"The young master said he would go hunting in the mountains this afternoon and asked if Miss had anything she wanted to eat?"
The two were currently putting on a show, one angry, the other wronged. It wasn't convenient for them to meet at this moment, so Erxi acted as the messenger.
"Hunt two pheasants and tell the young master that we'll have cold shredded chicken noodles for dinner tonight," Qi Zhenzhen said after some thought. Gu Sinian was helping her with the act, so she should give him some benefits. He liked noodles, so she would satisfy him.
Gu Sinian returned from the mountains in just an hour. Upon his return, he carried two pheasants into the kitchen and arrogantly instructed Erxi and Feixu, who were busy in the kitchen, "Go tell your mistress that I want chicken noodles tonight. If it's not made well, don't blame me for being impolite. Also, pass on another message to your mistress: although I fancy her, I also have a temper. If she continues to disregard me like this, I might as well not want her."
Madam Da Zhang, who was also in the kitchen helping to pick and wash vegetables, was stunned by these words.
After Gu Sinian left, Madam Da Zhang, still holding a handful of vegetables, ran straight into the house and told the old madam and Lin Ruixue what Gu Sinian had said.
"What should we do? What should we do?" The old madam was so anxious that she paced back and forth.
"Mother, listening to the young master's words, it doesn't seem like he will calm down easily," Madam Da Zhang said anxiously. "Zhenzhen is also very wronged. Can she cook for the young master tonight? Even if she does, what if the young master deliberately finds fault with it again, just like at noon?"
After Gu Sinian left at noon, they tasted the meal, and it was incredibly delicious. There was no perfunctory cooking involved.
Gu Sinian was merely using the poorly made meal as an excuse to vent his anger.
Therefore, as long as his anger wasn't gone, he would still find fault even if Qi Zhenzhen cooked dinner with great care.
Lin Ruixue gritted her teeth. "We still have to do it. If we don't, it will give the young master even more reason to throw a tantrum. I'll go find Zhenzhen and talk to her properly, telling her to bear with it."
"You talk to her properly."
Qi Zhenzhen and Lin Ruixue had a good relationship to begin with. At this time, if someone else tried to persuade her, they might not even get to see her.
Lin Ruixue went to knock on Qi Zhenzhen's door, prepared to persuade her through the door. To her surprise, Qi Zhenzhen opened the door and let her in.
"Auntie, I've made you worry." Qi Zhenzhen's voice was a little tired. "I'm fine. Erxi just came to relay the young master's message. Don't worry, I'll go out and cook for him in a moment."
"Is this really okay? Before you're even married, he's already treating you like this. If you get married, will your life be any better?" Lin Ruixue worried. "Is this marriage what you really want? Your mother dotes on you the most. If she knew you were suffering such great grievances, wouldn't she be heartbroken?"
"The Marquis's mansion will not allow me to break off the engagement," Qi Zhenzhen said in a low voice. "The Duke's mansion favors this marriage, and the Marquis's mansion cannot afford to offend the Duke's mansion."
Lin Ruixue looked heartbroken. "What is all this?"
"In comparison, I am already considered lucky. At least, my grandmother treats me very well. Many families' illegitimate daughters live like maids before they come of age. After they come of age, their elders will arrange a marriage that can bring benefits to the family. If they are lucky, they will meet a considerate husband; if they are unlucky, they will jump from one fire pit into another."
Lin Ruixue sighed. "Zhenzhen, you've been wronged."
Qi Zhenzhen smiled. "I'm not wronged."
This smile, in Lin Ruixue's eyes, was nothing more than a forced smile, but she didn't know how to comfort her.
At dinner, as the Lin family had expected, Gu Sinian still found fault with the meticulously prepared meal by Qi Zhenzhen.
Qi Zhenzhen returned to her room without even eating, and Gu Sinian, after throwing down his chopsticks, also returned to his room with a cold face.
In the room, a small noodle-making table was set up, and chicken soup was simmering on a small coal stove, emitting a rich aroma.
Kneading the dough, rolling out the noodles, and shredding the chicken.
Bright red chili peppers, fragrant sesame paste, blanched side dishes, cooked noodles, and shredded chicken.
One large bowl, one small bowl.
"My stomach is so hungry I could faint," Gu Sinian said with a faint smile. "Just one bowl, is that enough?"
"Will two sesame seed cakes be enough?" Qi Zhenzhen smiled and pushed the sesame seed cakes in front of Gu Sinian.
The skin was golden and crispy. When broken open, it revealed layers, each brushed with sesame paste and sprinkled with salt and pepper, making it very flavorful.
"Barely," Gu Sinian handed the chopsticks to Qi Zhenzhen. "Eat quickly."
Gu Sinian ate very gracefully, but his speed was not slow. By the time Qi Zhenzhen finished her small bowl of noodles, he had finished his large bowl of noodles and two sesame seed cakes.
"When can I stop being angry?" Gu Sinian asked Qi Zhenzhen after putting down his chopsticks.
"As soon as I know what my second aunt's intentions are," Qi Zhenzhen said, stacking the bowls and chopsticks together and placing them in the basin brought by Feixu.
Gu Sinian tapped the table lightly with his fingers. "With your two uncles gone, your grandmother, Madam Da, and your aunt must know what they went to do. Isn't it better to ask them directly? I believe they won't hide it from you."
"You're right. But I want to solve the trouble in one go," Qi Zhenzhen said seriously. "The Lin family is my maternal family, and we will definitely interact in the future. My maternal grandfather and grandmother are simple and honest, and they genuinely care about me, my mother, and Yige. My eldest uncle and eldest aunt seem good for now. My second uncle is gentle and indecisive, but my second aunt is restless, and her family is eager to take advantage of the Lin family."
"You're worried that the Zhang family will win over your second uncle..."
"Yes, I'm worried that the Zhang family will use my name, or even the Duke's mansion's name, to act recklessly in the future. So, I need to probe their background and see their appetite," Qi Zhenzhen smiled. "Do you think I'm scary?"
Gu Sinian shook his head. "I think it's very good. This way, even if I'm not by your side, I don't have to worry about you being bullied. After all, there are many irrelevant and self-important people in the mansion. The stronger and more capable you are, the more at ease I will be."
"As you wish," Qi Zhenzhen said with a playful smile. "I've always been unwilling to suffer losses. I remember those who are good to me, and I remember even more those who are not."
Taking this opportunity, Gu Sinian explained the personnel structure of the Duke's mansion to Qi Zhenzhen.
It turned out that besides the Duke's direct lineage, there were several other branches.
When the old Duke was alive, he divided the vast Duke's mansion into three parts. The largest part was given to the Duke's direct lineage to reside in. The other two parts were given to his two concubine-born sons, separated by walls. The street-facing areas were given new main gates. If people from those two branches wanted to visit the Duke's mansion, they had to exit their own main gates, walk around the Duke's mansion's courtyard walls for more than half a circle, and then enter through the Duke's mansion's main gate to reach the current Duke's mansion.
This division was quite thorough.