The general's eldest daughter has a spatial ability

Xiao Jinhua felt this must be a serious matter: "Come with me to my study to talk."

The two went to Xiao Jinhua's study together. Xiao Nan was instructed to stand guard at the door and not allow anyone to approach. Mo Liuyun and Xiao Jinhua sat down at the table. Xiao Jinhua poured a cup of tea for herself and Mo Liuyun respectively: "Cousin, what do you want to tell me?"

Mo Liuyun glanced at Xiao Jinhua: "Third cousin, what I want to say is about the future of the Xiao family. This time, the matter of my maternal grandfather and eldest uncle has undoubtedly blocked someone's path. They want to get rid of him as soon as possible. We must be on guard. Only by becoming strong can we be fearless!"

Although the Xiao family doesn't take sides, they wield military power. If they wait until even the Emperor becomes wary of them, it will be too late. I want my maternal uncle to go from the limelight to the shadows, to gracefully withdraw from public life, to feign weakness, and to secretly nurture his own people. If that day truly comes, they can choose a better place to go. My fate is in my own hands, not in the heavens. If the heavens oppose me, what then?!

Xiao Jinhua was shocked by Mo Liuyun's words. Could such words really be uttered by a young lady from a sheltered family? "My fate is in my own hands, not in the heavens. If the heavens oppose me, so what?" What ambition and determination!

Despite his shock, he nodded heavily: "I have considered what you said, but there are no specific plans yet. I will discuss it carefully with my grandfather and uncle."

Xiao Jinhua didn't finish her sentence: Otherwise, I wouldn't have secretly helped the Prince of Pingnan. I only hope that if the Xiao family ever has nowhere to retreat, there will be a glimmer of hope for survival!

"Third cousin, you should know about my medical skills. My master is a reclusive master who took me as his disciple by chance. He passed on some rare elixir formulas to me, the most precious of which is the spiritual liquid I gave you last time. I plan to give my family members this high-grade spiritual liquid. It can cleanse their meridians, enhance their cultivation, and a strong physique is the foundation of everything!"

Upon hearing Mo Liuyun mention the high-grade spiritual liquid, Xiao Jinhua sighed once again. Her cousin's medical skills were truly progressing by leaps and bounds. The spiritual liquid she gave last time saved her grandfather and uncle's lives, and just a few days later, it had been upgraded again. Its effects—cleansing the meridians and enhancing one's power—were practically the lifelong goal of all martial arts practitioners, yet her cousin spoke of it so casually.

This priceless treasure, however, was offered to the family for free. Thinking of the preciousness of the elixir, Xiao Jinhua pulled Mo Liuyun outside: "Cousin, you must need a lot of precious medicinal herbs to make the elixir, right? There are some herbs in the storeroom. Which ones do you think we can use? There are century-old ginseng and lingzhi."

Mo Liuyun: Cousin, can I say that I have no shortage of ginseng and other medicinal herbs?

Mo Liuyun thought for a moment and then pulled Xiao Jinhua back: "Let's talk about it when we leave. Thank you, cousin!"

"We owe you so much, there's no need for thanks," Xiao Jinhua waved her hand.

"Third cousin, we are family." Then Mo Liuyun asked about his grandfather's poisoning incident. After interrogation, it turned out that the gardener had been adding mandrake juice to the water every day under the pretense of watering the orchids, which caused his grandfather to be poisoned. The gardener confessed that he owed the casino two hundred taels of silver and that if he didn't pay back the money, they would cut off his hands. Then someone found him, gave him two hundred taels, and said that as long as he added that stuff to the water every day and watered the orchids, it would be fine.

The young gardener only learned that the orchid was poisonous when Mo Liuyun asked him to move it out of the room, but he still held onto a sliver of hope that no one would find out about him.

In fact, after Xiao Jinhua found out these things, she asked the gardener about the person's name and appearance. Then she took the portrait to look for clues. When she found it, the person had already died at home, and the coroner confirmed that he had been dead for more than two days.

On the same day, Wang Hao, the Vice Minister of War, was found drunk and drowned in his family's pond. Wang Hao was the one who had given his grandfather the orchids, meaning that as soon as the young gardener was apprehended, the other side received the news and silenced him. The trail went cold, but one clue pointed to the Duke of Dingguo's mansion, because Vice Minister Wang Hao was a member of the Duke of Dingguo's faction!

After understanding the situation, Mo Liuyun saw Xiao Jinhua off and then called Lian'er to prepare dinner together. After 3 PM, Mo Liuyun went to the kitchen to start preparing. Several cooks and the head chef had already been notified, so they prepared various ingredients.

Mo Liuyun had Lian'er carry a basket into the kitchen, actually to cover his tracks so he could take things out of his spatial storage. He left only a maid to tend the fire and a chef to cook for his grandmother and the others after they learned how.

Mo Liuyun asked the head chef, "Do your maternal grandparents usually prefer light or strong flavors? Do they like meat or vegetarian food?"

The head chef replied, "The Duke was previously stationed on the frontier, where conditions were harsh and severe. People ate a lot of spicy and strong-flavored food to keep warm and dispel dampness. The Duke likes meat and prefers strong flavors, while the Duchess prefers light flavors, but she likes to eat fish."

