When Han Zhao placed the cooked food he had bought in front of Duke Gu Qing, he found that the duke had fallen asleep. He tried to move as quietly as possible, but still woke up the light - sleeping Gu Qing.
"Are you back? What did you buy? It smells so good!"
Gu Qing looked extremely exhausted, but his eyes lit up when he saw the food.
"These are all the dishes the duke likes. Your subordinate specially went to Yingkelai." The duke liked all the dishes there, simply because it was the shop of the princess consort.
"Really? Did you go back to the duke's mansion?"
"Your subordinate did. Duke, please plead for me with the princess consort. Your subordinate doesn't know how to comb hair!" Han Zhao said with a long face.
"Comb hair? You? For whom?"
What on earth had his princess consort done? Gu Qing immediately became interested.
"For... for the duke!"
Han Zhao stammered out the words and then stared at Gu Qing's expression. He was good with a knife, but combing hair? Wasn't that a woman's job?
"Would I look presentable with you combing my hair?"
Gu Qing frowned. Han Zhao said with a long face, "Your subordinate's hands are as rough as grass - rakes. I can only deal with grass." He didn't notice that Gu Qing's face began to twitch as he was speaking.
"You actually compared my hair to grass. Well, I'll leave this 'grass' to you to take care of. The princess consort is the mistress of the household. If I don't cooperate with her, how can she establish her authority in the future? That's settled."
Gu Qing didn't give Han Zhao a chance to speak. After he finished speaking, he began to tuck in. The tasteless roasted pheasant he had before could only barely satisfy his hunger. Now he was starving. With the delicious smell of the food in his nose, he had no time to look at his guard.
"Tell me, what else did the princess consort do today?"
Han Zhao then told him everything he had heard in the duke's mansion today. When he heard that Jiang Benfen was arranged to be a cook, he didn't know whether to put the chopsticks in his mouth or not.
"...The princess consort told Xiao Su and Xiao Min to sunbathe for two hours every day under the sun. If they don't get tanned, they have to continue until they do." Gu Qing didn't think that his princess consort was just being petty. She simply wanted to make him uncomfortable.
"Good idea. It's really hard for my princess consort to come up with this."
Then Gu Qing laughed. His princess consort was really unique. But he would be back in the mansion tomorrow. Could the food cooked by Jiang Benfen be eaten?
He looked at Han Zhao's grass - rake - like hands and felt a shiver on his scalp. It was really hard on his Xue.
"Duke, the eldest prince is taking action. Should we interfere or not?"
"I'm just a weak and incompetent duke. What can I interfere with? Do you want others to know that I still have the ability to fight back?" Gu Qing gathered his smile. His fingers tapped lightly on the table.
"Just keep a close eye on him. What about my dear third imperial brother?" That man would definitely not sit still. Gu Qing's eyes showed a sharp look, but it disappeared quickly. He resumed his weak - looking appearance.
"He's making some small moves, but we've already collected the evidence of his crimes." After Han Zhao reported, he saw that the duke fell into deep thought. He didn't interrupt him and just stood quietly by the side.
"I won't use the spring room today. You tidy up the bedroom. I'm really tired."
He had no ambition for that position, but they just wouldn't let him go. It was better to rest early. He still had to go back to deal with his energetic little princess consort tomorrow.
"Yes," Just as Han Zhao was about to leave, Gu Qing opened his eyes and said word by word, "Keep a close watch. Take care of them as they 'take care' of me."
Not a single movement could be missed.
"Your subordinate understands." While answering the duke's order, Han Zhao didn't stop his hands. Suddenly, Han Zhao stood up straight and stammered, "Duke, your subordinate doesn't know how to comb hair!"
A faint smile appeared on Gu Qing's face. "The princess consort is just teasing you. Don't worry."
"You can leave. I won't go out tonight." Gu Qing waved his hand. He had been exhausted for two consecutive nights on their wedding nights. He didn't know when his princess consort would conceive.
Gu Qing eagerly missed that soft body and the scent on her. After six years of longing, they finally shared the same bed. Even if his life was short, he would guard that purple butterfly fluttering gracefully.
Mei Qingxue looked at the three - course meal and one soup on the table that could startle the heavens and move the spirits. Suddenly, she realized the stupidest decision she had ever made. Yue Ru's stomach began to churn just looking at the strange things on the table. It was the new cook's first meal! What a luxurious lineup.
"Jiang Benfen, tell this princess what this is?"
Mei Qingxue squeezed out what she thought was the kindest smile on her face and held back the nausea in her stomach.
"Reporting to the princess consort."
Jiang Benfen was wearing the greasy clothes of a cook and had a simple and honest smile on his face. "This is the spinach fried with eggs made by this humble one." Although the fire was a bit too strong and the spinach was cut a bit too finely - he actually cut it as finely as the chicken feed at his home. He was just afraid that the princess consort had a delicate throat and it would be difficult for her to swallow.
Mei Qingxue gritted her teeth. Eggs? She guessed that the egg that looked like black charcoal would probably leave a dent on the ground if it fell.
"How much did you make?" Taking a deep breath, Mei Qingxue continued to smile.
"Everyone in the mansion has a share."
