Everyone looked behind Yun Yan. Although Xie Nanjia kept her head down, many people still recognized her.
"Hey, isn't this the maid who was made to kneel by my cousin on the day she went to pay her respects to the old lady in her courtyard?" the Third Lady asked in surprise.
"Yes, it's her." Several people followed up and said, "Isn't she someone close to the Fourth Aunt? How did she become a kitchen maid?"
The Fourth Aunt had been worried about being picked on by Qin, so she kept silent the whole time to reduce her presence. But when she was suddenly mentioned, she was secretly shocked and thought to herself that Xiu'er was really weird. Whenever there was something, she had to be involved. How did she do it
Qin also recognized Xie Nanjia and was equally puzzled. This girl was so weird. She was always present everywhere. Wasn't she lighting the fire in the kitchen? Why was she here
What's wrong with Yunyan? I asked her to bring the soup cook, so why did she bring Xiu'er with her
Zhao Jingyu looked at the various expressions on everyone's faces, calmly picked up the wine glass, and waited to see the show.
It goes without saying that where there is a banquet there is a good show, and where there is a good show there is a sleeve.
This is really interesting.
Yunyan stepped forward and bowed, "Madam, I asked Aunt Cai, and she said that Xiu'er made the soup today. She also said that Xiu'er is now a cook, and today there are not enough people, so she asked Xiu'er to help in the kitchen."
When everyone heard that the little girl had become a cook, they were all surprised. The people in the East and West Mansions didn't know what she did in the mansions, they only knew that the Marquis liked the soup she made very much, so they all praised her for her good cooking skills and called her a cooking genius.
Qin sneered and expressed her disbelief. Xiu'er was brought back from the farm by the Fourth Aunt. She had been in the mansion for only a few days and had been making fire in the kitchen. Where did she learn cooking skills? If you have to attribute it to talent, then her talent is too amazing.
Xie Nanjia followed Yun Yan and bowed: "Xiu'er greets all the masters."
Everyone was waiting for her to continue speaking, but she stopped abruptly with just this sentence.
If you say she is impolite, she still polites. If you say she is polite, there is a hint of rudeness in her that is hard to describe.
Zhao Jingyu laughed.
This is what sleeves are like. Polite sleeves are disguised, and rude sleeves are real.
Dingyuan Hou didn't pay much attention to the maids in the mansion, and he couldn't even recognize all of them. He seemed to have an impression of Xiu'er's name, but he couldn't remember where he had heard it. When Xie Nanjia spoke, he suddenly realized: "Oh, I remember now, she is the little maid that Manluo brought back from the farm. I saw her in Qingfeng Courtyard last time. How come she became a cook again?"
Fourth Aunt was named again and had to stand up to explain, "My Lord, Xiu'er was indeed in Qingfeng Court before. When she was at the manor, her cooking skills were very good. She not only served me, but also the Second Young Master. She likes cooking very much, so not long after she came to the mansion, she begged me to transfer her to the kitchen to work."
The Fourth Aunt said this very cleverly. She explained the reason why Xiu'er went to the kitchen in a roundabout way, completely clearing herself of the blame. She also let everyone know that Xiu'er's cooking skills were already there, and the Second Young Master even testified for her.
Dingyuan Hou then asked Zhao Jingyu for confirmation: "Did you really eat the dishes she cooked at the farm?"
Xie Nanjia couldn't help but glance at Zhao Jingyu. Coincidentally, Zhao Jingyu also looked at her. Their eyes met, and Zhao Jingyu gave her a coquettish look with a smile.
Xie Nanjia's heart choked and he quickly lowered his head, cursing him in his heart, what a dishonest thing!
Zhao Jingyu drank the wine in his hand and replied to Dingyuan Hou: "Yes, father, this girl is indeed a superb cook. Even the ordinary boiled eggs are more delicious than others."
"..." Xie Nanjia was really impressed by this man's ability to lie. The egg was not cooked by her at all. She just peeled it and fed it to him.
Thinking of the scene of feeding him eggs that day, my face felt a little hot.
Zhao Jingyu keenly caught the shyness that flashed across her eyes, and his mood became very happy.
Zhao Jingping saw this scene and was very unhappy. He had been attracted to Xiu'er since she came to the mansion, but his mother got very angry because of Xiu'er that day. Although he was thinking about her all the time, he did not dare to go to Xiu'er frequently.
But he thought, since they were in the same mansion, Xiu'er would be his sooner or later. He never thought that his second brother had known Xiu'er in the manor a long time ago. Xiu'er was so pretty, how could a playboy like his second brother let her go? Seeing the two of them flirting with each other, could it be that Xiu'er had been...
The more Zhao Jingping thought about it, the more depressed he became. The delicate flower he had taken a fancy to was pinched by someone else. He felt like there were thousands of ants biting his heart. He felt so uncomfortable.
