Jian Ruonan ate while browsing the gossip.
Jian Zhang, Min, and Jian Xilu even chewed softly, afraid of missing a single word.
[Let me look up how the old madam hooked up with the groom...]
There was no digital entertainment to spice up meals in this era, but a juicy scandal or two made quite a flavorful accompaniment.
[When the old madam first married into the Marquis's Estate, she looked down on Grandfather a little for being a widower, emboldened by her brother's position in the Ministry of Rites. Grandfather didn't indulge her, either. Every day, he either slept in the front courtyard or at a concubine's place, and he never gave the old madam a pleasant look.]
Jian Zhang had been young then and remembered none of it.
As Jian Ruonan ate, she suddenly noticed that everyone's chopsticks had stopped and they were staring at her. Puzzled, she asked, "Father, Mother, Sister, why aren't you eating?"
"We are, we are! Nan Nan, have some more." Jian Zhang picked up the serving chopsticks and put food on her plate.
Jian Ruonan ate a piece of meat and continued-
[Neglected by her husband, the old madam felt empty, lonely, and cold. She was still young and couldn't bear the loneliness, so she got involved with the strong, strapping groom.]
They had started that early?!
Jian Zhang frowned. Then his second and third brothers' parentage...
[Luckily, their affair didn't produce a baby. Second Uncle and Third Uncle were still Grandfather's biological sons.]
Jian Zhang wiped away his cold sweat.
[The old madam and the groom... she was actually the one who threw herself into his arms! All because the groom couldn't afford shoes and usually went barefoot, and his big, black feet caught her fancy!]
[The old madam loved those big feet of his. Even now, on the first of every month, she still has to savor the groom's stinky feet...]
Jian Zhang: "Pfft-"
Jian Ruonan: "Father, what's wrong?"
Jian Zhang: "Nothing. Nan Nan, go on talking—oh, no, go on eating. I just choked."
[He even chokes on greens. Father's throat really must be tiny.]
Jian Zhang: "..."
After finishing the old madam's gossip, Jian Ruonan remembered her second uncle, who was locked up in prison.
Earlier, at Joy and Longevity Court, the old madam had told Jian Zhang to get him out. But before Jian Zhang could do so, the whole Queen Mother of the West possession incident had happened, and then everyone had forgotten Second Uncle.
[Father is so black-bellied. He definitely forgot on purpose. Letting Second Uncle suffer a little in prison is a good thing.]
Jian Zhang: ??
What did black-bellied mean?
His belly was very pale!
[Let me see how Second Uncle and Concubine Wei hooked up.]
The old madam's gossip had a distinct odor and wasn't quite suitable for mealtime, so Jian Ruonan urged the system to switch scandals.
[Ooh~~ Concubine Wei and Second Uncle really know how to have fun. "Come chase me! Catch me and I'll let you hehehe." They get that wild?]
[Their favorite thing is doing the dirty outdoors...]
[Ahhh, is this something an unmarried maiden like me should be hearing? How mortifying!]
Min: "..."
She had some self-awareness, but not much.
Jian Xilu: "..."
It seemed she shouldn't be hearing too much of this, either.
[I wonder if Father ever played these chasing games with Concubine Wei?]
Jian Zhang: !!
Min's face suddenly began to twitch.
Jian Xilu glanced up at her parents.
Everyone eagerly devoured other people's gossip, but when it landed on their own heads, all that remained was humiliation and awkwardness.
Jian Zhang hurriedly interrupted. "Nan Nan, is there anything else you'd like to eat? I'll buy it for you tomorrow."
Then Jian Zhang began rattling off dish names.
At the mention of food, Jian Ruonan's inner voice abruptly stopped.
Jian Zhang raised a hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead. That had been close, far too close.
His own scandal had nearly been exposed. He absolutely couldn't let his wife and daughters hear about the games he had played with Concubine Wei.
Min sneered inwardly. She had no desire to hear that filthy nonsense.
Jian Xilu sighed. What a shame. She had almost gotten to hear Father's gossip.
Father was so sneaky!
Father carried considerable authority before her and her siblings, and often taught them the principles of Confucius and Mencius. Who would have thought he behaved like that in private?
Jian Xilu's rosy image of her father was gradually crumbling.
Unaware of what the three were thinking, Jian Ruonan was seriously considering what she wanted to eat.
In her few days at the Marquis's Estate, she had eaten every kind of meat except beef. Even the snacks included no beef jerky.
After careful consideration, she said, "I want beef."
Jian Zhang shook his head. "Not beef."
Great Xia's laws forbade slaughtering or eating draft cattle. They were needed for farming and difficult to raise, so an entire village often shared a single ox.
Slaughtering and eating draft cattle was punishable by imprisonment.
Cattle that died naturally of old age could be eaten, but their meat was tough and stringy, nowhere near as tender as mutton. Even moderately well-off families generally avoided beef.
Jian Ruonan sighed. Ah, it all came down to Great Xia's backward farming techniques and shortage of cattle.
A cow's gestation lasted over 280 days, and it generally carried only one calf at a time. Even after birth, the calf might not survive. Pigs, by contrast, could produce two or three litters a year, with over ten piglets in each.
[If only cattle could become overabundant!!]
[Oh, right! My Multiple-Birth Pills would be perfect for cows!!! Eight calves in one birth would be no dream!!]
[Once Great Xia is overrun with cattle, I can eat all the beef I want!!!]
The system: [Nan Nan, the Multiple-Birth Pills are meant for you!]
Jian Ruonan: [Shut your mouth! Don't make me curse you out while I'm happy!]
