Chapter 288: Chapter 288 Hard Work
Xie Jingchen had millet porridge and steamed buns for lunch.
By dinner time, there were only porridge and buns on the table.
This time, Su Jin was the one who blew her top.
"Why is it so plain?" Su Jin asked.
The maid bringing in the food said nervously, "Please calm down, Eldest Young Madam."
"These were... ordered by Eldest Young Master for the kitchen to prepare."
Su Jin glared at Xie Jingchen in anger.
"A lighter meal is better, good for the stomach," said Xie Jingchen with a hint of a smile on his lips.
Su Jin, "..."
Those were her words when she was feeding him porridge.
He actually returned them to her unchanged!
Using her words to shut her up, how could she argue back?
She couldn’t!
"Husband is right."
"Husband, eat more," Su Jin said.
She picked up a bowl and scooped up the thick part.
The maid watching was touched, never thinking the Eldest Young Madam could be so virtuous.
However, that bowl of porridge was placed in front of herself, and the rest of the thin soup was served to Xie Jingchen.
"Husband, see if this is plain enough; I’ve scooped out every single grain of rice," Su Jin’s eyes shone like stars in the night sky.
Upon closer inspection, there was a hint of familiar desire for praise in them.
I’m so good, if you don’t praise or reward me, it’s just too unreasonable.
Xie Jingchen, "..."
Truly.
Such a virtuous wife, he almost felt the urge to strangle her.
She might as well have poured him a cup of tea instead.
In front of the maids, Su Jin fed Xie Jingchen the clear, bottom-visible porridge, along with half a steamed bun.
Spoonful by spoonful, fed with deep love and affection.
After leaving, the maid asked Xingxing, "What’s wrong with Eldest Young Master’s arm?"
"The master unfortunately injured it in a fall," Xingxing said.
"Really?"
"How could he be so careless? Won’t Eldest Young Madam be exhausted then?" the maid asked with concern.
"Master injured himself while saving my lady, so it’s only right that my lady works a little harder," Xingxing replied.
The maids all felt that Eldest Young Master and Eldest Young Madam truly loved each other.
However inside, their tofu-like relationship couldn’t withstand the wash of a bowl of clear porridge, and they exchanged glares of annoyance.
Thinking of yesterday’s six dishes and a soup compared to today’s plain porridge and buns.
The taste in their mouths was almost bland enough to fly away.
Su Jin ate half a bowl of porridge; she ate two pieces of bun and couldn’t swallow anymore.
The entire Agarwood Pavilion, including Xie Jingchen and Su Jin, ate plain porridge and buns the whole day.
Xingxing was the first to express her dissatisfaction.
The buns had no filling, every bite tasted the same, and she absolutely disliked eating porridge.
Before going to Qingyun Mountain, she ate donated porridge, which contained sand that broke one of her teeth; although that tooth was about to fall out anyway.
But the psychological shadow left was indelible.
After eating two bowls, Xingxing couldn’t eat anymore.
The little maid knew Xingxing’s appetite, and asked, "Do you want another bowl?"
"No more," Xingxing said.
She put down the bowl, took a bun, tore off a piece, stuffed it in her mouth, and walked to the inner room.
Behind her, the maids in the small kitchen knew intuitively.
The Eldest Young Madam’s maid really could eat.
One person could match the hunger of three others.
What’s frustrating is she never seems to gain weight no matter how much she eats.
Leaving the small kitchen, Xingxing found the bun increasingly tasteless, especially after getting whipped several times today; she needed something good to eat.
She thought, Agarwood Pavilion had no meat, but surely the big kitchen did.
Feeling clever, she sprinted towards the big kitchen.
After eating, Xie Jingchen went to the study and summoned the Hidden Guard.
The Hidden Guard appeared and asked, "What are your orders, Eldest Young Master?"
"Get some food," Xie Jingchen ordered.
"..."
Agarwood Pavilion cooks their own meals with timing flexibility, while the big kitchen is on a fixed schedule.
When Xingxing arrived, the big kitchen had packed and distributed meals to the other courtyards.
As soon as Xingxing entered, she smelled the aroma of meat.
"Roast duck," Xingxing swallowed her saliva.
It had been a while since Xingxing visited the big kitchen. When she arrived, the housekeeper was trembling.
That whip from Xingxing made her feel pain all over whenever she saw Xingxing.
"Why has Miss Xingxing come?" the little maid greeted obligingly.
"Give me that roast duck," Xingxing demanded.
"..."
The little maid turned to look at Mrs. Li; that roast duck was meant for the third house. What to do now that Eldest Young Madam’s maid wants it?
Mrs. Li decisively said, "Give half to Miss Xingxing."
After the instructions, she added to Xingxing, "This roast duck is oily and not suitable for eating too much in the evening; I’ll have someone roast a whole one tomorrow if Eldest Young Madam likes it, can that work for Miss Xingxing?"
Mrs. Li was easy-going, and therefore Xingxing was, too.
"Half sounds good," Xingxing said.
The maid swiftly divided the duck, included some scallions and wrappers.
Xingxing happily carried the duck away.
Having sent off the troublemaker, the maids and matrons all breathed a sigh of relief.
But when they turned around—
The boxed half roast duck on the table was gone.
"Where is the remaining half of the roast duck?!" Mrs. Li exclaimed.
"It was just sitting on the table!" the maid said as she searched.
"It’s completely mysterious!"
"What do we do now that the roast duck is gone?"
"How should I know what to do?!" Mrs. Li was at her wit’s end.
Xingxing carried the duck to Su Jin to show off.
The two masters and servants wrapped the duck and ate it with sauce, leaving a fragrant taste.
In the study, Xie Jingchen looked at the roast duck set before him and instructed, "Send some to Eldest Young Madam."
The Hidden Guard didn’t say anything.
Xie Jingchen looked up at him.
The Hidden Guard forced a smile and said, "The other half was taken away by Eldest Young Madam’s maid."
"I reckon they’re nearly done eating now."
Xie Jingchen, "..."
He got up, preparing to catch Su Jin in the act.
Upon reaching Su Jin, he nearly exploded from anger.
Inside.
Su Jin sipped tea lightly.
Xingxing reached for some wrappers and, finding the plate empty, said, "Miss, we’ve eaten all the roast duck."
"Not all gone, there’s still a duck butt left," Su Jin said.
"But we shouldn’t leave the duck butt for the master," Xingxing said.
"..."
"I doubt he’d recognize it," Su Jin said.
"..."
Outside the door.
Xie Jingchen turned green.
The Hidden Guard feared that Eldest Young Master would faint from anger, and comforted him by saying, "At least Eldest Young Madam remembers you didn’t eat enough."
"She’d be better off not remembering!" Xie Jingchen gritted his teeth.
Hidden Guard, "..."
Xie Jingchen prepared to push the door open.
Then Su Jin’s voice came through:
"Alright, don’t worry about your master going hungry."
"A missed meal won’t kill anyone, especially here in the Duke Mansion, his own territory. We’re both full, could he truly be starving?"
"For all we know, he might be aware of everything we say," Su Jin chuckled.
"Why say anything then, isn’t this deliberate irritation of the master?" Xingxing asked.
"Your master often says he gets full on anger, doesn’t he?" Su Jin tried to hold back her laughter.
"I’m a conscientious person; instead of leaving him food, filling his stomach with anger isn’t entirely a bad thing," Su Jin said.
Xingxing, "..."
Hidden Guard, "..."
Never was there a more benevolent Eldest Young Madam.
Eldest Young Master wasn’t just full of rage—he was about to burst.