(Thank you to Bi An, Shan Yekou Village Pure Restaurant, and River Basin Remnant Rainbow for the red packets!

Night!)

A day after the Mid-Autumn Festival, the heir of Count Jing 'an, He Changqi, invited his good friends to his home for a small gathering. Because Chu Lian had promised Matriarch He and her older brother, she had the maids make a few special dishes near noon and prepared to deliver them to the front yard.

However, Chu Lian was He Changdi's wife after all. It was somewhat inappropriate for her to bring her servant girls to deliver the food to the front courtyard. She thought about it and decided to make a trip to Qingwen Hall first and have the Matriarch send the food over.

When she reached the entrance of Qingwen Hall, she heard voices inside.

The matriarch's chief maid, Mu Xiang, happened to come out and saw Chu Lian at the door. She smiled and greeted her. "Third Young Mistress is here. Come in quickly. Eldest Young Mistress and the two young misses are inside!"

Finishing, he drew the cool bamboo curtains for Chu Lian and took the large food box from Ming Yan's hands. He followed Chu Lian into the reception hall of Qing Chu Tang.

Matriarch He sat at the head of the table. She was chatting happily with Zou shi and was clearly in a good mood.

Chu Lian glanced at Zou shi and saw that Zou shi was wearing a new sapphire blue dress with a smoky green chiffon over it. The jewelry on her head was the sapphire head ornament bestowed by the empress dowager on the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet.

Although she was graceful and luxurious, this set of ornaments was old-fashioned and made her look several years older. A woman in her mid-twenties suddenly looked like she was in her thirties.

Zou shi was smiling as she spoke. She didn't know what she had said earlier to amuse Matriarch He.

"Greetings to Grandmother and Eldest Sister-In-Law."

Chu Lian bowed respectfully to the two of them.

"Third Husband's wife is here. Come and sit. Your eldest brother sent someone to rush you in the front yard just now!"

Zou shi glanced over and saw that Chu Lian was still dressed in simple, homely attire. Her black hair was only held in place by a jade hairpin, and she didn't wear any other jewelry. Zou shi finally let out a sigh of relief in her heart.

It seemed that Chu Lian definitely wouldn't be going to the front yard with her current appearance.

Chu Lian smiled faintly. "There was a dish that needed to be stewed for a while, so granddaughter-in-law was late. I hope grandmother and eldest sister-in-law won't blame me."

Old Matriarch He pulled Chu Lian to her side. If it wasn't for the fact that the eldest daughter-in-law was still there, Old Matriarch He would have pinched Chu Lian's little nose. "You little devil, why would grandmother blame you? Liu mammy, have someone send the food boxes to the front yard."

As soon as Matriarch He said this, Zou madam hurriedly said, "Grandmother, since it's Dalang's good friend, then there's no need to trouble Liu mama. It's better for granddaughter-in-law to personally send it over!"

The Old Matriarch inadvertently glanced at Zou shi's attire. She paused and nodded. "Then take someone to deliver it. But be careful on the way. Don't let Dalang lose face in front of his friends."

Seeing that the matriarch had agreed, Zou shi sighed in relief and hurriedly promised, "Grandmother, don't worry. Great-daughter-in-law is not someone who doesn't know what's important."

Zou shi bowed to Old Matriarch He and hurriedly led her personal servant girls to the front yard with the food boxes.

When Zou shi's figure disappeared from the entrance to the reception hall of Qingwen Tang, Chu Lian smiled and said, "Grandmother, just now I made an old duck stew. It's crispy and soft and is most suitable for someone of your age. Today, granddaughter-in-law will bring the dishes over to freeload at your place. Will grandmother accept me?"

"Pfft." Old Matriarch He laughed, "Look at how spoiled you are. If you want to eat at grandmother's place, just say so."

Old Matriarch hurriedly ordered Mu Xiang to have the young servant girls serve the dishes.

Chu Lian ate lunch with the old matriarch at Qingwen Tang. After helping the old matriarch take a nap, she returned to her own Songtao Yuan.

