Two weeks ago, the first batch of chili peppers on the mountain ripened, and Wang Yan and Fatty Wang discussed making some white chili peppers together.

The delivered chili peppers should be blanched in boiling water for two or three breaths before being taken out.

Then spread them out evenly in the sun to dry for a few days, until they turn white. Cut the peppers that have completely turned white open, then spread them out again and put them in the sun to dry once more.

The finished product after being dried again is white chili pepper, which can be used in cooking.

Aunt Wang asked Wang Yan to buy some pig offal to eat with white chili peppers, because Wang Yan had suggested it before and she wanted to give it a try.

On the Wei River side, they mainly sell small, scattered pieces of meat; to buy offal, you have to go to a dedicated meat stall.

Wang Yan and Wang Ying ran off to find that the meat stalls on Ma Xing Street had run out of pig offal early in the morning.

They had to go to another place. After they finished buying their things and returned, they turned the corner of the alley and almost bumped into someone.

Looking up, she was surprised to see a familiar face – Fang Li. Wang Ying was delighted to see Fang Li.

She naturally had to stop chatting with her girlfriends when Fangli brought some bombshell news: "The Third Young Master's leg is broken, and he's now a cripple for good."

"What happened?" Although she had heard Guilan's words, Wang Ying was also very interested in hearing the specifics.

"Many unjust acts, what really happened? Even the people of our Marquis's mansion don't know, they just say it was an accident."

I learned about this news from Fangtang; she's currently in charge of cleaning and tidying at the pharmacy in our household.

It is said that the third young master's foot was completely broken, and it seems that the bone fragments in his foot were smashed into pieces, and there was a shortage of medicinal herbs in the countryside.

There weren't any good doctors available, so we asked the newly hired physician from the prefectural hospital to come and treat her. Fangtang was so frightened that she came to tell me, and she even took leave from work to do so.

Good heavens! Xu Shaoqing is really crazy! Wang Ying was so scared that her hand went limp and slipped down to grab her sister.

Wang Yan's heart skipped a beat; were the bones in her foot shattered into pieces?

She looked up at Fangli again. She said that Fangtang was so scared that she was telling everyone the news to relieve her fear.

But isn't Fangli the same way? If she hadn't been scared out of her wits, she wouldn't be chatting so casually with her sister on the street.

At the Anbo Mansion, Jiang Shiyi closed her eyes in anger. "That idiot Xu Shaoqing!"

When Mingming returned from the village, she repeatedly told her not to act impulsively, not to act impulsively!

After seizing Gu Ting's weakness and silencing the Marquis's mansion, they can then slowly plot against him, and even kill Gu Ting if they want!

But how could she be so brainless! What good would it do her to go to such extremes at this point?

Now, not only the old Marquis and his wife, but even the Marquis, who loathed his younger brother (Gu Xiao) to the extreme, had no choice but to step in and seek justice for his nephew.

Xu Shaoqing's actions were too cruel; no one could tolerate them. It was an open provocation against the Marquis's residence.

She was also in the wrong, because the Earl's Mansion couldn't produce conclusive evidence to prove that Gu Ting had drugged Xu Shaoqing, even though everyone knew what had happened.

Jiang Shiyi really didn't know what to do! Lord Xu sighed and had no choice but to go to the Marquis's residence in person to discuss the matter.

In his opinion, Xu Shaoqing was not at fault, because Gu Ting had poisoned her.

Although no corroborating evidence has been found yet (the source of the remaining poison is still unknown), the fact remains, and the Marquis's mansion acknowledges it.

Once they acknowledged it, things became much easier. He and the Marquis sat down in the council hall to discuss the matter.

Xu Wei apologized first, adopting a humble attitude and giving the other person a chance to calm down.

The key point is that his previous actions against Gu Ting also implicated the Marquis, who was angry with him and knew that he should bow his head when necessary.

Once he calmed down, things became easier. You see, although the Marquis might have some feelings for this nephew, it wasn't as strong as his feelings for Gu Xiaoqiang.

However, after repeatedly causing trouble and even affecting the Marquis's life in the imperial court, it is unknown how much goodwill he still has for Gu Ting.

Of course, this does not mean that Lord Hou would side with Xu Wei against his own nephews and nieces.

After a tense negotiation, the two sides reached an agreement. Gu Ting and Xu Shaoqing were expelled from the family genealogy, and both sides sent people to the countryside to watch over them, forbidding them from leaving the village for ten years.

