Chapter 4 Protecting One's Own
"Miss, when did you learn to cook?" Cui'er asked, looking at Ye Wanning who was busy at the stove, somewhat puzzled.
"I can cook, of course," Ye Wanning said happily. She hadn't eaten her own cooking in a long time, and she was determined to treat herself today. Although the food at the Prime Minister's residence wasn't bad, it just didn't quite suit her taste.
“But I clearly remember that you don’t even know how to start a fire, Miss… Last time you insisted on helping Granny Sun cook, and you even made a mess of your face…” Cui’er twisted her fingers, her eyes full of confusion.
Ye Wanning was taken aback, suddenly realizing that she was no longer the same person she used to be. She couldn't help but feel a headache coming on. It seemed that she would have to think things through carefully before doing anything in the future! "Ahem." She coughed lightly twice. "You said it yourself, last time I made a big mess of my face, and then I was not satisfied, so I secretly came here to practice on my own."
“Really…” Cui’er scratched her head.
"Yes." Ye Wanning waved her hand and said, "Cui'er, go and call Granny Sun over. I'm still not very good at making the dishes I learned last time, so I need her to give me some pointers."
"Yes, I'll go right away."
Watching Cui'er's departing figure, Ye Wanning let out a long sigh of relief. She almost couldn't smooth things over. She turned her head and suddenly noticed Wen Zhen, whom she had forgotten to stand aside. Seeing a strange look flash across his eyes, Ye Wanning couldn't help but feel a little weird. She felt as if he had understood her conversation with Cui'er.
"Ahem." Ye Wanning cleared her throat. "Wenzhen, come here for a moment."
"Huh? What does my wife want with me? Didn't you say you'd take me to eat something delicious? Where is the delicious food?" As he spoke, Su Wenzhen put on a pitiful expression again.
Why does this guy always seem like a pushover? And he doesn't seem any different at all. Ye Wanning frowned. Was she overthinking things? She licked her lips and smiled at Su Wenzhen, "Of course I brought you here to eat something delicious. But, Wenzhen, what would you like to eat?"
"Eat whatever tastes good!" Su Wenzhen said with an innocent smile.
Hearing this, Ye Wanning couldn't help but twitch her lips. This guy was quite greedy. Looking at Su Wenzhen's wet eyes, she sighed softly, "Okay, I promise you."
"Yay! My wife is the best."
Ye Wanning chuckled, "She's quite easy to coax."
Before long, Ye Wanning prepared several of her signature dishes and served them to Su Wenzhen. After staring at Su Wenzhen for a long time, Ye Wanning suddenly remembered that Cui'er hadn't returned yet, and she felt uneasy. Ye Wanning frowned and looked at Su Wenzhen, "Wenzhen, is it good?"
"Barely, barely..." Despite saying that, he smiled happily.
"What a proud and arrogant guy," Ye Wanning chuckled to herself, then said, "Wenzhen, I'm going to find Sister Cui'er. You stay here and don't wander off, okay?"
"Huh?" Su Wenzhen was taken aback, immediately stopped what he was doing, and pouted, "Does my wife think I'm eating too much? I'm not eating anymore, please don't leave, my wife."
"No, no." Seeing Su Wenzhen's driving, Ye Wanning was startled and quickly explained, "Sister Cui'er has been gone for so long, she probably secretly went to eat something delicious. Shall I go and catch her and bring you the delicious food?"
Su Wenzhen thought for a while and nodded reluctantly. He pouted and said, "Then my wife should come back soon."
"No problem." After saying that, Ye Wanning hurriedly left. When she reached the door, Ye Wanning wanted to go back to the kitchen to give some more instructions, but she was worried about Cui'er and afraid that something might happen to her. She thought that since the prince listened to her, he probably wouldn't run away, so she felt relieved and walked outside. Ye Wanning didn't expect that if she had turned around then, she would have seen a completely different scene.
Inside the kitchen, Su Wenzhen, who had previously appeared naive, now had a calculating look in his eyes as he squinted at the man in front of him.
"Your Highness."
Su Wenzhen looked at the gate Ye Wanning had just walked out of, and thoughtfully stroked his chin. The third young lady of the Prime Minister's residence, interesting. After a long while, he turned to the person and said, "Go and investigate this third young lady. There are some discrepancies between the information and what we've heard. See if anything strange has happened at the Prime Minister's residence recently."
