Princess Duan stood up before Fanghua could reply, and gave Meng Qi a half-smile, "Second sister is the one who pretends to be rich, right, second sister?"
Fang Hua snorted coldly, "Everyone knows that Fourth Sister-in-law's cooking skills are the best. Even the Empress praised her. But I've never heard that Sixth Sister-in-law has such skills. But I heard that Sixth Brother rarely even goes back to the inner courtyard of Prince Rui's Mansion. I wonder how Sixth Sister-in-law practiced her cooking skills."
This sentence made Meng Qi's face turn red, and she pointed at Fanghua for a long time without saying anything.
Princess Duan clapped her hands and laughed, "So, it seems that Second Sister is also betting on Fourth Sister-in-law to win?"
Fanghua didn't respond to her words, but looked up at Princess Jing, "Does Fourth Sister-in-law really want to compete?"
Princess Jing smiled and said, "What are we comparing? We are all fulfilling our filial piety to the Emperor. It doesn't matter who does it better or worse. What matters is our heart for the Emperor."
Fanghua glanced at Princess Duan and said, "Second sister-in-law, this is not true. Fourth sister-in-law is not competing. What are you betting on?"
Upon hearing this, Princess Duan quickly walked over to Princess Jing and said, "It's just for fun. It shows filial piety and adds to the fun. Isn't it the best of both worlds?"
Princess Cheng thought for a moment and smiled, "I think Second Sister-in-law's suggestion is a good one. Besides, it's not just Fourth Sister-in-law and Sixth Brother's wife who are being compared. How about we include them all?"
"What does it count?" The Crown Princess came over. She had been beside the Queen and didn't hear what they said.
Princess Duan quickly explained the whole story and asked, "Do you think my idea is good, Crown Princess?"
The Crown Princess looked at Meng Qi, whose face was flushed and silent. "It's not really a competition, it's just a discussion to learn from each other and overcome our weaknesses."
Princess Jing nodded and said, "What the Crown Princess said is correct. We will all do our best. As long as the Emperor is satisfied, our goal will be achieved."
Fanghua smiled slightly, "I'll go talk to Father, and let him decide when the time comes. He'll select the first and second place, and ask him to give out prizes."
When everyone heard this, they nodded frequently.
Princess Duan looked at the still angry Meng Qi and squinted her eyes. "Why isn't Sixth Sister-in-law talking? Are you scared?"
"Let's compete, who's afraid of who? I've already thought of a few dishes, and I don't believe you can come up with so many different dishes." After saying that, he turned around and walked away.
Concubine Xiu, who was chatting with Concubine Rong next to her, frowned tightly.
------
A few days later, Chuan'er came to Prince Rui's Mansion again.
Looking at the girl standing there, Meng Qi was extremely happy. She really didn't expect that Meng Wan actually found this girl with a mole on her forehead.
Although she still didn't know who this girl was or what she was used for, but when she recalled her previous life, she realized that it was because of this girl's appearance that Madam Zhuang was able to serve Concubine Lian. She knew that this girl was no ordinary person.
Lan Xin explained Madam Zhuang's past in great detail, and Concubine Lian seemed to have uncovered some clues. She had originally planned to detain Madam Zhuang when she returned to the palace, hoping to extract more information from her about Concubine Zhuang, or perhaps even the truth about the children's belongings she had found from her.
But Madam Zhuang suddenly stopped entering the palace. The Crown Princess did send people to look for her, but Madam Zhuang had left the house and no one knew where she had gone. The Crown Princess also complained that Princess Aihua had run out of medicine but couldn't find the person who prepared it for her.
Meng Qi suspected that Concubine Lian's investigation into Lan Xin had alerted Madam Zhuang, which was enough to prove that Madam Zhuang had connections within the palace. Meng Qi thought of the maid she had seen taking Madam Zhuang in and out of the palace the last time.
After carefully inquiring about the girl's situation, Meng Qi asked Xiaoman to take her downstairs to wash and groom herself. It wasn't the right time to send her to the palace with Concubine Lian. It would be better to keep her by her side and send her there when she was needed.
"Please thank my sister for me. I'm sorry for causing her so much trouble." Meng Qi said with a smile.
Chuan'er bowed, "Second Madam found her by coincidence. She told you not to worry. No one knows about this girl. I was hiding from people when I brought her in."
Meng Qi nodded. Meng Wan always did things in a considerate way.
Chuan'er took out an envelope from his bosom as he spoke. "This is the menu Second Mistress wrote to the Princess. Second Mistress said these are some dishes she's heard of before, but she doesn't know how they taste. The Princess needs to find someone to cook them before she can know if they're what you want."
Meng Qi happily took the envelope and took out a thin piece of paper. On it was a very neatly written menu with the charcoal pencil that Meng Wan often used. It was very detailed from the ingredients to the cooking methods.
"Second Madam said she didn't know what the dish was called, so she asked the princess to name it."
------
But within a few days, everyone in the palace knew that the princess was researching a new dish. It was said that the second wife of Prince Shen's Mansion had found it for her. The menu was extremely mysterious. A lot of dishes were bought and filled the small kitchen of Jing'an Garden. Su Xin personally led the cooks to research it every day, and the fragrance wafting from it could even be smelled in other courtyards.
Concubine Wu poured a full cup of hot milk for Ms. Zhang. "I see that your illness seems to be very serious this time. You haven't gotten any better, and your complexion still doesn't look good."
Ms. Zhang held the small white porcelain bowl in both hands. The warmth passed through her hands, bringing a touch of warmth to her cold body. She didn't drink, but just held the bowl in her arms. This time, her illness was truly strange.
Initially, she was sulking because of that incident, so she pretended to be sick and stayed at home. After all, the Rui Palace didn't need her to do anything. But the more she lay there, the worse she felt. She felt groggy and drowsy every day, as if she could never wake up.
When winter came and snow fell, she started coughing again. Her throat felt like it was being scraped by a knife. She became frightened and asked the little girl to go find Mama Liu and ask the doctor to come in. After a long examination, the doctor said she had caught a cold and told her to take good care of herself.
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