Feng Yuheng drove all the servants out of the kitchen. No one understood what the Second Young Lady meant, so they just stood in the yard.
Feng Yuheng then said to Wang Chuan: "Do you remember everything I just told you?"
Wangchuan nodded, "I remember clearly. Huangquan should have arrived at Baicaotang by now. It depends on the speed of preparing the herbs there. He should be back soon."
"Okay." Feng Yuheng said again: "Then you should also go and invite people, and do as I say. You have seen this kitchen, it is this big, you should have an idea of how many people to bring."
Wangchuan took another look at the kitchen and turned away.
Feng Yuheng then returned to the courtyard, looked around at the servants, and said coldly: "I have my own arrangements for tomorrow's reunion banquet, you... have a day off."
She really meant what she said. After beating up the servants, Huang Quan came in with the guys from the Herbal Medicine Shop and placed bags of herbs on the stove. Not long after, the vegetables were delivered, and a butcher followed. After asking Feng Yuheng in detail about what she needed, he said honestly, "Don't worry, Miss. To ensure the freshness of the fish and meat, we will deliver them to your house early tomorrow morning."
Feng Yuheng was very satisfied with this arrangement, and she discussed with the people Wang Chuan brought back for an hour. She personally ordered all the recipes, and then went back to Tongshengxuan to rest. Wang Chuan and Huang Quan were watching over the kitchen.
In the evening, she went to the kitchen again and checked. Everything was going on in an orderly manner. Huang Quan and Wang Chuan also decided to take turns to guard the kitchen at night to ensure food safety.
That night, Xuan Tianming arrived as promised. All that could be heard in the garden of Tongshengxuan was the sound of whips, and the fallen leaves of early autumn were flying in the sky.
Finally, Shen returned home.
All members of the Feng family got up early and dressed up in their best. When it was almost noon, servants notified the concubines and young ladies in each courtyard to rush to the door to greet them, as the eldest lady's carriage had already entered the capital.
Because Shen's reason for leaving the house was to pray for the Feng family, her return was a glorious event for the Feng family. Even the old lady wore bright new clothes and put osmanthus oil on her hair, making it shiny and bright.
Feng Jinyuan had just returned from the court, so he simply wore his official robes and waited with everyone else.
After a while, a carriage slowly approached and stopped in front of Yu Feng's house. There was a wooden sign hanging on the upper left corner of the carriage with the word "Feng" written on it.
Yao, An, Han and Jin Zhen stepped forward first. As concubines, they had to kneel down to greet Shen.
When the carriage curtain was lifted by the servants, the four of them knelt on the ground and said in unison: "We respectfully welcome the Madam back to the mansion."
The first person to come down was Manxi, who had been serving Shen. Feng Yuheng took a few more glances at Manxi. She had no injuries on the exposed parts of her body. It seemed that Shen had a comprehensive grasp of the methods of punishing servants. She specifically chose to strike at invisible parts, which was painful and could be avoided from being seen.
Manxi got off the car and immediately turned around to help the people in the car. Shen's fat body squeezed out of the car, wearing a plain dress and a white jade hairpin on her head. She looked simple and quiet.
The old lady had never seen Shen dressed like this before, and she was stunned for a moment. After a long time, she recognized her and nodded repeatedly. It seemed that the temples and nunneries on Pudu Mountain were really good places for meditation. Even a layman like Shen could be cultivated like this, which was really rare.
As soon as Shen got out of the car, she bent over to help the four people who were kneeling without saying a word. She put her hands on the wrists of Yao and An, and then said, "Sisters, please stand up quickly. What is the point of such a big ceremony? Get up quickly."
The four of them stood up with the help of Shen. Shen smiled kindly at them, then turned around, took two steps forward, and knelt in front of the old lady. "The daughter-in-law greets mother. The master in Pudu Temple is worried about mother, so he asked the daughter-in-law to greet mother."
The old lady was very satisfied with Shen's performance. She felt that she had never liked her daughter-in-law so much since she came into the family.
"Hurry up." The old lady still liked to be arrogant. She just raised her hand, and Aunt Zhao took the initiative to help Shen up. Then the old lady said, "You are praying for the Feng family in the nunnery, and you can also cultivate your character at the same time. This is also your blessing and good fortune. I only hope that you can make this blessing and good fortune last for a long time, so that my Feng family will not be in vain."
Shen leaned forward obediently: "My daughter-in-law will remember your mother's teachings."
The old lady's mouth twitched a little. At first, she felt it was new to see Shen's dress and tone of voice, but after talking for a long time, she began to feel uncomfortable. She always felt that the person in front of her was not Shen at all.
"I have seen you, Master." Shen turned to Feng Jinyuan again, "I have recited sutras for you a hundred times in the nunnery, wishing you peace and prosperity."
Feng Jinyuan was also surprised at Shen's change and nodded with emotion, "I feel relieved that you can do this."
After they finished their greetings, it was the turn of the children to greet Shen.