"yes."
After searching for a long time, Ye Wanning finally found Cui'er near the garden. She saw Cui'er watering the flowers, and people were pointing and whispering around. Ye Wanning couldn't help but frown. "Cui'er!"
"Ah! Miss!" Cui'er exclaimed in surprise, splashing water from the ladle in her hand all over the ground.
"What kind of work are you doing! Water spilled all over the floor! Are you looking for a beating!" Seeing Cui'er looking like she had lost her soul, the person standing next to her was furious and raised his hand to slap Cui'er.
"How dare you!" Ye Wanning immediately strode forward, grabbed the person's hand, and upon closer inspection, realized that the person was clearly a maidservant under Ye Wanyi's command. Ye Wanning roared, "When did it become the business of a servant to discipline my people! Didn't your second sister teach you any manners!"
“You…” Granny Li was startled. She looked at Ye Wanning, who was holding her hand, and then put on a righteous expression. “She should be beaten for making a mistake. Third Miss, you’ve made this servant lose all sense of propriety because of your protection.”
Ye Wanning sneered, released her grip, and slapped Li Mama across the face. "It seems my second sister's discipline isn't enough. This servant has actually started questioning her master. This is a reward from my sister to you!"
Granny Li covered her face, her eyes reddening, "You...you...you..."
"What do you mean, 'you'!" Ye Wanning glared at her. "You've got some nerve! I'm your young lady! How dare you call me 'you' like that? Do you want me to slap you?"
Upon hearing Ye Wanning's words, Granny Li was taken aback. She thought to herself that she was only there to help her mistress with her work, and once the work was done, there would be no further issues. She decided it was better not to suffer any loss, so she immediately turned around and ran away.
"Pah!" Ye Wanning spat as she watched Li Mama's hurried departure. "What kind of character is she? Like master, like servant!"
“Miss…” Cui’er, who was standing to the side, couldn’t help but tug at Ye Wanning’s sleeve.
"Huh?" Ye Wanning turned her head to look at Cui'er, whose face was pale, as if she was quite frightened. Ye Wanning's voice softened, "What's wrong? Are you scared?"
“Miss…” Cui’er’s voice choked with emotion, “You’ve completely offended the Second Miss now, what are you going to do now…”
Ye Wanning was taken aback, then laughed again. This girl, she patted Cui'er's shoulder, "Weren't you happy when you annoyed her a few days ago? What are you afraid of now? Besides, I will become a princess in a couple of days, and I will have nothing to do with this damn prime minister's mansion. Now is the perfect time to settle scores and avenge wrongs."
“Miss…” Cui’er frowned, about to say something, but was interrupted by Ye Wanning.
"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore, I know what I'm doing. But..." Ye Wanning looked at Cui'er with suspicion, "Didn't I tell you to go and call Granny Sun? Why are you here watering the flowers?"
"It's all because of that Granny Li." Cui'er was full of grievances. "I was just passing by when she insisted on making me stay and water the plants. She even said that if I didn't water them, she would tell the Second Miss and have her break my legs."
"She's really bold." Ye Wanning frowned. This Ye Wanyi was really starting to bully her people openly. Was she challenging her?
"But why did Miss come out to look for me?" Cui'er wiped her wet eyes. "It's a good thing Miss came, otherwise I don't know how long I would have stayed today. That Granny Li has been nitpicking, she clearly doesn't want me to leave."
"I was a little worried because you haven't been back for so long," Ye Wanning sighed, saying helplessly, "Couldn't you have refused?"
"How dare I, a mere servant, disobey my master's words..." Cui'er muttered.
Hearing this, Ye Wanning pursed her lips and didn't say anything. That's how feudal society is. The hierarchical system is really annoying. She sighed and said, "Wenzhen is still waiting for me in the kitchen. Come with me to call Granny Sun, and then we'll hurry back to the kitchen so he doesn't have to wait."
"Yes." Cui'er nodded.
When Ye Wanning returned to the kitchen, a little while had passed. Su Wenzhen was nowhere to be seen, but the kitchen was a mess. Her heart sank. Oh no! Had something happened to that idiot?
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