Before the house was raided, the maidservant of the Prime Minister's residence absconded with t

"Tao'er! You brat, wake up!"

"You dare to sleep in on your first day on duty? Don't you want to work here anymore?"

A loud shout from a man was accompanied by a rough shoving, and Tao'er suddenly opened her eyes.

Before her stood the dark-skinned face of a middle-aged man, his expression full of anger, glaring at her.

"Manager Wang... Manager Wang?" Tao'er blurted out.

Wang, the steward in charge of the kitchen at the Prime Minister's residence, has a bad temper but is not a bad person.

"You still know who I am?"

He sleeps even more soundly than the master!

"Get up quickly! The old lady's breakfast in the yard is waiting to be made!"

Tao'er quickly lowered her head and admitted her mistake, stammering, "Steward Wang, I'll go make breakfast right away."

Manager Wang snorted and turned to leave.

Tao'er quickly climbed up from the simple wooden bed and looked down at her rough hands and plain clothes.

The original owner was born into poverty and was sold to a slave trader by her biased grandmother. After several twists and turns, the slave trader sold her to the Prime Minister's mansion.

It's normal for the original owner's hands to be rough; he had done a lot of farm work.

Tao'er knew she had really transmigrated and become the new cook in the Prime Minister's mansion.

It seems that everything in that dream was real.

Tao sighed and muttered to herself: Why did I end up here?

At this moment, a voice rang out: Liu Tao'er, this is your mission, and also the task given to you by the system.

Only if you protect the young master of the Xiao family and he lives can you live.

When you die peacefully, you can return to your original world.

"Feed..."

Explain yourself clearly...

Liu Tao'er called out, but there was no sound.

She had no choice but to accept her fate, cursed once, and then gave up.

It seems that the spatial ability is also a cheat code that the system has given her.

Looking around, she saw that this was a shared room for the kitchen servants in the Prime Minister's residence, with four beds. At this moment, she was the only one there; the other cooks had already gotten up and started working.

Tao took a deep breath, quickly finished washing up according to her dream, and headed to the kitchen.

Along the way, she observed her surroundings discreetly and silently memorized them.

The Prime Minister's residence was even more magnificent than she had seen in her dream, with pavilions, towers, carved beams and painted rafters, and servants who moved about in a hurry but in an orderly manner.

Who could have imagined that such a magnificent mansion would be reduced to ashes a year later?

"Tao'er, what are you daydreaming about?"

"Hurry up and wash these vegetables!"

A plump but somewhat endearing cook handed over a basket of green vegetables.

"Yes, Aunt Li."

Tao'er took the basket and squatted down by the well to start washing the vegetables.

Aunt Li was an old servant in the household and also the wife of Steward Wang. She had always been responsible for helping with the kitchen affairs of the Prime Minister's residence.

So it's always good for her to be obedient and well-behaved.

The icy well water jolted her awake and made her even more alert.

She really did time travel; it wasn't a dream.

Moreover, she remembered clearly that today was April 20th, Tao'er's first day in the manor.

There was still a full year before the house was raided.

She had a year to prepare thoroughly.

While washing the vegetables, Tao'er tried to concentrate and sense the space around her.

To her relief, the space was still there, and all the supplies inside were safe and sound.

"Madam wishes to eat something light today, with the porridge cooked until soft and the side dishes prepared with care."

A well-dressed and pretty maid entered the kitchen and gave instructions.

"Yes, Miss Chuntao," Aunt Li replied hastily.

Tao'er's heart stirred.

The old lady of the Prime Minister's residence, Ayan's grandmother.

In the dream, she entrusted Ayan to the original owner before she died.

"Aunt Li, how is the old lady's health?"

Tao asked seemingly unintentionally, her face showing innocent naivety.

"Madam, you're getting on in years, and you've been coughing ever since spring began."

I heard the young master is also ill; it's truly worrying.

Aunt Li sighed, "Our old lady only has one grandson, and she cherishes him like the apple of her eye."

Young master, Ayan?

Tao'er paused slightly as she washed the vegetables.

In her dream, the frail child held her hand tightly and said in a childish voice on the road to exile, "Sister Tao'er, I will protect you when I grow up."

But he ultimately met a tragic end, which was truly pitiful!

"How old is the young master?" Tao'er asked.

"He's five years old, and quite handsome, but he's physically weak and gets sick all the time."

Aunt Li lowered her voice.

"I heard it's because the lady had a difficult childbirth... Sigh, let's not talk about it, let's get back to work."

