Chapter 45: Wontons (1)

He Changdi was momentarily stunned. He hadn’t imagined that that would be the reason for Laiyue’s urgency.
He pursed his lips and was about to admonish Laiyue angrily, but then he suddenly remembered that faintly tantalizing aroma he had smelled in the study last night.
Actually, He Changdi could imagine how tasty that dish must’ve been from the way Laiyue had been wolfing his food down.
Laiyue was his personal servant and had been serving by his side since he was young. He had eaten plenty of delicacies in his life. If a picky eater like him liked something, it was probably really good. However, since Chu Lian had made the dish, his brain refused to acknowledge that fact.
He Sanlang coldly snorted, got up, and refused to pay any attention to Laiyue. He originally intended to head to the outer court, but when he caught sight of the busy kitchen out of the corner of his eyes, He Changdi abruptly changed his path and headed to the parlour.
Senior Servant Gui, who was in the middle of tidying up the parlour, suffered a shock and rushed to greet He Changdi. “Good Morning, Third Young Master.”
He Changdi’s gaze swept across the room before he asked in a no-nonsense manner, “Where’s your mistress?”
Senior Servant Gui looked down, but secretly glanced at him before replying in a soft voice, “Third Young Madam is… in the kitchen…”
“Preposterous! The House of Jing’an isn’t so poor as to have their Third Young Madam cook her own meals! If this were to get out, what would other people think of us?”
Senior Servant Gui’s head dipped even lower upon hearing He Sanlang’s rebuttal. She was rendered completely speechless.
He Changdi harrumphed. He sat down at the table and refused to leave.
He was merely taking out his frustrations from yesterday night on Senior Servant Gui, since she was Chu Lian’s most trusted steward.
Senior Servant Gui gave a pointed look to a young maidservant standing nearby, signaling her to pour some tea while she observed He Sanlang from the side.
She found it strange that Third Young Master was still calmly sitting here in the parlour. He was clearly unhappy with Third Young Madam, so to avoid her, he should have already gone to the outer court, rather than sit here like he was waiting for something.
He Changdi, left with nothing to do, looked around the room as he waited. Chu Lian’s dowry was placed in boxes all around the parlour. The more he looked at them, the more he thought they were an eyesore. He would have left long ago had it not been for last night’s dishes arousing his curiosity.
Meanwhile, Chu Lian had figured wontons were pretty easy to make, so she brought Xiyan and Mingyan to the kitchen early in the morning to try.
After mincing the meat, they added eggs, spring onions, and garlic. Then, they rolled out the dough and wrapped up the stuffing. By the time the wontons were ready to be cooked, an hour had already passed.
Although Chu Lian didn’t personally do anything, she had recited instructions to Xiyan and Mingyan from the side. It was already early summer by now, and the kitchen was hot, so she was already sweating by the time they were done.
She had worn a light, thin pink dress today. The skirt was made of several layers of fabric, and was extremely pretty. After she had finished dressing this morning, Senior Servant Gui had even complimented her, saying how well it suited her and how she looked like a tender blooming peony.
However, now that she had started sweating, the thin translucent fabric clung to her body, revealing the silhouette of her light pink undergarments. The thin straps on her shoulders were completely exposed.
It was only when Chu Lian stood up that she realised the awkward state of her clothing.