Leon Zane Chews Cucumbers All Night, Crunching Loudly

Evan Xiao glanced at Grace, then called out toward the door, "Waiter!"

"Yes, sir! What can I do for you?" The waiter standing outside came in.

"Take away all the Antler Serpent dishes and bring us something else."

"Huh? Sir, all we have is Antler Serpent. The only other things... are side dishes—greens, cucumbers, scallions, that sort of thing..."

Evan Xiao glanced at Leon Zane. "Just bring the side dishes, then! Lots of them."

The waiter helplessly cleared away all the Antler Serpent dishes and brought out three plates of stir-fried greens, a plate of raw cucumber, a plate of scallions, and some dipping sauce.

Leon Zane shot Evan Xiao a look full of resentment. "General, are we really just eating this tonight?"

"We're not eating this," Evan Xiao replied.

"What do you mean?"

"You are. Eat it all."

"Why?" Leon Zane stood up, looking like he was about to flip the table.

"Because you deliberately brought us here for Antler Serpent. You knew Grace wouldn't eat it."

That was exactly the case.

Leon Zane came here often and knew there was nothing good to eat except Antler Serpent.

When he suggested coming here, he was up to no good—he wanted to see Grace annoyed...

Leon Zane: "...General, you can't just mistreat your brothers because you've got a woman now! Keep this up, and you'll lose me!"

But Evan Xiao ignored him, and gently asked Grace, "Grace, what do you want to eat? I'll have someone go buy it."

"Hmm... I want braised meatballs, candied lotus seeds, Eight-Treasure Hazelnut Chicken, and..." Grace listed off a string of dishes.

Bianca Whitefan also rattled off a list of dishes.

Then Evan Xiao sent Louis Lin to buy the food.

Once all the food arrived, the three of them ate happily.

Leon Zane spent the whole night gnawing on cucumbers, crunching loudly...

...

Lena had been managing the household affairs for nearly a month.

She treated everyone kindly and never acted superior.

But if a servant made a mistake, she would deal with it strictly by the rules, no matter who pleaded for them.

With Aunt Crystal helping out, the household had become much more orderly over the past month, and some old bad habits had disappeared.

The old lady felt much more at ease. When she talked about Lena now, her attitude was very different—there was less criticism and more genuine praise.

The day after the Lantern Festival, when Grace went to greet her mother, she happened to see her dealing with a servant.

It was a senior maid who guarded the back side gate. She had gotten careless and left the gate unlocked all night, which was discovered by someone Aunt Crystal sent to check.

When Grace arrived, the maid was kneeling before Lena, pleading: "...Madam, please forgive me! I truly just forgot for a moment. My son is sick, and I can't stop worrying about him, that's why I made this mistake. It won't happen again! Please, Madam..."

Lena glanced at Aunt Crystal, who nodded slightly, confirming the maid was telling the truth.

"Mrs. Wei," Lena said, "go to the steward and collect five taels of silver. You are to leave the Prime Minister's Residence today."

"Madam, I truly won't dare again! My husband died young, and it's just me and my child. If you send me away, we'll starve! Please, Madam—" Mrs. Wei sobbed.

"Enough, stop crying," Lena frowned. "Let me finish."

"Yes, Madam," Mrs. Wei replied.

"Your child is only four or five, but can't live with you and has to stay with relatives, which is inconvenient. So, you will leave the Prime Minister's Residence and become a manager at the estate outside the city. That way, you can live with your child, and the monthly pay is higher than your current job guarding the gate," Lena said.