Since there were two people testifying to Xiu'er's cooking skills, everyone's doubts were cleared up. The second lady reminded Qin: "Didn't the eldest sister-in-law want to reward her? Why didn't she say anything for a long time? Could it be that she was worried about the money?"
The Third Madam smiled and said, "I think it must be that the eldest sister-in-law saw that the little girl was pretty and didn't want her to cook soup for the Marquis."
Qin was almost annoyed. These two sisters-in-law were like two noisy old crows, making her furious. She really didn't want to look at the sleeve any longer. She felt from the bottom of her heart that there would be no good things wherever there were sleeves.
But she had already said it before, and now in public, she certainly couldn't go back on her word.
She held back her anger and asked Yunyan to reward Xie Nanjia with one or two taels of silver. She then smiled and told Xie Nanjia to make soup for the Marquis every night as a midnight snack. To show that she really cared about the Marquis and to let the old lady see her virtue, she also carefully instructed the Marquis on his eating habits and some things he should avoid.
Xie Nanjia agreed to all the requests, kowtowed respectfully to Marquis Dingyuan and Qin, and said that she would do her best to serve the Marquis.
At this point, she had achieved half of her goal today.
The reason why she wanted to be a cook was to take advantage of today's banquet to get the Marquis' attention and get a chance to get close to him in a legitimate way.
The Marquis is the biggest tree in the mansion, so of course she should lean against the big tree to enjoy the shade.
The Fourth Aunt had been on guard against everything, but she never expected that Xiu'er would eventually gain the Marquis's attention in this way. She felt very upset and secretly cursed Qin for being a big fool.
If she had known this would happen, she would have rather not left in a hurry and let her stay in Qingfeng Court to help him consolidate his favor. This way, at least the benefits would not be lost to outsiders.
Now, everything is lost. If Xiu'er gets favored in the future, the first person he would deal with might be her.
The fourth concubine thought about it over and over again, and regretted it so much that her intestines turned green.
Qin didn't want to look at Xie Nanjia for even a moment, and after Xie Nanjia kowtowed, she hurriedly drove him away.
"You should go back soon. I'm sure there's still a lot to do in the kitchen." She said gently, acting like a lady.
Xie Nanjia didn't want to leave. She had heard from the maid who served the dishes that the young master was brought to the banquet today. A few people had seen the young master and said that he was pink, white and plump.
From the moment she heard the news, she was anxious to come and see. She waited patiently for what seemed like several lifetimes before Yun Yan came to look for her.
She followed Yunyan all the way, and she was annoyed that Yunyan walked too slowly. She wished she could pull Yunyan to run.
As soon as she entered the garden, she started searching everywhere. She heard the babbling of a baby in the side hall and she knew that was the sound coming from her son. This was the first time she was so close to her son since she returned home. She hoped that the wet nurse would come out with the child in her arms the next moment.
She wanted to see her son, wanted to see what he looked like. Even just one glance would be enough to comfort her for the torment she had suffered over the past few months.
But the child was never brought out, and she could not stay any longer. She could only leave, dragging her feet that were heavier than stones, using all her strength to take every step.
As she was about to leave the garden, the babbling of the children in the side hall gradually became inaudible. She could not hold back her tears at last. Big tears burst out of her eyes, blurring her vision.
Is there anything more sad in this world than the separation of mother and child? It is so heartbreaking that they cannot see each other even though they are so close.
"Why are you crying?" A lazy voice sounded, and a red figure appeared in her blurry sight.
It’s Zhao Jingyu!
Xie Nanjia was startled and quickly lowered his head.
The next moment, her chin was pinched by two slender fingers and forcibly lifted up.
But she still kept her eyes down, refusing to look at Zhao Jingyu. She couldn't stop her tears, which kept flowing down.
"What's wrong? Are you scared?" Zhao Jingyu felt distressed for no reason. He wiped the tears from the corners of her mouth with his thumb and softened his voice. "Aren't you always bold and daring?"
He suddenly changed from his previous frivolous attitude and became so gentle. Xie Nanjia didn't know what string was touched in her heart. All the grievances and sorrows came up at once. She threw herself into his arms uncontrollably and cried loudly.
"..." Zhao Jingyu was actually shocked. This girl, is she timid or brave? She actually dared to hug him and cry in such a crowded place, not afraid of being seen.
Just as he was thinking, he heard footsteps coming this way. He quickly hugged Xie Nanjia's waist, jumped onto a big tree next to him, and hid himself in the dense branches and leaves.
"Be good, don't cry, someone is coming." He climbed the tree branch with one hand and held Xie Nanjia tightly in his arms with the other. In order to prevent her crying from being heard, he had to cover her mouth with his mouth.
(End of this chapter)