After Pei Weixuan finished speaking, Mr. Xu, Cui and Brother Li sat down.
Xu Qinyu served food to everyone in the family.
She inherited her original body's memories and knew what everyone in her family liked to eat. As a child, Li Ge'er preferred sweets, while Xue Shi's taste was a bit stronger. Second Master Xu, on the other hand, had the lightest taste. Xu Qinyu picked up some food for the three of them and said, "Dad, Mom, and Li Ge'er, come and try my cooking."
As she spoke, she served her fourth brother a bowl of sour bamboo shoots and old duck soup. She had already skimmed off the fat in the soup. The soup was fragrant and appetizing. After drinking a bowl of it, his appetite was greatly stimulated.
Pei Weixuan hadn't eaten properly these days. The moment he ate the food made by Yu Niang, his appetite gradually improved.
After the Xu family tasted the food prepared by Xu Qinyu, they were stunned. Mrs. Xue and Mr. Xu II had never expected that Yu Niang's cooking skills were so good. They thought that the recipes she gave to Xue Liang were already impressive, relying on the freshness of the ingredients. However, these dishes were common dishes in restaurants outside, and were also often cooked in ordinary mansions, except for the squirrel mandarin fish, which was not seen. The rest of the dishes were more homely, but tasted even better than what they had eaten in restaurants outside.
Shuo Ge'er said directly: "Sister, the food you cook is really delicious."
It’s so delicious.
After tasting the food, Mr. Xu looked at his daughter and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Yu Niang." His voice trembled slightly. He felt sorry for his daughter. Over the past seven years, he had honed her cooking skills to such a good level. Therefore, Yu Niang had to work hard to cook for people in the border town for the past seven years.
Mrs. Xue's eyes were also red, and she naturally felt sorry for her daughter.
Xu Qinyu actually knew that they felt sorry for her, but she was still happy cooking. She also earned a lot of money, built a big house for herself, and lived a leisurely life. She never felt hardship in the past seven years in the border town. Even if she stayed in the capital and became the queen, she still wanted to continue running restaurants. She would discuss it with her fourth brother then. She knew that her fourth brother would agree to her. It seemed that her fourth brother would never refuse anything she asked.
Fortunately, everyone's mood soon improved because Pei Weixuan picked up some food for Yu Niang.
After being together for another seven years, even though he didn't go home often, he already knew Yu Niang's tastes, preferences, and habits.
Mrs. Xue, Mr. Xu II, and Brother Li couldn't help but look at the emperor helping Yu Niang to pick up dishes and serve her rice and soup naturally.
…
After dinner, Pei Weixuan also stayed in the second room to sleep.
He and Yu Niang were husband and wife, so Xue naturally let them live in Yu Niang's boudoir before she got married.
The courtyard where the second wife lives is the smallest in the Dechang Marquis Mansion. Xu Qinyu's room is not big either. However, although the room is not big, it is fully furnished with furniture, and has everything it needs.
This was also the first time Xu Qinyu slept here. This was where her original body had lived for fifteen years.
At night, after they fell asleep, Xu Qinyu nestled in her fourth brother's chest. She felt him lower his head and kiss her forehead, then told her, "Tomorrow I will ask the Ministry of Rites to prepare for the ceremony of crowning the empress. There is less than a month left. Yu Niang can stay here during this time to accompany her father-in-law and mother-in-law."
Xu Qinyu couldn't help but hug her fourth brother's waist tightly, and heard him say, "After the ceremony of becoming the queen, if Yu Niang still wants to open a restaurant, she can do what she wants. She doesn't need to stay in the harem all day."
He knew that she would not be able to stay in the palace. No matter what she wanted to do, even if the court officials opposed it, he would support Yu Niang.
Xu Qinyu said softly, "Fourth brother, you are so kind."
Even in later generations, women may not have such freedom to do whatever they want after getting married.
Fourth brother still has this status. She knows that if she opens a restaurant or a tavern in the future, there will be a lot of gossip among the court officials, but she will overcome this together with her fourth brother.
Pei Weixuan kissed Yu Niang's forehead again and said, "Go to bed early."
As long as she stayed by his side, he would even give up the throne.
The two went to bed. The next morning, Xu Qinyu was still asleep, but Pei Weixuan had already woken up. He moved quietly, got dressed, and left.
The sky was still dark, and he needed to go back to the palace to change into court clothes and attend court.
After returning to the palace, he asked the Imperial Observatory and the Ministry of Rites to begin preparing for the ceremony of conferring the empress. He would also marry Yu Niang that day. In addition to preparing for the ceremony, the Ministry of Rites also had to prepare various matters, including the imperial edict, the imperial seal, etc., as well as the empress's phoenix clothes, and in addition, the phoenix crown and bridal robe.
