Wu Baozhang couldn’t even manage to smile anymore.

How did Zhou Shaojin know she could make these snacks?

She had Spring Wan go learn how to make rice cakes from her. She’d spoken boastfully beforehand—if she had the servants help grind the rice and extract the liquid, after Chun Wan returned, she would certainly tell Zhou Shaojin. Zhou Shaojin not only pleased Old Madam Guan but had also won Old Madam Guo’s favor. If she muttered a word or two in front of the elders, how would everyone in the Cheng household view her?

But a full ten pounds of rice…

Cold sweat broke out on her forehead.

Wouldn’t this take half her life?

Was Zhou Shaojin doing this unintentionally or deliberately?

She fixed her gaze on Zhou Shaojin.

Zhou Shaojin looked at her with eyes like autumn waters, smiling sweetly. Her bright, clear pupils were so limpid they seemed able to reflect one’s image—pure as a child’s.

How could such a girl scheme against her?

Wu Baozhang immediately dismissed her suspicions.

But what about those rice cakes made from ten pounds of rice?

Her mind raced frantically.

But Zhou Shaojin felt rather pleased with herself.

You want to act virtuous? Then I’ll help you—let you act to your heart’s content.

Not only would she make Wu Baozhang prepare rice cakes from ten pounds of rice, but she’d also have Chun Wan learn to make snacks with her, forcing her to do it herself. Let’s see if she still brags in front of the elders!

Zhou Shaojin then looked toward Chun Wan.

Chun Wan was utterly puzzled.

She was the senior maid at Second Young Miss’s side, managing Second Young Miss’s clothing, food, and expenses. To leave all of this behind to follow the eldest mistress of Nuo in making rice cakes… The eldest mistress of Nuo’s rice cakes were indeed good, but the outer courtyard kitchen could make them too, and made them even more to the taste of everyone at Jiuru Alley. If Second Young Miss wanted to send rice cakes to Eldest Young Miss, why not order the master chef in the outer courtyard kitchen to make them instead of having her learn… Wasn’t this putting the cart before the horse!

But Chun Wan had always deeply respected Zhou Shaojin. Since Zhou Shaojin had given the order, she still responded with a smile, curtsied to Wu Baozhang, and said: “Eldest Mistress of Nuo, I’m clumsy with my hands. If I do anything wrong, please feel free to scold me.”

Wu Baozhang quickly said: “Miss Chun Wan, you’re being too modest. I only hope these trivial skills of mine can catch your Second Young Miss’s eye.”

Zhou Shaojin had never been articulate in the past, so Zhou Chujin had chosen maids for her who could handle social exchanges.

Hearing this, Chun Wan smiled: “Eldest Mistress of Nuo is too kind! If our Second Young Miss didn’t appreciate the eldest mistress of Nuo’s skills, she wouldn’t have me set aside all the myriad affairs in the household to follow you in making rice cakes. The only concern is whether this is a family recipe of the eldest mistress of Nuo’s household. Fortunately, our Second Young Miss rarely goes out, so she certainly won’t use what the eldest mistress of Nuo teaches to make profit. The eldest mistress of Nuo can teach me with complete peace of mind!”

Wu Baozhang’s nose nearly twisted with anger.

She hadn’t expected that this Chun Wan, who looked so refined and demure, would speak words as sharp as knives.

What family recipe? What about Second Young Miss rarely going out so she certainly won’t use what the eldest mistress of Nuo teaches to make profit?

Her own father was a fourth-rank prefect, not some street vendor.

By saying this, wasn’t she implying her origins were lowly?

And saying she could teach with peace of mind—

If she failed to learn, wouldn’t that mean she was unwilling to teach?

Wu Baozhang looked at Zhou Shaojin again.

Zhou Shaojin stood there with curved brows and eyes, serene as a crescent moon, as if she hadn’t understood the meaning behind Chun Wan’s words at all.

She couldn’t help but feel frustrated.

This Zhou Shaojin was truly an empty-headed beauty!

If not for Zhou Chujin protecting her, she’d probably have been devoured without even bones remaining.

