Lin Xiaowan often heard Liu Yanqing talk about Liu Yulian, and she knew how much her husband envied her. But her younger sister's abilities couldn't be learned simply by admiration. They hadn't read that many books, didn't have the foundation, and couldn't learn quickly, not to mention they didn't have the talent.
"How do you feel?" Liu Yanqing asked Lin Xiaowan. He was worried that Lin Xiaowan was not feeling well.
"It's okay," Lin Xiaowan said. She was just walking around; the doctor had told her to move around. She couldn't stay indoors all the time, nor could she stay outdoors all the time; she had to be more careful. "Go buy some tofu and some spareribs; stewing them would be good too."
Lin Xiaowan had previously seen Liu Yulian make stewed pork ribs, stewed pork ribs with tofu, stewed pork ribs with radish... This kind of pork rib soup is also acceptable, and it is better than plain water.
"Okay." Liu Yanqing had no objection, "Sweet and sour pork ribs are also good."
People outside don't like bones because they don't have meat and they're cheap. Pork belly and the like are expensive, but lean meats aren't that expensive. People in ancient times were short on oil.
The villagers don’t raise that many pigs, so the price of pork cannot be lowered.
Liu Yanqing really enjoyed eating things like spare ribs. Their family had no shortage of oil; the important thing was the taste. Rich families were like this; the taste of the food was paramount. For poor families, the only thing they cared about was filling their bellies; who cared about the taste?
"Go buy it." Lin Xiaowan waved her hand.
"That money..." Liu Yanqing looked at Lin Xiaowan and decided to give him the money.
“…” Lin Xiaowan went to get money for Liu Yanqing.
In the capital, Miss Lin Si had arrived there long ago. All she could do was serve others. If she didn't serve others, she couldn't do anything else. Her hands were rough and she wasn't that pretty. She wasn't some rich lady.
It happened that the palace was recruiting maids, so Miss Lin Si went to the palace to work as a maid.
Miss Lin Si thought that she could be a servant in an ordinary family or a maid in the palace. As long as she was careful and didn't always think about climbing up the social ladder or fighting and robbing, then her life would be more stable.
Miss Lin Si did a lot of work at home, and she didn't think life in the palace could be any harder than staying at home.
After arriving at the palace, these women had their names changed, and Miss Lin Si also changed her name. Coincidentally, the Eastern Palace was short of people, so Miss Lin Si, who changed her name to Chunlan, went to the Eastern Palace.
Fortunately, Chunlan did not go to Concubine Qin's side, but went to serve the Crown Princess.
The Crown Princess already had someone around her, so when Chunlan arrived, she initially only did rough work, like cleaning the courtyard. But Chunlan felt that this kind of work was good, because it was easier than when she was at home. She didn't have to wait on the master, and basically didn't have to worry about falling asleep in front of the master.
The Crown Princess is quite concerned about the servants in the Eastern Palace, and she would also warn them to stop gossiping.
The emperor's health is not as good as before. The imperial physician said that this has been the case for the past one or two years.
Now, the emperor lets the crown prince preside over state affairs and review memorials. This way, the emperor's burden is not so heavy, the emperor can relax a little, and his health can be better.
Once, the Crown Princess saw Chunlan cleaning the yard diligently and asked her a few questions. When the Crown Princess learned that Chunlan was from the northwest, she asked a few more questions.
Of course, Chunlan couldn't talk too much about her family affairs. She just said whatever the Crown Princess asked.
"Your home is near Shiyuan Village?" The Crown Princess was surprised. She didn't expect that there were palace maids around her near Shiyuan Village.
"Yes." Chunlan replied.
"Has your family ever bought wool yarn?" asked the Crown Princess.
"I have." But the family only bought wool yarn for Chunlan's younger brother. Chunlan had never worn a woolen sweater, and she didn't even dare to put it on herself when she was knitting.
If there are a few long hairs on her clothes, her brother might be dissatisfied, and if her brother is dissatisfied, her parents will scold her.
This made Chunlan afraid to move. She was now making her own money, and the Crown Princess was a good woman. She thought her life would be better. She could wait until she was 25 to leave the palace, or she could stay in the palace forever.
The Crown Princess saw Chunlan was a little reserved, but she didn't ask any more questions. She just said, "You work quite efficiently. Come with me tomorrow."
