Chapter 208: Thousands of People, Thousands of Faces
His pupils shrank and he immediately changed the subject.
"Auntie Wan is right, I practice martial arts!"
Wen Wan curled her lips and sneered, "Uncle Zheng is really a hidden talent. He cooks very well and he also completed his task of monitoring me very well. He really didn't let me, the person being monitored, notice him at all."
Chef Zheng: “…”
Now that the target of surveillance has become his superior, are his good days over?
Chef Zheng gritted his teeth, clasped his fists, and knelt on one knee, "I am only following orders! Madam Wan, please give me a chance to atone for my sins!"
He reacted quite quickly, knowing that she came to give him something.
Wen Wan waved her hand, "Alright, get up first. We'll talk about this later. How many of you are there in total, and where are you now?"
Chef Zheng replied respectfully, "We are one hundred and ninety-eight in total, divided into ten teams, all hidden in various places in the Imperial Capital."
Although the number of people is small, it is enough for guarding and investigating information. Besides, in a place like the Imperial Capital, the quality of the soldiers is more important than the quantity.
Wen Wan asked again, "Now that the General's Mansion is under siege by the Dali Temple, is there any way to communicate with the outside world?"
"Yes." Chef Zheng replied.
Wen Wan became interested, her eyes sparkling, "Is there any way?"
Chef Zheng hesitated for a moment, but when he looked at the Patriarch's order in her hand, he answered with a stiff upper lip.
"We also have people in the Dali Temple."
This simple sentence made Wen Wan's mouth twitch.
Yes, considering Chen Yu's ability, it seems reasonable.
Wen Wan breathed a sigh of relief. "If you can pass on the message, then it will be easy. Contact the brothers outside immediately and help me check on a few people. Be sure to act quickly, before they kill and silence them."
Chef Zheng responded and carefully wrote down the names of the people Wen Wan mentioned.
After he finished recording, he stood up and walked out. When he reached the door, he seemed to want to say something but stopped himself.
Wen Wan asked softly, "What's wrong?"
Chef Zheng pointed to the chicken on the chopping board and asked, "What about dinner?"
Wen Wan was shocked. "Is dinner important at this time?"
Chef Zheng nodded firmly, "It's important! The general said that if you lose weight when he comes back, he will deduct my salary!"
*
Wen Wan hasn't cooked dinner herself for a long time.
Just because she does less doesn't mean she can't do it.
There is a saying that goes, a top foodie has some cooking skills, not to mention that when she was a graduate student, she followed her supervisor to do archaeology in the mountains and cooked a lot of meals for herself.
Wen Wan rolled up her sleeves, put the chicken pieces into a large bowl, added seasonings and marinated them for a while, and then prepared the side dishes for the chicken soup.
Congratulations on cleaning the room. As soon as I entered the kitchen, I saw Wen Wan cooking. Her movements were a little clumsy, but the dishes she cooked were delicious.
Gong Xi was stunned, "Auntie Wan, why are you cooking by yourself?"
“Man is made of iron and rice is made of steel. Even if the sky falls, we still have to eat.”
Wen Wan smiled as she took the dishes out of the pot and put them on plates. "Go call Mammy and Fa Cai, and wait for Chef Zheng to come back, then we'll have dinner. Today, I'll let you taste my cooking."
Gongxi was still in shock and went to call for help in a daze.
Nanny and Fa Cai, one old and one young, stood by the table, staring at the four dishes and one soup on the table, unable to hide their shock.
Fa Cai laughed exaggeratedly and said, "Auntie Wan, you really are a fairy who has come down to earth. How come you know everything?"
Wen Wan raised her hand and pinched her cheek, "You have such a sweet mouth, you deserve to have the first big chicken drumstick!"
Fa Cai laughed happily, and stood up obediently with his bowl and chopsticks in his hands.
Wen Wan took the chicken leg from the pot and put it into her bowl. "Eat it. You two little girls are still growing. You need to eat more meat to grow taller."
"Yeah!" Fa Cai's eyes lit up and he nodded vigorously.
When Chef Zheng came back, he was also shocked to see the table full of dishes, but he was mentally prepared. After all, Wen Wan had described what kind of food she wanted, and he was the one who prepared it.
A person who can explain the method can never be too bad.
Following behind Chef Zheng was Agui.
He has witnessed Wen Wan's abilities, so he has become a fan of Wen Wan. Now, no matter how capable Wen Wan is, he thinks it is natural and he feels proud of it.
This time, Chef Zheng and the nanny did not refuse, but sat down to eat with them.
The two little girls were young and had little experience, so they didn't understand what it meant to sit down and eat with their master.
But Chef Zheng and the nanny knew it.
They picked up their bowls and chopsticks and ate with tears in their eyes.
After dinner, Agui winked at Wen Wan and found a secluded place to talk to her alone.
"Did you discover something?"
Ah Gui hummed in a rough voice, "I followed your instructions and wrote down everyone in the mansion who tried to spread the news outside in the past two days."
No one was allowed to move around in the palace, and as expected, some people couldn't sit still.
Wen Wan was not surprised. In a big family like the Shen Mansion, it would be abnormal if there were no people from other forces mixing in.
"Well done. Don't underestimate these people who are just spreading information. If something bad happens, it will be because of the transmission of this information. Just like this time, they tricked the prince out by saying that the old lady was critically ill. If the news leaked out in advance, the prince would not be able to return."
Ah Gui was also frightened, but at the same time he secretly admired her. "Thank goodness you had the foresight to make arrangements in advance, so the news in the mansion was not spread out."
Wen Wan waved her hand, "Alright, I'm tired of hearing flattery, let's talk about serious matters."
Ah Gui responded, "There were fifteen people in the mansion who tried to pass on the message: one maid, two servants, two boys, and one steward..."
He paused, looked at Wen Wan's face carefully, and said, "There are nine concubines in the backyard."
Wen Wan's eyes widened. "Nine?"
There are only seventeen or eighteen concubines in the backyard, and half of them are so eager to spread the news?
Wen Wan didn't know whether to laugh or be angry for a moment.
These concubines that Shen Yu paid for seemed to be knowledgeable and interesting young ladies, but they were not on the same page with him.
This man is so pitiful.
If that was all, Agui wouldn't have such an expression. Wenwan glanced at him and asked coldly, "Anything else?"
Agui cleared his throat, coughed twice, and then said softly, "Chun Niang is among them."
In this backyard, Wen Wan and Chun Niang have the best relationship, which is why Agui hesitated.
Hearing this, Wen Wan was indeed stunned.
She was silent for a long time before giving the order in a cold voice.
"Continue to have people keep an eye on these people's movements. Go and ask Chief Steward Zhang to check the roster to see how these spies were brought into the palace, or by whom."
Agui nodded and did it immediately.
Wen Wan stood there, her eyes unconsciously falling on the sycamore tree in the yard.
Not long ago, Chunniang was sitting on a small stool, fanning her and chatting about gossip in the mansion.
I’m afraid that we will never have such happy days of simply eating melons again in the future.
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