In the room, Liu's mother and Liu Yulian were having dinner. After hearing what Liu Yulian said, Liu's mother looked at Liu Yulian.

"Why keep her around?" Liu's mother asked. "Your eldest sister is just used to a comfortable life, so she wants to meddle in other people's affairs."

"My second sister's matter?" Liu Yulian thought about it and the only thing she could think of was Liu Yuqin's matter.

Liu Yulian knew that Madam Qin had a better relationship with Liu Yuqin; they had grown up together and spent a lot of time together. She wasn't jealous, though. There was nothing to be jealous of; she didn't need Madam Qin to give her anything.

"That's her business," said Liu's mother. "She's still in confinement, yet she's already gone to your eldest sister. And your eldest sister seems to be a little soft-hearted. She didn't bring Liu Yuqin here herself, but came to me to test the waters."

If Liu's mother wanted Madam Qin to reject Liu Yuqin, she should be decisive and stop trying to help Liu Yuqin test her attitude.

"They're not that far apart in age. They learned to read and write together when they were young, and learned etiquette together," said Liu's mother. "Plus, Liu Yuqin's life isn't going well now, having been divorced and having a child. Your eldest sister felt sorry for her and wanted to help her. She even talked about giving your fourth sister a dowry and trying to keep things simple."

"..." Liu Yulian really didn't expect that Madam Qin would say such a thing.

"Yes, I told you before to keep up appearances. But if you keep up appearances, there's no need to keep up appearances later on." Mother Liu said, "Even if we don't give your fourth sister a dowry now and don't let Liu Yuqin marry us, no one will say anything."

That was all based on certain conditions. Mother Liu had been patient for so long. For so many years, she had always been quite nice to them. But they treated her, Liu Yanjing, and Liu Yulian just like that. Mother Liu really couldn't give them anything more.

Speaking of superficial efforts, didn't Liu's mother also ask Princess Zhaoyang to prepare gifts when Liu Fang gave birth? The fourth house performed a little better, and Liu's mother also sent them gifts.

Sometimes it's okay to just go through the motions, and sometimes the time has passed when they no longer need to. If they continue to do so, it's a sign of weakness and a self-defeating hindrance.

"Your eldest sister is like this...it's my fault for not teaching her well before." Mother Liu said, "Back then, how could I have imagined so many things would happen?"

If the Liu family hadn't been confiscated, Mother Liu would still treat those illegitimate children and concubines the same way. But now the situation is different, and Mother Liu can no longer treat them the same way as before.

"Your eldest sister probably thinks I'm too heartless and mean," said Liu's mother. "Now that our family has recovered, we should compensate them. It's ridiculous."

"Maybe my elder sister didn't mean that, so don't be sad." Liu Yulian wondered why Madam Qin said these words in front of her mother. What was there to say?

At the Qin family, Young Master Qin originally thought that Madam Qin was going to have dinner at the Marquis of Jingning's Mansion, but he didn't expect that Madam Qin was back again.

"Why are you back so soon?" Young Master Qin wondered, "Shouldn't you be back later?"

"It's because my second sister came to my house during her confinement, and I couldn't help but say a few words to Mother," said Madam Qin Da Shao in frustration. "She even said she wanted to supplement Fourth Sister's dowry."

Madam Qin thought about what Liu's mother had said, what she meant by giving her husband to her second sister and then giving her dowry to her fourth sister. She knew that Liu's mother had said those words out of anger, but she still felt very sad.

"Then you really can't stay there any longer." Young Master Qin said, "How dare you say such stupid things?"

"How is it stupid?" Madam Qin Dashao really didn't think she was that stupid.

"You don't think the Northwest is a good place, do you?" Young Master Qin sneered. "Or do you think the Northwest is good just because it's almost becoming a granary?"

"No, I don't." Madam Qin Dashao really didn't think the Northwest was good.

"Many people were exiled to the northwest. Some were convicted, some were treated as civilians, and some were fugitives," Young Master Qin said. "Father-in-law and his family split up right after arriving in the northwest. My second brother's leg wasn't healed yet. We were all old, young, and sick. It was as if 'easy to bully' was written all over our heads."

