Chapter 38: Separate Cooking Stove

The maid picked up the mop head and ran off like a whirlwind.

Ziling rubbed her cheeks, still sore from laughing, and headed to the backyard.

Among all the rooms in the Chenxiang Pavilion, her favorite place to stay was the bamboo hut.

It wasn't just her—Qianqian also loved the backyard.

Without maidservants watching their every move and gossiping behind their backs, they felt as free as they were on Qingyun Mountain.

Not having come to the backyard all day, there was something new on the open space in front of the bamboo hut.

Qianqian ran over and circled around it.

On top was a large wooden barrel, and below it...a stove?

Qianqian looked at it several times and confirmed it was indeed a stove.

She looked at Ziling in confusion and asked, "Miss, are we going to cook separately on this small stove?"

Ziling didn't say a word.

Qianqian climbed up the steps and stood on it.

She felt that describing it as a small stove wasn't accurate at all.

With such a big wooden barrel, they could cook enough food for a month.

Moreover, neither she nor Ziling knew how to cook.

Were they supposed to rely on Young Master to cook for them?

Suppressing Young Master like this, she feared he would poison them with arsenic in the food.

"Miss, what is this big food barrel used for?" Qianqian asked curiously.

Big food barrel... Ziling's lips curled slightly as she replied, "It's used to detoxify your master."

Qianqian didn't fully understand.

She touched the wooden barrel and guessed that it might be for making medicine for Young Master to drink.

Regardless of whether the medicine tasted good or not, just the quantity alone made Qianqian sympathize with Young Master.

Ziling walked towards the bamboo hut.

As soon as she entered, she saw neatly labeled medicines on the shelves.

She opened a few and found that they were all correct.

Only the commonly used medicines were placed within easy reach, while the less frequently used ones were stored below or in higher places.

After finishing rearranging everything, Ziling's forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat.

Outside the house, Gu Yunfeng walked in.

Qianqian looked at him, blinked her eyes, and said, "Miss, Young Master is here."

Qianqian still remembered that Ziling didn't allow Gu Yunfeng to visit casually.

But Qianqian felt that since Young Master had fought alongside Miss and saved her life, he was practically a member of the Flying Tiger Gang, so he could come and go as he pleased.

Unaware of what Qianqian was thinking, Ziling sniffed the medicinal herbs absentmindedly and casually said, "No need to set off firecrackers to welcome him."

The bodyguard and Gu Yunfeng exchanged glances.

The bodyguard stepped forward and asked, "Does Young Mistress need anything else?"

The things Ziling had written on the paper were all prepared by the bodyguard without missing a single item.

Even the writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone that she forgot to write down were all prepared.

The inkstone was of top quality, and the wolf hair brush was excellent.

Ziling was very satisfied.

She couldn't praise the bodyguard's efficiency enough.

Looking at the silk fabrics placed in the corner, Qianqian said, "Miss, you didn't ask for silk fabrics."

The shadow guard explained, "Young Mistress instructed me not to make a big fuss, so I took advantage of the opportunity to deliver silk to Young Mistress from the Dongling Marquis Mansion and carried the medicinal herbs into the backyard."

With so many medicinal herbs, he couldn't bring them back by climbing over the wall.

Even if he could, he couldn't guarantee that it wouldn't alert anyone.

The more secretive he was, the more likely it would raise suspicions.

Ziling nodded, agreeing with the shadow guard's approach.

What the shadow guard wanted to know most was, "Is Young Mistress going to detoxify Young Master tonight?"

"Tomorrow, after I go to the restaurant to check things, I will come back and select some maidservants before starting the detoxification process for your Young Master."

"..."

To think that choosing maidservants for the household would come before detoxifying Young Master.

The shadow guard quietly glanced at Gu Yunfeng.

He probably understood his own Young Master's position in Young Mistress's heart.

As light as a feather.

Gu Yunfeng "..."

