19 Steamed Lamb

◎Fragrant, really fragrant◎

In the evening, the maid brought the food. Song Jinyi took a quick look and saw that it was just vegetables and tofu. Were they treating her like a rabbit? She lost her appetite just by looking at it.

She slammed her chopsticks down on the table in frustration. The Song family had to bring her back and treat her like this?!

There was a sound outside the door. She was already in a depressed mood, and now the incessant knocking sound seemed like stepping on her tail.

She stood up suddenly and moved the stool a distance away, making a creaking sound. The person outside the door seemed to be frightened and the knocking stopped abruptly.

Song Jinyi pushed the door open and saw a child as tall as her calf, looking up at her. The child had a pointed face and a pair of black bean-like eyes. He timidly called her, "Sister."

Song Jinyi's breath stopped, and she suddenly remembered that the original owner had a younger brother named Song Yunting, who was six years younger than the original owner.

Because he was born prematurely and was weak, he accidentally fell into the water. The high fever that persisted caused brain disease, and his intelligence is only at the level of a four or five-year-old child.

Perhaps it was because Song Jinyi was in the original owner's body, and the so-called blood relationship made Song Jinyi feel a kind of pity for this "brother" whom she met for the first time.

Seeing Song Jinyi standing still, Song Yunting called out in a baby voice, "Sister."

Song Jinyi responded and carried him in.

Seeing him staring at the food on the table, Song Jinyi asked, "Do you want to eat?"

Song Yunting nodded.

Half an hour later, Song Jinyi looked at the empty dish with a stunned expression. She didn't expect that the shy and timid Song Yun looked like a little white rabbit, but had an appetite like an elephant.

After finishing his meal, Song Yunting rubbed his stomach, pouted his mouth, and said he was hungry and wanted to eat meat.

Song Jinyi held Song Jun's little face in her hands and turned it left to right. The little face felt so thin that only bones were left. Although Song Jinyi felt strange, she just attributed it to the fact that children are very active and did not think much about it.

Song Jinyi called Wang Po, who was guarding outside, and asked her to go to the kitchen to get some meat. Wang Po said impatiently that the cook had left and if she wanted to eat, she had to wait until tomorrow.

Song Jinyi asked, "Even if there's no cook in the kitchen, there must be ingredients."

Mrs. Wang was stunned for a moment. She hadn't expected her to ask this question so suddenly. If she said no, wouldn't that be a lie? She hummed reluctantly.

"That's fine." Song Jinyi originally wanted to go to the kitchen to cook something by herself, but she didn't expect Song Yunting to be like a little tail and insist on following her. She thought it was no big deal, so she took him along.

The other maids in the yard saw Song Jinyi heading to the kitchen and gossiped, "You think she won't actually go to the kitchen to cook?"

Mrs. Wang said disdainfully, "Let her do whatever she wants. She's just an embroiderer. I'm afraid she can't even light a fire, let alone cook."

Song Jinyi, who "can't cook", came to the small kitchen and glanced at the ingredients.

She quickly ran through the possible recipes in her mind, and finally her eyes stopped on a fresh leg of lamb. She held up the leg of lamb that was almost as long as her arm.

Mutton is sweet and warm, it warms the middle, replenishes qi, nourishes the body, and protects against wind and cold. Song Jinyi looked up at the sky and saw that it was almost the beginning of autumn. It was time to eat some mutton to gain some weight so that the body would be warm and less likely to catch a cold in winter.

Song Jinyi lit the fire with a tinder, and when the fire gradually stabilized, she fanned it with a fan a little harder. Song Yunting watched from the side, and seemed to have found something fun, so he took the fan and blew it hard.

Song Jinyi went to the stove and cut the tender lamb into slices. Then she took a porcelain bowl, put some water in it, and put the lamb in. She then prepared chopped green onions, sliced ​​ginger, and salt, and put them into the bowl to remove the fishy smell.

Put the bowl on the steamer and boil it over high heat. Song Jinyi calculated the time and when the water boiled, she added wine, vinegar, sauce, minced ginger and other seasonings and mixed them evenly. Then she sealed the bowl and steamed it slowly over low heat until the mutton was tender.

Song Jinyi brought out the bowl of food through a wet towel. The food was steaming hot, and the unique aroma of mutton captured all her senses in the steam.

This bowl of steamed meat used half a pound of mutton, which was very solid. Song Yunting sat on a low stool. Song Jinyi was afraid that Song Yun would be burned, so she picked up some pieces of meat with chopsticks and fed them to him.

The mutton soaked up the broth. He took a sip, and the delicious gravy instantly soaked his mouth. While chewing, he mumbled, "Good, delicious."

After eating half a bowl, Song Jinyi stopped Song Yunting from eating any more. This meat dish was very filling, and he had already eaten a lot before. He said, "You kid doesn't know how to feel hungry or full. Don't let him upset his stomach."

He was a little reluctant and shook his head. Song Jinyi took the bowl aside and said that she would make it for him tomorrow. He then became happy again.

Song Jinyi took a look at the remaining mutton and was about to feed herself when she suddenly caught a glimpse of a figure swaying outside the kitchen door. It turned out to be Wang Po. She was afraid that Song Jinyi would set the kitchen on fire, so she came over to check.

As a result, she could smell the aroma of mutton from afar. From her huge and round figure, it could be seen that she had a good diet on a daily basis. But she swallowed her saliva. It was the first time she smelled such a delicious smell.

