It had been a long ti since they last ate a al cooked by Ye Yunniang, and the whole family ended up stuffing themselves.
After dinner, everyone sipped on a cup of digestion-aiding tea.
Jiang Mingzhe chatted with Li Pan and his two brothers.
Cai Dai and Ye Yunniang were discussing the New Year's plans for Xiaocaiji.
With its wide variety and delicious flavors, Xiaocaiji had been doing quite well in the capital.
Cai Dai planned to open a branch next year to recruit more military family mbers.
Cai Dai wanted Ye Yunniang to manage the new branch.
Ye Yunniang politely declined, ntioning her collaboration with Tong Tiei and Zhong Zhaoli to open a won's academy.
Knowing that Ye Yunniang had things to do, Cai Dai did not press the matter.
Cai Dai had asked Ye Yunniang to get involved with the shop just so she would have sothing to occupy her ti.
She didn't want her staying at ho every day with nothing to do.
Over ti, idleness could lead to overthinking.
And if soone with ulterior motives were to stir up trouble, her relationship with Jiang Mingzhe might suffer.
"Mother, did you hear sothing outside?" Ye Yunniang knew Cai Dai wasn't one to speak without reason.
"No."
"Mother, if there's sothing on your mind, just say it. Please don't hide it from ," Ye Yunniang said, hugging Cai Dai's arm.
"It's not about you and Mingzhe. It's just sothing I heard," Cai Dai hesitated, unsure of how to phrase it.
"Mother~ Now that I'm married, you've grown distant from . You can't even tell things anymore." Ye Yunniang pouted, feeling aggrieved.
"How old are you, still acting like a spoiled child? Look, Yuanyuan is laughing at you." Cai Dai reached out to gently touch Yuanyuan, who was in the cradle nearby.
Under Yuanyuan's big, round eyes, Ye Yunniang felt a montary flash of embarrassnt.
Ye Yunniang rested her head on Cai Dai's shoulder.
"No matter how old I get, I'll always be a child in front of you."
These words ward Cai Dai's heart. She patted Ye Yunniang's shoulder and began to tell her what she had heard.
Through the introduction of Princess Yanping, Cai Dai had t many wives of military officials.
Not many of these military officers ca from good family backgrounds. Most of them started at the bottom, risking their lives for military rits to climb to their current positions.
In the past, when their status was low, all they required of their wives was to take good care of the young and old at ho.
Now that their status had risen, they needed their wives to socialize and provide support from the rear estate.
Many of these madams were barely literate and spoke too bluntly. There wasn't much they could do to help the officers.
Coupled with the instigation of scheming individuals, these wives ended up overthinking things at ho.
This caused rifts between the couples, giving outsiders an opportunity to exploit.
Concubines and bedmaids were brought into the estates one after another.
Perfectly good families were torn apart by all the chaos.
Hearing so much of this, Cai Dai worried about Ye Yunniang, especially since Jiang Mingzhe's status was different now.
Li Ping had made a very good point: a man with power and money would inevitably attract the covetous eyes of others.
"Jiang Mingzhe wouldn't do that." Ye Yunniang trusted Jiang Mingzhe.
"But what if?" Cai Dai didn't want to speak ill of Jiang Mingzhe, but people always change.
The re thought of Jiang Mingzhe taking a concubine behind her back made Ye Yunniang's heart ache, and she clutched her chest.
"I would divorce him." She would never share a husband with another woman.
"When that ti cos, Mother will have to support ."
"Mother will always support you." These were Cai Dai's heartfelt words. The reason she partnered with Princess Yanping to open a shop...
...was partly out of empathy for those military families, wanting to help them out.
The other reason was her worry that Ye Yunniang and Jiang Mingzhe might not be able to stay together.
The money she earned would serve as a foundation of confidence for her daughter and grandchildren.
"Mother~" Cai Dai's words made Ye Yunniang shed endless tears.
Ye Yunniang's crying caught the attention of the father and three sons chatting nearby.
"Mother, who bullied you?" Li Ping cast a sidelong glance at Jiang Mingzhe. "Was it you?"
Jiang Mingzhe: ...What a good son. Any bad thing that happens, it's always blad on him.
Li An trotted over and used a handkerchief to wipe away Ye Yunniang's tears.
"Mother, who bullied you?"
