Zhao Shi watched the departing convoy and could not stop her tears from falling again.
“They… they’ve left!”
With heavy shackles, tightly bound by coarse ropes—and they had even exposed their wealth.
Zhao Shi could not bear to imagine what kind of suffering her children would face on the road ahead.
“Mother, let’s go back too,” Wang Si said gently.
“I heard that Grandfather and Grandmother are returning from the estate outside the city.”
“…Alright! Let’s go back!”
Yes. Her children were gone, but she still had her parents and siblings.
Coincidentally, during the time the Wang family fell into trouble, the Duke of Wei had suffered a recurrence of old injuries, and the Duchess accompanied him to a hot spring estate in the outskirts of the capital.
The imperial physician prescribed medicinal hot spring therapy to ease his pain.
The old couple had stayed there for a full month.
By the time news of the Marquis of Wu Chang’s downfall reached the estate, the Duke’s treatment had not yet finished.
The Duke sent someone back to the capital, instructing his heir Zhao Chang: Wang Yong had brought disaster upon himself and must be punished according to law. The Zhao family remained loyal to the throne and would never shelter criminals.
Of course, the Duke was not truly cold-hearted. He would not intervene for the Wang family, but he did care deeply for his own daughter.
It was precisely because of the Duke’s clear instructions—and his secretly submitted memorial to the emperor—that Zhao Chang was able to bring Zhao Shi out of the Dali Temple prison smoothly.
Now that the Wang family case had concluded and the Duke’s treatment was finished, the old couple had finally returned.
They were expected to arrive in the capital that very afternoon.
“It has been nearly half a year since we last saw your grandparents,” Zhao Shi said softly once they were back in the carriage. “I wonder how their health is. I hope they are well.”
The Duke and Duchess of Wei were both over sixty—considered a long life in this era.
The Duke in particular had spent decades on the battlefield, accumulating countless military merits while also suffering many injuries.
When young, the wounds were not obvious, but as he aged, all the hidden ailments began to flare up.
Every year, he would go to the hot spring estate for one or two months.
Zhao Shi had always been worried about her father’s health. Now, after suffering such upheaval herself, she felt even more guilt and concern.
Wang Si noticed her mother’s worry and gently comforted her:
“Grandfather and Grandmother are blessed people. They will surely be healthy and live long lives.”
While speaking, Wang Si’s mind was already turning.
In her past life, she had not stayed in the capital after exile, but returned a few years later and maintained contact with the Zhao family.
Because of that, she knew her grandfather’s condition well.
The Duke suffered from rheumatism caused by old battlefield injuries—pain in bones and joints whenever the weather turned cold or damp.
In her previous life, Wang Si had even formulated medicinal diet recipes for him after studying medicine and pharmacology under a former imperial physician in exile.
She had no intention of becoming a great doctor—she only wanted to refine her culinary skills.
Medicinal cuisine was still cuisine, after all.
“I remember Grandfather once served in the south,” she thought. “He spent long periods in cold, damp water, which damaged his joints.”
She began mentally reviewing ingredients in her “portable kitchen”—a space filled with supplies she had taken from the Wang household kitchens and storerooms in her past life.
“I can make him a medicinal chicken soup with parasitic plants and herbs… I have all the ingredients.”
She was not only doing this out of filial piety.
It was also her plan to establish herself in the Duke’s household.
Her mother was a legitimate daughter of the Zhao family and had returned after divorce, which was justified.
But she herself was an outsider—even if she had Zhao blood, she was still only a granddaughter.
Qian Shi’s attitude the day before had already made it clear: they would accept her as a relative, but she must be prepared to live as a guest.
Wang Si knew she had no standing to demand anything.
So if status was not enough—she would use ability instead.
If she proved useful, even as a mere “young lady of the household,” she could still secure her place in the Duke’s residence.
Moreover, she intended to build her own assets.
The Duke’s household would support them, yes—but they could not rely on it entirely.
And if nothing unexpected happened, her mother would remarry in the future.
As a remarried woman, the Duke’s household would prepare a dowry, but not an excessive one.
After all, it was a second marriage.
Even if the Duke and Duchess loved their daughter, they had to consider the entire family.
Wang Si gently tapped her fingers, already forming a plan in her mind.
As they passed East Street, she suddenly lifted her small head.
“Mother, I… I want to buy something.”
“Oh? Alright, go ahead,” Zhao Shi replied after a pause.
She took out a small purse from her sleeve containing a few silver coins.
“Si’er, Mother only has this with her. Take it.”
Unlike Wang Jiao, Wang Si had always been sensible.
Especially in these past few days, she seemed to have matured overnight.
Zhao Shi believed she would not waste money.
“Mm! Thank you, Mother!”
A faint warmth stirred in Wang Si’s heart.
So her family was not only made up of cold, selfish people like the Old Madam, Wang Yong, or Liu Shi.
There were also people like Zhao Shi—warm, trusting, and truly loving.
Perhaps… in this life, she could try again.
Maybe things would turn out differently.
At the same time, at Hui Xian Tower:
A luxurious carriage stopped.
A young man in a moon-white Daoist robe stepped down calmly.
“Hundred-Delicacy Soup, lotus-slice duck, perilla fish…”
He ordered slowly, then added dessert without hesitation:
“Also bring cherry fried sweets.”
Who would have thought that the famously cold, disciplined, and noble Prince An—Chai Rang—was not only fond of fine food… but also had a sweet tooth.