When the eldest prince and the two Lu brothers returned to the hot spring resort, they did not see the three girls.
Lu Jing'an's hands were dirty, covered with a clump of black mud-like stuff. He held it in his hand with disgust, but strangely, he didn't hand it to the servant.
The guards behind the eldest prince were carrying a droopy pheasant, but it was impossible to determine whether it was the beautiful pheasant that had supposedly led the eldest prince away.
The only connection that pheasant had to beauty at this moment was the few sparse, long, and unusually white tail feathers on its rump.
This pheasant has unusual plumage. Its tail feathers are snow-white, its wings have black and white stripes, while the feathers on its belly and head are dark black with a cold sheen.
If we were to boldly guess what it looked like with all its feathers intact, it might indeed be a rare and beautiful pheasant.
Unfortunately, most of its feathers were gone by now, and it was being kicked around, looking quite pathetic. How could it possibly be the beautiful thing it once was?
Lu Zhaoan continued walking in silence.
Their return was quite a commotion. Logically speaking, the estate wasn't large, and even if Princess Ruining, the mistress, didn't hear the commotion immediately, she would have come out to check it out once the servants went to report.
Princess Ruining was usually quite interested in the game she hunted.
However, as they walked, only servants led them forward methodically, and no one came out to check.
When a man returns from a hunt with a bountiful catch, he naturally wants to show it off to the woman.
Lu Jing'an is an anomaly.
All he wanted to do at that moment was get rid of what he was holding as quickly as possible.
He randomly picked a maid from the estate: "You, go to the kitchen and get a plate!"
The maid was taken aback. Seeing that she stood there motionless, he said impatiently, "Just go when I tell you to. Can't I get you to come?"
The eldest prince laughed heartily: "Jing'an! I told you before that the servants could handle this, but you wouldn't listen!"
"No! The servants are too clumsy; what if they break it!"
The eldest prince didn't care: "So what if it's broken? I don't believe I can't find something else here, my elder sister!"
Lu Zhaoan listened to their lively conversation without interrupting, a faint smile playing on his lips.
Lu Jing'an, finding the first maidservant too slow and not yet returned, simply called another maidservant to take him to the back kitchen.
It's no wonder the maids were slow at first; the kitchen was in complete chaos.
The hot spring resort rarely has visitors, unlike the princess's residence, which has five chefs in charge of meals, as well as servants to help with cooking.
There was only one cook at the hot spring resort, and the other servants helped out on weekdays. Since there were few people eating there, it was enough.
Meanwhile, the kitchen was bustling with activity.
When Gu Yaoniang suggested that she grill the meat herself, Princess Ruining, trusting in Gu Yaoniang's culinary skills, was very tempted.
However, he still had to be polite in his words: "You are a guest, how can we let a guest cook for himself? That's not appropriate."
Although Wang Zhilan did not speak, her eyes were full of anticipation.
Yao Niang's cravings were piqued, and she was unwilling to give up easily.
She didn't say much, but simply instructed Bitao to fetch a wooden box from her room and open it in front of Princess Ruining.
Inside were some exquisite porcelain bottles, like the small bottles that young ladies in the capital would use to buy rouge.
Yao Niang took out a bottle and opened it. Inside was red powder. As soon as it was opened, a pungent and irritating smell hit the tip of her nose.
"This is a bell pepper. I only ate it once when I was a child; my second uncle brought it home. It's so spicy! It's the best for grilled meat!"
Then I took out a second bottle, which contained fine, bluish-green granules, smaller than rice grains, but without a very noticeable smell.
Yao Niang carefully waved the bottle in front of Princess Ruining and Wang Zhilan. The two smelled a strange fragrance. They couldn't quite put their finger on what it was, but they felt that it smelled good!
"These are cumin seeds, which can be sprinkled on grilled meat to enhance the aroma! My second uncle and I tasted these in Jinzhou, and I bought some to bring back from there!"
As she spoke, she picked up a third bottle and was about to open it when Princess Ruining gritted her teeth and said, "Let's go!"
He dragged her towards the kitchen.
Yao Niang smiled triumphantly. Wang Zhilan hesitated for a moment, but still followed.
The three of them went to the kitchen, startling the group of people who were processing the prey.
Although the kitchen in the manor was separated into dry and wet areas, with fixed areas for washing, preparing, and cooking, it was not a dirty place, but it was still a place the masters had never set foot in.
At this moment, three people arrived at once, including the princess. It was hard not to be surprised.
The cook was directing his assistants to clean the game, bleeding it, removing the fur, and gutting it...
Handling meat is inevitably bloody, and this was something that a noble lady from a wealthy family had never seen before.
Wang Zhilan was already feeling unwell after choking on water, and a wave of nausea washed over her. Curious about what Yao Niang was going to do, she stepped aside and watched from a distance.
Princess Ruining wasn't intimidated, though she was somewhat disdainful. She frowned and instructed the kitchen staff to follow Yao Niang's orders.
Then, uncertainly, he asked Yao Niang, "Are you really going to do it yourself?"
Since she was already here, Yao Niang certainly wouldn't give up halfway.
Besides, she used to only have Bitao as a helper when she cooked! Now she has a cook and servants, which is much better.
Since the goal is to make the kind of grilled meat that you can eat in Jinzhou, you can't cut the meat into large pieces like you would with regular grilled meat.
A large number of skewers will also be needed.
The original iron skewers in the village were a bit thick, only suitable for grilling large pieces of meat. If you want to eat the kind of grilled skewers like those in Jinzhou, you need thinner skewers.
"Who among you has the best swordsmanship?" Yao Niang asked.
A middle-aged man with a dark complexion stepped forward.
"If you were to whittle bamboo skewers, how many could you whittle in an hour?"
She gestured to indicate the length of the bamboo skewer, roughly the length of her forearm and the thickness of a hairpin.
The man looked somewhat bewildered, but still answered honestly, "I can probably cut about 50."
Yao Niang fell silent.
Fifty sticks in an hour is too slow.
Should we just let it go? But she was also somewhat unwilling.
Since she was going to stay at the estate for a while, she anticipated that she would eat roast meat at least once a day, so she brought her treasured spice box with her.
Wouldn't it be a waste if we didn't have to use it?
"Sister Ahan?"
Lu Jing'an was somewhat surprised to see Wang Zhilan standing outside the kitchen.
He walked into the kitchen and was so shocked that he stood at the kitchen door and wouldn't leave.
"Princess? Lady Gu?"
Princess Ruining saw that Lu Jing'an was holding a clump of mud in his hands and said with disgust, "You're all filthy, why didn't you wash yourself first!"
Lu Jing'an didn't take it seriously. Instead, he ordered someone to bring a clean plate and carefully placed the lump of mud in his hand onto it.
He wanted to put his hands on his hips, but his hands were covered in mud, so he raised them and then lowered them again. He kicked the servant Qiuyue beside him and said, "Aren't you going to fetch some water for me to wash my hands?"
Qiuyue was still in a daze when she was suddenly kicked in the buttocks, and she quickly went to find a basin to fetch water.
Princess Ruining, however, seemed used to it and chuckled softly, covering her mouth: "Qiuyue is still as clever as ever."
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