All this time, Madame Ying had only been listening quietly, but now she blurted out, “Then that should be more than enough to fund the war!”

The words were barely out before she realized she had spoken amiss.

Everyone else kept silent, while Fixer Liu only lowered his head, not daring to join in.

He Yue quickly steered the topic elsewhere. “Since General Ke has come all the way back to plead, do you think the Fu Family can escape disaster?”

Ke Jihai had first crushed the rebels at Woling Pass, then fought Dong Haoming in the west. At present, he was the most relied-upon general in the royal court’s service. If he personally rushed back to intercede for the Fu Family, surely the king, who still needed him to defeat Dong Haoming, would have to give him some face?

“We’ll find out soon enough.”

Madame Ying, feeling stifled, lifted the curtain to check the road. Their carriage was making its way down a winding mountain path. The snow was falling thicker now, so heavy that nothing could be seen beyond ten meters.

Even on a broad road, in such conditions, every step had to be taken with care. Only one lantern glimmered ahead and another behind, faint halos of light keeping pace.

Wait, one behind?

She glanced back. “There’s another...