These words amused Yuan Ruoshui, and also amused the maidservants serving in the room.

"Young Miss, you really know how to talk. You are more beautiful than any flower."

"That's what Yuan Ruoshui's dowry maid said."

Daya shook her head. "My mother says I'm at best a pretty girl from a modest family. I've looked in the mirror; my face isn't cute."

It even feels a bit deserted.

I'm not going to say anything more. Auntie, are you hungry? I'll go and get someone to bring you some food. It's no fun just sitting here like this.

"Oh, I remember now, we still have fruit wine today. I'll go get a jug; let's drink until we're both drunk!"

After saying that, Daya ran out to get the wine.

Yuan Ruoshui was left standing there with her maid, exchanging bewildered glances. It seemed as if the maid was only trying to get close to her to get some fruit wine.

In fact, Daya had been craving that fruit wine for a long time, but her mother said she was too young to drink it.

This girl has been craving it for so long, but she hasn't even had a taste yet. It's absolutely infuriating.

Without her mother's supervision today, Da Ya finally had a chance to taste a few bites, and she was overjoyed.

When Zhao Qingyi saw off the guests and returned to the bridal chamber to see his wife, he found a drunk cat sleeping on their wedding bed.

Enraged, Zhao Qingbei roared.

"Zhao Daya, you've got some nerve. You dare to drink alcohol, and you even dare to sleep on my wedding bed?"

"I'll write to your father and mother, you brat!"

Despite his anger and rage, he patiently escorted the soundly asleep Daya to the guest room.

They also sent a maid to guard the door in case Da Ya woke up and needed anything.

After settling the drunk cat, Zhao Qingbei went to Da Bao to complain.

"As the eldest brother, how do you discipline your younger siblings? Do you know that Da Ya drank alcohol? Not only did she drink, but she got drunk."

Drinking at such a young age, won't they become an alcoholic in the future?

Drinking without regard to time or place—it's fortunate he got drunk on my wedding bed; if he were drinking outside…

If I get drunk, what if a bad person comes along? My reputation is a small matter, but what if someone destroys the goods or takes them away?

She's already been settled in a guest room. Once she wakes up, she must be taken to your third grandmother's place so she can properly learn some manners."

After listening to Zhao Qingbei's long-winded explanation, Da Bao grasped the key point: Da Ya got drunk in the bridal chamber, so the person drinking with her was naturally her aunt.

"Uncle, is Aunt drunk?" Zhao Dabao asked.

Zhao Qingyi's first reaction was that he was bragging.

"My wife can drink a lot without getting drunk. Wait, we're talking about your sister now, why are you bringing up my wife?"

What, are you planning to pin the blame for your sister's drinking on my wife?

Let me tell you, the food and drinks were all brought over by Da Ya.

She poured my wife a glass of the fruit wine, and drank the rest straight from the bottle.

I couldn't stop her, and my wife doesn't know kung fu.

As they talked, the uncle and nephew realized they had stumbled upon some incredible information.

That's because Da Ya can't hold her liquor; she gets drunk after just one drink. Once drunk, she clings to the bottle and won't let go.

She was also skilled in martial arts, and no one could subdue her, so she drank it all.

This is truly a complicated situation.

It's fine to like drinking, the problem is that you have to be able to drink.

It seems that we must take Da Ya's drinking problem seriously. What should we do? We'll see.

Zhao Qingbei felt he was the most miserable groom in the world. Where else could a groom be left alone in his room?

To keep him from feeling lonely, several of his nephews slept with him for one night.

The next day, they returned to the Zhao residence together to serve tea to their elders.

Another half month passed, and this year's successful candidates were assigned to official positions.

With the same recipe and the same taste, the vast majority were sent to impoverished areas.

The brothers Zhao Qingyang and Zhao Qingbei had already been registered with the emperor, and Zhao Qingyang was assigned to the Ministry of Works to work on inventions and creations.

Zhao Qingbei was assigned to the Ministry of Rites, where he was specifically responsible for the preparation of celebrations and other events.

This suited Zhao Qingbei's taste perfectly. He himself loved all kinds of beautiful things, especially when it came to color matching, which he was extremely skilled at.

For him, going to the Ministry of Rites was the best thing to do.

However, once you get to places like the Ministry of Rites or the Ministry of Works, it's really not easy to get promoted. It's not as easy as first becoming an official in a local area and then climbing up the ranks step by step.

Speaking of this, we must mention Zhao Yonggeng's family. They were exiled to the Northeast and worked diligently to govern the area. Their performance was always excellent, but they never had the opportunity to be promoted.

Of course, with Prince Rui in charge, no one dared to provoke the father and son.

This year, whether it was divine intervention or the Emperor's great kindness, they finally showed some consideration for their in-laws.

Indeed, no matter if it's Chinese New Year or his birthday, his rebellious son, who's rooted in Northeast China, never comes back to see his father.

What's even more outrageous is that every year during the Lunar New Year, the gift I receive from that brat is a portrait of his entire family.

On his birthday, he receives a portrait of his grandsons together.

In any case, there were no expensive gifts at all.

Aside from dried vegetables and hazelnuts, it's all about skin and fur; I never repeat myself.

At most, they just changed the color of the fur. What's worse, there wasn't a single extra piece of fur; there was only enough for the emperor and empress to make one coat each.

It's rare to find someone as stingy as Prince Rui.

Normal people would try to please their fathers in order to inherit more property in the future, but he doesn't care who he is.

When asked why he was so stingy,

“Where would I get money? My daily expenses are all taken care of by the Queen.”

I'm just a kept man, what right do I have to be picky and add to the burden of the princess?

Besides, those furs could be worth several hundred taels of silver, and the caravan would spend a lot on shipping alone to take them back.

"I'm already a father of several sons. If I don't start saving money, won't my sons live a miserable life in the future?"

What Prince Rui said sounded reasonable, but something felt off.

How could someone who owns the largest jewelry store in the capital dare to say that he's just a gigolo? Is there anything more infuriating than that?

How could he have the nerve to say those things?

Prince Rui doesn't care what others think.

Privately, the couple would also discuss the issue of sending gifts to the capital.

"Father has so many sons, and they are all rich."

Unlike my elder sister and me, who didn't have a mother, our childhood wasn't easy.

He went to the battlefield at a young age and climbed up the ranks step by step through fighting and meritorious service.

They only had the capital to do business thanks to the spoils of war.

To be honest, my little business is nothing but a sesame seed in the eyes of my brothers.

Since they consider me a poor wretch, the gifts I give should naturally be rather meager.

The squeaky wheel gets the grease, even though I don't need my father's care or favoritism.

However, the fact that he turns a blind eye to my business practices saves me a lot of money in taxes…