Pastoral Splendor

The table was already laden with dishes, steaming hot, and the aroma was incredibly enticing. Xu Yixuan stared at the plate of spicy lamb chops, pondering for a while, unsure how to begin. The lamb chops were neatly arranged, glistening with oil, and a ring of cucumber slices was neatly arranged around the edge of the plate, making it look extremely tempting.

Yan Ying smiled and said, "Eat it with your hands!" She reached out, grabbed a lamb chop, and bit off a piece of meat with her mouth. "If Prince Xu finds it too spicy, you can eat it with raw cucumber slices. It's cool and refreshing and will help to balance out the spiciness!"

Xu Yixuan looked left and right, feeling a sense of novelty. Imitating Yan Ying, he grabbed a lamb chop and put it in his mouth. This was the first time he had ever eaten with his hands, and it felt incredibly satisfying. The lamb was both numbing and spicy, every strand of meat infused with that mild, spicy flavor, very invigorating. He gnawed at it, looking at the empty bones, and then glanced at Yan Ying in surprise: "I didn't expect you to actually know how to cook."

"Young Master Xu, poor children learn to be independent early. We're not even as tall as the stove, yet we're already learning to cook." Yan Ying brought over a plate with several kinds of prepared soup bases and a bowl of cooked mutton. The mutton was slightly red from being cooked. The soup bases included both white and red broths, arranged on a plate. Next to it were a dish of coriander, a dish of bean sprouts, and a dish of shiitake mushrooms. The colorful presentation was quite appealing.

Sitting next to him, Jian Yifei had a few gnawed lamb chops in front of him. He nodded and said, "Miss Xiao is right. Poor children learn to be independent early. I also suffered back then." He glanced at Yan Ying, a hint of approval in his eyes. "However, there are few as intelligent as Miss Xiao."

Yan Ying smiled and said, "Young Master Jian, you flatter me. I'm not as good as you make me out to be."

Xu Yixuan was already quite impatient. He stared at the tray of dishes and tugged at Yan Ying's sleeve, "What's this again? Why did you bring so many plates?"

“Young Master Xu, this is the most delicious of the three ways to cook lamb, and it’s called ‘Thousand Peppers, Hundred Flavors.’” Yan Ying casually gave a name: “There are two kinds of soup bases, one is salty and spicy, and the other is light. If you find the lamb chops a bit salty, then you can have the lighter one.”

Xu Yixuan glanced at her and sneered, "Do you think I'm the kind of person who can't handle salty or spicy food?" He picked up a piece of mutton, dipped it in the prepared broth, and exclaimed several times, "So satisfying! So delicious!" He pointed at the vegetables with his chopsticks, "You can eat these too?"

Yan Ying nodded: "These are already cooked. Young Master, please just eat. If you want any other vegetables, I'll go and cook them for you."

Xu Yixuan looked up and saw more than a dozen small bamboo sieves with neatly arranged washed vegetables inside. He couldn't help but grin happily: "To be able to eat so many vegetables at once, not bad, I like it!"

"I'm glad you like it, Young Master Xu." Seeing that Xu Yixuan was eating heartily and that Jian Yifei's bowl was half empty, Yan Ying quickly brought him a bowl of mutton: "Young Master Jian, you should eat more too."

Jian Yifei looked at Yan Ying gratefully, feeling an indescribable gratitude for her understanding nature. Yan Ying's small hands were busy in front of him, her fair wrists slender like tree branches, which made him feel very sorry for her: "Miss Xiao must have done a lot of work at home."

Yan Ying nodded and sighed deeply: "There are six girls in our family, no brothers. Father can't manage those four or five acres of land on the mountain by himself, so we have to help out every day. We also have to take care of the vegetable garden and raise some chickens and ducks. What don't we do?"

“Your family must be having a really tough time.” Jian Yifei sighed. “I’m afraid the days are going to be tough.”

"Isn't that right?" Yan Ying tugged at her sleeve. "This dress of mine was worn by my eldest sister, then my second sister, then I wore it. Over time, the color has faded to white." The cuffs of Yan Ying's sleeves were worn out, and long, thin hairs were peeking out from the frayed edges.

Xu Yixuan glanced sideways and called out to Xiuyun, "Go quickly and find a nice dress for Miss Xiao to wear."

Xiuyun twisted her body: "Young Master, she's not one of our household servants. My clothes are all worn by the servants in our household. She's not one of our household servants, so how can we give them to Miss Xiao?"

Yan Ying smiled and waved her hand: "I appreciate Prince Xu's kindness. If you think my cooking is delicious, why not give me a reward? I can use the money to buy some clothes at the clothing shops in Yuzhou City."

Xu Yixuan wiped his greasy mouth with the handkerchief Xiuyun handed him, and nodded to Yan Ying: "You're right, I was just about to give you a reward. Xiuyun, go and get another ten-tael silver ingot."

Yan Ying was very excited when she heard this. Twenty taels of silver could not only buy a lot of daily necessities, but also serve as a start-up fund for her own business. She had heard that Boss Xiao only earned less than two taels of silver a month doing odd jobs. It would take him almost half a year to save up twenty taels of silver, which was quite a fortune.

