Chapter 26: Forgetting Righteousness for Lust – Chen Junbo is Resentful
Chen Junbo reached out and took the pen from her hair, glanced at it in his hand, and placed it on the pen holder. "Let's have dinner first. I'll have Bi Fang teach you later."
As he spoke, he bent down and stretched out his sleeve to wipe her cheeks twice. Li Yang unconsciously turned her head back, only to find that the ink was already dry and stuck firmly to her face, showing no respect for Chen Junbo. The man had no choice but to give up.
The two returned to their room, and Li Yang was reminded to wipe his face before sitting down to eat.
Because Li Yang was using the main hall for auditing, and now Zi Yan was living in Lan Xin Pavilion, having the master's meals in the main hall meant that the young master, young mistress, and Zi Yan would eat at the same table. If the young mistress wasn't there, then the young master would eat at the same table as Zi Yan. More often than not, the young master wasn't there, which would turn into a chaotic scene…
If in the first day or two, no one was sure what the young master meant by arranging for Miss Ziyan to stay at Lanxin Pavilion, after the incident in the woodshed, and the fact that the young master hadn't lingered in the west wing these past few days, the servants of Lanxin Pavilion dared not cause any more trouble for the young mistress.
Therefore, the people who delivered meals would bring all three meals to the main house and the west wing.
All of this was told to Li Yang by Xiao Lu after she returned. Every day, this girl would eat with the maids of Lanxin Pavilion, volunteering to act as Li Yang's 'eyes and ears'.
Although Li Yang didn't think the eyeliner was necessary, she would just listen whenever Xiao Lu mentioned it.
But this girl enjoyed it, and because she was by Li Yang's side, she was also a favorite among the maids. Before long, she began to think that being pampered and having the best food saved for her in the Chen residence was extremely pleasant.
When Chen Li and Chen Junbo returned to their room, they saw their mother's favorite crucian carp soup, steamed pork ribs, and cold tofu salad on the table. Chen Junbo raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. After the two finished eating, he casually said, "I've already had the small kitchen cleaned up. If you need anything in the future, just have someone fill it up."
Li Yang was still chewing on the ribs. Chen Zhangshi's recipes seemed simple, but they were actually the most labor-intensive. Take this steamed ribs, for example. The plate only had ribs and a few goji berries floating in the broth. Yet, there wasn't a single piece of fat on the ribs, and they weren't dry at all. There were only a few pieces like this on a whole pig. She could tell from the taste that at least seven or eight kinds of spices had been added during the marinating process to completely mask the pork's gamey smell. Not to mention the aroma of mushrooms infused into the broth; it seemed that a lot of effort had been put into enhancing the flavor during the steaming process.
She could only get such dishes at the Chen family's house, and she didn't need to bother ordering anything else. She could just tell the kitchen what they had and have it delivered.
Chef Wang only realized in the last couple of days that the young mistress wasn't refusing to order dishes because she wasn't favored; she actually loved them! He remembered how he'd accepted a tael of silver from the young mistress before allowing someone to tend the fire, and now he was constantly worried, fearing the young mistress might one day report him to the young master. Or perhaps she already had? Otherwise, why would Lanxin Pavilion have activated its small kitchen…
In the past few days, the observant servants who delivered meals noticed that the crucian carp in the soup at Lanxin Pavilion were much longer than those at Baomo Hall, with their heads and tails even poking out of the soup bowl...
Immersed in the delicious aroma of the ribs, Li Yang didn't even look up and just hummed in response.
Then Chen Junbo said, "These are all dishes that Mother likes to eat. If you don't like them, you can ask the kitchen to make something else."
Just as Li Yang was about to say "I like it," a thought flashed through his mind. With a rib still in his mouth, he looked up at Chen Junbo: Why was he bringing up the kitchen again and again today? After carefully recalling their conversation, he came to an unbelievable conclusion: This guy, he wants some snacks?? He doesn't like the food from the Chen family kitchen??
Thinking this, she swallowed the pork rib in her mouth and tentatively asked, "I was busy looking at the accounts today and didn't have time to ask. Will you be back for dinner tomorrow? Would you like noodles?"
