Chapter 2

　　The person who came was Nanny Wang. About an hour later, she came back with a mutton-fat jade hairpin. It seemed that the old lady must be satisfied with the bowl of noodles.

　　"Miss Wan Ling, you don't know that after the old lady ate a bowl of noodles, she asked for more for the first time ever!"

　　Nanny Wang was grinning from ear to ear, calling Miss Wan Ling on her left and Miss Wan Ling on her right, and she made the others behind her so angry that their faces turned blue.

　　Wan Ling was not arrogant and smiled gently: "Even if the old lady wants to eat more, it's not okay. Eating too much will still hurt the stomach."

　　Nanny Wang nodded and said, "Yes, yes, yes. The old lady also said that in the next few days, she will have to trouble the young lady with the meals in her courtyard."

　　This dynasty has developed from eating two meals a day to eating three meals a day, and people are more picky about eating methods. Wan Ling was a little surprised. She originally just wanted the qualification to be a chef, but unexpectedly gained such a big reward.

　　"The old lady also praised the young lady for being attentive. She told me to prepare a cup of black tea. Drinking this black tea warms the stomach and relieves greasiness."

　　Before leaving, Nanny Wang deliberately glanced at the few people in the room who were very jealous, and said loudly: "If this place is inconvenient for the young lady, just tell me, and I will definitely go to the old lady to have a word."

　　When these words were spoken, Yue Ming and the others looked at each other in bewilderment. Even if they felt jealous, they could not show it.

　　After Wan Ling saw Nanny Wang off, she felt stronger under her feet and her back straightened a little.

　　She glanced at Nanny Li, then swaggered into the kitchen, took out a tender and smooth pig's trotter, and started stewing it.

　　"She--"

　　Yue Ming was so angry that her eyes turned red. Normally, the ingredients in this kitchen were only used by Nanny Li and the other two maids. She didn't expect that Wan Ling would get the advantage today.

　　There was no chili pepper in this dynasty, so if you wanted to eat something spicy, you could only mash up green onions, ginger and garlic, mix them into a sauce and dip them in. Wan Ling also added some fried white sesame seeds and poured hot oil over it, and the aroma burst out instantly.

　　The pig's trotters are stewed until soft, the tendons are dipped in chili oil and put into the mouth. The meat falls apart as soon as you sip it.

　　"Rice, rice, rice, must be served with two bowls of rice!"

　　Fortunately, no matter how cruel Yue Ming and her companions were, they still left her a little bit of food.

　　Wan Ling just squatted beside the firewood pile, warming herself by the fire and eating her meal.

　　The fragrance made people swallow their saliva.

　　Nanny Li looked at the two wild vegetables and a bowl of bone soup that she had casually prepared, and suddenly found them simply inedible.

　　"…Is it delicious?"

　　When Wan Ling looked up, she saw several maids staring at the spicy pig's tendon in her bowl.

　　In fact, she only cut less than half of the elbow for herself, and the rest was to make pig's trotter soup for the old lady.

　　However, Wan Ling knew that one had to always take human feelings into consideration when doing things.

　　"Nanny Li, do you want to try some? Bring the bowl over quickly. There's still a lot left."

　　With Nanny Li taking the lead, the other Nannies and maids became less polite and lined up with their bowls in hand waiting to be fed, except for Yue Ming, who was too concerned about her reputation and gritted her teeth and continued to eat the wild vegetables in front of her angrily.

　　After tasting the pig's pig tendon dipped in chili oil, they felt that the rice had never been so fragrant. The rice bucket was soon empty, but they were still not satisfied.

　　The people who had eaten the pig's tendons couldn't help but admire Wan Ling a little bit now. After all, they had to take a favor from someone else, so they couldn't give her a bad face anymore.

　　"From now on, I will need the maids' help in cooking for the old lady. I am still young, so how can I take on such a heavy responsibility? I still have to rely on you maids..."

　　"Yes, yes, help each other."

