Today is the seventh day of the Lunar New Year. According to tradition, people should gather with relatives and friends. So, the He family stayed at the villa tonight to have dinner with the Cheng family.

To accommodate the guests' eating habits, Cheng Ruyi made some adjustments to the dinner.

Since the He family can handle spicy food and enjoys strong flavors, Sichuan cuisine would perfectly satisfy their needs.

Although the iconic chili pepper was missing, other seasonings could make up for it. As a result, a table full of Sichuan dishes that were not quite authentic but were a special modified version that no one except Cheng Ruyi knew about surprised both families.

Mapo tofu, shredded pork with garlic sauce, spicy chicken, twice-cooked pork, Dongpo pork knuckle, boiled sliced ​​pork, and pickled fish are almost all dishes that no one has ever seen before. Moreover, after the process was made to be more convenient, not only was the spiciness reduced, but the original cooking method was also changed to better suit everyone's taste. As a result, the two families ate with great satisfaction, even while sweating profusely.

Of course, to accommodate those who can't eat spicy food, she also prepared several light and classic home-style dishes to ensure everyone could eat their fill.

"Oh my, we really owe you all this, otherwise we wouldn't have had the chance to eat these special dishes!" Xu Cui couldn't help but exclaim as she looked at the table full of food. "You have no idea, Ruyi used to love researching all sorts of new dishes. Ah, those were such good times! But lately, she's been so busy that she's practically never on her feet. Forget cooking, we often can't even see her!"

After tonight, Tian Fenfang's attitude towards Cheng Ruyi has evolved from admiration to worship. Her greatest hobby in life is eating, so she has a great fondness for people who are good at cooking.

So after hearing Xu Cui's words, she immediately stared at Cheng Ruyi with shining eyes and asked, "Really? Speaking of which, even the chefs in the big restaurants in the prefecture city can't match your skills. If we cooperate to open a restaurant, I believe we will definitely make a lot of money!"

Last night they were talking about opening a dessert shop together, and today it's turned into opening a restaurant? Cheng Ruyi looked at her sister-in-law's serious expression and couldn't help but laugh. "Sister-in-law, you flatter me too much. These dishes are just something I made up for fun. They're only for my family. How could they be considered presentable? Hehe~~"

Just as Tian Fenfang was about to continue persuading Cheng Ruyi, Gao Qingshan suddenly spoke up: "Sister-in-law, you don't know this, but the Cheng family owns many shops in Huaishan County. Two of their snack shops are always packed, and you often have to queue to get a table. Moreover, the money they earn in just the four courtyards on Lishan Mountain is equivalent to our annual wages. Not to mention the Lingyun Pavilion, which is incredibly lucrative. Our cousin is running a very big business!"

The room fell silent instantly upon hearing this.

Actually, the entire He family is quite easy to get along with, except for the only outsider. Fortunately, judging from his previous behavior, Gao Qingshan is not a particularly difficult person to deal with. He just likes to annoy people from time to time, and he is also a bit greedy for small gains and opportunistic. He has a lot of minor flaws, but he can't cause too much trouble.

"Brother-in-law, you're joking. Our little shop is just a small operation. Besides, I'm not the owner of Lingyun Pavilion; I'm just an employee." Cheng Ruyi didn't want to spoil the good atmosphere of the family reunion, so she quickly changed the subject. "Has everyone finished eating? How about we go to the front yard and release sky lanterns since it's not snowing outside?"

Unfortunately, she didn't want to discuss this topic, but someone insisted on pressing her for details!

"Such a big business is just a small matter for my cousin? Sister-in-law, did you hear that clearly?" Gao Qingshan, as a yamen runner, actually knew some martial arts. He was full of energy and his voice was sharp, which once again successfully drew everyone's attention to himself.

Seeing this, he even spoke up smugly, saying, "Cousin, don't be modest with us. We're all family. Shouldn't you help your own family as soon as you have a way to make money? Your cousin and I are exhausted like dogs at the government office every day. We have no dignity and hardly any money!"

"You have no idea, your cousin doesn't dare to go out for meals and drinks with the other constables. They talk so badly about him behind his back! Humph! Those snobbish scoundrels, if we had any money, would they still dare to look down on us!"

Cheng Hua's face turned black when she heard this. She knew that this son-in-law must have discovered that the Cheng family was wealthy and wanted to pretend to be poor to gain some advantage. It was one thing for him to be shameless, but he also had to drag He Zheng into it. It was really disgusting!

She wanted to scold her, but when she glanced at her daughter who was keeping her head down, she held back her words and could only stare at Gao Qingshan with dissatisfaction.

Cheng Hua had to consider He Nuan, but Tian Fenfang didn't. She had disliked her brother-in-law for a long time. He always had a sly look on her face and would say a few sarcastic things every time they met. She didn't know what the arrogant He Nuan saw in him.

"Brother-in-law, look at what you're saying! The reason my husband He Zheng doesn't go out to eat and drink isn't because he's poor, but because the places you all go to are all disreputable!" Tian Fenfang said with a disdainful tone, then turned to He Nuan and gave her an incredibly sweet smile. "Going to brothels behind your wife's back, and being able to say it so openly in front of her whole family and relatives, hehe, brother-in-law, you really have guts!"

