4 A Fatal Mistake

The mundane day to day of the General's compound was overseen by the Head Steward; a man Ruo Lan had described as stately looking and polite, but with a catch in her voice which betrayed the fact that something about this gentleman unnerved her despite his proper exterior.

Sithli had yet to see the man during the weeks of her self imposed isolation, and she didn't bother seeking him out now. If the Second Madam was as calculating as her maids narrated, the Head Steward was surely her creature. Appealing to him would be a waste of time. Instead she went directly to the source.

The kitchen was a bustling frenzy of smells and sound; the scrape of pots and shouts aimed at the small servants who criss-crossed back and forth through the room as they prepared the evening meal. The fragrant smell of roasting duck or braised pork or frying fish undercut the stench of smoke belched from stone ovens and oil spilled sizzling over hot coals.

The man who presided over the organized chaos was tall, thick necked and stout. Beneath a head of thin, greasy hair his round eyes were deep set under the hood of his brow. Those brown pits narrowed disdainfully on the young girl strolling through the kitchen as though it were a flower garden.

"Eldest Young Miss, it isn't appropriate for you to be here."

The head cook didn't bother with showing his respects. Who in the household didn't know that this legitimate daughter was ignored by her father and a thorn in the eye of the current Madam.

"If I didn't come, how would I find out that the General's residence isn't as poor as it seems from the pitiful meals it serves it's legitimate daughter."

The cook smirked nastily. "If young miss has a problem with her daily meals, she should take it up with Madam. Naturally Madam is in charge of allotting such things for each courtyard."

"Oh? You're saying that Second Madam is the one who told you to send scraps to my Cloud Moon pavilion?"

Irritation flashed across the man's face. "Young Miss is saying slanderous things. All the meals sent to Young Miss' courtyard are the best prepared in this kitchen; second only to Master and Madam's meals."

This was such a bald faced lie that Sithli felt the urge to laugh bubble in her throat. She wanted to give his nerve a round of applause. Really impressive, saying such blatant nonsense with that kind of straight face. The sheer audacity of this man surely would have cowed the original Ming Yue. Unfortunately for him, she wasn't Ming Yue.

Imperiously, she swept past him and leaned over a huge pot bubbling away atop the stove. Angrily she pointed a finger towards the lean vegetable stew simmering inside.

"If that's so, why is it that the table at my pavilion hasn't even seen anything as fine as this simple soup? Am I someone easy to fool? The legitimate daughter's meals are worst even than a concubine's?"

Frustration had been churning in the cook's gut as she continued to argue with him. It was true, that although the Second Madam had not specifically ordered him to send the dregs of every meals to Cloud Moon. Sensing that this daughter born to the First Madam was loathed by the Second Madam, he'd taken it upon himself to bully her in order to curry favor with the current Madam. The possibility of rewards was high, with no risks.

Even if his misdeed was discovered, who would care? Besides, the Eldest Miss was timid and never spoke up when she was mistreated by the servants. Who would have thought she'd actually show up to kick up a fuss.

He'd been struggling a bit to defend himself against her accusations. Luckily, out of all of things in the kitchen she could have pointed to, it was that soup. The cook smiled smugly.

"Eldest young miss, that soup is a nutritional soup for Second Madam. Specifically made for married women, to improve the body and boost fertility. Certainly Eldest Young Miss doesn't expect something like this to be served to an unmarried daughter of the household?"

The girl's face flushed soft pink and she stamped an angry foot, "You!"

The cook's grin widened a bit. Satisfied, he decided to push his luck. "Asking eldest young miss to please return to her courtyard. Don't make things difficult by coming to throw tantrums and make false accusations."

Really, this head cook -- too audacious! Humiliated, she stormed out of the kitchen, knocking over a tray of steamed meat buns as she went.

The cook grit his teeth in anger at the petty act, but quickly soothed himself with the memory of the shamed face. Whoever said this first born young miss was a gentle and feeble. Clearly just another spoiled brat. He sniffed disdainfully and then turn away, barking at one of the kitchen servants to clean up the mess and the hurriedly bring the evening meal over to the Madam's courtyard.

When Sithli returned to Cloud Moon pavilion, she found Ruo Mei had already awakened. When she saw her mistress enter she tried to get up from bed, but Sithli waved her back down. All of her usual calm and composure was back, as though the young girl who had last her temper and fled the head cook's barbed words were another person entirely. Gazing at her mistress, Ruo Mei's hands clutched the edge of the blanket.

"Young miss, how could you go to the kitchen alone!?"

Sithli's responded with a smile small, but warm as a candle cupped in hand. "Worried?"

Ruo Mei almost started in surprise. This was the first time Ming Yue had smiled at them since she woke up from her illness. Still, going to the kitchens had been a foolish decision. Those toadies who sucked up to the Second Madam definitely wouldn't be respectful towards their Young Miss.

Sensing the maid's upset, Sithli let loose a small low laugh and the dropped a steaming meat bun from her handkerchief into Ruo Mei's lap.

"Eat this and regain your strength. Starting tomorrow we won't have to worry about food."

Ruo Mei picked up the meat bun in shock. "What does young miss mean?"

Sithli fanned a nonchalant hand through the air as she strode out of the room to deliver the second bun to Ruo Lan.

That evening there was a massive commotion in the General's Residence. While having dinner, the Second Madam's face and neck had suddenly begun breaking out in an ugly red rash. Not only that, her tongue had swollen up to nearly twice it's size. The reaction had been so bad that the summoned physician had only just arrived in time to save her from choking on her own tongue.

After a brief investigation the cause had been determined to be the nutritional soup sent over by the residence's kitchens. Apparently someone had carelessly used saffron to season the soup.

Immediately, the entirety of the residence's kitchen staff was beaten and turned out of the household or sold. The head cook bore the brunt of the responsibility and was dragged trembling and screaming to the whipping post and beaten to death. Everyone whispered that this man had really been too arrogant and careless, to have actually made such a fatal mistake.

Really shows, one mistake could be life or death.