"Well, this noodle should be Nuan Nuan's cooking, am I right?"
Lying on the kang, Old Lady Fang slurped noodles with a look of emotion on her face.
"The old lady has a really good mouth, she can tell the difference after just one bite." Qiu Ling said with a smile, while picking up another piece of tofu for the old lady Fang: "When I went to Chunfeng Garden, the eldest lady was packing to go to the palace. She saw me and before I could say anything, she said she had made noodles for the old lady in the small kitchen, saying that today is the beginning of the dog days, and everyone has to eat noodles. I wanted to prepare the ingredients well and make more, and then send some to the master, the mistress, and the Lin concubine. Who knew that the master came back early, saying that the queen summoned him, so he had to make some in advance before going out. With so little, naturally all of it was given to the old lady, and the master, the mistress, and the Lin concubine would not have this good fortune. I was afraid that the noodles would rot after a long time, so I hurriedly brought it back, otherwise we would have to wait another half an hour for lunch."
Old Lady Fang ate with a happy face and sighed, "I thought that child was angry with me because I didn't keep my word, and refused to cook for me. I didn't expect that she didn't lose her temper this time, and still gave me snacks and meals every now and then, which shows that she is really filial. But the kitchen is indeed getting worse day by day, and I don't know what Nuan Nuan is planning. By the way, do you know why the queen suddenly summoned her to the palace?"
Qiu Ling said, "I heard from my master that the Queen has a poor appetite these days and hasn't eaten properly for a few days, so I asked Nuan Nuan to come to the palace to see if I can make two dishes that suit the Queen's taste."
When Old Lady Fang heard that her daughter was not feeling well, she put down her chopsticks and sighed, "The queen is like me, afraid of heat and preferring cold, but I have never heard of her being like this in previous years. What happened this year?"
Qiu Ling smiled and said, "Don't worry, old lady. I've heard from my servants that there may have been times like this in the past, but there were no good cooks, so we had to live like this. Now that we have the eldest grandmother, I think of this."
This made sense, and Old Lady Fang felt relieved. Suddenly she remembered what Qiu Ling had just said. She asked calmly, "Yes, these few times when you mentioned your eldest grandmother giving away food, you always mentioned Aunt Lin. Why? Is she very close to Aunt Lin?"
Qiu Ling quickly smiled and said, "It's not that she's close to Aunt Lin, but to the Second Miss. Now the Second Miss often goes to Chunfeng Garden, and I heard that Aunt Lin has also been there twice. To be honest, since the eldest lady came back, she has been taking good care of them."
Old Lady Fang was silent. Aunt Lin was a maid of Duan Ni's concubine. She climbed into the master's bed while Duan Ni was drunk, so the whole family disliked her, even though they all knew that it was probably the concubine's instigation. No one talked to her about this. Even Duan Ni felt that this was a stain on her life, so she seldom went to Aunt Lin. But she was pregnant and gave birth to two children. But so what? Ever since the concubine died. Because of their cowardly nature, these mother and daughter became invisible people in the Marquis' Mansion. Even the servants didn't take them seriously. If it weren't for Su Nuannuan, a foodie with a kind heart, who knows what the fate of these three mothers and daughters would be.
After a long while, Old Lady Fang sighed and said, "Although this child has acted a little recklessly, she is really kind-hearted now. Hmm! Has the Second House tried to bring bad luck to her again?"
Qiu Ling smiled and said, "Second Madam suffered such a great loss at the hands of First Madam. Even if she hates her, how can she dare to provoke her? To be honest, she should be happy if First Madam doesn't make trouble. Otherwise, with all the tricks she has, if First Madam really makes a fuss, Madam Min will have no way to deal with it."
Old Lady Fang smiled and said, "Isn't it? So why do some people say that the child doesn't follow the rules? Isn't this quite sensible?" After she finally finished her noodles, she wiped her mouth and said, "Okay, take it away. When the child comes back, let her come sit with me."
Qiu Ling agreed, knowing that Old Madam Fang was still concerned about the Queen. The mother and daughter were connected by heart. Moreover, the old lady was old now and it was not convenient for her to travel, and the Queen could not leave the palace. The only thing left between mother and daughter was the concern for each other.
At the same time, Su Nuannuan was also standing outside Kunning Palace, carefully digesting the shock she had experienced along the way.
The Great Yin Dynasty was indeed powerful. This palace alone covered an area of nearly a thousand acres. The architectural layout was completely different from the Forbidden City in Su Nuannuan's memory. However, the grand and magnificent royal style was exactly the same, and even surpassed it.
"The Emperor has ordered that the Prince of Anping and his wife come to see him."
The eunuch's shrill voice pulled Su Nuannuan back from her trance. Feeling Duan Tingxuan holding her hand, she could not help but follow him into the palace. There was a wide white marble road in the courtyard, with rockery and strange stones on both sides of the road, and green trees and red flowers reflecting each other. A few dozen steps away, the vermilion corridor was quiet, and dozens of palace maids in gorgeous palace costumes were all beautiful in their teens. The charming girls who should have been the protagonists anywhere were just a piece of the gorgeous background cloth here, which made Su Nuannuan sigh again at the luxury of the royal family.
"Wait, isn't this Kunning Palace? How can it be where the Queen lives, according to the Emperor's order?"
It was not until she reached the top of the stairs that Su Nuannuan finally came to her senses. She grabbed Duan Tingxuan's hand and looked over. He was looking at her with a smile and whispered, "Nuannuan, you just realized it now? Aren't you too slow?"
Su Nuannuan blushed with shame and said unhappily, "I... I'm not..." She wanted to say that it was her first time entering the palace, but before she could finish her words, she suddenly realized it and quickly said, "I'm a little nervous, so... so my reaction has become slow?"
"It doesn't matter if you're slow now. Just don't be slow when you go to the kitchenette later." It was rare to see his wife in such an awkward situation. Duan Tingxuan felt as refreshed as if he had drunk a smoothie. He whispered a smile in Su Nuannuan's ear, then pulled Su Nuannuan into the house amid the envious gazes of the palace maids.
Su Nuannuan almost fainted when she entered the room. She saw seven people sitting in the luxurious hall, including men, women, young and old. This scene was very different from what she had expected, with only the emperor and the empress. Especially those eyes staring at her, all of them were extremely eager, and it was nothing more than being the center of attention. Su Nuannuan was caught off guard and her heart almost jumped out of her chest.
"Your Highness."
Duan Tingxuan pulled Su Nuannuan to kneel down and salute. Before they even knelt, the emperor said with a smile, "No need for the formalities." So the young marquis, who hadn't even knelt yet, responded crisply, "As you wish." Then he pulled Su Nuannuan up.
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