Chapter 41: Just Starve to Death (1)

That was a fragrance he had never smelled before. He couldn’t tell what the smell was made of, but it was mesmerising.
Laiyue had not eaten his dinner yet and was planning to bear with his hunger until his master went to sleep. Then, he would grab some dried foods to tide him over. However, a mesmerizing aroma just had to come wafting in with impeccable timing. All it took was one second and his stomach had already began to grumble.
The kitchen was upwind and it was breezy tonight; the aroma drifted over continuously, and he had nowhere to hide from it.
Smelling something so delicious on an empty stomach was practically the worst punishment he could think of for someone.
Laiyue saw that there were people moving around in the kitchen through the window; his eyes stared straight in their direction. He hated that his eyes couldn’t simply stretch over and sneak through the window to see what Third Young Madam was instructing her servants to do.
He Changdi was reading a book in the study. Since it was early summer, it was a little hot at night, so he left the windows in the study half opened.
He had been immersed in reading his book. However, at some point in time, a particular fragrance had come drifting in through the window. It was strangely enticing; although He Sanlang had tried most of the delicacies in the Great Wu Dynasty, he couldn’t tell what kind of delicacy this scent was coming from.
Only faint wisps of it had drifted into the study. However it was the elusiveness of this scent that made it even more enticing.
He Changdi took a deep breath and turned to look at the two boxes of food left on the desk. he was wondering if he should eat a little more, but upon thinking of how they looked, he lost all his appetite.
Forget it, he would bear with it for a little longer.
He Sanlang turned his attention back to the book and forced himself to concentrate.
On the other side, Chu Lian was leading her maidservants, who were carrying the food, to the parlour. They happened to pass by the study on their way there. Laiyue stared unblinkingly at the box in Xiyan’s hands, almost drooling from the smell.
Xiyan still remembered how Laiyue had treated her when she had come to ask about dinner, so she rolled her eyes at him and kept her chin high as she walked past him.
As Laiyue watched Third Young Madam and the maidservants pass by, he could smell something delicious; it hooked his appetite and made him even hungrier.
However, this wasn’t a good time to ask for food from Third Young Madam; he still had to guard the study door for Third Young Master.
Chu Lian instructed the maidservants to place the dishes on the table in the parlour.
The dishes consisted of a fragrant, cubed braised pork belly meat, kungpao chicken, sweet and sour bok choy, and a simple egg drop soup.
Xiyan gave Chu Lian a bowl of rice.
Once all the dishes were placed down, the entire parlour was filled with the scent of delicious food.
Senior Servant Gui and the personal maidservants had not eaten yet either. Chu Lian sat at the head of the table. When she saw that the maidservants were eyeing the plates and frantically gulping down their drool, she smiled. “Since you’re all hungry, sit down and eat with me.”
The moment she finished speaking, Senior Servant Gui stopped her by saying, “Third Young Madam, we are in the Jing’an Household right now. You’re the newly wedded bride! You must conduct yourself in a manner befitting of your new station! As our master, how could you let us servants eat together with you? If this were to get out, what would others say?”
Chu Lian felt helpless, but she understood that Senior Servant Gui was right. She also saw that even though Senior Servant Gui was eyeing the food just like the rest, she didn’t make a single move for it.
“Alright, then I’ll eat first. I’ve made extra for every dish. When I’m done, why don’t you stay here in the parlour to eat?”
Senior Servant Gui nodded and didn’t stop her this time.
Actually, she felt hungry just looking at these new, never-before-seen dishes. Back in the kitchen, when the braised meat had just finished cooking, Third Young Madam had let each of them have a taste. It had been so delicious that it could be compared to that roasted venison from before! No, it might even be more delicious!
At first she had thought that something made with this plain pork would surely be oily and unappetising. She hadn’t expected it to be so tasty. However, when she had one piece, she immediately wanted to have another. She couldn’t stop at all.
Senior Servant Gui was one of the older servants of the Ying Household, and she had even served at the side of Chu Lian’s biological mother. She had a lot of worldly experience and a lot of self-restraint. However, even she couldn’t hold back her appetite.