As soon as Tian Fenfang finished speaking, almost everyone in the He family stood up instantly, especially He Nuan. Cheng Ruyi didn't even see clearly; she only felt a blur before Gao Qingshan was pulled up from his chair and then slapped hard to the ground...

"Gao Qingshan! How dare you drink and carouse behind my back? How dare you treat me like this!" He Nuan stared fiercely at her husband, her usually porcelain-white face flushed red, clearly she was really angry. This was the first time Cheng Ruyi had ever seen her so emotional.

Although the Cheng family was stunned by the unexpected turn of events, the He family seemed unfazed. They immediately and tacitly split into two groups: the women comforted He Nuan, while the men helped Gao Qingshan up.

Compared to He Nuan's flushed face, Gao Qingshan's complexion was noticeably pale and bluish, with sweat dripping from his forehead despite the cold weather. He completely ignored He Gang and He Zheng who came to help him up, got up, knelt down beside his wife, and said in a tearful voice, "Xiao Nuan, no! It's not like that, let me explain!"

He Nuan, still furious, naturally ignored him. Gao Qingshan, however, continued to kneel and pull up He Nuan's skirt, pitifully pleading, "Xiao Nuan, let me explain. Although I went to that kind of place with them, I absolutely did not do anything to betray you. I didn't even glance at the girls there. Those vulgar women are not worthy of being compared to you. I went there only to build relationships, to have a better future so I could give you a better life!"

The Cheng family members were shocked to see Gao Qingshan, who had just been acting strangely and annoyingly, now kneeling on the ground begging for He Nuan's forgiveness, even slapping himself several times as he spoke.

Everyone was stunned by the sight, and they stood there dumbfounded with their mouths agape.

He Nuan gradually calmed down. She looked down at the man who was pleading so desperately and said coldly, "Swear that if you have ever done anything to wrong me, you will die a horrible death!"

"I...I swear! If I have done anything to betray Xiaonuan, I will...I will be torn to pieces and die a horrible death!" Gao Qingshan hesitated for a moment, but quickly made a firm vow and even increased his punishment.

Seeing this, Cheng Hua immediately stepped in to smooth things over, "Pah! Let's not say such unlucky things during the New Year!"

“Yeah, yeah, uh… Xiao Nuan, I’ve also heard my colleagues say in private that Qingshan went to a brothel but didn’t choose any girls. Those people are laughing at him behind his back… laughing at him for being henpecked!” He Zheng also joined his mother in trying to persuade his younger sister. After speaking, he nudged his wife with his elbow.

Tian Fenfang naturally understood her husband's meaning. Although she was still somewhat resentful, it was indeed the Lunar New Year, and they were at a relative's house, so it wouldn't be good to make things too ugly. Therefore, she casually said, "It's the Lunar New Year, so let's just let it go. It won't look good if we keep making a scene."

The Cheng family members, who finally realized what was happening, immediately stepped forward to help pull people away and persuade them to stop.

In fact, He Nuan is a person who cares a lot about her image, especially in front of outsiders. She tries her best to maintain her dignity. If she hadn't been too angry just now, she would never have allowed herself to lose her composure in front of outsiders.

She quickly composed herself, glanced at Cheng Ruyi, and then said to Gao Qingshan, "Get up."

Upon hearing this, Gao Qingshan felt as if he had been granted a pardon. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and was about to stand up when his legs went numb from kneeling for so long. He almost fell over again, but fortunately, Cheng Yunping, who had just run over to help him, grabbed his arm in time, and he managed to stand up.

Unexpectedly, this pulling and tugging caused the things hidden in Gao Qingshan's arms to be thrown out, scattering all over the ground with a clattering sound.

The incident happened so suddenly and in full view of everyone that Gao Qingshan didn't even have a chance to put his things away immediately. He looked at the shards of glass on the ground and his face turned pale. He realized that he was really in deep trouble this time.

Cheng Yunping was the closest person. He didn't react at first, but simply bent down to pick up the fallen object. Only after picking it up did he ask with a puzzled look, "Huh? Isn't this the glazed tile hanging from the ceiling of the east wing of Qiushi Courtyard? How could it be...?"

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly felt as if the air in the entire room had frozen. Although he didn't understand, he still very sensitively stopped the conversation.

The smelting technology of this era is not very advanced, especially glass products, which are generally priced similarly to gold, jade and gemstones. Although the glass pieces on the roof of the east wing of Qiushi Courtyard are only very small pieces, the large quantity of them cost Cheng Ruyi over a hundred taels of silver.

There were only eighteen strings of glass pieces in total, and now three strings have fallen out of Gao Qingshan's arms, which is worth about ten or twenty taels of silver.

"These three strings of glass shards suddenly fell off when I went out this morning. I asked Qingshan to keep them with me, intending to give them to you after I saw my cousin, but I forgot about them. Now, they're back to their rightful owner!"

Although He Nuan tried her best to control her expression, she still spoke through gritted teeth, especially when she said the last few words. At the same time, the teacup she was holding in her right hand made a "crack" sound and shattered into several pieces.

After the glass shards fell, everyone in the main room looked at He Nuan in unison, and naturally did not miss any of her expressions or movements. In fact, if she had been a little more composed and had not crushed the glass, some people might have actually believed it.