Shen looked at the children with a loving mother's expression, and first said to Chenyu and Zihao: "You are the legitimate sisters and brothers, so you should act like brothers and sisters. You should be friendly to your younger siblings on weekdays, and you should also support them a lot when you are outside. Do you understand?"
Chenyu and Zihao said in unison: "Daughter (son), please remember this."
Shen nodded, then turned to Feng Yuheng, and for the first time ever, she took Feng Yuheng's hand and said earnestly, "Mother specially prayed for us Ah Heng in the nunnery. You are the first child in our Feng family to have an engagement. Mother prays to the Bodhisattva to bless you and His Royal Highness Prince Yu to live happily and happily in the future."
Feng Yuheng looked at Shen and felt that she looked kind and compassionate at the moment. Coupled with her words, she was really moved. What a pity... What a pity that she was just pretending. There was hatred and madness in her eyes that could not be concealed.
She smiled bitterly and bowed to Shen: "Thank you, mother."
Shen patted the back of her hand, rubbed Zirui's head, asked about some enlightenment lessons, and showed goodwill to Xiangrong. Finally, her eyes fell on Fendai's arm that was still hanging around her neck: "Mother doesn't know how to help you relieve the pain in your arm." Shen even shed a tear while speaking, "Mother has been meditating on Buddha these days, and only then did she realize that she had done many wrong things in the past. Now she really wants to suffer this for Fendai."
Feng Fendai was young after all, and was stunned by her fierceness. Seeing Shen crying, she also started crying, and cried and burrowed into Shen's arms: "Mother, Fendai misses you so much."
Feng Yuheng got goosebumps all over her body, and she clearly saw the annoyance in Shen's eyes.
After Fendai finished crying, Shen went to comfort Jinzhen: "Thanks to you for taking care of the master these days. Don't take it to heart if I treated you badly in the past. Now we are sisters, and it is different from the past." After talking to Jinzhen, she went to comfort Han: "Your complexion is really not good. Remember to see a doctor if you feel unwell!"
Finally, the focus fell back on Yao. Shen took a few steps forward and hugged Yao. Tears were falling from her eyes. "Sister, I should call you Sister Yao. You entered the mansion earlier than me, but you didn't expect that something like this would happen in your family. I was arrogant these days and always made things difficult for you. Sister Yao, don't blame me."
Shen was fat and strong to begin with. Yao had difficulty breathing because of Shen's hug. She quickly said to her, "It's not your fault. How could I blame the Madam? Madam, please stop being like this. You're making fun of the servants."
Only then did Shen let Yao go, and under the approving gazes of the old lady and Feng Jinyuan, she followed everyone to the banquet held in the Peony Courtyard.
Fen Dai, who was walking at the end, wiped away her tears. Her previous excitement was instantly suppressed. She glared at Han and said coldly, "Shen has changed her nature now. I'm afraid the feng shui of this mansion will change again.
You are such a useless person!"
The fierce look made Han shudder, and his face turned even paler.
The old lady was all smiles today. When she walked in, she waited for Shen on purpose. However, Shen changed her usual behavior and stopped showing off. Instead, she followed the old lady obediently, not stepping over her own path.
The old lady couldn't help but nod her head repeatedly. If Shen could always stay like this, the Feng family would be truly blessed.
Everyone sat down in the Peony Courtyard, and the servants began to set the table. The old lady told Shen: "Today's table was arranged by Ah Heng, and it was also for her to learn how to manage the household. After all, she will be the mistress of the Prince Yu's mansion in the future, and she can't be a fool at her parents' home."
Feng Jinyuan also said: "If there is anything wrong at the table, since you are the stepmother, please give her some advice."
After hearing this, An couldn't help but lower her head and sigh helplessly. She thought that if she let Shen give her advice, the situation would only get worse. When would Shen be able to manage the household? If Chenyu hadn't always smoothed things over for her over the years, who knows what would have happened to the household she had run.
Shen was also humble, and replied to Feng Jinyuan: "I am afraid that I don't understand the rules of the palace, and I am afraid that I will teach him wrongly. There is no rush, Ah Heng is only twelve years old. When he is fourteen, the master might as well invite a nanny from the palace to come to the mansion to teach him for the last year, and then Ah Heng will have a bright future."
Feng Jinyuan felt that what Shen said made sense, and couldn't help but say, "You are still thoughtful."
Shen pursed her lips and smiled, almost making Feng Yuheng vomit with laughter.
Really, this kind of *action, whether it is Han or Jin Zhen, is very attractive when they do it, but as for Shen... forget it, in this world where appearance matters, why should I argue with her?
She withdrew her gaze and watched the last maid put the last dish on the table. She thought to herself that it might not be long before a good show started.
Soon, sixteen main dishes, eight cold dishes, a soup pot, and a bowl of porridge were placed in front of everyone.
Everyone looked at the dishes on the table and thought that they were the same dishes that were usually served on the table. But why did they look different when they were on the plate? If you smelled them carefully, you could smell something strange...
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