For several years, Ganlin Courtyard had been quite downtrodden, losing its prestige within the residence. Everyone knew that Zhan’er was always gentle and good-natured, so they weren’t afraid of her.

Granny Zhao, who managed the kitchen, stood up and smiled, “Oh, it’s Zhan’er girl. Please, have a seat. You’ve misunderstood us. We heard that the eldest gongzi fell into the water and hasn’t woken up yet. We were afraid that if we sent the food too early, it would get cold, so we’ve been keeping it warm on the stove.”

As she spoke, she lifted the lid of the pot on the stove, revealing a pot of white porridge, thick and bubbling.

Zhan’er noticed the table was laden with dishes of meat and vegetables, yet they only offered white porridge to them, which made her laugh in anger.

“Gongzi just fell into the water and is weak, and you give him this? Meanwhile, you all are feasting on meat and fish, getting fat and full! Even if gongzi hasn’t woken up, are we in the courtyard supposed to just drink the wind?”

In this residence, each courtyard had its own set of provisions according to the rules. For a courtyard like Ganlin Courtyard, where gongzi, xiaojie, and young masters lived, the daily provisions included:

•   Two chickens
•   One duck or one fish
•   Five jin of fresh pork
•   Five jin of eggs
•   Ten jin of vegetables

These were the basics. Any fresh items sent from the farm or outside were not included. Snacks and tea were also calculated separately.

The courtyards of the concubines had their provisions reduced by 40%, and naturally, they had fewer servants. The provisions for boye and the late furen were doubled.

The kitchen didn’t need to cook separately for the servants in the courtyard—at most, a pot of rice or porridge. The masters had twenty or so dishes per meal, and how much could one person eat? They would only take a few bites of each dish, and some weren’t even touched before being taken away.

This left plenty for the servants, who could even take some home for their parents to try.

However, ever since Liu Yiniang took charge, the provisions for Ganlin Courtyard were often short. It wasn’t the first time they “forgot” to send them.

In the past, Zhan’er and the others had to ask three times and even had to “reward” some silver before these mamas would move. The taste was even worse—either too salty or too bland.

Zhan’er and the others had suffered a lot of grievances over kitchen matters in the past.

Now, they only brought a pot of white porridge to brush them off. If the master didn’t eat, the servants would also go hungry.

But today, Zhan’er, having been advised by Shen Qian, spoke with quite a bit of momentum, making Granny Zhao take a second look at her.

“Girl, you don’t know. It’s precisely because the body is weak that it can’t handle greasy food. This white porridge is the most nourishing,” Granny Zhao smiled and lightly fanned her face with her hand.

“It was our oversight, forgetting about you all, making you come all this way. Whatever you want to eat, just say it. Even if you want delicacies like abalone, I’ll put down my bowl and personally make it for you.”

This statement put Zhan’er in a bind—after all, they had a reason for not sending the food for gongzi, and as for you, we’re all servants, so an oversight is just an oversight.

Now that you’re here, you can order whatever you want, making it seem like Zhan’er is bullying them.

Zhan’er was so angry her face turned red.

Shen Qian pulled her behind him, knowing she couldn’t outtalk these old foxes and didn’t want to argue with them.

“Gongzi has already woken up. Not only that, but he also reprimanded the third gongzi for being disrespectful to his elder brother. Haven’t you heard, mamas?”

Granny Zhao and the others were stunned. The incident at Ganlin Courtyard had just happened, and Shen Qian had immediately come to the kitchen, so the news hadn’t reached them yet. They had only heard some shouting from Ganlin Courtyard…

They exchanged glances. Could the eldest gongzi really dare to reprimand the third gongzi?

“Now, the eldest gongzi has been waiting for a long time without seeing dinner delivered and is very unhappy.

We have a small kitchen in Ganlin Courtyard, with all the necessary equipment. Gongzi instructed us to cook for ourselves from now on, so as not to trouble you mamas and avoid such neglect that angers people.”

Shen Qian’s words left Granny Zhao and the others in an awkward position.

“Delicacies like abalone, we don’t dare to ask for what isn’t ours, and there’s no need for Granny Zhao to disgust us with such talk.

The master has his own provisions, and it’s not up to you to decide whether he eats porridge or meat!”

Shen Qian waved his hand, and the dozen or so people he brought with him immediately rolled up their sleeves and entered the kitchen.

“Move it, take enough for five days according to our courtyard’s provisions.”

He also instructed the people from Ganlin Courtyard, “Don’t forget to take the firewood, sugar, oil, and various seasonings.”

Seeing a group of people rush into the kitchen like wolves, Granny Zhao’s face changed several times, and the others in the kitchen hurried to stop them.

But the people from Ganlin Courtyard had already received Shen Qian’s instructions. They grabbed the best items and ran, and if they couldn’t snatch something, they would smash it on the ground and stomp on it, causing the kitchen staff heartache.

Although the kitchen was a lucrative position, most of the food in Duke Fuchang’s Residence was sent from the farm, and there wasn’t much cash flow.

If they wanted to make some extra money, they would secretly take the food home to sell.

They had painstakingly accumulated some, and now the people from Ganlin Courtyard had taken and ruined it all, making them feel as if their hearts were being cut with a knife.

“Zhan’er girl, Xiao Die, isn’t this a bit too much? Liu Furen hasn’t allowed Ganlin Courtyard to cook for themselves…” Granny Zhao’s smile was almost gone.

Zhan’er raised her eyebrows, truly angry.

