Golden Branch

Lou Dalang laughed, "No beef?"

Haha, in the past, even if there really wasn’t one, someone would run to the scene and kill one at his command.

Now, he actually uses "no" as an excuse.

It seems that these people are not just taking advantage of the situation, but are clearly taking advantage of the opportunity to find trouble.

Lou Dalang didn't even change his clothes. He picked up the horsewhip and went straight to the kitchen.

"Da Lang! Wait a minute!"

The maidservant beside Lou Dalang was named Zhou, so she was called Ah Zhou.

Ah Zhou is thirteen years old this year. He is a lifelong servant of the Lou family and has been serving in the mansion since he was six or seven years old.

Ah Zhou has been serving Lou Dalang for three years, but he is not Lou Dalang's confidant.

There is no way. This naughty kid is too naughty. Every day he is either getting into trouble or on his way to getting into trouble.

Lou Jin loves his son very much, and Madam Cui is determined to flatter him. Once Lou Dalang makes a mistake, he will not be punished, and only the people around him will suffer.

Maids, servants, guards... I wouldn't say they change every day, but they are often "updated".

It was already a "miracle" that Ah Zhou was able to stay with Lou Dalang for three years.

In addition to her calm temperament and thoughtful work, it is also because her father is Lou Jin's personal guard.

Even so, Lou Dalang did not look at A Zhou too differently.

When he gets into trouble, he often doesn't care about anything.

During the three years that Zhou served, he also received a lot of punishment.

She was gentle and loyal to Lou Dalang, but it was mostly on the surface.

Because no one is born to be humble, even slaves want a generous master who can sympathize with his servants.

Ah Zhou always fulfilled his duties as a servant, and when facing Lou Dalang, he was more respectful than sincere.

To be honest, Ah Zhou doesn't like his master Lou Dalang.

If he could change his master, Zhou would be the first to respond positively.

In the past, there was no chance, and Ah Zhou could only hope to get through the days. When she was old enough to get married, she would be able to escape from Lou Dalang, the little bully who was always causing trouble and losing his temper for no reason.

Now... Lou Dalang is going to be adopted, so can she ask her parents for help and think of a way to get a job in another courtyard?

Although he had an idea in mind, Ah Zhou did not dare to express it immediately.

This is the main reason why she was able to serve the little bully for the longest time: she is patient and forbearing!

Even if she has planned to "escape", she will still serve her master diligently and responsibly.

Seeing that Lou Dalang was about to explode, she quickly spoke out to dissuade him: "Dalang, eating a mouthful of food is not a big deal!"

"Perhaps the chef is really having trouble. Dalang, please be patient."

You're about to be adopted out, how can you still be so willful?

Ah Zhou felt that she was really thinking about Da Lang: "Da Lang, that chef was hired from the capital by the Madam at a high price, and he is deeply loved by the Madam!"

In short, the kitchen belongs to the lady-in-waiting.

In the past, Lou Dalang relied on his unique status to act tyrannically in the Lou family.

He didn't even have to consider the status and reputation of the lady-in-waiting and acted recklessly.

But today, it’s different.

"...If adoption is really necessary, the family will be chosen by the Madam!"

Ah Zhou looked at Lou Dalang with a rare sincerity on his face.

Lou Dalang raised his eyebrows. Oh wow, this slut is finally not pretending anymore?

But, you know what, she looks a bit like an "older sister".

A hint of sarcasm flashed in his eyes, and he said coldly, "Ah Zhou, what do you mean? Are you saying that my 'future' is in the hands of Old Lady Cui?"

"Not only can I not offend her, but I also have to respect and give way to the slaves she values?"

The first thing Lou Dalang mentioned was Old Lady Cui, which was somewhat shocking.

Because no matter what, even if she is a step-grandmother, she is still Lou Dalang's legitimate elder in terms of etiquette and law.

Being disrespectful to elders is unfilial. In ancient times when filial piety was as important as the sky, even if one had not committed countless sins, one would still face the dilemma of having one's reputation ruined.

Ah Zhou frowned slightly.

In fact, this was not the first time she heard Lou Dalang talk about "Old Lady Cui".

But, again, things have changed now.

Lou Dalang was no longer the noble young master of the Lou family, but a bastard who was to be adopted out.

The "right" to adopt is in the hands of Mrs. Cui.

"Lou Dalang is not a stupid person, why can't he see the situation clearly?"

"Now really isn't the time for him to be willful. I didn't even try to persuade him to apologize to Madam Cui. I just asked him to be patient for a while. He can't do that?"

