Chapter 182 (2/2)
“Lady Fang’s G.o.ddaughter? When did she get a G.o.ddaughter? Why wasn’t there any news about it? A lot of people thought that she would adopt her maternal niece as her daughter! It seems like someone’s plans are going to fall through!” Don’t underestimate a woman’s heart for gossip . Although Princess Consort Jing seldom went out, she had still heard a little about it .
With the help of Meixiang and Lanxiang, Princess Consort Jing got off the carriage and smiled gracefully at Lady Fang . She saw the thin little girl beside Lady Fang and said softly, “Lady Fang, is this your G.o.ddaughter? She is a bright and decent-looking young girl!”
“Thank you so much, Madam, for your praise! It’s inconvenient to talk here . Let’s continue talking in the private room on the second floor!” There was a trace of revere in Lady Fang’s att.i.tude .
Xiaocao had sensitively perceived it . Her G.o.dmother, who was the wife of a third-ranked general, also had to act courteous towards her . It seemed like the status of this n.o.ble madam was certainly impressive . She showed a natural sense of n.o.bility and grace . Could she be related to the imperial family? What was the matter with all these n.o.bilities? Why were they all coming to a poor, remote place like Tanggu Town?
Since they were all women, Zhu Junxi knew the etiquette and didn’t follow them to the private room . Instead, he took the imperial bodyguards, who were disguised as servants, to dine at a famous, old restaurant nearby . Xia Furong had wanted to take this opportunity to get closer to Second Young Master Zhu, but her plans had failed again .
With an extra honored guest, Xiaocao certainly wouldn’t let her G.o.dmother lose face in front of the honored guest . When ordering, she almost ordered all the most famous dishes in Zhenxiu Restaurant! There were several dishes that even someone of Princess Consort Jing’s status hadn’t heard of .
Princess Consort Jing smiled at Lady Fang and said, “This child of yours is really too sincere! She ordered so much food, but we won’t be able to finish all of them ah!”
Yu Xiaocao stood up and personally poured a cup of herbal tea for the princess consort and her G.o.dmother . She had added a few drops of mystic-stone water inside the tea, which would help eliminate fatigue . Hearing her words, she smiled and said, “You and my G.o.dmother have come from afar, so of course, I shall treat you guys to a meal to welcome your arrival!”
The little girl didn’t have a tall stature and was very young, but her cleverness was apparent in all aspects, which was a quality that the princess consort admired . She said with a smile, “Is this considered me being benefited from my a.s.sociation with your G.o.dmother?”
“Of course not! My G.o.dmother said that you have taken good care of her all the way from the capital! I want to express my grat.i.tude to you with this table of food and drinks!” Yu Xiaocao’s att.i.tude was neither humble nor arrogant, and her speech was courteous and thoughtful . This caused Lady Fang and Princess Consort Jing to have an even better impression of her .
Princess Consort Jing had even started to joke with her, “Oh! So it’s a meal to welcome and thank me at the same time . You want to get rid of me with just one meal? No, that won’t do . There should be at least two meals!”
“Don’t mention two meals, as long as you’re willing to come, Zhenxiu Restaurant will welcome your arrival at any time! Here, try this ‘century eggs with tofu’ . It’s a new dish at Zhenxiu Restaurant . ” Yu Xiaocao used a communal spoon to ladle a spoonful of the dish into Princess Consort Jing and Lady Fang’s respective bowls .
Princess Jing smiled and said, “Alright, you sit down and eat! Just let the maidservants serve us—Mhm! This tofu has a fine and smooth mouthfeel… What is this? Century eggs? This combination has a rather unique taste . Sure enough, this is Zhenxiu Restaurant . They can make such an interesting and novel dish with a simple ingredient like tofu!”
After eating two bites of the century eggs with tofu, Princess Consort Jing took another look at her favorite osmanthus duck . Meixiang, who was behind her, immediately picked up a piece of duck meat and put it into her bowl .
“I have a weak spleen and stomach . For a slightly greasy dish like roasted duck, I can only eat one piece . But this osmanthus duck is fatty but not greasy, and it’s also fragrant and delicious . So I can eat a few pieces . ” Princess Consort Jing had refined table manners, but she ate with gusto .
Yu Xiaocao introduced ‘duck blood soup with vermicelli’ to the two of them . They were very interested in the vermicelli inside and unknowingly finished a bowl full of the dish .
Vermicelli produced at the Zhou Family’s factory didn’t have varying thickness like the ones made by Yu Xiaocao, a non-professional . After rigorous training, the workers had become professional at making vermicelli . The vermicelli were uniform in thickness, and were bright and translucent . When eaten, they were soft, smooth, refres.h.i.+ng, and very chewy .
The vermicelli and century eggs had just been put into production . It couldn’t be seen in any other places except for Zhenxiu Restaurant, let alone eating it . One of the most important reasons that Princess Consort Jing had eaten with great relish was that she was able to eat something novel!
Everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves during this meal . After the county magistrate’s wife received the message, she personally came to pick Princess Consort Jing up with her entourage .
At this time, the watermelons in the watermelon shop had already been sold out . Xiaocao’s maternal grandmother and eldest maternal aunt, who had also eaten the ‘take-out’ that Xiaocao ordered from Zhenxiu Restaurant, were wiping the shelves in the store!
Since Lady Fang was unwilling to stay in the town, Yu Xiaocao sat in her G.o.dmother’s carriage and introduced the scenery along the way while giving directions to the coachman .
Eldest Maternal Aunt had come to help in the shop, so she would stay in the store from now on . Seeing that her help wasn’t needed and because she worried about her husband and the chickens and ducks at home, Xiaocao’s grandmother had directly returned to her village from the town .
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