For two consecutive days, Pei Zhi followed Shang Huai to learn how to carve jade hairpins.

Every time he came, Shang Huai would personally pick him up and drop him off.

When the Empress Dowager heard the news in the villa, she angrily scolded her subordinates for being incompetent.

"If you don't make a move soon, are you waiting for me to do it myself?"

"Your Majesty, please forgive us, but we are truly at a loss as to how to proceed."

Those kneeling below also suffered terribly.

"Whenever Pei Zhi goes out, Lord Shang follows her everywhere."

"With Lord Shang by our side, we really don't have a complete grasp on the situation."

"Otherwise, Pei Zhi will stay in the Pei residence and never leave the house. We really have no way to deal with that."

"You idiots!" The Empress Dowager couldn't help but curse, "Just because she never leaves the house, does that mean you're all destined to follow her your whole lives?"

"I will only give you three days."

The Empress Dowager said viciously, "If I don't see Pei Zhi's body in three days, then you can wait to collect the corpses of your wives and children."

After the old woman saw the person off through the secret passage, she brought over a bowl of ginseng soup.

"Your Majesty, please calm down."

"I only have this one chance, and I absolutely cannot fail."

The old woman watched as the Empress Dowager finished drinking the ginseng soup and then handed her a handkerchief.

"Your Majesty, you must think this through. Once you take action, the bond between you and His Majesty as mother and son will be irreparable."

"Hmph." The Empress Dowager chuckled sarcastically. "What mother-son affection is left between Your Majesty and me?"

"It was already gone when the late emperor passed away."

"If Your Majesty had granted me even a little bit of the honor due to an Empress Dowager over the years, I wouldn't be in this predicament."

The old woman felt a chill in her heart, but could only shake her head helplessly.

That evening, Shang Huai escorted Pei Zhi back to her residence and gave her some special instructions.

He has to go to the army tomorrow and won't be able to pick up Pei Zhi.

"You're going to the army? Which army?"

Shang Huai explained softly, "Naturally, it's the army in the capital. A childhood friend invited me to a match tomorrow."

Shang Huai has been itching to get his hands dirty since returning to Beijing.

A friend wrote to Shang Huai, inviting him over. The tone was full of provocation, asking if Shang Huai had been bewitched by a woman and was probably too weak to even lift a knife.

Shang Huai could not tolerate such provocation and would go to the military camp tomorrow to teach the other party a lesson.

“Okay.” Pei Zhi understood the situation. “Then good luck. Tomorrow, in front of their soldiers, give him a good beating and make him lose face.”

Shang Huai said loudly, "Of course."

Pei Zhi went to bed a little late last night, since she didn't have anything to do tomorrow anyway.

After washing up, Pei Zhi read a book for a while, but finally couldn't hold on any longer and collapsed onto the bed, falling into a deep sleep.

The next day, Pei Zhi slept until late morning. She lingered in bed for a while before slowly having someone help her get up.

After changing clothes and having a simple breakfast in the house, I was invited over by my sister-in-law's family.

"I was planning to go to a restaurant to choose some dishes today. If you're free, why don't you come with me?"

Pei Zhi asked, puzzled: "Go to a restaurant to choose dishes?"

Madam Pei shook her head. "I think you've just gone crazy with Lord Shang, haven't you?"

"Your elder brother's birthday is in a few days."

"The invitations have already been sent out. It's your brother's thirtieth birthday, and according to custom, a large banquet should be held."

Pei Minxue held a high-ranking official position and was a favorite of the emperor.

It's estimated that many officials will be attending Pei Minxue's birthday celebration.

There will definitely be quite a few people coming to the inner quarters as well.

"Let's go to the restaurant today and place the order."

“Okay, I’ll go with my sister-in-law.”

Madam Pei nodded, "With you here, you can give me some advice."

The two tidied up a bit and then went out.

Pei Zhi also asked, "Aren't you bringing your little nephew?"

Madam Pei covered her mouth with her handkerchief and smiled, "He's still young, it's better not to take him out, lest he catch a cold from the wind."

Pei Zhi also knew how much her sister-in-law valued her nephew.

Every day, wet nurses would bring their babies out to sunbathe in the yard.

The wet nurse's meals were personally tasted by the wet nurse's sister-in-law every day before she felt at ease, for fear that the wet nurse's meals were too salty or that there was something wrong with the ingredients.

Madam Pei patted Pei Zhi's hand and said, "Don't make fun of your sister-in-law."

"You'll understand when you have children; you'll be terrified that they'll suffer even the slightest harm."

Pei Zhi pursed her lips and simply smiled.

She thought that she would never be able to understand what her sister-in-law was saying.

Because she will never have children, and she doesn't want to experience that feeling, which is not a good thing.

Pei Zhi accompanied her sister-in-law to the restaurant, and the restaurant immediately began serving the dishes.

The food was served very quickly, so they must have been prepared in advance.

Looking at the three large tables laden with dishes, Pei Zhi couldn't help but admire them.

How many do you want to choose?

"The dishes for the male guests in the front and the female guests in the back are different, so they should be served separately."

"Male guests can eat more meat, and adults have some dietary restrictions, so some dishes on the table should be avoided."

"For the female guests, the dishes should be more refined and delicious, with less heavy meat dishes, as they don't like them anyway."

Pei Zhi felt overwhelmed; all she could think about were troublesome matters.

But Pei Zhi looked at her sister-in-law, who seemed to think it was a piece of cake and didn't seem troubled at all.

Pei Zhi focused on tasting the dishes, and if she liked a particular one, she would leave a note for her sister-in-law to decide whether to keep it or not.

Pei Zhi ate her fill, but Madam Pei's meal was still not finished.

Madam Pei also inquired about the ingredients of each dish and its name.

Some dishes don't show the ingredients.

This is Pei Minxue's birthday banquet, so some unlucky dish names and ingredients have to be avoided.

Pei Zhi had finished eating and was getting drowsy listening to the conversation.

Pei Zhi forced herself to listen for a while, then leaned back in her chair and fell asleep.

By the time Pei Zhi was woken up by her sister-in-law, it was already getting dark outside.

Pei Zhi stood up and stretched her neck a little; it was sore.

Pei Zhi asked, "Has your sister-in-law made all the arrangements?"

Madam Pei shook her head, "It can't be that simple."

"These are all hot dishes. Tomorrow I also need to order cold dishes, as well as fruits and snacks. It's quite a complicated process to host a banquet."

“Your brother is now in a high position. If anything goes wrong with this banquet, people will laugh at you.”

Pei Zhi looked at her sister-in-law, who seemed to be full of energy and not tired at all.

"Sister-in-law, don't you find it troublesome?"

Pei Zhi didn't understand. If she were asked to do things that didn't bring her any benefit, she definitely wouldn't be willing.

"It may be troublesome, but it's my job."

"If the banquet is well-organized, I can also gain a reputation for being virtuous and capable."

Pei Zhi tugged at the corners of her mouth and gave a smile, but the smile was rather stiff.