Over the next few days, Tao'er dutifully performed her duties as a cook, secretly observing the situation at the Prime Minister's residence, while simultaneously planning her own actions.

First, she needs to determine whether the modern supplies in the space are usable in this era.

During a break, she secretly took out a small piece of compressed biscuit from her spatial storage and took a bite.

It's edible, and tastes the same as before.

Very good, Peach is a little relieved, which means that the space has the function of storage and preservation.

But she understood that she could not rely entirely on modern resources; she also needed to accumulate some resources and money in this era.

Three months later, Tao'er's position in the kitchen was secure.

She deliberately "innovated" a few desserts at a banquet, and heard that the young master recuperating in the old lady's room loved them.

This earned him the praise of the Prime Minister's wife, who gave him a reward of one tael of silver.

"Tao'er is skillful; from now on, the pastries in the old lady's courtyard will be your responsibility."

The Prime Minister's wife, Liu Suyun, made the announcement on the spot.

This is a very important opportunity.

This means she can get closer to the old lady and Ayan.

When Tao'er first went to the old lady's courtyard to deliver snacks, she finally met A-Yan.

It was a pale, thin little boy, leaning against the old lady reading a book.

His eyelashes were very long, and he had a small mole on the corner of his left eye, exactly the same as in my dream.

He was very handsome, but he had a pale complexion from a long illness and his spirits were not very good!

Tao'er felt sorry for him. Children of this age from aristocratic families would have already entered school, but because he had to recuperate for a long time, he was unable to attend school and could only study and learn to read at home.

"Yan-ge'er, this is Sister Tao'er, who just joined the kitchen. Her osmanthus cake is delicious; the one you had last time was made by her."

The old lady lovingly stroked her grandson's head.

Ayan raised his head, glanced at Tao'er, nodded slightly, and then lowered his head to continue reading.

He looked weaker than in the dream.

Tao'er felt a pang of heartache, for she saw the loneliness in Ayan's eyes, just as she had when she grew up in the orphanage.

I guess the child is cooped up at home all day and doesn't have many playmates!

From that day on, Tao'er began to consciously prepare some nutritious and easily digestible food for Ayan.

Based on modern knowledge and combined with ancient ingredients, she made steamed egg custard, minced meat porridge, meatballs, vegetable puree, and other dishes.

At first, Ayan ate very little, but gradually, he seemed to like the food that Sister Tao'er made.

"Sister Tao'er, there are mushrooms in today's steamed egg custard." Once, Ayan whispered to her.

"Young master, you're really amazing! You figured it out."

Tao'er replied with a smile, "These are fresh matsutake mushrooms, which are good for your health."

You have to finish it all!

Her voice was incredibly gentle; she truly felt sorry for the child.

A rare smile appeared on Ayan's pale face.

This older sister is so good to him!

As time went by, Tao'er accumulated money and resources while secretly cultivating trust and dependence between herself and her young master, Ayan.

She secretly ground some vitamin tablets into powder and mixed them into Ayan's food.

In addition, I would personally make some loquat and pear syrup for him to eat.

After a few months, Ayan's complexion seemed to have become rosier, and his cough had decreased.

The old lady noticed this change and appreciated Tao'er even more, often rewarding her with gifts.

Young Master Ayan would also reward her with some gold melon seeds and silver coins.

Tao'er did not refuse and exchanged most of the rewards for practical supplies: thick cotton cloth and durable shoe soles.

She also took advantage of her trips to buy some of the unique medicines and seeds of this era and stored them in her space.

However, beneath the calm surface, undercurrents were surging.

Tao'er gradually noticed some unusual things at the Prime Minister's residence: the Prime Minister was returning home later and later, with a solemn expression.

More and more strangers were coming and going from the mansion.

The butler began quietly selling off some of the less noticeable antiques...

Of course, she only discovered it after careful observation; the other people in the mansion had no idea and continued to act as usual.

The signs that preceded the raid on my home appeared one by one in my dream.

After winter set in, the old lady's illness suddenly worsened.

Tao'er knew that time was running out.

Late at night on the tenth day of the twelfth lunar month, Tao'er was suddenly awakened by urgent knocking on the door.

"Peach Girl..."

Peach Girl, get up quickly!

"Something terrible has happened to the old lady!" It was Granny Wang's voice, trembling with sobs.

Granny Wang was the old lady's personal nanny.

Tao'er's heart sank, and she quickly got dressed and got out of bed.

What was bound to happen has finally happened.