Young Master Qin was a man, and even though he had never been to the Northwest, he knew something about the situation. He didn't think Father Liu and his family would have a good life in the Northwest. Even if they did live well later, they certainly didn't live so well before.

"If they had money, others would have robbed or stolen it," said Young Master Qin. "They didn't write about their hardships in the letter, so you assume they're truly living a comfortable life. If my second brother and his family haven't been robbed, it's because they don't have much money. The money has been divided up by others. If the family is divided, with the other young and strong people forcing us to do it, how can my second brother and mother-in-law keep all that money?"

Young Master Qin thought that even if Liu's mother could keep some money at that time, Liu Yanjing's leg had not healed, and being sick would cost a lot of money.

"Those early days must have been incredibly difficult for them," Young Master Qin said. "They also suffered a lot during their exile. You didn't know what happened, yet you're talking about it. You haven't even considered whether they've done something foolish, or why would mother-in-law bother with them? Besides, mother-in-law didn't bother with them, and when Fourth Sister got married, she gave her a generous dowry."

Young Master Qin looked at Madam Qin and said, "Mother has told you to have less contact with your second sister, but you always let her in. Whenever she acts pitiful, you see her, and you even go to the Marquis' Mansion to say these things. Who can you blame?"

Madam Qin thought that Madam Qin should also be treated coldly by the Marquis' Mansion, so that Madam Qin could understand how wrong she was.

"I don't know that, do I?" Madam Qin said, "Forget it, I'll just not say these things in the future."

"You shouldn't have been so nosy in the first place," Young Master Qin said. "You think you're capable, but do you think you have a deep sisterly bond? I haven't seen you care so much about your younger sister."

"Why do you all think that I don't care about my younger sister that much?" Madam Qin frowned. Mother Liu said so, and so did Young Master Qin.

"Think about what you said in the past, and what you said after they returned to the capital," Young Master Qin said. "Yes, you didn't ask me to let you into the institute, nor did you ask me to get anyone else in. But have you noticed that you don't really like talking about Princess Rongning that much?"

Young Master Qin had already noticed this, but it didn't affect his life, so he didn't need to say much. After all, he was a man, so it was not appropriate for him to talk about Princess Rongning.

"You're jealous, aren't you? Princess Rongning is so capable, but you, as the eldest sister, aren't that great." Young Master Qin said, "When you go out, won't some people say a few words? They should say more good things about Princess Rongning, and occasionally say you're not as good as her, but they shouldn't say too much."

Just because other people are not as strong as Princess Rongning, others are jealous.

Young Master Qin is the legitimate son of the Qin family and will inherit the family in the future, so of course he knows all these things.

"You..." Madam Qin Dashao's face turned pale. She didn't expect her husband to know this.

As Young Master Qin said, Madam Qin did have a little jealousy in her heart. Even though she usually acted like she was happy to have Princess Rongning as her sister, in reality, she wanted others to say that Princess Rongning was her sister, not her elder sister.

In the former case, Madam Qin is more important; in the latter case, Princess Rongning is more important.

"It's nothing to have such a small thought," said Young Master Qin. "Just stop going to the Marquis' Mansion and saying how pitiful others are. When you say others are pitiful, do you also feel that you are pitiful?"

"..." Madam Qin was silent. Yes, she also felt sorry for herself.

With the same father and mother, why is Liu Yulian so capable while I am not?

Madam Qin Da Shao thought that since she was the eldest daughter, her parents had stricter expectations of her. She wondered if she had read those books when she was young, would she have been as capable as them? She knew that other eldest daughters of legitimate families were also like that, but she still couldn't help but feel jealous.

Especially when Mrs. Qin saw how much those people respected Princess Rongning, and those people even built the Rongning Temple for Princess Rongning, Mrs. Qin became even more jealous. She always told herself that there was no need to be unhappy, because Princess Rongning was her biological sister, and so many people outside envied her.

But in the dead of night, Madam Qin would still think about how great it would be if she could have such great abilities. It turned out that she really was jealous of her younger sister, and she really didn't want to say those words anymore.

