"Alright, I'll be back soon. Keep an eye on things for me!" Sang Wan sighed silently, turned around and hurried back to Ningyuan.
After handing the key to Shi Fengju, Sang Wan hurried back to the kitchen. Fengju knew she would be cooking for Mrs. Wang tonight and didn't waste words on her, letting her go.
While walking, Sang Wan's footsteps gradually slowed down.
The cooking time for steamed wax gourd and steamed Chinese perch is different. Her stove was far away from Liu Ya's. Moreover, since Xingzhi already promised to help her watch the dish, she could not ask Liu Ya for help as well – wouldn't that embarrass Xingzhi right in front of her? And with the wax gourd dish out of her sight for so long, Xingzhi, who didn't have any intention to guard against, would have enough time to tamper with it if someone wanted to.
No matter if it was tampered with or not, she couldn't take the risk!
If Mrs. Wang ended up with a face full of rashes like in her past life, Sang Wan couldn't even bear to think about the consequences!
The wax gourd dish definitely could not be served to Mrs. Wang.
Sang Wan looked up at the empty sky; the sun was gradually setting, the afterglow was splendid, the scenery was dreamily beautiful, but Sang Wan could feel the nightmare that was about to come.
Her gaze fell on a lush tree, her eyes lit up. This was a toon tree, and she remembered her mother-in-law loving toon tofu apart from wax gourd. Unfortunately, the toon tree had already grown extensively, and the season for eating toon tofu had passed!
However, the light in Sang Wan's eyes gradually focused and became firm. She decided to make toon tofu tonight!
It's true that the tender buds of toon could no longer be used, but boiling the old toon tree bark in water and filtering out the impurities, then soaking the finely chopped young greens in the filtered toon water for a short while, would look very similar to toon buds. After swishing the tofu in the toon water and mixing it with the chopped greens, the taste of toon would be quite strong and almost genuine.
In her past life, Fangzi had made this dish for Mrs. Wang out of season, and her mother-in-law had been overjoyed, praising Fangzi's cleverness. Now she was following the example, it should be fine.
Sang Wan quickly had a servant brought over, peeled off two pieces of old toon tree bark and brought them to the kitchen to make the dish according to Fangzi's method. Madame Jian and others were amazed.
When the wax gourd dish was ready, Sang Wan quickly stepped on a cook's skirt and moved to the side. The cook stumbled forward with a cry, bumping into the maid who was carefully carrying the wax gourd dish. The dish crashed to the ground.
The commotion attracted everyone's attention, and they all looked over with changing expressions, exchanging glances.
"This slave deserves to die! This slave deserves to die!"
"It wasn't on purpose, this slave——"
The maid and the cook were both pale with fright, one begging forgiveness and the other explaining, both in panic. This was not an ordinary dish, but one that the young mistress had made for her mother-in-law on her first try. No simple apology would do, and both knew this, their legs trembling as they knelt.
Sang Wan did not speak, but her brows furrowed slightly, her lips pursed, her face expressionless.
As a new bride, it would be arrogant to berate them outright, but to forgive them too easily would undermine her authority. Silently expressing her displeasure was the best option.
In her previous life, she had been too gentle and affable, so people had been able to walk all over her. Most people in this world were like that; they only respected those they feared.
Once her dignity was lost, it would be difficult to regain!
In any case, if she didn't say anything, someone else would.
Madame Jian lamented inwardly, knowing that as a manager, she shared responsibility for the servants' ineptitude. She ran to the front and scolded the cook and maid sharply before turning to apologize to Sang Wan. She smiled and said, "These two slaves deserve punishment for their recklessness. Don't worry, my lady, I'll make sure they're severely punished and give you a satisfactory explanation! However, what's done is done. The wax gourd dish is ruined, but luckily you had foresight to make the toon tofu as well. We can serve the steamed perch and toon tofu instead! It's almost time for dinner, my lady. These two reckless slaves will not be let off lightly afterwards!"