But what she hated most was when others mentioned her grandfather's background; she always felt inferior to them.
"Alright, that's enough for now. You may all leave," Madam Yun instructed.
After the group left the house, Guo approached Zhou and asked in a low voice, "Sister-in-law, could I borrow the Zhou family's carriage for a ride?"
Zhou nodded and said, "I'll go ask."
Fortunately, when my elder brother left yesterday, he turned the oxcart back into a horse-drawn carriage and left it outside the gate of the villa.
But having a carriage without a driver is another problem.
The servant who used to drive the carriage was sent back to the Zhou family yesterday because of a problem with his accommodation.
Guo had no choice but to send Qingyu directly to the Guo family and have them send a car to pick her up.
When she left, she took her son, the fourth young master Yun Tianyi, and her daughter, the second young lady Yun Manyin, with her.
Zhou Shi naturally had no time to pay attention. She was busy instructing her son to handle the agricultural registration matters, and she and the two nannies were calculating and recording how many sets of clothes the twenty-odd people needed and what sizes they should be. It was always good to prepare in advance.
However, in the afternoon, someone suddenly stumbled in, shouting, "Something terrible has happened!"
Hearing the noise, Zhou came out and asked, "What's all the fuss about?"
The man was the same servant who had been "suggested" to return to the Zhou family yesterday. He knelt down in front of Madam Zhou and cried, "Second Aunt, the Grand Tutor has been dismissed from his post, and the eldest master has also been demoted three ranks and transferred to the Ministry of Rites as a rites official."
Zhou felt dizzy and asked anxiously, "What happened? Tell me quickly."
The servant then said, "I heard that this morning, the Grand Tutor reported to the Emperor that Marquis Yun was definitely wronged and could not possibly have committed such a treasonous act. The Prime Minister Cao then implied that the commoners you encountered yesterday when you left the mansion incited them to pressure the Emperor to demand a thorough investigation. This angered the Emperor, who then ordered the Grand Tutor to retire to his hometown. Master was also demoted. I also heard that Minister Guo of the Ministry of War was reprimanded by the Emperor."
A sound like a teacup breaking came from inside the main room.
Then came the soft, gentle call of Granny Wang.
Zhou's heart tightened, and she said to the servant, "Thank you for coming to inform him. Please go back now."
The servant hesitated for a moment.
Zhou noticed that something was wrong with her expression, so she asked, "Is there anything else?"
The servant whispered, "Master, please let me tell you that rice and flour will be delivered."
Zhou's heart skipped a beat.
The servant then added, "Actually, the master originally gave me a few silver notes, which I took, but the madam discovered them. I am ashamed, and the madam took them back."
Zhou nodded, indicating that she understood, and sighed deeply in her heart.
After the servant left, Madam Zhou entered Old Madam Yun's room, her face also grave.
Suddenly, Madam Yun spoke up, "Let's leave here as soon as possible."
"Why is that?" Zhou's heart skipped a beat; she hadn't prepared anything yet.
She possesses considerable wealth, but none of it has been made public.
The original plan was to wait until her elder brother returned from court before sending her maids and servants out to buy some clothes and food. Even if someone questioned it, to outsiders, it would seem as if she had borrowed some money from her elder brother.
But before I could do anything, I ended up implicating my grandfather and elder brother.
This also aroused the dissatisfaction of her sister-in-law from her own family.
Madam Yun smiled bitterly, "Haven't you figured it out yet? This must be someone in the court deliberately targeting the Yun family, or perhaps even the Imperial Concubine. At this time, anyone who dares to speak up for our Yun family will inevitably offend the Emperor. Even Grand Tutor Zhou has been dismissed; the Emperor is making an example of someone. Given this situation, we can't stay here any longer. The Zhou family has already been implicated; we can't afford to let any more families be dragged down. We can't afford to waste our Yun family's goodwill now."
Eldest daughter-in-law, first take out a small denomination banknote. If anyone asks, just say it was lent to us yesterday when your eldest brother brought us here. Buy some clothes and food first, then find a place to stay. This will save your eldest brother from being caught in the middle between you and your sister-in-law. We can't burden the Zhou family any further.”
Zhou looked at Old Madam Yun with tears of gratitude in her eyes, "Yes."
She then immediately set about doing it.
Wang Mama and Hongyu went out to buy groceries. The two were efficient and quickly returned with some rice, flour, and clothing, solving the immediate problem.
That evening, Guo and her two children returned, but she looked extremely depressed. It was unclear what the Guo family had said.
Madam Zhou didn't want to ask any more questions and had the cook serve the dishes. This time, they were taking turns eating at the table. There was plenty of food, but the variety of dishes was limited. However, after Madam Yun's scolding that morning, no one dared to utter a sound.
But after Guo returned to her room, she became angry again for some reason. While Qingyu was making her bed, she started punching and kicking Qingyu, making Qingyu cry out in pain.
The night passed peacefully.
...
The Xilai Inn was not so peaceful.
In the afternoon, Xiao Youran heard from the waiter that a young lady had come to see her, so she went out.
Jiang Youchen chased after him, shouting, "Don't eat food from strangers."
Xiao Youran said "Oh," gave him a disapproving look, and went downstairs.
At a glance, I recognized her as the young woman who ran the small wonton stall that morning, carrying a food box in her hand.
She immediately remembered what the young lady had said: that she would send over the pan-fried buns once they were ready so that she could have a taste.
I didn't expect it to be finished so quickly.
She happily skipped downstairs on her short legs.
The young woman sat down at a table by the window in the main hall, opened the food box, took out two small plates of pan-fried buns, and placed them in front of Xiao Youran.
Xiao You Ran picked up her chopsticks.
A single poke releases a rich aroma, and thick juice flows out from inside.
She was a little excited and cautiously took a bite.
Ah... so this is what pan-fried buns taste like?
tasty!
It tastes really good.
The bottom layer was fried until it was golden brown, crispy, and fragrant, much tastier than steamed meat buns.
Of course, she couldn't offer any suggestions regarding the taste at the moment. Because she didn't even know what authentic pan-fried buns actually tasted like.
But she already felt that the taste was better than any food she remembered, so she nodded vigorously and praised, "Young lady, you are really capable. You have figured it out so quickly."
The young woman was a little embarrassed by the praise and said shyly, "It's all thanks to your great idea, Miss. How does it taste? Can we sell it now?"
Xiao Youran swallowed the bulging pan-fried buns in her mouth before saying, "Delicious! You'll definitely get a good price when you sell them tomorrow."
The young lady's eyes lit up immediately, and she said gratefully, "This morning, Miss suggested using pork bones to make soup for the wonton soup base, and it was indeed very popular. Please come over for breakfast again tomorrow. This time, I really can't give you any more money."
Little Youran couldn't wait any longer. Nodding, she held up the plate and asked, "Can I take this up for my mother and brother to try?"
The young woman nodded vigorously, "Of course."
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