The Crown Princess would go to the research institute from time to time, and sometimes she would ask the people around her to do some work. Those tasks were not necessarily easy, but could be quite demanding.
"Yes." Chunlan was a little excited. She didn't expect that she could be by the side of the Crown Princess.
Ever since Liu Yulian got a cat at the Jingning Marquis's residence, Xiao Liujia and the others had felt that she was more focused on that one cat. While others didn't research cats, Liu Yulian was researching medicine and even making a bed for the cat, not to mention the cat litter.
After class, little Liu Jia went to Liu Yulian's place. She looked at the little kitten and she also wanted to have a cat.
"Auntie, can I keep a cat?" Liu Jia asked.
"You can come and see." Liu Yulian rubbed her niece's head. "What if you raise a cat and don't study hard?"
"Can't I just keep it?" Liu Jia asked again, "It's not like I'm watching the cat every day."
"Then raise one." Liu Yulian did not stop her niece from raising a cat. There were servants at home, and her niece didn't need to watch over it all day long.
Liu Yulian felt a little guilty. It was because of her that her niece wanted to get a cat. If she didn't have a cat, then her niece wouldn't have thought about it. Even if her niece wanted to get a cat, it wasn't from her perspective.
"Will mother agree?" Liu Jia didn't know whether Princess Zhaoyang would agree.
"Yes." Liu Yulian chuckled. "Cats are not bad creatures. They are in your yard and there are maids looking after them. There will be no problem."
"Yeah." Liu Jia's eyes lit up.
In Zhuangzi, Da Huoshi seemed crazy, but in fact, her mind was not that confused. At the beginning, she could say those words, mixing up the things of past and present lives, but over time, Da Huoshi's mind became clearer.
Mrs. Huo wouldn't go crazy so easily. She just wanted to escape, so she said those things on purpose.
Mrs. Huo came to visit Mrs. Huo. She was relieved to see that Mrs. Huo was awake and no longer kept talking about the Crown Prince's wife.
Mrs. Huo had been clamoring for so long, but no one paid much attention to her, and Princess Zhaoyang and Liu Yanjing were also together happily. Mrs. Huo felt empty inside, as if everything she did was of no use, and she could not hurt Princess Zhaoyang or Liu Yanjing at all.
"I want to go back." said Mrs. Huo.
"Don't even think about it. Just stay here." Mrs. Huo didn't want her daughter to leave the manor, but because her daughter had previously injured Lord Ouyang, and with other things going on, she couldn't let her daughter go out. "From now on, I won't come here too often."
Mrs. Huo thought about what Uncle Huo had said. Uncle Huo had asked her to set up a small Buddhist temple, so she stayed there more often. She had only come to see her daughter with Uncle Huo's permission.
Uncle Huo has someone keep an eye on your Madam Huo, and tell her not to go to the Marquis of Jingning's Mansion, and to visit the Ouyang family less often.
"Mother..." Mrs. Huo was a little anxious when she heard this, "Why can't you come over?"
"Something happened." Mrs. Huo said.
"What's the matter?" asked Mrs. Huo.
"Nothing much, it's just that your father doesn't allow me to come out more often." Mrs. Huo said, "Your father has been impeached quite a few times recently."
Even though Uncle Huo has always been careful in doing things, he still committed a crime by failing to manage his harem and his daughter well.
How could Master Huo not take care of these people? Master Huo didn't want his wife and daughter to continue to cause trouble for him. For the sake of his career, Master Huo didn't let the eldest Huo die directly. This was Master Huo's last kindness as a father.
“…” Mrs. Huo stared at Mrs. Huo.
In the Su family, Madam Su arranged everything perfectly, but Madam Su's brother was not a worry-free person. Madam Su's brother An Hongkang was an idle man with no ability. He was just a playboy and he also liked to gamble.
Previously, Mrs. Su asked her brother to manage her shop, but her shop suffered losses repeatedly.
This time, An Hongkang lost tens of thousands of taels of silver in the gambling house. Since he couldn't come up with that much silver, he came to Madam Su.
Mrs. Su was not originally a noble lady; her family was a merchant family. After her parents passed away and her younger brother failed to make progress, the family's wealth had long since shrunk.
