Following the maid through the corridors and courtyards, Su Yun'er arrived at a courtyard. The courtyard was decorated very elegantly, and it was clear at a glance that it was where the young lady lived.
Stepping into the courtyard, on the right-hand side at the main entrance of the house, they saw Granny Wen coming out. Upon seeing Su Yun'er, she waved to them, signaling her to come over.
The maid who had been guiding Su Yun'er bowed and stepped aside.
It's clear that the Sun family has strict rules.
On her way there, Su Yun'er saw many servants and women passing by in a hurry, and their clothes were not ordinary or cheap. In comparison, Su Yun'er's clothes were far too ordinary.
Upon entering the inner hall, an arched gauze curtain separated the inside from the outside. Through the curtain, Su Yun'er saw a young girl sitting at a round table, with two maids serving her behind her.
Granny Wen bowed to the person inside the gauze curtain and said softly, "Miss, the cook has arrived."
"Thank you for your trouble, Granny Wen." A clear and gentle voice replied.
After exchanging a few more words with the young girl, Granny Wen left.
For a moment, only Su Yun'er and the three of them—the mistress and her servant—were left in the room.
The young woman gestured, and the maid in green lifted the gauze curtain, smiling, "Please come in, madam."
Su Yun'er returned the greeting and slowly entered.
Although she is now a village woman, she had studied for more than ten years in her previous life and learned a lot about etiquette and manners. She still has basic common sense and the demeanor to deal with people.
Although it's different from ancient etiquette and rules, it's always right to follow the local people's gestures when bowing.
The girl has delicate features, and her clothes are obviously made of expensive material, but they are not luxurious or ostentatious. Her outfit looks simple, elegant, and comfortable, making her seem approachable.
Su Yun'er's gaze quickly swept across the table. The dishes she had just prepared were still neatly arranged, and it seemed that she had only tasted a bite or two of each.
"Is my wife curious as to why I haven't eaten?" The young girl was very observant and immediately noticed that Su Yun'er's gaze lingered briefly on the dishes on the table.
"I wonder if it's because my cooking skills are lacking and the food I made doesn't suit your taste?"
Facing the polite young woman, Su Yun'er began to speak in a more refined and literary manner.
The young woman smiled apologetically: "Your cooking is excellent, and I like all of these dishes very much. However, my maidservant noticed that most of them are cold and was worried that they might upset my stomach, so she wouldn't let me eat too much. That's why she specially invited you over, madam, to ask why you made so many cold dishes for me?"
"As soon as I entered the kitchen of the mansion, I saw some servants carrying bamboo baskets, which were either filled with unused charcoal or ash that had been used up. I also observed that the people were mostly dressed lightly underneath their clothes, but when they went out, they put on thick cloaks or cotton-padded coats. I also saw some discarded flowers that had just been moved to a corner. Although the flowers were a bit withered, it was clear that they had been growing in a warm room for some time. So I deduced that there was plenty of charcoal in all the rooms of the mansion and the temperature was comfortable."
"If there is plenty of charcoal fire in the room during winter, people tend to feel hot and restless after staying indoors for a long time. If hot food is then served, it is actually less likely to stimulate their appetite. It's just like how people tend to have little appetite in summer, but crave more delicious food in winter."
"Although these two dishes aren't very hot, they haven't been rinsed in ice water, so they're at room temperature. The stir-fry and porridge are lukewarm, so you can eat them without worry, young lady."
The girl listened attentively, then smiled and said to the two maids, "See? I told you it would be fine to eat it. The charcoal fire in the mansion was burning too brightly; I almost broke out in a sweat just now."
“In that case, we can rest assured.” Chunrou and Xiazhi quickly set out a bowl and chopsticks for Sun Wanqing so she could continue eating.
"My wife, I've never seen these dishes before. Did you create them yourself?"
"I guess it's...not really. As long as you like it, that's fine." Su Yun'er stuck out her tongue in her heart. Although no one knew that she had learned these dishes in her previous life, she was still too embarrassed to admit it, so she changed the subject.
"I wonder what the names of these dishes are?" Sun Wanqing asked.
Su Yun'er stepped forward and pointed to each dish, saying, "This is called Cold Lemon Shrimp Salad, it's sour and spicy with a fruity aroma; this is called Salted Plum Tomato, it's a pre-meal snack, salty and sour, you can also eat it as a daily treat if you like; this is Sour and Refreshing Hand-Torn Cabbage, it's a hot dish. Actually, if you're worried about the food getting cold quickly in winter, you can put a small stove underneath to keep it warm; tonight's dish is Red Rose Nourishing Porridge, the red stuff in it is rose petals..."
"Rose petals?!" Sun Wanqing, who was drinking porridge, was stunned.
"Where did these rose petals come from?"
“Those are the ones in the manor,” Su Yun’er said.
"Isn't that Grandma's favorite red rose?!" Sun Wanqing was astonished. Looking at the rice porridge in the bowl, which had turned pink from being stained with red roses, she couldn't bear to eat it anymore.
"My lady, you used my grandmother's favorite flower. Aren't you afraid she'll be angry with you?"
“This…” Su Yun’er scratched her cheek. “Actually, before I used them, Granny Wen had already told Miss’s grandmother. The old lady said: As long as Miss can eat, she won’t blame me for using these flowers.”
Hearing this, Sun Wanqing finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"That's good, thank you so much, madam. My grandmother has worried herself sick over me and ruined so many of her favorite flowers. I don't know how I can repay her." Sun Wanqing sighed and put down her porridge bowl.
"Hey? Beautiful lady, eat more! If you don't eat more, I'm going to be starving!" Su Yun'er thought to herself.
"Don't you like this red rose beauty porridge, young lady?"
"The porridge was delicious, with a sweet and smooth texture and a floral aroma. I really liked it. But when I thought about how it was made with my grandmother's favorite roses, I couldn't bear to eat it."
“Young lady, you should think of it this way: although your grandmother loves this flower, she loves you even more. The flower is already cooked, so the only way you can repay the flower and your grandmother’s love is to eat more of it.”
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