Chen Junbo gave a soft "hmm" and went to drink his soup.
This time, Li Yang was certain: This guy not only made me look at the accounts, but also wanted to order food! It turns out he's taking on all the work of so many accountants and cooks in the Chen family by himself! Earning this thousand taels of silver is getting harder and harder!
In her indignation, she ate a few more pieces of ribs. How could she not love this dish? She clearly adored it!
However, her anger only lasted for one meal. After the two rinsed their mouths, Chen Junbo had someone bring Bi Fang, saying he wanted to teach Li Yang how to read the tea shop's accounts. Her irritation vanished immediately, after all, the tea shop's accounts were much more troublesome than a bowl of noodles.
Chen Junbo: What have you been busy with these past two days?
His words to Bi Fang were clearly meant to provoke trouble. Normally, if Chen Junbo was extremely busy, Bi Fang was even busier. Every single task that the young master disliked was handled by the diligent butler Bi Fang.
Upon hearing this, Bi Fang's clear eyes held a hint of doubt: "Don't you know what I've been doing? Where have I upset the young master again?" But he wasn't foolish enough to answer about his day's itinerary. He merely glanced at Li Yang out of the corner of his eye, secretly wondering if he should try to build a relationship with Xiao Lu tomorrow.
He had heard rumors of a shift in the servants' allegiance at Lanxin Pavilion these past few days. He'd heard that the most favored was a maid named Xiaolu. Later, he learned that Xiaolu was the concubine he'd bought that day; her name had been changed to Xiaolu to avoid offending the young mistress. Xiaolu was now helping the young mistress manage the teahouse outside the mansion and was quite useful; therefore, the young mistress would inquire about Xiaolu's preferences.
Before he could figure it out, Chen Junbo said again, "Why aren't you answering? Your stammering is making people misunderstand!"
While Bi Fang still didn't understand, Li Yang, sitting to the side, felt utterly stunned: This person! He actually used this opportunity to deal with Butler Bi…
She silently apologized to Bi Fang for the undeserved misfortune she had suffered today. Bi Fang had no idea that she had given Chen Junbai the label of being gay on the day of the marriage proposal. She also had no idea that after he helped her negotiate Xiao Lu's marriage, she had 'unintentionally' betrayed him… Now, young master Chen couldn't vent his anger on his young wife; all his frustration was directed at the 'instigator' and the 'gay party involved,' Bi Fang…
However, it cannot be said that Bi Fang was entirely innocent. If he hadn't been so hesitant and unwilling to explain himself that day, I wouldn't have thought of such a wild approach.
Thinking this, Li Yang's face flushed and then cooled, and he quickly said, "Hehe, well, why don't you two talk, I'll go out first?"
Hearing her say this, Chen Junbo coughed lightly and said, "Starting tomorrow, you will review the tea shop's accounts with the young mistress every morning."
Bi Fang listened and repeatedly agreed, but inwardly he was extremely distressed: these days, in addition to the Chen family's affairs, there were also matters to arrange for the emperor's southern tour. That day, Chen Junbai had made plans at the Zhang residence, and every single thing—the painted boat, the boat girls, the opera troupe, the imperial palace—needed to be arranged. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that all the merchants in Songshan Town were busy because of young master Chen's words.
Now, the young master wants me to spend half a day each day accompanying the young mistress to review the accounts... Where am I supposed to find that half a day? I'll have to work through the night to make up for it during the day... If the young mistress isn't quick-witted and can't learn it in two or three days, I really don't know how long I can keep going...
Thinking this, he glanced up at the young mistress again. She was smiling at him, her long eyelashes fluttering in the lamplight. His young master, seeing that smiling face, looked at her with an air of smug satisfaction… Bi Fang was shocked: What's wrong with the young master?! Has he fallen for the young mistress's trick?!
In this way, everything that happened today makes sense. Bi Fang's eyelashes obscured his eyes, and he silently wrote in his heart: "Forget righteousness for beauty!"
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