Mistress

Chapter 38

Sure enough, as Li Yan expected, Zhang Chun's family was so happy seeing that Nanny Cui had given her 20 taels of silver as a reward.If she relied on monthly money, she could only earn more than 20 taels for a whole year.

Mother Cui told her not to tell anyone about this matter, and she immediately swore that she would never tell anyone else.Afterwards, I learned that she was assigned to be a small manager in Huanyiyuan, and she would no longer have to look at her master's face all day long. The monthly routine was still the same as that of Nanny Cui. She was not at all unhappy, and thanked Nanny Cui again and again. He also said many good things about his wife, and then he went out happily.

As for the matter of venting her anger, she no longer cared about it, even though both sides of her face were still swollen.

Nanny Cui felt a little unhappy, she felt that Madam could take this opportunity to deal with Aunt Ji, and even if Aunt Ji didn't die, she would be kicked out of the house.In this way, the master will lose a beautiful concubine, and he will have more free time to come to Jinxiu Courtyard in the future.The remaining Aunt Song doesn't like to show off, and she doesn't like to be jealous, and her two sons can't affect Xu Xiao's status, so it's great that she can live in harmony with his wife.

But Li Yan didn't do that, Cui Momo stood beside her and said with a sigh: "Madam has always been soft-hearted, it's really cheap for Aunt Ji."

Li Yan didn't think so. Seeing that Nanny Cui was not happy, she comforted her: "If Master really finds out, he won't take advantage of her, it's just a matter of time."

In fact, Li Yan felt that she really didn't need to put Aunt Ji to death.In her opinion, because she is Xu Cheng's main wife, her natal family is in Northwest Daying, and Li Xiangrui is a subordinate of the old Duke, the marriage of the two families makes the relationship even closer.The Zhang family, the Ji family, the emperor, and even the Song family and the Xu family all seem to be in harmony on the surface, but they are on guard against each other behind the scenes.Who knows if Xu Cheng has seen through this reason, that's why he treated her extra favorably when he came back this time?
These days, Xu Cheng has been indifferent to her, compared to those concubines, he is really good enough for her, and he spends the longest time with her.But she still didn't feel like a husband and wife getting along, because Xu Cheng kept too many things from her, and she didn't have the feeling of being in love with each other.Li Nianyun and Xu Cheng have been husband and wife for many years, do they always get along like this?

In order not to let herself fall into the whirlpool, she felt that it was better not to invest too much emotion.Aunt Ji is far from being an enemy, because Aunt Ji didn't target her everywhere like Zhang Yuliu did, and she didn't mean to frame her, so she didn't need to rush to kill Aunt Ji.

What's more, if one day Xu Cheng suddenly said that the woman he loves is not the wife and concubine of the family, and Li Yan is just a bargaining chip for him to win over Li Xiangrui, what should she do?So, as long as she doesn't invest too deeply, she still has a way to retreat.

Although she has a good impression of Xu Cheng and has expectations, she must not completely entrust him to him, nor can she trust him 100%, unless he can be honest with her, tell her everything about him, and the husband and wife go together face.

Cui Nanny said: "I think Aunt Ji is too seductive, how many men can hold her back? I'm worried that she will stay in the mansion all the time. After a few months, the master will accidentally be deceived by her. What can I do?" manage?"

Li Yan lowered her eyes and said: "If the master is really like this, even if Aunt Ji dies, there will be other women to replace her. In this world, there are not many others, but there is no shortage of beauties."

Although Nanny Cui felt that what Li Yan said was a little reasonable, she still sighed regretfully several times.

Li Yan picked up the teacup and took three sips in succession, feeling uncomfortable in her mouth.

Nanny Cui refilled her tea and said, "Ma'am, you've already had three cups of tea after dinner. Is it because the dishes for tonight are too salty? Old He is busy buying ingredients for the funeral banquet. Today’s meals are cooked by Chef Lao Ge.”

Li Yan shook her head and said: "It's not that it's salty, maybe it's because there are too many seasonings, the taste is too strong and fragrant, lunch is better, and this dinner is even more delicious, I always like to eat something lighter."

