In the end, Jiang Jiaran still coaxed the little maid into eating the steamed bun.
The amount of porridge she had for herself was not much, but the side dishes suited her taste quite well.
Still, no matter how suitable the taste was, it could not change the fact that she had not eaten her fill. If life was going to continue, food and drink could not become a problem.
Jiang Jiaran silently pondered things over. Judging from what she had seen yesterday, the future might not necessarily follow the original plot anymore. Otherwise, would she not also end up dying not long after, just like the original host?
After breakfast, Yu’er helped her tidy up and do her hair before going out to clean the courtyard. Feeling guilty, she remained distracted the whole time and headed to the manor kitchens long before lunchtime.
Jiang Jiaran rummaged through the trunks that had been sent into the courtyard with her. There were only a few personal clothes and daily necessities inside, pitifully little.
After looking through everything, the most valuable items turned out to be the wedding dress from yesterday and the small handful of gold pearl hairpins and ornaments removed from her hair.
Even if her adoptive parents had long planned to use her as a Substitute Bride, in order to preserve appearances between the Jiang and Ying families, there should at least have been a dowry. She just did not know whose hands it had ended up in.
Jiang Jiaran planned to investigate when she found the chance. Then she suddenly remembered something and searched through the trunk again, frowning in confusion.
According to the original host’s memories, she should still have a gold chain engraved with intricate cloud patterns, with teardrop-shaped golden beads hanging beneath it. It was quite distinctive. The chain had been kept beside her ever since she could remember, so why was it nowhere to be seen?
A personal belonging like that could not possibly have been packed into the dowry. Could it be that the servants accidentally left it behind at the Jiang residence while rushing?
As for matters concerning the male and female leads, Jiang Jiaran still remembered most of them. But regarding the original host herself, there had been very little information in the book to begin with, leaving her with nothing to reference.
At that moment, she heard Yu’er returning.
The moment Jiang Jiaran saw her expression after stepping outside, she knew her lunch was probably going to be disappointing too.
Yu’er looked at her young mistress awkwardly, unsure how to begin.
This was never about whether she went early or late.
She had offended the kitchen steward before. He had secretly harassed her several times in the past, but she had rejected and avoided him. Naturally, he showed no kindness now whenever she came to collect food.
But no matter what, servants still acted according to their masters’ attitudes.
The servants throughout the manor simply did not regard the young madam seriously at all.
Even if the young madam learned the truth, it would only make her angry and upset for nothing.
“Young Madam, today is Third Miss’s birthday,” Yu’er stepped forward and said with a smile. “Third Miss has a delicate temperament and gets upset easily. The kitchens are all busy preparing food for her. Luckily, I went early and managed to bring back some hot dishes.”
Before she could finish, Jiang Jiaran took the food box and opened it.
One bowl of rice and two plates of vegetables.
Well… at least they were still warm.
Yu’er lowered her head sadly and stopped talking.
While blaming herself, she suddenly remembered something. She turned around and carried back a large cloth bundle from beside the courtyard gate.
“Young Madam, look, there’s this too! On my way back, I ran into Sister-in-law Luo from the gatekeeper’s family. She’s a nice person and gave this to me.”
Yu’er placed the bundle down and a pile of things rolled out.
Jiang Jiaran’s eyes lit up.
Sweet potatoes.
As Yu’er spoke, her voice gradually lowered again.
This courtyard was remote and did not have its own small kitchen. Besides, these could not be eaten raw. And such coarse food was something servants like her could eat, but—
Jiang Jiaran picked one up and squeezed it. It looked pretty good and was fairly large too.
After thinking for a moment, she took out a hairpin that did not look flashy but was valuable.
“Take this to Sister-in-law Luo as thanks for her kindness.”
“Sister-in-law Luo is a very nice person. It’s alright.” Yu’er quickly waved her hands and did not dare accept it. More than anything, she felt sorry for the young madam. The young madam herself barely had anything left.
Jiang Jiaran insisted and stuffed it into the little maid’s hands.
“She gave it to you out of kindness. Precisely because it’s kindness, you should give her something in return. Remember to take it.”
