That evening, several dishes made with pig brain appeared on the Chu family's dinner table.
Charcoal-grilled pig brain, clear-stewed pig brain, stir-fried pig brain...
Chu Ye, the second master who arrived late, saw this spread and couldn't help but ask, "Has our family formed a grudge against pigs?"
Old Madam Chu looked at Chu Ye seriously, pointing to the bowl of clear-stewed pig brain in front of him and said:
"Second son, drink the soup in front of you before speaking to me. I'm afraid your stupidity might contaminate me."
Chu Ye, unaware of what had happened in the family earlier that day, sat down awkwardly, thinking he must have done something to upset Old Madam Chu.
Always filial, he sat down, picked up the bowl, and drank the pig brain soup in a few gulps.
All the Chu family members were dining at Old Madam Chu's place today, with no separation between men and women, filling up a large table.
Chu Tianjiao, the instigator of all this, sat at the lower end with her head down, trying her best to minimize her presence and not daring to make a sound.
Old Madam Chu pointed at the soup bowls in front of the others and ordered, "Drink. Everyone must finish the pig brain soup in front of them."
To be honest, while some people might genuinely enjoy pig brain soup, others find the soft, mushy texture unbearable.
Chu Tianjiao's cousin, Chu Yun'er, the legitimate daughter of the second branch, was originally a picky eater and had never eaten pig brain before.
Chu Yun'er was thirteen years old this year. Although not as favored as Chu Tianjiao, she was used to being pampered by Old Madam Chu.
She pushed away the bowl of clear-stewed pig brain with disgust, pouting at Old Madam Chu and complaining, "Grandmother, I don't like pig brain. Can I skip it?"
On a normal day, Old Madam Chu wouldn't have minded, and might even have indulgently said, "My granddaughter can eat whatever she likes."
But today, Old Madam Chu had been agitated by Chu Tianjiao's dream.
She was determined to raise the average intelligence level of the Chu family, firmly believing that the first step should be to nourish the brain with brain.
"Who allowed you to be an exception? Your brain, produced by your fool of a father and your brainless mother, what level do you think it's at? Don't you know? If you don't eat some pig brain to supplement it, do you want to be stupid to death?"
Chu Yun'er was indeed not very bright.
Like Chu Tianjiao, she and her sisters were the type who fell asleep at the sight of books since childhood.
But since the Chu family valued martial arts, and they were all girls, no one had ever called Chu Yun'er stupid to her face.
Today, being called stupid by her loving grandmother, Chu Yun'er immediately burst into tears.
"Grandmother, you're bullying me, wuwuwu..."
Chu Ye, who was implicated and called a fool, was completely bewildered.
He had always thought he was the smartest person in the Chu family apart from his mother and eldest brother. How had he suddenly become a fool?
Madam Xue, who was called brainless, couldn't take it anymore.
She blushed, wanting to protest but not daring to talk back to Old Madam Chu. She could only stamp her feet under the table and call out with a long, drawn-out voice, "Mother..."
Old Madam Chu, remembering what Chu Tianjiao said about Madam Xue remarrying and abandoning the children after Chu Ye's death, became even more furious. She said sternly to Madam Xue:
"Don't call me mother!"
"Madam Xue, from tomorrow on, hand over the household management to the third son's wife. Stay in your room and reflect on your mistakes. Copy 'The Virtues of Women' a hundred times and hand it to me."
This was the first time Old Madam Chu had spoken so harshly to Madam Xue since she married into the Chu family. Madam Xue was so frightened that she immediately knelt down.
"Mother, if I've done something wrong, please teach me. Why punish me by making me copy books?"
Old Madam Chu was very angry with Madam Xue at this moment.
Whether the warm jade pillow was intentional or not, Madam Xue couldn't escape responsibility.
Old Madam Chu was already restraining her temper by only taking away her household management rights and punishing her with book copying.
Seeing his mother's expression, Chu Ye guessed that Madam Xue must have done something to anger Old Madam Chu, and he secretly sighed.
More than ten years ago, when Chu Ye was still a young man, he went to Anguo Temple to play chess with Monk Miaoyin. He accidentally stumbled upon Madam Xue changing clothes in a side room.
Because he had damaged Madam Xue's reputation as an unmarried woman, Chu Ye had to marry her.
After more than a decade together, Chu Ye had long known that it was Madam Xue's scheme back then.
But considering that Madam Xue had borne him a son and a daughter, Chu Ye had settled down to live a good life with her.
However, Madam Xue often had some small schemes that Chu Ye disliked.
Today, he didn't know what Madam Xue had done again, but judging by Old Madam Chu's anger, it must not be a small matter.
Seeing Madam Xue being punished, Chu Yun'er dared not make a fuss anymore.
