Pastoral Splendor

The curtain hung tightly against the threshold, without a single gap, preventing any sunlight from getting in. Only a patch of sunlight shone through the roof tiles, instantly creating a large, gleaming patch on the ground. Inside that patch, two people knelt, heads bowed, silently waiting for Old Madam He, who sat there, to speak.

"You lot, tell me, what exactly happened when the young master went to the villa in Yuzhou to escape the passing years? How did this bring up Miss Xiao, who runs Baixiang Garden?" Old Madam He stared intently at Granny Yi: "Tell me the truth, not a single word can be left out!"

Granny Yi was initially trembling with fear, but upon hearing Madam He's question, her eyes suddenly lit up. She raised her head, looking deeply resentful, and said, "Madam, this matter is truly... sigh..." Her eyes darted around, pondering whether to tell the truth or embellish it.

His husband, easily swayed by others, wanted to earn a few more taels of silver. He tried to discuss opening a shop with a maid surnamed Xiao, but she refused, ungrateful to him. He wanted to send someone to punish her, but she saw through his plan. Not only did she not harm him, but she also spent several years in prison with him. He had already escaped back to the Prince's Mansion, but when Prefect Lin wrote to the Princess about it, she disregarded the bond between mistress and servant and sent someone to escort his husband back to Yuzhou. Prefect Lin immediately sentenced him to ten years in prison, with no leniency.

That one wrong decision cost her ten years of her life. Old Lady Yi felt dizzy for a while. She was furious. It was all that man surnamed Xiao's fault. Her husband was perfectly fine, but in the blink of an eye, he was in jail. She felt deep hatred for him.

But she couldn't say anything, and still had to work at the Prince Yu's residence. Granny Yi swallowed her anger, putting on a smiling face every day, but inwardly she was seething with hatred. Now that the woman surnamed Xiao had won the Princess's favor, what could she possibly do to her?

"Speak your mind!" Seeing that Granny Yi was hesitant, Old Madam He was somewhat displeased: "You are an old servant of my household, and you know my temperament. If you have something to hide, don't blame me for being impolite."

At this moment, Xiuyun, who was kneeling to the side, hurriedly spoke up: "Madam, this servant feels that there is something strange about Miss Xiao's matter."

Xiuyun hated Yanying even more than Granny Yi. Her life's glory had vanished because of Yanying's appearance. She had once been a favored maid in Xu Yixuan's courtyard, but now she was doing menial tasks in the Princess's courtyard. Her bitterness was indescribable. Hearing Old Madam He inquire about Yanying, she felt this was her chance to turn things around. If Old Madam He could make that Miss Xiao go back to Yuzhou City, it would be a way to vent her anger.

"Strange? Tell me about it." Old Madam He stared intently at Xiuyun: "You mustn't tell a single lie, understand?"

"Yes." Xiuyun lowered her head and began to recount the events of the past six months, starting from when Yanying came to the villa to cook a lamb in three ways. Yi Pozi kept adding to the story, and the two of them were of one mind and spoke in unison, describing Yanying as a flattering and obsequious person who was a complete scoundrel.

After listening to the two of them finish speaking, Madam He remained silent for a moment before finally saying slowly, "You must not mention my questioning to anyone again today, understand?"

Old Madam He's eyes were like sharp daggers, making Granny Yi and Xiuyun tremble all over. The two kowtowed and said, "Old Madam, we know, and we will never tell anyone about this."

The curtain swayed, and two figures disappeared. Old Madam He narrowed her eyes, her long eyes like those of a fox: "Prepare the sedan chair, I want to go to Baixiang Garden."

The maid standing beside her hesitated: "Madam, the weather in spring is so unpredictable, sometimes cold and sometimes hot. If you're not careful, you can easily catch a cold. Let's wait until the weather is better before going out."

