The next day, just as dawn broke, the Seventeenth Master was awakened by the sound of footsteps outside. He immediately got up, put on his straw hat, and prepared to sneak away with the others.
At this moment, the door to the dining hall opened, and Seventeenth Master and the others had no choice but to stand aside with their heads down, still thinking of what excuse to use to escape from this place, when the person opposite them spoke first.
"You've arrived very early. The people from the White Robe Hall are always the most punctual..." A middle-aged woman opened the door, followed by two young maids. It was clear that this middle-aged woman was in charge. She instructed the maids to start cleaning while waving to Seventeen and the others.
Seventeenth Master and the others exchanged wary glances. To avoid alerting the enemy, Seventeenth Master decided to obey the woman and obediently follow behind her. She took them all and led them to the small courtyard behind the kitchen. From this courtyard, one could see the outside scenery. The courtyard was full of baskets of vegetables and several large wooden basins filled with water.
The woman pointed to the potatoes and greens in the basket and said to Seventeenth Master, "These are all the vegetables we have for today. Hurry up and clean them... After you're done, take them to the kitchen so you can have breakfast..." After saying that, the woman hurriedly left.
Seventeenth Master looked at the potatoes scattered all over the ground and was at his wit's end. After all, Seventeenth Master had climbed mountains and waded through rivers, crossed battlefields, and killed enemies, but he had never washed potatoes or chopped vegetables before. In his view, food was always prepared by others and delivered directly to him for him to eat; he had never personally started a fire or cooked a meal.
Seeing Seventeenth Master's embarrassment, everyone laughed and found a place to sit down. Holding a knife in one hand and a potato in the other, they demonstrated for Seventeenth Master with a smile: "Seventeenth Master, this is very simple. Just peel off all the potato skins. Look..." As they spoke, the thin potato skins were peeled without breaking, and a clean potato was peeled in an instant.
Seventeenth Master's eyes widened, and he gave a thumbs-up in admiration, praising, "This is amazing! Let me try..." Not one to back down, Seventeenth Master took the small island, picked out the biggest potato, and confidently began to cut!
"Oh my god, this is food! How could you peel it like that? You've peeled off half the flesh..." With one stroke of his knife, the half-peeled potato rolled a few times and landed right at the feet of the woman who was carrying a basin. The woman picked up the potato with a pained expression, saying regretfully.
Seventeenth Master and the others immediately stood up, bowing their heads and not daring to utter a sound. The woman walked up to Seventeenth Master and handed him the potatoes, which he accepted with both hands. The woman scolded, "You better work properly. This food is hard-earned, how can you waste it... If you don't do a good job, I won't let any of you eat..." After saying that, she wiggled her hips and hurriedly left.
The others breathed a sigh of relief, except for the Seventeenth Prince, who stood there listlessly, holding the potato, completely at a loss. Just as the Seventeenth Prince was about to sit down and pick up the knife again, the others all rushed over, snatched the knife from his hand, and said with forced smiles, "Your Highness, why don't you sit down and rest? We can handle these things..." The Seventeenth Prince naturally refused, and finally someone spoke the truth: "Your Highness, if you keep peeling, we'll go hungry!"
Seventeenth Master suddenly realized what was happening, awkwardly handed over the knife, and found a place to sit down obediently, propping his chin up as he watched the others work.
Bored, the Seventeenth Prince noticed that more and more people were gathering outside the courtyard. He silently observed them. They wore clothes of various colors, but all were similar in style, and all wore veils. This was precisely why the Seventeenth Prince and his companions had been able to blend in. Although they were men, their attire made them indistinguishable from others, especially since women naturally varied in height and weight.
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