Jiang Yuwei nodded and said:
"I prepared this. May I ask, Master Xu, is there anything wrong with the food?"
At this moment, Granny Li, who was outside the door, couldn't stand it any longer when she saw her master questioning Jiang Yuwei. She rushed out of the door, pointed at Jiang Yuwei, and said:
“Sir, this woman has ulterior motives. She’s trying to fool you with things that none of us farmers would eat. Crayfish are something everyone avoids in the paddy fields. And that other dish, I dare not say, she made it with offal. I saw it in the kitchen!”
Seeing Granny Li pointing indignantly at the spicy blood curd dish, Sun Zhaodi could no longer hold back and rushed out of the door, urgently saying:
“Master, Madam, I was right there when Jiang Yuwei was making those dishes. I saw that she washed the vegetables thoroughly before cooking them, not like what Granny Li said.”
Master Xu and his wife exchanged a glance, then looked at Granny Li and Sun Zhaodi standing in the hall and said:
"Who allowed you to come to the front yard? Have you finished your work in the back yard? I have an important guest here today, so I'll let you off this time. Hurry up and go back to the back yard."
Seeing this, Granny Li was afraid that Master Xu would keep Jiang Yuwei, so she hurriedly said:
"Master, I am a loyal servant of this manor. I am really worried about this country woman who suddenly came and dared to cook in our kitchen. So I have been watching her cook. I saw that she put a lot of salt in the lobster!"
Upon hearing what Granny Li said, Jiang Yuwei immediately turned her head and glared at her. Wasn't Granny Li lying through her teeth? She had clearly forgotten to add salt in her haste, so how could Granny Li say that she had added a lot of salt?
Granny Li trembled in fright when Jiang Yuwei glared at her, and she timidly turned her head to the side, refusing to look at her.
Madam Xu frowned and said:
"But the spicy crayfish tasted just right to me."
Upon hearing her mistress's words, Sun Zhaodi looked at Granny Li with amusement.
Jiang Yuwei realized that Granny Li must have deliberately tampered with the crayfish by adding a lot of salt, fearing that she would take away her son's job. Unexpectedly, she had inadvertently helped her. She had thought that Master Xu was angry because she had forgotten to add salt.
Seeing that Granny Li looked flustered, Jiang Yuwei bowed to Master Xu and said:
"It is truly presumptuous of me to come to your residence to cook today. I only learned after arriving that the Xu family has a master chef. My skills are nothing compared to his. I wonder if you all find the food palatable?"
The second young master, who was still eating eggplant fritters, waved his hand and said:
"Oh, oh, that's not right. I think your cooking is much better than Li Hu's. Why don't you come and work for our household?"
Upon hearing the second young master's words, Granny Li's face flushed red with anxiety. She wanted to say something, but dared not speak rashly.
Master Xu nodded and said:
"The second young master is right. The dishes you make are quite unique and delicious. Many of them are dishes we have never eaten before. We called you here today to ask if you would like to stay in our household as a cook?"
Seeing this, Granny Li hurriedly waved her hand and said:
"No, no, sir! How can this village woman be worthy of the prestige of our Xu family? Besides, we don't even know her background. How can we let her stay in the manor so rashly? Absolutely not! Madam, you must persuade sir!"
Seeing that Granny Li dared to lose her composure in front of the guests, Madam Xu frowned and said:
"Enough, Granny Li! What's wrong with you today? How dare a servant like you question the master's decision?"
Jiang Yuwei was truly exasperated. She had only come to earn some hard-earned money, how had she gotten involved in this? Thinking of Ning Huaizhi and Ning Wan waiting for her outside, she wanted to quickly take the money and leave. So she stepped forward, bowed, and said:
“Master Xu, Madam Xu, thank you for your kind words. However, I still have a sick person and a child at home to take care of. I see that you already have a chef in your household, so you certainly don’t need me.”
Upon hearing Jiang Yuwei's words, Master Xu sighed with regret and said:
"I was hoping to eat these rare treats every day, but now that you've said that, I can't force you. Steward Zhang, give her two taels of silver and send her out of the mansion."
Granny Li had initially thought Jiang Yuwei was sensible and secretly rejoiced that she didn't deserve to stay in the Xu household. However, upon hearing that the master was going to give Jiang Yuwei two taels of silver, she immediately felt resentful. Her own son worked hard for a month and only earned one tael of silver, while Jiang Yuwei had only cooked one meal and the master had given her two taels of silver.
As she thought about it, Granny Li glared fiercely at Jiang Yuwei, pouted, and reluctantly headed out.
Seeing this, Madam Xu said coldly:
"Old Lady Li, you have really behaved improperly today. Go to Steward Zhang's place to receive your punishment later."
Steward Zhang handed the silver to Jiang Yuwei. Jiang Yuwei took the silver, nodded and smiled at Steward Zhang, then bid farewell to Master Xu and Madam Xu, and left the mansion with the servant. She didn't want to stay in this place of trouble any longer, and didn't want to get involved with anyone like Granny Li or Sun Zhaodi.
As soon as Jiang Yuwei stepped out of the mansion, she saw Ning Huaizhi and Ning Wan waiting anxiously at the gate. When Ning Wan saw that her mother had finally come out, she jumped off the oxcart and ran into Jiang Yuwei's arms. Jiang Yuwei picked up Ning Wan and rubbed her face against her head. Sure enough, a child can heal all fatigue.
Ning Huaizhi looked at Jiang Yuwei with heartache and said:
"You must be exhausted, honey. You must be worn out."
Jiang Yuwei shook her head and smiled:
"It's alright, let's hurry up and pick up Ning Zhao, he must be getting impatient."
After saying that, Jiang Yuwei carried Ning Wan onto the oxcart, and sitting on her own oxcart, she felt completely relaxed.
As expected, the intrigue and power struggles within the mansion were beyond my ability to handle. I was lucky to escape from the Xu residence today. Besides, that old woman Li was a stupid and incompetent person who couldn't keep secrets. If it had been someone else, a more formidable character, I would probably have suffered the same fate.
Jiang Yuwei shook her head as she thought about it. Sure enough, she shouldn't even think about the idea of a mobile banquet. She just couldn't stand the intrigue and backstabbing in the big house. She would be content to stay in her own little courtyard and make a little money by setting up a stall.
As Jiang Yuwei was thinking, the oxcart arrived at the academy gate. It was a holiday, and the street was packed with family members and servants waiting to pick up their students. Jiang Yuwei spotted Ning Zhao standing at the gate, looking around as if searching for someone, and raised her hand to call out:
"Zhao'er, come here!"
Ning Wan saw Ning Zhao from afar and happily jumped off the oxcart to meet him. However, she had only run a few steps when she was startled by a carriage rushing out from the street and stood frozen in the middle of the road.
Ning Huaizhi, who was sitting in the oxcart, heard the neighing of the horse-drawn carriage. He turned around and saw a young man driving a horse-drawn carriage rushing towards Ning Wan. He immediately frowned and his eyes were filled with murderous intent.
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