The young marquis was confused by the words of the old lady Fang, and after blinking twice, he said carefully: "Grandfather, that...business matters are all managed by Tingye, I can't interfere. Besides, that Li Qiushan is quite capable and a very good person. He wouldn't dare to offend you, right? What's the point of this?"
Su Nuannuan also stepped forward and said with a smile: "Don't be impatient, old ancestor. Why do you have to trouble Manager Li now? Even if he realizes his mistake and sends the chef over immediately, won't you still have to wait for ten days or half a month? You have a ready-made Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, but you don't use me, the inventor of the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, and you go to a distant place instead? Please be patient. The Buddha Jumps Over the Wall must be made from Shaoxing wine jars that are more than a hundred years old. It just so happens that Manager Li found two Shaoxing wine jars that are hundreds of years old from somewhere and gave us one. When he left Linqing, our grandfather asked him to send the wine jars to the capital. It is probably in Anle Tower now. We will ask someone to take it back. Tomorrow, your grandson's wife will make you a jar of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall so that everyone can taste it. Okay?"
Old Lady Fang smiled and said, "You are filial to me. Okay, after all the excitement today, I am tired. You and Xuan'er should go back and have a good rest. Get enough energy so that you can do that Buddha... or something tomorrow?"
"Grandfather, it's Buddha Jumps Over the Wall." Duan Xinqi finally got a word in, and heard Old Lady Fang laugh and say, "Yes, why did you give it such a difficult name? I'm the first one to disagree. Is it only Buddha Jumps Over the Wall? Don't Taoists jump over the wall, too?"
Everyone laughed again, and then Shi Yurou said, "Okay, the old lady is so considerate, it's obvious that she has been bribed by sister-in-law's Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, so we shouldn't be so tactless. Let's do what we need to do, otherwise how can big brother and sister-in-law leave?"
Su Nuannuan also laughed and said, "My sister-in-law underestimates our dignity. Since the old lady has spoken, we should just leave without saying a word." As she spoke, everyone dispersed with a smile.
When they returned to Chunfeng Garden, the children had just finished school, so Xue Zhilan, Xu Ranyun, Aunt Jiang, and Aunt Jing brought their children to pay respects to Duan Tingxuan and Su Nuannuan. Su Nuannuan and Duan Tingxuan picked up the two delicate girls. Su Nuannuan smiled and said, "When I left home, they could only walk, but now they can stand so steadily. Girls are more quiet and well-behaved than boys. Look at our little princess, she is so beautiful. I will make a doll for you to play with tomorrow."
The two little girls said in a baby voice, "Thank you, Auntie." Su Nuannuan kissed them a few more times. Fang handed the two sisters to the nanny, and said to Xu Ranyun and others, "That's enough. You all go back. I know you are constrained here. The boys are curious and must see the things brought back from Liaodong. Let them stay and play by themselves."
Xu Ranyun and the others all agreed, got up and filed out. Here Su Nuannuan stretched and said to Duan Tingxuan who was just smiling at her, "I'm finally home. I've been in a hurry all the way, so my back and waist are really sore. My thighs are numb. Fortunately, I tied a cushion, otherwise the skin would be broken."
As soon as he finished speaking, Duan Maochuan came over and said with a silly smile: "Auntie, you are tired. Let me massage your shoulders for you. Usually, my mother is tired from working, and I massage her shoulders and she feels better."
"Oh, I don't need that. How old are you? Be careful that your little fist might get scratched before I do anything." Su Nuannuan hugged Duan Maochuan and gave him a kiss, then smiled and praised him, "It's enough to know that you are filial."
Duan Maosen was watching from below with jealousy, and he also stepped forward and shouted, "Auntie, I am also filial, but my third brother got the upper hand. Let's each take half, and you just lie down."
This time, before Su Nuannuan could say anything, Duan Tingxuan smiled and said, "It's rare that the children are filial, so what if you let them pat you? No one cares about me as a father, you are much better than me."
As soon as he finished speaking, Duan Maofan and Duan Maoming also came over with a smile. They were just pretending to show their appreciation, but how could Duan Tingxuan and Su Nuannuan really let them spend this much effort? Su Nuannuan hugged Duan Maochuan and said, "How is your mother doing recently? Is she still talking nonsense in front of you?"
Duan Maochuan shook his head and said, "No. But I think my aunt doesn't seem very happy, I don't know what's going on. About half a month ago, she hugged me and cried at night, but she didn't say anything. I was very worried, but she was fine the next day. Alas! Aunt, when will I grow up? I think as long as I grow up, my aunt will definitely be happy."
"Grow up slowly, there's no rush. When you grow up, you'll know that the carefree days of childhood are the best. Your mother is fine, just wait for me to counsel her." Su Nuannuan touched Duan Maochuan's head, and suddenly heard Xiangyun outside the door say, "Grandma, the boxes have been sorted, and the gifts sent to each room have been packed. Do you want to take another look?"
"We will go and see it for Auntie."
