Chapter 84: A Couple’s Small Banquet

Granny Zhao kept urging, but Shen Shi deliberately delayed.

She slowly walked into the dressing room, changed into a fresh set of clothes, and re-tied her hair.

Inside, she wore a red silk peony wrap, over which she donned a cicada-wing gauze jacket with a front opening, and beneath it, a lotus-thread embroidered Xiangxiu silk skirt.

On her head, she wore a Golden Silk Chignon, adorned with a gold-inlaid jade “Full Pond Beauty” hairpin, kingfisher-feathered hairpins to secure her temple hair, and sprigs of daphne flowers.

She then powdered her face and applied rouge, dressing up like the Goddess of Mercy.

Pear Moon was still chatting idly when she suddenly felt a tug from behind.

Turning around, she saw it was Granny Fan, who dragged her away and urged her to quickly think of a few new dishes.

“The Duke hasn’t entered the chamber for months. She’s been waiting for him like waiting for stars and the moon, and now she’s finally managed to get him here. If the evening meal isn’t done well, I’m afraid I’ll be skinned alive! At the very least, we need eight plates and eight bowls—anything less won’t do!”

Seeing Granny Fan flailing her arms in panic, Pear Moon quickly shook her head.

“Granny Fan, you’re really confused! If the mistress hears such talk, you’ll be in for a punishment worse than death. Although the mistress may be hoping for it in her heart, we must never speak of it. Whoever dares to point it out will surely face beatings and penalties. Do you believe me, old granny? If the Duke doesn’t leave, the mistress might even say something sarcastic to drive him away!”

These words jolted Granny Fan awake.

“That makes sense. It’s the young ones who have the sharpest minds. No wonder Granny Zhao came over earlier and deliberately instructed that the evening meal need not be too extravagant, just adding one or two dishes would suffice. I thought she was being sarcastic!”

Pear Moon finally smiled. “If it were up to me, Granny Fan, you should prepare as usual: three meat dishes, three vegetable dishes, two soups, and two desserts. Since it’s hot today, you could add a refreshing drink and some chilled wine. The dining table shouldn’t be too extravagant—this way, the mistress saves face, and it shows you’ve served with care.”

Granny Fan agreed wholeheartedly. “Yes, yes, let’s do as you say!”

Since there wouldn’t be many dishes on the table, each one needed to be prepared meticulously.

Pear Moon helped her finalize the menu, selecting all of Granny Fan’s signature dishes.

The meat dishes were Lychee Kidney, Lamb Tongue Skewers, and Pickled Quail.

The vegetable dishes were Vegetarian Steamed Duck, Stir-fried Yellow Sprouts, and Mixed Greens with Mushrooms.

The two soups were one meat-based and one vegetarian: Jade Cicada Soup made from thinly sliced perch, and Snow Glow Soup made from lotus tofu.

The seasonal desserts were Five-Spice Cake and Camel Hump Dumplings.

Once the dishes were decided, everyone set to work—killing chickens, cleaning fish, chopping vegetables, and tending to the fire. The kitchen became as hot as a steamer.

The kitchen in the summer heat was the most grueling place, with everyone sweating profusely from the busy work.

To be a cook, one had to endure such hardships.

In the coldest days of winter, one’s hands had to plunge into icy water.

In the hottest days of summer, one had to endure the smoke and flames of the stove.

Pear Moon had dared to climb onto the stove on a high stool since she was six years old. She knew the hardships well and paid them no mind.

She rolled up her sleeves high and always charged ahead.

Soon, all the dishes were ready, packed into four gilded food boxes, and the serving maids arrived.

Hearing that the Duke was coming for the evening meal, even the serving maids dressed in new clothes and shoes, adorned with flowers and powdered faces.

Compared to these elegantly dressed, pretty maids in silk and gauze skirts, Pear Moon, fresh from the kitchen, looked like a little mudfish just out of water.

She stood in the courtyard with her hands on her hips, catching the breeze.

Her stray hairs clung to her forehead, and her bamboo-cloth shirt and trousers were soaked with sweat.

Just then, a tall and graceful figure appeared at the entrance of Phoenix Ripple Courtyard.

Ning Yuanjun had removed his official robe and was wearing a fine silk gown, tied at the waist with a multicolored silk sash.

He walked with the grace of a jade tree in the wind, stepped over the threshold, and headed straight for the Main Chamber.

Shen Shi, accompanied by her maids, stood under the corridor to greet him, curtsying respectfully.

First, she served a cup of chilled spleen-soothing drink to relieve the summer heat and quench thirst, then welcomed her husband into the room.

The young couple dined in the side hall, while Ershun, the attendant who had followed them, ran to the kitchen courtyard to ask for a drink.

“Sister Xiao Yue, could you spare me a bowl of cold water? I’m both thirsty and hungry!”

