If it weren't for the fact that Fengchu was preparing for his exams, Chen Mianmian would definitely have gone to Qingfeng Academy to have a serious talk with Fengchu.

Shen Mianmian took a deep breath, forced a smile, and said with a smile, "So that's how it is. How could I blame Madam? Besides, the young master was drunk that day and may have misspoke. He clearly told me to think of some ideas and spend more time with Madam, otherwise I wouldn't have made this mahjong set."

Granny Li was taken aback. "Did the young master misspoke?"

“I think it’s probably true. I didn’t see the young master come in drunk that day without saying a word, then collapse onto the soft couch with his face ashen,” she said, turning to Hanrong and asking, “Hanrong, do you agree?”

“Granny Li, I can testify that the young master really drank a lot that night! I made some hangover soup, and he was only able to speak after drinking it. Before that, he couldn’t say a word. After drinking the hangover soup, he didn’t even rest and struggled to come see the madam, afraid that she would worry.”

Chen Mianmian secretly gave Hanrong a thumbs up—Well said!

After a moment's thought, Granny Li said, "Please wait a moment, Madam. I'll go in and talk to you."

“Yes, Granny, you must explain for the young master. He is such a filial son, he would never say such a thing. He must have said he wanted to see me more often. He was just drunk.” Shen Mianmian’s voice was sincere, as if she were there when the young master said those words.

The more Li Mama thought about it, the more she realized it made sense, and she hurriedly went to reply.

A little while later.

When Li Mama returned, she smiled and said, "I spoke with Madam, and Madam also thinks it was a slip of the tongue by the young master. Concubine, please come in quickly."

"Thank you so much, Granny Li. We are so grateful to you today."

Chen Mianmian answered enthusiastically, and Han Rong picked up her suitcase, and the group went into the house.

Once inside, Ding did not make things difficult for Chen Mianmian. Or rather, Ding had heard that Chen Mianmian had some novel gadgets and was eager to try them out. At first, she put on airs and gave her a few words of reprimand, but afterwards, her mind was entirely on the rattan box.

Chen Mianmian opened the rattan box, took out three pieces of paper, gave one to the madam, one to Li Mama, and the last one to Hanrong.

"Next, I will teach you how to play mahjong. Since the rules are a bit complicated and I'm afraid you won't remember them all in a short time, I've prepared a paper instruction manual in advance."

Ding looked at the paper and saw that the regular script on it was neat and tidy, and even had some familiar features. "Who wrote this?"

“Yes, Madam, it was written by me,” Chen Mianmian replied.

Ding was secretly alarmed.

She was not unfamiliar with Shen's handwriting.

I had seen it before when I punished him by making him copy the Great Compassion Mantra. Although his handwriting was serious at that time, it was not very good. But now his handwriting is quite good, and it even has the shadow of the Crown Prince's handwriting.

If this writing was indeed done by Shen, it means that Shen has been diligently practicing calligraphy these days, which shows that he is quite hardworking.

Ding nodded. "Let's begin."

"Yes." Then, Chen Mianmian explained the rules of playing mahjong in detail.

Modern mahjong has many variations, such as Sichuan mahjong, Guangdong mahjong, Hong Kong mahjong, and Hefei mahjong, each with different scoring rules.

Chen Mianmian is not a mahjong expert. She learned mahjong because she passed the civil service exam and wanted to have an extra skill.

Therefore, teaching them is the simplest way to calculate the points.

After explaining everything from beginning to end, she looked at the three of them, who all looked completely bewildered. Chen Mianmian smiled and said, "Just listening to this will definitely leave you confused. Let's play a few rounds first, and you'll remember the rules as you play. I guarantee that at most one round, that is, four rounds, everyone will enjoy it."

"Madam, is there anything we need to prepare?" asked Granny Li.

"First, you need to find a square table."

"Would an eight-immortal table be alright?"

"Okay! But don't make it too big, make it a little smaller, so that you can reach the opposite base with your arm out."

"No problem, I'll go find it right away."

After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

The capable Granny Li had already prepared everything needed for playing mahjong—an eight-immortal table, a tablecloth, and four chairs.

Under Shen Mianmian's guidance, the three of them clumsily began to "shuffle the cards" and "build the Great Wall".

The three of them stared at the mahjong tiles, trying to match them, while constantly reading the rules on the paper.

Chen Mianmian was extremely busy, pacing around the table, helping the three of them arrange their cards, and teaching them how to win with this hand: which card to discard, which to eat, which to pong, and which to kong.

I can't help but sigh – the information gap is really interesting! No wonder those time travelers are so successful. She can be the grandmaster who is the founder of mahjong in the Southern Chu Kingdom. If she were in modern times, old ladies wouldn't play with her, and even children would complain that she plays too slowly.

And so, four rounds passed, covering all four cardinal directions.

The three of them had a basic understanding, but they weren't addicted yet.

Shen Mianmian winked. "Madam, in the next round, we'll officially begin our battle!"

Ding asked in confusion, "Aren't these still the same rules? Why are they divided into formal and informal ones?"

Shen Mianmian raised an eyebrow. "Of course, if it's not a formal event, there's no money involved. When it's a formal event, there's money involved! What's the point if there's no prize? When the Emperor leads his officials on a hunt or the Empress hosts a banquet and has the young ladies perform, there are always prizes, aren't there?"

Mrs. Ding chuckled, "You know this too?"

Shyly, Shen Mianmian stammered, "I just heard it from someone else." No, that's how it's written in novels!

Ding thought it made a lot of sense. "Okay, then let's use a prize. How much would be appropriate for the prize?"

Chen Mianmian held up one finger. "One bet is one copper coin. Small bets are fun, but big bets can hurt feelings. We'll just add a little something to the stakes, just to make a small gesture."

“Alright, let’s begin,” said Ding.

Until this point, Ding Shi had not realized the seriousness of the problem. She felt that there was nothing to play, and since she was free in the afternoon anyway, she might as well play a few more rounds to give face to the Crown Prince.

Who would have thought that this game would become so addictive!

The four of them fought until evening.

The maidservant came in several times, "Madam, shall we have dinner now?"

Madam Ding waved her hand and said, "Wait a little longer. I am the house, and I must finish this game!"

"Yes, Madam." The maidservant respectfully withdrew, and another maidservant stepped forward and asked in a low voice, "How is it? Shall we serve the meal?"

"We'll have to wait."

"Waiting again? Dinner has been reheated three times already."

"Hey, let the kitchen stay warm."

Inside the room, Ding shouted joyfully, "I won! I drew the winning tile myself!"

The other three were speechless.

Shen Mianmian was completely bewildered—wait, why is it always the Madam who wins? She did consider secretly setting off a firecracker for the Madam to make her happy.

But putting aside whether this novice could even calculate the cards, just the fact that before she could even guess which card the lady would win with, the lady had already won by self-draw! And it was a self-draw as the dealer, plus a winning hand on a kong, how many points would that be?

Furthermore, Madam has already won five hands in a row on the dealer's side! Is it a newbie protection period? That doesn't make sense either. Besides her, Granny Li and Hanrong are also newbies. Could it be that the newbie protection period applies only to the highest-ranking players?