As Fen Ling had pointed out, Ning Ze had gone to bathe and change his clothes as he couldn’t bear to smell like a kitchen on fire. He had to change water three times before he could finally wash the greasy smell of the kitchen off his body from top to bottom.
Upon exiting the bath, he asked, "Where’s Fen Ling?"
The servant, genuinely impressed, reported what he had learned to Ning Ze, "Young Master Fen Ling is currently in the pavilion, sharing a pot of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall with Duanhua Princess and Lady Su Qi. He’s eating merrily, without leaving you a bit, and all the while he’s slandering you, saying you didn’t help at all in the kitchen, that you were like a pillar standing there, taking up space and getting in the way. He also called you clumsy."
Ning Ze’s face darkened with anger, "Did he really say that?"
"Yes, I wouldn’t dare to lie." He then repeated Fen Ling’s exact words he had heard in the pavilion.
Ning Ze was so irritated that he could feel his nose going askew, "That bastard! He’s got a mouth on him, but why didn’t he also mention that I wanted to leave and he insisted that I stay? Who would willingly stay in the kitchen?"
The servant whispered, "He said that because you were in the kitchen, the chef didn’t dare to withhold anything and taught him how to make Buddha Jumps Over the Wall exactly."
Ning Ze was even more infuriated. He had been occasionally lost to Ning Chi since childhood, but had never lost to outsiders. He didn’t expect that this Fen Ling would give him a full day of frustration without a single word of praise.
"People from small families really lack manners," Ning Ze spat out bitterly, "I’m not going out there, in case I can’t get away. Send a message to my sister and ask her to find a way to get Su Rong alone in the backyard."
As long as Su Rong entered the backyard of the Crown Prince’s Residence, he could detain her and make her beg him in tears.
The servant understood and left immediately.
Meanwhile in the pavilion, Duanhua, Su Rong, and Fen Ling each had a bowl of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, and they were all half full.
After setting down his chopsticks, Fen Ling said to Su Rong, "Sis, the Crown Prince’s cooks really only know how to make this one dish, Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. The rest of their skills are mediocre. They aren’t even as good as the cooks at the Princess’s Residence. In my opinion, we’ve eaten enough. Why don’t we take the ten servings of steamed sugar crisp that we asked for and leave?"
"Is the Steamed Sugar Crisp ready yet?" Su Rong asked.
"Yes, it’s ready. I’ll go get it myself. We can leave as soon as I bring it back, okay?" Fen Ling glanced at the bare chrysanthemum branches not far away, "Anyway, you’ve already seen the finest scenery in the Crown Prince’s Residence."
Su Rong nodded, "Okay, then you better hurry."
Fen Ling immediately went off, and he even meticulously took all the empty dishes together back to the kitchen.
The Crown Prince’s wife was shocked, "You, you’re not staying for the banquet?"
The Second Prince’s wife was also stunned. Isn’t it customary for guests to stay until the end of the banquet? So this was it, just a bowl of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, then they were done?
Duanhua had no objection to Fen Ling’s suggestion. She had been here to the Crown Prince’s Residence several times and there was nothing interesting. The Residence’s cooks didn’t have any specialties apart from the one who could make Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. She had to admit, Fen Ling was the most skilled when it came to food. He would walk into someone’s kitchen and leave no stone unturned. "We’ve already eaten."
After she spoke, she suddenly remembered, "Oh, second cousin-in-law hasn’t eaten yet, why don’t you stay here with our elder cousin-in-law and enjoy the meal at your leisure!"
The Second Prince’s wife: "..."
Thank you for remembering that I haven’t eaten.
Fen Ling darted off to the main kitchen and picked up ten boxes of Steamed Sugar Crisp, running there and back in less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea.
The Crown Prince’s wife was taken aback by his speed, staring at the ten boxes of pastry in his hands, she was speechless for a long while.
Fen Ling, showing no signs of fatigue, held the pastries and urged Duanhua and Su Rong, "Sis, Princess, let’s go!"
Su Rong stood up and deeply bowed, "Thank you for your kind hospitality today, Crown Prince’s wife." She turned to the Second Prince’s wife and smiled, "Whenever you send out an invitation, my brother and I will be sure to visit."
The Second Prince’s wife looked at the Crown Prince’s wife’s displeased expression and thought to herself, dare I send out an invitation to you? With your bandit-like manners, it’s just as well. The host prepared a whole table of dishes, the banquet had not even started, and the invited guests had already filled their stomachs and were ready to leave. If this got out, it would be the laughing stock of the town. I don’t plan on sending you an invitation anymore.
The Crown Prince’s wife didn’t want all her efforts to go to waste, and though her expression was sour, she stood up and tried to persuade them to stay, "It’s a rare occasion for you to visit my residence. At least finish your meal before you leave."
Su Rong was gentle and sweet, "We’ve indeed eaten quite a lot. We can’t eat more. I’m very sorry to waste such great effort of yours, Crown Prince’s wife."
Fen Ling was nodding her head in agreement, "When your residence replaces the rest of the chefs with even better ones than those in the Princess Residence, please re-invite us, we promise to come again."
