I was a queen in ancient times, no, a maid!

Mother Wang came to check at noon, and when she saw there was nothing she could do, she left.

Since Mother Wang was not around, Cheng Yu focused on preparing lunch for Zhao Rulan, and she didn't have to listen to her nagging.

Mother Wang has an unpleasant habit, which is that when others are doing something, she likes to nag in front of them.

Especially when she saw Cheng Yu cooking some fresh food that she had never eaten or seen before.

I don't want to learn, I just want to ask, can you do this? What if the mistress doesn't like it, you put too little salt, the taste is not good enough, etc., it's very annoying.

When she was not around, Cheng Yu was happy and quiet.

Although Madam Li did not help, she watched from the front and directed Taozi to do something, and Zhuer just helped to peel garlic and chop onions.

Cheng Yu is going to make sweet and sour spare ribs today. First, cut the ribs into even-sized pieces.

Because Zhao Rulan was pregnant, he didn't dare to add rice wine. Especially since Zhao Rulan had to protect the fetus as soon as she became pregnant, Cheng Yu was even more cautious in cooking.

The sweet and sour spare ribs were prepared first, while Cheng Yu started slaughtering the baby pigeons.

These pigeons are raised in cages. What matters is their freshness. Today we will have some nourishing pigeon soup.

Pickled fish is also being prepared.

Zhao Rulan ate lunch alone, so the food didn't need to be too much, just two meat dishes, two vegetable dishes, a soup and a dessert.

The pastries that Zhao Rulan eats are all from Daohua Village, a time-honored brand in Kyoto City. The pastries from Daohua Village are a bit expensive, but they are delicious.

For example, four pieces of fruit would only cost four yuan per box, but this box would cost one or two taels of silver.

A maid working for Zhao Rulan was paid only two taels of silver a month.

One or two taels of silver is considered a lot for a second-class maid.

Maids of lower status could get a few strings of cash, while for Wang Mama's grandchildren, if they worked in the courtyard, it would be considered very good if they were given a few dozen coins a month.

But there are cheaper cakes too.

But Zhao Rulan was used to eating delicious and expensive food, and she really couldn't get used to the cheap ones.

There is an old saying that it is easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. This is exactly what it means.

At lunch time, Cheng Yu prepared meal for Zhao Rulan.

She personally brought the food to Zhao Rulan. Just as she put it down, she heard footsteps outside the door.

Xianglian came to tell him that the Second Master had returned and would have lunch at Lanyuan.

Ding Xiang hurriedly said, "Madam, I will prepare bowls and chopsticks for the Second Master. It looks like there is a lot of food, so it should be enough for him to eat."

"Otherwise, let Yu'er go and look after the ingredients and prepare two more dishes."

Zhao Rulan said: "No need, these are enough, I don't eat much."

Zhao Rulan was still a little happy that Lu Zhaowen came.

After all, he was the young man she liked, and he was a top scholar in the imperial examination. No matter in terms of appearance or imperial examination performance, he was considered an outstanding person.

Maybe the person you see at first sight is an extremely outstanding person, but the person you see later may not be pleasing to your eye.

This is what Lu Zhaowen means to Zhao Rulan.

Lu Zhaowen is outstanding in both appearance and figure.

Otherwise, would she, a legitimate daughter of a royal family, be willing to marry into the Lu family?

When Lu Zhaowen came, he also brought a gift for Zhao Rulan. Looking at the outside of the box, she thought it was a very valuable gift.

Moreover, the box is engraved with the name of Fenghuangxuan, a famous jewelry shop in the capital.

The jewelry from Fenghuangxuan is famous for being expensive. The finest of the jewelry, even the simplest and most ordinary hairpin, costs three to five taels.

Not to mention other slightly more expensive items, the prices will naturally be higher.

Seeing the jewelry box in Fenghuangxuan, the maids in the room were very happy.

Thinking that the Second Master cares about their wives, the jewelry from Fenghuangxuan is not only expensive, but also time-consuming and requires queuing to buy.

"Thank you for your hard work, Madam. I am really sorry for the trouble you have put into the pregnancy and the fetus."

Zhao Rulan had a slight smile on her face. She was not short of money, nor was she short of jewelry.

But this jewelry was Lu Zhaowen's gift to her, and she was happy to receive something bought by her husband.

"Second Master really took the trouble."

"I don't care about anything I give you. Please don't doubt my sincerity."

Zhao Rulan smiled and said, "I can see what Second Master is thinking."

"But have you had lunch? I just prepared lunch in this small kitchen, but I haven't eaten it yet."

The food was served. Zhao Rulan smelled the pickled fish and felt hungry. She wanted to eat it. And the sour and sweet taste made her still have an appetite.

Lu Zhaowen's arrival really delayed her meal.

Lu Zhaowen said that he had not eaten yet and just came to have dinner with his wife during dinner time.

Zhao Rulan was in a good mood after hearing this.

During the meal, Lu Zhaowen showed great consideration for his husband, picking up food for his wife and picking fish bones for her, showing extreme tenderness.

Zhao Rulan ate a lot and the taste was surprisingly to her liking.

She called Ziwei to come over.

"I have some gold leaves in my jewelry box. Go and pinch some for Yu'er."

Zhao Rulan had a box full of gold leaves, which she used to reward her servants.

Of course, it is only given to some people who are favored by her.

Even during the Chinese New Year, Zhao Rulan never gave anything to Dingxiang and Ziwei.

Ziwei is someone who understands her master's words. Generally, the number of words she says cannot exceed five.

Ziwei chose the one in the middle and took a plain brocade handkerchief to wrap three gold leaves.

Cheng Yu thought that even if Zhao Rulan liked to give him rewards, giving him some silver would be great, but he didn't expect to get gold.

Ziwei gave the handkerchief with gold leaves to Cheng Yu.

"Take it. It's a gift from the mistress. You are so lucky."

Cheng Yu frowned. Ziwei was someone she couldn't afford to offend.

No matter what, Ziwei is now a maidservant in front of her ladyship. Even if she makes a mistake, Zhao Rulan will generally not touch her unless it is a small mistake of deliberate disloyalty.

Before Cheng Yu could speak, Dingxiang came out, looked at Ziwei and said something.

"Don't worry about it. If it weren't for Yu'er's meal that made my wife happy, you think you could have avoided this punishment."

Ziwei feels guilty, but she is not a bad person.

If she was a bad person, she wouldn't have stayed with Zhao Rulan for so long.

"Lilac, please give me some face. I didn't say anything."

"When has our first-class maid ever been rewarded with three taels of gold? I just feel that the lady likes Yu'er too much."

"If someone likes you, it's because they do good things. If you want your wife to like you, you should do your best too."

Dingxiang gave Ziwei a blank look and pulled Cheng Yu away.

The lady and the second master were eating in the house, with Xiangling and Xianglian serving them.

Dingxiang came out to take a look, and just happened to hear Ziwei saying those jealous and sour words about Cheng Yu.

After Ziwei left, Dingxiang looked at Cheng Yu and said, "She didn't have any bad intentions. She just felt uncomfortable seeing you suddenly gain favor."

"Sister Dingxiang, you can take one of these gold leaves as well."

Ding Xiang's face immediately turned cold, and she said, "Who do you think I am? This is a reward from my wife. Even if others are jealous, they can't say anything. Just keep it."