　　Yue Ming looked at Wan Ling's flattering smile, put the bowl down heavily and stopped eating!

　　*****

　　For several days in a row, Wan Ling was finally able to show off her cooking skills that she had been holding back for so long.

　　In the morning, she would make something light and soft, such as Chongyang Cake and Shepherd's Purse Wontons, just to make one feel good after eating one.

　　At noon, one should have some delicious food, such as lamb, white meat pancakes, and scallion-fried rabbit, with steamed buns or noodles. Your mouth will be filled with oil and the aftertaste will be endless.

　　At night, the meals were not as grand as those during the day. They were more exquisite. Wan Ling could make tea and snacks in hundreds of different ways. The freshly made milk with cassava balls became popular throughout the prime minister's residence.

　　After this series of events, the kitchen became a place where everyone stopped. Just by smelling the tempting aroma, they knew that Wan Ling was making new food again.

　　Wan Ling's relationship with her colleagues finally eased a lot. She would make extra food on weekdays just to share with everyone.

　　Everyone pays attention to her, except for Miss Yue Ming, who has always disliked her.

　　"Miss Wan Ling, is lunch ready?"

　　Nanny Wang was already familiar with the place and stood on tiptoe to look into the food box next to Wan Ling.

　　Looking forward to the food Wan Ling cooks every day has become a great pleasure for her and the old lady.

　　"It's ready, Ma'am, take it away. The old lady has had a good appetite recently, so I made Dongpo pork. I wonder if it will suit her taste."

　　Nanny Wang looked at her with a strange expression: "The young lady made this, so of course it will taste good. As long as it tastes good, it will suit the old lady's taste."

　　Nanny Wang took the food box but didn't leave.

　　"The old lady said that the girl is a steady person and she wants to meet her."

　　Wan Ling was stunned.

　　Then react.

　　It's time for a promotion and a raise!

　　*****

　　Wan Ling kept her head down along the way, not daring to make any mistakes in the rules. When she came to a plaque with the name "Jingming Hall", she looked carefully to see if there was anything wrong with her body.

　　The first skill for a lackey in the workplace is not to leave a bad impression on your boss.

　　"Girl, come inside."

　　Wan Ling was led by Nanny Wang and knelt down as soon as she entered, without even looking at her boss.

　　"Madam, the people are brought to you, and lunch is also here."

　　Wan Ling just looked at the ground and was surprised to find that the carpets on the floor of this old lady's room were so luxurious and had lifelike embroidery.

　　The old lady didn't rush her to get up. Wan Ling only heard a majestic and noble voice from above: "Open it and take a look."

　　Nanny Wang opened the food box and took out the dishes one by one. The fragrant aroma immediately spread everywhere.

　　"Yeah, not bad."

　　The old lady then turned her gaze to Wan Ling, who was kneeling on the ground.

　　"Get up."

　　Wan Ling still kept her head down, but this time she could catch a glimpse of the old lady from the corner of her eye.

　　Her whole body is covered with jewels, her feet are stepping on auspicious clouds with three-dimensional weaving, the silk is shimmering, and her skirt is pleated with heavy dark patterns, which is elegant and luxurious.

　　In the huge prime minister's mansion, besides the prime minister, the old lady is the most important person in the mansion.

　　The old lady is the legitimate daughter of the Duke's Mansion. She was carefully raised by the late Empress Dowager when she was young. After she came of age and got married, she raised her children carefully and took care of all the major and minor affairs of the family. She is a person who has seen storms and can withstand great situations.

　　She is of noble status and everyone respects her.

　　The old man died early and gave birth to only one son, who was the father of the prime minister. Unfortunately, perhaps it was the fault of the gods, but the old lady's only son contracted malaria in his prime and passed away. His daughter-in-law was too sad that she suffered a heart attack during the funeral and died along with her husband.

　　The originally complete family was now scattered, with only the Prime Minister's legitimate son and his younger sister left. The rest was only the illegitimate son born to the concubine, who was only seven or eight years old.