The others also became as quiet as quails. At Old Madam Chu's command, they all quickly finished the clear-stewed pig brain in front of them.
Seeing her children and grandchildren obey her orders, Old Madam Chu finally showed a satisfied smile.
With a wave of her hand, the soup bowls were cleared away, and Nanny Li led the maids to distribute charcoal-grilled pig brain to everyone.
During this meal, except for Old Madam Chu herself, all the children, grandchildren, and daughters-in-law of the Chu family were stuffed with pig brain.
After the meal, the family obediently returned to the main hall to listen to a lecture.
Old Madam Chu said, "From today on, you will all come to dine with me every evening. I want to watch you nourish your brains."
The family members looked at each other in dismay. Eating pig brain for one meal was one thing, but from Old Madam Chu's tone, it seemed she intended to supervise them at every meal?
Chu Sheng, the third master, was the first to object. He approached Old Madam Chu with a pained expression, half-kneeling to massage her legs, and trying to flatter her: "Mother, you've always praised me for being more clever than my eldest and second brothers. Can I be exempted?"
Old Madam Chu, remembering what Chu Tianjiao said about Chu Sheng being wrongfully executed in her dream, felt very distressed.
Old Madam Chu hardened her heart and slapped Chu Sheng's hand, scolding, "You only have a bit of cleverness, but no great wisdom. Besides nourishing your brain, from tomorrow on, you'll study together with your nieces and nephews."
After saying this, Old Madam Chu had the maids bring a box of books to distribute among her children and grandchildren.
"These books have been carefully selected by me. From tomorrow on, you must all read them."
"Every evening at dinner, I will randomly question you about your progress. Those who fall behind will have to eat extra pig brain."
The Chu family members didn't like reading.
Instantly, the room erupted into wails and protests.
"I'm not asking you to read for imperial examinations, but to broaden your minds and understand principles. Especially those history books and military treatises, you must memorize them all."
No matter how much the younger generation protested, they couldn't shake Old Madam Chu's determination to raise the intelligence level of the Chu family.
In the end, the younger generation had to accept their assigned books and dejectedly take their leave.
Chu Ye and Chu Tianjiao were asked to stay behind.
When he heard that Old Madam Chu had been poisoned by the cold from the ten-thousand-year ice jade, Chu Ye's eyes reddened with anxiety, and he understood why Old Madam Chu had punished Madam Xue earlier.
"When Mother was about to celebrate her fiftieth birthday, I did tell Madam Xue to carefully find a rare item to present to you as a filial gift. Madam Xue said she bought the warm jade pillow from the Qizhen Pavilion for ten thousand taels of silver."
"Ten thousand taels?"
Seeing the disbelieving expressions of Old Madam Chu and Chu Tianjiao, Chu Ye looked a bit uncomfortable: "I gave Madam Xue the silver note for ten thousand taels."
Old Madam Chu pressed further: "Where did you get so much money? Did you embezzle funds?"
Chu Ye shook his head repeatedly in denial: "Mother, I remember our family precepts well and would never dare to embezzle. This ten thousand taels, I earned it myself."
The Chu family hadn't divided their property yet, so in principle, any money earned by Chu Ye and his three brothers should be handed over to the common fund for unified distribution.
That's why Chu Ye felt a bit uncomfortable.
But in fact, the family expenses were supported by the common property, and the four brothers usually only needed to hand over their official salaries to the common fund.
Old Madam Chu had no time to delve into these details now, and instructed Chu Ye to carefully probe Madam Xue when he returned, but not to reveal the truth to her for now.
"As for this Qizhen Pavilion, you should also send someone to investigate thoroughly, to see who's behind it."
Chu Ye nodded in agreement, then added worriedly: "Regarding the fire turtle mentioned by Wang Elderly Physician, should I send a message to eldest brother and fourth brother, asking them to help search as well?"
Old Madam Chu shook her head: "Don't tell them, lest it distracts them."
The Marquis of Liyang and Chu Tianjiao's fourth uncle were currently fighting at the border, and Old Madam Chu didn't want to affect their state of mind.
"It's best to search for this fire turtle privately and discreetly. If we really can't find it, then we'll think of other solutions."
"We still haven't found the person behind the warm jade pillow, so we need to be extra cautious in everything."
"I, this old woman, have already lived to the age of knowing my fate. I truly want to see who dares to try and take my life!" Old Madam Chu declared.
Chu Tianjiao wanted to stay and keep Old Madam Chu company, but the elderly lady shooed her back to her own courtyard.
With a troubled mind, Chu Tianjiao sat on the swing in the courtyard, lost in thought.
A furtive figure was sneaking along the wall, trying to slip out of the courtyard. Chu Tianjiao glanced over and called out, "Sang Shen, come here!"
