With the year-end approaching, everyone in the kitchen is busy. In previous years, Fatty Wang wouldn't have been able to find time to go home at this time.
When Wang Yan went back, she could only be taken care of by Aunt Wang. This year, Aunt Wang took Wang Ying out to "see a doctor for her injury," so none of them went home.
However, Aunt Wang still asked someone to send gloves, boots, socks, and thick and thin cotton clothes to her siblings who worked in the courtyard and to Fatty Wang and his friends.
The group had no worries about this at all and were living a very comfortable life.
…………………………
On this day, the main kitchen delivered a bag of millet (millet) from Huining Prefecture.
Aunt Sun picked up a handful of millet and immediately started thinking about making millet cakes for her wife.
Wash the millet and put it in a clay pot. Add spring water and cook it into a rice paste. Let it cool slightly and then add acacia honey.
Then let it cool completely, add an appropriate amount of glutinous rice flour, knead it vigorously into a dough, and press it into a leaf-shaped mold.
Then quickly flip it over and gently tap it out. Boil water in a steamer, and once the water boils, take a plate and steam it for 15 minutes.
It's fragrant, soft, and filling, even better than bean cake. Wang Yan packed a few packs and gave them to her brother so he could fill his stomach during his free time while working.
The third young master has been throwing a tantrum every time he returns to the courtyard lately, and Lin Mu and his brother haven't had a proper dinner for several days.
We sent them some pork jerky, spicy rice crackers, and some pastries beforehand. In the evening, they would fill a pot with tea to satisfy their hunger.
Wang Xing was busy in the study serving Lin Mu, who came to pick up the things.
After accepting the gifts, he quietly reminded Wang Yan not to come over for the next couple of days.
Not only were the two masters of Moyuan Courtyard acting strangely, but even the Second Madam had summoned the Third Young Master yesterday and given him a dressing down.
The servants had no idea why.
Lin Mu put the pastries inside and went back to his work. He had just stood under the eaves outside the study when he heard an argument coming from inside.
"Your brother has come to the capital, why can't he stay at the Marquis's residence! After all, you two are family. What are you doing at the Earl's residence?"
Immediately afterward, the young mistress said something in a low voice, which he couldn't hear.
A few breaths later, the two came out together. Strangely enough, the two of them now seemed to be deeply in love with each other again.
Lin Mu was momentarily dazed, thinking he had lost his mind. Weren't they just arguing?
Gu Ting and his companion went out, instructing the maids and servants not to follow them. They were going for a walk in the courtyard.
After a short rest, Wang Xing went inside to retrieve two packets of pastries his sister had brought and took them to the tea room.
Let those young maids have a taste when they go to pour tea. As soon as I went out, I ran into Guixiang.
The two greeted each other and were about to leave when Guixiang called him back, looking a little embarrassed.
"Do you still have the spicy strips you brought last time? Guilan and I haven't had much of an appetite these past few days."
Your spicy snacks are pretty good. Can I buy two packs?
Wang Xing went back and got her a pack of spicy strips made from bean curd rolls, two packs of spicy strips made from steamed noodles, and two packs of rice crackers.
"Don't mention it, it's free, take it and eat!"
Gui Xiang shook her head, but still gave him a string of coins.
Wang Xing realized they genuinely enjoyed the food, so he offered a reminder.
"Young Master used to love this, so I instructed the tea room to buy it every month."
I must have been busy these past two months and forgot to ask Chun'er and the others to go buy it, so we didn't go.
However, Granny Sun in the main courtyard is easy to talk to; if you give her a few cents, she will definitely give you a few packets.
She had originally intended to say that she could come directly to place the order with him, and he could have Wang Yan bring it over. But after thinking about it, she felt it wasn't quite right, so she kept quiet.
Gui Xiang nodded, thanked Wang Xing, and took the two bags of spicy strips back to find Gui Lan.
When Guilan saw the spicy strips, she jumped up excitedly, quickly opened a bag, and took out two to eat.
The following days proved that Lin Mu's guess was right; the relationship between the Third Young Master and Lin Mu had thawed.
They even went together to beg the second wife to let Zheng Jin bring over the adopted son of the Xu family.
Zheng Jin laughed angrily. Who did they think they were fools? He spoke in a cold, expressionless voice.
"Gu Ting came to see me the other day, but I refused. Why are you and your wife here together today?"
Before they could reply, he looked at Xu Shaoqing with a hint of disdain in his eyes.
"If you ask me, since your brother is coming over, Uncle Xu should take care of him. There's no need for you to feel embarrassed."
After all, your "father's" estate and shops are all managed by Earl Xu. When your brother goes to the Earl's mansion to eat, drink, and spend money, he is actually spending his own money.
But what if it comes to our house? It's not a good look to be spending my brother-in-law's money.
Even if he could use his own money, the young master of the Xu family couldn't hand over the estate and shops to his "married" sister.
Don't blame your mother for speaking harshly; honest advice is hard to swallow. Think about it, don't you two agree?
Zheng Jin's words were utterly blunt, directly revealing the two people's true feelings.
Xu Shaoqing lowered her head in embarrassment, intending to take her leave. But Gu Ting, shameless as he was, insisted on continuing.
Zheng Jin grew impatient. "Just do as I say. There's no need for further discussion. You two can leave. I have a headache; I need to rest for a while."
The two reluctantly left the house. Gu Ting was somewhat exasperated at failing to persuade his second wife.
"It's alright, I'll think of something and go to Dad. He'll definitely be willing to go."
…………………………
Gu Xiao handed over the invitation and went to the Anbo Mansion with an arrogant air.
Upon arriving at the reception room, before he could even speak, the Earl, who was already prepared, splashed hot tea on his head.
Xu Wei had wanted to hit him for a long time, but he held back because he was concerned about the reputation of the children of the Earl's family.
They accepted the invitation this time precisely to trap and thwart him. Gu Xiao is truly shameless, daring to come knocking on their door.
"Aren't you afraid I'll go to the Prefect of the Capital for help if you openly assault someone like this?"
Xu Wei smiled and said, "Go quickly. I've been wanting to see if you'll get your punishment this time, since you were punished by the Prefect of Jingzhao last time."
As Xu Wei spoke, he picked up a whip and chased after Gu Xiao, lashing him with it.
Finally, Gu Xiao scrambled out of the Earl's mansion, but he didn't go around telling everyone. He couldn't bear the humiliation.
However, when the Marquis heard about Gu Xiao's mischief at the Earl's mansion, he summoned the Second Master and gave him a severe scolding.
"The Marquis's mansion has been starving you, how could you do such a shameless thing? With a brain like yours, you still want to steal someone else's family fortune!"
Gu Xiao protested, "Brother, what are you saying? I didn't have that idea. I just wanted to ease the tension between Brother Ting and the Earl's Mansion."
"Find a young child, coax him a bit, and he might go back and say a few good words for us."
"Shut up! You're the only one who's stupid, and you think everyone else is as dumb as you?"
Gu Xiao was unconvinced and wanted to argue further, but seeing the Marquis's darkened face, he had no choice but to shut up.
At this point, Gu Ting and Xu Shaoqing's plans had completely failed.
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