C42

Biwan and Yun Xiang moved very quickly. They changed the bedding on the bed, the window gauze changed into a new green one, and the curtain at the door was taken down to hang Gu Jinzhu's most beloved silver pearl curtain.

When Old Mistress Yang was still alive, she had saved quite a few good things for her. Madam Wang was afraid of falling into her trap, so she brought back every single piece of information she had.

Biwan took out a pair of porcelain bottles, turned around and asked, "Miss, can you put on this?"

Gu Jinzhu looked at it and shook her head, "Let's put that pair of blue and white beauties in an arc bottle."

Biwan did as she was told and put the bottle out. An idea came to Yun Xiang, and she went to the lake to pick some lotus flowers. She filled the bottle with water and stuck it in.

Gu Jinzhu set up a writing desk under the window and arranged all the books she read in her daily life. There were all kinds of tools, such as pens, brushes, arm rest, paperweights, etc. Everything was fine and beautiful.

The two girls were nimble and it didn't take them long to change the appearance of this simple and crude house.

After the house was tidied up, Gu Jinzhu let go of her hair and changed into her usual clothes. She laid on the bed with a trace of weariness on her face. She had indeed been exhausted from the past two days of travelling.

Just as Yun Xiang was massaging her arms and legs, the old woman had already brought her food. Biwan came in and asked, "Miss, do you want to eat in the outer room?"

Gu Jinzhu couldn't be bothered to get up because she was sore all over, so she said, "Let's go inside."

Biwan placed a few small steps on the arhat bed in the inner room and ordered the old granny to serve the food. With just a glance, she flew into a rage, "Why is there only these? Is this something the servants eat? "You bold servants!"

As Gu Jinzhu walked over, Yun Xiang only placed two dishes on the table: one dish of stir-fried cabbage, one serving of stir-fried beans, and a bowl of white rice.

In terms of State Duke's Mansion, even servants would be inferior to this kind of food.

That old woman raised her eyebrows and said, "What did this lady say? Our family is very rich and has a large population, so naturally, the expenses are huge. Furthermore, the young lady just came back today and the kitchen doesn't prepare anything, that's all.

Biwan was so angry that smoke was almost coming out of her head. She was a dignified chief lady, yet when she came back, she only ate this kind of simple dish without any meat at all. She even said that every yard was the same.

She couldn't help but scold the old woman, "Pei, you're saying that every yard is like this? I don't believe that the other young masters and young ladies would eat the same thing! "

Being coldly stared at by Gu Jinzhu, the woman didn't show the slightest bit of fear on her face, but instead said with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, "The other courtyards..." "Of course it's different, but the mansion has so many dishes, whoever wants to eat more would have to pay extra silver."

It was obvious that this woman had been ordered by someone else to not put Gu Jinzhu in her eyes at all. She dared to provoke Gu Jinzhu like this the first time they met.

Biwan was fuming with anger. She stroked her sleeves, wishing that she could rush up and scratch that old face of hers.

However, that old woman clearly had a fearless attitude, as if she was saying that she didn't want to eat them even if she wanted to.

Gu Jinzhu didn't look angry at all, she picked up a piece of tofu with her chopsticks and said slowly, "So the light realm in our mansion is already so difficult. Poor father is holding State Duke's title, but our family's children are eating green bean curd, I don't know what people will say when it spreads outside."

The wife's expression suddenly changed, and before she could say anything, she heard Yun Xiang sigh. "It should be said that the emperor's salary is too little. This subject actually can't even raise his family …"

That old woman was truly surprised this time. Her master held a title, so even though he didn't have any real power in the court, he was still a pretty decent official. If word of this got out, it would inevitably ruin his reputation of being harsh on his first wife.

She didn't think that this young miss would be able to come up with such a quick idea while remaining silent.

If the lord was chosen by the censors, her life as a servant would come to an end.

That old woman saw the opportunity and quickly bent down with a fawning smile, "What are you talking about, there is really not enough food in the kitchen, and we are afraid that this young lady will be hungry, so we made our preparations in a hurry. If this young lady is not satisfied, this old servant will immediately let them do it again."

She raised her head to look at Gu Jinzhu's expression and hurriedly waved her hand, ordering a few girls to take the dishes off the table and apologize. Then, she wiped her cold sweat and left.

That old woman's legs were truly weak. She had pointed out that this young miss had been beaten out of her residence for many years, so she must have a cowardly and cautious personality. Even if she had some thoughts, it would be hard to reveal them after returning.

The young girl was very thin-skinned. It was because of this that Mrs. Yao dared to step on her in such a brazen manner.

Having received Madam's orders, she naturally wanted to give this young lady a good show. However, she did not expect to run into a tough nail for the first time.

A thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl was sitting upright on the bed, her face indifferent. Her black hair was tied up loosely behind her back, and she was only wearing ordinary clothes, but under the light of the lantern, she seemed extremely beautiful.

Her slender wrist wore a clear green jade bracelet, making her skin as white as porcelain. She dipped her head slightly to drink the tea, her movements graceful. Although she was obviously about the same age as Second Lady, she had a quiet aura about her, and even her face was slightly prettier than Second Lady, who was praised by the crowd every day.

Seeing the girl staring coldly at her, the woman's heart skipped a beat. She didn't dare to look anymore, but she couldn't help sighing internally. 'Madam must have misjudged me this time. This young miss isn't as simple as she looks on the surface.

In less than a quarter of an hour, the dishes were brought back to the table, not half as sumptuous as before. There was a bowl of black fish balls, a plate of fresh toon eggs, a bowl of rice, and a bowl of fish soup. They were all stewed with fresh bamboo shoots.

There were also various kinds of snacks. Although they were not very exquisite, they still looked pretty good. For a commoner's kitchen, this was considered pretty good.

The woman smiled obsequiously as she stood to the side, looking at Gu Jinzhu, "Miss, there really aren't many dishes in the kitchen, so we can only make these. Use some of them first, if you want to eat anything fresh, you can only bring them tomorrow morning. If you want to eat something else, you can only … "Heh …"

She smiled dryly and did not continue speaking. Gu Jinzhu nodded. She knew that this was about how the public records worked. As for the other delicacies and bird's nest, she would have to pay for them herself.