The Empress Dowager gave the Princess a long lecture about tradition, respect, and her duties as a new wife.
However, all these lessons were useless if Liu Li doesn’t apologize to the Old Marquis and the Madame. They would never let her in the Jing An mansion again if she doesn’t humble herself.
Determined to fix things, the Empress Dowager sent someone for Xia You. She wanted to mediate between Liu Li and the Xia family so they could all put this behind them. However, a servant came back and reported that Xia You would be unable to come as she was tending to the Old Marquis.
The Empress Dowager then asked for Chunfeng but was told that he too would be unable to come because he couldn’t leave his father’s side.
She wasn’t stupid. She knew that the Xia family was doing this to teach Liu Li a lesson. However, since she had no urgent and credible reason to drag them to the palace, she couldn’t do anything.
It wasn’t long before the Emperor heard about what happened and as expected, he was furious. He called for Liu Li and gave her a dressing down. He ordered her to go back to the Jing An mansion but Liu Li vehemently refused. She had reasoned that it was too embarrassing for her to go back alone. She wanted someone from the Xia family to come and get her.
Despite his anger, the Emperor didn’t want Liu Li to stay in the palace for the rest of her marriage so he sent someone to the Jing An mansion to apologize on her behalf.
Xia You understood the Emperor’s intention so, after a night, she sent Chunfeng to pick his wife up from the palace.
Xia Chunfeng, of course, was extremely reluctant, but he still went.
At noon, Ye Jiayao prepared two big tables of various dishes for the family to enjoy. It was a mix of the dishes that she knew the Old Marquis loved to eat, as well as Shanxi, Sichuan, and Huaiyang food. She took care to include the Sichuan cuisine for the Third Uncle’s family as she didn’t want to add to the already high tension in the mansion.
As everyone took their seats, they noticed Chunfeng and Liu Li’s absence. They were all worried but they chose not to say anything. They just hoped that the two stubborn mules hadn’t gotten into another spat.
When Jiang Yue brought out the last dish, Xia Peishan exclaimed, “You made oily meat!”
“Well, Second Auntie lives in Taiyuan, so I wanted to try to cater to that.Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any Tai mushroom, otherwise, this oily meat would have been more traditional,” Ye Jiayao explained.
“It’s good that you know about Tai mushrooms! There’s a lot of that growing in theWutai Mountain area. If I knew you needed it, I would have brought you some,” Xia Peishan said.
Zhou suddenly said, “You’re very skilled, Jinxuan. You have made dishes from different parts of the country, but unfortunately, all these food are not easy to eat.”
Ye Jiayao only smiled at her, ignoring the thinly veiled insult. “Thank you for the praise, Third Auntie.”
Xia Peishan rolled her eyes, annoyed at Zhou. What was wrong with this woman? She was presented with a feast and yet she had the gall to complain?
“All the colors and smell… aye, Jinxuan, this all look authentic!” Xia Peishan praised.
“Why isn’t Princess Liu Li back yet?” Qiao mumbled to herself, looking out the door.
“Maybe the Empress Dowager invited them to eat at the palace. After all, the royal meal is much better than the ones we are served with,” Zhou said lightly.
Xia Peishan whispered, “Then maybe you should befriend the Princess. Maybe she can take you to the palace one day so you can taste the ‘royal meal’.”
“Second Sister, what problem do you have with me?” Zhou demanded. Why was she always taking jabs at her?
“Sister, you are being too sensitive. I was only supporting what you said. Am I wrong?” Xia Peishan said with a laugh.
Xia You saw that her two sisters-in-law were about to get into another fight so she hurriedly said, “Everyone, let’s eat. We don’t know what time Chunfeng and Princess Liu Li will return. We can’t wait for them otherwise, the food will get cold.”
Everyone started digging in.
Zhou looked at the plate in front of her, skeptical about Chunyu’s wife’s cooking. Was it as good as everyone claimed it to be?
She hesitantly tried a spoonful and was instantly amazed.
“Oh… this Thousand Piece tofu is so delicious!” Zhou complimented. “It’s succulent and so flavorful!”
“This is made by the old Sun family in the east of the city. They make the best tofu in Jin Ling City,” Ye Jiayao replied, kind of weirded out by Third Auntie’s words. This was the first time she heard her being so genuine.
Xia You called a servant over and said, “Go and tell the person buying our food to get tofu from the old Sun family from now on.”