The little maid nodded half-understandingly and carefully put it away before asking foolishly, “Young Madam likes eating sweet potatoes?”
Ever since arriving here, Jiang Jiaran had intentionally treated her kindly to shorten the distance between them. Otherwise, Yu’er would never have dared ask such casual questions.
Seeing Jiang Jiaran nod, the little maid tried hard to think of something comforting to say.
“Young Madam, don’t be sad. Yu’er will think of a way…”
Jiang Jiaran smiled when she heard that. Feeling moved, she looked into the distance and slowly inhaled.
Although her courtyard was rather remote, she could still faintly smell traces of everyday life drifting from the nearby streets.
Separated by layers of walls, distant footsteps, breathing, wagon wheels, and peddlers’ cries blended together like sounds stirred inside a vat, becoming a faint background noise people unconsciously ignored.
“Look. Peaceful and calm,” Jiang Jiaran suddenly said.
With a faint smile, she gestured around her.
“There are resting birds and drifting clouds, fresh flowers and leaves, and there’s you and sweet potatoes too. How wonderful.”
“What do I have to be sad about? I couldn’t be happier!”
Yu’er did not understand her sudden sentiments. She only realized that the young madam had actually praised her as something wonderful.
The little maid had never received such straightforward praise before and immediately lowered her head shyly.
Still, she had not even managed to let her mistress eat her fill.
After drifting through joy, sighs, and absentmindedness, Yu’er snapped back to reality and discovered that Jiang Jiaran had already rolled up her sleeves and squatted in a corner of the courtyard, busily working away.
She hurried over to look and found that the young madam was actually piling dirt together to make a fire and roast sweet potatoes herself!
Jiang Jiaran roasted the sweet potatoes skillfully and quickly, not allowing Yu’er to help at all.
After waiting for a while, she used broken branches to turn them over before picking out one plump and steaming sweet potato.
Its fragrance instantly spread out.
Yu’er stared in shock, speechless.
Jiang Jiaran turned the roasted sweet potatoes out one after another.
When life remained unchanged, people always liked fantasizing about impossible things.
But once everything truly became unusual, all one wanted was an ordinary and peaceful life.
Who would have thought that after opening her eyes again, heaven would give her the chance to fulfill that wish?
Once she found an opportunity to leave the Ying residence, she would stay far away from Ying Zhaolou and the male and female leads. Then she could find a beautiful place surrounded by mountains and rivers. Even living a simple rural life would not be bad.
After all, her cooking skills were good enough that she would never starve herself.
While thinking about this, Jiang Jiaran picked up a sweet potato and blew on it to cool it down. Just as she peeled back the skin, a familiar boyish voice sounded beside her ear.
“Wow, that smells amazing.”
Jiang Jiaran turned around and saw that Ying Li from last night had somehow appeared beside her. He was squatting next to her hand and staring hungrily at the peeled sweet potato.
The child’s eyes were fixed straight on it, practically filled with the words “I want to eat that.”
Jiang Jiaran handed it to him.
“Where exactly do you keep popping out from?”
Lier held the hot sweet potato and blew on it.
“The courtyard gate wasn’t even locked. Even if it was, I could just climb over the wall.”
Ying Li was small but incredibly fast. Jiang Jiaran had been busy imagining her future life and had not noticed him at all, much less Yu’er who was still staring in a daze.
Jiang Jiaran picked up another sweet potato, cooled it slightly, and tossed it to Yu’er. Watching Lier take a huge bite, she asked for his opinion.
“How is it?”
“Mmm… It smells so good. It’s delicious!”
Ying Li had eaten roasted sweet potatoes before, but the way she made them was completely different.
“So impressive.” Yu’er stared at the sweet potato in her hands and muttered in amazement.
After all, she had never seen a master personally roast sweet potatoes before.
Jiang Jiaran’s fingertips were blackened with soot while she remained half-squatting on the ground picking through sweet potatoes. Hearing that, she smiled in satisfaction.
Lier looked at her and blinked his round eyes. His stuffed cheeks slowly stopped moving.
Why was she so different from every woman he had ever met?
She was not dignified at all.
