The crowd was initially confused, suspecting each other, unaware of who was inside the carriage.
At this moment, a rough, honest voice suddenly boomed out.
"Haven't you heard? His Majesty the Emperor is escorting the Fifth Prince, Sima Han, to the imperial capital."
"The Fifth Prince? Which Fifth Prince? I heard the current Emperor has no children yet."
"Nonsense, of course, it's the current Emperor's younger brother, the Fifth Prince, Sima Han."
It was the same husky male voice answering everyone's questions. This made Shen Xiaoyan a little curious, so she lifted the carriage curtain to peek outside.
Vaguely, she could only see a burly man surrounded by a group of people, enthusiastically recounting everything he knew.
Although Shen Xiaoyan couldn't see his face clearly, judging by his demeanor and his aura, which seemed out of place with the surrounding people, she knew he was definitely not an ordinary citizen.
Besides, if he were an ordinary person, he wouldn't know about this matter.
Shen Xiaoyan lowered the carriage curtain, but she could still hear the burly man's voice.
"You might not know this, but the first one to provide disaster relief was our Fifth Prince, and accompanying him was the Grand Tutor, who has been missing for many years."
This statement from the burly man further piqued the curiosity of the surrounding people.
Everyone knew that the Grand Tutor had disappeared after the current Emperor ascended the throne.
Now he had reappeared as soon as the snow disaster occurred, and was providing disaster relief alongside the Fifth Prince, who had been demoted and banished from the capital. It was evident that the Grand Tutor still cared about the common people.
As Shen Xiaoyan listened to the increasingly loud discussions outside, the praise shifted from Sima Han and Yi Zhixie to the Emperor.
They said the Emperor was skilled in raising his sons and managing his subordinates, that he cared deeply for his people, and was indeed the rightful ruler chosen by destiny.
Upon hearing this, Shen Xiaoyan suddenly understood.
With a newfound understanding, Shen Xiaoyan's body suddenly relaxed. She leaned back against the soft cushion, lowered her head, and chuckled softly without speaking.
Zheng Wei had been observing Shen Xiaoyan's every move. Seeing her sudden change, he knew she had already guessed the truth of the matter and couldn't help but smile as well.
Indeed, Steward Jiang was worthy of being the Emperor's most trusted aide.
One had to admire his way of handling affairs.
Although he hadn't appeared in public and had seemingly done nothing, he was still praised by everyone.
This was the power of public opinion.
Because his master was revered by all, he, as a subordinate, was naturally seen as a figure who emulated his superior and could do no wrong.
Shen Xiaoyan wondered if Grand Princess Zande would spit blood from anger when she returned from disaster relief and heard these words.
However, one couldn't blame Steward Jiang for this. If anyone was to blame, it was the Emperor's slow response, which led to Grand Princess Zande's late arrival.
Otherwise, with Grand Princess Zande's intelligence, she would have undoubtedly prevented public opinion from tilting so heavily in one direction.
Alas, there are no "what ifs" in the past.
The carriage procession gradually moved forward, becoming more distant, and the voices from behind became fainter.
Moreover, Shen Xiaoyan no longer had the desire to listen.
As someone who already knew what was happening, she naturally had no interest in the outside voices.
After the carriage procession left Tongling Town, Zhou Wei returned to tranquility.
Inside the carriage, the only sounds that could be heard were the rumbling of the wheels on the ground and the clopping of horses' hooves.
"Yiya!"
Around mid-morning, Sanshengzi yawned and woke up in the arms of his three wet nurses.
The first thing Ruanruan did upon waking was to struggle to stand up in the wet nurse's arms, reaching out to pull the curtain covering the small window inside the carriage.
Zheng He and Zheng Jiang smiled sweetly at Shen Xiaoyan and Zheng Wei, each reaching out towards the person they wanted to be held by.
Shen Xiaoyan took Zheng He, caressed his warm, flushed cheek, and felt a surge of affection.
The ancients said, "A hundred feet of steel softened around the finger," but that was about heroes and beauties.
And now, Shen Xiaoyan looked at Zheng Wei's profile and saw him smiling gently at Zheng Jiang.
This might not be a "beauty's couch," but it could certainly be called a "hero's tomb."
At noon, the carriage procession stopped in a relatively open area.
Actually, to Shen Xiaoyan, it didn't matter where they stopped. After all, everywhere she looked, there was snow.
Shen Xiaoyan didn't plan to let the children out of the carriage. It was freezing outside, and there was nothing to see.
If they caught a cold, it wouldn't be worth it.
"Fifth Prince, Grand Tutor, shall we dine here today? By evening, we should reach Huangshan County. We can then find a place to rest properly."
Upon hearing Steward Jiang's words, Shen Xiaoyan couldn't help but smile.
Steward Jiang was truly cautious about everything. She wondered if he was trying to curry favor with the Fifth Prince, Sima Han, or with the Grand Tutor, Yi Zhixie.
A moment later, Shen Xiaoyan heard Yi Zhixie's reply, "Eunuch, you have seen much of the world. There's no need to be so overly cautious. We are on a journey now; if we delay like this, when will we ever reach the imperial capital?"
"This..."
Steward Jiang was taken aback by Yi Zhixie's words and didn't know how to respond.
He had intentionally slowed down the journey, fearing that Yi Zhixie and Sima Han would be tired, but now it seemed he was in the wrong.
"Eunuch, please don't overthink it. The Grand Tutor and I are both people who have endured hardship. Even the other members of our families and the servants have all experienced hardship. Sitting in a carriage and traveling is far more comfortable than toiling in the fields all day, as we did before."
Hearing Sima Han's words, Shen Xiaoyan could no longer hold back her laughter.
Even the three wet nurses, forgetting their decorum, covered their mouths and giggled.
Logically speaking, Sima Han was telling the truth. However, it was unlikely Steward Jiang saw it that way.
Indeed, after hearing these words, Steward Jiang was so stunned that he didn't know how to respond.
At the same time, he was perplexed. Was the Fifth Prince's intention to say that he had suffered too much these past few years, deliberately revealing this to him now so he could report it back to the Emperor? Or was he simply telling him that they could travel faster and didn't need special care?
Sima Han, who had spoken these words from inside the carriage, felt a bit curious when he didn't hear Steward Jiang's response for a long time.
He lifted the curtain and looked outside, only to see Steward Jiang standing there with a complex expression.
With a slight shift in his thoughts, Sima Han understood what Steward Jiang was contemplating.
"Eunuch, please don't overthink it. We should finish eating and resume our journey quickly. If we reach Huangshan County before dark, we don't need to stop; we can find lodging anywhere at night."
Steward Jiang couldn't say anything else at this point and could only turn around to instruct everyone to eat quickly and continue their journey after the meal.
As for Sima Han's earlier suggestion about finding lodging anywhere at night, he dared not fully comply.
If it were just the adults, it would be fine. But there was also an infant less than a year old.
This was the Emperor's first grandson, and he might win the Emperor's favor upon their return.
He dared not be careless about even the slightest possibility.