"It smells so good. Grandma just said that Heng'er can eat these things every day from now on. Is that true?"

Zhou Zhiheng asked vaguely while stuffing braised pork into his mouth.

Zhou Qingyuan's back stiffened as Zhou Zhiyao paused in clamping the meat, and alarm bells suddenly rang in his heart.

After learning that His Majesty was going to visit Jiangnan incognito, Zhou Qingyuan reminded Madam Zhou several times not to speak carelessly, and reminded her again when they set out for Jiang'an this morning.

Fearing that Madam Zhou might say something wrong, Zhou Qingyuan pretended to be slightly angry and said, "Heng'er, what did your father teach you? No matter how delicious the food is, you can't be greedy. There are so many people who can't even get a bite of food. How can you waste it all day long?"

Zhou Qingyuan frowned and stared at Zhou Zhiheng without blinking.

Looking at Zhou Qingyuan's serious expression, Zhou Zhiheng burst into tears.

"Oh, my dear grandson, why are you crying? Don't cry, don't cry, come here and let grandma hug you."

Mrs. Zhou hugged Zhou Zhiheng in her arms with a look of heartache and wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes.

"Qingyuan, what are you doing? Heng'er is just a five-year-old child, why are you yelling at him?"

Mrs. Zhou glared at Zhou Qingyuan angrily, extremely dissatisfied with his abnormal behavior today.

"Mother, it is precisely because he is still young that he should not be spoiled. After Qingshu passed away, the children had no one to take care of them, so I temporarily handed them over to my father-in-law and mother-in-law to take care of them. I didn't expect that he would be spoiled into this state in just one year. If I don't change his temper now, who knows what trouble he will cause in the future!"

Zhou Qingyuan pursed his lips tightly and confronted Mrs. Zhou with a look of anger on his face, not giving in at all.

"You, you are simply unreasonable! I warn you, if you dare to lose your temper with my grandson again, don't blame me for being rude to you!"

Mrs. Zhou glared at Zhou Qingyuan angrily, and after scolding him, she stood up while hugging Zhou Zhiheng.

"Come on, dear grandson, we won't eat at the same table with him. Grandma will take you to the kitchen!"

Mrs. Zhou snorted coldly, and left the dining room huffing while holding Zhou Zhiheng in her arms.

"Mother, mother!"

No matter how Zhou Qingyuan called out to her from behind, Mrs. Zhou did not turn back. Instead, she quickened her pace, and the flesh on her waist trembled as she walked.

Zhou Qingyuan looked at Madam Zhou's departing back with a helpless look on his face, and said to Shen Tingsi, "I'm sorry to have embarrassed you, Master Shen. I will definitely have a good talk with my mother and the child later."

"It's okay. It takes time to teach a child. Young Master Zhou has worked hard in the frontier these years."

"This is what I should do."

Zhou Qingyuan was so excited that he almost let the cat out of the bag, but he quickly swallowed the word "minister" that was about to come out of his mouth.

Shen Tingsi had his meal on the sail, but now he had no appetite, so he just ate a few bites and went back to his residence.

Shen Tingsi has always liked quietness, and Zhou Qingyuan was afraid that the servants in the mansion would be careless and disturb him, so he arranged his residence in a secluded bamboo garden.

On the way to Zhuyuan, you will pass by Nanyuan. Since Jiang Li moved in, the remote Nanyuan has been kept clean by Qingzhu. Qingzhu knows that his young lady likes flowers, so he bought a lot of potted plants and placed them in the yard.

The desolate and dilapidated courtyard has now been cleaned up by Qingzhu. Various kinds of flowers are placed in the courtyard, adding a touch of homely atmosphere to the courtyard, making the whole courtyard look unique.

When passing by Nanyuan, Shen Tingsi's eyes were attracted by the scenery in the courtyard. He subconsciously stopped and looked inside.

Zhou Qingyuan also stopped and explained, "This is my wife's residence. She likes quietness, so she moved to the secluded South Garden."

If Shen Tingsi had not stopped in front of the Nanyuan gate today, Zhou Qingyuan would not have planned to introduce Jiang Li to him. When he said the word "wife" just now, there was a hint of alienation in his tone.

"Um."

Shen Tingsi was not interested in Zhou Qingyuan's family affairs. After taking a look at the scenery in the courtyard, he continued to walk towards the bamboo garden.

Jiang Li was not in Nanyuan at this time. After Zhou Qingyuan and others returned home, she did not follow them, but followed Qingzhu to the jewelry shop.

The jewelry repair craftsman came to Jiang Li with the repaired jade pendant.

Jiang Li, who was sitting at the guest table sipping tea, put the teacup aside after seeing the jade pendant in the craftsman's hand and reached out to take the jade pendant he handed over.

Qingzhu behind him also came forward to take a closer look at the broken jade pendant. When he saw that there was almost no crack on the jade pendant, he widened his eyes and exclaimed.

"Miss, this, this, this, there is not even a trace left!"

Jiang Li weighed the jade pendant and looked up at the craftsman in front of her: "Master, you have great craftsmanship."

The craftsman smiled and said, "Miss Jiang, you are too kind. My craftsmanship is not even half as good as the master of Jingchai Pavilion!"

"Master, you are too modest. Since the jade pendant has been repaired, I will not disturb you from doing business. Goodbye."

After Jiang Li finished speaking, she stood up from her seat. Qingzhu quickly took out the silver from her arms and put it on the table, then followed her.

"Miss, where are we going next?"

"Pawn shop."

Jiang Li put her hands behind her back and walked through the crowd on the street towards the pawn shop in front.

Qingzhu scratched his head in confusion: "Pawn shop? Miss, do you want to pawn something?"

Jiang Li deliberately kept the silly girl Qingzhu in suspense: "You'll know when you get there."

"Miss, please tell me now."

Qingzhu hurriedly chased after her. The less Jiang Li said, the more curious she became.

When Qingzhu arrived at the pawnshop and saw what Jiang Li handed to the boss, his curiosity was instantly replaced by shock.

After exchanging the items for silver bills, Jiang Li dragged Qingzhu, who was standing there in a daze, out of the pawn shop.

"Here, keep the banknote."

Jiang Li handed the banknote in her hand to Qingzhu for safekeeping.

"No, Miss, why did you pawn those two jade pendants? Aren't they the gifts that the master and mistress gave to the two children?"

It was not until Jiang Li stuffed the banknote into Qingzhu's hand that Qingzhu came back to his senses from his shock.

Jiang Li shrugged: "You saw it just now. They didn't want it and even smashed the jade pendant to the ground. This is all the money that my parents worked hard to earn. If they don't feel sorry for it, I will feel sorry for it. So it's better to change it into silver and put it in your own pocket."

Qingzhu blinked, as if...is this the case?

"But didn't Madam ask Miss to give the jade pendant to those two children?"

"That's why I left Jingchai Pavilion and went to another jewelry store to repair the jade pendant. Well, mother won't know. Come on, follow me to the front and take a look."

——

At that time, Shen Tingsi also settled down in Zhuyuan.

After Zhou Qingyuan sent Shen Tingsi to Zhuyuan, he took his leave.

After Zhou Qingyuan left, the servant asked what he had been holding in his heart.

"Master, what happened to that woman just now?"

My dears, the male protagonist of this small world came out a little late. There will be more interactions in the future. The previous ones are all foreshadowing for the end of the general's mansion in the future. 　　(End of this chapter)