"The estate delivered lots of fresh fruit and various kinds of meat today. The dishes and snacks are all made with fresh ingredients. Try them and see what you like. If you like any of them, eat more." Third Sister ordered someone to bring out stacks of delicate snacks, and then personally ladled a bowl of soup and handed it to An Ran. "This wild mushroom and wild pigeon soup is very good. Have some to warm your stomach first."
An Ran accepted it with a smile.
The wild pigeon soup in the small white porcelain bowl exuded an enticing aroma. Just smelling it made one's mouth water. Anran scooped up a spoonful and was about to bring it to her mouth when she seemed to smell a peculiar fragrance.
Anran had initially thought that special spices had been added to the soup.
But with a suspicion arising in his mind, he didn't put the spoonful of soup in his mouth. Instead, he brought the spoon to his nose, sniffed it carefully, and frowned.
"What's wrong?" Third Sister asked, puzzled. "This soup isn't to your taste? If you don't like it, don't force yourself."
An Ran shook her head, forcing a smile, and said, "It seems there's a bit too much oil on it!"
Third Sister lowered her head and carefully examined the wild pigeon soup in the bowl. She had instructed early on that the oil should be skimmed off completely before serving, and it certainly looked very clean.
An Ran felt something was off the more she smelled it.
She didn't know if it was her own suspicion acting up, or if Tang was just naturally eccentric.
"Let me try it." Third Sister picked up a spoon to put a spoonful in her mouth, but An Ran stopped her. "Third Sister, wait a little longer!"
An Ran disregarded her image and picked up the soup bowl. She leaned closer to smell it, and sure enough, the aroma was even more pronounced.
"Third Sister, please don't drink it. Just smell it. Does it have a special fragrance?" An Ran was still unsure, so she asked her third sister to smell it as well.
Third Sister was completely baffled, but she still did as An Ran said.
"I don't see any difference in smell," Third Sister said, full of doubt. "What do you think is wrong?"
An Ran shook her head.
"Huaping, Qingxing, come here." Anran called the two women serving her in and had them each smell the wild mushroom and pigeon soup. "Does it have a special aroma?"
The two of them sniffed hard, then shook their heads in bewilderment.
Third Sister knew An Ran well and knew that she wouldn't joke about something like this on purpose. Her face darkened slightly as she said, "Go and get the silver needles."
Huaping and Qingxing immediately became serious. They agreed and hurriedly went to get the silver needles.
After Huaping brought the silver needles, she picked one out and inserted it into the soup. Time passed slowly, but the silver needle remained unchanged, gleaming with a cold, metallic light.
Third Sister finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Ninth Sister, are you just being paranoid?" Third Sister said, "There's no poison in here. If there's a special fragrance, it's probably from spices they added. If you're still worried, I'll call the people in the small kitchen to ask them."
An Ran shook her head.
As it was the small kitchen in Third Sister's courtyard, Third Sister naturally had absolute control over it. An Ran didn't express any dissatisfaction, but she just felt something was off.
"Third sister, please don't drink anymore, okay? And don't tell anyone yet," An Ran pleaded. "I still feel like something's not right."
Although An Ran is not yet fourteen years old, she is much more mature and composed than her peers. She wouldn't make things up without evidence. Since she has spoken up today, something must be wrong.
“If there really is a problem, it wouldn’t be good to alert them now.” An Ran frowned and said hesitantly, “Besides, I’m not sure what the problem is with this soup.”
Since An Ran came to the Prince's Mansion, she has helped her a lot. Although San Niang didn't think much of it, she still decided to respect An Ran's wishes.
This is the small kitchen in the courtyard. The people inside are either servants who have worked in the Prince's Mansion for many years, or reliable people she brought from the Marquis of Nan'an's Mansion. Besides, no poison was detected just now.
"Third Sister, I think it's best to have Huaping personally oversee your diet in the small kitchen these days." An Ran's words were barely out of her mouth when she immediately changed her mind, adding, "Don't say 'you,' just say 'it's me—"
An Ran suddenly had an idea. She said, "How about this, sister? You just say that I haven't been feeling well these days and only want to eat light food, like Yangzhou cuisine. We can find a reliable person from our Marquis's residence to come and cook for me."
Third Sister felt that An Ran was making a mountain out of a molehill.
"Do you think something's wrong?" Third Sister advised, "We've already checked, and there's no poison in the soup. Besides, the people working in this small kitchen were personally assigned to me after I married into the family, so there won't be any problems. This soup was also specially made by me in the kitchen."
An Ran, however, remained steadfast in her stance.
"Sister, please trust me one more time!" An Ran insisted, "I really feel like something's not right. But I can't quite put my finger on it right now."
Seeing that Anran looked like she was about to cry, Third Sister had no choice but to give in to her.
"As you wish." Third Sister nodded. An Ran would never harm her. If she wanted to be cautious, she would agree to her request.
An Ran finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“Huaping, what did my sister instruct the kitchen to make this soup?” Anran suddenly thought of another possibility and turned to Huaping, who was standing to the side, to ask.
Hua Ping revealed a hint of recollection as she tried to remember: "The Crown Princess said that Ninth Miss has been unwell for the past few days, and since the estate sent some wild pigeons today, she wanted to make soup for her."
It's possible that this soup wasn't necessarily aimed at Third Sister, but rather at her.
An Ran immediately tensed up.
******
Dengma Hutong, Chen Mansion.
After returning from the birthday banquet at the Marquis of Qingxiang's residence, Chen Qian appeared to be in a very good mood.
That day he came to pay his respects to Madam Ding.
"Mother, I've taken a liking to someone," Chen Qian said bluntly to Madam Chen. "I want to marry her."
Upon hearing this, Madam Ding frowned. She assumed Chen Qian was out with other young men, frequenting brothels and keeping actors. Spending money was one thing—the Chen family had plenty of money—and she didn't mind him having fun. But Chen Qian's insistence on bringing the woman back was something Madam Ding simply couldn't accept.
Therefore, she earnestly advised, "Those people are not respectable. I think you'd better stay away from them. Our family doesn't lack that little bit of money. It's fine if you play around outside, but why do you want to bring it home?"