So Shi Wenxia went to He County.

To everyone's surprise, when the cook heard that it was a birthday banquet held by a wealthy family in Kyoto, he was afraid of messing it up and dared not come.

It was only after much persuasion from Shi Wenxia, ​​and with a heavy heart, he offered an additional five hundred taels of silver as payment, that the cook was finally invited to the Duke's mansion.

Immediately afterwards, she busied herself with other preparations. Since she was unfamiliar with the powerful figures in the capital when it came to sending out invitations, she could only rely on her sisters-in-law, the Su family, for help.

Soon the day of the birthday banquet arrived.

The Duke's mansion was bustling with excitement and joy.

Shi Wenxia and Madam Su stood together at the entrance of the flower hall to greet guests. Whenever someone came, Madam Su would introduce the person's identity to Shi Wenxia. When the guests learned that she was the new bride of the Yun family and had single-handedly organized this birthday banquet, they would all smile and praise the new bride for her competence and the Yun family for their good fortune.

Shi Wenxia was secretly pleased with himself.

They secretly thought that if the full lotus banquet were to be served later, it would surely amaze them even more.

Madam Yun sat in the center of the flower hall with a beaming smile, receiving congratulations from guests and relatives.

Su Youran was also overjoyed. During the thousands of years she had been a wandering ghost, the most terrifying thing was not reliving the moment of her death over and over again, but rather—loneliness.

Because no one saw her, no one spoke to her, and she couldn't see any other wandering ghosts, nor did she know where the path of reincarnation was, she eventually just drifted into the bracelet and fell asleep.

The current hustle and bustle is full of human warmth, a mix of sweet, sour, bitter, and spicy flavors, and a multitude of emotions including joy, anger, sorrow, happiness, sadness, and pleasure.

How real this world is!

Yueyue was leading a group of children around Su Youran, asking her to tell a story!

Xiao Wu Yun Tianzhi and Xiao Liu Yun Tianjiao stared wide-eyed. Over the past few years, they had been completely captivated by the stories inside Su Youran's belly. They were utterly fascinated by fantastical tales like "Journey to the West" and "The Legend of the White Snake," as well as martial arts novels like "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer" and "The Return of the Condor Heroes"... Of course, they disdained the more popular "Dream of the Red Chamber" and "Romance of the Western Chamber." What could be more exciting than the love and romance between young men and women, and the thrill of fighting and dominating the martial arts world?!

Fourth Sister Yun Manhan was frantically jotting down notes with pen and ink. In recent years, she had developed a new interest: whenever Xiao Youran wanted to tell a story, she would immediately and quickly write it down.

Then very soon, Su Yun's troupe will have a new drama that quickly becomes a sensation throughout the capital city.

Su Yun's troupe had long become a star troupe in the capital, far surpassing other troupes.

At this moment, a person strode in through the door and knelt down directly in front of Madam Yun. "Mother, I am late! I am unfilial! I wish you good health, longevity, and endless happiness!"

Old Madam Yun looked closely and burst into laughter, "It's the fourth son! Quickly! Get up! You still remember your mother's birthday banquet and know to come back!"

That person really was Uncle Yun Zheng!

Ms. Yu was stunned for a moment, then grabbed her daughter beside her and stood up abruptly, her eyes and nose stinging with tears.

After Yun Zheng was exiled to Ningguta seven years ago, even after the Yun family was exonerated and promoted to the Duke's Mansion, he and his third uncle returned once, and then went on a trip. In between, he only returned once in the third year, and then disappeared again, ostensibly to go to the border to see what kind of business could be done.

Four years passed after that departure.

So how could Madam Yu not be excited when she saw him suddenly return?

Yun Zheng presented a gift with both hands, saying, "This is a rare and wonderful item that your son found in the borderlands. Please smile upon it, Mother."

Madam Yun sighed, "Your return to celebrate my birthday is the greatest gift of all. What could be more wonderful than this?"

The women nearby all laughed.

Yun Zheng ignored it and opened the box in his hand.

Everyone craned their necks to look and gasped in shock.

"What is this? It looks like glass... but I've never seen such clear and pure glass before..."

"This shape is indeed very strange, like it was smashed out by something..."

"Tsk tsk, even an ordinary glass cup is worth a hundred taels of silver, so this big glass must be priceless!"

A maidservant had already taken the box from Yun Zheng's hands and handed it to Old Madam Yun.

Even the old lady Yun found it amazing, asking, "What is this?"

Yun Zheng laughed and said, "This thing is glass formed by the impact of a thunderbolt on a pile of yellow sand. I just stayed at the place where the thunderbolt struck, and after it formed, I took it out and polished it into this easy-to-play shape."

"Fourth Uncle, you haven't been waiting for this thing to form for the past four years, have you?" Yun Tiankuang asked in surprise.

Yun Zheng nodded, "During my time in Ningguta, I accidentally discovered that when drought lightning strikes a sand dune, it forms a glass-like substance. For the past few years, I have been waiting in the border region to find places where drought lightning often occurs. I have been waiting and finally, my efforts have paid off and I have finally witnessed it."

Everyone gasped in surprise.

Such a rare item is priceless!

Su Youran's mind raced, and she suddenly remembered that she had seen the method of glassmaking used by people from later generations. Her fourth uncle had been looking for a suitable business, so it turned out that he was destined to be involved with glass.

After everyone praised him, Madam Yun said to him, "You've just returned, you're covered in dust from your journey. You should go back and freshen up before having your meal."

"Yes!" Yun Zheng stood up and searched around for his wife and children.

Yu Shi had already pulled her daughter Yun Manying slowly toward Yun Zheng.

Yun Zheng stared at Yun Manying, his eyes full of surprise.

The third daughter, Yun Manying, is already a graceful seventeen-year-old young lady. A few years ago, she was engaged to the heir of the Marquis of Jing'an. However, the old wife of the Marquis of Jing'an passed away a year before the wedding. At that time, Yun Manying had not yet reached marriageable age and could not complete the wedding in time for the mourning period, so the wedding date was postponed until now.

Su Youran agreed wholeheartedly at the time, and from a doctor's perspective, professionally analyzed the negative consequences of women marrying too early with the fourth wife, which is why Yun Manying has been staying at home ever since.

Clearly, Yun Zheng could hardly recognize this young woman at this moment.

"Greetings, Father." Yun Manying curtsied gracefully.

At this moment, two boys also came over, cupped their hands in greeting, and said, "Greetings, Father."

Yun Zheng laughed heartily, "Children, your mother has worked so hard all these years! Come with me back to the courtyard to talk!"

The family first went back to the courtyard of the fourth house.

Madam Yun was overjoyed, but what made her even happier was that another person returned shortly afterward.

Madam Su led him in personally, her expression one of excitement and joy. "Mother, today is truly a day of triple celebration! Look, who has returned this time?"

Madam Yun stared intently at it, but didn't react for a moment.

It looked somewhat familiar, yet also strange.

Su Youran rushed over, crying, "Brother! Brother! You're back!"

The person who arrived was Jiang Youchen, or rather, Su Youchen.

Madam Yun suddenly realized, and beamed with joy, "So it's Chen-ge'er who's back! Oh my, it's been so many years, you've grown taller and bigger!"