At the Marquis of Jingning's mansion, Mother Liu didn't tell Father Liu about those things. There was no need to disgust herself and disgust others. If she disgusted Father Liu, it would be the same as disgusting herself again. Mother Liu didn't want to say more, so she asked the servants to tell Father Liu, so that he wouldn't be unhappy if he found out later.

If Madam Qin had not come to the Marquis' Mansion to say those words, Mother Liu could have pretended that she knew nothing. But since Madam Qin had said them, Mother Liu could no longer pretend that she did not know.

"Let her take good care of herself after the baby is born." Father Liu said to the servant, "Don't come back."

Father Liu thought that he just wanted to enjoy his retirement, go fishing, play chess, and really didn't want to worry about these things. He knew his wife didn't want to talk, so he asked the servant to tell him. He couldn't let Liu Yuqin come over, lest it upset the rest of the family, and he had no intention of going to Liu Yuqin's place to celebrate the holiday.

When Liu Yuqin learned that Madam Qin had left Jingning Marquis's Mansion very soon and no one from the Marquis' Mansion had come yet, she knew that Madam Qin had not handled the matter properly. She had gone to Madam Qin before because she was sure that Madam Qin would be soft-hearted and would definitely go to the Marquis' Mansion to talk about it.

It’s a pity that Madam Qin is of no use!

"Mom, if I don't go to the Marquis' Mansion tomorrow, you can spend the holiday with me." Liu Yuqin said, "Even if you go back to the shop, they still have to do business. They can't stop doing business just because it's a holiday. They are all obsessed with money. Spending the holiday with me is at least a little more relaxing."

"That's fine." Aunt Qing nodded.

Su Qiuya didn't know where Aunt Qing was celebrating the festival, so she asked Liu Yanbo to go find Aunt Qing.

"Go ask if mother is coming back for the festival." Su Qiuya said, "If she is, we should prepare more things. You know your mother's temper. If we don't prepare enough, she will say something."

"She should be celebrating the festival with her second sister." Liu Yanbo said.

"Go ask her." Su Qiuya said, "No matter where she is spending the holiday, as her son, you have to ask her and show some concern."

"Okay, I'll go ask." Liu Yanbo was helpless. His wife was really nice to Aunt Qing.

In the northwest, Liu Yanqing bought two pounds of meat and thought about making dumplings tomorrow.

"Didn't you ask them to chop the ribs?" Lin Xiaowan saw that Liu Yanqing was still holding the ribs in his hand.

"I forgot for a moment." Liu Yanqing slapped his head suddenly, "Isn't it because I thought you could break the ribs with your hands without a knife that I forgot?"

"..." Lin Xiaowan was speechless about Liu Yanqing. What did she mean by "she could break ribs with her bare hands?" She could, but that didn't mean she liked to use force.

"Don't worry, I've seen it many times and I'm used to it. I won't be scared." When Liu Yanqing first saw Lin Xiaowan's great strength, he was a little scared, afraid that Lin Xiaowan would break him.

Later, Liu Yanqing thought that Lin Xiaowan would never treat him like that, as they had a child. Lin Xiaowan would never be willing to treat the child's father like that. Liu Yanqing thought that since he had done nothing wrong, Lin Xiaowan would never treat him like that.

"There's a school in the village," Liu Yanqing said. "I just heard them studying there when I passed by."

"Do you want to go to school?" Lin Xiaowan asked.

"Why should I go to school? I'm too old to be a student." Liu Yanqing said, "I just thought that our daughter is still young. When she is older, I will let her go to school. There are female students in the school. I have seen them all."

"Those people are willing to let their daughters go to school, which is good." Lin Xiaowan knew that people here liked to have sons, and those people liked to let their sons go to school instead of letting their daughters go to school.

Some families are not without money, they just think that a woman without talent is virtuous. This saying originally meant that a woman without talent can only have moral character, but it was twisted by some people to mean that a woman without talent is virtuous.