"Good. Everyone has worked hard and should eat well. Pass on the order that no one is allowed to waste." Mei Qingxue looked at the dishes on the table and her smile widened infinitely.
"Uncle Fu -" Mei Qingxue rolled her eyes and immediately had an idea. She really didn't dare to eat this food. What if it made her travel through time again? Who could she complain to? She had been unlucky for the previous nine lives, and now this was her tenth life.
"Your subordinate is here," The butler stood in front of Mei Qingxue. He frowned secretly looking at the things on the table. He could smell a strange odor even before getting close. Wouldn't the princess consort ask him to eat this? He would rather dig manure for a month.
"Uncle Fu, today is the first day for this princess to manage the household. Logically, the duke should be here too. It's a pity that he's not. You send someone to pack these and send them to the duke. Just say it's the princess consort's intention."
"Yes!"
Uncle Fu quickly lowered his head so that the princess consort wouldn't see the twitching of his mouth. Where could he find another share?
Seeing that the princess consort didn't say his cooking was bad and even sent a share to the duke, Jiang Benfen was extremely grateful. "Princess consort, don't go hungry just because the duke is not here. This humble one has prepared some midnight snacks for the princess consort in the kitchen."
Mei Qingxue couldn't smile anymore. She almost gritted her teeth and said, "Then thank you. I'll reward them to you. Don't waste them. It's not easy for this princess to manage the household. Go!"
"Yes!"
Jiang Benfen happily returned to the kitchen. But when he tasted his own creation, he couldn't be happy anymore.
"Princess consort, should we call the cook back?" Yue Ru suggested. Who would dare to eat the food of this new cook? Just looking at it for one more glance could make one vomit up last year's food.
"Yeah, hurry up. I can't take it anymore. Bring some tea." Mei Qingxue's stomach churned. She just took a look and already couldn't stand it. She didn't know how those poor guys managed to eat it.
"Tell them not to eat it anymore. Uncle Fu, go to a restaurant to order some dishes. But the share for the duke must be sent. If the duke can't finish it, ask the guards to help." Didn't he like to mess with her? She could do it too.
"Princess consort, which restaurant should we order from?"
Uncle Fu stood in front of Mei Qingxue. He came back from a walk around the mansion and the princess consort already had a new order. Finally, he let out a sigh of relief. That Jiang Benfen only knew how to dig manure. How could he hold a ladle?
"Whatever. Don't let the people in the mansion wait too long. It's all this princess's fault, so let's have some good food tonight."
"What about the duke?"
Uncle Fu still remembered the duke. He had just sent those dishes to Han Zhao's hands.
"If you don't manage a household, you don't know how expensive daily necessities are. I just want the duke to know that it's not easy to manage a household. Don't worry about the duke. He has money on him. Besides, he's staying in the palace for a while."
Why should she worry about him?
Yue Ru secretly wiped the sweat off her back behind Mei Qingxue. She didn't know whether she should report what her young lady was doing to the prime minister's mansion. Her master and mistress had repeatedly told her to take good care of her young lady. But -
"How are those two girls who are sunbathing?"
"Princess consort, it was very hot at noon. Your maid made her own decision to let them stand under the shade of a tree to avoid the scorching sun and then continue sunbathing."
Yue Ru looked at her young lady's face and knew that those two girls were just unlucky. She didn't know that as soon as Mei Qingxue saw those two beautiful maids, she knew what Concubine Qin meant. Filling in a wife, a concubine, a chambermaid - anyway, she had read some time - travel stories in her previous life. She knew why there were suddenly two beautiful maids in the duke's mansion which originally had none.
Actually, she didn't have any grudges against those two girls. It was just that she had lived in modern times for the previous nine lives. Now it was impossible for her to share a man with others, no matter what the man's status was or whether she liked him or not.
Thinking of this, she thought of the jade - faced young master. Although they were familiar with each other, he wouldn't stop taking concubines for her, would he? Mei Qingxue smiled faintly. What difference did it make who she married?
It was just a matter of living a good life or not.
Now the Sixth Duke only had her. Since he was in poor health, she would take good care of him.
The food from the restaurant was quickly delivered. The terrible memory of the previous food disappeared completely. Mei Qingxue ate happily. Thinking of the expression on that guy's face when he saw the exquisite food, she couldn't stop smiling.
"Accompany this princess to take a walk later to digest the food."
After Mei Qingxue had eaten and drunk her fill, she remembered that guy's study. When she went back to her natal family that day, he said in person that he had collected some of that person's early masterpieces. She must get them.
There was nothing to do after dinner, so she might as well take a walk as a post - meal activity. Anyway, she had eaten too much.
"Yes, princess consort."
Yue Ru answered softly, but she was extremely puzzled in her heart. Her young lady didn't have the habit of taking a walk to digest food before she got married. Why did she have such an action now? There was something strange. When something was abnormal, there must be something wrong. Yue Ru's heart immediately rose to her throat.
If her young lady came up with any more crazy ideas, she might as well just die.
"Go and ask Uncle Fu where the duke's study is."
"Yes!"
Yue Ru answered and immediately knew that something bad was going to happen.
The duke's study was going to be in trouble.