◎Now that the snow had finally fallen, she felt both happy and uneasy.◎

After dinner, the sky was dark and overcast. With nothing urgent to attend to, Chu Yufu sent her maids off to rest early and crawled into bed herself.

She slept for an unknown length of time before waking from the cold. Groggy, she lifted the bed curtains to peek outside and realized the window by the bed hadn’t been fully closed. A gap had been blown open, letting icy wind pour in.

She got up to close it and saw the moon shining brightly, silver light pressing against the gray roof tiles. The courtyard glowed faintly white, and down from the sky drifted soft, feathery flakes.

It was snowing!

The damp cold wind hit her face, making her shiver violently. Sleep was instantly gone. Chu Yufu stared at the snowy yard for a while, then shut the window tightly, climbed back into bed, and wrapped herself in the covers.

In the original book, winters in the Yan Dynasty were harsh. One snowfall followed another. It wasn’t just stray cats and dogs that froze—many humans perished as well. Soon, coughs echoed throughout the capital.

Before long, Cousin Lu also fell ill. Grandmother Wei worried for her granddaughter, staying awake the whole night. In the end, she herself became sick even before Lu Cousin worsened. That winter, with roads blocked by snow, medicines arrived only after two days, leaving her weakened for years to come.

Chu Yufu had been waiting for this snowfall.

The sachet was secondary. If she could improve her standing and show her face, that would be enough. Her real gamble lay ahead—what better way to win someone’s heart than to provide timely help in the middle of a snowstorm?

Yet now that the snow had arrived, she felt both delighted and anxious.

As the book described, that first year of the story was very cold, and winters would grow harsher in the years to come. This setting likely existed to highlight the heroics of the male lead fighting in ice and snow, earning military merits and promotions.

But such a drastic drop in temperature had consequences: humans and animals froze, crops failed, taxes fell. Hunger, rising prices, travel difficulties, and trade disruptions followed, leaving many people homeless and society unstable.

In the second half of the story, rebels colluded with the ambitious Second Prince and invaded the capital, burning, looting, and killing. By then, Cousin Lu was married. She had brought her parents to safety, skillfully commanded the guards, and kept the Zhao family’s residence as secure as an iron bucket. When the heir returned to quell the rebellion, everyone remained unharmed.

By that time, Grandmother had already passed from illness. She held no attachment to the Chu family and would naturally not intervene. The family’s energy and fortune were dealt a heavy blow, leaving them in decline.

This snow—and Grandmother’s illness—was a turning point, giving Chu Yufu the opportunity to cancel her engagement.

Of course, relying on Grandmother to cancel the engagement was the most respectable way. If that failed, pretending to be insane or foolish would also work. She could refuse to marry, but after canceling, she would still remain a Chu daughter. How would she survive after her family fell? Background details casually mentioned in the original book now felt like a mountain pressing on her chest, suffocating.

Snowflakes tapped against the windowpane. Chu Yufu turned over, staring at the dark canopy above her bed, lost in thought.

She knew it would snow, but she hadn’t expected it to come so early. Questions she had planned to set aside now surged all at once in the quiet night, making her restless.

Troublesome marriage arrangements, complicated relationships in the household, and an epidemic about to sweep the capital in winter—all these matters hit her at once, leaving her barely able to cope.

The stable life of eight-to-five work and occasional complaints about her superiors suddenly seemed like a dream—at least then, she didn’t have to worry about dying every day and could live like a human being.

By morning, the Chu residence was blanketed in silver-white. Lan Zhu, in the ear room, had heated water to wake her mistress but found the candle in the main room already lit. Pushing open the door, she saw Second Miss sitting at the mirror, doing her hair, and wondered, “Miss, why are you up so early?”

Chu Yufu turned, revealing two dark, bruised circles under her eyes, her voice faint: “…I didn’t sleep.” She had spent the previous night tossing and turning, trying to find a way out, her mind full of worries.

The snow had fallen heavily in the latter half of the night, leaving half a finger’s thickness on the ground. Servants hadn’t cleared it yet, so she had to tread carefully. Luckily, she left early, and when she arrived at Yunxi Hall, it was still early. Only Chu Jinhe was in the room.

Gathering her composure, she stepped forward and performed a respectful peer greeting: “Good morning, Sister.”

Her eldest sister prided herself on being both talented and beautiful and usually ignored this scatterbrained fool of a sister. But according to the original personality, Chu Yufu still had to take the initiative. Her large eyes glanced at the snow-white cloak the maid behind her sister held and displayed an envious expression: “Sister, your cloak is so beautiful!”

The wool cloak was pure white, like snow, with a collar trimmed in matching rabbit fur—light and luxurious.

Chu Jinhe noticed the envious look in her eyes and slightly lifted the corner of her mouth, raising her teacup to moisten her throat. “This is top-quality wool brought from Lingzhou in the summer. The Weaving Hall only made three cloaks like this. If you like, when you leave the inner household, I can ask Mother to have one made for you in a similar style.”

Every sentence circled back to marriage. Chu Yufu felt a flash of annoyance but could only smile politely and thank her. She took the tea the maid had just brought, sipped it, and mentally wondered: Lingzhou… why does that place sound so familiar?