How could Pear Moon simply give him cold water? She quickly chilled the leftover honey-preserved plum soup with well water and gave him two bowls.

After finishing the masters’ dinner preparations, the stove was now being used to cook the servants’ meal.

Granny Fan fried a large basin of pork sauce using minced meat, bean paste, minced ginger, pepper, and other spices.

Pear Moon stretched noodles by the hot soup pot, making chilled noodles with well water.

Soon, the cold noodles were served on the table. Everyone picked up their chopsticks to scoop the noodles, adding meat sauce and garlic juice to mix and eat.

In the center of the long table were a dozen or so fresh, crisp cucumbers, crisp and sweet to chew.

Ershun didn’t stand on ceremony either. He scooped a large bowl of noodles, ladled extra meat sauce and garlic juice, stirred it haphazardly with his chopsticks, and devoured it like a whirlwind.

While others hadn’t even finished one or two bowls, he alone ate half a bucket of noodles.

Since Ershun was the Duke’s attendant, who would dare mock him?

Seeing that he enjoyed the food, Pear Moon hurried over with an apologetic smile.

“Brother Ershun, eat as much as you like. There’s plenty more noodles.”

Ershun swallowed what was in his mouth, finally feeling a bit embarrassed.

“The noodles are stretched well, chewy and even. I wasn’t even hungry to begin with. If I were hungry, I could easily eat two more bowls!”

Seeing Granny Fan and others laughing beside him, he finally put down his bowl and stood up, asking Pear Moon for some pickled sour plums.

“I’m afraid my mouth will smell after eating garlic. Could I have a couple of dried plums to mask the odor?”

Pear Moon handed him a few honey-preserved plums. Ershun chewed on them as he went to the courtyard to cool off.

In the room, Ning Yuanjun and Shen Shi had also finished their dinner. The maids cleared the dining table and served tea and drinks.

Pear Moon then carried a wooden basin to the well platform to wash pots and bowls.

Ershun, bored out of his wits, came over to chat idly.

As they chatted aimlessly, Pear Moon mentioned that she intended to go to the main kitchen to choose an apprenticeship.

Ershun quickly smiled and said, “You’re skilled and good-looking. Why not follow Madam Jin to serve in the second household? In a few years, you could become Third Miss Ning’s dowry maid and enjoy a life of luxury in the prince’s mansion!”

Pear Moon frowned and said, “My own wish is to become Granny Qin’s apprentice.”

Ershun waved his hands dismissively, his face full of disdain. “Being Granny Qin’s apprentice, at best, you’ll become a head cook. Or when you’re older and leave, you’ll still have to rely on your skills to make a living. Don’t you know? Even Granny Qin’s own granddaughter wants to be Madam Jin’s apprentice, not Granny Qin’s.”

“Really?” Pear Moon scoffed.

Granny Qin’s granddaughter, Lianrong, was only eleven this year and quite skilled in the kitchen.

Why would this girl not learn cooking from her own grandmother but instead follow someone else?

If Madam Jin were more skilled than Granny Qin, that would be one thing, but she was far inferior.

Wasn’t this abandoning the near for the distant, forsaking the superior for the inferior?

“This silly girl doesn’t understand what people mean. Don’t you know Third Miss Ning is about to be engaged to the Fifth Prince? It’s almost certain. If she can marry into the royal family with Third Miss Ning, her future will be bright. Who can predict the fortunes tied to a woman’s skirts? All the maids in our household are scrambling to get into the second household.”

Pear Moon understood the meaning behind his words but felt nothing but disdain in her heart.

Becoming Third Miss Ning’s dowry maid and going to the prince’s mansion or the Crown Prince’s Eastern Palace—how was that a bright future?

Without looking far, just consider Shen Shi’s dowry maids. Which of them had a good future?

The royal family was not like ordinary official households. Its rituals and rules were strict and terrifying, a place that devoured people without spitting out their bones.

“I’m not going. I’m perfectly content being the head cook!”

Pear Moon cheerfully tossed out the dishwater and carried the clean plates and bowls back to the kitchen.

As dusk fell and the summer heat dissipated, a crescent moon rose in the sky.

Inside the Main Chamber, lamps and candles were lit, and lanterns were hung along the corridor.

Seeing that Ning Yuanjun showed no sign of leaving, Er Shun guessed he intended to stay the night. Since the servants all lived outside the second gate, he worried the gate would be closed and he wouldn’t be able to leave, so he hurriedly dashed out.

“I have to go now, I’ll bring the official robes tomorrow morning!”

Pear Moon picked up a horn lantern to see him off, only to run into a crowd of maids and matrons.

Miss Ning hurried ahead, while Miaotong and Miaoyun supported Miss Tan as they stumbled through the courtyard gate.

“Xiao Yue? Hurry inside and call my brother out!”