"Just do as I say, why fuss?" Old Madam He tugged at her prayer beads. This was an important matter, how could she let it go unattended? Judging from the descriptions of the two servants, this Miss Xiao's identity was highly suspicious. Why was her daughter suddenly being so kind to her? She lent her 50,000 taels of silver to buy a mountain, and even helped her open the Bai Xiang Garden in the capital. She had heard that a few days ago, Miss Xiao had even gone to the palace to present the roast duck from Bai Xiang Garden to the Empress.

It's very strange, truly strange. What extraordinary abilities could a farm girl possibly possess? Even if she were more beautiful, it wouldn't be worth the daughter going to such lengths to make her her grandson's wife. Is she made of gold? And she's even thinking of having her third daughter take her in as a goddaughter. There's definitely more to this than meets the eye!

The sedan chair swayed incessantly. Madam He closed her eyes to rest, but all she could hear was the hustle and bustle of the city. The streets of the capital were very prosperous, with shouts and chatter from idlers mingling together, almost making her a little irritable.

My daughter gave birth to her grandson at the villa in Yuzhou.

Moreover, she actually gave birth to her granddaughter, not Xu Yixuan.

This Miss Xiao lives in Xiaojia Village, north of Yuzhou City, not far from the Prince Yu's villa. I heard that she is about the same age as Xu Yixuan. Could it be...? Old Madam He's hand tightly gripped the string of sandalwood prayer beads. The beads were slippery, and the sweat made them even smoother.

"Madam, we've arrived at Baixiang Garden." The voice of the personal maid came from outside the sedan chair. The maid Xiaolu lifted the curtain, reached out her hands to support Madam He's arms, and slowly led her out of the sedan chair.

The sun was shining brightly outside, and Old Madam He squinted, finding it a bit dazzling. Looking up at the shop, she couldn't help but be somewhat surprised.

This shop is truly unique. The storefronts of other shops are all dark red, or dark gray or dark black. The brighter ones are just a coat of clear varnish on the wood, a light yellow color. But Bai Xiang Yuan is truly distinctive, with white and green as the main colors. It looks refreshing and makes people feel good about it.

Stepping into the shop, I saw that the items on the shelves were arranged neatly and without any disorder. On the left side of the counter, there were rows of delicate white porcelain jars, with emerald-green vegetables peeking out from baskets in the middle, interspersed with snow-white flowers, bright red radishes, purple cabbages, black wood ear mushrooms, and grayish-brown button mushrooms. On the right, rows of roasted ducks and cured chickens hung there, glistening with oil. On the counter, there was another row of several large jars with a sign that read "Cold Dishes," and several plates with some strange things on them, which looked like duck heads and duck feet.

The ground was spotless, completely free of the mud stains found in vegetable markets. A unique fragrance wafted from the shop, instantly lifting one's spirits as one stepped inside. Old Madam He was slightly surprised; it seemed this Miss Xiao was indeed quite extraordinary.

Yan Ying was writing behind the counter. It was already April, and the Dragon Boat Festival was just around the corner. She needed to prepare properly. This year, she had more time, so she planned to develop several varieties of zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), making them in various ways to give everyone more choices. Salted duck eggs and preserved eggs were naturally indispensable for the Dragon Boat Festival, and the village had already stockpiled quite a few. She had also instructed the villagers to start soaking the duck eggs in brine.

Red-yolk salted duck eggs should sell very well. With the right ingredient ratios, the preserved eggs will have a beautiful white color with flecks like pine flowers, which will be a unique feature of Baixiangyuan's preserved eggs. Yanying picked up her pen and thought for a moment. Perhaps she should also prepare extra roast duck and canned red oil; it would be perfect for giving as gifts.

Suddenly, Yan Ying felt as if someone was looking at her. When she looked up, she saw an elegantly dressed old lady standing in the middle of the shop, staring intently at her. Behind her were several maids and servants, all of whom seemed to be curiously observing her.