She had just finished eating two big chicken legs, but the smell made her hungry again. She squinted her eyes and moved uncontrollably towards the source of the fragrance.

She had unknowingly taken half a step forward. Now she was neither able to advance nor retreat. She looked at Song Jinyi in confusion. She looked at the half bowl of mutton in Song Jinyi's hand and scratched her head.

Song Jinyi figured she would need this person's help later, so she said sympathetically, "If Madam Wang doesn't mind my cooking, how about having a bowl and trying my cooking?"

Mrs. Wang took the bowl without hesitation. The finished product was juicy and fragrant, soft yet chewy. She didn't even want to waste the little bit of soup left at the bottom of the bowl. She licked it clean and said, "It smells so good."

After Wang Po had eaten and drunk her fill, he asked her if she needed any help.

Song Jinyi opened the lid of the steamer and found a bowl of mutton inside, not much, about two taels.

Song Jinyi asked her to deliver the bowl of meat to Xie Wuyang and asked about the situation at the same time.

Lingyuxuan on the other side.

Shen Lingyu sat in front of the dressing mirror, looking at her face in the mirror. She couldn't help but ask the maid who was combing her hair beside her: "Am I old?"

The maid said, "Madam, you are not old. It's just that bitch's nonsense. Madam, don't take her words to heart."

As he was speaking, a maid hurried into the room and reported everything Song Jinyi had done today.

Shen Lingyu's expression was unusually calm. She asked indifferently, "What is she doing now?"

"I went to the lower room of Yunlan Garden."

"Isn't that where the servants live? What is she doing there?"

"I inquired a little and learned that the young lady had hired a doctor for the people inside. The doctor seemed to say that he was a slave bought by the young lady."

She snorted coldly and said in a low voice, "I heard that she is even more beautiful than the young prostitute at Yu Lou Chun. If I were to ask you, I'd say there might be something fishy going on between these two."

Shen Lingyu waved her hand to stop her nonsense: "Sister Yi will be married soon. I just hope everything goes well for her. It's better to say less about this kind of side talk in the future."

The maidservant beside her kept complaining: "I am stupid and didn't even understand the pros and cons."

Shen Lingyu remained silent for a long time, staring at the mirror with a sullen gaze, as if she were looking at another person through the mirror. She murmured, "She has changed a lot, and looks very much like an old friend. It makes me a little uneasy."

"She's just a little girl. She's going to get married anyway. Madam, don't worry. Once she leaves, you'll be the one who has the final say in the Song family."

******

After an unknown amount of time, Xie Wuyang's consciousness gradually returned to his body.

The pain in his throat was like a nail driving into his soul. As soon as he regained consciousness, he felt a torrential downpour of pain crushing his nerves.

A faint moan escaped from his dry lips from time to time, and his whole body was cold, as if he had been thrown into the ice and snow in the middle of winter. He tried to raise his hands, but the thin blanket on his body seemed to weigh a thousand pounds.

He squinted his eyes, glancing sideways at the unfamiliar surroundings. Where was he? He couldn't remember how he got here. He only remembered that he and Song Jinyi went to the clothing store and then to the alley...

He shouldn't have gone into that alley!

He was feeling so miserable that he almost died, but she had disappeared. Did she abandon him again?

If she really abandoned him, he would not let Song Jinyi go even if he became a ghost. He must...

Suddenly, he felt his forehead getting hot. In a daze, he felt warm fingertips occasionally brushing against his skin. Someone put a towel soaked in hot water on his head. Was it Am?

He mumbled "Emm."

Then he felt the person next to him pause and move closer to his face, as if wanting to hear clearly what he said. He smelled a faint scent of gardenia, a very familiar smell that he had vaguely smelled somewhere.

He used all his willpower to pry open his eyelids, tilted his head slightly, and saw a pair of bright and charming eyes, just like the warm spring sunshine shining in a pool of clear water, sparkling brightly.

Who is it?

His consciousness was suddenly hazy and he couldn't tell what was going on immediately. Perhaps he couldn't believe it. After a while, he murmured hoarsely, "You, are here?"

Song Jinyi heard his depressed tone and thought he was blaming her for coming so late, so she explained, "I was locked up in the yard, and I finally persuaded Nanny Wang to come here. I called a doctor, and he will be here soon. It's okay, no one will bully you anymore..."

As Xie Wuyang listened to Song Jinyi's chattering, his original resentment and a trace of hatred gradually subsided, and an indescribable feeling appeared in his heart.

He was originally feeling uneasy and bored in an unfamiliar environment, but because there was a familiar person around him, he unconsciously relaxed and fainted the next moment.

Seeing him close his eyes and faint again, Song Jinyi patted his face. Seeing that he didn't respond, she asked urgently, "Why hasn't the doctor come yet?"

Nanny Wang came over and said, "I'm afraid that with you here, the doctor won't be able to come in."

"What's the meaning?"

Nanny Wang told her that women in the inner house were not allowed to see men outside the house at will. If Song Jinyi was left here, it would be a violation of the rules. Not to mention that she was a servant, even Madam Shen could not afford it.

Song Jinyi was silent for a moment, then turned around and looked at Xie Wuyang.

She took off the jade bracelet on her wrist and gave it to Nanny Wang, asking her to take good care of her in the future and to tell her if anything happened.

Nanny Wang took the jade bracelet and said with a smile, "Of course."