After the old lady returned to her room with those items, she placed the jade ruyi in front of the altar in her small Buddhist shrine, then put away all the gold and silver jewelry. She said to Granny Shen, "These are all things that our Ninth Girl earned for me. When Ninth Girl comes back, I will give all these things to her. The others in the mansion should not be envious. If they are capable, they should also do things that will earn the Emperor's praise. As long as it is a reward from the Emperor, I promise to give it all to him without keeping a single bit."

Granny Shen smiled and said, "These were all given to you by His Majesty. It's up to you who you want to give them to, isn't it?"

The old lady listened and looked at the things with a smile. After a while, she sighed and said, "I guess they can't wear silk clothes over there. Open my storeroom and see what other fabrics you have. Find all kinds of fabrics, fine cotton and coarse cotton. If you don't have any, tell someone to go to the street and buy some. Also, buy some new cotton and send it to Zhaoci so she can make cotton clothes for the children."

Granny Shen agreed and said, "Okay, I'll go find it right away."

Before dinner, Marquis Yongning arrived. Granny Shen quickly lifted the curtain for him and said, "The old lady just said that if you don't come back before dinner, she will send someone to call you over."

Lord Yongning smiled and said, "I knew my mother wanted to see me, so I rushed over as soon as I finished what I was doing. Granny Shen, someone sent me some dried goods from your hometown. I'll have Mingyue bring them to you after dinner."

Granny Shen was from the Northeast, and her favorite food there was dried vegetables and dried mushrooms. Hearing the Marquis say this, Granny Shen quickly thanked him, saying, "Thank you, Your Highness, for always thinking of me."

Lord Yongning said, "Granny, that's not right. You've been a senior member of my mother's family for a long time. You watched me grow up. It's only right that I give you something you like as a token of my respect."

Granny Shen was a maidservant when the old lady married into the family. She was over sixty years old when she married into the family. Later, she married the steward of the mansion. Now that her children and grandchildren are all grown up, she couldn't stay idle at home, so she came to work as the old lady's steward nanny.

When Marquis Yongning entered the old lady's banquet area, he bowed to her and then sat down to her left. The old lady said, "Your nanny, Granny Shen, specially brewed this Tieguanyin tea for you. Try it and see."

After thanking him, the Marquis of Yongning took two sips of tea before placing the teacup on the table. Seeing his expression, the old lady sighed and said, "Is there something going on outside that you're embarrassed to tell me?"

Lord Yongning nodded and said, "Nothing can be hidden from Mother. There are indeed people outside saying some unpleasant things."