But even though she had gotten herself all dirty, she did not seem crude. Instead, she looked pretty.
When Ying Li heard that the Ying family had brought in a woman for his older brother, he assumed that since the Ying family had chosen her, she was definitely either a bad woman or an ugly woman.
Yesterday, he had secretly come to take a look and discovered she was not ugly at all.
Today she even treated him to such delicious roasted sweet potatoes. So she was actually a good person too.
Fine then.
He would reluctantly acknowledge this sister-in-law.
While gnawing on the sweet potato in his hands, he pointed toward the biggest one.
“Sister-in-law, I want that one.”
Jiang Jiaran paused at the title before finally remembering what Yu’er had said about this child being Ying Zhaolou’s younger brother.
Last night he had only called out “hey,” but after just one sweet potato, he was already calling her sister-in-law.
Why did he seem so easy to fool?
The sweet potatoes were quickly divided among the three of them. Ying Li licked his lips, still unsatisfied, and asked whether there was anything else tasty to eat.
A glance at the food box made him run over and open it. Seeing the plain and less-than-fresh dishes inside, he frowned.
“What is this?”
Jiang Jiaran was letting Yu’er wipe her hands clean and casually replied, “My meal.”
“Oh…” Lier nodded his little head. “So they’re bullying you.”
The little boy closed the lid and said, “Sister-in-law, just wait. Tonight I’ll make sure you get something delicious to eat.”
Before Jiang Jiaran could say anything, the small figure had already dashed away again.
He truly came and went like the wind.
Near dinnertime, the steward wandered around the kitchens keeping watch, sweating profusely from the chaos.
Today was Third Miss’s birthday, and the kitchens had started working before dawn.
In previous years, Third Miss would host banquets outside with her sisters and friends. But because of the recent upheavals this year, Second Master and Madam were too busy to organize one for her. They only allowed her to invite a few close friends to her courtyard for a meal and entertainment.
Third Miss had already been somewhat unhappy about it, so she became even pickier than usual regarding the dishes, flavors, and presentation.
She had been making requests since breakfast.
“Watch that side carefully. Don’t oversteam it,” the steward instructed before turning around and seeing a servant rush in anxiously.
“Th-that person is here!”
The steward immediately understood and looked horrified.
“Oh heavens, why is he here?”
The last time, that little menace had caused trouble and knocked over pots and ladles. Just remembering the injury to his leg still made it ache.
Before he even finished speaking, Ying Li had already run into the kitchen. The little brat was slippery as an eel and impossible to stop at the door.
Lier saw a dish being removed from the stove and climbed onto a chair to peer at it.
“Oh, this looks pretty tasty.”
The steward hurried over and forced out a smile.
“Young Master Li, why have you come here?”
“I heard there’s good food today, so I came to pick some.”
The steward’s eyelid twitched.
Pick some?
Not polite at all.
“This one looks good. I want this.”
After saying that, Ying Li jumped down and ran off to inspect something else.
The steward cursed inwardly.
What did he mean “this one”? That dish required hours of work!
“What’s in this pot? Smells great. I want it.”
“That one’s still raw but it looks fresh enough. Fine, that too. And that one…”
“Wow, this fish is huge…”
The steward hurried to stop him and shook his head repeatedly while explaining.
Ying Li responded with an “oh.”
“So all these dishes are for Third Sister? I’m not allowed to eat them?”
“Y-yes. This servant will have people prepare some other delicious dishes for Young Master Li.” The steward’s smile was close to collapsing. The brat really knew how to choose. Every single dish he picked required extensive preparation.
“But I already set my sights on them.” Ying Li turned his head midway through speaking and was instantly attracted by a plate of pastries.
Flower-shaped jelly cakes.
Crystal clear and pink, with delicate flower petals embedded inside. Every petal had been individually carved into a different shape.
“This one’s good too.”
The steward shook his head so hard it seemed ready to fly off.
“No no no, absolutely not.”
This was Third Miss’s favorite dessert and the centerpiece of today’s menu. Several maids had carefully picked the freshest flowers, and the chef had carved each petal by hand. If these were taken away, there would be none left.
