Mad Queen Leaves the Palace

After Li Yuan left, Xiao Lan wrote two letters in her room. One was sent to Yuzhou, informing her that she had bought a courtyard house in the capital and including the address. The other was sent to the Jiang family in Shaozhou. Besides informing her that everything was fine, she also mentioned the difficulties she had faced at the Wu family mansion at the hands of the Chen family. After finishing the letters, Xiao Lan sent Dingding to the post station to mail them.

Li Yuan found Zhang Jiabao, who had just finished work, and the two sat down at a noodle stall, each ordering a bowl of plain noodles. They chatted about their recent situations, and Li Yuan said, "Dabao, this time I'm here on the orders of the head of the family to send Miss Xiao to the capital to study. The other seven brothers will go back after arriving in the capital. I'll have to go back in about half a month. Miss Xiao only has three maids with her right now. I was thinking that since you know martial arts, it would be great if you could help out at home. Don't worry, the boss isn't stingy."

"Miss Xiao, is she the granddaughter of the Jiang family?" Zhang Jiabao used to work at Zhenyuan Escort Agency, so he knew that the Jiang family had a granddaughter who was his eldest son's favorite and treated like his own daughter.

"That's right. The young lady is only sixteen this year, yet she dared to come to the capital to study all by herself with three maids." Because Lin Dayou doted on Xiao Lan like his own daughter, his subordinates also treated Xiao Lan like their own nephews.

"Brother Yuan, you know my leg is a bit of a problem," Zhang Jiabao said, touching his leg. Three years ago, Zhang Jiabao returned to the capital to visit his family. On the way, he encountered a thug harassing a woman. He intervened to help, but was outnumbered and slashed thirteen times. One of the blows landed on his calf. Although he survived, the injury was too severe, leaving him with a limp. Because of this, Zhang Jiabao couldn't work as a bodyguard and returned to the capital to do odd jobs to support his family.

"It's not like you'll be fighting or killing anyone. It'll just be driving the carriage to take the young ladies to school, looking after the courtyard, and running errands for the master. But it'll still earn you more than this odd job." Li Yuan hadn't seen Zhang Jiabao for several years, and seeing his former companion now living on odd jobs, he felt somewhat sorry for him. So he tried his best to persuade him.

"I... if Miss doesn't mind my limp, I can do all of this. Thank you, Brother Yuan." Since injuring his leg, Zhang Jiabao had lost not only his lucrative job, but even his arranged marriage had been called off by the girl's family. His parents were constantly sighing at home, and the neighbors were gossiping. Knowing that his former older brother still cared about him, he was especially happy. He quickly replied, thinking that if he had a proper job, his parents would worry less about him.

After finishing their noodles, the two agreed on a time to visit Dingxiang Hutong the next day, and then went home separately.

The next day, after Xiao Lan finished her breakfast, she asked Li Yuan to call Huang San over.

Upon hearing that it was Xiao Lan who was looking for him, Huang San immediately followed Li Yuan to Dingxiang Hutong.

Upon seeing Xiao Lan, he paused for a moment, then immediately smiled and said, "You were looking for me, young lady?"

"Boss Huang, I'd like to find a cook, preferably someone who can cook Southern cuisine, and knowledgeable about health and wellness would be even better. Do you have any?" Xiao Lan noticed Huang San's stunned expression and remembered that she had dressed as a man when she bought the courtyard. However, Huang San reacted quickly enough to immediately address her as "Miss," so Xiao Lan didn't waste any more words and directly stated her requirements. She was getting tired of eating out these past few days, especially the heavy, oily Beijing food. The key issue was that Yue'er used to be her personal maid and couldn't cook, and Dingdingdangdang, having spent her life in the martial arts world, had never even stepped into a kitchen. She was thinking of quickly finding a cook; otherwise, feeding these people would be a problem in the future.

“There is one, that woman, she’s a widow. I wonder if your family has any taboos?” Huang San said, glancing at Xiao Lan.

"A widow? What's going on? Tell me about it." Xiao Lan had no problem with the widow, but she didn't want to cause any unnecessary trouble. So she decided to ask her for clarification.

Huang San scratched his head and said, "To be honest, Miss, this is actually my distant cousin. She lives in Jizhou City. Three years ago, my patriarchal uncle, because of the fifty taels dowry, betrothed her to the seriously ill eldest son of the local county magistrate for a 'lucky marriage'. However, the day after the wedding, the eldest son died, and my cousin became a widow. She has been mourning her husband, whom she never consummated her marriage with. This year, her husband's family took a new wife and, disliking her widowed reputation, sent her back to her parents' home with a letter of divorce. She was afraid that if she went back to her parents' home, she would be forced to marry again because of the dowry. So she came to me. For the past few months, she has been washing clothes and embroidering small things at home to earn money. Actually, apart from her bad reputation as a widow, my cousin is very capable and, most importantly, she is an excellent cook. It is because we are relatives that I dared to recommend her to you, Miss. If you think she is not suitable, I will find someone else for you."

