Pastoral Splendor

The villa of Prince Yu's mansion was exquisitely renovated, with lush willows lining the path and flowers blooming in profusion. A blue stone path stretched forward, disappearing into the depths of the misty trees. However, the villa still had some shortcomings. For example, the arrangement of the artificial hill and the pruning of the trees were rather ordinary and had much room for improvement. As Yan Ying walked, she thought to herself, "If only Prince Yu's mansion would hire me as the manager of the garden's flowers and plants. With money and motivation, I'm sure I can make the villa even more exquisite."

The old woman leading the way was very talkative. As they walked, she chatted with Jian Yifei the whole way. Yan Ying listened carefully and finally understood that this Prince Yu's heir was named Xu Yixuan. He was fourteen years old this year. Because the Princess Yu had calculated his birth chart, it was found that he was in conflict with the North this year. The Princess Yu was very protective of her son and was afraid that there would be any problems. So she sent him to live in a villa in his fiefdom and came to see him every few days.

So the master of this villa is that young prince? Yan Ying was quite interested. She was an expert at coaxing little kids, and she was determined to seize the opportunity to win over this young prince so that she could find some work to do in the villa.

Following the old woman around several corners, they finally saw a line of pinkish-white gable walls, with tiles shaped like turbines, stretching endlessly like waves of water, one after another. The old woman stepped forward and glanced into the courtyard: "Young Master, I have brought the person to you."

"Master is here?" A clear voice came out from the courtyard. She was wearing a brocade robe and her hair was tied up with a purple-gold crown. Yan Ying secretly glanced at her. Although the old woman said she was only fourteen years old, she looked very tall, only half a head shorter than Jian Yifei.

Xu Yixuan smiled happily and bowed to Jian Yifei: "Master, I have been waiting for you for a long time."

Jian Yifei felt slightly awkward: "Why does Your Highness need to perform such a grand ceremony? I am merely a guard in the Prince's residence."

Xu Yixuan straightened up and waved his hands, saying, "Master, since I am your disciple, I should naturally respect you. It is only right that you accept my greeting." He turned around and shouted into the courtyard, "Hurry up and welcome my master inside!"

As soon as he shouted, several maids came out from inside. A group of beautiful women greeted Jian Yifei with smiles and said, "Young Master Jian, please come in with us quickly."

Jian Yifei was clearly a little awkward, his face flushed red. He turned to look at Yan Ying and said, "You should come in quickly too."

Xu Yixuan then noticed Yan Ying behind Jian Yifei and asked with some confusion, "Master, who is she?"

Before Jian Yifei could speak, Yan Ying had already entered with a basket, saying in a bright and cheerful voice, "Young Master, I am a friend of your master. My surname is Xiao, and my nickname is Sanhua. I live in Xiao Family Village not far away. Today, my family slaughtered a sheep and we want to sell it to earn some money to supplement our household income." Regardless of whether Jian Yifei admitted it or not, Yan Ying decided to cling to him for the time being, and at least sell the sheep under his name.

This young master clearly has no understanding of the poverty of ordinary people; he might just impulsively throw ten taels of silver at her. Yan Ying smiled at Xu Yixuan, revealing two small dimples at the corners of her lips.

"Oh, you're my master's friend?" Xu Yixuan looked at Yan Ying with confusion. Her clothes and appearance really didn't match, but her demeanor was poised and elegant, completely unlike an ordinary farm girl. She had an oval face, snow-white skin, large, dark, and watery eyes, and a row of bangs on her forehead. When the breeze blew, a scar was revealed on her temple.

"Why are you selling sheep here?" Xu Yixuan frowned. "Shouldn't you be selling them in Yuzhou City?"

“Young Master Xu, you have no idea, your master hasn’t had lunch yet, but I’m a great cook. I’d like to make a nice dish out of this lamb for him to try.” Yan Ying watched as Xu Yixuan’s brows gradually relaxed, and then she breathed a long sigh of relief. It seemed that this Young Master Xu was truly respectful of his teacher. As long as she showed him Jian Yifei’s name, he immediately softened.

“Master, you haven’t eaten either? That’s great! I’ll buy this sheep and have the cook make stewed mutton.” Xu Yixuan smiled and glanced at Jian Yifei: “I haven’t eaten either.” He turned to the maid beside him and instructed: “Xiuyun, quickly go and get ten taels of silver for this Miss Xiao.”

“Young Master, a sheep doesn’t cost ten taels of silver. It’s only one or two taels at most.” The maid named Xiuyun, dressed in a light green dress, with a round face, delicate eyebrows and eyes, was quite pretty. She looked at Yanying with an unfriendly expression: “Don’t be fooled by her!”

"I'll give her ten taels if I want, what are you nagging about?" Xu Yixuan glared at her unhappily: "Go now!"

“Young Master Xu, if you trust me, Sanhua is willing to cook a dish for you, one that neither you nor Young Master Jian have ever tasted before!” Seeing Xu Yixuan’s generosity and magnanimity, Yan Ying was delighted: “Young Master Xu, would you be willing to let me try it?”

"What delicious food can you cook?" His words were full of disbelief: "How old are you? You think you can cook better than the cooks in our Prince Yu's mansion? Who are you trying to fool?"

"Young Master Xu, you can't judge a person by their age. Some people are born with talent. Today I want to cook a lamb prepared in three ways. I wonder if you've ever tried it before?"