All the court officials knew that seven years ago, the third daughter of Marquis Dechang's mansion regretted her engagement and had the second daughter, who was the queen, sent to Prince Shu's mansion in a sedan chair. The two did not even have a proper wedding. Now the emperor must want to make up for the regret of the past, so the Ministry of Rites has to prepare the phoenix coronet and bridal bridal gown for the queen.
No one in the court objected. They just wanted to wait until after the ceremony of enthroning the queen, and then slowly persuade the emperor to take concubines and give birth to more royal heirs.
Pei Weixuan was busy with state affairs.
Now the most important thing for the people of the Dasheng Dynasty is to have enough food, so he collected all the potatoes and sweet potatoes in the southwest and on the islands, and then asked the officials to distribute these two crops to the people of the Dasheng Dynasty according to the fields and people. In this way, the problem of food and clothing can be solved in less than two years.
Not only that, he also plans to set up a special agricultural science department to study various grains and see how to increase the yield of all crops and so on.
Even the Ministry of Works was only responsible for civil engineering and weapons manufacturing, but no one paid attention to food, which was the most needed by the people and was the foundation of a country.
Pei Weixuan had just ascended the throne and was busy with only these matters.
At dusk, he went to the Marquis of Dechang's mansion to have dinner with Yu Niang.
After resting for a few days, Xu Qinyu finally recovered.
It was already mid-January, and in half a month she would be marrying her fourth brother.
…
In the southwest, after about twenty days until the end of the year, the entire southwest knew what had happened in the capital and the evil deeds committed by Emperor Sheng Yuan and Empress Dowager Fu.
I also heard that the husband of the owner of Xuji Restaurant and Xuji Restaurant is actually His Royal Highness Prince Shu, now Emperor Shengwu.
When this incident spread, it shocked almost the entire southwest.
Those diners who used to eat at Xu Ji were so excited that they had been eating food made by the Queen for several years.
Therefore, Xu Ji Restaurant in Raozhou City was almost overcrowded. Even though the guests inside were already full, there were still many people wandering outside the restaurant, wanting to see what the restaurant opened by the Queen looked like.
As a result, the prefect even sent more officers and soldiers to patrol near Xu Ji outside the city, fearing that something might happen.
So now Xu Ji alone makes a profit of nearly 100,000 taels every month.
Even the Xu Ji Restaurant in Raozhou City is packed every day. Some diners from the southwest, after finding that the restaurant is overcrowded, run to the Xu Ji Restaurant in Raozhou City to have meals, and as a result, there are always queues at the Xu Ji Restaurant every day.
Not only that, because there were too many diners, there were only so many seats in Xu Ji Restaurant. These diners could not queue up and could not not eat, so they went to other restaurants and food stalls. Some even stayed in Yuanbao Town at night, and even the inns in Yuanbao Town were full of people.
After dinner, these diners would go to Guihua Lane and Laixi Lane to see where the empress and Emperor Shengwu lived.
These two courtyards are now temporarily vacant.
When Xu Qinyu left, she left two letters to Yang Zhizhi and Xu Yunlan.
In the letter, she did not hide anything from her two good friends, so they were the first to know about the developments in the capital, and the first to know that Yu Niang's husband, who always disappeared from time to time to go out for business, was actually His Royal Highness Prince Shu, and that he went out for business only to plan a big business.
The two were shocked, but then they began to worry about Yu Niang.
They have been friends with Yu Niang for several years and understand her personality. She cannot be confined in the palace. In fact, she is more suitable to stay in the southwest and continue to run restaurants and taverns. They are also worried that Yu Niang will go back to be the queen. By then, there will be countless concubines in the harem, and Yu Niang has no scheming. How can she survive in the harem?
Just look at Empress Dowager Fu and you will know how terrifying the harem is.
So since Xu Qinyu returned to the capital, the two of them did not think that Xu Qinyu was too lucky like others did. She was just a substitute bride at the beginning, but now she has become the queen. They were only worried about how their friend would live in the palace in the future and whether she would be happy.
Yang Zhizhi and Xu Yunlan got married two years ago. The man was from the same town and had an average family background, but he was a good person. So they both just hoped that their friend could find a man who would accompany her for life, love her and protect her.
The entire Yuanbao Town already knew about this, not to mention the Wen family.
When Old Lady Wen learned that Prince Shu had actually reached the capital and ascended the throne, she couldn't believe it and asked the people around her several times, "Is it really Prince Shu who ascended the throne?"
Everyone else said yes.
Mrs. Wen's face turned pale. Wouldn't the daughter born by Concubine Gui become the Empress Dowager?
So even now, she is still inferior to Concubine Gui. Concubine Gui has even returned to Beijing to enjoy a good life, but she can only stay in the border town and continue to suffer.
Old Mrs. Wen was so angry that her chest hurt and she fell ill.
But Old Lady Wen had not given up. She felt that she was the Empress Dowager's biological mother after all, and they should go back to the capital together.
