When Liu entered Tinglan Courtyard for the fifth time, she didn't hold a food box or cloth in her hands, but instead had her hands on her hips, followed by a string of burly women, looking like they were here to cause trouble. Shen Weiwan was squatting in the corridor feeding her parrot, and when she saw her in such a state, she deliberately scattered the bird food all over the floor.

"Chen Weiwan!" Liu kicked the stool away, and the gilded hairpin swayed like a tattered flag at her temples, "Stand up!"

Shen Weiwan shuddered with fear, and when she turned around, her eyes widened: "Aunt? What's wrong with you? Who made you angry?"

"Who else could it be?!" Liu took a step forward, her nails almost poking the tip of Shen Weiwan's nose, "You heartless little bitch! I treat you with all my heart, but you repeatedly embarrass me in the mansion! Are you going to give me that red gold hairpin or not?!"

Chuntao hid behind a pillar in terror. The old housekeeper stood outside the moon-shaped door, leaning on a cane, his brow furrowed so tightly that it could kill a mosquito. The servants watched from afar, their brooms and mops suspended in mid-air, afraid to miss this "big show of the year."

Shen Weiwan blinked her eyes, and suddenly burst into tears. Her knees softened and she knelt down, hugging Liu's legs tightly: "Aunt, I was wrong! It's all my fault! It's all because I missed my mother too much that I made you suffer for me..."

Liu stumbled in her embrace and nearly fell to the ground. She suppressed her anger and forced a fake smile: "It's good that you know you're wrong! Hurry and take out the hairpin and use it as an engagement token for your cousin!"

"Okay, okay!" Shen Weiwan cried breathlessly, raised her tearful face, "Here's the hairpin! Please place it in front of my mother's tablet for me!"

Liu was ecstatic, her mouth almost stretched to her ears: "Hey! This is my good niece..."

"But..." Chen Weiwan suddenly interrupted her, wiping her nose and tears, "You have to follow the rules when offering sacrifices to the tablet! The nanny said that you have to pay your respects to the tablet with the 'Five Grains Cleansing Ceremony' every day!"

The smile on Liu's face froze: "Five, five grains hand-cleansing ceremony?" She subconsciously touched the palm of her hand, and the calluses from the previous times she rubbed it were still aching.

"Yes, yes!" Shen Weiwan nodded vigorously, her eyes shining like stars, "Even if you need to wash your hands with five kinds of precious grains, I have prepared it all for you!" She pointed to the familiar coarse earthenware basin under the corridor, in which millet was mixed with black beans, and half a basin of broken walnut shells floated on the top.

Liu looked at the bowl of "grains" and her face instantly turned as dark as the bottom of a pot. Broken walnut shells! This little bitch actually wanted her to rub her hands with walnut shells?! Those things are even more scratchy than river sand. Rubbing them would peel off a layer of skin!

"Aunt, look how precious these walnut shells are," Shen Weiwan enthusiastically picked up a handful and stuffed them into Liu's sleeves. "Rubbing them can remove bad luck, ensure safety, and even smooth out the bags of wealth on your hands!"

The cold walnut shells mixed with the grains hurt Liu's palms. She wanted to pull her hand away, but Shen Weiwan held it tightly. The servants' suppressed laughter came like a tide. One of the servants couldn't help but burst out laughing, and was severely twisted by the housekeeper.

"Chen Weiwan! How dare you plot against me?!" Liu was so angry that she was shaking all over.

"Calculation?" Shen Weiwan let go of her hand, knelt on the ground, and looked "wronged". "Aunt, what are you talking about? I'm doing this for your own good! Didn't you say that if my cousin married well, it would bring honor to me? Then isn't rubbing my hands for my mother's tablet also bringing honor to me?"

She became increasingly "excited" as she spoke, and suddenly raised her voice: "Everyone, come and see! Auntie is willing to endure the hardship of rubbing walnut shells every day for my cousin's marriage! What a loving heart!"

"Hahaha..." The servants could no longer hold back their laughter and burst into laughter. Liu looked at the faces of the people around her who were trying not to laugh and listened to Shen Weiwan's "sincere and heartfelt" crying. She felt a surge of blood rushing to her head and her vision went black.

"That's enough!" Liu suddenly threw Shen Weiwan away, pointed at her and screamed, "I don't want that hairpin anymore! You can keep it and grind walnut shells for yourself!"

"Aunt, please don't!" Shen Weiwan got up and wanted to chase, but was held back by Chuntao, "Didn't you say it was for my own good? How can you go back on your word?"

Liu ran out of Tinglan Courtyard without looking back, her skirt splattered with mud, and her hairpin tilted completely to one side, like a defeated rooster. Shen Weiwan looked at her back, and the smile on her lips gradually cooled.

Chun Tao came over and whispered, "Miss, this trick of yours is too amazing! The Second Madam's face turned green with anger!"

"Playing PUA with me?" Shen Weiwan patted the mud on her knees. "Don't you see who PUA'd me in my previous life?" She kicked the pottery basin at her feet, and the walnut shells clattered. "Next time, put some glass shards in it and see if she dares to have any ideas about buying hairpins again."

The old housekeeper approached with a cane and coughed twice, "Miss, the Second Madam smashed a whole house of things in her own courtyard and said...she said she would go to the old lady to complain about your unfilial behavior."

Shen Weiwan raised her eyebrows, a sly smile appeared on the corner of her mouth: “Are you accusing me of being unfilial? It just so happens that I also want to let the old lady know how her beloved second daughter-in-law forced me to hand over my mother’s belongings.”

She straightened her clothes and smiled innocently: "Come on, Chuntao, follow me to pay my respects to the old lady and explain things to her."

In the old lady's Songhe Hall, Liu was kneeling on the ground crying, saying Shen Weiwan was an unforgivable evil: "...Mother, you don't know how arrogant that little bitch is! Not only did she not give me the hairpin, she also rubbed my hands with walnut shells..."

The old lady frowned, and just as she was about to speak, Shen Weiwan rushed in, knelt down beside Liu with a "thump", and cried even harder than her: "Grandma! You have to make the decision for me!"

Liu was taken aback. She didn't expect her to arrive so quickly. She quickly interrupted, "Mother, look at her..."

"Aunt, please stop talking!" Shen Weiwan interrupted her and turned to the old lady, tears welling up in her eyes. "It's all my fault. I missed my mother so much that I wanted you to help me perform the 'Five Grains Cleansing Ceremony' for her tablet. Aunt loved me and promised to rub walnut shells every day to show my filial piety, but I, I didn't tell her that the walnut shells had to be soaked first..."

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