There was an old senior servant standing behind Old Duke Zheng who served Old Duchess Zheng. She also had the wisdom and sharp eyesight that came with age.
Heir Zheng had recently started to come to Old Duke Zheng’s courtyard for breakfast more often.
In the past few days, this maidservant that Honoured Lady Jinyi had left behind had always quietly retreated back into the outer chamber of the parlour after bringing the food in. She would wait for Old Duke Zheng’s summons before coming back in.
However, ever since Heir Zheng had started coming over for breakfast, this maidservant began to stay by the table instead of leaving after laying out the dishes.
Once the heir entered the room, her eyes would be stuck onto him, as if no one else existed.
Her desires were so obvious that the old senior servant felt the urge to snort.
The old senior servant had also tried placing her own subordinates by Mingyan’s side to learn from her cooking these past few days, thinking that Mingyan wouldn’t notice. However, Mingyan was still rather careful. When cooking, she actually sent everyone else out of the kitchen and even locked the door. She would rather cook everything herself and guard every single secret recipe than to let others steal her secrets.
When Old Duke Zheng finished listening to Mingyan’s explanations, he waved her away. “You’re dismissed.”
“Ah?” Mingyan was caught off guard by the sudden change. In a dazed manner, she said, “How about letting this servant serve Your Grace at the table? In the Jing’an Estate, Honoured Lady likes this servant’s service the most.”
The old senior servant sneered. So she finally remembered Honoured Lady Jinyi. Why hadn’t she mentioned Honoured Lady Jinyi at all when she was explaining those dishes?
Old Duke Zheng suddenly looked at Mingyan with a frown. His eagle eyes carried an edge that stripped away all pretenses from their target.
Mingyan couldn’t hold back the urge to tremble with fear and quickly retreated with her head down.
Old Duke Zheng cast a glance at Mingyan’s back. What was that young lady thinking, sending her least loyal maidservant to him? Hmph, was she treating him like a test? Was that young lady satisfied with this result?
When Old Duke Zheng thought back to those words that Chu Lian had spoken to lure him out of his coma, his interest in her grew more and more. It seemed like he really did had to go and see for himself what skills that young lady had in store.
By the time both grandfather and grandson had finished their meal and allowed the servants to clear the table, the younger Duke Zheng had arrived.
When Duke Zheng saw that his son was at his father’s place again, his brows furrowed together. “What time is it already? Why aren’t you going over to the Imperial College yet? Your grandfather has just recovered. In the future, you’re not allowed to come over in the morning and disturb your grandfather!”
Heir Zheng pouted and ran off in the blink of an eye.
House Zheng had been succeeded by only sons for three generations. Their family rules were actually very strict. Although Heir Zheng was pampered by his family, Duke Zheng was a strict parent. Case in point, Heir Zheng was already seventeen this year, but the servants in his courtyard were all male. He didn’t have a single maidservant for his nightly needs, and was a genuine virgin.
Duke Zheng had already noticed that the maidservant Honoured Lady Jinyi had left behind to cook Old Duke Zheng’s meals had impure motives, so how could he possibly give her a chance to get close to his son?
Old Duke Zheng glanced at his son and pointed at the seat next to him.
“You’ve come. Sit down, how’s that matter I entrusted to you?”
Duke Zheng took up a teacup and sipped some tea. Then, he nodded once and said, “I’ve already completed the tasks you’ve entrusted to me.”
Old Duke Zheng leaned against the back of his chair and played with a pair of walnuts in his hands. He closed his eyes, appearing quite fatigued.
