Madam Qian was willing to take in her sister-in-law and her daughter, but she absolutely did not want to bring home a troublesome, disruptive person.
At this moment, seeing Wang Si obediently following Madam Zhao, she finally felt slightly reassured—though not completely.
Wang Si was indeed more obedient than Wang Jiao, and also closer to her mother.
But that was only under normal circumstances.
After such a drastic upheaval in the Wang family, even adults with strong mental fortitude could hardly endure it—let alone a twelve- or thirteen-year-old girl.
Madam Qian worried that after such a major change, Wang Si’s temperament might become distorted—
And then…
Madam Qian comforted Madam Zhao while deliberately not mentioning Wang Si, as if she did not regard her as family at all.
She wanted to observe Wang Si’s reaction.
Wang Si: …
The Duke of Wei’s household was only her mother’s natal family. As a member of the Wang family, she was merely “staying” here.
When living under someone else’s roof, one must have the awareness of being a guest.
If the Zhao family treated her well, it was kindness.
If they did not, she could not demand anything.
She maintained a well-behaved expression, showing no dissatisfaction or resentment at all despite Madam Qian’s “test.”
Madam Qian caught her expression and felt slightly satisfied—she looked sensible enough.
Hopefully she would remain this clear-headed in the future.
“You must be hungry. I’ve already prepared food.”
“And the courtyard as well, Wan Niang—I’ve cleaned up the Begonia Courtyard in the southwest corner. It’s elegant and quiet. You and A’Si will stay there for now.”
Madam Qian truly was a capable and considerate eldest sister-in-law.
After entering the Begonia Courtyard, Madam Zhao and Wang Si’s gratitude toward her deepened even further.
The courtyard was spotless, the servants respectful, and hot water along with clean clothes had been prepared in advance.
“A’Si, go take a bath and wash away the bad luck. Then we’ll eat.”
“Yes, Mother.”
Wang Si responded and followed a maid to the bathing room.
Inside, there was a large luxurious bathtub. Steam curled above the water, and flower petals floated on the surface.
Reborn for a second life, Wang Si was no longer as unaccustomed to luxury as she had been in her first arrival.
She had long since adapted to being served by maids.
Her clothes were still the same ones she had worn three days ago when the Marquis household was confiscated.
Her jewelry had been taken, and her hair was disheveled.
The once fine pink brocade dress was now dirty and torn after imprisonment and escort.
Her accessories, pouch, and fragrance sachet had all been looted by soldiers and jailers.
She could even smell a faint rotten odor on herself.
Three days in a damp, cold prison—stale air, foul food, and filthy toilets—had left her in a miserable state despite her mother’s protection.
“Luckily I still have my portable kitchen. At least I didn’t suffer too much when it came to food.”
Yes—Wang Si had a golden finger.
Before transmigrating, when she was still in university, she accidentally awakened a portable space.
But unlike those in novels, her space was not a storage warehouse.
It was a kitchen.
A fully equipped kitchen, with stoves, gas burners, wood stoves—everything.
There were shelves for ingredients and seasonings, and all kinds of cookware and tableware.
The only drawback was that it could only store food-related items—it was not a general storage space.
With this golden finger and her love for cooking, she became a food blogger.
During a restaurant visit, she tried to get close to a chef to learn cooking techniques.
Unexpectedly, there was a gas explosion.
Boom—
When she opened her eyes again, she had become the young lady of a marquis household in a fictional dynasty.
Before she could enjoy her noble life, she was hit with a nightmare:
Her father, Marquis Wang Yong, was implicated in a major salt tax corruption case in Jiangnan. The entire household was stripped of title, confiscated, and thrown into prison.
Over a hundred imperial guards surrounded the residence, and soldiers stormed through like beasts.
Wang Si had no time to mourn her “hell difficulty start” and quickly slipped into the kitchen amid the chaos.
The marquis household, wealthy through collusion with salt merchants, had an extremely lavish kitchen stocked with rare ingredients:
Sea cucumber, abalone, bird’s nest, tremella, dried and fresh fruits, seafood, mountain delicacies, beef, lamb, pork, venison, eggs, milk, and fresh vegetables.
In addition to ingredients, there were countless seasonings—some of which were even medicinal herbs in ancient times.
Not to mention medicinal cuisine.
Wang Si exploited the loophole in her portable kitchen and classified rare herbs as ingredients, taking them all.
She emptied the entire main kitchen and two side kitchens. Soon after, soldiers found her and escorted all the female members of the family to prison.
In the three days of imprisonment, she survived on pastries, steamed buns, and porridge she had stored in advance from the kitchen, avoiding starvation and filthy food.
In her previous life, on the third day, her uncle Zhao Chang arrived at the prison, arranged the divorce of her mother, and allowed her to take one daughter away.
In that life, Wang Jiao had rushed to go with their mother, and the Old Madam had pressured them into accepting it.
Wang Si had been unwilling but accepted it, believing that with her golden finger, exile might not be so bad.
Perhaps there would even be opportunities awaiting her on the road.
She had always been a relatively open-minded person, believing everything happened for the best.
Well—honestly speaking, even if she hadn’t been open-minded, she had no choice.
In this feudal society, even an imaginary one, filial piety was absolute.
A single word from the Old Madam could decide life or death.
Rather than resisting, it was better to go along and earn a reputation for filial devotion and sharing hardship.
“…The past life is already over.”
Sitting in the bathtub, her body soaking in warm water, Wang Si let go of past grievances.
After being reborn again on the day of the confiscation, she had once again taken advantage of the kitchens.
And this time, she also realized another loophole in her portable kitchen:
Gold bowls, silver chopsticks, and jade tableware were also utensils.
As a top noble household colluding with salt merchants, the Wang family had an entire set of golden and silver ritual vessels.
She took them all.
Even if she still had to go into exile in this life, with these items, she would live far better than before.
“What I didn’t expect… was that Wang Jiao was also reborn.”
Wang Si thought quietly.
She guessed that Wang Jiao had probably returned three days later than her.
This, she believed, was related to her “obsession”—