57.

  Now that there was a plan in place, Cui Ying let out a huge sigh of relief.

  As Su Zixuan said, the etiquette for entering the palace to pay respects was complex and intricate. The noble ladies specially invited experienced matrons who had come out of the palace to teach them, but even after three to five years, they still couldn't master it.

  It's just a matter of one day, even if Fourth Aunt teaches her wholeheartedly, what can she learn?

  On an occasion like tomorrow, although the protagonist is Empress Jiang, the noble ladies will definitely pay attention to new faces.

  At this time, unless a stunning debut, perfect as Su Zi painting.

  Otherwise, there is no square and only half of the square, which is actually not much different.

  Anyway, she is the ugly and foolish daughter in the rumors!

  Since natural beauty cannot satisfy the burning curiosity of the noblewomen in Shengjing, let her dullness comfort their souls!

  Su Zi saw Cui Ying with a excited look on her face, and couldn't help but glance at her.

  Her tone carried a hint of reminder, "Tomorrow, just do as I told you earlier, and don't overdo it. Otherwise..."

  Su Zi shook her head helplessly, "Otherwise, how will you make things right in the future!"

  Can't pretend to be stupid and numb all one's life.

  Cui Ling playfully stuck out her tongue, "Fourth sister, rest assured, I have a sense of propriety."

  She stepped forward intimately, wrapped her arms around Su Zihua's arm and shook it gently. "Anyway, tomorrow I'll follow Grandma and the aunts closely, not taking a step back, and we'll make our greetings together, this way there shouldn't be any mistakes."

  Su Zi smiled and nodded in agreement.

  She glanced at the water clock, "Since you all understand, I won't say anything more. If you have nothing to do, you can also stay and play here for a while. If there's still something to attend to in the Tai'an courtyard, Fifth Brother and Sister can go back first."

  Cui Ying stood up and then sat back down after thinking for a moment.

  She leaned in close to Su Zi's ear and said in a low voice, "Just now I met Brother Yu in the courtyard, he seems to be in a not very good mood."

  She then told Si Mei about Yu Ge's confusion and worries.

  She finished speaking. After a slight hesitation, she said, "Logically, I shouldn't be saying these things, but since Brother Yu is close to me, I really can't bear to see him being troubled by inferior servants at such a young age."

  Su Zi's eyes flashed with sharpness.

  She gently patted Cui Ying's hand, "I know about this."

  After seeing Cui Ying off, Su Zi Hua called over Mei Tui and said, "Later, you go to the outer courtyard's school grounds and tell Brother Yu's teacher to assign less homework. Let him come back half an hour early."

  Mei Rui and Su Zi had been painting together for a long time. Some things didn't need to be said, but they could still understand each other's intentions.

  She covered her mouth and smiled, "Grandma must have heard what Fifth Grandma said to Brother, that spicy salted pig's trotters. It sounds delicious just listening to it, Brother will definitely be very happy. Only..."

  Mei Rui still didn't understand, "Grandma is so loving and caring towards Brother, why does she always have a cold face towards him? If you were like Fifth Grandma, often smiling at Brother, often playing with him, he would definitely be very close to you!"

  Su Zi's eyes revealed a hint of longing.

  However, in an instant, she withdrew the emotions from her eyes.

  "She sighed and said, 'Since ancient times, many loving mothers have spoiled their children. With Fourth Master often not at home, without a strict father to discipline him, as his mother, if I don't become stricter, it may not be good for Brother Yu either.'"

  Which mother's heart doesn't ache for her own child?

  However, the Yuan family was a humble origin, and different from ordinary noble families.

  Even the old lady, who dotes on her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, was notoriously strict with General Town when she was young.

  She is now strict with Yuan Yu, and in the future he will have more calmness and self-reflection.

  Who knows the heart of a loving mother, with a hint of spring warmth.

  She's just doing what she has to do.

  Sometimes, I also feel heartbroken for Xiao Ge, who at a young age has become like an old man with a stern and strict demeanor, but her rigid mask has already been formed and it's hard to restore the gentle warmth of a loving mother.

  Luckily there's Cui Ying!

  Su Zi painted a gentle smile and rushed towards Mei Tui, saying, "Tell Shifu to keep his mouth shut, don't let Brother Yu know it's my intention."

  Chui Ying returned to Tai An Yuan and first told Laotaijun about Su Zi's plan.

  The old lady also felt that this was probably the only way out of a desperate situation.

  She knew more inside stories and her thoughts were far beyond Su Zihua's paintings.

  She relied on her own imagination to rehearse with Cui Ying the possible situations that might happen tomorrow and the questions Empress Jiang might ask.

  "It's almost the same, and only then did he let out a sigh of relief and say, 'With me around, there's nothing to be afraid of!'"

  She paused for a moment and suddenly smiled and asked, "I heard that your elder brother has been helping you investigate the chili pepper thing everywhere these days?"

  Cui Ling's face turned red, "Grandma, you know?"

  She hung her head and twisted her fingers, "Those peppers were obtained by Master Tang from a friend of his, not many in number, yesterday made a spicy hot pepper pork hand, and it was gone!"

  The old lady deliberately looked at her sideways, "Is it so delicious? It's so delicious that you didn't even ask your grandmother to taste it!"

  "Using chili peppers in cooking is a custom of foreigners from overseas, no one has ever done this throughout the entire Sheng dynasty. I'm also doing it for the first time, I want to try out the taste on my family members first before making further plans."