So Old Lady Wen clamored to return to the capital. Not only that, she also made other plans. When she returned to the capital, she wanted to send her two unmarried granddaughters to the palace to be concubines. After all, they were cousins, and Emperor Shengwu should choose a cousin.
The old lady loved Wen Yunling the most. In fact, she wanted Wen Yunling to enter the palace. However, Wen Yunling was already in her early twenties. Two years ago, she chose a man to be her husband and lived outside with her husband. She never came back, which almost made the old lady angry to death.
The man was an orphan without parents. He was a hunter from a nearby village and was two years older than Wen Yunling.
Wen Yunling closed the restaurant and turned it into a rice shop. Although it is called a rice shop, it not only sells rice and grains, but also all kinds of game, eggs, vegetables and other things collected from farmers. Business is pretty good.
Wen Yunling got to know this man when he came to deliver the prey she had hunted.
The man was tall and burly, taciturn and untalkative. He never said a word when paying the bill. Once, a customer was causing trouble in the rice shop, and Wen Yunling was in a panic. The man dragged the customer out of the rice shop. After that, Wen Yunling asked him directly if he was willing to marry her. If he was, she would marry him, and he would stay in the rice shop to help him in the future.
The man actually agreed.
But the old lady was very angry. In fact, even Wen Yunling's parents were not very willing to this marriage, but Wen Yunling insisted. Master Wen and his wife thought that their daughter was already twenty years old and it was time to get married, so they finally agreed.
But the old lady disagreed, and Wen Yunling didn't care. After getting married, she lived outside with her husband, and the couple lived a prosperous life.
The old lady was lying on the sickbed, thinking something in her mind, when the little maid came in and announced that Wen Yunling had returned.
The old lady felt a little resentful towards Wen Yunling, thinking that she had spoiled her for so many years, but she didn't listen to her for the sake of a hunter.
After Wen Yunling came in, she first greeted the old lady and asked her to take good care of her health.
Old Madam Wen sneered and said, "How can I take good care of myself? If you hadn't fallen for that poor bastard, now that your cousin has ascended the throne, you could have returned to the capital to be a concubine and enjoy wealth and glory. But now you can only live with that poor bastard. Are you willing to accept that?"
Wen Yunling said calmly, "Grandmother, please don't say that about Jiang Ge. I married him willingly and never regretted it. Even if my cousin ascends the throne and becomes emperor, I won't regret it."
The man she married was called He Jiang. If she had been told seven years ago that she would marry such a man, she would have definitely scolded him. But now, she married He Jiang. Maybe she had no feelings for him at the beginning, but she just felt that she was old enough and it was time for her to choose a husband and get married. After two years of living together, He Jiang still didn't like to talk much, but he treated her very well, almost holding her in the palm of his hand.
She had no regrets about marrying He Jiang, and she would not regret it even more now.
And her grandmother was really whimsical. She actually wanted her to marry Pei Weixuan. Now that she was married, her grandmother would definitely have ideas about her two younger sisters. She went back to the Wen family just to remind the old lady.
When she was in the capital, she knew Pei Weixuan had a very strange personality and didn't have any feelings for anyone. Only she had seen how Pei Weixuan treated Xu Qinyu, and the look in his eyes when he looked at her...
Wen Yunling feels a little scared when she thinks about it now.
I don’t know whether it is a good thing or a bad thing to be loved by such a man.
Based on his eccentric personality, even if he became emperor, there would most likely be only Xu Qinyu in the harem. He might even do something even more shocking, such as letting the empress show up in public and continuing to open restaurants and diners in the capital. My grandmother actually dared to have other ideas and was not afraid of bringing trouble to the Wen family.
Wen Yunling continued, "Grandmother, don't have any other ideas, such as returning to the capital or sending my sister back to the capital to become a concubine. This will only bring disaster to the Wen family."
If it had happened a few years ago, she might have been resentful and jealous.
Now she has no idea at all. She just wants to live a good life with He Jiang and hopes that the Wen family will be well.
Old Madam Wen was so angry that she threw the large pillow behind her at her granddaughter, "You stinky girl, are you cursing our Wen family? Now that you can't enter the palace to enjoy wealth and glory, don't you want your sister to go?"
Wen Yunling sighed, "Grandma, I'm just thinking about the Wen family. You don't know what kind of person Emperor Shengwu is. If you really have any ideas, why not wait for two months and see what happens in the capital before making any plans."
Now people in the southwest only know that Prince Shu ascended the throne, and that it was the Queen who opened Xu's Restaurant and the inn. No news of Xu Qinyu's return to Beijing has reached the southwest yet. When the news of the Queen's coronation ceremony comes, there will definitely be some other things as well.
For example, Emperor Shengwu told the public that he would only have one empress in his life.
She felt that Pei Weixuan could do it.
