After I traveled through the book, I fought back in the Hou Mansion

Luo Shuiyao raised her hand to stop Du Juan and Chun Xing who wanted to go forward, and signaled them to wait a while before going out.

It wasn't that Luo Shuiyao wanted to eavesdrop, but she didn't know who these people were talking about, whether they were talking about herself or the Marquis's wife. If she caught them face to face, everyone would be embarrassed. So she could only wait until they finished talking before leaving.

A short, plump old woman spoke first, her voice full of confusion: "Tell me, what exactly is Miss Lu's intention? She is a lady from a wealthy family, yet she insists on competing with us servants for work."

Another maid chimed in, "What's the point? They're definitely trying to compete with Miss Luo for favor." Then, she sighed softly, "Alas, we're truly pitiful, getting up early and working late every day to prepare meals, yet we receive nothing in return. I heard from Aunt Zhou, who works in the main hall, that the Madam praised Miss Lu this morning, saying she's hardworking and her cooking is delicious. With that praise, doesn't that mean we're not doing well?"

The person next to him echoed, "That's right! I felt so ashamed when I heard Mrs. Zhou say that. We, the maids in charge of the meals, are so useless that we can't even cook a meal that will satisfy the Madam and the Marquis. When I think of this, I feel so miserable."

"Hmm, maybe this is Miss Lu's true intention." The short, plump woman narrowed her eyes, her expression full of suspicion. "She's deliberately trying to steal our work, hoping to make us lose favor with the lady so that she can take all the benefits. Humph, she's really scheming."

Luo Shuiyao listened to their conversation from the side, and her thoughts followed their conversation.

She understood Lu Zhaozhao's desire to appear diligent and competent to please the Marquis' wife, but she was being overly diligent. Such behavior inevitably annoyed everyone. She only made one or two desserts each day, yet she took all the credit for the kitchen's hard work. How could that satisfy those who truly contributed to the success?

Luo Shuiyao thought so in her heart, but she just listened. Naturally, someone would help the heroine solve her difficulties. If she, a cannon fodder, wanted to join in the fun, she would be courting death.

The other woman's face lit up with resentment when she heard this: "That's right! She's relying on her status as a cousin to scheme against us. We can't just sit there and wait for death. We have to think of a way to deal with it."

At this point, the maids were talking more and more excitedly. A maid who had been silent nearby, hearing their increasingly outrageous talk, frowned and tried to persuade them, "Alright, alright, stop talking. We're just servants, how can we talk about our master like this? What if someone overheard us? Just put yourselves aside and get back to your own business."

When several people heard this, although they were unwilling, they also knew the consequences of talking about their master, so they stopped talking.

They slowly stood up and walked towards the kitchen. It was still early, breakfast had just finished and lunch was a little early, which was why they had a few moments to arrange the master's affairs. Now looking at the time, it was indeed time to prepare for lunch.

"Huh!" Dujuan and Chunxing breathed a sigh of relief after hearing the conversation between the old women finally end.

Luo Shuiyao turned around and saw the two girls looking relieved and their faces flushed. She immediately burst out laughing. These two little girls were so timid that they got so nervous when they heard people gossiping about them that they didn't even dare to breathe. How could this be so funny!

Du Juan noticed the teasing and mockery in her young lady's eyes, and immediately pouted, snorting in dissatisfaction: "Young lady, you are still laughing at us?" Chun Xing did not say anything, but raised her head and looked at Luo Shuiyao with the same accusing eyes.

Luo Shuiyao couldn't help laughing when she saw the accusing looks from the two little girls. She quickly stopped laughing after a "puff". "Okay, okay, we still have work to do."

She paused outside the kitchen for a moment to organize her thoughts, then slowly walked towards the kitchen with Chun Xing and Du Juan.

When they reached the kitchen door, Luo Shuiyao deliberately made some noise. Immediately, a maid came out to greet them. Seeing Luo Shuiyao, her face instantly lit up with a smile, and she quickly bowed, saying, "Greetings, Miss Luo." Upon hearing the noise, the other maids also put down their work, stepped forward, and saluted. Luo Shuiyao waved her hand slightly, indicating that they should stand up to speak.

The leading maid was the one who had stopped the other maids from speaking earlier. Luo Shuiyao guessed that she should be the kitchen manager, and the other maids seemed to obey her orders.

The old woman stepped forward and said respectfully, "I wonder what Miss Luo has come to the kitchen for today?" Luo Shuiyao pursed her lips slightly, revealing a shy smile, and said softly, "Madam, you are too polite. In fact, it's nothing serious. I just want to ask for a favor."

The maids exchanged glances. The short, plump one glanced at the leading maid, thinking to herself, "Just when I said a cousin was taking credit for breakfast, now someone's trying to take credit for lunch too." The leading maid, understanding her unspoken words, glared at her, signaling her to be more careful.

Luo Shuiyao could naturally see the exchange of glances between them, but she didn't care. Without waiting for the maid to ask, she pulled a piece of paper from her sleeve and handed it to Du Juan.

Du Juan took a step forward, took the paper with both hands, and handed it to the leading woman. The woman looked at Luo Shuiyao in confusion. Why would this Miss Luo give her a piece of paper? Was she asking her to poison someone? The woman's mind was full of random thoughts, but she had already taken the paper from Du Juan with both hands.

"This?" The old woman lowered her head and took a quick look, her mouth suddenly opening in surprise. She carefully examined the words on the paper, then looked up at Luo Shuiyao, her eyes filled with disbelief. "Miss Luo, what is this...?"

Luo Shuiyao met her gaze and nodded gently, "Yes, this is a dessert recipe."

Looking at the calm eyes of the cousin, the old woman tentatively asked, "Cousin, do you mean to give us this dessert recipe?" The old woman held the paper in her hand and asked in disbelief.

Seeing her genuine shock, Luo Shuiyao didn't keep her in suspense any longer. She smiled gently and said softly, "This is a snack recipe I brought from my hometown. A few days ago, I saw that my aunt liked to eat it, so I thought of copying it down and leaving it to you. You can have it whenever my aunt wants to eat it."

The old woman looked at her indifferent expression and felt her mouth a little dry. She pursed her lips unconsciously and didn't know what to say for a moment.