Crossing Over to Yamada Love

The second wife initially disapproved of Mo Lan's advances, finding her seductive, but her grandson's persistent pleas softened her heart, and she reluctantly agreed. During the day, she had sounded out Madam Wang's opinion, expecting her to be overjoyed that Mo Lan could finally enter the Marquis's residence openly. However, Madam Wang rejected her, leaving her utterly humiliated. Filled with resentment, she couldn't resist confronting Mo Lan upon seeing her.

Before Mo Lan could respond, the Princess Consort chimed in, "Aunt is right. Several young ladies are returning home today. They are all Lan Lan's elders. They should greet her according to the proper etiquette. But she went out to enjoy herself and only returned at this hour. I really don't know how she was taught manners. She clearly looks down on the people of our Marquis's mansion." The Princess Consort added fuel to the fire; she also disliked Mo Lan. She had just entered the mansion and had already offended her, and even had designs on her son. How could she give her a kind look?

Mo Lan chuckled inwardly at the two of them. She'd only been in the manor for two days, and she'd already incurred everyone's wrath; they were all turning against her. She considered retorting, but then thought better of it. She wouldn't be staying here for long; why bother standing out? Leaving too much of an impression on them wouldn't be a good thing.

Thinking of this, Mo Lan bowed, blushed, and lowered her head to admit her mistake.

Seeing that Mo Lan had admitted her mistake, the Second Madam and the Crown Prince's Consort were powerless to do anything. They gave her a few words of advice and then shut up, feeling rather annoyed.

Lady Hou spoke up at the opportune moment and had dinner served. After dinner, Lady Wang and Mo Lan took their leave.

Once inside, Madam Wang inquired about the situation in the courtyard. Upon learning that Chunhua was alright and nothing had happened, she waved for the maid to leave. Xia Yu was guarding the entrance.

"Girl, did you have fun today?" Madam Wang asked Mo Lan with a kind expression, holding her hand.

Mo Lan smiled and nodded. After exchanging a few words about the day's events, she noticed that Wang Shi looked tired and knew that she wasn't happy in the manor. Several married young ladies from the Marquis's household had come to visit today, and dealing with them must be exhausting.

“Ah, I’m getting old. When you get old, you hate trouble. Tomorrow, my brother will take me to the ancestral hall to pay respects. At that time, many people from the Wang family’s main branch will come, and there will probably be a banquet. You can’t go to the ancestral hall, but you can attend the banquet. Do you want to go?” Madam Wang asked Mo Lan.

Mo Lan leaned against Wang Shi and said, "I'd better not go. I'll be researching new dishes in the small kitchen tomorrow. Grandma, you don't need to worry about me. Focus on paying respects to Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma, and also pay respects on Lan Lan's behalf."

Looking at her granddaughter, Wang sighed and said, "Let's go back in a few days. This place is not my home after all." She paused, then continued, "It's not my home after all."

Mo Lan was saddened, knowing that reality had shattered Wang's dream. Although her two elder brothers treated her very well, how much time did the Marquis and the Second Master spend in the inner courtyard? They were busy with many things, and only the two ladies and the other ladies accompanied Wang.

Lady Hou was outwardly kind to Wang Shi, but the Second Lady was rather impolite in her words, the Heir Apparent's wife also maintained a haughty demeanor, and the other ladies were only putting on a show. As for the young ladies, they were even less close to Wang Shi. Here, Wang Shi was an outsider. Therefore, after her initial excitement subsided, Wang Shi felt somewhat uneasy. She planned to spend a few more days with her brother before returning home.

"I'll listen to Grandma." Mo Lan nodded obediently, though she herself didn't really want to stay here.

"Have the Xue brothers take you out on the day of the banquet. It's better if you don't see those important people; you don't like such occasions. Meeting them would only be torture." Madam Wang sighed and said these words. She knew that Mo Lan didn't want to see those important people; she didn't want to climb the social ladder or curry favor with them. She couldn't refuse, so why should her granddaughter suffer like that?

"Grandma, let me stay with you. I'm worried about leaving you alone." Mo Lan was touched by her grandmother's concern, but she couldn't bear to leave her grandmother alone in the mansion.

"Silly girl, what's there to worry about? Grandma attended gatherings like this when she was younger. Don't worry, they'll be less concerned about you without you here," Wang said slowly, stroking Mo Lan's hair.

"By the way, girl, today your second maternal aunt hinted that she wanted to keep you in the manor and make you Mingyou's concubine, but I refused. Be careful, the manor is not as simple as our place. Don't meet with Mingyou in private, lest he find a pretext to frame you." Madam Wang brought up the events of the day with Molan.

Mo Lan quickly realized that this guy's intention in proposing to her was probably not because he was interested in her, but because he wanted to take her as a concubine in order to torment her. If she married him, she would probably never have a good life again. But he was overestimating himself. He thought he would agree just because she was mentioned? What kind of brain does he have?

"I'm so tired. Don't worry, Grandma, I definitely won't see him. Even though I don't care about my reputation, it's still not a good thing if he keeps bothering me. He's really scheming. He wants to torment me? Is he so sure I'll marry him, and as a secondary wife? He's so stingy, he won't even give me the position of the principal wife."