Seeing that Li Yan couldn't help but drink a few more sips, Nanny Cui said, "Tomorrow, I'll go and tell him to make it lighter. I don't know what's wrong with this old Ge. He also knew Madam's taste two years ago, why now? I don’t remember it again, it seems that I am really old and confused.”

Li Yan put down the teacup, paused in her hands, and asked, "Who did Lao Ge do it for before this?"

"Before, Lao Ge and Lao Pan made it for the young masters and ladies together."

Li Yan frowned slightly, "You go to the dining hall tomorrow morning to see if Lao Pan's food is too strong, and you can try it yourself. The children are still young, and eating too strong food is not good for your health. Good. It is said that misfortune comes from the mouth and disease comes from the mouth. There are more than 100 people in the mansion, so we must pay close attention to the meals."

"Madam said yes, I will definitely check it out tomorrow. Madam, don't worry, I have called people's attention to Master Xiao and Missy's place last time, and I have to ask the servants to try the dishes before eating."

Li Yan nodded, "That's good, after Lao He has been busy for a few days, let him cook for me. Then let Lao Ge do some cooking work, he is not suitable for the chef."

After saying this, Li Yan and Nanny Cui came to Cui Song Yard to bow down together. The children, Aunt Song and Xu Jing all came, as did the second master Xu Ze's family and Wu's family.

Aunt Song knelt down and looked around, but she didn't see Aunt Ji, so she moved her knees and came to Li Yan's side, and asked in a low voice, "Sister Yanqiu hasn't come yet, isn't she worried that the master will get angry? "

Aunt Song seems to be saying that Madam should ask someone to go to Qiushui Pavilion and call Aunt Ji over, otherwise the master will not only blame Aunt Ji when she gets angry, but even Madam may be involved, saying that Madam did it on purpose. Let Aunt Ji make a mistake at this juncture.

In this way, Aunt Song still kindly reminded Li Yan not to forget this matter.Li Yan knew that Aunt Song wanted to be a nice person in front of her, so she looked at her very gratefully on purpose, and said, "Thank you, sister Ruzhi, for reminding me, I originally planned to send people to Qiushui Pavilion, but Zhang Chun's family just came to report However, it was said that Aunt Ji had some abdominal pain during menstruation, and she had already laid down to rest, so I didn't let anyone bother her."

Aunt Song's expression changed slightly, and she responded meekly: "So that's the case. Since Sister Yanqiu is inconvenient, the master will not blame her."

At this time Xu Cheng strode in from the outside, he was as stern and majestic as usual, and he didn't know what he was up to just now, maybe only he and Su Bai knew.Chen Hao and Zhu Yan knew a general idea before, but now Chen Hao guesses that all he got is second-hand information.As for Zhu Yan, Li Yan only met him occasionally, so she didn't know if he was someone worthy of trust in Xu Cheng's eyes.

Li Yan knew that Zhu Yan's mother-in-law was serving Aunt Song, so she wondered if Xu Cheng was on guard against Zhu Yan.

Li Yan was still thinking at first, why would Xu Cheng put the mother-in-law of a highly-used person next to the concubine's room to serve him, isn't he afraid that the women in the backyard will disgrace each other? .For example, the follower Zhang Chun, fortunately Zhang Chun is tight-lipped, otherwise Zhang Chun's family would have been caged by Aunt Ji long ago, how could she be driven out of Qiushui Pavilion.

However, Li Yan thought about it again, in fact, this is also a double sharp sword. If it is not used well, those women will pass the news to the aunts and get the news from their men; if they are used well, they will supervise the aunts. With their third eye, Xu Cheng can grasp every move of your aunts.

A prime minister's mansion, with such a complicated backyard, Li Yan really felt a little tired.As the majestic prime minister's wife, she had to figure it out, otherwise how would she be able to hide from the open and secret arrows.

Strange to say, the Cui mama and girls around her have nothing to do with the people around Xu Cheng.Maybe Xu Cheng never guarded against her?Li Nianyun's natal family is far away in the northwest, so there is really nothing to guard against.

