When Li Ying bluntly revealed her identity, the old woman in the cyan robe was taken aback for a moment.
"Hehe... I've been locked up in this sunless side room for many years, yet there's actually a little girl who can recognize me. It's really rare."
She let out a couple of shrill laughs. Li Ying was overjoyed and quickly bowed politely to her, saying, "I've long admired your reputation, senior. I'm here to pay my respects."
The old woman in the cyan robe stopped laughing. Her sharp and sinister eyes sized Li Ying up and down defiantly. After a long while, she said contemptuously,
"Among the little girls locked in here, you're quite smart. But if you think that just by currying favor with me, you can leave this side room, you're being delusional."
Seeing that Li Ying didn't reply, she, in a rather good mood for once, explained to herself, "This side room is rarely visited. Only the domestic servants who have committed mistakes are locked in here. Do you know why?"
Li Ying understood immediately. In these noble families, which one didn't have many secrets that couldn't be revealed to outsiders? If they were killed in public, word would spread, and they would surely be criticized. People would say that the master was too cruel and didn't cherish the old feelings at all. If they were simply sold off, within a few days, the dirty secrets in the inner courtyard would probably spread like wildfire and be known to everyone.
The best way was to quietly lock them up, saying that they were "reflecting on their mistakes." As for what happened to them later, whether they lived or died, no one would know.
Logically speaking, this old woman in the cyan robe was the dowry maid of the imperial censor's wife and had excellent skills. She should have been the wife's trusted confidant, serving her closely.
But now she was imprisoned in this side room... Could it be that there was some dirty secret hidden about her?
A thought flashed through Li Ying's mind, and she smiled at the old woman.
"Senior, you've been locked up for so many years. Have you ever thought that one day you could leave this hellhole and live a free life?"
The old woman in the cyan robe took a couple of bites of the bun but soon lost her appetite. When she heard Li Ying's words, it was as if she had heard the biggest joke in the world.
"Over the years, I've seen quite a few maids and servants. You're the first one who has taken the initiative to say that you'll take me out of this side room."
She didn't take Li Ying's words to heart at all. She went to the corner to pick up a tattered cotton quilt and wrapped herself tightly in it. Then she slumped to one side and started to doze off.
Li Ying knew that there must be many secrets hidden about this old woman besides the matter of the tea master Ge.
Checking the time, she thought that the old shopkeeper in the tea - snack shop should have already taken care of everything. It wouldn't be long before the imperial censor's wife would have no choice but to let her go.
She couldn't afford to waste any time. She needed to win over the old woman in the cyan robe, break through her defenses, and obtain the evidence of the imperial censor's malpractice in tea tax matters.
She walked out of the side room. There were still a lot of dead branches and leaves in the small courtyard. She gathered them into a pile, which was just right for starting a fire.
Li Ying built a simple earthen stove, picked up a broken kettle, rummaged through her space for some tea leaves, and started boiling water. Fortunately, she was used to carrying some food with her. Now it wasn't too difficult for her to prepare something to eat.
She soaked some different kinds of mushrooms and stewed them in a pot. She also found a few pieces of ham that were too fatty to be eaten up. She put them in the broken kettle to boil together.
Before long, the fat in the ham was cooked out, floating on the surface of the broken kettle. The fragrant smell of the air - dried and cured ham intertwined with the strange fragrance of the mushrooms. The air became warm and made people's mouths water.
She soaked a handful of dried rice noodles. These were made by Lu Xunguang and her together. They had used the new rice harvested that autumn. The rice noodles were white, delicate, and full of the fragrance of rice. They were cooked until they were smooth and soft in the mushroom soup. One didn't need to chew much before they could slide down one's throat.
While the mushroom soup rice noodles were boiling on the earthen stove, Li Ying wasn't idle. She picked up some dry firewood of different sizes, slightly moistened them with water, and built an earthen kiln. She sealed the firewood inside, left a ventilation hole, and let it burn slowly.
The charcoal made in this way had a higher burning efficiency and produced less smoke than ordinary charcoal. Although it was definitely not as good as the top - quality silver - wire charcoal, it was better than nothing.
When the ham in the broken kettle was cooked until it was soft, the charcoal in the kiln was just ready. Li Ying broke off two dead branches and used them as chopsticks. She picked out all the charcoal and piled them up. Sure enough, the old woman in the cyan robe had already smelled the fragrance and quietly walked out of the room. She leaned crookedly against the door frame and peeked at Li Ying.
Li Ying smiled slightly and respectfully handed the chopsticks to her, saying softly, "When I came here today, I didn't expect to meet you, senior. So I didn't prepare any delicious dishes. This pot of mushroom rice noodles can barely warm you up. If you don't mind, please have a taste."
She stood up and reminded, "Senior, I've done my best to make this charcoal. Although it's bound to produce some choking smoke, it can at least be used for heating. Please pay attention to ventilation and don't get poisoned by the smoke."
Li Ying explained everything in great detail. She even took out the tattered quilt that was almost out of cotton and hung it in the sun to dry.
The old woman in the cyan robe was really tempted by the fragrance. She hardly got any good food throughout the year. With the bright red chunks of cooked ham in sight, how could she resist? Without being polite to Li Ying, she gobbled it up in a few mouthfuls.
"You little girl, you're quite good at cooking."
She mumbled the words in praise. Li Ying smiled. While patting the cold and lumpy quilt, she casually said, "On such a cold winter day, if you cook a pot of warm mutton soup and bake a few fragrant steamed buns, break them into small pieces while they're still hot and soak them in the mutton soup. The buns will absorb the rich flavor of the mutton soup and become soft and fragrant. The mutton is stewed until the tendons are soft and sticky, almost covering your lips and tongue. And with the spicy and refreshing green garlic leaves, that taste is the ultimate in the world..."
With just a few words, she made the old woman in the cyan robe yearn for it. Li Ying then took the opportunity to say, "I've seen your calligraphy. It combines the strengths of many masters. Why do you always imitate others' calligraphy and do such despicable things? With your calligraphy skills, you could go to an academy, take in a few female students, teach them to write, enjoy family happiness, and have a free sky of your own. Why not do it?"
The old woman was taken aback by her words, and then sneered contemptuously, "Little girl, you do have some skills and are quite eloquent. But I'm not a fool. I've just been locked up for a few years. What academy, what female students? Which private school would want a servant like me with a low - born status?"
Li Ying heard that there was a wavering in her words and said loudly, "Why can't women learn to read and write? Women can be as good as men! The scariest thing is self - deprecation and self - abasement!"
Two bright sparks suddenly lit up in her eyes. "Senior, I've said all I need to say. I sincerely advise you that if you yearn for the kind of life I just described, you'd better make a decision soon. If you wait until I leave the imperial censor's mansion later, it will really be extremely difficult for you to leave!"
She kept talking about "leaving," and a look of suspicion flashed across the old woman's face.
She had seen all kinds of maids and servants. Some were locked in the side room for disobeying the wife, and some had developed inappropriate feelings for the imperial censor. There were even those who vowed that they were the imperial censor's new favorite and would be released in a few days to become a concubine in style.
But what was the result? Didn't they all quietly wither away?
It was not easy to walk out of this side room.
She was about to retort when suddenly she heard a sound of footsteps outside the door. Soon, the angry voice of the head maid rang out.
"Boss Li, Boss Li!"