In front of Gu Heng, Lu Ziqian deliberately spoke in a cheeky tone: "Your sister-in-law was frightened and fell ill as soon as she got back. How could I bear to let her get up early to cook?"

"Hehe, Brother Lu really knows how to take care of people."

Gu Heng clenched his fists, his face looking very grim.

That bastard! He doesn't understand what Jiaojiao likes about him!

Seeing that Gu Heng had left, Lu Ziqian finally restrained his sharp edge.

The man lowered his head, took a sip of porridge, and then threw down the spoon. It tasted awful!

The cook's plain congee was bland and tasteless, incomparable to her soft, sweet, and nourishing congee.

The man was inexplicably irritable because he didn't get a decent meal.

I was starving all morning, but finally it was noon.

Xiao Liu brought him lunch. He didn't even need to taste it; he knew at a glance that it was made by the cook.

The man frowned deeply: "Has the young mistress not returned to the manor yet?"

"No."

Is he waiting to pick me up?

Ha, they're getting more and more arrogant.

He refused to go, wanting to see how long she could hold out!

"It tastes awful."

Lu Ziqian took only one bite before throwing down his chopsticks.

"Change the cook, find someone who can cook."

Xiao Liu looked troubled: "Master, the cook in the manor was hired from Yipinju. Apart from the imperial chefs in the palace, she is already the best cook."

"If you want to eat something with more variety, you should invite the young mistress back."

"The young mistress puts a lot of effort into cooking, sometimes stir-frying, sometimes deep-frying, it's both tedious and tiring."

"But the young mistress is willing to do anything so that you can have delicious meals."

"Take your favorite dish, 'Fire Sprouts with Silver Threads,' for example. It takes a lot of time to make. You have to stuff the shredded meat into the mung bean sprouts one by one. Only a young mistress would have that kind of patience."

"And the health-preserving porridge you drink in the morning, you need to soak red rice, glutinous rice, millet, lily bulbs, longan, lotus seeds, jujubes, red beans, etc. the night before. The next morning, the young mistress sits in front of the stove for two hours..."

"The heat should not be too high, otherwise it will burn easily; nor should it be too low, otherwise it will go out easily."

“The cook doesn’t have that kind of patience. She herself said that if she had to get up before dawn every day to cook porridge, she would quit immediately.”

"Moreover, the young mistress makes her own seasonings for cooking; no one else knows how."

"Even if the cook learns the young mistress's cooking methods, she can't make the same taste without the young mistress's seasonings."

Lu Ziqian became even more irritated listening to Xiao Liu's rambling.

It's just cooking a meal, why make it so complicated?

She's the only one who likes to make a big deal out of small things, deliberately doing useless things for others to see.

He refused to believe that he wouldn't be able to find decent food without her.

The man suppressed his inner irritation and forced himself to take another bite... Ugh... Was this chicken leg not bled? It's so fishy.

"Oh, Master, aren't you going to eat?"

Lu Ziqian's face was dark, his expression clearly saying "Get the hell out of here!"

"Go back and tell Mo Hua to invite the young mistress back. Let her sort out the mess she made."

Finally, he added, "If you can't get her back, then she shouldn't come back either."

"yes."

Xiao Liu was very happy; the young mistress was back, and he would be in for a treat.

...

Su Yujiao walked back and forth on the street all morning, not knowing where to go.

She left early in the morning, leaving Xiao Tao at home to help out, and told her mother that she was going back to the Lu family.

But she had no intention of going back to please Lu Ziqian.

She used to try every day to please him, but did it work?

He won't care about his older brother's affairs at all, or rather, he won't care about anything related to her, so there's no point in going back!

Rather than going back to be his groveling dog, I'd better figure out a way myself.

Ever since the day he abandoned her, leaving her to face the bandits alone, she has come to realize that she can't rely on anyone but herself.

She didn't sleep a wink last night, thinking about her future plans.

She thought about it all night and decided to earn money to support her family first. The rescue would have to be planned slowly; there was no point in rushing it.

But she thought about it all night, and her mind was still a jumbled mess.

She seems to know a little bit about everything, yet she also seems to be good at nothing.

She is skilled in medicine, cooking, embroidery, playing the piano, and dancing, but she doesn't know how to monetize these skills.

Open a clinic?

Open a restaurant?

Selling clothes?

Before she transmigrated, she also enjoyed reading novels. The female protagonists in those novels were all strong women who made money as easily as playing a game and could become the richest women in the country in no time.

Why is it so difficult for her?

Why doesn't she have a cheat code?

Su Yujiao wandered aimlessly through the bustling streets, trying to find a way to make money.

"Come back to the manor with me."

Suddenly, her path was blocked, and Su Yujiao frowned.

Mo looked at her expressionlessly, his tone icy.

Did Lu Ziqian send you?

Su Yujiao was somewhat surprised; in the past, he would never have sent someone to pick her up.

Is this considered a concession?

"yes."

In the past, she would have been happy, but this time, she wouldn't turn back.

“Go back and tell Lu Ziqian that since they’ve divorced, they shouldn’t keep bothering each other. It’s not good for anyone if things get ugly.”

Mo Hua was stunned. They were divorced?

Regardless of whether it's true or not, she has to bring the person back today, otherwise she won't be able to go back either.

“Tell these things to your master in person. I’m only responsible for taking you back.”

"I'm not going back." Su Yujiao said firmly, and then took a detour to leave.

In the past, Mo Hua might have carried her back directly, but now she didn't dare.

She had realized that Su Yujiao's position in Lu Ziqian's heart seemed to be even more important than she had imagined.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!