Chu Lian smiled in response without any intention of blaming Wenqing and Wenlan. Instead, she said, “Lady General Sima is already twenty this year, yet she has not wed. After her grandfather, Old General Sima passed on, she has never returned to her hometown in Shandong. Her female soldiers often receive harsh criticism from others, so other than those affiliated with Old General Sima, Lady General Sima rarely has dealings with aristocratic families. General Sima seems to have spent the past three New Years in camp…”
Despite Chu Lian’s calm tone, Wenqing and Wenlan were already gaping with surprise.
They had no idea that the almighty General Sima’s life wasn’t as good as they imagined it to be.
Wenqing and Wenlan instantly felt that General Sima’s tiresome life was nowhere as good as theirs. They had the pleasure of eating delicacies alongside Third Young Madam while living idle lives…
The two young ladies didn’t realise that their worldview was gradually being thwarted by their mistress…
A rare glint of wit shone in Chu Lian’s eyes. Wasn’t there a saying about how the nail that sticks out gets hammered down? She didn’t want to draw unwanted attention! In any case, as He Changdi’s wife, she could use him as a shield for everything. It would be a waste if she didn’t use the conveniently placed scapegoat.
As for her, she just had to live happily as a lazy layabout. She wasn’t the original Chu Lian, so she didn’t have any thoughts of taking revenge.
“Go out and ask around the camp. What are they having for dinner now?”
Wenqing and Wenlan hadn’t even recovered from the daze induced by Chu Lian’s words. When they heard Third Young Madam’s question, the two of them channelled He Sanlang’s spirit as their expressions turned dark.
In the end, Wenqing sighed. Fine! Their Third Young Madam was intent on laying low like an ostrich for the rest of her life. Since their mistress couldn’t be bothered, why did they, as her servants, have to worry about?
Wenqing accepted her fate and headed out to carry out her orders.
A short while later, Wenqing returned and reported her findings to Chu Lian in detail.
Chu Lian’s mouth was agape and her face was filled with shock. She gulped with some difficulty, “Bean paste?”
She thought back to the last time she had eaten with He Sanlang when she had been served that weird-smelling bowl of disgusting black porridge and lost all appetite.
“Third Young Madam, should we eat with them?” When in an army camp, most visitors simply shared what the soldiers had.
With lingering fear, Chu Lian quickly shook her head, “I think it’s better if we prepare our own!”
They could start up their own stove and use their own ingredients instead of army supplies. Her status was also different from most people, so no one would dare to gossip about her actions. Since He Changdi hadn’t returned, it wasn’t appropriate for her to leave without saying her goodbyes either.
As expected, Great General Qian’s meeting with his officers took a long time. Although the sky had darkened and the snow had also lightened up, the officers of the Right Wing Army still hadn’t returned.
Chu Lian was already feeling hungry, so she chose not to wait for He Sanlang and ordered Wenqing and Wenlan to make preparations.
Wenqing carefully held a round piece of metal while trembling, “Third Young Madam, are you really going to use Third Young Master’s chestplate?”
Chu Lian nodded. She had searched all over the tent and this chestplate was the closest to what she wanted. It was round and approximately the same size as a regular frying pan. She rapped on its metallic surface, confirming that this was indeed the most suitable item for teppanyaki!
Chu Lian was satisfied with it, “Why are you wasting time? Hurry up and place it on the brazier.”
Wenlan was close to tears, “Third Young Madam, why don’t you let this servant look for something else more suitable instead? It doesn’t seem like a good idea to use Third Young Master’s chestplate… Th-Third Young Master has to use this on the battlefield!”
Chu Lian turned to look at the armor displayed on the wooden frame and shook her head with a chuckle.
Going to war in armor that looked like it weighed a hundred kilograms?
It was truly miraculous that He Changdi hadn’t gotten injured on the battlefield thus far!
“Don’t worry. If my husband comes looking for someone to blame, just say that you did it under my orders.”
Unable to change Chu Lian’s mind, they could only submit to her orders.
The chestplate even had a slight depression in its center, like it had been born to be a frying pan. Chu Lian had Wenqing wash the chestplate before she placed it over the brazier.
After heating it up, she placed a piece of lard on top of it. There was no way around it, vegetable oil hadn’t been invented yet in the Great Wu Dynasty, so she could only make do with lard.
The snow-white piece of lard quickly dissolved on the chestplate, turning into a pool of aromatic oil. Next, Chu Lian took a plate of thin marinated beef slices from Wenlan and placed them one by one on the makeshift frying pan.
When the thin slices of beef came into contact with the hot greasy lard, it instantly gave off a sizzling sound. The originally flat slices of beef began to shrink; they turned from interspersed pale red and white to a nice and even brown. Its aroma was also released into the air, permeating throughout the whole tent.
Chu Lian used a specially made spatula to slap the beef a few times before she took out a small white bottle and poured seasoning onto the meat. For some reason, the unknown seasoning in the bottle made the originally mouth-watering aroma several times better!
Her fair and delicate hands handled the spatula nimbly, flipping the pieces of meat over with deft movements. She then poured out more seasoning and used a pair of chopsticks to place them on an empty plate.
Chu Lian glanced at the two girls who were gulping down their saliva with all their might. With a smile, she asked, “Wenqing, do you want to give it a taste?”
Wenqing’s eyes lit up like fireworks. She quickly picked up a pair of chopsticks and stuffed a slice of beef into her mouth without any care for how hot it was. She sucked in air frantically due to the heat, but she couldn’t bear to spit it out of her mouth. When she finally managed to swallow, her lips were all red.
