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"I have met him before, but each time it was the man in black who sought me out. I don’t know how to find him," said Concubine Xu, sighing inwardly. If she knew how, she would have contacted him already and not waited over four months.

Xiao Jinyan also only learned at this moment that Concubine Xu and the man in black had not seen each other for four months. Since Concubine Xu couldn’t contact him, finding him himself would probably be harder than finding a needle in a haystack.

"If the man in black seeks you out again, tell him that I want to see him."

Upon hearing this, Concubine Xu thought that Xiao Jinyan wanted to cause trouble for the man in black. If that were the case, meeting him next time would be even more difficult.

"Your Highness wants to see him for what? He hasn’t done anything wrong. Although sneaking into the Imperial Palace is not right, he has also helped a great deal. When the Crown Princess was locked in the Xiaoxiang Pavilion, I even had him send food to her."

Xiao Jinyan: "..." You start defending him without even knowing who he is?

"Breaking into the palace at night is already a capital offense."

Concubine Xu was well aware of the crime of breaking into the palace at night and vehemently spoke in defense of the man in black, "But if he hadn’t broken in, I would have died from the plague, and the Crown Princess wouldn’t have gotten anything good to eat.

Your Highness cannot issue a killing order or an arrest warrant. "

"..." Xiao Jinyan: "I want to see him because I have something to discuss, not to question his crimes."

Concubine Xu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. As long as he wasn’t going to question crimes, she didn’t want Jun Wuxian to become a wanted criminal.

"I understand," she said.

With a flick of his sleeves, Xiao Jinyan had Concubine Xu leave.

Since he could not meet the man in black, Xiao Jinyan was devoid of the chance to inquire because only the man in black knew who Feng Wuyou was and what relation he had with him.

After dealing with the matters at hand, Xiao Jinyan proceeded to Hehuan Hall.

It was just at the time of lighting the lamps when snow suddenly began to fall from the sky.

Shen Chuwei went with her son and daughter to watch the snow under the corridor.

The two little ones were even more excited than she was at the sight of the falling snowflakes.

Shen Chuwei reached out to catch a snowflake and joyfully presented it to her beloved children, "Babies, this is a snowflake."

Susu looked down at Shen Chuwei’s palm where the snowflake had already melted into water and said in a babyish voice, "Pretty flower, Mommy, a flower."

Shen Chuwei found it both amusing and adorable that a one-year-old child was speaking, especially with that earnest tone on their soft little face, it was irresistible.

"The snowflake has already melted."

When Xiao Jinyan stepped into Hehuan Hall, what he saw was this warm scene, which made him overlook the whistling cold wind as the coldness in his eyes gave way to tenderness.

Susu was the first to see Xiao Jinyan and with arms outstretched, she excitedly lunged towards him.

With snow falling, the ground was wet and slippery.

Shen Chuwei, seeing her daughter’s lunging posture, was startled and hurried after her.

Xiao Jinyan was also startled and ran as fast as he could, scooping his daughter into his arms.

"Papa," Susu said joyfully, hugging Xiao Jinyan’s neck and giving a kiss on his handsome face, "Mwah."

Xiao Jinyan looked at his daughter’s eyes, which smiled just like Xiao Jiu’s, and corrected her, "Say ’Father King’."

Susu tried to mimic him, "Father King."

Although her pronunciation wasn’t very clear, it was distinguishable as ’Father King.’

Xiao Jinyan praised her, "Well learned."

Shen Chuwei, holding her son’s hand, watched the father and daughter before her. She herself had not expected to be married with children at the age of eighteen, a thought that wouldn’t have even crossed her mind before.

Xiao Jinyan walked over with Susu in his arms and reached out a hand to hold Shen Chuwei’s, noticing that her hand was colder than his own.

"It’s cold outside, don’t stand in the cold wind."

"Your concubine understands," Shen Chuwei replied, following Xiao Jinyan inside.

Chun Xi brought the food to the table one by one, including a stove with hot dishes that smelled delicious.

The two little ones sat at their dining chairs, starting to eat their portions of the meal.

Xiao Jinyan picked up his bowl, remembering that his mother’s birthday was only a few days away, "Mother’s birthday is approaching; what do you think would be a good birthday gift for her?"

After swallowing the food in her mouth, Shen Chuwei replied, "As the Empress, Mother has no lack of gold, silver, or jewels, nor does she lack silk or satin, but..."

Xiao Jinyan urged, "But what?"

Shen Chuwei chuckled, "Mother has passed forty years, and what women care about most is their appearance. I plan to make a homemade face mask and cream to give to Mother."

Curious about the strange terms he was hearing from her, Xiao Jinyan asked, "Face mask? Cream? What are they?"

Shen Chuwei thought a moment before answering, "They are skincare products for maintaining the skin."

Xiao Jinyan recalled his mother privately complaining that father found fault with her for having crow’s feet and preferring her less than teenage girls. Skincare products, indeed, would make a very good birthday gift.

"This is a good birthday gift, you truly have a way," he said.

"Mother has been extremely kind to your concubine, so I naturally want to give her the best gift she could want," Shen Chuwei said.

Shen Chuwei belonged to the kind that reciprocated kindness with even greater kindness. There were absolutely no conflicts with the Empress as a mother-in-law.

Xiao Jinyan had seen how his mother treated little Xiao Jiu. She was even better to him compared to how she treated her own son. However, his relationship with his mother had also improved quite a bit compared to before.

The next day, Shen Chuwei took out some herbal medicines that were effective for skincare from her space and began to prepare the face mask and cream.

Since Xiao Jinyan had no need to attend the morning court, he had someone bring ink, brush, paper, and inkstone to place at the low table, spread out the paper, then lifted his son into his lap, planning to teach him how to write by hand.

Taotao was overjoyed with the vermilion brush in his hand.

Just then, Xiao Jinyu stormed in from outside with great strides, looking upset.

"Brother, can you believe the Emperor is making me marry Wanxin as well?"

Today, Xiao Jinyu brought up the matter of taking a consort again, and the Emperor agreed. However, the condition was for him to marry both Lady Han and Wanxin, each as a Concubine.