When Changning first explained the rules, the girls were a little confused and didn't understand at all, but after a few rounds, they all roughly understood them.

Of course, understanding this refers to how to skillfully feed the cards to Changning and let them win.

This is a required course for those who become lackeys.

Of course, it's not about letting the master win every time, that would be too unrealistic, but it's about making Changning's luck exceptionally good, getting whatever cards he wants.

Before long, Changning was surrounded by a pile of melon seeds.

"Hahaha, are you guys doing this on purpose? I'm telling you, this is the last time we'll use melon seeds. Next time we'll use copper coins. If you let us win again, be careful you don't lose all your monthly allowance!" Changning said, beaming with pride.

Having played mahjong for so many years, she can easily see through their little schemes. But being pampered and constantly winning must be really fun, haha.

The maids all laughed, and Zhuiyu scratched her head: "Master, I really didn't mean to go easy on you!"

Changning looked at her simple-minded appearance and sighed, "I understand, Dachun, you're still not suited for studying."

"Huh?" Zhuiyu was even more confused.

However, only Changning understood this joke, and she laughed twice more.

A new round has begun, and this time it is indeed much more difficult. However, Changning still wins more and loses less. After all, she has been practicing mahjong for several years and knows all the tricks by heart.

Besides Changning, Chuixue was indeed more skilled, winning more often, but all of her wins were by chasing after minor setbacks. She suffered the most, losing a month's worth of earnings in one day, and immediately developed a large blister on her lip. Changning found it both funny and pitiful.

When Yinzhen returned, he heard laughter and clattering sounds coming from inside the house. As soon as he entered, he saw them playing cards. Yaoxian had silver coins in front of her and was smiling broadly, clearly having won quite a bit.

"Oh, you're on a winning streak!" Yinzhen didn't scold them for being disrespectful and not following the rules. It's no fun playing games if you're bound by rules. Besides, he never followed the rules when he was with Yaoxian.

Su Peisheng, who had been busy outside with the prince all day, was so tired that he felt dizzy. But when he accompanied the prince back to the main courtyard, he saw the princess and several maids playing happily, and he couldn't help but sigh.

If only he were a girl, serving the princess would be such a blessing!

Upon seeing the prince return, the maids all stood up and left their seats. Changning, tired from playing, simply asked them to clear the table, then went up to him, put her arm around his, and said with a grin, "I had such good luck, I won the most!"

Seeing her smug expression, Yinzhen found it amusing. If she had a big tail, it would definitely be wagging right now, just like Tuantuan.

"This pastime is quite novel, and it looks pretty good. What's it called?"

Changning turned to look at him: "Call me Mahjong."

"Mahjong?" Yinzhen frowned and asked, "What's the meaning behind it?"

"Forehead……"

What's the meaning behind it?

Changning said he didn't know.

Yinzhen wanted to take the opportunity to change her name, but then thought that since it was Yaoxian's own idea, he shouldn't spoil her mood. So he praised, "This name is good. Later, we can carve a nicer one out of jade or ivory and present it to Your Highness. Your Highness is lonely in the deep palace, so it will be a good pastime."

Changning nodded, then noticed his tired expression and massaged his shoulders: "Have you eaten?"

Yinzhen shook his head and smiled bitterly: "I don't have time. Father is seriously ill, and I have to take care of everything, big and small. I had to rush back today to pack my things. I might have to stay in the palace starting tomorrow."

Changning thought to herself that Kangxi might be in trouble this time.

However, upon hearing that he hadn't eaten yet, and seeing that Su Peisheng was also starving, she knew that they had wasted the whole day in the palace without using anything and had exhausted their minds and bodies. She quickly asked Eunuch Ma to prepare a few more bowls of the meal she had ordered that afternoon.

While he was washing up, Yinzhen went downstairs to instruct people to pack their belongings. He also took the time to find some snacks to eat. However, he was hiding in the tea room when he suddenly saw Zhao Fuhai come in with a smile.

"Eunuch Su, the Princess Consort has already ordered the Prince's luggage to be prepared. Why don't you come and rest for a while? I've prepared some dishes for you. Eunuch Ma stewed some braised beef for several hours this afternoon, and it's still warm."

Su Peisheng quickly swallowed the dry snack in his throat and returned the smile as if he had seen his own brother.

"That would be great, thank you for your help, Brother Zhao."

The two highest-ranking eunuchs in Prince Yong's mansion walked arm in arm towards the small side room at the back.

After washing up, Yinzhen felt hungry. It turned out that he had been starving for a long time. In the palace, he could only be the expressionless Prince Yong. Only with Yaoxian could he relax and occasionally show emotions that he would never show when he was alone.

He came out and smelled the aroma of food, which made him even hungrier.

But there were only two large bowls on the table, which looked like a particularly rich bowl of noodles.

After Yinzhen sat down, he saw that the noodle soup was reddish-white, with two spoonfuls of sesame paste and chili oil on top. It smelled fragrant and spicy, and looked very appetizing.

He picked up his chopsticks and saw chicken, beef, fish balls, sea cucumber, shrimp, mushrooms, ham, potato slices, green vegetables, and so on tumbling inside. He couldn't count how many kinds of ingredients there were in a moment.

The noodles are made of yellow cornmeal, and there are also slightly thicker and rounder noodles that are more chewy. Yao Xian said that these are called beef tendon noodles.

Picking up the noodles with chopsticks and slurping them up, it felt as if the fatigue of the past few days was cured by this mouthful of numbing, spicy, and hot noodles.

"Is this the new noodle dish you came up with?" Yinzhen ate heartily, thoroughly enjoying his meal.

Changning also picked up a mouthful of noodles, then ate some seaweed strips before answering him, "This is called Mala Tang, what do you think? Isn't it a perfect description?"

Yinzhen wiped the sweat from his brow and nodded. That was indeed quite impressive.

"Try this noodle soup too, it has milk in it." Changning scooped up a spoonful of soup, it was thick and savory, and tasted very satisfying, especially with the aroma of sesame paste, which made her love it even more.

Yinzhen also liked sesame paste, so he followed her example and scooped up a spoonful of soup. Soon, the two of them finished off all the dishes, noodles, and soup.

After finishing his meal, he realized he was a little too full.

This huge bowl is five or six times the size of a regular bowl. Eating so much goes against his rule of eating less, cherishing blessings, and maintaining good health. But... oh well, he enjoyed the meal.

"The mixed vegetables are freshest at this time of year. How about we have spring pancakes for breakfast tomorrow?" Changning patted her stomach and began to plan tomorrow's meal.

Yinzhen was both amused and exasperated. No wonder people say that a gentle paradise is a place one can linger in. In this little paradise, it seems there is no disturbance, only inner peace and tranquility. How could one bear to leave?