By now, the An family's wealth was even smaller. The An family's restaurant was almost unable to operate, and An Hongkang was still gambling.
"Sixteen thousand taels?" Mrs. Su was stunned.
"Yes, it is 16,000 taels of silver, which is a drop in the bucket for the Su family." An Hongkang said.
"What do you mean it's just a drop in the bucket? Why don't you take it out yourself?" Mrs. Su was very dissatisfied.
"You know what's going on at home." An Hongkang was reluctant to take out the money himself. "If my family took the money, how would I run my business? It would be ruined."
"You also know that you are going to be doomed. If you were going to be doomed, you shouldn't do these things." Mrs. Su said.
"Isn't this just bad luck? If I were lucky, I would have made a few thousand or ten thousand taels." An Hongkang didn't think he was wrong. He also wanted to make more money.
Mrs. Su is not Lin Xiaowan, and An Hongkang is not Liu Yanqing. Mrs. Su cannot control An Hongkang.
"Bullshit!" Madam Su's face turned cold. "Don't always count on me. I don't have that much money."
Mrs. Su didn't want to always give her brother so much money. Why didn't her brother listen to her? Gambling was not a good thing.
"You don't have it, but the Su family does." An Hongkang said, "The entire Su family will belong to my nephew from now on."
"It's your nephew's, so it's not yours." Madam Su said, "If it's not yours, you shouldn't be thinking about it."
Seeing how shameless her brother was, Mrs. Su was worried that her son would be entangled by him in the future. She knew that her son didn't like An Hongkang that much.
Mrs. Su did not take much from her private savings to help her younger brother. Mrs. Su managed the household expenses of the Su family and sometimes took some money from the Su family's public funds, but it was always a very small amount.
This time, An Hongkang needed too much money.
This gave Mrs. Su a headache. If she took out so much money from the public treasury... she would not be able to get so much money at all. Mr. Su did not put so much money in the public treasury at all.
Mr. Su was a rather stingy person. Although he treated Mrs. Su well, he still managed most of the money himself, and Mrs. Su could not get any of it.
Every month, Master Su would allocate money to the public treasury, with a certain amount of money allocated each month and a certain amount of money allocated each year. It wasn't that Master Su was reluctant to let his family spend more money, he just felt that earning money was not easy.
Mr. Su allowed them to make those clothes, and the monthly allowance was not small. Since his children needed to go to school, Mr. Su was also willing to spend money. However, Mrs. Su and others were not allowed to spend the money carelessly, such as to fill the deficit of her mother's family.
"Sister, please help me this time." An Hongkang shook Madam Su's arm. "If you still can't come up with the money in two days, I'll be in big trouble. They'll chop off my fingers."
An Hongkang had already agreed with the owner of the gambling house that he owed the gambling house 10,000 taels of silver, and that it was 16,000 taels of silver, and he would be able to get 6,000 taels of silver when the time came.
The Su family has so much money, so what if they make a little money from the Su family.
"It's just this time, and the money this time is a little more. There will absolutely be no such thing in the future." An Hongkang guaranteed.
"I'm afraid your brother-in-law won't agree." Mrs. Su rubbed her eyebrows. Sixteen thousand taels of silver was a large sum.
Her brother had never lost so much money before, but he always asked for more each time. If she gave it to him, what would happen next time?
Mrs. Su knew that this was not a problem, as she simply did not have that much money. When Su Qiuya returned to the Su family, she stared at her, trying to find something to hold against her.
How could Mrs. Su feel at ease to touch the public money at this time? All she could do was go find Mr. Su.
After An Hongkang left, Mrs. Su went to find Mr. Su. In order to prevent Su Qiuya from catching her at this time, Mrs. Su had no choice but to find Mr. Su.
"Ten thousand taels?" Mr. Su was shocked.
Mr. Su thought that the dowry he prepared for his daughter was not that much, so why did Mrs. Su's brother want so much silver?
"I'll pay it back later." Madam Su didn't dare let Master Su take 16,000 taels. She would think of a way to get the other 6,000 taels. Her family always had some things. She didn't regret giving Su Qiuya her mother's dowry so early. If she hadn't given it to her, Su Qiuya would definitely make trouble.
"Pay it back later?" Master Su didn't believe it. "When has your brother ever paid back the money he took from home? It used to be a few thousand taels, but now it's over ten thousand taels."