The system: [...]
After thinking it over carefully, Jian Ruonan belatedly realized that, aside from this plate of pig's trotters, the Marquis's Estate didn't seem to serve pork, either. She had the system investigate and learned that pigs in this era weren't castrated, giving their meat a strong, rank odor. Pork was considered the lowest-grade meat, and wealthy nobles didn't eat it.
It seemed she would also have to draw a copy of "Postpartum Care for Sows" or "Efficient Pig Castration" and teach the farmers on the estate how to raise pigs.
After all, a life without grilled pork belly was incomplete!
And there were Dongpo pork hocks, stewed ribs, braised ribs, stir-fried pork...
Without pork, life would lose a great deal of joy.
She also wondered whether Great Xia ate shrimp, oysters, king crab, lobster... and hot pot...
She really was worrying herself sick just for a bite of good food.
Hearing that there was a technique that could make a cow produce eight calves in one birth, Jian Zhang's imposing frame jolted.
!!
A cow normally carried one calf at a time and conceived only once a year. If it could give birth to eight calves at once, wouldn't that be a blessing for Great Xia!!
He wondered whether these Multiple-Birth Pills were a secret formula the miracle physician had given Ruonan. If only they could be made available nationwide.
Jian Zhang secretly pondered how to get Ruonan to bring out the Multiple-Birth Pills and develop Great Xia's cattle-raising industry.
The system was truly at its wits' end with this host. It had bound itself to her because she worked enthusiastically and had the makings of an overachiever. Who would have expected her to turn into a salted fish immediately afterward, eating and sleeping every day, doing no missions, and spending twenty points whenever she earned ten?
Even now, Jian Ruonan owed the system twenty points and remained in debt.
She had finally drawn a rare item, only to use it in all sorts of ridiculous ways.
Exhausted, the system asked: [When will I ever get to level up?]
Jian Ruonan: [What do I get out of your leveling up?]
The system: [With one level increase, I can report gossip from a wider range, and you'll even be able to see the footage!!]
Jian Ruonan: [How many points for one level?]
Being able to see footage really was tempting. It would feel like watching gossip unfold on a livestream.
The system: [Not many, not many. Just a hundred points.]
Jian Ruonan: [A hundred points? You call that not many?]
The system: [It really isn't much. Just do two fewer draws.]
Jian Ruonan looked at her hands. She truly couldn't resist drawing cards.
Great Xia stipulated that princes who reached sixteen would receive their own residences from the emperor and could no longer stay overnight in the imperial palace. Once granted princely titles, they also had to leave for their fiefs.
Dantai Mo had been made Prince Rui and granted a princely residence as soon as he turned sixteen. However, because of his health and his unmarried status, the emperor had allowed him to remain in the capital and decide for himself whether to go to his fief.
Even his childhood courtyard in the Eastern Fifth Residence had been kept for him.
Aside from being unable to inherit the throne, Dantai Mo enjoyed Emperor Deyuan's deep affection.
Inside Snowsoft Palace, Consort Yan held a register filled with the names, portraits, talents, and other details of young ladies from officials' families in the capital.
"The Minister of Rites' granddaughter plays the pipa beautifully. You're skilled in music too, Mo. I think she's a good choice. Would you like to take a look?"
For a favored prince like Dantai Mo, Emperor Deyuan would normally decree a marriage, but before doing so, he would discuss it with Consort Yan.
Dantai Mo wore the Peacock-Blue Tasselled Prince's Hat and the Black Five-Clawed Dragon Robe, with an Emerald Jade Bi hanging at his waist. His eyes shone like stars, his bearing was radiant and refined, and his bright gaze rested beneath gracefully spaced brows.
Looking at that handsome face, which resembled her own by seven or eight parts out of ten, Consort Yan could not keep bitterness from welling up in her heart.
If not for his fall from a horse, her Mo would have been such an outstanding young man. Seeing him like this now, Consort Yan had shed countless tears in private.
Yet before her son, she dared not reveal even the slightest trace.
"Mother, I won't marry." Dantai Mo was paralyzed from the waist down and would have difficulty fathering children. Marrying would only ruin a good family's daughter.
Families that truly cherished their daughters wouldn't marry them to him merely because he was a prince. As for those who would sell their daughters to cling to dragons and phoenixes, his mother looked down on them.
Suppressing her bitterness, Consort Yan smiled. "What nonsense are you saying? Who goes without marrying?"
She put down the register. "I heard you attended the flower-viewing banquet at the Duke of Ping's residence. How was it? Did you meet a young lady you liked? If you like someone, you must tell me. I'll ask your imperial father to decree the marriage."
"No." As though remembering something, Dantai Mo smiled.
He hadn't met a young lady who captured his heart, but he had met a remarkable one.
After speaking with Jian Ruonan at the house Gao Yang had purchased, he had regained sensation in his legs again.
This time, although they had exchanged only two sentences, the sensation in his legs had been even stronger.
He even felt that, with a few more encounters with Jian Ruonan, he might actually be able to stand and take a couple of steps.
At that thought, Dantai Mo asked the system: [What is the Fifth Miss of Jinyang Marquis's Residence doing?]
At this distance, Dantai Mo couldn't hear her inner voice, but the system could find out what she was doing.
The system was finally of some use.
The Black Tortoise System: [She just pretended to be possessed by the Queen Mother of the West and frightened the madam of the Marquis's Estate into falling ill. Then she went back to eating and drinking. Now she seems to be discussing some old madam licking feet. I don't know what's going on, but she has absolutely no intention of coming to win you over.]
Dantai Mo: *[...]*
Before you continue