Blood swallow, blood swallow, blood swallow, he smiled bitterly across his wrinkled face.
He had offended Yan Ning because of the blood swallow, and now he was being framed because of the blood swallow. Chef Wu knew perfectly well who would go to the trouble of harming him; they were just trying to drag him down with them when they were harming the two masters of the manor!
Given his past kindness and assistance to Yan Ning, he could have easily begged her for forgiveness. However, one day Wu Chun approached him and said that if he made a bowl of bird's nest soup and sent it to Jiangongzhai, she would plead with Fukang'an on his behalf to allow him to retire and return to his hometown sooner.
He was initially extremely reluctant to take the risk, but Wu Chun was pregnant and receiving all the favor, while there was still no news from the one at Jian Gong Zhai. Yan Ning was still young and could wait, but he was already a man who wouldn't live for many more years. Not only was his body crippled, but if he waited until Yan Ning became pregnant and regained favor, he wouldn't have much time left to enjoy a good life.
After much deliberation, Chef Wu took a risky step and obeyed Wu Chun's orders. He asked her for a favor, promising to resign from his post on the day Wu Chun gave birth, ostensibly to ask for good luck.
Chef Wu flicked the ash from his pipe onto the round stone table, where it was scattered by the wind like willow catkins. He had taken a risk; Wu Chun's miscarriage and premature birth were actually caused by the food served at the kitchen.
Let alone winning the grand prize, it would be difficult enough to just keep his position as the head chef of the Fucha family and return home. If he were kicked out of the Fucha family, where would he put his face?
He entered the palace during the reign of Emperor Kangxi. That year, his hometown suffered a severe drought, and people from his village fled to the capital to survive. To earn money to support his family, he and two fellow villagers entered the palace as eunuchs. The other two served the empress and her mistress, while he, having a skill, went to the imperial kitchen, where he stayed for twenty years, serving three emperors.
A fellow villager who served the Kangxi Emperor's concubine, Yue, was banished from the palace along with her. Although she didn't return home in glory, she still made a fortune and became a master and mistress at a young age. Another fellow villager who served the late Emperor's Empress Xiaoxian could be considered to have returned home in glory, but Empress Xiaoxian was frugal, and the palace servants had no way to make money. They returned home crippled and penniless.
Now he's all alone. He can't be kicked out of the Fucha family again, otherwise he'll have wasted the next ten years.
He pondered the blood swallows from that day and remembered that Xia'er, a servant from Chunying Garden, had come to collect lard the day before Wuchun's accident.
In the freezing winter, although the servants of the Fucha Mansion had good food, they couldn't withstand the cold. So, every winter, the servants would offer Wu, the head chef, the extra lard from the kitchen. They would use it to treat chapped hands and feet or to melt it and mix it with some seasonings to keep warm.
Xia'er used to be Xi Ying's dowry maid, but now she's with Wu Chun and has suffered so much. It's not impossible that she might harbor evil intentions. He entered the palace when he was just eight years old and has witnessed all the power struggles between the mistresses and empresses. If he wanted to, it wouldn't be difficult for him to escape from a desperate situation.
On the day Xia'er came, he happened to be looking at the remaining bird's nest at Shi Kuai Ju. It took him a lot of effort to remember that he had unintentionally said something.
"Alas, there's only enough blood swallow's nest for one person left. I just hope the mistress of Spring Cherry Garden won't make a scene with the general about this tomorrow!"
Amidst the rising smoke, Chef Wu spotted a figure in pearly white. Ignoring his advanced age and the fact that he was nearly buried, he swiftly knelt and kowtowed to Yan Ning. "This servant greets Madam!"
Yan Ning stood before Chef Wu, not allowing him to rise. His frail, aged frame seemed stubbornly twisted, his bald forehead gleaming coldly. Chef Wu knew of the incident where he had framed Yan Ning. Although she hadn't questioned him afterward, the words Zhu Xiang had conveyed had completely shattered his previous attempts to befriend her. He knelt obediently, not daring to mention the events at Chunying Garden. Zhao Xing had already relayed Fukang'an's orders not to divulge yesterday's events.
But right now, Yan Ning came to the kitchen courtyard only because of what happened yesterday. She didn't say anything, so Chef Wu knelt there obediently. Having lived in the deep palace for decades, he had long seen through the thoughts of these women in the mansion. In the end, it would be Yan Ning, who was pregnant, who couldn't hold back and spoke first.
Yan Ning looked at Chef Wu for a while; he was also over sixty years old. Kneeling like this might let the cold seep into his body. Her expression was calm. "Chef Wu, please get up!"
Chef Wu stood up in agreement, bowing his head and standing in front of Yan Ning, his back slightly hunched.
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