On the Winter Solstice, the household made pork dumplings. In addition to the dishes taken from the main kitchen, the Lady Hou also gave two dishes as a reward.

A plate of roasted lamb, and a dessert of honey-fried kumquats.

These kumquats are not fried, but soaked and boiled.

Cut the kumquats in half, remove the seeds, and cook them thoroughly in low-alcohol rice wine. Then let them cool.

Transfer the kumquats to a different pot and continue simmering with honey. Use one pound of kumquats and five ounces of sugar. Simmer for fifteen minutes, then remove the kumquats. The remaining syrup can be used as a beverage.

Then use a wooden spoon to squeeze and flatten the juice from the kumquats, and boil them again in a different pot.

This time, add yellow rock sugar, honey, and granulated sugar, stir well in the pot, and cook until slightly dry.

It can be eaten directly after cooking. Leftovers can be stored in a clean jar for a long time. It also has cough-relieving and lung-moistening effects.

Wang Yan liked it very much and ate two more. While everyone else was fighting over the mutton dumplings, she focused solely on this fruit.

The dumplings that Aunt Sun made were also filled with mutton, unlike the dumplings the young girls made.

But Granny Sun didn't have time to eat. The lady had eaten the dumplings given as a reward for the sacrifice in the morning, and she was tired of them.

I barely touched the food at lunchtime, and even ate only two dumplings as a token gesture.

So, after only two sips of soup, Aunt Sun hurried off to prepare a lighter meal for her wife: plum blossom soup dumplings.

Take a handful of dried white plum blossoms and sandalwood powder that were stored earlier, wash them clean, soak them in warm water, and filter out the spring water with the fragrance of plum blossoms through gauze.

Use this water to make the dough, roll it into a large sheet, and then use a plum blossom mold to press out plum blossoms.

The soup base is made in a clay pot. An old hen is placed in the pot, along with dried tangerine peel, goji berries, codonopsis, dried ginger, jujubes, and other ingredients. A large amount of spring water is added, and the soup is simmered over low heat to make the broth.

Finally, take out only the cooked chicken broth, transfer it to another pot, bring it to a boil, add just a little salt for seasoning, and put the prepared plum blossom noodles into it.

Once everything is ready, it's time for dinner. Place the cooked plum blossom soup dumplings into small cups or bowls; it's appetizing, soothing, and deliciously cold.

The lady ate a bowl and also gave him a purse and a plate of kumquats as a reward.

At noon, Aunt Sun discovered that Wang Yan liked to eat it, so she divided the plate in two, giving one half to Fuling and the other half to Wang Yan.

Wang Yan took it back and ate it with everyone in the room after getting into bed that night.

…………………………

Anbo Mansion, Xu Yan's adopted son hurried along the way and finally entered the city on the winter solstice.

Steward Lu and Granny Jiang and Granny Gui from the Earl's Mansion were waiting at the gatehouse early in the morning.

When the messenger returned an hour early with the news, the entire Earl's mansion was abuzz with excitement.

Brewing tea, serving fruit, lighting the charcoal brazier, changing incense, preparing hot water, fetching new clothes—everyone was busy with their own tasks.

Fifteen minutes before Xu Chen arrived, the steward and the maids were already standing outside the door waiting.

As soon as Xu Chen got out of the car, several people rushed forward to greet him. Seeing the eager attitude of his uncle's servants, Xu Chen felt much more at ease.

He hurriedly replied, only instructing the steward to accompany them to the courtyard, as the two old women were of advanced age and should go back to rest.

The two women exchanged a glance, and Wu Mama thought to herself, "This young master is quite good-natured, very kind!"

After washing up, Xu Chen didn't rest. He called the steward to take him to see his uncle and aunt. He respectfully kowtowed and paid his respects.

Jiang Shiyi was delighted to see him, but she hadn't had much contact with him during the last adoption ceremony because she was busy with other things.

Upon meeting, he hurriedly embraced her, inquired about her well-being, and instructed the servants to prepare a meal. They shared a meal together on the Winter Solstice.

Xu Chen won't be leaving after this trip. Xu Wei found him a school in the capital, and he'll live in the Earl's mansion from now on. He'll return to the alley on Liuli Street when he comes of age.

Upon hearing that her "younger brother" had arrived, Xu Shaoqing hurriedly wrote a letter wanting to return and visit him, but the Earl's residence did not reply.

Helpless, Xu Shaoqing could only send Guixiang back with a set of writing implements to pay a visit.

The gatekeeper saw that only Guixiang had returned, so he went back to report. Soon, Guixiang entered the Earl's mansion without any hindrance.

They went to Xu Chen first, presented the gift, and the nanny beside him quickly stepped forward to accept it.

He also rewarded Guixiang with a gold bracelet inlaid with a red gemstone. This was the eldest daughter's maid, and she could not be neglected.

"Thank you for your trouble, elder sister. Granny Cheng, go and fetch that painting of Mount Lu and give it to you."

He paused for a moment, then added, "I will personally visit you to express my gratitude another day."

Gui Xiang took the box from the nanny, said a few polite words, and then left.

After leaving, he didn't rush back to the Marquis's residence, but was instead summoned by the Lady of the Countess for questioning.

Jiang Shiyi looked at Guixiang, her mind a jumble of complicated thoughts, unsure of what to ask.

"How are your living conditions after you arrive?"

Gui Xiang hesitated for a moment, but decided to tell her mistress about her plans for Young Master Chen.

Otherwise, if she were to listen to the son-in-law's slander and make a fool of herself, the young lady would no longer be able to stand in the city's elite circles.

"Replying to Madam, everything is fine. Miss was just discussing with her husband a couple of days ago about taking Young Master Chen over to be raised."

It was the second wife of the Marquis's mansion who stopped this matter and even scolded the young lady and her son-in-law. However, apart from this time, the second wife never said a harsh word, and the young lady lived a very comfortable life.

Except for the first few days after the wedding when we would pay our respects to each other morning and evening, we have now skipped this because of the cold weather.

She and her husband had several arguments a couple of days ago, but after he offered to take care of Young Master Chen, she seemed grateful, and the two have been getting along well lately.

Even though Granny Gui was well-informed and shrewd, she was still speechless after hearing Gui Xiang's words.

She knew Gu Xiao had been spouting nonsense the other day, but she hadn't expected that the Third Miss was also involved in scheming against Young Master Chen.

Jiang Shiyi felt a sudden tightness in her chest, unable to breathe. "Is what you're saying true? Your young lady..."

He let out a long sigh of relief halfway through the questioning, realizing there was no need to confirm it further.

Xu Shaoqing's actions in recent days have already demonstrated the facts.

Before getting married, she repeatedly said that she would not bring trouble to her eldest sister, but less than a month after getting married, she wrote ten letters to the scholar's residence.

And then there's Xu Shaoqing's recent sending of letters and urging Guixiang to come back for a visit. Is there anything else you don't understand?

………………………………

Gui Xiang returned to the Marquis's residence, and Xu Shaoqing hurriedly summoned her to ask her questions.

"Have you seen your younger brother? Is he settling in well at home?" (He agreed to Xu Shaoqing's request.)

Sensing her unspoken words, Gui Xiang sighed almost imperceptibly, then replied,

"Replying to Miss, Young Master Chen is doing well. He also asked me to tell you that he will come to visit you in a couple of days after he has had some free time to rest."

Xu Shaoqing smiled after hearing this. "You did a good job. Go pick out a little trinket from the makeup box. You don't need to come to work this afternoon. Take a good rest."