There was a small garden beside Songtao Yuan. In the garden, the autumn chrysanthemums were in full bloom. Amidst the chrysanthemums was an exquisitely shaped rockery. Beside the rockery was a small lotus pond. It was a pity that the lotus leaves and flowers in the pond had long withered. However, in the pavilion beside the lotus pond, one could watch the autumn chrysanthemums through the pond water. The chrysanthemums and the rockery were adjacent to each other, making for a beautiful scene.

Next to the pavilion was a string pavilion. Because it was close to Songtao Yuan, Chu Lian often came over in the afternoon to enjoy the shade.

On her way back to Songtao Yuan, Chu Lian happened to pass by the string pavilion. She glanced at it and casually ordered Ming Yan beside her, "It's a bit hot today. In a bit, have someone bring a deck chair over. I'll rest in the string pavilion."

At the main table in the front courtyard of Count Jing 'an Estate, there were five or six young men surrounding it. These were all good friends that the heir of Count Jing' an, He Changqi, had invited over for a small gathering.

Among them were the newly promoted young official of the Office of the Grand Herald, Lord Ge, Marquis Weiyuan, who had just inherited his father's title not long ago, Zou Wu of the second branch of Marquis Dingyuan Estate, and the heir of Duke Zheng's Estate, Zheng Tiancheng. Next to Zheng Tiancheng was a tall and straight man dressed in a green robe. Without a doubt, it was Xiao Bojian of the Directorate.

Xiao Bojian and He Changqi actually didn't have much of a relationship. The only reason he could come to Count Jing 'an Estate was because of Heir Zheng.

And everyone present also knew that Heir Zheng had a good friend who was a senior in the Directorate.

In addition, Xiao Bojian had a good appearance that was in line with the aesthetics of the servants. His gentlemanly temperament was outstanding, and his every movement was quite exemplary. It was rare for people like him to not have a good impression of him.

Thus, Xiao Bojian had always been like a fish in water when it came to socializing. Most of the people he interacted with would overlook his lowly family background because of his appearance and temperament.

Lord Ge sipped the fried tea in his cup and snuck a smile. "Big Brother He, are you trying to trick us? It's almost noon already. Why haven't you ordered the servants to serve the dishes yet? Do you want us brothers to starve to death?"

A trace of awkwardness appeared on He Changqi's face when he heard this. A few days ago, he had boasted in front of his friends that he was going to treat them to delicacies they had never tried before. He even used the longevity peaches from Marquis Dingyuan's Estate as bait. His words made his friends extremely hungry, but the dishes hadn't been served yet. Even he himself was a bit embarrassed.

"Don't worry, Big Brothers. Since it's delicacies, it's definitely worth waiting a bit longer." Xiao Bojian smiled gently. Everyone nodded in agreement.

Because He Changqi had mentioned it in advance, all the friends he invited today knew that the main dishes were personally prepared by Third Young Mistress of Count Jing 'an Estate, who was also the newly conferred Jinyi Village Lord by the emperor.

It was an honor to be able to eat the food personally prepared by the village lord.

Finally, Chang Sui, who was by He Changqi's side, ran over and whispered a few words in his ear. He Changqi was delighted when he heard this. "Brothers, we've finally seen the moon after the clouds have parted."

Sure enough, a moment later, they saw Zou shi, dressed in luxurious clothing, leading servants carrying large food boxes to the dining hall in the front courtyard where the dining table was set up.

He Changqi's friends all stood up and bowed to Zou shi. Aside from Zou shi's elder brother, the others all called her "Sister-in-law" in unison. Among these people, He Changqi was the oldest, so there was nothing wrong with them calling her that.

Zou shi rarely had the chance to interact with He Changqi's friends. It wasn't easy for her husband to bring his friends home for a small gathering, so she obviously had to show her face and leave a good impression on her husband's friends.

However, she was dressed up too grandly today. A gathering between friends was supposed to be relaxed and comfortable, so she unintentionally made the atmosphere a bit stiff.

When Xiao Bojian slightly lowered his head, his eyes were filled with disdain.