My whole family sucked my blood; after being reborn, the little cook went on a killing spree.

Xie Yan finally spoke her mind, tears streaming down her face, "No, you should leave now and never come back again."

"I rushed here to find you without stopping from noon, not to see you cry."

Su Wanning's tone was sharp, "Since you don't want to get married, then it's easier to talk."

She took out the medicine from her bundle. She had already thought about it before coming. Xie Yan had two paths to take.

One option is to drug these people, then leave with her, prepare plenty of money, and either establish a household for the woman or find a suitable person to marry her. When the people from Songxiwu come again, everything will be settled, and legally they will no longer be able to force her to remarry.

The second option is to pretend to marry into the family first, and then find an opportunity... but from then on, she will have to live the life of a widow.

"Just a small amount of this drug will put him into a deep sleep whenever you try to force yourself on him, and when he wakes up, he won't remember anything, and..."

Su Wan Ning smiled and said, "We won't need that thing anymore. You can use that as an excuse to coax him to come to the county town for treatment. It will definitely be done in a month or two."

These medicines were all given to her by that young imperial physician when she left the palace. At the time, she looked down on them, but now, in such a short time, she's using them all.

Xie Yan didn't hesitate for long before declaring, "I want to marry him!"

She recalled Zhou Manshan's beatings and scoldings to her last night. If he hadn't thought today was an auspicious day and wanted to consummate their marriage today, he would have forced himself on her yesterday!

Why? This wretch, worse than a pig or a dog, deserves to die!

"If it happens tomorrow morning, let's just leave together!"

This choice was exactly what Su Wan Ning wanted. Why keep that beast alive for the New Year?

"it is good."

Xie Yan wiped away her tears and touched up her makeup herself. "I have to get married happily."

"Remember when I said I'd hunt a wild boar for you to eat?"

Su Wan Ning wiped the blood from her face, her eyes crinkling with laughter. "I brought it to you. I'll go make it for you."

The two met by chance when they were children digging for wild vegetables. At that time, she said she was strong, but Xie Yan did not believe her. So she said she would catch a wild boar to prove herself. As a result, one of them died with his unborn child, and the other was whipped and tortured to death.

Fortunately, I made up for it in this life.

"I want to go see it."

Xie Yan felt like crying again. He hid the medicine powder and left the house with Su Wan Ning.

Aunt Xie was about to say that a bride shouldn't run around, but when she saw that Su Wan Ning was making pork soup for her, she shut up.

The others just wanted to eat and were even less willing to talk.

Zhou Manshan, however, stepped forward, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "Who's this?"

Xie Yan lowered his eyes. "A friend I knew from childhood, I didn't expect her to come looking for me. Brother Zhou, I think she's right."

"Oh? What did she say?"

In the darkness, Zhou Manshan's eyes were like those of a venomous snake.

"She said that seeing those people scheming against each other in the palace was nothing compared to the simple and honest nature of us villagers in the mountains. She also said she envied me for being able to marry you, so that I could just have children and take care of the family without having to worry about anything else. How wonderful that would be!"

Xie Yan looked up and smiled slightly. "Brother Zhou, I was so foolish before. Why did I always think about going out to make money? Actually, our mountains are the best place. People outside can't even get water now, but we can still eat wild boar here."

"This friend is worth having, haha, but I wonder how good his cooking is?"

Hearing this, Zhou Manshan finally smiled.

"How could someone from the Imperial Food Bureau be bad?" Xie Yan gave him a reproachful look, her eyes sparkling with charm.

"Then I'll have to eat more so I'll have energy tonight, hahaha."

The two didn't muffle their conversation, which put Su Wan Ning at ease. She had been worried that Xie Yan wouldn't pretend, but tsk, she had worried too much!

The wild boar has been slaughtered and cut into pieces, with half going to the Xie and Zhou families as part of tonight's meal.

The other half, under the village chief's organization, has already begun distributing meat to each household.

Everyone forgot that this was Su Wan Ning's congratulatory gift to Xie Yan.

