Jiu'er didn't know where Xiu'er got the confidence from. Although Aunt Liu was just a concubine, she was still a master compared to servants like them. Yet Xiu'er said that she was not bold enough.
No matter how small his face was, when he got angry, they were not able to resist.
Because the people in the kitchen are not like the people around the masters. If something happens, they have a master to protect them. But they are not like that. They do not belong to any one master, so when something happens, naturally there is no one to rely on.
Jiu'er felt that Xiu'er must have recently been assigned the job of making midnight snacks for the Marquis, and therefore thought that she had a backer and no longer took a master like Concubine Liu seriously.
But she knew Xiu'er's temper, and she couldn't persuade her, so she could only worry about her in secret.
When Aunt Cai heard about this, she called Xie Nanjia over to ask her why she didn't go to see Aunt Liu.
Xie Nanjia said, "I don't know that Madam Liu at all. I don't know her at all. What does she want me to do? Although I am a servant, I can't just follow whoever calls me. If other masters do this, then I won't have to work all day. Besides, I am a cook and I can't do anything except cooking. If she wants to eat something, she can just send someone to tell her. There is no reason for me to go all the way. I hate this kind of mystery the most in my life, so I won't go."
Aunt Cai was amused by her words: "You are a stubborn person. If you don't want to go, then don't go. I am also annoyed by those concubines who are nosy. After being slept with by the master once, they don't know which toe is forward. Go and do your thing. If she sends someone to call you again, let that person come to me. You are mine, and you can only go out when I nod my head."
"Yes, thank you for your support, Auntie." Xie Nanjia said.
Aunt Cai said, "You are so beautiful. I am not supporting you. It is just that they do not take me seriously and actually went straight to you without me."
Xie Nanjia smiled and walked out.
Luliu couldn't wait for Xie Nanjia, and after a while, she sent someone to tell him.
Xie Nanjia asked the messenger to ask Aunt Cai first, but Aunt Cai sent the messenger away with a few words.
The maid failed to complete her task, and went back angrily to complain, saying a lot of exaggerated things, trying to encourage Lvliu to go to the kitchen to ask for accountability.
Sure enough, after hearing this, Lvliu didn't even have dinner and went to the kitchen with the two little girls.
Xie Nanjia was busy in the kitchen when Jiu'er ran in in a panic: "Xiu'er, something bad has happened. Aunt Liu is here in person."
"Come if you want. Do you want me to put down the food in the pot and go to welcome her?" Xie Nanjia said.
Before she finished speaking, Lvliu came in. After hearing what Xie Nanjia said, she said loudly, "I don't want to bother you, young lady. I came here on my own."
Everyone in the kitchen greeted Aunt Liu loudly or quietly.
Lvliu ignored everyone and walked straight to Xie Nanjia, looking her up and down. She praised her with an expression that showed no emotion, "What a pretty little cook. Have we seen her somewhere before?"
Xie Nanjia was also looking at her. Seeing that she was dressed up gorgeously and looked so arrogant, she was completely different from the green willow she used to be. She couldn't tell how she felt in her heart.
"Thank you for the compliment, Aunt Liu." She bowed slightly. "Aunt Liu is very precious and rarely goes out. I think we must have met at the banquet!"
Green Willow smiled and said, "I never attend banquets, so I definitely didn't meet him at a banquet."
"Then I don't know." Xie Nanjia said, "Auntie, you didn't come here to try to establish a relationship with me, right? I'm busy here, so if you have any instructions, just tell me directly."
The little girl next to her couldn't take it anymore, pointed at her and scolded her: "What's your attitude? It's ok that you don't show courtesy to your aunt, but you are so rude in your words. Do you still want to live?"
Xie Nanjia said, "I don't want to live anymore. There's a knife on the table over there. Why don't you give me a quick death?"
"You!" The little girl's face turned red with anger.
Everyone in the kitchen laughed.
Xie Nanjia glanced at her with disdain and turned back to cooking.
The little girl called Luliu aggrievedly: "Aunt, look how arrogant this little bitch is..."
Lvliu raised her hand and slapped her: "Get out!"
Everyone laughed even louder.
The little girl covered her face and retreated to the door with a wronged look on her face.
Lvliu smiled and said, "She is new here and doesn't know much. Don't be angry. I came here to ask you something. Why don't you come with me to the yard?"
Xie Nanjia also wanted to know what happened to her, so she handed over the kitchen work to others and followed Lvliu out.
The two girls followed closely behind.
Green Willow was walking in front and she was following behind. Green Willow's waist was really slender like a willow, and it swayed gracefully when she walked, like a willow branch in the wind.
In the past, all the maids in the yard envied Lvliu's waist. Anyone who passed by her couldn't help wanting to pinch it. Zhao Jingping, that bastard, was also very jealous and hinted to her several times that he wanted to take Lvliu as his concubine. She told Lvliu what Zhao Jingping said as a joke. Lvliu was so angry that her face turned red. She swore to the sky, "I would rather cut my hair and become a nun than serve him. If I am asked to serve him, I might as well be a pig, a dog, a cow or a horse."
The words were still fresh in her ears, but she had already become Zhao Jingping's aunt.
Xie Nanjia really wanted to ask her what she saw in Zhao Jingping that made her willing to be a concubine rather than go back to the general's mansion to be a rich lady.
If she returned to the general's mansion, her parents would definitely find her a good family and let her marry into the family as the principal wife in a grand ceremony.
I really don’t know what she is thinking.