"No, no one bullied . I'm just so happy." Ye Yunniang took the handkerchief and wiped her tears.
"Crying because you're happy?" Li Pan didn't buy it.
"Yes, tears of joy." Ye Yunniang smiled and hugged Li Pan and Li An. Having such filial children made her feel incredibly blessed.
Since Ye Yunniang didn't want to talk about it, the Jiang father and sons didn't press further.
In private, Li Pan and his two brothers questioned Cai Shuyi.
Cai Shuyi had been playing by Yuanyuan's cradle at the ti.
Cai Shuyi relayed the conversation he had overheard in broken pieces.
Li Pan and his brothers deduced the full details of the conversation and looked at each other, not knowing what to say.
"My master made a sterilizing potion yesterday."
"An'an, that's too ruthless!" Li Pan looked at Li An in shock.
"What's ruthless about it? It's not ruthless at all. Mother can't get pregnant anymore all because of him." Li Ping thought it was a great idea.
"Dad has the four of us sons. That's enough." Li An started walking out.
"Where are you going?" Li Pan shouted from behind.
"To the Gu family." He needed to fetch the sterilizing potion and administer it as soon as possible.
"I'll go with you." Li Ping chased after him.
Li Pan also wanted to go, but Li Ping stopped him.
"Eldest Brother, you stay ho and keep Grandma company. We can't let her find out."
"Oh, okay." Li Pan agreed, stopping in his tracks.
After thinking for a mont, he turned around to look for Cai Dai.
After the three brothers left, Jiang Mingzhe and Chen Xiang stepped out from behind the wall.
Chen Xiang looked at Jiang Mingzhe cautiously, his heart racing.
"My Lord, um..."
"Go to the kitchen and tell them my throat is feeling uncomfortable. When I return tonight, I want a bowl of chicken soup stewed with cordyceps."
"My Lord, do you really want to...?"
"Go."
"Yes." Chen Xiang replied in a low voice and went to the kitchen to deliver the instructions.
Jiang Mingzhe walked toward the door.
Ye Yunniang, dressed in the official attire of the Countess of Suyan, sat in the carriage waiting for Jiang Mingzhe.
"Did you get the peanut crisps?"
Ye Yunniang had inquired and learned that the dishes served at the palace banquet were always cold.
Eating cold dishes on such a freezing day made her worry that their stomachs wouldn't be able to handle it.
But if they didn't eat, they would go hungry.
Ye Yunniang had the kitchen make peanut crisps the size of fingernails, making them delicious, easy to carry, and bite-sized.
Ye Yunniang had even specially embroidered two slightly larger pouches to hold the peanut crisps.
While washing and dressing up in the afternoon, she had forgotten to take the pouches.
She only rembered after getting into the carriage.
Jiang Mingzhe had told Ye Yunniang to wait in the carriage while he went to fetch them, which was how he accidentally overheard Li Pan and the others' discussion.
Ye Yunniang took her pouch and hung it from her waist, then picked up the other one and tied it to Jiang Mingzhe's waist.
Jiang Mingzhe suddenly pulled Ye Yunniang into a tight embrace.
Ye Yunniang shifted her arms. "The pouch isn't tied properly yet."
Jiang Mingzhe held Ye Yunniang tightly, burying his face in her neck.
Ye Yunniang's smile faded. "What's wrong?"
"Wife, we cannot divorce."
"Who said we are going to divorce?" Ye Yunniang was confused. They were living a perfectly good life; why would they divorce?
Then, she suddenly realized sothing.
"You know what I said to my mother, that was just... mmm..."
Ye Yunniang's lips were sealed shut.
Jiang Mingzhe's kiss was fierce and urgent.
Ye Yunniang struggled. They were heading to the palace, and she had spent the entire afternoon dressing up.
But suddenly, through Jiang Mingzhe's kiss, she felt his worry, his insecurity, and his deep affection.
Ye Yunniang stopped struggling. She wrapped her arms around Jiang Mingzhe's back and responded to his kiss.
After a long ti, Jiang Mingzhe finally released Ye Yunniang. Resting his forehead against hers, he said, "Wife, no matter what happens, I will never let you leave ."
Ye Yunniang was breathing heavily. "Hah... Hah... As long as you don't betray , I will never leave you."
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