"Is the tip enough?" Xu Yixuan smiled at Yan Ying: "But I have a condition. If I want to eat your 'one lamb, three ways' dish in the future, then you have to come and make it for me."

"Young Master Xu, just give the order. As long as Yan Ying is in Xiao Family Village, she will naturally come to serve you!" Yan Ying was overjoyed. This was a relationship that others couldn't even dream of, so she should make good use of it. As the saying goes, it's good to have a big tree to lean on. "Young Master, we came in a hurry today, and there are still many delicious dishes of this lamb prepared in three ways that we haven't had a chance to share. Next time, if Young Master Xu wants to eat this lamb prepared in three ways, please tell Yan Ying a day in advance so that she can go to Yuzhou City to buy the ingredients before cooking. That way, she can enjoy the meal to her heart's content!"

"Heh heh, is there something even tastier?" The young master Xu's eyes lit up. "Alright, it's settled then."

Seeing Yan Ying smiling so brightly, Jian Yifei was also very happy: "Miss Xiao, Prince Xu is really generous. Your family's life can be improved for the time being."

Yan Ying curtsied to Jian Yifei: "Thank you for the introduction, Young Master Jian." She raised her head and met Jian Yifei's focused gaze. Suddenly, she felt a little shy and turned her face away.

"He's just a young man, what's there to be shy about?" Yan Ying cursed herself inwardly. She had seen many dashing young men in her past life. After thinking about it, Yan Ying sighed inwardly. She had never actually seen one. In her past life, she had seen more rice seedlings in the fields, flowers in the nursery, fish in the pond, and fruit trees on the mountain!

"Oh, Miss Xiao, where should I send someone to look for you in the future?" Xu Yixuan looked at Yan Ying, whose eyes were smiling like a new moon in the sky, and couldn't help but be a little infatuated. This little girl, although she was dressed in rags, had a really beautiful face. She was much prettier than the maids in the mansion, and even better than his older sisters.

“My family lives in Xiaojia Village in the south of the city. If Young Master Xu sends someone to look for me, just say you are looking for the Xiao family, a family without descendants, and you will be able to find them.” Yan Ying put on a pitiful look and sighed, “Young Master, I’m not afraid to laugh at you, but my parents had six daughters but not a single son. They are called a family without descendants in the village, and they are bullied by the villagers so much that they don’t dare to lift their heads.”

"Such a thing exists? How outrageous!" A sudden surge of protective instinct rose within Xu Yixuan. He beckoned to Xiuyun, "Quickly go find the steward and get her a waist token from the Prince Yu's residence!"

"Young Master, what are you doing with that waist token?" Xiuyun asked in surprise, pointing at Yanying and saying, "She's not a maid in our household, so there's no use for her taking that waist token."

"How could it be useless? If anyone dares to bully her family, she can take out this waist token and say that she has the heir of the Prince Yu's mansion as her backer!" Xu Yixuan looked at Yan Ying and grinned: "Now you can rest assured? From now on, you can just relax and see who dares to bully you!"

Unexpectedly, she encountered a gluttonous young master and received such good treatment. Yan Ying couldn't stop smiling and quickly praised Xu Yixuan, saying, "Young Master Xu is so kind-hearted. This is the first time Yan Ying has met such a kind young master. He has no airs at all and is so amiable..." As she spoke, she wiped her eyes, indicating that she was moved to tears.

"Don't cry, don't cry!" Xu Yixuan was at a loss when he saw Yan Ying's agitation: "Master, she's crying, what should we do?"

Seeing Yan Ying sobbing, Jian Yifei felt uneasy. He quickly stood up to comfort her: "Miss Xiao, don't cry. I'll ride to Xiao Family Village to find you in a couple of days and let everyone in your village know that your family has the Prince Yu's Mansion as your backer, so no one will dare to bully you."

Yan Ying lowered her hand, revealing a pair of clear, watery eyes. She smiled at Jian Yifei, showing a row of fine, white teeth that shimmered faintly in the sunlight streaming through the skylight, like the pinkish hue on the inner shell of a pearl, or like the glistening dew of the morning. Jian Yifei's heart stirred at the sight; this girl was truly beautiful.

"Then I thank Prince Xu and Young Master Jian very much." Now, not only did she receive twenty taels of silver, but more importantly, she had the waist token of the Prince Yu's mansion, which meant she had someone to back her up. Yan Ying was very satisfied. Going out of the village to sell mutton today was a wise decision, and she had such a lucky encounter.

"Miss Xiao, shall I take you back to Xiao Family Village?" Jian Yifei suggested kindly, seeing that Yan Ying had calmed down. "It's quite a distance from here to Xiao Family Village."

"Thank you, Young Master Jian. Yan Ying wants to go to Yuzhou City to buy some things, including food, clothing, and daily necessities. I need to buy everything I need." Yan Ying smiled at Jian Yifei and said, "I won't trouble you, Young Master Jian."

“It’s alright, I’ll take you to Yuzhou City.” Jian Yifei’s voice held an unwavering firmness that left no room for refusal.

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