Mo Lan complained to her grandmother, saying whatever came to mind without any regard for propriety. However, her words made Xia Yu, standing at the door, gasp. The old lady and young lady must trust her to have entrusted her with guarding the door. Listening to their conversation, she was surprised; how could their thinking be so different from the people in the Marquis's mansion? They seemed completely indifferent to everything within the mansion. The young lady's personality seemed very strong; following such a young lady wouldn't be bad.

The grandmother and granddaughter chatted for a while longer, and then Mo Lan slept at Wang Shi's place instead of going back to her room, since she was used to sleeping with Wang Shi anyway.

The next morning, Wang Shi did not let Mo Lan get up. She went to the Marquis's residence by herself. Before leaving, she told Mo Lan to stay in Lan Courtyard and not to go out, and that she would return as soon as possible.

Mo Lan agreed. She heard that the old Marquis and others had led Wang Shi to the ancestral hall to worship their parents and the ancestors of the Wang family. All the descendants of the Wang family went, and many of Wang Shi's relatives also came.

Mo Lan asked someone to deliver a letter she had written to her family to Xue Lingfeng, telling him that they had entered the capital and were all well, and that he should find a reason to take her out of the mansion the day after tomorrow.

After finishing these tasks, Mo Lan led Granny Bai and Xia Yu to the small kitchen.

The small kitchen was just for show; it wasn't used, and clearly, there was no intention to use it. Only an old woman surnamed Zhang was guarding it.

When the old woman saw Mo Lan and the other two approaching, she hurried over to greet Mo Lan.

Mo Lan called out and led the people towards the small kitchen.

“Miss Lan, this small kitchen hasn’t been used, it’s dirty and messy. You’re a woman of noble birth, how can you go in? If there’s anything you need, just tell me, and I’ll make it for you. Why come here in person?” Granny Zhang blocked the doorway, not wanting Mo Lan to enter.

Mo Lan smiled at her and said, "Aunt Zhang, I'm just taking a look. I haven't seen it since I arrived. This is the small kitchen in Lan Courtyard, I need to know what it looks like." After saying that, she went inside.

After taking a look inside, she frowned slightly, glancing at Granny Zhang's sullen smile behind her. She sighed; no wonder she hadn't been allowed in—this little kitchen was truly filthy. It had probably been prepared long ago, but since there was no owner, it hadn't been used; it was just for show. It seemed that even after they moved in, they hadn't intended to use it, so the old woman hadn't bothered to clean it. Many things inside were covered in dust. There were two old women in the kitchen; it seemed both of them were too lazy to bother.

"Aunt Zhang, could you please bring two people to clean this place?" Mo Lan didn't say much; if she did it herself, it would take her ages. Since there were servants here, she could help clean up quickly so she could prepare the dishes.

"Miss Lan, I'll have someone clean it up right away. Please go back to your room, Miss. It's too dirty and messy here; it might not be good for your health." The old woman replied, but she didn't really care. She planned to have two maids clean it up later.

"No, I'll stay here and watch. You guys go ahead with your work." Mo Lan didn't leave and watched them clean.

With Mo Lan watching over her, Granny Zhang didn't dare to be negligent. She hurriedly called for help, brought several basins of water, picked up a rag, and started working enthusiastically.

Mo Lan asked Xia Yu to stay and watch over things while she found the steward of the inner courtyard and asked her to prepare seasonings and ingredients for her. The steward didn't say much. She agreed to Mo Lan's request and said she would bring them over in a while.

After the kitchen was cleaned up, the old women and maids were exhausted, rubbing their lower backs and sweating profusely.

Mo Lan thanked the women for their hard work and told Granny Zhang to have the main kitchen prepare something nice for lunch and send it over as a reward. The women quickly thanked her, but Mo Lan told them not to wait on her and to go and rest.

After they all left, Mo Lan asked Xia Yu and Granny Bai to keep watch and let her know if anyone came. Then she began to prepare.

Because it was an experiment, she prepared a very simple dish: she shredded cucumber, onion, and cabbage. These were all simple ingredients. After chopping them, she put the vegetables in a large bowl and started making the sauce.

In her previous life, Mo Lan had only ever eaten "lao zhi" (a type of dipping sauce), but she didn't know its ingredients. She had vaguely glimpsed it, but now she couldn't remember it at all. She could only try it slowly.

She first added boiling water, then soy sauce, vinegar, rock sugar, salt, and five-spice powder. She then put some vegetables in a large bowl and started mixing.

She took a bite; the taste was alright, but not what she wanted. She put the dish aside and continued preparing the sauce. This time, she added some chili oil. Still no good, far from it. It had absolutely no flavor.

Mo Lan frowned. If it's going to be fresh, these ingredients alone definitely won't be enough, and there's no chicken bouillon or anything like that here. Chicken bouillon? Mo Lan suddenly understood; she might not have a finished product, but she had the raw ingredients.

Mo Lan asked Xia Yu to go to the main kitchen to get chicken, big bones, fish, clams, and the like. The Marquis's residence hadn't prepared any other seafood today, so they couldn't make seafood sauce, but this was enough.