Now we can't even get a divorce. The Marquis doesn't want such a madman to return to the capital. If he says something that damages the reputation of his manor, our manor will not stand for it!

Uncle Xu had no choice but to agree after thinking about it.

The people we're sending this time aren't old nannies like Granny Lu; they're real guards.

When Aunt Yang heard the news in the countryside, she fainted again. This time, however, her fainting was different from the one she had experienced when she heard of her brother's death.

Last time it was half-hearted, because I wanted to go back to the capital!

This time, all hope was lost. Aunt Yang almost went mad—she truly went insane, not just lost control of her emotions.

She's out of support! Gu Ting is finished this time! She's completely finished too!

Gu Xiao is alright! Doesn't he still have two legitimate sons?

But how could Second Madam Zheng Jin not seize this opportunity? Gu Ting is a menace, so Gu Xiao must be a good person! Of course not! Gu Xiao is even more disgusting than Gu Ting!

Zheng Jin went to the Ronghua Garden of the Marquis's Mansion to visit the old lady, saying only some funny things to make her happy.

A quarter of an hour later, Granny Lu led all the maids in the room downstairs to prepare food, brew tea, and change incense.

Then, they didn't know what Zheng Jin and the old lady said inside the house.

What did she say? The old lady didn't actually dislike Gu Ting, but once the interest money was offered, she had been looking for an opportunity to get rid of him!

Yes! The old lady wanted to kill Gu Xiao in order to rid the Marquis of a potential threat! However, the plan had been delayed because the timing wasn't right.

This time, the second wife has presented a good opportunity, and it doesn't require the old lady to get her hands dirty.

After some persuasion, they managed to keep Gu Xiao in the house, and in a few years... !

So all Lu Mama and the others knew was that the Second Madam arrived in the countryside the next day and took away all the 70,000 taels of silver that had been allocated to Gu Ting and all the money that Gu Xiao had.

They had completely forgotten about Aunt Yang, but Xu Shaoqing reminded them, and Aunt Yang's last few hairpins were taken away.

Gu Xiao also fainted! He fainted from anger. It was clearly a matter between Xu Shaoqing and Gu Ting, so why was he locked up as well?

As Zheng Jin left, she glanced at Xu Shaoqing, who smiled at the Second Madam. She seemed quite composed.

It's a pity I didn't get to see Gu Ting this time. I wonder how crazy he's become?

Gu Ting is no longer crazy; he's become normal from fear because he's realized that compared to life, the future is nothing.

Although Xu Shaoqing hasn't taken his life, he's now living a life that feels like being slowly tortured to death.

To be honest, right now! Right now, in this house in the countryside, Xu Shaoqing is the only one who holds real power.

Jiang Shiyi didn't take the fifty guards she left behind. The Marquis's residence only sent two to keep an eye on them.

Moreover, they only supervised them to prevent them from leaving the village, and didn't care about anything else. The people under Xu Shaoqing's command were different.

……………………………………………………

Xu Shaoqing returned to the backyard and sat in a chair, staring blankly for a while.

Suddenly, she spoke to Granny Lin, "Granny, you should take Guilan and Yingchun with you."

Granny Lin hesitated for a moment, clearly not wanting to let this opportunity slip by, but alas! "Miss, if we leave, what will happen to you here?"

Xu Shaoqing smiled and said, "Thank you for your trouble. Go and buy me two more maids. I won't continue to torment the people in our household."

These words brought tears to Lin Mama's eyes. How could things have come to this? How could it have been!

Three days later, all the maids in the courtyard, following Gu Ting's instructions, were sold off. Except for Granny Lin, Guilan, and Yingchun.

They didn't sell them to any bad places; on the contrary, they were told to find them a good owner.

Xu Shaoqing requested that new maids and female doctors be sent to attend to her daily needs, and these were also sent over.

The Marquis's family was willing to cooperate because Xu Shaoqing said that his family hadn't left the house for three years.

"Granny, Guilan, Yingchun, take care on your journey!" After saying this, Xu Shaoqing returned to the mansion. This time, she would never step inside again, and she would not be allowed to leave the gate for three years.

Lin Mama cried again, clutching in her hand all the estates and shops that Xu Shaoqing had returned to the Anbo Mansion.

Xu Shaoqing only left some silver, but it was still a considerable amount.

Although these people were distressed, they couldn't bring themselves to say anything about staying with Xu Shaoqing.