"One sheep, three ways to eat? What is that, and how is it prepared?" Xu Yixuan was clearly intrigued, his eyes fixed on Yan Ying: "One sheep, can be prepared in three different ways?"

"If Prince Xu wants to eat, Yan Ying will make it right away." Isn't this just a spoiled child? Getting whatever he wants, Yan Ying thought to herself with a sneer. He really doesn't know the hardships of ordinary people. A sheep can be made in far more than three ways, even thirty ways. As long as you're willing to use your brain, you can make it.

"Then you go and try it first. If it doesn't taste good..." Xu Yixuan's eyes darted around, "I'll punish you by making you eat all the dishes you made!"

“Young Master, how can you let just anyone cook for you? I’m worried!” The head maid quickly chimed in, looking at Yan Ying warily: “Who knows who she is!” Before coming to the villa, the Princess Consort had instructed us to keep a close eye on the Young Master and not let any strangers get close to him. This girl looks honest and simple, but who knows if she was sent by that concubine?

"What's there to worry about? Aren't there a few cooks in the kitchen?" Xu Yixuan frowned and impatiently shouted at the old woman, "I want to eat something new, and you old hags dare to stop me? Did my mother spoil you?"

Upon hearing this, the old woman pursed her lips and stood aside, not daring to speak again. Yan Ying felt a surge of satisfaction. At this moment, Xiu Yun came out of the house, holding a silver ingot in one hand and stuffing it into Yan Ying's hand: "Here you go."

Yan Ying smiled slightly at Xiu Yun: "Please lead the way, young lady, and take me to the kitchen."

The kitchen was fully equipped, and several cooks were helping out, making everything run smoothly. As they helped Yan Ying prepare, the group whispered among themselves, "One lamb, three ways to cook? Never heard of that before."

Yan Ying rolled up her sleeves, washed her hands clean, and quickly chopped vegetables with her head down, pretending not to hear their chatter. In her previous life, her culinary skills were superb, and she enjoyed trying new dishes. She had eaten this three-way lamb dish at a specialty restaurant once, and it was so delicious that she made a few for the helpers at the farm after returning home, and they all praised it highly. Today, she made it for this young master to try.

She was very quick and efficient, and soon she had prepared the three ways of cooking the lamb: the lamb head for hot pot soup, the hand-pulled spicy lamb ribs, the stir-fried lamb offal, and the remaining lamb meat, which she sliced ​​thinly and prepared to add to the hot pot.

"Please invite your young master to the kitchen." Yan Ying washed her hands and lowered her sleeves.

Xiuyun stared wide-eyed in surprise at the pot of boiling soup, hardly believing it: "It's ready to eat like this?"

Yan Ying nodded: "It's ready. Go and invite the young master over. This lamb is prepared in three ways. Originally, there should have been a special table, but your villa didn't prepare one. I have no choice but to invite the young master over himself."

Xiuyun glanced at Yanying, then at the pot of hot soup. Although she was somewhat incredulous, she still turned and walked out.

The cooks gathered around, looking at the pot of soup with great interest: "Miss Xiao, how exactly do you eat this? It's just a pot of soup, isn't it?"

Yan Ying smiled and picked up a thin piece of mutton, dipped it in the hot pot, and then dipped it in the sauce: "Sister-in-law, you should try it."

A cook took the chopsticks, picked up a piece of mutton, chewed it a few times, and her eyes sparkled: "Miss Xiao, this mutton is really delicious, so fresh and tender. I have never eaten such delicious food in my life."

Hearing this, the cooks nearby were also itching to try it. They took clean chopsticks, picked up some mutton, and, imitating Yan Ying, dipped the mutton in the pot, swished it, and tasted it: "Indeed, it tastes really good."

"Hmph, how dare you steal my food!" Before the cooks could even wipe their mouths, Xu Yixuan barged in with Jian Yifei, walked up to the cooks, and glared at them: "This dish was prepared for me by Miss Xiao, don't you understand?"

Xiuyun's face changed color, and she pointed at Yanying, saying, "You country bumpkin, don't you have any manners? The young master hasn't even offered a taste, yet you've already taken one?"

Yan Ying still had a piece of mutton on her chopsticks. Her eyes darted around, and she walked over with a bowl in her hand. "Young Master, please don't be angry. Haven't you heard that there are people in the palace who taste the food for the Emperor? I just wanted to test the taste, afraid that I might disappoint you if I didn't do a good job. Besides, the old woman was worried that there was something wrong with the food I made. Everyone was relieved after trying it."

The cooks all nodded in agreement: "Young Master, that is indeed the case."

"Hurry up and bring over that 'one lamb, three ways' dish you mentioned!" Xu Yixuan glanced at Yan Ying sideways. He had just seen the cooks standing there praising the dish, and he was already itching to try it. He really wanted to taste what this so-called "one lamb, three ways" dish was all about.

Children love to fight over food, and this young master, though he looks quite old, still has the nature of a child. It seems that her appetite has been successfully stimulated. Yan Ying was delighted and arranged for Xu Yixuan and Jian Yifei to sit at a table some distance from the pot. She first had Xiu Yun bring over some spicy lamb chops and offal, then stood by the stove, one hand on her hip, and said, "Young master, you try that first, I'll cook some lamb for you here."

...