Thinking of this, her heart felt sour.

Although her brother Wu Taicheng treated her well and protected her in everything, he was short-sighted and incompetent, constantly causing trouble that she had to clean up.

This Zhou Shaojin’s father was also just a fourth-rank prefect. She too had lost her birth mother and had a father who remarried, and didn’t even have a brother, yet she lived much better than herself—following her paternal half-sister to live as a dependent at her unrelated maternal grandmother’s home, yet her father always kept them both in his heart, constantly sending things over. Her two cousins treated her like treasure, afraid she might suffer any grievance. Even Cheng Lu was said to have had designs on her… Same people, different fates.

Zhou Shaojin’s luck was just that good.

She couldn’t help but smile at Chun Wan: “It’s just food! If I were petty, I wouldn’t have agreed to tell you in the first place!”

Chun Wan quickly said: “Eldest Mistress of Nuo, please don’t take offense! This servant doesn’t speak well.” After speaking, she bent her knees and curtsied three times.

Wu Baozhang couldn’t very well quibble with her, lest she leave an impression of being narrow-minded before the elders. She exchanged a few pleasantries with Chun Wan, set a time for the rice cake lesson, and took her leave.

Only then did Old Madam Guan laugh: “The autumn tiger is so fierce—making so many rice cakes will likely spoil. If you really like eating them, just tell Nanny Er at Old Madam Guo’s side and have the outer courtyard kitchen make them for you. The eldest mistress of Nuo is your sister-in-law after all!”

The third branch had to speak honeyed words repeatedly and slip silver just to have the outer courtyard kitchen make something. The fourth and fifth branches simply didn’t even try, to avoid being rebuffed. That’s why Old Madam Guan said this.

Zhou Shaojin only feigned surprise and said: “Is ten pounds a lot? Exactly how much is ten pounds?”

In her previous life, when she’d first married into the Lin family, she’d once made a fool of herself because she didn’t know how much a pound of rice was. Later, when she suggested letting Concubine Mu manage the household, Old Madam Lin didn’t insist otherwise—presumably because she felt she wasn’t a suitable housewife, which was why she gave up?

Old Madam Guan was stunned hearing this, then burst into hearty laughter. She pointed at her and said to Mian Grand Madam: “I think you really need to put some effort into teaching her. Otherwise, when she marries, I’m afraid she’ll be manipulated by her household stewards.”

Mian Grand Madam agreed, a trace of bitterness flashing across her expression.

It wasn’t that she hadn’t wanted to teach before. First, there were many matters with Gao’s wedding and she was too busy. Second, she’d thought that since Zhou Shaojin would be her daughter-in-law with Miss He from the He family ahead of her, she could slowly teach Zhou Shaojin the small accounts of her own household later… Who knew that plans couldn’t keep up with changes!

Then Old Madam Guan asked how preparations for Cheng Yi’s wedding were going, forgot about this matter, and making rice cakes from ten pounds of rice fell squarely on Wu Baozhang’s shoulders.

But Zhou Shaojin hadn’t forgotten.

After returning to her room and dismissing the servants around her, she spoke intimately with Chun Wan: “…If she wants to show off, let her show off, but she always likes to step on others to show off. She and I have no grudges or enmities, and I’m not competing with her for anything. Why should I be her stepping stone? After you go this time, be extra vigilant and watch her personally make those ten pounds of rice into rice cakes. If she tries to be clever, remind her that you’ll come back and tell me.”

Ever since Zhou Shaojin learned that Wu Baozhang and Cheng Lu had long been entangled together, she suspected that in her previous life, when she was unaware, these two had already been involved. The grievances suffered in her previous life constantly circled in her mind. She could no longer treat Wu Baozhang with equanimity.

And the Zhou Shaojin of her previous life—of course Wu Baozhang needn’t fear her.

But in this life, she’d moved to live at Hanbi Mountain Lodge. Wu Baozhang couldn’t possibly not be wary of her.

Only now did Chun Wan understand.