Lin Xiaowan thought this statement was quite ridiculous. Those men just liked to imprison women. Lin Xiaowan wondered if those men were worried that they couldn't compete with women, so they used such despicable means.

"I was wondering if the teachers in the academy would become even more powerful as time went on," Liu Yanqing said. "There are scholars, juren, and even jinshi. This place isn't too bad either, and the number of people here is slowly increasing."

"It's not that bad, but before, it was very bad." Lin Xiaowan didn't think the northwest was that good. "My sister's culture medium, seed soaking potions, map improvement potions... those things are very effective. They even allow crops to be grown in saline-alkali land. How can they be bad?"

Originally, the northwest did not produce that much grain, but when the people used the things researched by Princess Rongning, they were able to grow crops in places that were previously not suitable for growing crops, and grain production increased a lot.

Otherwise, why would those people be so grateful to Princess Rongning?

That’s because Princess Rongning’s things played a huge role, and no one else could do these things at all.

"There are just too many things and we can't sell them at such a high price," Liu Yanqing sighed.

"If you can't sell it at a high price, then you can't sell it." Lin Xiaowan said, "Ordinary people don't care about these things. They just want to avoid going hungry."

What's the difference between high price and low price? If the price is a little lower but the quantity is large, then it won't be a big loss, and it will still be better than before.

More and more people came to Lin Xiaowan to cook. Perhaps because selling grain directly did not fetch a high price, some people thought of processing the grain into other things to sell.

"Not only are they no longer hungry, but it's now much easier for them to eat meat," Liu Yanqing said. "The grass is also very useful."

"If you like meat, eat more." Lin Xiaowan said.

"You can't eat too much. If you eat too much, you'll get fat and look less handsome." Liu Yanqing said, "Even if I don't want to sell my face to make a living, I can't be without it."

"..." Lin Xiaowan's mouth twitched slightly. She shouldn't have had any hope for her husband.

At the door of Widow Zhang's house, Miss Lin San was hanging clothes when she saw Miss Lin Da standing outside. Miss Lin San was pregnant, so she didn't want to get close to Miss Lin Da, because if Miss Lin Da pushed her, she would have a miscarriage.

Miss Lin San was not that stupid. Miss Lin Da had never been very good. Miss Lin Da could not even ignore her own biological child, let alone her sister's child.

"Where are your food?" Miss Lin Da knew that Miss Lin San was pregnant, so she thought that the Zhang family would prepare a lot of things for Miss Lin San.

So Miss Lin Da thought that since her sister-in-law was pregnant, she should ask Miss Lin San to give all those things to the Lin family.

Miss Lin San knew what Miss Lin Da was talking about right away. Before Miss Lin Da came close, Miss Lin San sat down on the ground and pretended to have a stomachache, "Ouch, my stomach hurts."

Miss Lin Da opened her eyes wide. She had never thought that Miss Lin San could do this.

It happened that there were other people in the Zhang family, and Widow Zhang was also at home. Widow Zhang heard Miss Lin San's cry and ran out directly. When she saw Miss Lin Da, she was not surprised at all. People like Miss Lin Da were very shameless.

"Don't run." Widow Zhang hurriedly said to her daughter-in-law, "Catch her. We'll have to ask her to pay for the medicine later."

There was no way that Widow Zhang would just let Miss Lin Da go. She knew Miss Lin San was probably pretending. But if Miss Lin Da hadn't come to her, then Miss Lin San wouldn't have pretended either.

"No, it's not me." Miss Lin was a little scared when she saw Widow Zhang.

"If you don't have any money, ask your husband for it," Widow Zhang said. "He's our family's treasure. You hurt him, and you can just walk away?"

Widow Zhang wasn't talking about Miss Lin San, but the child in Miss Lin San's belly. She herself wasn't someone who cared much about these people, so she mentioned the great-grandson, so people would be more likely to believe her.

"It hurts." Miss Lin San was still pretending.

"She is pretending." Miss Lin said.

"She doesn't pretend in front of me, but is she pretending in front of you?" Widow Zhang asked, "Or do you think I'm blind?"

When Miss Lin's husband saw Widow Zhang rushing over with her men, he felt bad.