Chapter 17 Red Date, Goji Berry, Longan, and Black Chicken Soup
Someone else had already ushered Daiyu into the inner room. Although it was already the beginning of spring, the weather was still quite chilly. The young lady must have gotten cold walking this hundred meters or so in the cold. Let her have a bowl of brown sugar ginger tea first...
Despite the large number of people, things were done in an orderly manner, without a trace of panic.
"Granny Yuan, Miss Lin has been delivered, so I won't stay any longer. Second Madam, are you going back with me?" Yuanyang came over to answer the question and was about to leave.
“Yuanyang, I’ll go with you,” Wang Xifeng said hurriedly. She had only brought Ping’er with her when she came out. At night, the shadows of the trees and the cries of crows in this large mansion were still not quite what Wang Xifeng was used to.
She loved the bright lights and the large searchlights that film crews could use to turn night into day. The dim, yellowish light from the lanterns in the courtyard of the mansion always reminded her of scenes from horror movies.
If she hadn't remembered her promise to Yuan Hongqu and wanted to confide her grievances to her, she wouldn't have been so bold as to come to Rongyue Courtyard with only Ping'er.
Now that she had vented her grievances and was satisfied with her meal, Wang Xifeng was about to talk to Yuan Hongqu for a while longer.
However, Yuan Hongqu had no time to entertain her anymore. As soon as Lin Daiyu returned, Yuan Hongqu's eyes were only on Lin Daiyu, and she had long since forgotten about her.
Xiangtao saw the group across the small bridge, then handed a food box to Ping'er.
"Second Madam, this is the soup you mentioned wanting to drink during the day. Granny Yuan cooked it herself. She said it's best to drink this soup before bed. If you like it, have someone tell her tomorrow that Granny Yuan will cook it again."
Wang Xifeng stepped past Ping'er and took the small food box herself, secretly delighted: Sister hadn't forgotten about her while taking care of Daiyu; she even had good soup for her!
"Xiangtao, please thank Sister Yuan for me. I'll come again tomorrow when I have time."
She couldn't wait to go back and see what kind of soup her older sister had made for her.
She has been feeling very irritable lately because of this bleeding condition. Several imperial physicians have come to see her, but they all said there was nothing seriously wrong. However, the bitter medicine soup is so unpleasant to drink that she is really afraid of drinking it.
Starting this month, she also developed migraines. When the headaches flared up, it felt like there was no part of her body that felt comfortable, and her temper became increasingly irritable.
After being reprimanded by Madam Wang today, her headache flared up. Just now, Ping'er helped her to Rongyue Courtyard, and for some reason, after eating that bowl of sesame paste, she felt that her headache was starting to subside.
She hadn't told Yuan Hongqu about her current health condition, but Yuan Hongqu actually cooked soup for her. Today was a reunion for them, and their first meeting across time and space. Wang Xifeng was deeply moved...
It seems that from now on, I will have to uphold the prestige of the Second Mistress in this Rongguo Mansion in order to protect Sister Yuan!
As Wang Xifeng walked, she pondered the matter and soon returned to her residence.
With lanterns hanging high, it was time to rest. Ping'er called over a maid to help Wang Xifeng remove her makeup.
Ping'er remembered what Xiangtao had said: this soup should be drunk before going to bed.
"Grandma, let me serve you some soup." Ping'er reached for the food box, but Wang Xifeng waved her hand, telling them to leave.
"Go out and rest. I'll leave my drink here and have someone clean it up tomorrow."
Although Ping'er was puzzled, she didn't ask any more questions: Although Second Madam's temper is much better than before, her former authority is still there, and she is even more decisive than before.
She took the maidservant with her and left, leaving Wang Xifeng alone in the room.
Wang Xifeng opened the food box, inside was a small white porcelain soup pot. As soon as she opened it, she recognized it as red date, goji berry, longan and black chicken soup.
Looking at the ordinary-looking pot of soup, Wang Xifeng was slightly disappointed.
Given her current condition, these soups probably wouldn't be of much use anymore. She had thought that since Yuan Hongqu was a senior nutritionist who had studied traditional Chinese medicine, the medicinal diet would at least contain some angelica or astragalus.
To my surprise, it turned out to be just red dates, longan, goji berries, and black-boned chicken.
She's been eating these things every few days for the past year, but they haven't made her feel any better.