Ah Zhou couldn't help but complain in his heart.

She felt more and more that the general should have married earlier so that Lou Dalang could have learned his lesson earlier, understood the difference between legitimate and illegitimate children, and understood the difference between superiors and inferiors.

Even now it has come to this, and this little bastard still can't face the reality and is trying to do whatever he wants!

"Well, I've said everything I need to say. This completes the bond between master and servant that we've shared over the past two or three years."

"Lou Dalang refused to listen and insisted on making trouble. There was nothing I could do."

Ah Zhou was sincere for once, but the other person didn't appreciate it, so she simply gave up.

Lowering her head slightly and lowering her eyelids, Ah Zhou replied respectfully, "Dalang, this is all my fault. I'm not good at speaking and I'm stupid. I made you misunderstand me. Please forgive me!"

Lou Dalang glanced at A Zhou, snorted coldly, and ignored him.

He strode towards the kitchen, whip in hand.

Ah Zhou thought to himself, “Whatever,” but he didn’t dare to really let go.

She bit her lower lip, struggled for a moment, said "bad luck" to herself, but still chased after him.

……

main courtyard.

"Madam, Dalang is back!"

"Madam, Hu San and the others deliberately made things difficult for me, but Dalang didn't even get angry!"

"Madam, Dalang wants to eat beef steamed buns, but the chef said there's no fresh beef and won't make them... Now, Dalang has gone to the main kitchen with a whip in hand!"

Ever since Lou Dalang returned to the manor, little maids kept running to report.

Mrs. Cui was originally leaning on the desk, squinting her eyes, resting while listening to the report.

But when she heard the latest report, she suddenly opened her eyes: "He went to the main kitchen?"

"Oh, I really thought he was scared and started to be tolerant, but I didn't expect that he couldn't bear it anymore so soon?"

This is just the beginning!

Once you lose power, you are worse than a dog.

In the inner house, she, the lady-in-waiting, didn't even need to shout for war or killing to make Lou Dalang, a child, unable to live or die.

It’s a pity... Lou Dalang is not really out of favor.

Although Madam Cui had not yet investigated the truth about Lou Jin's marriage to the Dugu family, Lou Jin had never sent a letter to Madam Cui mentioning anything about "adoption".

The so-called adoption was nothing but a rumor deliberately spread by Mrs. Cui.

She just wanted to scare Lou Dalang, make him panic, and then do something extreme.

In addition, this time, Madam Cui was not only plotting against Lou Dalang, but also wanted to test Lou Jin who was far away in Jizhou.

For some reason, Madam Cui always felt that there was something fishy about Lou Jin's sudden marriage.

Mrs. Cui was not like Lou Dalang. She had never seen Lou Jin weeping for his lover with her own eyes. But when Lou Jin resisted the marriage, Mrs. Cui watched the whole confrontation between him and the old general.

Although Mrs. Cui secretly speculated that the lowly maid might have married, become a prostitute, or even died long ago, but what if?

What if that slut is lucky and survives well and is also found by Lou Jin?

Then... the marriage between Lou Jin and Dugu is quite interesting.

Mrs. Cui is the daughter of aristocratic family and married into the powerful Lou family. She is knowledgeable and well-informed, and is very familiar with some of the operations of wealthy families.

"... Let's use Lou Dalang to test it."

"Lou Dalang has lost his power and is being bullied in the Lou family manor. This news should be passed on to Lou Jin soon."

If things were really as she guessed, Lou Jin should have reacted.

Even if the matter was not what she had guessed, Lou Jin might have a response. At that time, Madam Cui would be able to make further judgments based on Lou Jin's specific words and deeds.

You really can't blame Madam Cui for thinking too much. It's really that Lou Jin's marriage has had a huge impact on Madam Cui.

Her children have not yet started their own families and careers, so she still needs the identity and status of the mistress of the Lou family.

This concerns the future of them and their child, so she has to think more and be more cautious.

"Let's go! Let's go check out the big kitchen!"

Mrs. Cui held the maid's hand and stood up.

The maid hurriedly tidied up Madam Cui's appearance, straightened her hair and hairpins, and smoothed the wrinkles on her clothes.

After finishing the cleaning, Mrs. Cui put down her hands and walked slowly towards the kitchen.

……

Lou Dalang had already rushed to the kitchen with a horsewhip in hand.

After entering the kitchen, Lou Dalang glanced around.

A cook and several servants were busy around the stove, making a lot of noise.

When everyone heard the noise, they quickly put down their work.

Turning around, I saw the little bully with a ferocious look on his face.