How could such a wealthy old lady appear in Baixiang Garden? Yan Ying glanced at the ruby ​​on Old Madam He's forehead and was secretly amazed. Such a large pigeon egg-shaped gemstone would have cost tens of millions in her previous life. Yet, she wore it so casually. Her wealth and status were beyond words.

"Madam, how can I help you?" Yan Ying smiled and walked out from behind the counter. "Do you want to buy some fresh things from our Bai Xiang Yuan? Madam, take a look. We have many items that are not sold anywhere else in the capital. Only our Bai Xiang Yuan sells them."

Madam He wasn't there to buy anything, but hearing what she said piqued her interest. She followed Yan Ying and looked at the items in the vegetable baskets, then turned to the roast duck counter to take a look: "Although I don't go out often, I've heard that a new thing called roast duck has recently appeared in the capital. Wealthy families are all buying it to try, otherwise they'll be ridiculed for not keeping up with the trend. Now I've finally seen roast duck."

Yan Ying smiled slightly: "Madam, you flatter me." She instructed the waiter to take down a roast duck and hand it to her personal maid: "Mama, look at this, the color is so shiny, and smell this aroma, it's so fragrant."

The personal attendant glanced at the roast duck, looked at Madam He with a smile but said nothing. Madam He said calmly, "Bring down five of them."

The waiter hurried off to fetch the roast duck. Yan Ying scooped out some seasonings from several jars, wrapped them in oil paper, and then tied them with different colored strings: "Ma'am, the red string is spicy sauce, the white string is sesame paste, the yellow string is seafood sauce, and the green string is numbing-spicy sauce. The four flavors are all different, so serve them separately on plates."

Standing to the side, Madam He watched Yan Ying's every move. The more she looked at her, the more alarmed she became. Her eyebrows and eyes really did resemble Ru Xue's when she was young. Others might not notice, but how could she, as her mother, not see it? Although the country girl in front of her had a slightly smaller face than her daughter, who had a rounder oval face, her eyebrows and eyes were exactly like Ru Xue's when she was young.

So what if his face is smaller? Prince Yu's face is smaller than his own daughter's, isn't it?

Suddenly, sweat beaded on her neck. Old Madam He's hand gripped Xiao Lu's palm tightly, and Xiao Lu cried out in pain and shock.

Chapter 240 Discovery

Yan Ying had a strange feeling. She felt like she was being watched, as if a knife was slowly peeling away her clothes layer by layer, as if it wanted to pierce her flesh.

She disliked this feeling intensely, as if she had been stripped naked and laid bare before someone. Yan Ying turned around, hiding behind the counter, bent down, and took out several kinds of pickled vegetables from the jar. She cut them open with scissors, mixed them with fermented goose fat, seasoned them, weighed the bowl, and then poured out the cold dish: "Madam, these are some fresh produce from our Bai Xiang Yuan restaurant. Please take these home and try them. They're free, a gift for you."

Madam He was somewhat surprised. How could Miss Xiao be so generous? Nothing in her shop was cheap, yet she gave her such a large bag of cold dishes without batting an eye.

Yan Ying bowed slightly to Madam He: "It is an honor for our shop that you come to Baixiang Garden to buy things. It is only right that we give you some appetizers."

Madam He gave her a deep look and then instructed her personal maid, "Return to the manor."

"Yes." The personal maid, Xiao Lu, carrying a full load of things, helped Old Madam He slowly walk out of Baixiang Garden. Yan Ying followed and saw her off to the outside. Watching Old Madam He get into the sedan chair, she kept glancing at the curtain of the sedan chair, trying to see which family it belonged to.

Those who had lived in the capital for a while could tell which family owned the sedan chair by its curtain. But she had been looking at it for a long time and still couldn't tell which family it belonged to. There was a round pattern on one side of the curtain with a few words embedded in the middle. It looked quite like the style of artistic calligraphy from her previous life. Before she could figure it out, the sedan chair had already started to sway and move forward.