The old lady was so angry at Wen Yunling's words that her heart ached. Finally, Wen Yunling was afraid that the old lady would get hurt by her anger, so she asked her to rest well first, and she went to look for her father, mother, and eldest brother.
Wen Yunling also told Master Wen her thoughts. She said, "Father, if you really have the same idea as Grandmother, I advise you to give up. How did the Wen family treat the Queen Mother and Concubine Gui? Father, you haven't forgotten, have you? Grandmother has wasted Concubine Gui's time. Does she really think that if she returns to the capital, my sister will be able to enter the palace as she wishes? That the Wen family will prosper and the title of Duke will be restored? Don't let the entire Wen family be confiscated."
When Mr. Xu heard this, he fell silent.
He actually had the same idea as the old lady. He wanted to return to Beijing and let his niece from the third house enter the palace as a concubine.
But now, after hearing what his daughter said, he broke out in a cold sweat. The Wen family had wasted Concubine Gui into that state, and now she wanted to return to Beijing.
Now that their concubine's younger sister has become the Empress Dowager, they are afraid that they will not be able to get any benefits if they return to the capital.
Wen Yunling continued, "Actually, staying in the border town is the best option. With our connections to the Empress Dowager and Emperor Shengwu, everyone in the southwest will respect us, and it will be very convenient for us to make a living. Instead of returning to the capital and being disliked, it's better to stay in the southwest. If father really wants to return to the capital, why not let my brothers, nephews, and grandchildren work hard for the imperial examinations and pursue official careers."
She knew very well in her heart that staying in the southwest was better than returning to the capital, even if a lean camel was bigger than a horse.
Old Master Xu said, "In that case, I will talk to the old man and ask him to persuade Mother."
As long as he didn't ask his father to agree to return to the capital, it would be useless for his mother to make a fuss. He also felt that his daughter was right. He had offended Emperor Shengwu and the Empress Dowager too much in the past. He was afraid that returning to the capital would not be able to ease the relationship. It would be better to stay in the southwest. Life was not worse than in the capital. If they really wanted to pursue a career in officialdom, they should let the younger generations work hard, take the imperial examinations, and return to the capital with real talents and knowledge, instead of returning to the capital like this and begging for mercy.
Later, Mr. Xu explained the relationship to Mr. Wen, and Mr. Wen also figured it out. He was already at an age where he had one foot in the coffin, so why bother with all this trouble? He was living a good and leisurely life now, so he might as well stay in the southwest and spend the rest of his life there.
The eldest wife and Mr. Wen did not agree to return to Beijing, so naturally there was no way back to the capital.
Mrs. Wen made a fuss for half a month but to no avail. Finally, she had no choice but to give up.
…
In the capital, Xu Qinyu's life did not change much. She gave the 300,000 taels of silver notes she brought back to Cui. Cui was shocked and refused to accept them, but Xu Qinyu still forced all the silver notes on Cui and asked her to keep them. When she entered the palace in the future, her father's official position would definitely be promoted, and maybe the second branch could go out and set up its own residence. All the silver and money could be left to her parents. She wanted them to live a better life.
Although the second and third rooms have been in such a mess, it is still difficult to separate the family property at the moment.
As long as Marquis Dechang and his wife don't give in, the family cannot be divided and they have to live together.
Marquis Dechang and the old lady certainly did not want to split up the family at this time, but Xu Qinyu did not care. Anyway, they did not dare to provoke her.
She also took out the remaining banknotes from the bank, intending to look at the land and restaurants in the capital, in preparation for future restaurants and hotels.
During this period, Xu Qinyu didn't have to do anything but stay at home to prepare for her wedding, so she was really free.
When he was in the capital, he didn't have many female friends, so now he naturally didn't have to go out for social events. Even if someone wanted to invite him, they wouldn't dare to send an invitation to the Queen. So he lived a very leisurely and comfortable life these days, just staying at home with Cui and Li Ge'er, without having to think about or do anything.
As for the other people in Marquis Dechang's Mansion, Xu Qinyu never met them.
The one from the first wife was fine, she always lived her life behind closed doors. Only Xu Qin Yuhui from the third wife was always trying to find a way to see her.
But during the time she lived in the Dechang Marquis Mansion, she had never even left the second house, so of course she had never seen Xu Qinhui.
Thinking that she would be marrying her fourth brother in a few days, Xu Qinyu became a little nervous. The closer the date got, the more nervous she became. She felt a little restless staying at home. After breakfast that day, she planned to go out for a walk and visit her uncle's house.
On the second day after returning to Marquis Dechang's Mansion, she went to her uncle's house with Cui. Her uncle's business was doing very well now, and they had no plans to expand the business for the time being. They still planned to take it step by step and had never thought of relying on Xu Qinyu's power.
Just as she went out, she ran into Xu Qinhui.
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