Ye Jiayao offered, “Mother, if you’d like, I can make you a list of the best vendors in the city. I know which ones sell the freshest seafood and crispiest vegetables.”
“That would be nice,” Xia You said. “Just give your list to a servant whenever you’re ready.”
“We’re going to be eating the best food with Second Sister-in-law around,” Qiao remarked proudly.
“Yeah, Big Sister, I really envy you,” Xia Peishan claimed.
Xia You smiled slightly at their words. Jinxuan might be an excellent cook but she wouldn’t allow her to cook for them every day. That would be inappropriate.
“Second Sister-in-law, can you also make us the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall?” Qiao inquired curiously.
Ye Jiayao answered, “Well, I can make that for you guys tomorrow. It’s a dish that requires a lot of preparation and ingredients. It takes a lot of work.”
“That’s alright, Jinxuan. You are the second young mistress of this house. How can we expect you to cook every day?” Xia Peishan said.
“It is just for one day, what’s the big deal?” Zhou countered. “Besides, a daughter-in-law’s duty is to serve her elders.”
“You are one to talk about duties!” Xia Peishan sneered. “I heard that your new house is finished, why haven’t you moved in there yet? Or are you just planning to come and eat here every day?”
Zhou scowled. “Who said that it’s finished? It still needs a lot of repair and furnishings!”
Xia You was just about to intervene when a servant announced, “Princess Liu Li and the Third Young Master are back.”
Xia You asked hurriedly, “Where are they? Have they eaten yet?”
The servant answered, “The Third Young Master went to eat, and Princess Liu Li has retired to their room.”
Liu Li must’ve been too embarrassed to face them.
“I’m going to cook a few dishes later and have it delivered to her,” Ye Jiayao decided.
“Yulian, you will go to deliver the meal later,” Zhou tacked on immediately.
The rest of the table resisted the urge to scoff in disdain. She’s clearly seizing the opportunity to suck up to the Princess.
Liu Li was sulking in the room, still mad that the Empress Dowager and the Emperor refused to take her side. They had insisted that she come back and had even warned her to remain respectful of her elders. If she had known that there would be so many constraints and rules to follow, she wouldn’t have gotten married.
Her husband didn’t like her at all. When he came to pick her up, he looked like he’d rather be shoveling horse crap than go near her.
“How can I be so unlucky?” Liu Li yelled, throwing the teacups on the table to the ground.
The servants, although shocked, carefully picked up the broken porcelain.
Mother Shu, who was also lectured by the Empress Dowager, said, “Princess, you should try to be more amenable to the rules. If you do that, no one here will dare question you. You are a princess, they will never forget that.”
“I am angry at Chunfeng. I am his wife and yet instead of siding with me, he’s defending others!” Liu Li ranted.
“Princess, those are not just ‘others’. Those people are his family,” Little Ya gently reminded her.
“Little Ya is right. If you want to gain your husband’s favor and affection, you have to be good to his family. Especially his parents. When your parents-in-law back you up, Third Young Master Chunfeng will soon follow,” Mother Shu said.
Liu Li deliberated for a bit. They were right. She only had to gain her parents-in-law’s favor. The others are inconsequential. She only has to suck up to them. How hard could that be?
“Princess, Miss Yu Lian came to deliver your meal,” a servant reported.
Liu Li frowned. “Yu Lian? Which Yu Lian?”
“The Third Auntie’s daughter, Princess,” Little Ya responded.
Remembering how the Third Auntie stood up for her, she relaxed and allowed the visitor to come in.
“Yulian greets Third Sister,” Yulian said softly as she curtsied.
“You are the daughter of Third Auntie?” asked Liu Li.
Yulian smiled and replied, “Yes, Princess. My mother was afraid that you might be hungry so she had Second Sister cook something for you to eat.”
Liu Li could not help but laugh. She was liking Third Auntie more and more.
“Yulian, please sit down,” Liu Li offered. “Have you eaten yet?
“Yes, Princess. All of the family has eaten already.
“And only Third Auntie cared enough to think of me,” Liu Li commented with a sigh.
“My mother has been standing up for you. She was adamant that Third Brother was blessed to be able to marry you. Unfortunately, he doesn’t know how to cherish you yet,” Yulian said, repeating her mother’s words.
“What did everyone else in the mansion said about me yesterday?”
Yulian hesitated.
Liu Li said, “Just say it. It’s alright.”