Thinking of the fish her mother had given her grandmother at noon, Mo Liuyun decided to make a steamed sea bass, a fish ball soup, and a braised pork and boiled fish for her grandfather. She also planned to stir-fry some cured pork and bamboo shoots, make a cold preserved egg salad, steam a minced meat and egg custard, and make poached chicken. After deciding what to make, Mo Liuyun took Lian'er to select the ingredients and then taught the head chef and Lian'er how to process them.

For example, when making fish balls, you need to remove the skin and bones from the fish, mince it into a paste, add a certain amount of cornstarch (from the space), add ginger and garlic water to remove the fishy smell, how to treat the fish for steaming to remove the fishy smell, how long to marinate it, etc., and how to remove the bitterness from winter bamboo shoots...

The head chef thought the young lady would just give instructions and the maids would do the cooking, but to his surprise, the young lady was teaching them and demonstrating for them at the same time.

The more the young lady taught him, the more alarmed he became: because this already involved recipes and cooking skills. Wasn't the young lady afraid that he would learn it and then sell it?

After finishing a boiled fish dish, the head chef stammered out his thoughts, and Mo Liuyun asked in return, "Then would you sell food recipes?"

"Of course not!" the head chef answered without hesitation! He then explained, "I was originally a cook in the army. Later, I was appreciated by the Duke for a dish I made. After retiring, I followed the Duke back to his mansion and became a cook. My wife was arranged by the old lady!" When the head chef mentioned his wife, he grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.

"That's settled then! Besides, have you ever seen these seasonings before? These aren't things you can just buy anywhere! Without these, you can't make the same taste." Lian'er raised her head high, pointing to a bunch of things like ginger, garlic, cornstarch, and five-spice powder.

Mo Liuyun: Little girl, you're being a bit smug, you know that?

Seeing this, the head chef became disappointed again. Mo Liuyun rolled her eyes at Lian'er and said, "I'll keep some here, and I'll have someone deliver ingredients regularly in the future! Just focus on learning and cook well every day. Then I'll ask your grandmother to give you an extra monthly allowance!"

"Thank you, Miss!" The head chef chuckled sheepishly upon hearing about the extra monthly allowance. With the help of Lian'er, the head chef, Mo Liuyun quickly prepared seven dishes and a soup: steamed sea bass, braised pork, boiled fish, stir-fried cured pork with bamboo shoots, steamed egg with minced meat, cold preserved egg salad, poached chicken, and vegetable and fish ball soup.

First, he sent servants to each room to announce that dinner would be served in a quarter of an hour. Then, thinking that it was not appropriate to invite Wushuang to the family banquet today, but because there were many people, he made a lot of dishes. He sent someone to call his third cousin's gluttonous attendant, Xiao Nan, and packed a few dishes for him to send to Wushuang.

Then Mo Liuyun, accompanied by Lian'er and a large group of maids, carried the dishes to the dining hall.

Mo Liuyun arrived gracefully, followed by her maidservants who brought out dish after dish: glistening braised pork, golden steamed egg custard garnished with green scallions, even the steamed fish was uniquely presented, translucent cured meat paired with glossy winter bamboo shoots, and a plate of dark, unfamiliar food, and... In short, the aroma alone was enough to make one's mouth water!

Mo Liuyun remembered his grandfather saying he had prepared wine, so he bought a bottle of Wuliangye from the spatial store, replaced the wine jar, and had Lian'er bring it over. He handed it to his third cousin: "Grandfather, try this wine. It was left by my master. He loved wine, so it must be good. Please drink this today!" He also prepared pear juice for his grandmother and A Jin: "Grandmother, Mother, A Jin, Aunt, let's drink juice." Don't ask why it's pear juice; because in this Northern Li Kingdom, pears are the most common fruit!

"Good! Good! Good!" Xiao Yi said "good" three times in a row, his smile so wide his eyes disappeared. Xiao Jinhua took the wine and had just opened the seal when several men's noses twitched and their eyes lit up. They could tell it was good wine just by smelling it. Xiao Jinhua poured a glass for her grandfather and a glass for herself, but not for Xiao Qi: "Uncle is injured and should not drink."

Xiao Qi looked at Mo Liuyun anxiously and said, "Yun'er, your uncle will only have one cup, just one cup!"

Mo Liuyun looked at his third cousin: "Third cousin, pour a cup for your eldest uncle."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jinhua poured a glass for Xiao Qi. Everyone smelled the aroma of the wine and food, raised their glasses at the same time, and celebrated this moment of reunion. Although their father and second uncle were still missing, at least everyone was safe and sound.

After delivering the groceries, Xiao Nan stood at the door, showing no intention of leaving, staring at the dishes on the table with drool in his eyes.

Wushuang: "Why aren't you leaving yet?"

Xiao Nan: "I want to eat too!"

Wushuang: "No, that was a gift from the young lady."

Xiao Nan turned around: "Then I'll go tell Miss that you and the Third Young Master actually knew each other a long time ago!!"

Wu Shuang gritted her teeth: "!!! Come back, you're ruthless!"