Su Wan Ning didn't mind, washed her hands, and prepared to make pork soup.

Pig-slaughtering soup is the most important dish at the pig-slaughtering banquet. The ingredients are extremely fresh, so it tests the chef's skills.

Add water to the large pot on the stove, and put in the freshly cleaned spine, marrow bones, and deboned meat.

Next, slice the best pork belly into thin slices and put them in.

Simmer over low heat, skimming off the foam layer by layer, gradually adding milky white water, and the aroma becomes increasingly rich. Only then can you add the pork small intestine and pork liver slices.

Simmer for a while longer, then add the congealed blood curd.

It needs to be simmered slowly to prevent the blood tofu from falling apart. At this point, the pot of pork soup is half done.

The most important step is actually the last step before it's done cooking.

"Madam Su, what do you think of these fermented black beans? They're the best we have in the village."

The village chief took out a small jar of fermented black beans. "I really didn't know you put fermented black beans in this. Didn't we just put salt, scallions, and garlic in it before?"

"You'll know once you try it."

Su Wan Ning then asked, "Does anyone have dried orange peel? Throwing in a couple of pieces would make it taste even better."

Several women started chattering again, exclaiming in surprise that orange peels could be added, and hurriedly found some and threw them in.

The originally strong and mellow aroma immediately gained a touch of freshness, and with the spiciness of wild onions and garlic, just smelling this aroma is enough to make your mouth water.

Su Wan Ning served two bowls separately before handing the spoon to Aunt Xie, saying, "You can serve yourselves, I haven't eaten on the way here."

"Alright, alright, Madam Su, go and eat."

After seeing that Su Wan Ning and Xie Yan had eaten, Aunt Xie began to serve the soup.

No one noticed that as Su Wan Ning left, her sleeve brushed against the large soup pot.

Xie Yan first took a big gulp of soup.

It's rich and fragrant, and the warmth quickly spreads to every part of your body, making you feel completely comfortable! Then try the blood tofu, which is firm and smooth. With each bite, the umami flavor of the bone broth explodes in your mouth, a truly delightful experience!

The pork belly was tender and fragrant without being greasy, the pork intestines were crisp and refreshing, and the occasional bite of scallions and garlic added another layer of fresh and spicy flavor. "Wan Ning, your cooking is amazing!"

Then he became indignant, saying, "It's such a waste to give them food."

"No."

Su Wanning smiled like a kitten, her voice soft, "After serving us, I put something in the soup. Don't forget to sprinkle the powder directly into the wine you and Zhou Manshan are drinking later."

Xie Yan nodded repeatedly. The woman wouldn't be harmed by the medicine, so she wasn't afraid of arousing Zhou Manshan's suspicion. But she couldn't help being curious, "What did you put in them?"

Su Wanning lowered her voice, and then...

Xie Yan was shocked, but he managed to suppress a laugh.

Xie Yan spat out a mouthful of soup.

"puff!"

Xu Lingxi put down her soup bowl, stood up, and ran outside, exclaiming, "I forgot to go find Third Brother!"

As soon as she returned to the estate, she was stunned by the news that Xuan Cao had brought back. After finally processing it, she wanted to have some sweet soup and take a nap, and that's when she remembered.

Xu Lingxi rushed to Li Xuzhi's courtyard and found...

Li Xuzhi hadn't eaten dinner yet, and looked at her with a resentful expression. "So, Madam Su isn't coming today? What about tomorrow?"

"Uh, if nothing else is wrong, I might be able to come?"

Xu Lingxi was embarrassed. "It's all my fault, I forgot. But I found a really delicious ingredient today. When Madam Su has time, I'll treat you to it!"

"Alright, since my sister has put it that way, how can I say no?"

Li Xuzhi smiled indulgently.

Xu Lingxi felt relieved, chatted for a few minutes, and then returned to the courtyard.

Little did she know, as soon as she left, Li Xuzhi smashed the teacup set she had just used to pieces.