However, since it was made by Yuan Jie herself, she should still drink it, so as not to disappoint Yuan Jie's good intentions.
If Sister Yuan asks about it tomorrow, I'll just say that the soup worked well and helped me sleep soundly without nightmares.
She didn't serve it; she ate it all, soup and all, right out of the small soup pot, leaving only a few date pits.
After drinking it, Wang Xifeng savored the taste and felt that it was much more delicious than the soup she had drunk before. In the end, Yuan Jie's cooking skills were better!
She lay sprawled on the edge of the bed, pondering the analysis Yuan Hongqu had given her in Rongyue Courtyard. The more she thought about it, the more confused she became, and she didn't even know when she fell asleep...
Ping'er came in to check again and again. Usually, when she came in to serve, the Second Madam would already be awake. What was going on today?
Second Madam would never let personal matters interfere with official duties. If she missed the time to call the old women to their posts, she feared she would receive a scolding when she woke up. Ping'er could only call out softly:
"Second Madam, wake up! The old women are coming soon, you should go and check in with them."
"Go order, I'm going to sleep a little longer..." Wang Xifeng felt that she couldn't open her eyes, and every cell in her body seemed to be asleep, not awake at all.
As soon as she finished speaking, Ping'er heard the soft sound of snoring again.
Ping'er had no choice but to go out by herself. In the courtyard outside the gate, many old women had already come to wait. When they saw Ping'er come out, they all came over to greet her.
Ping'er quickly checked them off, and besides the daily tasks, she arranged for someone to clean and tidy up Pear Fragrance Courtyard. After thinking for a moment and realizing there was nothing else, she dismissed them.
The clock in the main hall of the annex chimed a few times; it was eight o'clock in the morning.
Wang Xifeng opened her eyes in the bedroom.
She slept soundly, and when she opened her eyes, she felt that her body, which had felt heavy and unbearable, seemed to have become light overnight.
Although she was thin, she always felt very heavy, as if her whole body was covered with a thick layer of something, which made her extremely uncomfortable.
Now she feels that the layer is gone, and she feels completely relaxed. In the past, when she had a headache the day before, it would always last for two days. This time, she had a slight headache before going to bed last night, but now it doesn't hurt at all. She has completely forgotten what a headache feels like.
She fell asleep shortly after drinking soup last night, around nine o'clock, and slept until eight o'clock, a full eleven hours!
Not to mention now, even before, she had never slept for such a long time since the fourth grade of elementary school!
After getting up and washing up, Wang Xifeng went to see her daughter, who was still in swaddling clothes, for a while.
Several more wives and mothers-in-law came over to cause trouble, and she handled the problem based on her past experience.
The head of the main kitchen came over and asked if Rongyueyuan needed an extra shopping list for the vegetables, fruits, meat, etc. that she was getting from the main kitchen, so they could buy them separately.
"You don't need to worry about it. When the maids of Rongyue Courtyard go to collect their rations, you should still give them some. But you don't need to worry about anything else from now on; they can buy it themselves."
Wang Xifeng's words were clear, and the purchasing agent of the main kitchen dared not refute them to their face, but he was unhappy when he returned home.
"We buy everything for the entire household's kitchen, except for Rongyue Courtyard, which is different and has to buy its own! Is it because they think what we buy isn't good enough?"
The head cook, Madam Feng, glanced sideways at the comprador and said coldly:
"The kitchen of Rongyue Courtyard is the most exquisite kitchen in the entire mansion. Liu Quan, you're probably complaining because you've lost Rongyue Courtyard's purchasing power and there's a lack of oil and grease."
"Oh dear, Mama Feng, aren't you even tempted by that lucrative deal?"
"Liu Quan," Feng Dajia said coldly.
"The one living in Rongyue Courtyard has more money to spare than you can skim off the top. If you're so keen, find some rare items and have your wife ask if Rongyue Courtyard will accept them. If they catch Granny Yuan's eye, you won't have to worry about embezzling that little bit of money meant for buying groceries!"
"Aunt Feng, I'm afraid they won't even like what I brought..."
As the two were talking, they heard the voice of a little girl coming from outside.
“Aunt Feng, Aunt Yang from Rongyue Courtyard is here. She asked if Comprador Liu is here. She would like to ask Comprador Liu to show her around the shops.”
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