Qianqian remembered the matter of choosing maidservants and looked at Ziling, saying, "Originally, we were going to choose maidservants today. I wonder if the people from the tooth shop have brought any maidservants?"

Ziling also looked at her.

Qianqian "..."

She had been following the young lady all day.

She didn't know, and naturally, the young lady didn't know either.

Qianqian looked at the shadow guard.

The shadow guard "..."

He didn't know either.

Qianqian said, "I'll go and ask."

She rushed out in a hurry.

Ziling wanted to give a few reminders but couldn't see anyone.

She was too impatient.

Fifteen minutes later, Qianqian came back, panting, and said, "Young Lady, the people from the tooth shop have brought maidservants. When you weren't here, the eldest young lady helped choose a few maidservants and said they would be sent to you after they were trained."

Once they were trained, the maidservants would no longer belong to her.

"Go to the front yard and tell them that after lunch tomorrow, have the people from the tooth shop bring more maidservants. I will choose them myself."

"I can't run anymore."

"..."

Qianqian leaned against the door, catching her breath.

"I'll go," the shadow guard said considerately.

"Fine, and when you come back, bring a bag of bamboo charcoal with you."

"..."

When Ziling spoke, her gaze lingered on Gu Yunfeng for a moment.

She didn't mean anything else.

It's just that seeing him standing by the window, tall and elegant, she couldn't help but take another glance.

As a result, he misunderstood.

He walked away with a black face.

Seeing Gu Yunfeng walk away without turning his head, Qianqian looked at Ziling and said, "Young Lady, you're going to make the Young Master dislike you."

Wouldn't it be better if the Young Master stayed clean and neat instead of turning into a gloomy figure?

She didn't know what the young lady was thinking.

She was just attracting unnecessary attention, and yet, no one stopped her. Ziling was also tired.

She had clearly told him to stay in the palace, but he had returned with an imperial inscription from the Emperor.

Things were progressing in a positive direction, but it was contrary to what she had hoped for.

She didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Seeing Qianqian's distressed expression.

Ziling shook her head and smiled, teasing her.

"Go and ask him if he finds me repulsive," she said.

"No need to ask. The young master still relies on you to detoxify him. Of course, he wouldn't dare to find you repulsive."

"That settles it then."

"But not finding someone repulsive doesn't mean not finding them repulsive, right?"

"..."

"So, what now?" Ziling propped her chin and asked.

She wondered, given Qianqian's way of thinking, how she could solve the inevitable problem of being disliked by Gu Yunfeng.

Afraid that Qianqian would suggest trying to please him, Ziling cut off that option. "I won't try to please him. Think of any other way to make him not find me repulsive."

Qianqian "..."

She looked completely baffled.

She had no idea how to respond to Ziling's words.

Ziling looked at her again.

In the end, the little maid came up with a remark that caught Ziling off guard—"Why don't we just dislike the young master first?"

Another strategy to save face.

To avoid the embarrassment of being disliked by Gu Yunfeng, they would dislike him first.

Ziling was impressed by this move.

Suppressing the twitching corners of her mouth, Ziling dipped her brush in ink and started writing on the paper.

Soon, the shadow guard brought a bamboo charcoal and placed it in the corner, then silently retreated.

Roland Court.

The shadow guard went to deliver the message in the front yard and quickly reached Princess Nan Ting's ears.

She had been losing face one after another today, and whenever she heard about Ziling, her expression turned sour.

But now, her face was even colder than frost.

Zhao Mama fanned the flames beside her, "Young Mistress truly treats Zhenguo Marquis Manor as her own bandit stronghold, doing whatever she pleases. That little maid she brought into the manor is even more unruly, jumping around without any restraint. Not to mention, she throws punches at people at the slightest disagreement. If Young Mistress is allowed to train maidservants like this, who knows how many little bandits she'll raise."

Bandits are just bandits.

When a master and servant enter Zhenguo Marquis Manor, even if they married with a credit, they would feel inferior and be too ashamed to show their faces. But Young Mistress and the maidservant, far from feeling inferior, were about to take flight!