Je vends des vêtements et j'achète du vin à boire avec toi

Chapitre 4

What did she do?

"I just wandered around aimlessly, didn't interact with anyone, then went into the kitchen, and then ended up here."

Long Er pondered for a moment, then, seeing the guard hesitate, asked, "Anything else?"

"Second Master, the steamed buns and pastries you requested are unavailable. Chef Tang said that the dough and filling need to be re-fermented and remade, so the buns won't be ready until dinner time."

"That's all?" Long Er recalled Feng Ning holding that bowl of steamed buns; she was clearly enjoying them.

"Yes, Chef Tang said that he went to the storeroom to get some rice and flour, and then went back to the kitchen to wait for the buns to boil. When he opened the pot, he found that the buns were empty."

Long Er's eye twitched again. This damned woman, she must have been out of her mind to dare steal his steamed buns.

Author's Note: Ta-da! Second update on the first day of release! Back to prime-time drama! Please support me!

In this chapter, Long Er makes his appearance, and the second uncle and his sister-in-law have a showdown. Speaking of which, I was so hungry when I was writing about Baozi.

Speaking of unpopularity, this story seems to be very unpopular with the Jinjiang system. It was originally planned to be published on Valentine's Day, but the Jinjiang system was so erratic that I couldn't log in, so I rescheduled it for the Lantern Festival. Everything was fine yesterday, but when I posted the new story at 10 AM this morning, the Jinjiang system malfunctioned again—the new story didn't display, comments were swallowed, and I couldn't log in. All sorts of strange things happened again. I'm so heartbroken!

Everyone needs to give more support to suppress this evil force! Suppress it! Suppress it completely!

3

3. The distrusted Third Madam Long...

Feng Ning was completely unaware of the trouble she had gotten herself into. She searched the entire mansion but didn't encounter a single person willing to speak to her, and of course, she couldn't find her Third Husband, Long San. Actually, it was natural that she couldn't find him; even if she were reckless, she couldn't just kick down doors in one room after another.

She wandered around like a lost soul, observing the various glances from the maids and servants, trying to decipher the meaning behind those looks. It was undoubtedly an embarrassing experience, and Feng Ning felt a pang of sorrow in her heart. Fortunately, the delicious steamed buns comforted her wounded heart. She rallied herself and then returned to her courtyard as if nothing had happened.

Xiaoqing was pacing anxiously, knowing that if the mistress got lost again, it would anger the masters and cause trouble. Just as she was wondering whether to report it to her superiors, Feng Ning returned.

Xiaoqing went up to her and asked, "Where has Madam gone?"

Feng Ning handed her the empty bowl, plopped down on the steps, and asked, "Xiao Qing, tell me, how did I become so disliked?"

Xiaoqing was taken aback: "I was only recently transferred here to take care of Madam. I was working in another courtyard before."

"Before you, who took care of me?"

"She was the lady's dowry maid, but before the lady's accident, the maid fell seriously ill and died."

Feng Ning was stunned: "Dead?"

"Yes, Dr. Chen saw her, and she did die from illness."

Feng Ning was stunned again: "Xiao Qing, you emphasized that she died of illness, so you mean you had doubts before that she didn't die of illness, right?"

Xiaoqing panicked and said cautiously, "Madam is overthinking it."

Feng Ning propped her head up and muttered, "I guess I'm overthinking it."

Xiaoqing didn't respond, so Fengning continued, "There's never a shortage of gossip in a house. You worked in another courtyard, so you must have heard about my reputation. Don't be afraid, I don't remember anything anyway. I just want to know what happened to me in this house. If I did anything bad in the past, I'll find a way to make amends."

Xiaoqing stared at Feng Ning for a long time before finally stammering, "I only heard that Madam's family didn't have good intentions in letting her marry into this family, so this whole family here doesn't welcome her."

"Huh? My family has ulterior motives? How could the Long family be so useless as to marry into this family?"

"I heard it was an arranged marriage by our ancestors, so it wouldn't be right not to marry him."

Feng Ning was stunned for a moment, feeling an indescribable sadness in her heart. She stood up and walked back to her room, her voice hoarse: "Then, can I go back to my parents' house?"

Xiaoqing said, "This servant cannot make the decision. You can ask the Second Master or Granny Yu."

"Xiaoqing, why do you always have to ask Second Master about my affairs?"

"Is Second Master the head of the household?"

“But I married the Third Master. I have a husband. My Second Uncle is the head of the large family. Shouldn’t my husband and I be considered a small family?”

Xiaoqing looked at her with sympathy in her eyes: "Madam, Third Master has never really cared about your affairs, and he is often away from home. Your food, clothing and daily necessities in the mansion are all arranged by Second Master, and you report to Second Master when there is anything."

Upon hearing this, Feng Ning felt increasingly bitter. Her husband didn't care about her at all. What was she, a mere guest, in this mansion? Feeling depressed, she lay on the bed and muttered, "Xiao Qing, this place doesn't like me, and I don't like it here either. I want to go home."

Xiaoqing looked at her for a long time before finally saying, "Then this servant will inform the Second Master on behalf of Madam."

But less than two days later, Feng Ning went to see Long Er without waiting for his reply. The reason was that after her conversation with Xiao Qing that day, Feng Ning's meals had become smaller and lighter starting with breakfast the next day. Xiao Qing didn't know what was going on either. She asked the servant who brought the food, who only said it was arranged by the kitchen. She asked the kitchen, who said it was ordered by the Second Master.

Feng Ning watched as she ate only two plates of vegetarian dishes and a bowl of rice for several meals in a row. Although the dishes tasted good, she felt unwell and constantly hungry. When she felt unwell, she would get angry. She thought to herself that even if they didn't want her to marry into the family, they couldn't not let her eat her fill. She didn't ask for anything else from her husband's family, but she needed good food and enough to eat.

She stormed off to find Long Er, not knowing where he was, and ran towards the forbidden area of the corridor. When she arrived at the small building, someone stopped her, and she said confidently, "I'm looking for my second uncle."

Long Er arrived and said slowly, "Sister-in-law, I heard you're going back to your parents' home, but there's no use in being in such a hurry. Your husband isn't home, and going back is a private matter between you two. I have to wait for my third brother to return and discuss it with him." (The last sentence appears to be a separate, unrelated comment: "Young Master Meat. Buy and collect.")

"I came to see you for something else."

"Oh, what is it?"

"I'm not full!" she shouted, and a servant next to her couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Long Er raised an eyebrow in surprise, repeating with a half-smile, "Not full?"

"Yes." Feng Ning nodded vigorously: "What did I do wrong? Why am I being starved?"

Her expression was somewhat childlike, which made Long Er grin. However, he did not deny that he had instructed the kitchen to change her meals: "I asked the kitchen to make some vegetarian and light dishes so that you can eat less oily food. You have been taking supplements because of your injury recently, and I was afraid that your stomach was not feeling well. I was just being considerate of my sister-in-law's health. There is enough food for one person. How can you say that I am starving you?"

“One bowl of rice is not enough. Usually, it’s two bowls of rice, a plate of meat and vegetables, a bowl of soup, and two plates of vegetables. Now, the amount of rice and vegetables has been cut in half, and I’m already half hungry. Even if my husband’s family doesn’t like their daughter-in-law, they should at least make sure I have enough to eat.”