Xu Cheng led his family to kneel and kowtow in order of seniority, elder and younger, then read the condolence letter, and then kneel and worship again. After an hour of tossing around, it was already late at night, and most of them could finally go back to sleep. .Except for the monks in the chanting class and the people on duty, Xu Cheng had to stay up late tonight to watch.

Xu Cheng asked Xu Ze to go back to rest, and let him guard tomorrow night, and the two brothers took turns.

Early the next morning, Nanny Cui came back from the dining hall. She, Qi'er and Qing'er served Li Yan for breakfast, and then she sat down and said, "I told Lao Ge to make him light. He also said that he cooked very blandly, and I scolded him. In addition, I have also tasted the dishes made by Lao Pan, and the taste is moderate. He has cooked meals for the young master and young ladies for many years, and the young master and young ladies also Everyone loves to eat."

Hearing what she said, Li Yan felt relieved, "That's good, since the taste is not heavy and the children are used to it, then let Lao Pan do it all the time. By the way, don't tell Lao Ge that you won't eat it for a few days. Let him be the chef, after Lao He is busy, you can tell Lao Ge."

Nanny Cui nodded, and said again: "Ma'am, I think some cooks are too old, and some helpers are too young. They can't do things like washing vegetables, chopping vegetables, washing dishes and pots. What do you say? Don't want to change a group of people?"

"Tell me about all the people who work in the canteen, I've forgotten some of them." Li Yan said.

Cui Momo said one by one, "There are three chefs who are in charge of the master's meals, Lao Ge, Lao He, and Lao Pan. In addition, there are eight old cooks who help the cook, and the seven little girls are all helpers. Responsible for the servants. Ours is five masters, and seven young servants will fight."

In fact, since Li Yan came here, she is not used to waiting for people from the dining hall to deliver meals every meal. She thought about it for a while and said: "If several chefs are responsible for purchasing ingredients, then each courtyard will be divided into a chef and a helper. , A laundry worker cooks meals in the small kitchens in various yards, what do you think? I think it’s too messy to cook all the meals in the dining hall, and it’s troublesome to send someone so far to deliver the meals every time .”

Mother Cui was invigorated when she heard this, and said: "Actually, I have thought about it a long time ago. If Madam wants to eat, we can cook it in the small kitchen at any time. We can see what kind of food we make and how to cook it." , Some people with evil intentions dare not do anything. Those of us who are present-day people take turns to go to the canteen to eat."

Li Yan nodded, "Well, after Mrs. Tai is over the first seven days, I will talk to the master about this matter, and as long as he agrees, I will immediately send people to the various pavilions."

At this moment, Li Yan suddenly remembered what Nanny Cui said, Lao Ge thought he made it lightly, so why did the scent he sent over be so strong, like putting thirteen incense sticks.Lao Ge is an old cook, and this situation should not have happened.

Could it be that she wronged Lao Ge, but someone did something wrong?Li Yan became alert and asked, "Who delivered the food for me yesterday?"

Cui Nanny thought for a while, "It's Xiaoli, she is only 12 years old this year, she is the son of our family. It's just that her parents are weak, and they died of illness last year, leaving behind a pair of children. Madam, did you forget , or you asked Manager Lin to pay more money for their burial."

Li Yan rubbed her head, "Look at my memory, I forget everything."

Madam Cui said: "Madam doesn't need to bother to remember these servants' affairs. Xiao Li is helping the dining hall, and she will also be a cook in the future. Her brother Mingshun is more clever, and has been working in Jun for the past two years Waiting in the young master's room."

Li Yan frowned, "Her brother is serving Young Master Jun?"

Nanny Cui also became alarmed, "Could it be that Madam suspects..."

Li Yan couldn't be sure, so she said, "Pay attention, since Lao Ge is the old chef, he should know how to cook."

Madam Cui suddenly became nervous, "Is it possible that the food my Madam ate yesterday was poisonous? But I didn't find anything unusual when I ate it with silver chopsticks. Could it be that the toxicity is too weak to detect?"

(End of this chapter)