After listening to Huang San's words, Xiao Lan thought for a moment and said, "If it's convenient, bring her here later for a trial period. If she's suitable, she can stay; if not, I'll still pay her today's wages." The customs of the Great Xia Dynasty were open; employers usually had their servants who had signed life contracts given a trial period to see if they were suitable. Otherwise, the employer would have paid a contract fee and couldn't return the servant if she wasn't suitable. Therefore, Xiao Lan hadn't found a suitable person at the slave market. She had been thinking that Xiao Mu'an would come to the capital after the New Year and would definitely bring servants and pages. She didn't need to buy a slave herself; it wouldn't be appropriate to spend half a year building a relationship and then resell the person. But hiring someone was also unreliable.

"Miss, please wait a moment, I'll go and fetch her right away." Huang San was happy to see a chance. Although his cousin's situation was quite pitiful, the house wasn't big to begin with, and having another person would make it even more crowded. In the past two months, his wife had complained to him more than once that she didn't dare to speak loudly at night, afraid of being heard. This was also why he recommended his cousin to Xiao Lan. Besides, Xiao Lan seemed generous, and she had room for his cousin at home. It was also close by, so if anything happened to his cousin, it would only take him half an incense stick's time to walk over. With that, he bowed to Xiao Lan, got up, and went back to Furong Lane to bring his cousin, Xue Zhenzhen, over.

Xue Zhenzhen was quite happy to learn that Huang San had found her a family to be a cook. On the way, she inquired about Xiao Lan's family situation and learned that Xiao Lan was from the South and liked to eat lightly flavored dishes.

Only about an incense stick's time had passed when Huang San brought the person over. Xiao Lan sipped her tea and looked at the woman bowing below her. She saw that the woman was wearing a blue cloth dress. Although the clothes were a bit old, they were very clean. Huang San had returned in the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, so the clothes must not have been newly changed. Xiao Lan had a good impression of Xue Zhenzhen.

"This humble woman, Xue Zhenzhen, greets Miss Xiao Lan and pays her respects." Xue Zhenzhen said as she performed a curtsy to Xiao Lan.

"Madam Xue, no need to be so polite. I wonder if Boss Huang has told you about my situation?" Xiao Lan saw that Madam Xue was pretty and had a good demeanor, so she must have been trained in the county magistrate's family.

"My cousin mentioned some things. Since this is a trial period, please ask the mistress to tell me what foods to avoid. I'll go buy groceries in a bit." Xiao Lan looked at Madam Xue, who was quite well-spoken, and thought to herself that it was a pity. She looked to be no more than twenty years old. It was only because her parents wanted a dowry that she was forced into marriage. Otherwise, with her looks and manners, even if she couldn't be matched with a wealthy family, she could still find a scholar.

Then he said to Dingding, "Why don't you accompany Madam Xue on this trip?" Fearing that it might cause a misunderstanding, he said to Xue Zhenzhen, "We just moved here and have never cooked before. We're missing a lot of things, so please ask Dingding to help us carry them."

Dingding accepted the order and went out with Xue Zhenzhen. Huang San, seeing that things wouldn't be finished anytime soon, bid farewell to Xiao Lan and went back home.

Not long after, Li Yuan arrived with Zhang Jiabao. Since Li Yuan had introduced him and he also came from the escort agency, Xiao Lan, as was customary, inquired about his family background and introduced her own household. Xiao Lan paid Zhang Jiabao thirty taels of silver, agreeing to a monthly allowance of two taels of silver and three days off per month. They signed a contract, and agreed that Zhang Jiabao would start work the following day. Zhang Jiabao and Li Yuan went to the outer courtyard's main building, chose a room, and did a simple cleaning. Zhang Jiabao then bid farewell to Li Yuan, went home to pack his luggage, and planned to return the next day.

Meanwhile, Xue Zhenzhen and Dingding went to the market to buy some seasonings and vegetables, and then came back to cook.

When Xiao Lan sat down at the table at noon, she saw that Xue Zhenzhen had prepared a table full of delicious food, all with light flavors. There was steamed fish, boiled shrimp, stir-fried seasonal vegetables, and winter melon and pork rib soup. The steamed fish was tender and juicy, the boiled shrimp was sweet and refreshing, the stir-fried seasonal vegetables were fresh and delicious, and the winter melon and pork rib soup was light and flavorful. Looking at the table full of food, Xiao Lan felt very satisfied. She tasted the food and found it quite good. In her previous life, Xiao Lan was a gourmet, but now she only needed an ordinary cook, as long as the taste was acceptable. Besides, she knew she couldn't expect Xue Zhenzhen to be her cook for life. This kind of literate and articulate woman could be trained well and could definitely become a capable manager in the restaurant.

So he turned to Xue Zhenzhen and said, "I wonder how long of a contract you would like to sign with me, Madam Xue?" In the Great Xia Dynasty, contracts were generally seven days to three to five years. However, Xiao Lan wanted to keep this person, so he started to flatter her again: "I heard from Boss Huang about Madam Xue's family situation. It seems Madam Xue may not want to return to Jizhou Prefecture in the future. Madam Xue is to my liking. Why not sign a ten-year contract with me, so you won't have to keep changing employers? I'll give Madam Xue eighty taels of silver as a contract fee, and one and a half taels of silver per month as a monthly allowance. If you do well, I'll increase your monthly allowance."

Xue Zhenzhen thought about it and realized she had nowhere to go. Her cousin-in-law also had objections, but she hadn't told her. So she signed the contract, took the money, and went back to pack her things.