"This is the last time." That was all Mrs. Su could say.
"What do you mean by 'the last time'? Is your brother going to die?" Mr. Su was dissatisfied.
"After all, he is my eldest brother's uncle..." said Mrs. Su.
"He gives the same excuse every day," said Master Su. "He's trying to steal my eldest brother's girlfriend. If he keeps doing this, will our son inherit the money? We'll just leave it all to your younger brother."
Mrs. Su knew that Mr. Su was angry, so she could only comfort him.
In the end, Master Su gave Madam Su eight thousand taels of silver, and no more. Master Su was so angry that he went to another concubine, and he did not stay with Madam Su any longer.
"What a shame." Madam Su gritted her teeth. Her brother was a troublesome person.
When Su Qiuya learned that An Hongkang had come to her house, she thought that An Hongkang was here to borrow money. Before Su Qiuya got married, she had seen An Hongkang come to her house frequently, and every time An Hongkang came, he would ask for money and various things.
Su Qiuya was originally worried that she couldn't find any evidence to hold against Madam Su, but now she is relieved. With An Hongkang around, Madam Su is no longer invincible.
"Don't get close to An Hongkang." Su Qiuya knew that Liu Yanbo had been in contact with some people outside recently. They were just cleaning up the shop now and would not open a shop so soon, but they would open a shop after moving out of the Su family next year.
People like An Hongkang are not good people at all, and Su Qiuya is worried that An Hongkang will lead Liu Yanbo astray.
People like An Hongkang will still say nice things on the surface. After all, An Hongkang was born into a merchant family, so how could he be that bad?
"Okay." Liu Yanbo responded, "He is Madam Su's biological brother."
"Yes, it's not my biological mother's, it's my stepmother's." Su Qiuya said, "They are not very good people, they just do things well on the surface."
Su Qiuya was afraid that Liu Yanbo would be cheated, "He will cheat you out of your money, and you still thank him."
"I know." Liu Yanbo understood that An Hongkang was not their biological uncle. How could such a person possibly consider more for them?
In the East Palace, Concubine Qin called Miss Qin San. She knew that the Crown Princess went to the research institute from time to time. As a concubine, she could not leave the palace at will, let alone go to the research institute.
Concubine Qin wanted to go directly to Liu Yulian, but she was a concubine, so what? She had no right to ask Princess Rongning at will. Princess Rongning was not an ordinary person. Not to mention a concubine like Concubine Qin, even someone with the status of the Crown Princess would not be able to ask Princess Rongning to do anything at will.
"You want to take the entrance exam for the research institute, are you sure?" Concubine Qin hoped that Miss Qin San could be admitted to the research institute as soon as possible, and hoped that she would have someone in the research institute.
"I'm not too sure." When Miss Qin San heard what Concubine Qin said, she knew what Concubine Qin was planning. Concubine Qin wanted to interfere in the affairs of the research institute.
Concubine Qin is too ambitious!
"Even if I were to enter the research institute, I would only be a researcher at the lowest level," Miss Qin San said. "I wouldn't have much power at all."
"It's okay. If you can get some information, that's fine." Concubine Qin said, "The Crown Princess always comes over from time to time. I don't know what the research institute is like."
"..." Miss Qin San really wanted to say: If you have the time to think about these things, you might as well get pregnant and have children sooner. "Aren't you praying for the late queen?"
Even after all this, Concubine Qin still came to her. Miss Qin San really thought Concubine Qin was too heartless. Concubine Qin didn't even quietly pray for the late queen, but still made such a fuss. After the Crown Prince and the Emperor knew about this, how could they possibly think well of Concubine Qin?
Miss Qin San understood why her father wanted to separate from his second uncle and his family. Master Qin Er and Concubine Qin were too bold, and ordinary people could not tolerate them.
The Crown Princess didn't care who Concubine Qin met. She had seen people as ambitious as Concubine Qin before. It was just that Concubine Qin's brain wasn't that good. She put a lot of things on the surface. Didn't she see that the Crown Prince and the Emperor asked Concubine Qin to pray for the late Queen?
But Concubine Qin has not yet figured out the trick here, and Concubine Qin is still making such a fuss. The Crown Princess is waiting to see how far Concubine Qin can go.
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