　　The old lady endured the grief of sending her young son to his grave and raised her grandson up to be a good and upright person. Now, at the age of thirty, he has entered the cabinet and been appointed as prime minister, the first person in the Six Dynasties.

　　Wan Ling learned all these things from listening to the maids' conversations. She understood how difficult it was for a woman to live alone, to grit her teeth and move forward in this era of male dominance, and to support a large family. Therefore, she admired the old lady even more.

　　"When did you enter the Prime Minister's Residence?"

　　Wan Ling didn't dare to look around and answered honestly: "I was bought into the mansion when I was thirteen years old, and now I am sixteen."

　　The old lady was slightly startled and looked at Wan Ling's face with some surprise.

　　"You are only sixteen? And you have such cooking skills?"

　　Wan Ling once again used the same rhetoric she had used to fool Nanny Wang: "My ancestors were all cooks. When my family was still strong, I learned a lot from the recipes passed down by my ancestors..."

　　She was sold by human traffickers, so there is no clear record of her origin. If you really want to check, you can just say that she just learned cooking according to her ancestral recipes.

　　The old lady nodded in understanding, covered her face to smell the tea, and took a sip of Wolong Mountain tea.

　　Just as Wan Ling breathed a sigh of relief and her tense shoulders were about to relax, the old lady suddenly said, "I heard that you often go to your lover's room and play and laugh with them when you are in the mansion?"

　　The old lady's voice was neither salty nor bland, and her tone was just like she was talking to Wan Ling about the weather today, as if she didn't care. But it made Wan Ling feel a chill creeping up her spine.

　　All evil deeds must be paid for.

　　Wan Ling figured that since the old lady had already found out about all this, any further explanation she gave would only make things more obvious, and might even appear clumsy.

　　So she bent her knees and knelt down on the ground.

　　"All the things I did in the past that went against the rules were because I was obsessed with the devil and thought that if I just made friends with people, I could live a better life..."

　　The old lady frowned: "From what you said, is someone trying to embarrass you?"

　　Wan Ling continued to speak earnestly, "I am not liked by others, and I can't blame others for being excluded. It was because I was too stupid at the beginning that I thought that relying on some unclear love could help me vent my anger and not be so isolated and helpless in the mansion."

　　The old lady sneered: "You are willing to tell the truth."

　　Wan Ling's head was almost sinking into the ground.

　　When the old lady saw her slender neck exposed, she realized that the little girl was very thin and still looked like a little girl. She also thought that Wan Ling was still young and there was no one to persuade and guide her. It was possible that she would go astray.

　　"I have now decided to reflect on my past mistakes. After a serious illness, I have realized many of my past mistakes and have stopped having many inappropriate thoughts. If you don't believe me, please give me some more time and let me prove it to you!"

　　The old lady and Nanny Wang exchanged glances and both understood.

　　"Okay, get up. I'm not unreasonable. You've been staying in the small kitchen all these days. Nanny Wang told me about it."

　　Wan Ling felt relieved, and most of her back was wet.

　　Although she is a modern person, she also knows that in the feudal dynasty, there is never an equal relationship between masters and servants. After all, if the master gets angry, they can beat the servant to pieces with just one word, or even sell them to those dirty places.

　　Although Wan Ling has a great dream of getting promoted, she is still afraid deep down.

　　The old lady stopped advising her and just picked up the bowl and chopsticks to taste the dishes she had cooked today.

　　This time, Wan Ling finally put into practice what Nanny Wang said: "The old lady is very satisfied."

　　With every bite, even the fine lines at the corners of her eyes seem to be moistened with a smile.

　　Finally, the old lady took a sip of tea, gently pressed the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief, and when she looked up at her, her eyes were much softer.

　　"Huai'er's birthday is in a few days, and I want you to host the banquet."

　　Wan Ling's eyes widened.

　　Huai'er...

　　Could it be the prime minister, Pei Huai, that Yue Ming has been thinking about day and night?