The chefs instinctively wanted to bow their heads and put on apologetic smiles, but soon they thought of one thing: Lou Dalang was going to be adopted out!

He is no longer the young master of the Lou family!

Hey!

The chef's waist, which had just been bent, straightened up instantly.

The flattering and fawning smile turned into a slightly reserved sneer.

However, the chef also remembered the instructions of the housekeeper: you can bully, but not too much!

The chef, knowing his words well, bowed slightly and said, "Greetings, Sir!"

He said hello, but there was not much respect on his face.

"Did you just say you couldn't make me beef steamed buns?"

Lou Dalang didn't care about the chef's pretense at all.

He glanced around, and in addition to the stove, he also paid special attention to the shelves, tables and other places.

Various ingredients are placed layer by layer on the shelves against the wall.

On the long and wide wooden table, there is a row of bottles and jars, as well as processed ingredients.

Vegetables, fruits, meat, eggs, fish... everything is available.

Among them, there is a piece of meat that is particularly bright red.

Lou Dalang had eaten beef and seen fresh meat that had just been slaughtered.

So, he recognized at a glance that this piece of meat was fresh beef.

He gripped the whip tightly and pointed with the tip of the whip, "What is this?"

“…Beef!”

Jianlou Dalang accurately found the beef among the pile of ingredients.

The chef knew that his master was a connoisseur of fine goods.

He felt guilty, and his straight back bent down subconsciously.

The chef instinctively apologized: "Young master, please forgive me, I, I--" It was not intentional.

He was just a servant who could cook. Not to mention his own life and property, even his entire family was in the hands of the master of the Lou family.

He really didn't dare to deceive or fool his master——

and many more!

The master of the Lou family is Madam Cui. That little beast Lou Dalang will soon no longer be the young master of the Lou family!

When the chef thought of this, he straightened up again.

The chef also realized that he seemed to have made a fool of himself just now.

He coughed lightly and continued with what he had just said, trying his best to explain: "I just said that there is no fresh beef in the kitchen!"

"This piece of beef was just slaughtered this morning. It's not fresh!"

Therefore, he was not deceiving his master, but was doing it for his master's good.

As the "noble" young master of the Lou family, how could Lou Dalang eat stale beef?

As a chef, he is relatively authoritative as to whether the beef is fresh or not.

Lou Dalang tilted his head and thought, "Tsk, this is just playing word games with Yeye."

"Not fresh? Yeah, it looks pretty fresh!"

"Even if it's really not fresh, don't worry, Ye Ye won't mind."

"Use this piece of beef to make a beef steamed bun for Yeye!"

Lou Dalang said this "generously".

What he did was actually considered a "concession".

If it were in the past, the little bully would have flipped the table long ago!

Lou Dalang's "magnanimity" was seen as "cowardice" by the servants such as the kitchen staff.

Good! This brat probably knows that his good times won’t last long.

The battle between people is actually a contest of momentum.

If one side becomes weak, the other side will become strong.

Lou Dalang was "cowardly", and the kitchen staff and other slaves became "liberated serfs".

God has opened his eyes and finally made this guy lose his power.

Although the servants in the kitchen did not serve Lou Dalang closely, they were also the "victims" of the little bully's willful behavior.

Being picky about food is considered normal.

Many of Lou Dalang’s pranks are inseparable from the kitchen.

The cooks, servants, etc. were replaced one after another.

Even this group of kitchen servants have basically been punished directly or indirectly because of Lou Dalang!

After enduring a lot of resentment, I finally waited for the day of "revenge".

This time, even without the kitchen asking, a small servant girl rushed in and said, "Let the young master know that this piece of beef is reserved for the lady!"

"The Madam is the elder, and the young master is a pure and filial son. He will definitely not snatch the food from the elders, right?"

A hint of amusement flashed in Lou Dalang's eyes. Oh wow, this slut is really good. She has even learned "moral kidnapping".

Well, I also heard the term "moral kidnapping" from Wang Mian.

To be honest, although Lou Dalang looked down on Wang Mian, he had to admit that this girl must have had some adventure, otherwise, how could she know so many strange yet extremely appropriate words?

Lou Dalang's thoughts drifted off, and he pulled them back. He glanced at the little maid, and raised the corner of his lips. "You also said that the Madam is the elder and the most kind. She would definitely not snatch food from a younger generation, right?"

It’s just moral kidnapping, he can do it too!

Lou Dalang is not just a reckless person. He has a brain, but he is just too lazy to use it.

What's the point of using one's own spear to attack another's shield?