Duan Maofan cheered and rushed out with his brothers, making Su Nuannuan anxious, shouting from behind: "Be careful, don't mess it up, Honglian, watch them." After saying that, she went out to take a look herself before having them delivered to the rooms. Then she picked out some toys she bought on the road and coaxed a few little ones to play outside. She then entered the room and saw Honglian carrying a tray of snacks and putting it on the table. She smiled and said: "Mother Liu must have complained about me several times, right? Humph! I know it even if you don't say it, but it doesn't matter. I'll buy you a good dowry and I'm sure she will change her anger into joy."
Honglian smiled and said, "Grandma, please don't wrongly accuse me. I haven't mentioned a word to you..."
Before he could finish his words, he heard Siping's voice outside, "Xiangyun, is the master in there? Tell him that the second and fourth princes are here and are being accompanied by the master in the front hall. The master wants me to go over quickly."
"I understand." Duan Tingxuan answered from inside the room, then stood up and looked at Su Nuannuan.
The Fourth Prince's life experience was now a thorn in their hearts. Su Nuannuan was afraid that her husband would be awkward and impulsive, so she stood up quickly and whispered while helping him to tidy up his clothes, "Keep calm and don't show off. Even Lord Long doesn't know about this. As long as you don't show any clues, you can get away with it. Otherwise, the Fourth Prince is so smart that he might get suspicious."
"Don't worry, I understand." Duan Tingxuan patted Su Nuannuan's hand and turned to walk out. Xiangyun, Xing'er, Cong'er, Hua'er and other little girls also came in. Su Nuannuan took out a purse from her arms and handed it to Honglian, saying, "Look what's inside? When I arrange your dowry, this purse will be included in it. Do you like it?"
"As long as it's given by grandma, I like it. Don't I trust grandma's taste?" Honglian said with a smile, but she couldn't help but curiously opened the purse, and saw twelve round pearls inside, six of which were as big as the belly of a thumb, and the rest were as big as a middle finger. She was a maid in a rich family, so she naturally knew what was good. When she saw the pearls, she was surprised and said, "These pearls are round and shiny, just like the best Hepu pearls. Where did grandma get them? Why did you give me so many? This... This I can't accept it."
Su Nuannuan smiled proudly and said, "Just keep it. This is what your grandmother earned from peeling pearl oysters in Liaodong for two days. I have some myself, and they are no worse than yours. I am inlaying them on your phoenix crown. There are twelve of them, and if you split them, you get two sixes. We are praying for a lucky six."
Xiangyun and the others also gathered around to watch, praising her. Xiangyun smiled and said, "If everything goes well for Sister Honglian, why would we need to worry about numbers? As long as she gives birth to a son, her life will be smooth..."
Before he could finish, Honglian slapped him in the face. She laughed and scolded him, "You still care about your face in front of those little girls. If someone hears you saying something like this, you're asking for death."
Su Nuannuan smiled and said, "Xiangyun, don't be jealous. You and Shuangxi will definitely get married next year. By then, I will naturally give you the same beads as Honglian. But for now, you have to keep them with me for a while." After that, she took out a purse, opened it and said to Cong'er and others, "I know you are all sharp-tongued, and I can't let you be accused of bias. Look, whoever sees it gets a share. You are still a long way from getting married, so these beads are for you to play with first. You can make jewelry or give them to your closest relatives and friends. Just don't think they are good things. These are authentic Dongzhu. It is difficult to find such round, large and shiny ones outside."
Cong'er and the others were overjoyed to see that they also had some, and each of them stepped forward to take three. Xiangyun said, "Grandma, did you go to the Wusuli River in the far north? I heard that there are several pearl fields there, and only there can you pick so many pearls, but I calculated the time and it doesn't seem to match."
Su Nuannuan smiled with satisfaction and said, "Well, we were lucky this time. We intercepted a batch of smuggled pearl oysters. Miss Chu and I peeled them for two days. It was so much fun. When you break the oysters open, you can touch the soft meat inside. In fact, most oysters don't have pearls, so I was very happy when I touched one. If you cut it open and find that it is a big, round, high-quality pearl with a soft glow, that feeling... is the same as catching a fish..."
Several maids sat beside Su Nuannuan, listening to her talk about the pearl oysters, kelp, and this trip to Jiangnan. They were all fascinated. Xiangyun slapped her head in annoyance and said, "If I had known it would be so interesting, I should have dressed up as a man and went with grandma."
Honglian snorted coldly and said, "With your stupidity, you were recognized by Mr. Lu in less than three days." Su Nuannuan only told a few maids that she and Duan Tingxuan went undercover at Lu Fengyu's place in order to avenge Ping Guogong. Other things were not mentioned. Anyway, the court would have an explanation on this matter in a few days, so there was no need to hide it from them.
Everyone was talking animatedly when they heard outside that Aunt Jing was coming over, so they all stood up and left, knowing that Aunt Jing and her master had a lot to say and they couldn't just stand there and eavesdrop.
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