Half an hour later, everyone had arrived. Madam Wu sat gracefully, as usual asking about the conditions in each wing, whether the maids and servants were idle, if expenses were sufficient, and offering some customary remarks about the cold and slippery roads.

Perhaps because the engagement had been set, Madam Wu was unusually gentle with Chu Yufu today. But her mind was still on the Lingzhou her eldest sister had mentioned, and she spaced out twice when Madam Wu asked questions, nearly making her lose her smile. Inwardly, she cursed the second daughter for being so frustratingly foolish.

On the way back to her courtyard, Chu Yufu spoke thoughtfully: “Lan Zhu, do you know Lingzhou?”

Lan Zhu nodded, carefully supporting her. Thinking she was still thinking about the eldest sister’s cloak, she replied, “Yes, I know it. My home is in Pingzhou, right next to Lingzhou. The Turkic people to the north raise cattle and sheep, and the people of Lingzhou often trade with them.”

The north… the Turks!

Chu Yufu’s steps halted, her eyes widening. How had she forgotten about this!

The sudden cold didn’t just affect the Yan Dynasty; the northern Turks also suffered heavy losses. In early spring, they repeatedly raided Lingzhou and its surroundings, looting, killing, and stealing. Meanwhile, remnants of the previous dynasty in the south rebelled, causing internal and external troubles simultaneously.

However, these two disturbances were quickly suppressed within two months. The male lead led troops south to quell the rebellion, eventually being granted the title of Southern General. Another general, Pei Yue, performed brilliantly in the Lingzhou campaign and was granted the title of Northern General.

The key lay with this Northern General!

In the ancient environment, life was hard for women. From childhood, they were trained in needlework and propriety, preparing for marriage, and spent their lives serving others and raising children, considered inferior to men. But General Pei was different. While defending the northern border, he cared for the people and valued education, even establishing schools for girls. He declared that if women were talented, he would employ them.

Unfortunately, he didn’t live long. During a campaign against the Turks, a sudden snowstorm disrupted supply lines, leaving the army short of medicine. He died prematurely.

Afterward, the male lead took over, building on the Northern General’s foundation to defeat the Turks and was ultimately ennobled as Duke of Jingguo. The eldest cousin also received an imperial decree as a result.

Given this, if Chu Yufu could rely on her medical skills to join the Northern General’s household, wouldn’t that be a way out? She didn’t know if his words about employing women were genuine, but under the circumstances, there weren’t many options. It couldn’t be worse than her current situation. If she could save the general’s life, even without wealth and honor, she could live comfortably—far better than being trapped in this inner household!

Thinking this, Chu Yufu’s eyes brightened, and the air seemed fresher at her nose.

Yet this goal was a bit far-fetched and hard to achieve. How exactly should she proceed? Ideally, she would first use her medical skills to build a reputation among commoners and officials, gradually making a name for herself, then find a chance to approach the Pei family, perhaps presenting a medical manual she had compiled…

“Miss, do you intend to go find your cousin?” Lan Zhu asked, noticing her lost in thought, staring toward the direction of Cishou Hall.

Chu Yufu shook her head. “Let’s go back.” Repairing her relationship with her eldest cousin wasn’t urgent. Living under the same roof, they would inevitably meet. Rushing forward now would seem contrived.

Back in the courtyard, she spread out her xuan paper and had Lan Zhu grind the ink. Taking advantage of her clear mind, she recorded her thoughts from last night, step by step.

First, she needed to ensure her own health and survive the epidemic. She would make simple masks to reduce droplet transmission, buy mugwort, cangzhu, and calamus to fumigate and disinfect rooms, scatter sulfur and lime in the courtyard to repel rats and insects, and stock up on preventative and treatment medicines.

Second, regarding the medicines her grandmother might need, she remembered dan shen, lian qiao, and fang feng. She would prepare these and other possible useful herbs just in case.

With that done, she used practicing embroidery as an excuse to have the maids cut clean cotton fabric for masks. She didn’t hide the work from the newly arrived Yun Sui; after all, little girls sewing small things indoors was hardly unusual.

In her spare time the next day, she went through the medical books left by Consort Wan, reading them carefully. Consort Wan’s father had been a long-practicing physician who left behind many prescriptions and manuscripts. Some were amusing, like a child with yellow hands and feet whose parents worried, only to find it was caused by eating too many oranges; fasting solved it.

She sometimes spent the entire night reading, not just as stories, but also categorizing and studying the prescriptions, thinking carefully about how she would diagnose and treat illnesses, comparing her approach to that of her maternal grandfather.

For ten consecutive days, except for one visit when her grandmother praised her sachets, she barely left the courtyard. Her days were filled with embroidery and studying medicine. The routine impressed Lan Zhu, who often asked what she was thinking, only to be reassured with, “Don’t rush.”

By late September, the Li family sent a detailed engagement notice. Chu Yufu handed over her already-prepared list of medicines to have them purchased and to speak with the vendor near Yuzheng Temple about herbal tonics.