Daily Life of a Powerful Official Supporting His Wife

Chapter 30

Chapter
Xie Junling is on leave today and doesn't have to go to the Hanlin Academy. He stays in the main house with Lu Baoer.

Lu Baoer didn't have many hobbies on weekdays, and she wasn't interested in needlework. Her only pleasure was thinking about food. Fortunately, Xie Junling was also in the mansion, which gave Lu Baoer even more fun.

The old nanny changed her into a peach blossom satin jacket and a coral red flower skirt. Her long, thick black hair was tied into a small bun. The old nanny used a hair brace to wrap it into the pointed corners of cat ears, and then pinned a pair of white rabbit fur balls on her hair.

Looking at it this way, with red lips and white teeth, she looks playful and cute, just like a cat fairy from a New Year picture.

Xie Junling also felt that this dress suited her age. She usually sought to be steady and generous when meeting guests, and this dress made her look a bit old-fashioned, which he did not like very much.

Lu Baoer, holding the hem of her skirt, ran to Xie Junling like a butterfly. She fell on Xie Junling's knees and asked sweetly, "Husband, do I look good in this?"

Xie Junling's heart skipped a beat as she gazed at him with eyes as bright as autumn water. He actually liked Lu Baoer's look, but he was worried she'd become unruly after receiving praise and continue to dress like that. If some scoundrel spotted her, wouldn't they harbor evil intentions? The thought of this made Xie Junling feel a little unhappy. He said, "It's just mediocre."

Hearing this, Lu Baoer's mouth, which had been full of hope and smile, suddenly drooped. She pouted and said unhappily, "Old Madam said I'd definitely please my husband if I dressed like this. Apparently, even though she's experienced, her words aren't entirely accurate. I won't dress like this anymore!"

Did she comb her hair specifically to show him? Xie Junling's mouth curled up slightly, but he was afraid that it would be seen, as it would make him look simple and superficial, and he was too happy to show it on his face.

Xie Junling then raised his hand to cover his lips, coughed lightly, and said, "Just now I only caught a fleeting glimpse of her, but now that I've taken a closer look, I can appreciate her beauty. She's still pretty. I'll wear her like this at home from now on. But when I go out to meet guests, I have to be more reserved. I'm afraid a bright color might not be suitable. I'll have to think carefully."

"Is that so?" Lu Baoer immediately became happy, and she almost had a dog tail growing behind her butt, shaking it happily.

"Yes." Xie Junling affirmed her solemnly.

Lu Baoer was satisfied with the praise. She took Xie Junling's hand and led him to the flower hall.

Today, Lu Baoer took a tea stove from the kitchen, filled it with scarlet charcoal, and placed an iron net on top.

After the flames licked the iron net until it was hot, Lu Baoer neatly arranged the slices of crimson pork that had been marinated and sprinkled with sesame seeds on the net.

Xie Junling knew that Lu Baoer liked to eat meat. When they were in the countryside, he had to give her a small dish of stir-fried meat with minced garlic for every meal before she would eat.

Meat was expensive back then, but Lu Baoer's family wasn't poor, so she could afford it. It didn't matter if she had some meat. Xie Junling only ate stir-fried dishes and never fought with the girl for meat.

However, Lu Baoer was quite well-behaved. She knew that Xie Junling worked hard in the kitchen, so she would pick out a piece of shiny meat from the bowl and put it in Xie Junling's bowl, and then earnestly call him to eat.

Thinking of the past, Xie Junling smiled and said to Lu Baoer, "Eating roasted meat will inevitably cause internal heat. Remember to ask the old nanny to get some dried honeysuckle and chopped coptis root, and make you a few bowls of heat-reducing tea."

Do I have to drink coptis root? Lu Baoer's originally sparkling almond eyes suddenly lost their luster. She whispered ingratiatingly, "Can I not add coptis root? Mammy said I have a cold stomach and can't eat coptis root for fear of damaging my stomach."

Xie Junling smiled faintly: "Since you still remember that you have a cold stomach, why don't you think about whether you will get angry when eating meat, so as not to complain about a sore throat?"

Xie Junling's words left Lu Baoer speechless. With a bitter face, she used chopsticks to flip the golden-brown roasted pork. Even though the meat was mixed with minced garlic, the aroma of meat was fragrant, and the oil and water were boiling, she didn't find it fragrant anymore.

When the meat was roasted to a golden brown and crispy, Lu Baoer told Liu Xiang to put the meat on the table. She thought it was fun and roasted some duck and eggplant herself.

The eggplants were grown by the cook in a black cloth greenhouse in the backyard. It is said that the black cloth blocks the snow, and the snow on the back makes the vegetables not afraid of the harsh winter and thrives.

Lu Baoer felt that Aunt Ye was quite capable, and that she knew almost everything about the kitchen. Lu Baoer had previously curiously asked the old nanny why a palace chef with such skills could leave the palace?
Wouldn't she be well fed and well provided for in the palace? The old nanny whispered to her that Aunt Ye was just afraid of being locked up in the palace. After all, how could the imperial kitchen of the royal family be so comfortable?

If you fail to handle the dirty deeds among the concubines in the harem properly, fail to follow the trend, and let people gossip about your dishes, you will lose your head.

Aunt Ye knew that she could not handle this matter, so she hid her incompetence for many years. Finally, she was sent to the official residence granted by the emperor. One reason was to show the emperor's favor, and the other was to lose a chef with unskilled skills, which was not a rare thing.

Lu Baoer pursed her lips and smiled when she heard this: "Then I really picked up a treasure."

The old nanny originally thought that Lu Baoer was a wise but now, after getting to know her for a long time, she realized that she was really stupid. She didn't fight for anything, didn't take anything to heart, and praised everything she got.

If she hadn't planned for Lu Baoer, Lu Baoer would have been eaten by someone long ago. This girl only had one good point, that is, she was obedient, and being obedient would not cause trouble.

Forget it, she can just worry about it like Xie Junling, and there is no need to worry too much about Lu Baoer as long as she is happy.

Lu Baoer had the rice served. She then washed a leaf, shook off the water, and spread it on her palm. She placed eggplant, soybean paste, barbecued meat, and a ball of white rice on top, then rolled it into a small ball and handed it to Xie Junling, "Husband, open your mouth!"

Seeing that she was going to feed him, Xie Junling, although he didn't know how to eat the vegetable bun, at least gave Lu Baoer face, opened his lips slightly, and took the mouthful of vegetable bun rice.

Lu Baoer asked him excitedly: "Does my husband think it tastes good?"

Xie Junling chewed for a long time, silent. The greasy texture of the meat was perfectly offset by the sweetness of the vegetable leaves. Combined with the sweet eggplant and the bland rice, and finally the pungent flavor of the fermented broad bean paste, the taste was quite good.

He nodded, wiped the corner of his lips with a handkerchief, and asked, "How did Madam come up with this way of eating?"

Lu Baoer blinked and said, "I had a dream last night. I dreamed that there were chicken, duck, fish, meat, and various dishes on the table. I felt that eating one by one was too slow, so I came up with this trick to taste everything in one bite."

Hearing this, Xie Junling was speechless. It turned out that she was greedy and accidentally came up with such a strange way of eating, not because she was born smart.

Very good. He had almost thought Lu Bao'er was naturally intelligent, but now he saw that she was still as naive as ever. It seemed that Xie Junling had never misjudged anyone; his perception was always extraordinary.

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(End of this chapter)