Shao Yan learned several dishes from Xie Yunjiao. They were decent for banquets but the ingredients were simple and they tasted good.
After she was ready, she waited for Wu Mingde to come back.
Not long after, Wu Mingde came back with two couples.
They were all Wu Mingde's colleagues in the Hanlin Academy. When they saw how simple their house was, a hint of disgust flashed in their eyes, but since Wu Mingde was now their boss, they could only endure it.
In fact, they looked down on Wu Mingde and even said behind his back that Wu Mingde was able to get the position of Minister thanks to Princess Mingyue.
The officials in the Hanlin Academy may not seem to hold high positions, but they are valued by the emperor. Wouldn't it be possible for them to be promoted and get a raise at any time?
The top scholar got a thankless job, but Wu Mingde, the third place winner, was able to enter the Hanlin Academy, which naturally made people feel unbalanced.
Wu Mingde invited them to sit down. Suddenly, the wife of a colleague noticed their cabinet with sharp eyes. The corner of her mouth twitched and she said, "Master Wu, your cabinet looks like ours, but we lost it because one of the legs was broken."
The man kept staring at the cabinet, but in fact he already knew in his heart that this cabinet belonged to their family.
This cabinet has been used in their family for so many years, so she naturally knows where it is scratched and where a corner is missing.
She just didn't expect that the cabinet in the home of the Minister of the Hanlin Academy was actually picked up from second-hand goods that their family didn't want.
Life is really frugal.
A glimmer flashed in Shao Yan's eyes, and she smiled awkwardly and said, "Maybe they are somewhat similar."
"Hey, I think this screen looks familiar. Even the ink stains my child accidentally made on it..."
Originally, another lady also wanted to say that the screen was the same as the one in her house, but when she took a closer look, she found that the ink on it had been changed into a cute little sheep, but it was so black that she almost couldn't recognize it.
"It turns out I was wrong." The woman said embarrassedly.
Shao Yan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If Xie Yunjiao hadn't felt that the screen had a black spot that looked ugly and helped her to make some changes, she might have made a fool of herself on the spot.
"Mrs. Wu, these dishes you cook are very exquisite." Wu Mingde's subordinates praised.
Shao Yan smiled embarrassedly: "I just learned how to make it, so the taste is not good. Please forgive me."
Everyone saw that the food on the table looked delicious and started to taste it, but when they took the first bite, some people's faces changed.
"What's wrong, Lord Ding? Does it taste bad?" Shao Yan felt uneasy when she saw the man's face change.
Mr. Ding smiled and said, "No, it tastes very good."
"My dear, this tastes so much like the new dishes from Yue Man Lou," Lord Ding's wife whispered. "I thought it wouldn't look as good as Yue Man Lou's, but I didn't expect it to taste so similar."
"It should have been bought from Yuemanlou." said Mr. Ding.
"That shouldn't be the case. How can they afford it in their current situation?"
The two of them whispered in front of Wu Mingde and Shao Yan as if nothing had happened, although they spoke in a low voice.
But the table was not big, and everyone was sitting around it, so occasionally a word or two would float into the ears of Shao Yan and Wu Mingde.
Wu Mingde was angry and about to lose his temper, but he also listened to Shao Yan's words that a new official should have good relations with his subordinates. It was only after Shao Yan used both soft and hard tactics that he invited these people back.
As a result, these people talked behind his back in front of him and showed no respect for Shao Yan at all.
How could he not be angry?
Suddenly, Shao Yan reached out, grabbed his hand and winked at him.
Wu Mingde understood Shao Yan's painstaking efforts, so he had to grit his teeth and endure it.
But those people simply looked down on him, and the whole meal tasted like chewing wax.
After those people finally left, Shao Yan finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Wu Xiaomei and the others also came out of the house.
Although the voices of those people just now were not loud, you could tell how disgusted they were just by looking at the expressions on their faces.
"Brother and sister-in-law, why are you doing this again? You are just asking for trouble." Wu Xiaomei said.
Their lives used to be simple, not like now. The eldest brother was obviously very angry but still had to pretend in front of those people. How hard it was.
Shao Yan quickly said, "They said the dishes I cooked were bought from Yue Man Lou. I should be happy."
"And that cabinet, that screen? They're so nosy, pointing fingers and making comments." Wu Xiaomei said angrily, "Although our family is poor, my brother is now an official, and he still has to be looked down upon!"
"Little sister," Shao Yan coughed lightly and spoke awkwardly, "It's not their fault. It's my sister-in-law's fault. I lied to you and said I bought them. In fact, I saw someone moving these things out to throw them away. I thought they looked good, so I asked them for them."
"Sister-in-law, you..." Wu Xiaomei looked at Shao Yan.
Shao Yan smiled bitterly, knowing in her heart that if she told the truth, everyone would be angry with her.
If she hadn't wanted to save money, Wu Mingde wouldn't have been embarrassed in front of everyone.
"Sister-in-law, you did a great job. This cabinet was just missing a leg, but now it's installed, it works perfectly.
And the screen, too, is very good.”
"Yes, yes, sister is right." Younger Brother Wu quickly agreed.
"You..." Tears welled up in Shao Yan's eyes. She didn't expect them to speak up for her. She thought they would scold her.
Suddenly, she felt a weight on her shoulder. Wu Mingde held her shoulder and said, "Don't cry, silly girl. We are a family. How could I let you suffer any injustice?"
Shao Yan turned her head to look at Wu Mingde, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but rise, revealing a sweet smile.
The next day, Xie Yunjiao came to visit Shao Yan and asked her about the banquet she had yesterday. Shao Yan didn't want to say much and just said it went very well.
But Wu Xiaomei happened to be at home, so she told Xie Yunjiao everything that happened yesterday.
Xie Yunjiao didn't expect those people to dare to do this. They were so sarcastic in front of their boss Wu Mingde. Did they think they were so great?
"Boss, don't be angry. This is indeed the situation in our family. No wonder people say that." Shao Yan said pretending to be fine.
In fact, although everyone comforted her last night, she still felt that she had done something wrong. She did something bad just to save money.
She tossed and turned all night and couldn't sleep at all.
"You, why are you suddenly so kind? You were not like this before." Xie Yunjiao said.
Shao Yan’s temper wasn’t that good before.
"It's a special situation now." Shao Yan said sweetly while touching her bulging belly.
Xie Yunjiao said: "That's right, prenatal education is very important. You don't have to worry about this." Leave it to me.
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