It turns out that His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived. Zhou Shuren's fingers, which were gripping the book, tightened, causing creases on the pages.
Zhou Shuren stood up and walked to the front courtyard, where the Crown Prince was already sipping cold tea and enjoying pastries, while telling the nearby eunuch, "The Zhou residence certainly has an abundance of ice."
The eunuch nodded repeatedly, his gaze falling on the ice basin, unable to resist the urge to walk over and get closer.
The eunuch also looked at the maids and young servants in the hall, envy flashing in his eyes. The masters in the Palace had cut down on the use of ice, so those like him enjoyed it even less. He was still one of the better off, closely following the Crown Prince and thus able to partake in some luxury, while others were hot to the point of death.
The cool water drawn from the well at night warmed up after a while, not refreshing at all.