So the eldest mistress of Nuo had already had grievances with Second Young Miss when she was still unmarried. No wonder Second Young Miss had her learn rice cake making with the eldest mistress of Nuo this time—it turned out she wanted to torment her.

She assured: “Second Young Miss, I know what to do! In any case, if the eldest mistress of Nuo shows off in front of you like this again, we’ll make her suffer the consequences of her own actions without being able to utter a word of complaint.”

Chun Wan was indeed her senior maid!

Zhou Shaojin smiled with narrowed eyes and nodded, having her take ten taels of silver from her trunk, saying: “Money makes the devil push the millstone. Take this to win over the people around the eldest mistress of Nuo.”

“I understand!” Chun Wan accepted the silver.

Zhou Shaojin further instructed her: “Wu Baozhang is someone who’s accustomed to being cunning and slippery. Tomorrow morning, take eight-colored gift boxes to pay respects to Grand Madam Wen. Say you want to thank the eldest mistress of Nuo for teaching you to make rice cakes. Make this matter public so Grand Madam Wen knows, leaving her no way to shirk.”

Chun Wan was more experienced at such things than Zhou Shaojin. She suggested: “This servant is lowly after all. I think it would be better to have Mian Grand Madam take me. Given Grand Madam Wen’s temperament, if there’s such an opportunity to show off, she’ll certainly keep watch over the eldest mistress of Nuo.”

“Your idea is good!” Zhou Shaojin said. “But I don’t want to involve the elders. What do you think about quietly asking Nanny Shang to go?”

“That would be better—have Nanny Shang mention it to Nanny Er,” Chun Wan said.

The two whispered together in the room for quite a while. Seeing it was getting late and needing to send someone to buy eight-colored gift boxes, they finally stopped their conversation. One went to the outer courtyard while the other paced excitedly back and forth in the room.

This time, she must make Wu Baozhang suffer!

Just thinking about it made Zhou Shaojin’s mood soar. She very much wanted to find someone to talk to, to share her joy.

She immediately thought of Cheng Chi!

She hadn’t seen Uncle Chi for several days.

She stood pouting in the middle of the room, hesitating for quite a while, but ultimately couldn’t control her feet and went to Tingli Pavilion.

※※※

Cheng Chi was calculating accounts when he looked up to see Zhou Shaojin poking half her head in.

He couldn’t help but smile wryly.

When had this little girl arrived? How long had she been here? Why wasn’t she coming in?

He recalled how previously, when he and Wei Dongting and others were discussing serious business, she could barge in with complete confidence… Then he thought of Zhou Shaojin’s rabbit-like temperament… Could it be that he’d been too cold to her recently and frightened her?

Cheng Chi’s expression involuntarily softened. He smiled at her warmly and gently said: “You didn’t get into some trouble, did you?”

Seeing that he treated her as warmly and kindly as always, Zhou Shaojin recalled what Nanny Shang had just told her: “How can anyone be happy every day and always wear a smiling face? These past days, Fourth Master was so busy that even in his sleep he was calculating accounts with the Li family. If those accounts were off even a little, it wouldn’t be a matter of dozens or hundreds of taels, but thousands or tens of thousands of taels. How could Fourth Master have the energy to show everyone a pleasant face?” Her courage grew again, and she walked in with a smile on her lips.

Cheng Chi put down the account book in his hands, trying to make himself appear more gentle: “What happened?”

Zhou Shaojin couldn’t help becoming animated with excitement, telling Cheng Chi how Wu Baozhang had tried to please Old Madam Guan and Mian Grand Madam, and how she herself planned to scheme against Wu Baozhang.

Seeing pride showing in the corners of her eyes and brows, her whole person gaining several degrees of liveliness, Cheng Chi also felt happy and laughed: “Do you need my help?”

“No need, no need.” Zhou Shaojin waved her hand, full of confidence: “I can handle it myself!”

Cheng Chi chuckled.

Zhou Shaojin thought of Cheng Chi’s capabilities and began to feel somewhat hesitant again: “Does Uncle Chi have a better way?”