Jiang Shuwan has now lived three lifetimes, and in her eyes, a little girl like Ling is no different from a child.

Besides, Aunt Song doesn't even care about this, so why make things difficult for a young girl?

Jiang Shuwan gently called her cousin Ling to her side and inquired about her daily life. Ling gradually relaxed and began to gesticulate excitedly as she told Jiang Shuwan about her life at the Jiang residence.

"Don't you have any manners? You're about to get married!"

Seeing her like this, Aunt Song immediately glared at her fiercely, and Cousin Ling immediately shut up.

“It’s nothing wrong for a child to be a little lively,” Jiang Shuwan said with a smile. “The fourth young lady of the Marquis’s mansion is also very lively.”

"I've heard that the fourth daughter of the Marquis's family married into the Yao family, where the Yao family has a vice minister in the Ministry of Personnel. How can a family like ours compare to hers?" Aunt Song said with a look of envy.

The Yao family held positions such as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and were also related to the imperial family.

Only Jiang Shuwan could say these things so casually. Families like theirs would be extremely cautious even when mentioning such important figures, for fear of accidentally breaking a taboo and causing the whole family to suffer the consequences.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Shuwan blinked but remained silent.

After chatting with Cousin Ling for a while, the groom's family, who were there to present the betrothal gifts, arrived. The groom's second uncle was a refined and approachable man.

After the second uncle left, a group of old women came. The one in the lead, surnamed Zhou, had a purple cloth wrapped around her waist and was called Granny Zhou. She was their leader.

Granny Zhou was very proper in everything she did and spoke with decorum. She sat and chatted for a while, talking about all sorts of things, and didn't leave even though it was almost lunchtime.

Jiang Shuwan immediately noticed something was different.

"Miss, she's here on behalf of the groom's family to taste the dishes. Miss Ling brought several head cooks with her as part of her dowry. I heard that as soon as she arrived, these maids went to the kitchen to take charge. It seems that the groom's family wants to test their skills." Qingxing whispered a reminder to her.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Shuwan glanced at Granny Zhou. She saw that the woman was sitting steadily and appeared to be generous and well-mannered, but in reality, she was subtly trying to outdo the woman.

She understood immediately.

It was called a food tasting, but it was really just a way for each other to test each other's abilities.

If my cousin Ruoling can't get through this, I'm afraid her future will be difficult.

Mrs. Song and Aunt Song were well aware of this, so they had long ago instructed the maids in charge of cooking to not only cook well, but also to select the best ingredients for all the dishes.

On the other side, Granny Zhou remained seated steadily. She had indeed come with a mission today, but she hadn't expected the Song family to send Jiang Shuwan. As a result, she felt inferior as soon as she entered the door.

However, she has to "stand up" no matter what, otherwise they will be left behind.

When people get married, they are supposed to be forming a strong bond, but from the very beginning of discussing the marriage, there is always a game of strategy involved.

"Madam, the stove is cleaned."

A little maid came to report.

"Granny Zhou, let's go take a look and see how skilled these maids are," said Madam Song and Aunt Song as they walked out.

Since we're going to test the dishes, of course we need to watch the girls cook them.

Soon, a group of people walked into the courtyard, where two stoves had been set up and a long table next to them was laden with a row of fine ingredients.

Two maids who had accompanied her as a dowry, wearing aprons, stood awkwardly beside the stove.

Being the head cook is a good job. They had competed with other maids in the mansion to get this position. Now, in front of the man's family, they naturally had to make Ling Miss proud, otherwise their position would be in jeopardy.

"Let's cook."

Aunt Song nodded to the cooking girl, who quickly got to work, fetching ingredients, and soon smoke began to rise from the chimney.

Aunt Song took this matter very seriously and couldn't help but look over there nervously from time to time. Miss Ling was the same way. The young girl also knew that this was a game of strategy. If she lost, she would be looked down upon. For a moment, she clenched her handkerchief tightly.

The head cook was also very nervous, after all, this was related to their careers. Even though they had rehearsed several times before, they were still flustered on the spot and made several mistakes, which made Granny Zhou frown.

When the dishes were served, Granny Zhou was not very satisfied. She only took a couple of bites before putting down her food and wiping her mouth with a handkerchief. The old woman who came with her was puffing out her chest and looking down on everyone.

Aunt Song was very anxious, and Miss Ling's eyes were almost red.

“Look at these good-for-nothings. They’re quite good at cooking normally, but they get stage fright as soon as they get to the table. You two should make a few more of your specialties…” Aunt Song said, then winked at the two girls in charge of cooking.

"No."

Before the maid could even start cooking, Granny Zhou spoke up, then made a gesture as if she was about to leave, which made Aunt Song break out in a cold sweat.

Right now, the two sides are locked in a stalemate. If she were to ask to stay, she would be at a disadvantage.

Using silver would be even more disrespectful.

Aunt Song was so anxious she didn't know what to do. If Madam Song were here, she could have managed to smooth things over, but Jiang Yao had just returned. Jiang Yao didn't come over, so Madam Song went to see what was going on, and she still hadn't returned.

oops!

What should we do?

Seeing that Granny Zhou had already moved her buttocks away from the chair, Aunt Song was still at a loss for what to do and was sweating profusely with anxiety. Just then, Jiang Shuwan spoke up.

"Didn't Aunt bring some dew collected last winter to make tea? If you're not in a hurry, why don't you have some tea before you go?"

"Qingxing, serve tea."

As Jiang Shuwan spoke, she gave Qingxing a meaningful look.

"Yes, Miss." Qingxing immediately bowed her head.

Aunt Song was completely stunned. When did she bring dew with her? What would she do with that dew stuff?

Can dew be used to make tea?

Granny Zhou was also stunned. She immediately glanced at Aunt Song, thinking to herself, "This humble family knows how to fetch rainwater to make tea? They're quite something..."

Granny Zhou immediately stopped herself from taking the first step and respectfully curtsied to Jiang Shuwan.

"Since it is the county princess's request, how dare this servant disobey?"

After saying this, he saw Jiang Shuwan nod before daring to sit down below her, but he didn't dare to sit down properly, only sitting on about a third of his buttocks.

Ling realized that Jiang Shuwan was helping her, and quickly sat up straight and moved closer to Jiang Shuwan.

Jiang Shuwan remained completely calm throughout.

It's true that the two maids were a bit of a tug-of-war while cooking, but she had just tried the dishes and found that they actually tasted quite good, not as bad as Granny Zhou had made them out to be.

Granny Zhou was merely using this opportunity to suppress the Song family.

"Why is the food tasting over?"

At this moment, Madam Song also returned, accompanied by Jiang Yao, who was dressed in a magnificent gown.

"They're all family, what's wrong with supporting your cousin Ling? Your older sister is here too!"

"Put on a smile, don't let the groom's servants see it!"