The aroma of cooking filled the house: I sent my eldest brother to become the Grand Secretary.

On the eighth day of the fifth lunar month, the morning was sunny, but soon the sun hid behind the clouds.

Sun Guixiang glanced at the somewhat overcast sky. Today was her wedding day, and she was in a very happy mood.

She looked at the person in the mirror, dressed in a bright red wedding gown, with a shy expression on their face.

She was actually going to get married, and to such a handsome and refined man.

Thinking of his broad chest and imposing figure, she blushed and a blush crept onto her cheeks, though she didn't know what she was thinking.

He chuckled out loud.

Soon the matchmaker arrived and covered her head with a bridal veil. She nervously tugged at the hem of her dress.

*

Ji Lingfeng's body has almost recovered. Although his injuries look terrible, they are not actually that serious.

Ever since he left Xin'an County, he had been trying to figure out how to sneak into Shifeng Village without anyone noticing.

After trying many methods, I finally managed to get him in a few days ago.

He's been lying in bed these past few days and hasn't had a chance to find out any news.

Right now, I can hear firecrackers and trumpets going off outside.

He pulled aside the servant who was taking care of him and asked, "What's all this commotion? Why is it so lively?"

"It's our chieftain's daughter getting married today, it's quite a spectacle outside," the servant said, sounding somewhat impatient.

If it weren't for this person, he would have gone to join the fun long ago, and maybe even gotten some reward money.

Therefore, when he heard Ji Lingfeng ask him a question, his tone became somewhat impatient.

"This is a joyous occasion! I wonder what kind of person is worthy of the village's daughter?"

Upon hearing Ji Lingfeng's words, the servant raised his head, feeling a sense of pride.

"That person must be top-notch. Compared to a tiger, they are worlds apart."

"Young Master Chen is not only rich, but also extremely handsome."

"I heard he was a scholar, spoke in a refined manner, and treated us servants very well."

His surname is Chen? And he's a scholar? Could he be Dongfang Ming?

The message is wrong? Impossible!

Ji Lingfeng suppressed his doubts and said, "Then the chieftain's daughter must be someone like that." He echoed the servant's words.

"By the way, young man, I'm fine lying here, you don't need to watch over me. It's so lively up ahead, you might as well go and soak up some of the joy."

"This..." The servant was clearly tempted by Ji Lingfeng's suggestion.

He hesitated.

"Don't worry, I can't even get out of bed with these legs. Besides, I have everything I need, so you can go without worry."

"It's good that you're gone, I'll take another nap."

The servant thought back to the past few days when he had been serving this person, he had indeed been in bed the whole time, except for eating, relieving himself, and sleeping.

"Then you need to be careful by yourself. I'll put the chamber pot by your bedside and refill it with water. I'll just go out for a quick look and come back in a bit."

The servant, somewhat uneasy, gave instructions.

Ji Lingfeng nodded. "Okay, go ahead." After saying that, he yawned, closed his eyes, and started to sleep.

After the servant left, Ji Lingfeng opened his eyes, revealing a pair of deep black eyes, completely different from his previous dazed appearance.

He got out of bed with ease, showing no trace of illness.

He first disguised the bed with pillows, then pulled down the bed curtains.

A moment later, there was a knock on the door.

After a moment of panic, he heard the familiar bird calls again.

He hid behind the bed curtains and saw someone enter through the door.

Only after he could clearly see who it was did he emerge from behind the bed curtains.

"How is it?" he asked.

"Master, the defenses of Shifeng Village are too tight. I have no chance to investigate properly."

The person who came was Crane Feather in disguise.

He wouldn't have been able to sneak in originally, but today Shifeng Village is having a wedding, and they bought some servants from the matchmaker down the mountain.

He took this opportunity to sneak in.

Today, taking advantage of the happy occasion and the large number of people around, I quickly came to meet up with Ji Lingfeng.

Upon hearing his words, Ji Lingfeng's serious expression deepened.

He had sneaked out to investigate several times in the middle of the night while everyone was asleep, but the results were the same as He Yu's.

Guards were everywhere, making the entire Shifeng Village almost impenetrable.

"No rush, I don't plan to take this place in two or three days."

"By the way, did you see the groom? Is he the one?" Ji Lingfeng asked.

He Yu nodded. "It doesn't seem to be him. That person looks like a frail scholar."

“Impossible.” Ji Lingfeng shook his head.

One night, he spotted a man whose skills didn't seem to belong to anyone from the village.

