(Thank you, Little Bird, for the red packet of 344846030. There will be an update in the afternoon!)

Madam Zou hurriedly dealt with her mother-in-law. When she came out of Countess Jing 'an's courtyard, her face was dark and tense. The head maidservant beside her was so scared that she didn't even dare to breathe loudly.

Suddenly, Madam Zou stopped in her tracks and turned around to ask the servant girl behind her, "How is it?

Is there any news from Songtao Court? "

The servant girl also noticed that she was in a bad mood today, but the servant girl sighed in relief when she asked about this. "Eldest Grandmother, don't worry. I heard that Third Young Mistress brought the kui water yesterday."

With this confirmation, Madam Zou finally let out a heavy sigh of relief.

Fortunately, Chu Lian wasn't pregnant. If she was pregnant and had the eldest son in the estate, she would no longer be the wife of the heir in Count Jing 'an's estate.

"Oh right, did the heir say when he would be back today?"

The servant girl behind her quickly replied, "The heir said that he was going to the Office of the Grand Herald this morning to meet with a foreigner. Before he left, he only told us not to wait for him for lunch."

"Call the small kitchen to prepare food for the heir. How can the restaurants outside compare to the good food?"

"Yes, Eldest Grandmother. This servant will go and tell them now."

The servant girl walked over and personally held Madam Zou's arm. She sighed and said, "Eldest Grandmother is so thoughtful. I'm sure the heir will understand Eldest Grandmother's good intentions when he comes back."

Madam Zou's eyes dimmed when she heard the servant girl's words.

Da Lang treated her very well, and Count Jing 'an's estate had a rule of not accepting children before the age of thirty. Even when it was inconvenient for her, Da Lang only rested in the study and never had a servant girl by his side.

There weren't many men in Shengjing who could be so disciplined.

However, he was about to turn thirty, yet she still hadn't given birth to a male heir. Was this the end of their harmonious married life?

The more she thought about it, the more worried she became. He Changqi was the eldest legitimate son who was going to inherit the title. How could he not have an heir?

Even if He Changqi didn't care, Count Jing 'an and his wife, as well as Matriarch He, would definitely care.

The wine brewed a few days ago was drinkable, and Granny Gui took the initiative to bring a gourd of wine to He Changdi. Chu Lian was a little angry. She pouted and ate a little more for lunch.

His abdomen was slightly bloated, and it was not good for his body to take an afternoon nap. Thus, he brought Wenqing and Jing Yan to the garden in the residence to take a walk to digest their food.

Although it was close to the Mid-Autumn Festival, the weather was still warm. Chu Lian walked along the shady corridor until she arrived at the corner gate that connected the front and back courtyards.

Near the corner of the bamboo forest, there was a stone table and stone chairs. Chu Lian stopped and sat by the stone table. She planned to rest for a quarter of an hour before going back for an afternoon nap.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he sat down, he heard voices coming from the corner door.

"Young Noble Heir, what should we do with this cart of chili?

You're too soft-hearted. That Fan Bang kid said he needed money to go back, so you bought everything. "

"Give it to the housekeeper. If it's really useless, then just throw it away. That kid is really pitiful. Just treat it as giving him some money to bring him home."

This slightly rough voice obviously belonged to Da Lang He Changqi.

Chu Lian didn't hear what was said outside, but she could tell it was her brother's voice. She was a little curious, so she sent Wenqing out to ask.

Not long after, He Chang Qi came in with Chang Sui Kang Shou.

Chu Lian hurriedly stood up and bowed.

"Third Sister-in-law, why are you here in the middle of the day?"

Chu Lian smiled and said, "In response to Big Brother's question, I ate too much at noon and was taking a stroll around the garden to aid digestion. I didn't even realize that I was here. I just happened to hear Big Brother talking outside, so I sent a servant girl to ask where Big Brother went and if you've eaten."

Chu Lian had a sweet appearance. Ever since she married into Count Jing 'an's estate, she had always been well-behaved. After going to Marquis Ding Yuan's estate, she had once again made a name for herself. He Changqi had a very good impression of this newly married third sister-in-law.

He was used to being the eldest brother since he was young, so he was always more protective of the younger ones. Although he looked rough on the outside, he was actually kind-hearted. In addition, Chu Lian was his sister-in-law, so he naturally treated her with the generosity of an older brother.

"I've eaten. This morning, I went to the Chamberlain of Dependencies and met some foreign friends. Third Sister-in-law didn't know that some of those foreigners had red hair and green eyes!"

Chu Lian's eyes lit up when she heard He Changqi's interesting story.

"Big Brother, did you eat the food cooked by foreigners?"

"That's right!"

"How does the foreign food compare to our Great Wu Dynasty's?"

When He Changqi heard Chu Lian's question, he revealed a constipated expression. His skin was dark to begin with, and he had a tall and sturdy figure. His current appearance was similar to that of a black bear that had been wronged. It was extremely funny, and anyone who saw it couldn't help but laugh. However, Chu Lian and the maidservant beside her were hindered by their statuses, so they could only do their best to hold back their laughter.

"Then the food … let's not talk about it …"

It was so disgusting that He Changqi almost wanted to cry. After eating the foreign food, He Changqi was starting to sympathize with those foreigners. Otherwise, he wouldn't have spent several dozen taels of silver to buy a cart full of useless things called 'chili'.

He suddenly remembered what that foreigner had said. He said that the chili he bought was also a type of food. However, after he and Kang Shou tasted it, their mouths were on fire. They only felt better after drinking two cups of tea.

