Listening to Yuqiu's words, Changning seemed to be deep in thought. She asked Granny Zhang to chase the little eunuch far away, and thought about finding time to talk to Fengsheng.
In the evening, the children all came back to Qingzhiyuan for dinner. Since their father wasn't there, they ate, chatted, and laughed, feeling more relaxed.
The estate sent over some mushrooms and pheasants; that's what we'll be eating tonight.
Changning ordered Eunuch Ma to prepare fried pork with mushrooms, braised chicken with gluten, and stewed pheasant meatballs. The main dishes were steamed buns and shumai filled with duck and mushroom filling.
Fei Yang'a ate with great relish, which made Chang Ning eat quite a bit more.
"Mom, the beef shumai is the best. How about we have beef shumai for breakfast tomorrow? And beef pies too."
“Sure!” Changning nodded, then looked at Fengsheng, who liked sweet and sour flavors and was currently eating sweet and sour cherry pork.
"What does Feng Sheng want to eat for breakfast?"
Feng Sheng smiled, her eyes slightly narrowed. The child's eyes resembled hers, with a slight blush at the corners, making her look even prettier than Hu Tuli.
"Mother, I want to eat jujube paste cake and millet porridge."
Changning nodded and smiled, "Your father will be away for several months. It won't do without an adult to look after the front yard. You two boys can come back and live with us. Go to school during the day, and come back for lunch and dinner. You can stay here at night. The rooms next door have all been prepared for you."
Since these two boys grew up, they've been living with Yinzhen in the front yard, and this is the first time they've slept here at night. Speaking of which, Feng Sheng'e is only six years old. In modern times, he wouldn't even be old enough to start elementary school yet.
After asking her two sons, Changning couldn't forget her daughter, so she put a piece of chicken on Hutuli's plate: "What about you? Do you want to eat chive dumplings again tomorrow morning?"
"I'm not eating it, Mother! I've discovered that I get diarrhea whenever I eat chives!" Hutuli pouted and shook her head vigorously.
This is something I inherited from Changning. But, chives are something that gives you diarrhea if you eat them, but you still crave them if you don't. Chive pancakes, chive and egg dumplings, and chive and meat dumplings are all delicious.
"I want to eat those shrimp dumplings from last time, with whole shrimp, and I also want to eat radish cake."
"Okay, okay." Changning wanted to eat some savory tofu pudding, but none of the children wanted the same thing as her.
Hutuli continued, "Mother, those shrimp dumplings are both beautiful and delicious. Big sister likes them too. Can we send her a plate of them tomorrow morning?"
Yierha?
Changning thought to herself that it had indeed been quite a long time since she had seen her, and it seemed that her relationship with the Fujin was still affecting the child.
“Sure, no problem. I’ll send one to Yierha and Honghui tomorrow morning.”
Upon hearing this, Fei Yang'a immediately said, "Mother, Mother! Tuantuan loves to eat it too, so give Tuantuan a portion as well!"
As they were talking, Tuantuan walked over with its tail wagging and an arrogant expression.
Changning clicked his tongue twice: "You little rascal, I haven't seen you in a long time. You've been busy playing with Yuanyuan and the other kids. As soon as you smell food, you come running over."
"Mother, Mother, can my brother and I sleep with Wangchen and Yangtui tonight?"
Ta Xue, Wang Chen, and Yang Tui are the three kittens that Tuan Tuan just gave birth to.
Changning smiled and pointed at Tuantuan: "Then you'll have to ask Tuantuan first!"
At this point, Fei Yang stopped eating, put down his chopsticks, and picked up Tuan Tuan, stroking her fur incessantly. Tuan Tuan purred contentedly.
Tuantuan is so round and chubby now, just like her name suggests, and she probably weighs about twelve or thirteen pounds.
Yu Zhu and Xiao Kangzi served her very well.
Tomorrow I should ask Granny Zhang to give them both some silver.
After having their meal and chatting for a while, the children went back to sleep. Changning personally watched them wipe the kitten's paw pads clean before letting them into bed.
The children were quite excited, having not slept in Qingzhi Courtyard for a long time. Fei Yang was chattering away, insisting on sleeping with his brother.
Changning did not agree without consulting Feng Sheng'e. Instead, she asked for his opinion and, seeing him nod, instructed Fei Yang'a, "Sleep well and don't disturb your brother's rest."
Fei Yang nodded cutely and kissed Chang Ning on the cheek: "Don't worry, Mother, goodnight!"
Changning's heart melted, and she patted her two sons' heads. Then she went to Hutu's room.
Before they even went inside, they heard Hutuli yelling, "What, now I can't even say a word to you? Without Granny Yin here, I don't have the right to punish you?"
Changning didn't go in, but stood at the door. She figured her daughter must have encountered a disobedient girl, and she wanted to see how Hutuli would behave.
"Please calm down, Princess. I didn't mean to. It's just that Granny Yin told me not to display these crystal paperweights for fear of them getting bumped or damaged, so I put them away."
"I told you at noon today to take out those grape paperweights; I'll need them for writing tonight. It seems you've taken my words to heart and only acknowledge Granny Yin as your master?"
"This servant wouldn't dare, this servant only did it because of Granny Yin's orders..."
"Shut up!" Hutuli was becoming increasingly imposing, and Changning, standing at the door, trembled at the sound.
"You are a maid of my Fourth Prince's household, not that of Granny Yin. If you can't understand that, then you shouldn't be serving here. Yulan! Throw her out of here. I'll talk to Mother myself tomorrow!"
The girl clearly hadn't expected the princess to be so ruthless, kicking her out so easily! So she hurriedly knelt down and begged.
"Princess, please forgive me this time! I'll never dare to do it again, Princess!"
Yulan clearly didn't have much to say. She only listened to Hutuli, and without a word, she grabbed the little girl and walked out, scolding her, "Foolish thing! It's not your place to yell at your master!"
Yulan was personally appointed by Chun Fujin, and having served her since childhood, she was more senior than anyone else and was known for her authority. The maid dared not make any more noise and had no choice but to be escorted out by Yulan.
To everyone's surprise, as soon as they came out, they ran into Changning, who was standing at the door.
The girl was so frightened that her legs trembled, and she fell to the ground, tears and snot streaming down her face, but she dared not make a sound.
Oh no!
Chun Fujin is capable of cutting out people's tongues!
Changning didn't bother to look at her and directly instructed Yulan: "Give her twenty lashes at the gate, but don't disturb the princes, they're asleep. Have all the servants in the courtyard watch the punishment, including the eunuchs around the two princes."
At this point, the girl almost fainted from fright.
Changning continued, "The crime is disrespecting the master. After beating them, just throw them out. Tell them that if anyone dares to do it again, they and their families will be the ones getting beaten next time."
Yulan nodded in agreement.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
