After lunch, Lin Xiaolan, with her round belly, lay sprawled on the kang (a heated brick bed) under the small tree, humming and moaning.

"You ate so much at noon, you must be feeling really full now!" Xiaoshu said with a grin as she watched her friend's embarrassing moment.

"Sir's cooking is so delicious! Little Tree, your mother is amazing."

Lin Xiaolan praised him sincerely.

"That's right, my mother knows so many different ways to make them. You'll be in for a treat in the future," Xiaoshu said, pouring some hawthorn tea from the teapot.

“This is what my mother told me to make. She said you must be overeating, and this will help you digest your food.”

Lin Xiaolan, with her large belly sticking out, writhed on the kang (a heated brick bed) for a moment, then spread her limbs out: "No, no, I can't move, I'm so full!"

"Look at you, so pathetic!"

***

Fengzhou Yicheng, the prefectural government office.

Armored soldiers stood guard every ten steps, surrounding the entire prefectural government office. The soldiers stared intently ahead, seemingly seeing nothing or no one, yet they could react instantly to the slightest movement.

A young eunuch, walking briskly with his head down, tripped and fell, knocking over the food box he was carrying.

The soldier closest to him felt something fly close and instantly drew his sword to slash at it, only to see a steamed bun cut in half and fall to the ground.

The eunuch who had dropped the food box was so frightened that he knelt down to pick it up. But while the cups, bowls, and plates could be put away, the spilled soup and food could not be put back in its original state.

The young eunuch was already terrified and on the verge of tears.

A group of soldiers strode quickly towards the end of the corridor.