He Changqi glanced at his third sister-in-law, whose eyes were shining with curiosity, and suddenly had an idea.

"That's right, I bought some things from that foreigner today. The foreigner said that it was a type of food. Third Sister-in-law, do you want to take a look?"

Chu Lian was very curious!

How could she possibly refuse?

Thus, she eagerly followed He Changqi out of the corner gate.

He Changqi waved his hand at the two servants who were unloading the goods and walked to the side of the carriage. He personally opened a cloth bag and handed it to Chu Lian.

When Chu Lian stretched her head out, she saw that the cloth bag was filled with dried Erjing chilli peppers. They were all red and glossy, and had pointy tips. They were extremely cute.

Chu Lian suppressed the excitement in her heart and asked, "Big Brother, what is this?"

He Changqi seemed to think that these things weren't very useful. He casually rolled up the bag and threw it onto the carriage. "The foreigner who sold it to me said that it was chili."

At the mention of chili, Chu Lian unconsciously wanted to swallow her saliva. "I wonder if Big Brother could give me some of these chili peppers? I want to use them to cook."

Cook?

When Chu Lian mentioned cooking, He Changqi thought of the pastries that Chu Lian had made a few days ago. These chili peppers were useless to him, so he might as well give them to Chu Lian.

"Third Sister-in-law, if you want them, you can take them all. These things aren't very useful to me."

Chu Lian didn't expect that her Big Brother, He Changqi, would so casually give all of these chili peppers to her. She was a bit flattered and wanted to decline, but He Changqi's attendant said, "Third Young Mistress, these chili peppers aren't worth much money.

They were brought to Shengjing by that foreign brat. He wanted to sell them for a good price, but he didn't expect that no one in Shengjing would buy them. He was in a hurry to go home, so he had no choice but to beg the heir. The heir pitied him and gave him a few dozen taels of silver as travel expenses to bring the cart of chili peppers back.

If you don't want them, the housekeeper will probably throw them all away! "

Chu Lian didn't know whether to laugh or cry. It turned out that no one could recognize such a good condiment. No wonder they had to sell it cheaply.

Since it was so easy, Chu Lian didn't refuse. To tell the truth, this cart of chili peppers could only be used in her hands.

"Then many thanks, Big Brother. If Sister-in-law makes something with these chili peppers, please send a portion to Big Brother."

"Alright. Kang Shou, call over two rough maids and have them move all of these chili peppers to the small kitchen in Songtao Yuan."

He Changqi was also in a good mood after sending over these troublesome things. He brought Changsui back to the main branch's courtyard.

Zou shi's side was the first to receive news of what had happened.

Zou shi's face was dark as she sat on the small couch in the reception hall, sulking.

As soon as He Changqi entered, he saw that his wife's expression wasn't good. He walked over and sat down next to Zou shi. "Yuanjing, what's wrong? Did the servants at home make you angry?"

When Zou shi heard her husband's words, she felt even more sullen. However, she couldn't bear to show her displeasure to her husband, so she could only soften her expression and ask in a low voice, "Dalang, did you bring back a cart of things from Honglu Temple today?"

Although He Changqi had a strong and courageous appearance, he had a meticulous mind. When he heard this, he realized that his wife had misunderstood.

"You!

What were you thinking? Those were just goods sold by a foreign boy. It had been half a year since he arrived in Shengjing, but he still hadn't sold them. I saw that he was pitiful and spent twenty taels to buy them. Think of it as alms for his travel expenses. "

Zou shi sighed in relief when she heard this. "What was it?"

"A cart of something called Chili Zi."

In the end, women were more short-sighted. Even Zou shi, who was born in Marquis Dingyuan's estate, was not an exception.

She lightly punched He Changqi. "But you can't give it all to Third Dimei!"

"If I don't give it to her, should I throw it away?

You and I don't know what that thing can be used for. It's just going to break if we leave it. Do you really care about something that's only worth twenty taels? "

Zou shi wasn't willing to comply. She turned her back to He Changqi.

"Alright, alright, Yuanjing, how about I bring you a set of hair ornaments tomorrow? It's a new style from Golden Stone Loft. I ordered it for you a few days ago. Isn't it almost done?"

When Zou shi heard that her husband had ordered a set of jewelry for her at Jinshi Pavilion, she immediately threw the small twenty taels to the back of her mind. She happily asked He Changqi what the jewelry was made of and what style it was.

Jinshi Pavilion was the most famous jewelry store in Shengjing. Even princesses and the wives of important ministers would often order jewelry there.

If she could have a set of jewelry from Jinshi Pavilion, she would gain a lot of face when she went out.

He Changqi's words finally appeased Zou shi's anger at Matriarch He and Countess Jing 'an's desire to make jewelry for Chu Lian.

After eating a bit of food in the courtyard, He Changqi went to the study. Kang Shou followed him inside.

He Changqi sat in front of the study table and ordered, "Kang Shou, take a thousand taels to Jinshi Pavilion and buy a set of jewelry. Tell the shopkeeper that I want it and that you can't be careless."

Kang Shou turned to leave when He Changqi called him back. "Don't take money from the public store. Take it to my private room."

"Ah!" Kang Shou quickly left to do his work.

He Changqi was a bit worried. It wasn't that he didn't have any private assets under his name, but he had been secretly buying medicine for his mother these past few days. Even if he had a mountain of gold and silver, it still wouldn't be enough to cover his expenses.

He could already tell that his wife was unhappy. Today, he used the jewelry to appease her. It wasn't that he ordered it first. He just said it to make Zou shi happy.