Chapter 61: Sister's Humiliation
Star anise, cinnamon, pepper, cumin, cardamom, bay leaves, white cardamom, angelica, cloves, she even found a piece of clean cotton cloth to wrap all these things up.
Zeng Xiaoyan and her friends weren't the kind of people who had no sense of boundaries. They wouldn't insist on opening the package to see what was inside. Once the braised meat was cooked, they would just stuff the empty package into the stove and burn it, leaving no trace. She didn't have to worry about anything.
In addition to these, add soy sauce, cooking wine, ginger, onion, garlic, red pepper, rock sugar, and salt to make a big pot of rich and fragrant sauce.
Zeng Xiaoyan and her friends came back at noon. They bought the pork head, pig's trotters and pig's tail that she wanted. Zeng Xiaoyan herself bought a big elbow and five pounds of ribs, and Aunt Zhuer bought a large piece of pork belly.
"Sister Zhichun, when will the braised pork be cooked?"
Xu Zhichun smiled and said, "After the konjac tofu is cooked, I will make it tonight and we can eat it tomorrow morning."
Before going to bed, add enough water to the braising pot, cover the pot, and burn two pieces of hardwood as thick as a bowl in the stove hole. It can burn until almost dawn.
The next morning, just get up and cook it over high heat.
Zeng Xiaoyan said with a hint of regret: "Ah, that's fine too. Fortunately, there is a big pot."
Xu Zhichun laughed heartily: "Yes, thank goodness for this big pot!"
It’s expensive, but it’s really useful.
It's a pity that you can't buy chicken feet, chicken wings, etc. in bulk on the market these days, otherwise they would be delicious if braised together. However, you can braise some eggs.
Aunt Zhu'er: "We ran into the Zeng family today."
Xu Zhichun looked at Zeng Xiaoyan with concern. No wonder she had a feeling that Zeng Xiaoyan didn't seem to be in a good mood today.
Aunt Zhuer looked at Zeng Xiaoyan with some sympathy. She was truly shocked today. She had never dealt with the wealthy people in the city before, and she had never imagined how some people could be so cruel and vicious. Every word she spoke was like a needle of steel.
She, the person next to her, felt extremely uncomfortable and her heart was trembling when she heard it, not to mention Zeng Xiaoyan, the person involved.
Zeng Xiaoyan was indeed in a bad mood and didn't want to say it at first, but when her aunt Zhu'er pointed it out and Xu Zhichun looked at her with concern, she suddenly felt aggrieved and her eyes turned red.
She pursed her lips and said, "Today, when we were eating noodles at the noodle stall when we were closing up, we ran into Cuiqiao, my eldest sister's maid."
Zeng Xiaoyan's elder sister Zeng Mingzhu was married to the Qi family in Qingyang County, Lin County. Since Zeng Xiaoyan's father, Mr. Zeng, would be celebrating his 50th birthday in seven or eight days, Zeng Mingzhu took the opportunity to return home early.
Today, she was passing by in a carriage and happened to catch a glimpse of Zeng Xiaoyan and her friends eating noodles at a roadside noodle stall. Then she saw that Zeng Xiaoyan was wearing ordinary cotton clothes that were neither new nor old, and her hair was bare with only an ordinary silver hairpin holding her bun. Zeng Mingzhu burst out laughing.
"I originally thought she would be unwilling to accept this and would keep making trouble until she died, but I didn't expect her to accept her fate so quickly. She can actually eat with a smile on her face in a place like this without feeling disgusted. She really is just like her mother, a low-life."
Cuiqiao knew that her master hated the third young lady the most. The second young lady would never say a word when she was bullied, but the third young lady was different. She would run to the master, lift up her sleeves, revealing the bruises and swelling on her arms, and cry to him about the clothes that had been cut for no reason.
Although there was no evidence to prove that these were done by the eldest daughter, in the end either the servants were pushed out to take the blame and were scolded by the master, or the third daughter herself was unable to defend herself and was scolded by the master, but she still refused to repent and did not hesitate to make trouble when it was time to do so.
There is no one in the family who doesn't hate her.
Later on, I just didn't bother to pay attention to her and treated her as air.
Hearing her master say this, Cuiqiao gloated and joined in the fun, "Who said it wasn't true? Madam, do you want to go down and say hello to her?"
Of course, greeting is not saying hello, but showing the huge difference between each other face to face and making fun of "You have come to this day!"
Zeng Mingzhu raised her hand to adjust the red gold mandarin duck and lotus hairpin inlaid with pearls and gemstones on her temples, and sneered: "Does she deserve it?"
"But since we've met, as her sister, I should also care about her. You can go and say hello to her. That's it."
"Yes, Madam."
The carriage stopped, Cuiqiao got off, and appeared in front of Zeng Xiaoyan.
Her tongue was sharp and vicious. Not only did she make a fuss and expose Zeng Xiaoyan's identity in public, she also put on a sympathetic face and said many sympathetic words. She used a handkerchief to wipe the non-existent tears from the corners of her eyes, and indignantly accused Liang Mingliang and the Liang family.
"Our Third Miss has been spoiled since she was little. If it weren't for our master's desire to repay his kindness, you Liang family wouldn't even be worthy of carrying our Third Miss's shoes, let alone marrying her into the family? Our Third Miss brought such a large dowry to marry into your Liang family, and she should have lived a comfortable life without worries about food and clothing. Yet, you actually let her out in the spotlight and work, and let her wear such clothes, without even a decent piece of jewelry. She's worse than a maid like me. Our Third Miss has been wronged! You Liang family are really going too far, worse than pigs and dogs!"
"I wonder how much our master would feel sorry for the Third Miss if he knew about this!"
The diners and passers-by who did not know the truth gradually gathered around and after hearing what they heard, they could not help but sympathize with Zeng Xiaoyan and blame Liang Mingliang.
Liang Mingliang had never seen such a scene before. Being surrounded by so many people, he looked at him with contempt and condemnation, and his face turned red with embarrassment and anger.
"What nonsense are you talking about? How could my family possibly bully my wife? That's not happening at all!"
"Hmph, the facts are all there, why is Third Uncle trying to quibble? Just looking at Third Miss like this, I know that your family must have embezzled all of her dowry, right? How shameless."
"you--"
"Don't worry, Third Miss. Once the Master and the Madam know about this, they will definitely take care of things for you. You dare not say anything, just swallow your anger. I know you've been wronged, and I will definitely tell the Master and the Madam."
Liang Mingliang was so angry that he couldn't speak. "No" and "No" were pale and powerless rebuttals.
Zeng Xiaoyan was also furious. "Cui Qiao, what are you crazy about? Who told you to talk nonsense? You—"
Cuiqiao raised her voice deliberately, her voice beginning to sob, "Third Miss, I know you're virtuous, but you can't let yourself be wronged like this! Just wait, I'll go back and tell the master!"
Cuiqiao covered her face and ran away while pretending to cry.
The crowd of onlookers pointed at Liang Mingliang, whispered, shook their heads and sighed, and then gradually dispersed.
Liang Mingliang's face turned pale.
On the way back, Liang Mingliang was listless and Zeng Xiaoyan was furious all the way.
"Sister-in-law Zhichun, listen to what she's saying. This damned girl is deliberately trying to humiliate me. Now I remember, my father's birthday is coming up soon, and my eldest sister must be back. Cuiqiao is her dowry maid, so she must have been the one who ordered this."
"I'm already married and have nothing to do with her anymore, but she still has to disgust me like this!"
(End of this chapter)
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