The martial arts they used were very similar to those from the Great Qing Kingdom.

"He must be at Shifeng Village. Do not make any rash moves without my orders during this period."

"Yes." Tsuruha slipped away again when no one was around.

Ji Lingfeng stared thoughtfully at He Yu's retreating figure.

He turned around, pulled up the bed curtains, lay down on the bed, and actually went to sleep.

Although there are many people around now, it would be a loss if he were discovered during the day.

Besides, if the groom really is Dongfang Ming, he will meet him sooner or later, so there's no rush.

*

Beijing.

As they walked towards Xiangmanlou, Shen Cao and Shen Qing were already dazzled by the prosperity of the capital.

This capital city is indeed prosperous.

When they arrived at Xiangmanlou, they were even more astonished by its luxurious and exquisite entrance.

This is really beautiful. She wants to open an even better restaurant across from her in the future, and name it Fu Man Lou (福满楼).

Of course, Baicaoyuan should also be opened, but Baicaoyuan should be a restaurant that ordinary people can afford to eat at.

Fu Man Lou will be specially prepared for the high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital (not just for ripping off the rich).

They have a lot of money; she'll definitely make a fortune.

I'll sell each of my roast chickens for ten taels of silver.

Shen Cao led her younger brother into Xiangmanlou.

I saw a group of people gathered together, as if something had happened.

Shen Chen has been sick these past few days, and Zhou Zhou is extremely worried about him.

Besides Zhou Zhou, only one servant in the Grand Tutor's mansion had ever had smallpox.

Therefore, Zhou Zhou took on the important responsibility of taking care of Shen Chen.

The Zhou family would definitely have disagreed at first, but the two got along better and better.

Grand Tutor Zhou simply said, "My brother is sick, what's wrong with his sister taking care of him?"

"Besides, there's a servant boy with us! What's there to be afraid of?"

What he's really thinking is something only he can answer.

Anyway, Zhou Zhou got what she wanted and could take care of Shen Chen personally.

During this time, thanks to Zhou Zhou's good care, Shen Chen's smallpox has gradually disappeared, and he has recovered.

Shen Chen felt sorry for Zhou Zhou taking care of him so hard, so he specially told her today that he wanted to eat chicken porridge from Xiangmanlou and asked her to buy it for him.

To make things easier for Shen Chen, Zhou Zhou wore men's clothing, but the color of the clothes was still her favorite red.

She was dressed like this normally, and there was nothing wrong with it.

She arrived at Xiangmanlou, ordered porridge, and sat down in the lobby to wait.

Who knew she would run into her nemesis, Zheng Shuyi, the daughter of the Vice Minister of Revenue.

The other party seemed to have lost their mind; the moment they saw her, they reacted as if a firecracker had been set off.

To begin with, she was a woman dressed entirely in men's clothing, which was utterly vulgar and crude.

She was so angry she wanted to slap her.

"Zheng Shuyi, are you on fire today? I didn't do anything to you, did I?"

"Get out of my sight while I'm in a good mood today."

"Otherwise, don't blame me for slapping you!"

Shen Chen at home was waiting for her to eat porridge, and she didn't want to waste her breath arguing with her.

To her surprise, the other party actually confronted her, saying, "Hmph, don't think you can do whatever you want just because you have a good grandfather."

"No one would want someone as crude and vulgar as you, who only knows how to brandish knives and guns."

"What family would marry a woman like you who's good at managing the household?"

"None of your business!" Zhou Zhou retorted.

"You! You, so vulgar." Zheng Shuyi was clearly no match for Zhou Zhou.

"That's vulgar. Would you like to see something even more vulgar?"

"You...you!!" The other person pointed at her, unable to speak for a long time.

Zhou Zhou's maid gestured to her that the packaged porridge had been received.

She completely ignored Zheng Shuyi and turned to leave.

But the other party clearly didn't want her to leave and tried to hold her back.

Zhou Zhou didn't tolerate her. He pulled out his soft whip from his waist and lashed it at Zheng Shuyi's feet with a 'snap'.

Zheng Shuyi was so frightened that she staggered and almost lost her balance.

"Next time it'll be you." With that, he turned and left with the maid without looking back.

Zheng Shuyi was so angry watching her retreating figure that she jumped up and down on the spot, shouting, "Zhou Zhou, you just wait!"

Shen Cao watched the departing figure at the door, a smile playing on her lips, clearly intrigued.

It was her!