Prince! The political conspiracy is not a play, the show is real

After almost ten days of such idle and boring days, Tao Yao finally couldn't sit still anymore. She wandered around the small yard, rummaging here and prying there, trying to find something to entertain herself.

Looking at the corn kernels in front of him that were shining golden in the sun, Tao Yao suddenly had an idea. He found a sack and hurried to collect the corn kernels from the cornfield.

A patrolling yamen runner happened to be passing by and heard the clanking and rummaging of boxes and cabinets in the yard. He came forward and knocked on the door and asked, "Hey! Who's in there? What are you doing?!"

Tao Yao rushed over upon hearing the noise, and leaning against the crack of the door, he said to the yamen runner with a playful smile, "Little brother, have you ever eaten popcorn?"

"Corn...flowers?" The yamen runner was completely bewildered. "What corn...flowers? Don't mess around. Master Song will be back in two hours."

Tao Yao persisted: "Oh! It's popcorn! It's sweet, fragrant and crunchy, and tastes delicious. I guarantee you'll like it. How about it? Do you want to try it?"

Hearing her boastful tone, the yamen runner couldn't help but feel a little tempted. It just so happened that he hadn't eaten enough at noon: "Uh, there is such a good thing? Where is it?"

Tao Yao smiled knowingly and said, "Well, it's not ready yet. If you want to eat it, please help me find an iron pot and a pot of sesame oil. Oh, and call a few of your good brothers to come over so we can enjoy it together."

The yamen runner nodded doubtfully, but finally agreed. A moment later, Tao Yao heard footsteps outside the door. It was the yamen runner who returned with three or five brothers.

A jet-black iron pot came in from the courtyard wall. The handle of the pot was wrapped with hemp rope and was being lowered slowly. Tao Yao was overjoyed and hurried to take it, shouting outside the courtyard, "Thank you, little brother! I got the pot. Please wait a moment, the popcorn will be ready soon!"

So Tao Yao found a few wooden sticks, set up a boiler on the spot, and quickly ran back to Song Zhishou's house. He stole a few bundles of dry straw from the haystack, picked up some good firewood locally, and threw in a torch. In an instant, a blazing heat wave ignited.

Taoyao poured all the corn kernels she had just looted into the boiler and closed the lid. Suddenly, a crackling sound emanated from the pot, and a natural sweet aroma of corn emanated from it, making Taoyao salivate.

After a while, Taoyao lifted the lid of the pot and saw a golden pot filled with food. Her nose was filled with fragrance, which was full of color, aroma, and taste. Taoyao took a few porcelain bowls, filled them up, opened the courtyard door a little, and handed the bowls out.

Several yamen runners outside the door took the bowl and immediately burst into praise: "Girl, this is so delicious!"

Their constant praise made Tao Yao gradually lose herself in the moment. She smiled and said, "It's delicious. Eat more. It's delicious. There are still plenty of corn kernels in Master Song's yard. We can fry as much as we want."

"What? This is made from Lord Song's corn kernels?"

The sounds of praise outside the door suddenly stopped.

Tao Yao asked doubtfully, "Yes, what's wrong?"

The next second, the yamen runners had already passed the porcelain bowls filled with popcorn back through the crack in the door, their voices urgent: "Hey, girl, why didn't you tell me earlier! You can't eat this, you can't eat it."

Tao Yao was puzzled: "Why can't I eat it?"

"Young lady, you don't know that the corn kernels that Lord Song dries in the yard are reserved for giving to the people at the beginning of each month. He always warns us repeatedly not to touch these corn kernels. Young lady, didn't Lord Song tell you?"

"Ah?" Tao Yao scratched his head. "So that's how it is. But I didn't use much, so it shouldn't be a big deal..."

Before she could finish her words, the yamen runners had already fled. Tao Yao felt a little guilty, but not too much. Since the corn kernels were meant to be given to the poor people who were hungry and cold, wasn't it just right for them to be given to her now?

----

For Zhou Yan's family, this year's New Year is truly extraordinary.

After the head of the family died, all household affairs fell on Mrs. Zhou.

But Mrs. Zhou was not a strong woman. After her husband died, she cried every night and was mentally distracted. She could hardly even speak a complete sentence. How could she take care of the numerous affairs at home?

As a result, the concubines below rushed to help Madam Zhou.

They say they are "helping out", but in fact they all want to fight for financial power.

When Zhou Yan was still alive, he never allowed the women in his family to interfere with the family finances. These concubines had long been jealous and anxious - if they were not attracted by his huge wealth, who would marry him, an unreliable and playboy?

Mrs. Zhou was immersed in the despair of her deceased husband and had no mood to argue with them. She just stayed in Zhou Yan's mourning hall every day and did not go out.

When Chu Huanjun arrived, the Zhou Mansion was so quiet that it seemed as if no one was there.

Two servants in mourning stood at the door. Seeing Chu Huanjun approaching, they quickly reached out to stop him. One of the servants said, "Who are you? The Zhou residence hasn't been seeing any visitors these days."

The servants in Zhou Yan's mansion were all from Jiangnan, and since Chu Huanjun and Zhou Yan had only met privately during their lifetime, it was normal that they did not recognize Chu Huanjun.

Seeing the black gauze and white cloth still hanging on the plaque at the entrance of Zhou's mansion, Chu Huanjun put on a mournful expression and said in a deep voice, "He's just an old friend of Mr. Zhou. I wanted to come and see him."

The two servants looked at each other and seemed to believe him.

The servant who had spoken earlier stepped closer to him, carefully examined his face, and said, "Wait here for a moment. I need to go and inform the Second Madam first."

After the servant said this, he pushed the door open and went in.

Chu Huanjun stepped forward and spoke to another servant, "Why did he have to go and tell the Second Madam? What about the First Madam? Is she no longer in charge?"

The servant was also a gossiper. He darted his eyes around, making sure no one was around. Then he leaned over and whispered in Chu Huanjun's ear, "After the master died, the eldest lady was heartbroken and cried day and night..."

He paused, pointed at his head, pursed his lips and shook his head, then continued, "I heard that she cried her brain out... Oh, she can't even speak clearly now. Her two children are still young, so how can she talk about being in charge? So, things naturally fell into the hands of the other ladies..."

"Oh..." Chu Huanjun's face showed a trace of regret at the right time. "Alas, what a pity. Mr. Zhou is still so young, and the child is so small..."

"Things in the world are unpredictable, how can we say for sure..." The servant's expression changed slightly, and when he saw that the other servant who went back to pass the message had returned, he immediately changed back to an honest expression, closed his mouth and stood back obediently.

The messenger came back, bowed to Chu Huanjun, and said, "Please follow me."