  She feared Old Lady's overthinking, explaining quickly and in a flurry of words, "Haven't you been feeling unwell lately? Spicy dishes are stimulating to the palate, and my daughter-in-law was afraid that eating it would be bad for your health, so she didn't dare offer it to you!"

  The old lady saw Cui Ying's honest and fearful appearance, and thought it was interesting.

  She's getting older, but sometimes she still acts like a mischievous child.

  After hearing these explanations, he deliberately raised his eyebrows and became stubborn, "It's for my own good, if you don't give me that spicy pork hand, then forget it."

  She paused slightly, "But your elder brother is a man of great affairs, busy with matters every day. You want him to run around the capital for this small seasoning, isn't that unreasonable?"

  Cui Ling's mouth was agape for a while, "But... didn't big brother himself want to help his daughter-in-law investigate?"

  She said this and then felt it wasn't right.

  It seems like he has shifted all the responsibility onto Yuan Dalang's shoulders, making himself appear quite irresponsible.

  "Hurry up and say, 'No, no, it's me asking big brother to help me run away, it's all my fault, grandmother, you are generous. But whatever you do, don't blame big brother, he has a kind heart, it's all because of me dragging him down!'"

  Yuan Dalang also likes to eat this spicy dish, and hearing that the family's chili pepper reserve is not much, he proactively suggests going out to find some.

  Chui Rong suggested that he go ask Tang Shifu's friends or look for merchants from the south who had returned to Shengjing after running the sea.

  She thought, in such a big Shengjing City, there must be someone who knows what's good.

  Even if there weren't any, it's hard to guarantee that there wouldn't be friends like Master Tang who brought back many hot peppers from abroad due to their novelty.

  So she also actively helped Yuan Dalang come up with a plan.

  These days, she hasn't stopped bothering Yuan Dalang about chili peppers.

  Firstly, it was to satisfy one's own gluttony.

  Secondly, she also has deeper needs.

  She also wants to join forces with Erniang to open a restaurant that specializes in spicy dishes!

  Cui Ling thought this matter was not very troublesome, but unexpectedly Old Lady was so displeased.

  She was anxious and feared that Yuan Dalang would be implicated by her own actions, and also feared that she would be abandoned by the old lady.

  At this time, the old lady suddenly burst out laughing. She hugged Cui Rong tightly in her arms and laughed happily, saying, "Little Wu's wife, your wide-eyed and open-mouthed look of being at a loss is really funny!"

  She rubbed Cui Ying's hair, laughing even more happily. "Don't be angry with Grandma! Grandma just suddenly thought of the little red fox she raised when she was a child. That little thing got nervous and looked just like you did just now, making people want to tease it."

  Qiao's mother and Du's mother also seemed to have their memories stirred up.

  They all chimed in, "Old lady didn't say anything, but now that you mention it, I was wondering why Fifth Granny looked so familiar. Turns out she looks just like that little fox we raised when we were kids."

  "Yes, speaking of that little thing, I still remember we raised it for many years, what was it called? Hongyu? Hongzhu?"

  The old lady interrupted them hastily, "It's Hong Xia!"

  She fell into a reverie, her face filled with nostalgia. "Because its fur is fiery red, like the sunset in the western sky, that's why I named it so."

  Cui Ling swung her small head under Old Lady's arm, with a petrified expression on her face.

  At first, I was scared half to death, thinking that I had done something wrong and would be disliked by the old lady.

  In a panic, the little old lady was just momentarily playful and deliberately teased her.

  Just when I had finally calmed down, I was sandwiched in Old Lady's arms like a pet.

  Then listen to your grandmother and two accompanying nannies recalling their past when they were still young decades ago, one word at a time.

  She didn't even dare to move.

  At this moment, the old lady's face was so tender that it could drip water.

  She was reluctant to disturb him.

  After a long time, the old lady finally came back to her senses from her reverie, and apologetically stroked Cui Ying's head.

  Then she smiled and said, "If Grandma teased you just now and made you uncomfortable, Grandma has a consolation prize. Good news, do you want to hear it?"

  Cui Ying thought that being able to meet such a grandmother who truly loved her like a granddaughter was a great happiness.

  How could she be uncomfortable with Old Lady's occasional playfulness?

  So she shook her head like a rattle drum and said, "What did Grandma say that would make the granddaughter-in-law unhappy?"

  However, she still looks forward to good news.

  The old lady didn't sell it anymore. "Tang Shifu's friend introduced a businessman to Dalang, who had just returned from overseas and brought back a shipload of chili peppers in order to make a fortune in Shengjing, but unexpectedly no restaurant in the city would accept them."

  She covered her mouth and smiled, "That merchant was worried about the piled-up peppers having nowhere to dispose of them, and happened to meet your brother, half-selling and half-giving away, spending only a little bit of silver money to buy them all."

  A boat!

  Choi Yong's eyes lit up, and he almost jumped up.

  There are enough chili peppers for home use and the reserve in Lao Cai Wine House is also sufficient!

  There's even more!

  Her mind was racing and she suddenly came up with a great idea.

  ps：

  Thank you for everyone's support, although the pink ticket is still a little short of 30, I'm happy to update more! Am I good? Good? If very good, then please give me even more love! Also, the recent chapters are just transitional, a bit more domestic, because soon we'll be welcoming the hilarious encounter between the male and female leads, looking forward to it? Looking forward to it?