His son, Little Doudou, ate with delight. In front of him was the grasshopper sauce that Xiaocao especially made for children. It didn’t have any chili peppers and there was some sugar added. The sauce tasted savory with a hint of sweetness and was a hit with children. Little Doudou ate the sauce with a large pancake. When they left, he was so stuffed that he could barely move and had to be carried back by his mother.

When they got home, Yu Bo threw a temper tantrum at his old mother. He wailed that he had been working so hard in the prefectural city, yet she, his mother, was impeding his progress. Now the royal prince had such a bad impression of him. Even if he passed the exams in the future, it would be hard for him to be able to hook a large patron like Prince Jing’s Estate. After saying all of this, he started to sob loudly like a child.

Madam Zhang panicked. She had originally wanted to help her son, yet she had overestimated her own capabilities. She watched as her youngest son sobbed his heart out and her eyes also turned red. She stamped her feet and said, “I’ll go apologize to the royal prince and tell him that this was all my idea. I was the one who brought you down! I’ll kneel in front of him and have the royal prince change his opinion of you!”

Madam Zhao hurriedly pulled at her mother-in-law as anger bubbled within her heart. She silently cursed this pig of an ally, yet she could only persuade...