Duanhua unexpectedly shared a heartfelt sentiment with the Crown Prince’s wife, "Alright, big sister-in-law, don’t insist. If we stay any longer, you’ll have to bring out my cousin’s private selection of good wine. I don’t want to offend my big cousin right now, so I won’t drink his wine. It’s better for you to know when to quit!"
The Crown Prince’s wife was speechless. Quit while she’s ahead? How was she ahead? Not at all. They were having a good time, but she was about to lose her mind.
Seeing that the Crown Prince’s wife had nothing more to say, Duanhua, arm-in-arm with Su Rong and accompanied by Fen Ling, left the Crown Prince’s residence.
The Crown Prince’s wife felt irritated and her face was grim. She didn’t see them off, but thanks to the good sense of the Prince’s residence housekeeper, he led them to the main gate.
Outside the gate, there were three carriages from the Princess Residence, with guards loading them with chrysanthemums. In total, they filled three carriages with flowers.
The housekeeper was nearly spitting up blood. To him, such beautiful chrysanthemums, all ruined now! Even he was heartbroken, what about the Crown Prince’s wife? She must be bleeding inside.
Watching them leave without being able to think of a reason to keep them, the Crown Prince’s wife felt aggrieved. After a while, she said reluctantly, "I must have made a laughing stock of myself in front of my second sister-in-law."
The second Prince’s wife thought, "Indeed, she had made a spectacle of herself, so much so that it was almost laughable. She felt extremely relieved that she wasn’t the one who had extended the invitation today. If she had been, she wouldn’t want to go out for at least half a month."
Since she wasn’t the one who had extended the invitation, the second Prince’s wife’s mood was calm. She said to the Crown Prince’s wife, "The Su siblings are really something."
"Aren’t they just? Who would have imagined that they would be like this?" The Crown Prince’s wife was infuriated. "Did you see? Duanhua never questioned those two, they got along so well. When has Duanhua ever gotten along with anyone that well?"
The second Prince’s wife nodded, "In a short period of time, they managed to fit in so well with everyone in the Princess Residence. Not only the princess’s horseman, even the cleaning maids have nothing bad to say about them. Today, from their behavior in your residence, I wonder if it’s their true nature to be so impolite, or if they did so purposely with some ulterior motive?"
"From my perspective, it was probably deliberate." The Crown Prince’s wife huffed, "The Su Family from Jiangzhou and the former Inspector’s Jiang Family have a bit of a malicious history. Even though they didn’t have a major feud, the Su family must have been relieved when the Jiang Family Clan was put to death. Those two siblings, they probably don’t want to get along well with the Crown Prince Residence, that’s why they’re provoking us without any restraint."
The second Prince’s wife said, "Don’t be angry big sister-in-law. You need to remember your own standing and theirs. If they’re not afraid of offending you now, wait until they are out of the Princess Residence. Then you’ll have plenty of opportunity to deal with them."
Her words resonated with the Crown Prince’s wife. She harbored resentment, but didn’t show it on her face, "Second sister-in-law, let’s go and eat. Even though they left, we should still go ahead with our meal."
The second Prince’s wife nodded. She had already come all this way, so she couldn’t just leave without eating.
So, when Ning Ze found out that the three had left without even having the luncheon banquet, he was speechless. In all his years, he had never seen guests behave like this. It was quite the eye-opening experience. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦
He asked his servant, "Didn’t my sister attempt to persuade them to stay?"
The servant, equally speechless, recounted the incident as it had happened, "The Crown Prince’s wife did try to stop them but couldn’t."
Upon hearing this, Ning Ze lost his appetite. He waved his hand, scowling, "Go tell my sister, I won’t be eating."
He’d been in the kitchen inhaling the smell of cooking oil, his mood was spoiled and the beauty had already left, so what was there to eat?
Meanwhile, in the carriage returning to the Princess Residence, Duanhua was laughing so hard she was holding her belly, her eyes wet with laughter, "Hahaha, Fen Ling, you are simply too clever. My big cousin’s wife has been married to my big cousin for two years, and this is the first time I’ve ever seen her nearly faint with anger."
Fen Ling was also laughing uncontrollably. She pointed at the three loads of chrysanthemums behind them, "What’s so special about what I did? Isn’t it the Princess herself who’s amazing? My sister merely provided the ladder, and you climbed up it one rung at a time, stripping an entire garden of its chrysanthemums. And then had the audacity to take them back to your residence!"
He gave her a thumbs-up, "When it comes to offending people, you are much worse than me!"
Duanhua wiped away the tears of laughter from her eyes with a handkerchief, "You guys don’t know, although Ning Yao calls me cousin affectionately to my face, she’s been laughing at me behind my back. Don’t assume that I don’t know. I’ve never been able to do anything about her, and I can’t even confront her face to face. But now, I’ve finally had my revenge."
She said to Su Rong with a satisfied face, "Well done! When the chrysanthemum tea is ready, give it away. I want everyone in the Capital City to know that I’ve stripped the chrysanthemum garden bare in her residence and used them to make tea."
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