What else is good about Zhao Jingping besides his face
The two of them came to the yard one after the other and found a corner where no one was. Lvliu asked straight to the point, "What is your relationship with Hualou, and why do you want to help her?"
This question didn't surprise Xie Nanjia, as it was pretty much what she had guessed, so she smiled and said, "She and I have no relationship, but I felt sorry for her. It just so happened that the old lady needed someone reliable to serve the young master, so I recommended her. Does Auntie think there's anything wrong with that?"
Lvliu's face turned cold: "We are not related, how do you know she is reliable?"
Xie Nanjia said, "I'm telling you the truth, don't be upset, Auntie. You and she are both maids of the Crown Prince's wife. You have transformed yourself into a phoenix that has flown to the top of a tree, while she would rather deal with shit and urine in Qingqu Garden than leave the house in order to take care of the young master for the Crown Prince's wife. In comparison, who of you two is more reliable?"
"Nonsense!" Lvliu was furious. "Who do you think you are? How dare you talk about the prince's wife? You have only been in the mansion for a few days, and you dare to make a rash conclusion based on a few rumors. How do you know that she stayed in the mansion just to protect the young master? How do you know that she has no other purpose?"
Xie Nanjia was silent for a moment, staring at her eyes widened with anger and said, "I don't know, and I don't need to know. I just need to know that she is sincere to the young master, because this is the kind of person the old lady is looking for."
"You are indeed very arrogant, not only arrogant, but also conceited." Lvliu stretched out her index finger with long nails and gently lifted Xie Nanjia's chin. "Do you think that what you saw is true? Do you think that you can do whatever you want in the mansion because you have received the praise from the lady and the old lady? Let me give you a piece of advice. Understand your own identity and never overestimate yourself, otherwise you will die without knowing how you died."
Xie Nanjia lowered her eyelids and looked at the finger. The world is so unpredictable. Now it is Luliu who is trying to teach her a lesson.
She took a step back and bowed expressionlessly: "Thank you for your teachings, Auntie. If there is nothing else, I will go back to work first."
Luliu didn't say anything else, and Xie Nanjia turned and walked towards the kitchen.
Lvliu watched her go in, stood there for a moment, and then left with the maid.
When Xie Nanjia returned to the kitchen, everyone stared at her, as if they wanted to see if there were any slap marks on her face. Seeing that she was unharmed, they all asked her curiously, "Xiu'er, what did Aunt Liu want to talk to you about?"
"Nothing. She heard that I'm good at making soup and asked me for the method so that she could please the prince." Xie Nanjia lied.
Everyone curled their lips: "These vixen are always using tricks to win favor. They never acted like this when the Crown Prince's wife was around."
"That's right. When the Crown Prince's wife was around, the Crown Prince would always look at her face and not let her in when he was unhappy. That's why she wouldn't be as servile as those concubines."
Xie Nanjia stood silently in front of the stove, listening to the gossip and thinking about the purpose of Lvliu's trip.
She came here with so much fanfare to ask questions, it was impossible that she was just out of curiosity. Even if she was out of curiosity, why didn't she go directly to ask the painting building she was familiar with, but instead came to ask a stranger
Either she was too embarrassed to ask Hualou, or Hualou didn't want to see her, or their relationship had already broken down.
What caused the breakdown of their relationship? Either Hualou looked down on her for sleeping with Zhao Jingping, or Hualou hated her.
Why did Hualou hate her? Either he hated her for betraying the young lady, or he suspected or even confirmed that she was the murderer.
To sum up, Hualou believes that Lvliu is the murderer.
Then, the person who forced Hualou to hide in Qingqu Garden should also be Lvliu.
After realizing this, Xie Nanjia couldn't help but shudder, and the spoon in his hand fell to the ground with a bang.
If it really is Lvliu, then isn't Lvliu's scheming too deep
She carefully recalled the ghostly voice she heard before she died, and a chill ran up from the soles of her feet to the top of her head.
"Xiu'er, what's wrong with you?" Jiu'er helped her pick up the spoon, and seeing that she looked unhappy, she asked with concern.
Xie Nanjia came back to her senses and found that everyone was looking at her. She quickly put away her emotions and forced a smile: "It's okay, I was just thinking about something and got distracted."
After finishing the task at hand, she couldn't wait to take off her apron and go to Hualou to ask questions.
Before they left the yard, Aunt Cai came in with the servant of Marquis Dingyuan.
Seeing Xie Nanjia, Aunt Cai smiled and said, "I was just looking for you. A distinguished guest came to the front yard. The Marquis said he was tired of the food we cooked, so he specifically asked you to make a few different dishes and send them over."
"..." Xie Nanjia naturally could not refuse the Marquis's order, so she went back to the kitchen to cook, with Aunt Cai personally assisting her.
As there was only one distinguished guest, Aunt Cai said that four dishes and one soup would be enough. After they were ready, Aunt Cai tasted them one by one and confirmed that they were all ok before asking Xie Nanjia to follow the servant to deliver the dishes.
Xie Nanjia was thinking about finding Hualou and didn't want to go and deliver the food. Aunt Cai reminded her: "Have you forgotten what I told you before? If you cook the food yourself, you have to deliver it yourself, so as to avoid any problems on the way."
Xie Nanjia had no choice but to go and send it off in person.
On the way, she was still wondering whether the distinguished guest was someone she knew. When she arrived at the Marquis's reception room, she saw that it was indeed someone she knew. Not only did she know him, but she was also very familiar with him.
(End of this chapter)