Fierce Consort

Chapter 72

Yan Mo nodded like a little adult.

*
Lunch was extremely sumptuous.

The manor didn't lack for anything and was also self-sufficient. Along with Manager Qiao's experience, they were able to cultivate quite a lot of vegetables using the underground hotsprings. Apart from sending some to the estate normally, they would sell them for a high price. Since the madam, miss and young master had come, the food naturally went to them first.

The vegetables were all just harvested and were very fresh and tender. Yan Yan normally ate a lot of meat and less vegetables, but today she also grabbed quite a few chopsticks' full. There was a pot of chicken stewed with yam. The chicken was stewed until tender and the yams were extremely soft. It was extremely fragrant and juicy. Yan Mo actually ate half a bowl of rice more than he usually did.
Shen Yi Yao who rarely smiled these days also revealed a hint of happiness at this time.

Seeing the madam's delight, Cui Qiao hurriedly went along with it and said they had to properly give compliments to the chef. After calling Qiao Rong's wife over and asking, they found out it was one of the grannies who cooked at the manor.

Shen Yi Yao's group had just arrived and there were many things that needed to be arranged. They had also brought their own cook. It was the one working in the Ningxiang Chambers' little kitchen. However, they hadn't gotten settled in yet. Qiao Rong's wife saw that it wasn't early anymore and knew the masters needed to eat lunch. She had asked that granny to make a meal first. She was initially afraid the masters would feel it wasn't exquisite enough, but they were unexpectedly pleased with it.

The food's appearance truly wasn't very exquisite. It wasn't like the meals of a wealthy household, which had all sorts of fancy appearances. Even eating a carrot required it to be carved into the shape of a flower. But this meal used fresh vegetables and natural flavors, allowing these people who were used to eating exquisite flavors to suddenly experience something more rural. It was rather novel.

Cui Qiao made a trip to the kitchen and bestowed a silver ingot to that granny. The cook's eyes squinted from happiness.
*

Since there were hotsprings, there would definitely be pools for them to soak in.

After the hotsprings were discovered, hotspring baths became all the rage. The wealthy households in the capital all rushed to construct manors for such a purpose. The benefits of soaking in hotsprings had been more or less discovered and everyone knew it was good for the health.

The Jinhua Hall, Guiyan Chambers and Lincang Residence each had its own pool. Apart from the health benefits, it was also fun to soak in a hotspring. Otherwise, why would the wealthy households construct these manors if they could just soak in hot water back home? The three pools were rather uniquely constructed. Half of it was indoors and half of it was open-air. The open-air area was covered by artificial mountains and rocks, and used colorful pebbles as tiling.

It was said that soaking in the middle of winter, where it would be cold outside and warm inside, was a very special feeling.

Mei Xue had long since been impatient. The Guiyan Chambers also had a pool in the auxiliary courtyard for the maids. Although it wasn't as exquisite as the masters', and was even a little crude, it was still a hotspring. Many people hadn't even seen them before, let alone soak in it. After hearing that it was for them to use, the few lasses were all overjoyed. Mei Xue was lively in nature and Yan Yan also usually indulged her. She thus kept pestering Yan Yan with her eyes.

Yan Yan was extremely speechless. Matron Zou smiled and said they could take turns in going so the masters wouldn't lack people. Therefore, after a round of chattering, they started going in groups.
Since they were separated by only one wall, the large movements aroused the Lingcang Residence's attention. When they heard about the hotspring, the Lincang Residence's maids also planned on going with Mei Xue's group. The Peaceful Garden wasn't like the marquis estate, and there weren't that many auxiliary residences for the maids to live in. The maids from all three residences lived together in a lateral courtyard. This was a good opportunity for them to improve their relationship.