…………………………………………………………

Wang Yan's braised pork intestines with white peppers have become a hit. They are fragrant, fresh, spicy, and delicious, with the pork intestines having a unique texture and the white peppers adding a sour and spicy flavor.

We sell dozens of pots every day. Actually, we make this dish for the boatmen in the surrounding area.

After everyone finishes work in the evening, just like Uncle Chuan suggested before, we can come over, order a spicy dish, and buy some drinks and snacks, and chat while we drink.

Wang Xing's foot and leg injuries have almost recovered in the past two days, but he still wants to go abroad for further studies?

Aunt Wang was a little worried, but Wang Xing really wanted to go, and the road had been opened in the last two days.

Wang Xing's classmates will also go together. As long as he doesn't encounter any more lunatics like the Third Young Master, everything should be fine.

Fatty Wang was quite supportive, letting him go out and explore. He believed the child should want to go, and shouldn't be forced to stay home like a quail after experiencing setbacks.

Wang Yan and Wang Ying also sided with their brother. Alright! The minority submits to the majority, so Wang Xing tidied himself up, reunited with his classmates, and embarked on his study tour.

Before he left, Aunt Wang specially went to the temple to get him a talisman to carry with him. Wang Xing was very obedient and carried the talisman with him the whole way.

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The dishes for the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet were selected through several rounds of screening.

Thanks to the Emperor's help, all ten recipes written by Wang Yan were sent to the palace for trial production.

Anyway, I made it three times in a row, and in the end, I only kept one dish: boiled sliced ​​pork.

However, as long as one dish can be presented to the emperor and receive praise, then it will not be a problem for the restaurant to launch this series of spicy dishes in the future.

Today, he's a shill; he'll definitely say something praising us when the time comes. But until that day comes, everyone's hearts are in their throats.

Wang Yan is the same. Even if it's not her own restaurant, we've still invested in it, haven't we?

Because of the same tension, my relationship with Shen Jiamu has improved considerably during this period.

After spending so much time together, Wang Yan felt that she and Shen Jiamu shared some common interests, and she listened to Shen Jiamu talk to her about many things related to shipping.

Having learned about the developments of this era, Wang Yanzhen, combining her own modern experience, broadened her horizons considerably.

………………………………………………………………

When the osmanthus flowers bloomed, Wang Yan was brewing a pot of tea and sitting by the river, leisurely enjoying the cool breeze and sipping the dew.

Upon hearing the news from the restaurant that it had been successful, the Empress Dowager and the Emperor praised it lavishly at the palace banquet! Even more remarkably, boiled pork slices were selected as a royal dish.

Upon hearing this, Wang Yan felt a sense of relief and picked up the stool to go home.

Her family couldn't understand why she was so happy. Wang Yan had clearly been reluctant to send the chili peppers away.

Moreover, now that boiled pork slices have been selected as an imperial dish, their own banquet menu will have to be changed again.

But in fact, after several exchanges with Haibo (the manager of the Shen family's shipping business), Wang Yan's understanding has changed, although the qualitative change may not be visible in the near future.

Wang Yan's thinking is different now; she has set her sights on the shipping business.

I've heard that many women in the South run their own shipping businesses, though few of them can actually leave the mainland.

However, Wang Yan did not think that they were less capable than others; some of these extraordinary women simply lacked connections and money.

Wang Yan now has a vague idea in her mind that perhaps one day she will also run a shipping business.

Now, as long as the restaurant can open smoothly, Wang Yan will not lack the crucial amount of money.

How could she not be happy! Seeing how happy she was, Aunt Wang ignored her and instead went with Fatty Wang to the river to wash a basket of pig intestines.

Wang Yan turned to look at Yingjie, who smiled back at her, "Brother has written another letter, come and take a look."

Wang Yan didn't rush over. She turned her head to look at the riverbank, where a gentle breeze brought a refreshing scent.

Wang Yan took a deep breath of fresh air and laughed happily again.

She suddenly felt that her current life was just like the one she had read about in a book.

Spring blossoms and autumn moon, summer breeze and winter snow. Every meal and every season, everything I encounter is sweet.

Taking another breath of the fresh autumn air, Wang Yan turned around with a smile and ran towards her sister, "Coming!"

The light behind her turned and shone on her from behind. From a distance, Wang Ying saw that her younger sister seemed to have walked out of a blaze of light.

A bright radiance paved a magnificent road behind her, a road to Wang Yan's sincere life. Past, present, and future.

The End.