“Stop spouting nonsense in front of me! What furen? The furen passed away five years ago! Only those with an official title from the emperor can be called furen. Does the one you’re talking about have that? Pretending to be an official title is a serious crime. You can go lick the boots of a half-master, half-servant all you want, but don’t drag me into it!”

Granny Zhao’s face completely fell.

“Girl, watch your words. Even if this old woman misspoke, Liu… Liu Yiniang is not someone you can criticize. When Liu Yiniang returns, and I learn a thing or two, can you handle it?”

Shen Qian, who had been standing by watching the pot of boiling white porridge, suddenly called over a few young servants from Ganlin Courtyard. Without a word, they held Granny Zhao down while he brought the pot of white porridge over.

“It seems Granny Zhao’s mind is a bit unclear. Liu Yiniang is half a master, but our eldest gongzi is a proper master. Is Granny Zhao looking down on our gongzi by using Liu Yiniang to pressure us? Or does Granny Zhao think that by clinging to Liu Yiniang, you can disregard our gongzi and Ganlin Courtyard?”

“Granny Zhao has such a clever tongue,” Shen Qian scooped a large spoonful of white porridge, pretending to pour it into Granny Zhao’s mouth, “but I wonder if after drinking this porridge, you’ll still have a good tongue to learn from Sister Zhan’er?”

The porridge had just been boiling—steaming hot—and a spoonful could scald the esophagus.

Even Zhan’er was shocked, her eyes wide in disbelief at Shen Qian, while Granny Zhao screamed in fear, begging for mercy.

The two young servants holding Granny Zhao were nervous but obeyed, not letting her escape.

Shen Qian held the spoon half a foot above her mouth, the steam hitting her face, making her struggle in terror.

After a pause, he suddenly smiled and threw the spoonful of porridge back into the pot.
“This porridge is too hot. Granny Zhao should blow on it before drinking. This white porridge is the most nourishing, isn’t it?”

Granny Zhao and the kitchen staff were drenched in cold sweat, shivering like leaves in the wind, nodding frantically.

“Yes, yes…”

Shen Qian said coldly, “The eldest gongzi can’t handle Granny Zhao’s white porridge—so Granny Zhao should drink it herself.”

After this incident, no one dared to stop the people from Ganlin Courtyard. Shen Qian and his group picked enough provisions for five days and left fully loaded.

No one dared to argue about the quantity—just hoping they’d leave quickly.

As they left, Granny Zhao and the others finally breathed a sigh of relief—until they saw Zhan’er return. They immediately shrank into a corner like frightened quails.

Zhan’er snorted coldly, stuffed all the ginger and pepper into her arms, and left.

After a long silence, the kitchen staff finally relaxed. Looking at the ransacked kitchen, they felt both heartache and lingering fear.

Granny Zhao recovered slowly and muttered bitterly, “When Liu Furen returns, I’ll definitely report them! That little hoof Zhan’er dares to speak like that, disrespecting Liu Furen! And that Xiao Die—is he crazy?”

Just now, Xiao Die had stared her down, cheerful face tinged with something ghostly. Just remembering it made Granny Zhao shiver again.

As they cursed Ganlin Courtyard, a little maid suddenly ran in.

Startled, Granny Zhao thought they’d come back and fell off her chair with a thud.

The maid looked around in confusion.

“Granny Zhao, what’s going on?”

Granny Zhao squinted—recognizing the little maid from Shen Chun’s courtyard, Xiao Jixiang’er.

She finally caught her breath.

“Nothing, nothing. Just those little hooves from Ganlin Courtyard causing trouble… When boye and furen return, we’ll see how they deal with them. Does the third gongzi have any instructions?”

But then she remembered—didn’t the people from Ganlin Courtyard say the eldest gongzi had just reprimanded the third? She hesitated.

Xiao Jixiang’er said with a bitter face,

“Our gongzi got splashed with water in the eldest gongzi’s courtyard and caught a cold. Sneezing non-stop. We wanted to call a doctor, but the whole city is under lockdown. No one can leave. Sister Xia Xiang asked me to come ask Granny Zhao to make a bowl of ginger soup.”

Granny Zhao was stunned.

“Splashed with water? The whole city under lockdown?—Ginger??” She slapped her thigh.

“Oh no… those bandits from Ganlin Courtyard!!”

The “bandits” were happily walking back with their spoils.

Zhan’er was still shaken, patting her chest.

“I thought you were really going to scald her. Scared me to death.”

Shen Qian gave her a sweet smile.

“I was just scaring her. Otherwise, they wouldn’t take us seriously. You only need to kill a chicken to warn the monkeys. After this, let’s see who dares to look down on us.”

And indeed—that was the case.

Back at the courtyard, they sorted their spoils.

Besides essentials—firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar—they’d taken grains, meats, and long-lasting vegetables.

The chickens and fish were alive, kept in a coop and water basin.

They also took seasonal fruits, dried dates, and longan. One jar of milk for pastries had been smashed during the scuffle—something Shen Qian regretted.

Now, Shen Qian was organizing the cooking.

He had a bowl of tender steamed eggs prepared for the eldest gongzi.

It was autumn, so he also steamed a bowl of pear with rock sugar, red dates, and longan.

“Even if it’s light, you can’t just drink white porridge. No oil or nutrition—anyone would weaken.”

He had people stew half of the lean pork. The five-day provision included twenty-five jin of fresh pork, which might spoil even in cool autumn air.

So Shen Qian, anticipating this, had taken a piece of cured meat and mostly lean cuts—planning to turn some into pork floss.

The eldest gongzi was weak and shouldn’t eat greasy food. Pork floss would pair well with porridge.

He couldn’t care for everyone, but he would protect his own body.