The Jiang residence without Jiang Wei at home.
Jiang Rou sat in front of the dressing table. "What? Jiang Wei has left the manor?"
Aru, standing behind Jiang Rou, replied, "Yes, the eldest young lady left the manor early this morning. She seemed to be in a hurry and even brought a package. She probably won't be back anytime soon."
Jiang Rou chuckled mischievously, guessing that Jiang Wei was probably off to meet someone. She had just broken off the engagement yesterday and was already out this morning.
She wouldn't believe it if you told her there were no ghosts.
Jiang Wei went out!
'Wait! Does that mean she's the one who calls the shots in this house?' Jiang Rou looked at her face in the bronze mirror; she was completely healed.
She got up and walked towards the kitchen, where Chef Yu was preparing the fish and shrimp.
The young woman's people just brought these fish over for us to process; since there's squirrel-shaped mandarin fish, we don't need to cook them.
The eldest daughter has left the manor and will not be returning for lunch.
As Jiang Rou walked to the kitchen door, a fishy smell entered her nostrils. She frowned, covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief, hesitated for a moment, and then stepped inside.
She never used to go into the kitchen. She disliked the fumes and the greasy, unclean things. Why would a pampered girl like her come to such a dirty place?
Jiang Rou walked up to Granny Yu and saw a fish in a basin. The fish had many cuts on it, but the pieces were still intact and covered with flour.
"What is this for?" Jiang Rou asked.
"Replying to Second Miss, this is for making squirrel-shaped mandarin fish." After bowing, Granny Yu continued working on her hands.
Jiang Rou nodded in satisfaction, "This will be our lunch today, along with the food I gave you yesterday..."
Realizing she almost blurted out her true feelings, she quickly changed her words and covered it up with a laugh, "And yesterday, my sister ordered one of everything, including these shrimp—steamed, boiled, and braised, I wanted one of each."
Granny Yu was somewhat embarrassed. This was the eldest daughter's private property, and the eldest daughter had not said that she wanted to make it for anyone else in the household.
Jiang Rou stared at Granny Yu with her eyes wide open. "What? Am I not a daughter of the Jiang family? Am I not worthy to eat?"
Granny Yu shook her head, looking troubled. "That's not what I meant. Whatever the second young lady wants to eat, as long as the kitchen has it, I will make it for her without hesitation."
"But this belongs to the eldest young lady. Second young lady, you must obtain her permission before this old servant can prepare it for you. Otherwise, the eldest young lady will think this old servant stole it, and I will have no way to defend myself."
Anyway, Jiang Wei isn't in the manor, so it's up to her to say what she wants.
Jiang Rou pointed at Granny Yu with her head held high, "You old hag, just do what I tell you to do. Of course, I've already spoken to my sister about it."
"It's our family's business, why should you interfere? Do you think you're the master of this house?"
"This old servant wouldn't dare. Since the eldest young lady has agreed, this old servant will make it for the second young lady right away." Granny Yu bowed her head and bent down.
"Then hurry up and cook it for me, don't delay my meal." Jiang Rou looked at the fresh fish and shrimp in the basket.
"Also, use this basket to pack these live fish and shrimp nicely, and then take them to my yard later."
Jiang Rou finished speaking and left without looking back.
Jiang Rou returned to the courtyard, humming a little tune happily. It was so good that the bitch wasn't here. In this family, she was the most honored.
"Aru, go and invite my mother over so she can have dinner with me." Jiang Rou was secretly delighted.
When Aru went to invite Aunt Liu, Aunt Liu was about to have her meal. Aru told her that Jiang Rou had invited her to dine in her courtyard, and she happily nodded.
She felt a surge of joy; her daughter had grown up and knew how to be filial to her mother.
Aunt Liu arrived at Yuexiao Courtyard with Aru. The kitchen servants had just brought over the food, along with a basket.
Aunt Liu smelled the fragrance in the courtyard. Ever since that wretched housekeeper Jiang Wei took over and took all her things.
The dishes prepared in the kitchen every day were the usual winter meals; she hadn't had any good food outside for a long time.
Aru lifted the curtain and Aunt Liu went in. Jiang Rou heard the sound, looked away from the food on the table, and turned to smile at her mother.
She called out "Mother" in a sweet, delicate voice.
Aunt Liu gazed at the delicious-looking fish and shrimp on the table. She had been craving them yesterday, and now she was finally getting to eat them today.
Jiang Rou helped Aunt Liu up, "Mother, please sit down, let's start eating."
The mother and daughter ate heartily, completely forgetting where the food came from.
Immersed in the joy of delicious food, mother and daughter cared for each other: "Mother, you eat this, Rou'er, you eat too..."
The mother and daughter ate to their hearts' content, cuddling their round bellies as they sat down to drink tea, thoroughly enjoying themselves.
Only then did Aunt Liu ask, "Rou'er, where did these things come from?"
Jiang Rou then recounted everything she had heard that morning.
Aunt Liu looked at her with some worry, "But she will come back."
“Mother, the Lady of the Marquis really likes me now,” Jiang Rou said with a smug look on her face.
Aunt Liu beamed and leaned closer to her, "Really?"
"Really! I'll send all those fish and shrimp to the Marquis's residence later. Brother Xuan likes me so much, I'll probably be the heir's wife soon. Then I won't be afraid of that bitch Jiang Wei."
"She only dares to treat us like this because she's in the Marquis's household. Now that I'm even more favored by the Marquis's household, why should I be afraid of her? Mother, don't worry." Jiang Rou was determined to teach Jiang Wei a lesson.
……………………
Yun Zhao sat in front of Qing Feng, and didn't feel cold despite riding for a long time.
Although he is now wearing the clothes that Chen Hui bought for him before, she did not know that he was Jiang Wei's younger brother at the time, and bought him ordinary clothes that ordinary people wear.
Although these were clothes for ordinary people, they were made with thick cotton, using a very generous amount of cotton.
Yun Zhao didn't feel cold at all; on the contrary, he felt very warm. These days felt like a dream, and he was living a wonderful life.
After running a few laps, Qingfeng stopped, and Jiang Wei, worried that he was cold, told him to go back to the carriage.
He didn't want to go back to the carriage; it was too stuffy and the scenery outside was much better, everything was new and exciting, and he had never left any village before.
Yun Zhao could tell that his sister was worried about him, and he was about to dismount and return to the carriage.
Xiao Zhan noticed that he liked horseback riding, so he said to Jiang Wei, "Let him ride, let him experience it first. He'll want to learn when we get back to the capital."
Jiang Wei looked at Xiao Zhan, who was dressed in a thin cotton brocade robe with a cloak over it, unlike her who would wrap herself up like a dumpling when it got cold, and nodded.
When they arrived in Fengning, it was already dark. Qingfeng had already taken Yunzhao to find a good inn, and then came back to pick them up.
The group checked into Fushun Inn, had dinner, and then went to their rooms to rest.
Xiao Zhan sat in his room, drank a cup of tea, and watched the flickering candlelight.
She seemed to genuinely not remember him; no matter how he tried to probe her, she didn't respond at all.
Qingfeng leaned closer and poured Xiao Zhan another cup of tea. "Why don't you just tell Miss Jiang directly? I think it's more difficult for her to remember on her own."
Xiao Zhan glanced at him.
Qingfeng felt a tightness in his chest, his head and eyes went numb, and he reluctantly shut his mouth.
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