the time, it should arrive just in time for the Great Cold."

As he spoke, he peered through the crack in the door to observe the old woman's expression inside; it was clear to the naked eye that she was somewhat anxious.

Seeing that the time was almost right, Lu Yun raised his voice: "Excuse me, I'll go ask around at other places."

Lu Yun didn't leave. He sat on the steps in front of the door and took off his shoes. Hearing the noise inside, he deliberately tapped his shoes and muttered to himself, "This year's weather is probably colder than usual. I hope no one in the city has frozen to death."

The door opened with a creak.

Lu Yun quickly turned around, picked up her shoes, and stood up on one leg: "Sorry, I'll be leaving now."

The old woman asked sternly, "Are you from the Xie family? What's wrong with your shoes?"

Lu Yun took off the token from his waist. It was given to him by the shopkeeper of the Xie family's shop on the day he entered the city, making it convenient for him to retrieve items from various shops. Everyone in the Xie family, from the shopkeeper to the clerk, knew that Lu Zhiyuan was their most prized possession. Now that Lu Zhiyuan had arrived in Ganzhou, the shopkeepers there would undoubtedly offer him their best hospitality. Whatever the Xie family's shops needed, Lu Zhiyuan could take; whatever he wanted, he could take.

Lu Yun was the errand boy, and the token was given to him.

The token looked the same as the one Xie's servant carried, but it was actually made of different materials, and the words and patterns on the back were also slightly different, though the old woman might not be able to tell the difference.

Upon seeing the Xie family's token, the old woman placed the wooden stick at the door and asked again, "What happened to your shoes?"

"It's torn, and it's a bit uncomfortable to wear. Let me fix it a bit."

The old woman glanced at the intact shoes and said to Lu Yun, "Come in. My daughter-in-law is quite good at needlework. Let her sew them for you. But let me make this clear: once they're done, leave. Don't mention the charcoal. We don't have any money; we don't buy charcoal."

Lu Yun readily agreed, hopped on one foot, picked up his shoe, and followed the old woman into the courtyard. He noticed a detail: the old woman hadn't closed the door; it seemed she had deliberately left it open.

Someone is watching them!

The old woman called out to her daughter-in-law, the young woman she had glimpsed through the crack in the door. Seeing a young man enter, the woman became slightly nervous and avoided eye contact with him. Hearing that his shoes were torn, she quickly went to check on them.

The shoes that were fine just a moment ago now have a hole in them.

The old woman's eyes met Lu Yun's, and she understood. She didn't speak to Lu Yun, but instead urged her daughter-in-law to go to the room to get a needle and thread, specifically instructing her to use dark-colored thread.

The young woman agreed and was about to turn around when her mother-in-law grabbed her hand: "These are winter shoes. Remember to take an awl; you can't sew them with just a needle. The awl is in the bedside table. Look carefully, don't forget it like last time."

Her mother-in-law gently pinched her palm, and the young woman nodded hastily, her gaze unconsciously drifting towards the doorway.

There were some extra things inside the sewn shoes. Lu Yun didn't say anything, nor did the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. Lu Yun had been chased out by the old woman; the sound of the door closing was loud enough for neighbors four or five houses away to hear.

To avoid arousing suspicion from those secretly watching him, Lu Yun knocked on the doors of several neighboring households before leaving.

Reaching a secluded spot, he took the contents out of the shoe: a note with bright red, blood-stained writing; the smell was either pig's blood or chicken blood. The message was simple.

It was the tone of a bandit—whoever buys charcoal this winter will die!

Besides threats, they must have done something else to keep these people angry but unable to speak out, let alone dare to secretly buy charcoal. He returned to Xie's charcoal shop with the note in his hand to wait for Han Ting. Han Ting arrived a short while later, and the news he brought confirmed Lu Yun's suspicions.

Within Ganzhou City, not only were the common people threatened, but the owners of charcoal shops and fur stores were also at risk. Liu, the owner of a shop in the north of the city, disbelieved the note and sold several kilograms of charcoal. That very night, his house and shop caught fire simultaneously, but fortunately, no one was injured.

The roof of the house where the charcoal was bought was ripped off, the windows were smashed, and even the charcoal stored in the kitchen disappeared.