The Prime Minister's First Wife, who was also the Prime Minister's childhood sweetheart, was named Shen Chunyu.
Although she remained in the Prime Minister's residence, she and Prime Minister Li no longer shared any marital affection, and therefore preferred to be called Lady Shen.
Naturally, most outsiders are unaware of these things, and Ye Zhen learned about them from Xie Tingzhou.
Lady Shen bore Li Xiangguo a son and a daughter. Her daughter died young, and her son, Li Chenghe, had three sons and one daughter.
Her greatest enemy in this life was Lady Xiao, whom Prime Minister Li later married.
The two women fought each other their entire lives. Prime Minister Li had no time to get involved in the rivalry between the two wives, so he distributed everything equally.
This time, the same applies to staying at the Royal Estate.
The main building of the Lantai Courtyard has five rooms, and there are three rooms on each side. Prime Minister Li occupied one main room, and the remaining four main rooms and six side rooms were divided equally between his two wives.
Madam Xiao only had Li Chenghai as her son, and with her daughter-in-law Su, there were only three of them, so they naturally lived in a spacious house.
But Madam Shen has seven children, including her son, daughter-in-law, grandson, and granddaughter.
Madam Shen and her son and daughter-in-law each occupied a main room, while the three side rooms were occupied by her three grandsons, and her nine-year-old granddaughter could only live with Madam Shen.
Imperial estates are meant to be temporary, and the main house is not as large as the main house of the Prime Minister's mansion, plus there are maids and servants running around.
Living together as a grandmother and granddaughter was quite crowded, and as Mrs. Shen got older, she developed a snoring problem.
When Madam Shen noticed dark circles under her granddaughter's eyes when she woke up in the morning, she knew that her granddaughter hadn't slept well.
Her granddaughter was her precious darling, and knowing that they would be staying here for at least half a month, Madam Shen couldn't bear to see her granddaughter suffer.
But the grandsons are all grown up, and the side room is not spacious to begin with, so it would be too cramped to have two grandsons sharing one room.
He then thought of trying his luck with the Marquis of Zhongyong.
Tingsongju and Lantaiyuan have the same layout, but only Ye Zhen and two others live there, leaving two main rooms empty.
The Marquis of Zhongyong didn't care; the room was empty anyway.
However, since Ye Zhen was in charge of the Marquis's residence, even after arriving at the imperial estate, the Marquis of Zhongyong felt that he should still consult Ye Zhen about such matters.
This is the respect that should be shown to the head of the household. After all, with an extra child in the courtyard, Ye Zhen would inevitably have to look after him.
Unexpectedly, Ye Zhen agreed so readily. He had someone inform Madam Shen that he was going for his morning exercise.
Madam Shen was very pleased and personally brought Li Suihuan over, along with a lot of breakfast.
"Thank you very much, Princess and Marquis."
Madam Shen smiled and thanked Ye Zhen profusely. Then she took the food box from the maid and placed it on the table.
"These are some dishes I made myself, in the style of the South. If Your Highness doesn't mind, please try them. If you like them, I will send them over again tomorrow."
She didn't have the airs of a high-ranking matriarch; she was very outgoing and had a rather forthright personality, hardly like someone who would be preoccupied with the power struggles within the inner quarters.
But you can't judge a book by its cover. After all, she's the kind of person who can keep the second branch of the Li family in the shadows. Ye Zhen smiled and said, "Madam Shen is too kind."
The imperial estate is His Majesty's territory. Since the Prime Minister's wife has spoken up, most people would give her face. Even if she doesn't thank him, it wouldn't be a big deal.
When they first met, Ye Zhen addressed her in this way, and Madam Shen's smile widened. She used serving chopsticks to pick up a pancake for Ye Zhen.
"I've heard that Your Highness grew up in southern Jiangsu. This is a southern Jiangsu pancake with pickled cabbage and minced pork. Would Your Highness like to try it and see if it tastes authentic?"
Ye Zhen blinked; it really was one of her favorite foods.
In the past, when I had no appetite during the hot summer, the thing I craved most was this pickled cabbage pancake.
Although I made some pickled vegetables at the Marquis's residence, the taste was always different from that in the south.
Including her previous life, Ye Zhen had indeed not eaten this for a long time. She took it and took a bite, and the taste was exactly the same as Su Nan's.
Ye Zhen's eyes brightened slightly. "Delicious! How did you come up with these Southern Jiangsu pancakes, Madam?"
Madam Shen laughed, "My hometown is in southern Jiangsu. My family was too poor to raise me, so they sold me to the Li family as a child bride."
Later, when things got better, I went back to look for my family, but they had all passed away. With nothing left to look forward to, I somehow started to miss the taste of my hometown.
So I tried making it myself, and to my surprise, my little granddaughter also loves it. And so, she made some more today.
Seeing that she had brought quite a lot, Ye Zhen casually asked, "Has Madam used it?"
Madam Shen chuckled, "To be honest, Your Highness, I haven't eaten anything. I was just so happy that I thought I'd come and thank you first."
Ye Zhen then invited her and Li Suihuan to come together, and Madam Shen accepted without hesitation.
She was a talkative person and didn't follow the rule of not talking during meals, so she took the initiative to chat with Ye Zhen.
In return, Ye Zhen asked, "Did you make this sauerkraut yourself, Madam?"
"Yes, if the princess likes it, I will send you two jars later."
Ye Zhen declined.
How could I possibly eat and take something at the same time?
Madam Shen said cheerfully, "It's not valuable. I have plenty more. I brought several jars with me to the Imperial Estate this time."
She had gained some weight, and her face was round. When she smiled, she looked very kind, but also a little mischievous and cunning.
She covered her lips with her hand and whispered to Ye Zhen, "Many of the things here look good but don't taste good. I've learned my lesson the hard way, and now I'm more experienced."
Fearing Ye Zhen would refuse, she immediately had someone bring over the jars containing pickled cabbage, tender ginger, green beans, and other ingredients.
They were indeed all delicious appetizers.
Seeing her sincerity, Ye Zhen became more genuine as well. As they chatted, Ye Zhen mentioned that the taste of her pickled vegetables varied.
Madam Shen was often ridiculed by Madam Xiao for doing these things in the Prime Minister's residence, who said that she was not presentable.
The noblewomen of the capital flattered her on the surface, but she could tell that most of them looked down on her background.
She didn't care what others thought of her. She was originally from a poor family, and even if she became rich, she couldn't forget where she came from.
Besides, how is it that making your favorite food is not presentable? She even said that they never lift a finger and are being pretentious.
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