Chapter 212 (Part 2): Opening Move
Translated by Gumihou
Please read this at kitchennovel dot com
“Liang Shou, master is moon gazing in the garden. You go and bring a few plates of snacks and side dishes, as well as two jars of chilled Shaoxing Wine over.” Mrs. Liu yelled as she rushed into the kitchen.
Duan Tingxuan, who had been assisting Su Nuan Nuan in her cooking said suspiciously, “Why did master want that for? Ever since the previous master left, he’d been pretty unhappy. His appetite was not good during dinner either. Why did he suddenly want to drink wine and eat snacks?”
“What are you busy bodying over what the master is thinking? Just do as you’re told. Here, I’ll prepare the things for you.” Su Nuan Nuan worked nimbly, getting everyone scrambling to get a Moon Gazing Wine and Snacks set together.
In a large food box, there were rice dumplings with four different types of filling, a plate of Smashed Cucumber Salad with Peanut Sauce, a plate of Jelly Fish Salad, and a plate of Salt Boiled Peanuts. There were also four other kinds of sweet snacks: Walnut Cakes, Peach & Nuts Pastries, Hand-Formed Dough Twist and Fried Pastry Triangle Stuffed with Sugar and Groundnuts. Finally, a bowl of colourful Smoothie rounded off the set.
Duan Tingxuan gave Su Nuan Nuan a look, a reminder to be careful, before carting the large food box out to the garden. Sure enough, there was Lu Feng Yu, seated upon a stone bench, reciting something with a wine cup held up to the moon. Duan Tingxuan managed to catch random phrases such as
‘
Regret stole upon Chang’e
For having stolen the Pill of Immortality
Loneliness of a faithful widow
Shadows her nightly
‘
“Master, the snacks are here. This lowly one thinks that it’s not good to think that way about Chang’e [1]. Even if Ms. Chang’e hadn’t stolen the pill, it would not have reached master’s hand anyway. After all, it’s not like that guy, Houyi is someone easy to bully. He’s the man who shot down nine suns after all. As ordinary folks, we’ll die just from being hit by a stone. Anyway, anyway, it’s better to just drink good wine with some of these excellent snacks. I’m sure this would please master better.” As Duan Tingxuan spoke, he quickly lifted out the plates of snacks and side dishes from the food box, arranging them on the stone table before Lu Feng Yu.
Lu Feng Yu laughed, “Your quick wit is wasted as a servant. If you are to achieve greatness one day, just the thought that you have once served me so eagerly like this would amuse me like nothing else.”
Duan Tingxuan cursed this fiend silently in his heart, but his mouth continue to spew flattery, “Master likes to joke, if this one could achieve greatness, surely it would have happened by now?”
“That’s not necessarily true.” Lu Feng Yu shook his head as he chuckled lightly. Once Duan Tingxuan had served everything, he gestured at the stone bench opposite him, saying gently, “Sit down, chat with this master for a bit.”
“Master this… this is… that is, if master eats while I just watch, isn’t it too miserable?” Duan Tingxuan grinned ingratiatingly. “It’s better that this one goes back, ba. Otherwise, that tigress at home would never believe that master is the one who held me back. If she thinks that I’ve been messing about with the maids around here, I’d be in serious trouble.”
“I told you to sit, so sit. What’s with all that nonsense?” Lu Feng Yu chided, leaving Duan Tingxuan with no choice, but to sit himself gingerly on the other bench.
Quietly, he grumbled, “Just what’s with his mood today? Was he trying to ‘Lure the Tiger from its Mountain’ and do something to Su Nuan Nuan? Luckily we’ve just managed get Matron Zheng hired as a kitchen hand. Even if something were to happen, we’d at least have another card to play.”
Matron Zheng was one of Su Dong Lou’s trusted agent. Before this, she had been entrusted with a mission to gather information at the Cold North. However, because Lu Feng Yu was getting antsier, Su Dong Lou called her back and made use of the opportunity to insert her into the kitchen to ‘investigate’ the couple. Her true job was to make contact with Duan Tingxuan and Su Nuan Nuan, and provide protection for the heir’s wife.
“Your wife’s skill is certainly rare. I often heard talk that the wife of the little marquis of the An Ping Estate was a heaven sent genius. In my opinion, though your wife did not know how to make that butter thing, in terms of cooking skills alone, she would not lose to that heir’s wife.”
Lu Feng Yu scooped up a little spoonful of the Smashed Cucumber & Peanut Sauce to his mouth and shook his head as he chewed. His admiration for Su Nuan Nuan’s skills was very clear. After swallowing his mouthful, he took a sip of wine before sighing comfortably. He nodded, and praised, “Very good, no wonder Ms. Wang insisted that this spice called chilli is a good thing. Sure enough, just a dash of chilli oil enhances this dish to greater heights.”
“Haih, my wife and I are common people. How would we dare compare ourselves to the noble heir and his wife?” Duan Tingxuan wrung his fingers as he laughed nervously at Lu Feng Yu’s compliment.
Lu Feng Yu said, “Well, what if your wife is given an opportunity to become the official wife of a marquis or a prince, would you allow her this opportunity to elevate her status?”
“Ah?” Duan Tingxuan blinked. With a bewildered expression, he said, “Master, what are you talking about? You should know my wife’s temper best. What marquis or prince would take her, ah? Hahaha, only a lowly person like me would match her. As long as our daily necessities are met, we’re happy.”
Author White Flower: Boss Lu is starting to move his chess pieces, how would the little marquis, Nuan Nuan and Dong Lou counterattack? Find out in the next chapter, and next, next, next chapters~
[Gumihou: Uwooh, plot thickens. Is this wife stealing? Is Lu Feng Yu really going to wife steal?]
[1] Change’e & Houyi – China’s Mid-Autumn Festival Origins. Houyi was a great archer was famous for shooting down suns with his arrow and was subsequently rewarded with a Pill of Immortality. His wife, Chang’e, accidentally found the pill and swallowed it, and ran away when she heard him coming back, afraid of his wrath…
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Translated by Gumihou from kitchennovel dot com.
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