Ying Li pouted.
“What’s wrong with you?”
The steward glared.
What’s wrong with you, you little devil?
“Oh, then it’s not for me. My older brother asked me to get them.” The little fellow spoke with complete seriousness. “If you won’t give them to me, then you can go explain it to my older brother yourself.”
The steward cursed inwardly.
The brat had clearly changed his story on the spot. How had it suddenly become something Young Master Lou wanted?
A little demon borrowing a tiger’s might.
“Do you want to ask him first?”
The steward laughed dryly.
“Since Young Master Lou wants them…”
He was not suicidal enough to ask Ying Zhaolou personally.
Even crippled as he was now, the fear he inspired remained carved into people’s bones.
When that man first became crippled and ill, some servants had thought they could step on him. Now nobody even knew where those servants’ bones were buried.
He still lived in the Ying residence, and even the First and Second Masters did not dare touch him. They had even privately warned others not to provoke him.
Besides, even if the steward did ask, Ying Zhaolou would probably claim it was true anyway.
As for Third Miss, no matter how terrible her temper was, she was still just a young girl…
After selecting the dishes, Ying Li patted his backside in satisfaction and left.
Once the kitchen delivered the food later, he would bring it all to Sister-in-law himself.
After he left, the servant who had reported his arrival leaned over and asked, “Should we still go ask Young Master Lou?”
The steward kicked him.
“Why don’t you go instead?”
…
It was not until dinnertime, when Ying Xueshuang hosted her banquet with her friends, that she discovered her carved flower jelly cakes had been taken away.
Furious, she smashed two plates.
After the meal, she lost all interest in entertaining. Once the servants escorted the guests away, Ying Xueshuang returned to her room and angrily shouted,
“I already told them early this morning that the chefs were making that dessert for my guests to try. Everyone was waiting for it, but it got snatched away instead. I’ve completely lost face!”
The nanny beside her hurried over to comfort her.
“Why is it that damned brat again?” Ying Xueshuang angrily raised a cup as though about to throw it.
The nanny quickly took it away.
“He has Young Master Lou backing him, and he was picked up from outside anyway. No manners or upbringing at all. Miss shouldn’t get angry over some wild thing like that. You might hurt your hand.”
“Bah. What young master? The Ying family has never acknowledged him.”
In the end, it was all her father’s fault for fooling around outside years ago, producing such a bastard child.
One big bastard had picked up one little bastard, turning the entire manor into a mess.
Ying Xueshuang thought to herself that when she married in the future, she definitely would not choose a man like her father.
The nanny hurriedly said, “Miss, it’s fine to say such things privately, but—”
“What’s there to fear? He’s just a crippled invalid now. I wouldn’t be afraid to say it to his face.”
Though she spoke boldly, her voice unconsciously lowered a little.
Perhaps dissatisfied with her own cowardice, Ying Xueshuang raised her voice again.
“Besides, what is he so arrogant about? It’s true he used to be favored by the Emperor. But the current Emperor isn’t the previous Emperor anymore. Does he still think he’s as glorious as before?”
The nanny’s heart jolted in shock and her face instantly turned pale.
She quickly pulled Ying Xueshuang back and hushed her before rushing to check whether the doors were shut properly.
“My dear Miss, you absolutely cannot say such things!”
The Great Ying Dynasty had only recently undergone a change in rulers. The capital was filled with tension and fear. Entire noble families that people had once known could vanish overnight.
Discussing the Emperor and court affairs recklessly was extremely dangerous.
After speaking, Ying Xueshuang also realized her mistake. Trying to save face, she muttered,
“Oh, Nanny, I know that. There’s nobody else here anyway. It’s not like I’d go around saying it outside.”
Besides, even without saying it aloud, everyone already knew…
Last year, enemy nations invaded the borders.
Emperor Xuchang personally led the imperial expeditionary army and was captured.
A nation could not remain without a ruler.
His younger brother, Prince Lei, ascended the throne and changed the era name to Zhaode.
In the first year of Zhaode, Wing Guard Commander Ying Zhaolou was ambushed and severely injured, leaving both his legs crippled.