Chapter 211
Chapter 211: Food Delivery (1)
A day after the the Mid-Autumn Festival, Heir Jing’an, He Changqi, invited his friends to a small gathering at the Jing’an estate. As she had promised Matriarch He and her eldest brother-in-law, Chu Lian intended to make a few special dishes to be served at the gathering. She began preparations not long before noon, Chu Lian guiding them as her maidservants worked together to execute her instructions. The dishes would be sent to the outer court at a later time.
However, Chu Lian was He Changdi’s wife after all. It wouldn’t be very appropriate if she and her maidservants brought the dishes to the outer court just like that. She thought for a moment and decided that it would be better to go over to Qingxi Hall first and let Matriarch He’s servants send the dishes instead.
When they arrived at the entrance of Qingxi Hall, they could hear the sounds of conversation from inside. Matriarch He’s handmaid, Muxiang, happened to be on her way out at this time, and spotted Chu Lian at the entrance. Muxiang smiled and greeted her. “Third Young Madam, you’ve come over! Please come in. Eldest Young Madam and the two young ladies are already inside!”
After she said so, Muxiang lifted the bamboo blinds covering the entrance, allowing Chu Lian to continue forward as she took the big box of food from Mingyan’s hands. Next, Muxiang followed behind Chu Lian as she walked into the parlour of Qingxi Hall.
Matriarch He was seated in the highest ranked seat. Chu Lian didn’t know what Matriarch He and Madam Zou were talking about, but they were laughing together and obviously in a very good mood. Chu Lian’s gaze shot over to Madam Zou. She noticed that Madam Zou was wearing a navy-blue dress made in the latest style, with a sheer smoky blue outer garment. The ornament on her head was the sapphire headdress bestowed by the Empress Dowager at the Mid-Autumn Banquet. Although she was dressed elegantly, it was a pity that this headdress looked very old-fashioned and added several years to her age. Madam Zou was only in her mid-twenties, but looked to be in her mid-thirties instead with this headdress.
Madam Zou was all smiles. Whatever she had said before seemed to have amused Matriarch He.
“Greetings to Grandmother and Eldest Sister-in-Law.” Chu Lian bobbed towards the both of them.
“Sanlang’s wife, you’ve arrived! Come and sit down. Your Eldest Brother-in-Law just sent someone over from the outer court to inquire about the food!”
Madam Zou cast a glance over at her and found that Chu Lian was still dressed in plain casual clothes. Her black hair was fixed into a bun and was only adorned with a single green jade hairpin. She wasn’t wearing any other jewellery, either. Only upon seeing this did Madam Zou inwardly heave a sigh of relief.
It seemed that Chu Lian wasn’t intending to go to the outer court, if she was dressed like this.
Chu Lian gave a slight smile and said, “One of the dishes had to be stewed for a longer period of time, so Granddaughter-in-Law was delayed for a bit. Grandmother, Eldest Sister-in-Law, please forgive Granddaughter-in-Law for being late.”
Matriarch He pulled Chu Lian to her side. If she didn’t have to worry about Dalang’s wife being there, Matriarch He would definitely have pinched Chu Lian’s tiny nose. “Silly child, how could Grandmother blame you? Senior Servant Liu, take these food boxes to the outer court.”
Right after Matriarch He finished speaking, Madam Zou quickly spoke up. “Grandmother, since they’re Dalang’s close friends, there’s no need to trouble Senior Servant Liu. It would be better for Granddaughter-in-Law to send these over personally!”
Matriarch He casually glanced at Madam Zou’s dressed up appearance. She paused for a moment before nodding. “Why don’t you lead the servants to send them over, then? Just be careful on the way there. Don’t let Dalang lose face in front of his friends.”
Seeing that Matriarch He had agreed, Madam Zou heaved a sigh of relief and quickly reassured her. “Please don’t worry, Grandmother. Granddaughter-in-Law knows how to behave appropriately.”
Madam Zou then bowed respectfully towards Matriarch He before she led her servants away with the food boxes, hurrying over to the outer court.
It wasn’t until Madam Zou’s figure had passed through the entrance of the parlour that Chu Lian smiled and said, “Grandmother, I boiled an entire pot of old duck soup just now. I made sure that the meat was soft enough to come right off the bone, so it’s perfect for you to eat! Today, Granddaughter-in-Law offers up this dish and will trade it for a free meal here with you. Does Grandmother have a seat at the table for me?”
“Pfft,” Matriarch He laughed. “There’s no need to act like that, silly child. You can just admit it if you want to have a meal with Grandmother. “
Matriarch He instructed Muxiang to have the other maidservants serve up the meal.
Chu Lian ate lunch together with Matriarch He in Qingxi Hall. She waited upon Matriarch He until the matriarch took her afternoon nap before returning to her own Songtao Court.