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

The ingredients prepared for today's lunch were all delivered by the food delivery guy in the morning.

We have to eat these two big blue carps today. If we don’t eat them and they die, their taste will be greatly reduced.

Cheng Yu then made sweet and sour green fish.

Keep the remaining one first. If it dies, it cannot be fed to the master. If it is not dead, it can be served on the table tomorrow.

Today there is fresh mutton, so Cheng Yu made steamed mutton. He focused on keeping it light and added some secret ingredients to the dish.

Mrs. Li and Mrs. Wang also arrived when it was time to prepare lunch.

Mother Wang knew that the mistress now only ate the food prepared by Cheng Yu, so she was too lazy to care and had some free time.

Madam Li was not idle, she was staring at what was happening.

"I'm a little rash, and I need to be calm. I'll talk to my wife about this in a few days, and you can learn from me how to cook a few dishes that my wife likes."

Cheng Yu paused and served out the cooked braised pork. The braised pork was cut into square cubes, with alternating fat and lean meat, and fried to just the right color. The braised pork looked red and oily and fragrant.

Use emerald green cabbage leaves as the base, put six pieces of braised pork on it, and then pour a spoonful of soup on it, which will whet your appetite.

When Mother Wang saw this, she thought to herself that the meat was stewed to just the right temperature.

It’s both fried and stewed, how can the taste be bad?

There are still a few pieces left in the pot. The mistress can't finish them, so the rest are still a bargain for her. She will eat the braised pork with a bowl of rice later, which will definitely be so delicious that it will make people's mouths water.

The lunch prepared by Cheng Yu has been served.

Sweet and sour green fish cubes, steamed lamb, four-happiness meatballs made by Mrs. Li, braised pork, vinegar-stirred cabbage, and shredded bamboo shoots mixed with red oil.

The cabbage cooked in vinegar is actually cabbage.

Zhao Rulan prefers to eat this, but she eats very little each time.

The red oil bamboo shoots have a bit of spicy taste and it is one of the rare dishes with spicy taste.

In addition, Cheng Yu also prepared sweet-scented osmanthus yam.

This dish is more like a dessert than a dish. The cooked yam is cut into strips and topped with a topping made of osmanthus and honey. It is sweet and refreshing.

I also encountered pagoda spinach.

The spinach in this season is just right, with a hint of sweetness, making it perfect for cold dishes.

Wash and cut the cabbage, then blanch it in boiling water. Chop almonds, pine nuts and walnuts, stir-fry them, then put them together with the blanched spinach and mix them into a cold dish.

Add salt and other seasonings.

Finally, add sesame oil to increase the aroma, shape it into a pagoda and place it on a plate.

The shape is nice and the taste is light and delicious.

Only after preparing lunch for the mistress did Cheng Yu have time to talk to Madam Li.

Madam Li asked her to sit down, and before Cheng Yu asked, she spoke first.

"My health is getting worse and worse. I'm always sick. My wife sees that I'm an old man and doesn't want to drive me away, but I can't stay here forever. My wrists are not strong enough, so I can't cook anymore."

Cheng Yu looked at Madam Li in disbelief.

"How could that be? You are the chief steward of the small kitchen. You..."

The cooks in charge only cook a few of their signature dishes. They are only responsible for cooking, and even the side dishes are prepared by their subordinates.

"Do you think I became a steward right after I came in? I worked my way up step by step, especially in the palace. Not many people can make it."

Madam Li glanced at Cheng Yu.

"It may not be a bad idea for you to stay in the kitchen from now on."

Cheng Yu's appearance is too outstanding. Even though she is wearing gray clothes and dressed ordinary, it still can't hide her bright and beautiful face.

Working in the kitchen keeps one away from the disputes in the inner house, especially for someone as beautiful as Cheng Yu.

If you serve the mistress, it will be hard not to be noticed by the master.

For a woman like Cheng Yu who is beautiful, can cook and is very smart, to become someone's concubine would be a waste of herself.

Cheng Yu followed Madam Li's words and said, "I think so too. Even if I am promoted to a second-class maid, I want to work in the small kitchen. Now I cook for the mistress, and when the mistress gives birth, I will cook for the young master."

Seeing Cheng Yu's silly words, Madam Li rarely smiled.

"That's what I say, but sometimes I can't help myself."

"Don't worry, I told the lady that I will never be a concubine in my lifetime. That's why I got my forehead injured before."

Previously, Cheng Yu hit her head against the wall in order to prove that she was unwilling to be the Second Master's concubine.

But only a few people around the eldest lady knew about this matter. The people in the small kitchen and even the other people in Lan Garden did not know about it.

It was simply told to outsiders that Cheng Yu accidentally fell while walking, and the lady took pity on the servant and gave her three days to rest.

After hearing this, Madam Li liked Cheng Yu even more.

There are a few women in the orchid garden who do not want to be the Second Master's concubine. The Second Master is an official, a third place winner in the imperial examination. Needless to say, he is good-looking. He is tall and slender, graceful, fair-faced, scholarly, elegant, and gentle to others.

The fact that Cheng Yu could bang her head against the wall to express her unwillingness to be the Second Master's concubine shows that she really doesn't want to be a concubine.

"Mother Li, don't worry, I won't become anyone's concubine."

"As for me, I just hope that if I'm lucky in the future, I can get free and live a free life outside."

Madam Li didn't say anything else. She knew that Cheng Yu was a girl with her own ideas in mind, so she didn't need to say anything extra.

Cheng Yu asked Madam Li where she felt uncomfortable, and she said it was her wrist that hurt.

It was painful before, because the mistress had a poor appetite and she had to cook by herself, without any time to rest.

It was only after Cheng Yu came to cook that Madam Li had a chance to rest for a while.

Her wrist doesn't hurt when she's resting, but when she's cooking, especially doing some heavy work like chopping meat or making meatballs, her wrist hurts a lot.

She was afraid that she would not be able to cook in the future and become a useless person.

Now the eldest lady eats the food she cooks and knows that she is Madam Li.

When she really can't cook and is sent to the farm in the future, she will soon become the mother Li who used to cook in the small kitchen.

Mrs. Li's situation was not good.

Cheng Yu looked at her and thought about himself.

If she really cannot redeem herself in the future and can only be a maid in a large mansion, she still has to find a good man to marry.

At least when we get old, we can support each other.

As for having children, she felt that if they could not be given freedom, it would be better not to have children, but men might not be willing to marry a woman who did not have children.

After thinking about it, Cheng Yu came to a conclusion.

That means it's useless to rely on anyone.

It’s better to eat, drink and enjoy life while you are young.

Zhao Rulan ate a lot for lunch. She ate two pieces of fish, a lot of spinach, a few pieces of mutton, and half a four-happiness meatball.

The food Zhao Rulan eats comes in many varieties, but the portions are relatively small, and all are prepared according to one person.

That's it, there's still a lot left.

But there would be no waste. For example, the maids who served Zhao Rulan received the leftover food from their masters.