Yingzi stared intently at the red brazier, lost in thought.

The more she thought, the more her heart burned with warmth. She looked at the handkerchief she had embroidered, quickly removed it from the hoop, and rummaged through her small bundle to find a piece of deep green silk.

She often played at the silk shop next door, and the owner’s wife would give her scraps of fabric when she was in a good mood, which Yingzi carefully kept. Today, they would finally come in handy.

She stretched the silk tightly on the embroidery hoop and hurriedly began to trace a design.

She had noticed that men’s pouches often had embroidered patterns of plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum. After some thought, she decided to embroider a cluster of orchids. If she worked through the night, it would be ready by morning, just in time to give to Gu Chuan as a return gift when he presented her with his.

Yingzi was suddenly full of energy, and she moved closer to the candlelight to start embroidering.

A night passed, and a thick layer of snow covered the ground.

In the morning, Yun Jiao came over, afraid that Guihua’s Sister-in-law might slip while buying vegetables, so she had Ah Tie drive her to the market.

They were gone for quite a while before returning.

Guihua’s Sister-in-law started complaining upon returning: "Everything’s gotten more expensive, cabbage has doubled in price, and meat’s gone up a lot too."

Yun Jiao smiled, "Prices won’t stay high for long. They’ll go back down once the snow melts."

Ah Tie helped Guihua’s Sister-in-law carry the groceries into the kitchen and ran into Gu Chuan on the way out.

Gu Chuan handed a small box to Ah Tie, "Brother Tie, I wasn’t home for your wedding, so this is a gift for you and Sister-in-law."

Ah Tie awkwardly accepted it, "You didn’t have to spend so much."

Then Gu Chuan went into the kitchen and handed a small bundle to Guihua’s Sister-in-law, "This is for Yingzi and Ah Shong to play with."

Guihua’s Sister-in-law accepted it and thanked him profusely.

Since it was early to start cooking, Guihua’s Sister-in-law took the bundle upstairs and ran into Yingzi coming out of her room.

Yingzi looked at the bundle in her hand, "Mom, what’s that you’re holding?"

Guihua smiled and said, "Young Master Chuan gave it to us."

Yingzi hurried over and snatched the bundle, "Give it to me." With that, she took it into her room.

Guihua was startled, "Hey, there’s something in there for your brother too."

Yingzi had already opened the bundle on the table.

Inside were several beautiful stones, crystal clear and vibrant in color, looking even more stunning than jade.

There were also a few exquisitely beautiful shells.

Aside from that, there was nothing but a box of candied fruits.

Yingzi tasted a piece of candied fruit. It was sweet, and the corners of her lips curled up into a smile.

She took out the pouch she carried in her arms. After working until dawn last night, she finally finished it.

Excitedly, she was about to go downstairs with the pouch when she suddenly remembered that Doctor Gu had surely already arrived.

She didn’t think highly of Yingzi, and if she saw it, then...

Yingzi slowly tucked the pouch back into her arms.

She needed to be patient and wait for Gu Chuan to fall for her. By then, whatever Yun Jiao said would be too late.

Until then, she couldn’t let Yun Jiao find out.

Yingzi was very patient. She waited until the evening when Yun Jiao had left before going to find Gu Chuan.

Gu Chuan had returned to the rear courtyard. Yingzi knew he lived in the east wing, so she slipped into the courtyard through the moon gate and knocked on the main door of the east wing’s main room.

It was cold, and Gu Chuan was sitting by the stove reading. Upon hearing the knock, the servant Nanxing went to open the door.

Seeing it was Nanxing, Yingzi peeked inside, "I’m looking for Brother Xiao Chuan."

Gu Chuan looked up, "Ah, it’s Yingzi. Come in, it’s cold outside." 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Yingzi, with her head slightly lowered and a hint of shyness, walked in and stood in front of Gu Chuan without saying a word.

Gu Chuan curiously said, "You came to see me for something, right? Go ahead and say it."