Chu Lian's eyes widened in shock. Did the housekeeper of Duke Zheng's household make a mistake? Please, she wasn't an imperial physician and had no medical skills. She didn't even have a golden finger, so how could she save old Duke Zheng?

Matriarch He was also confused, but she saw that the housekeeper of Duke Zheng's household didn't seem to be faking it. The worry and sorrow on his face couldn't be faked.

"What happened?

Third Husband's wife doesn't have medical skills, how could she save the old duke? "

Hearing Matriarch He's question, the housekeeper of Duke Zheng's household was momentarily embarrassed. However, hiding it wasn't a solution. In the end, he honestly told Matriarch He and Chu Lian the reason.

Even when Chu Lian had already boarded the carriage to Duke Zheng's household, her mind was still in a daze.

This was truly an 'eternally strange story'. Who would've thought that old Duke Zheng's illness was caused by not being able to eat delicacies that suited his taste …

No wonder Duke Zheng's household kept it a secret and didn't dare to leak any information. To the outside world, they only said that old Duke Zheng was old and his health wasn't good, so he couldn't get out of bed.

If the upper class of Shengjing knew that old Duke Zheng was on a hunger strike because he was too picky, which was why his health was deteriorating day by day, wouldn't they laugh their heads off? Duke Zheng's household would instantly become the laughing stock of the nobles in the capital.

Chu Lian's forehead twitched. Old Duke Zheng really had the illness of being rich …

Chu Lian also understood why Matriarch Zheng's household had urgently asked for her when she left the palace that day.

However, since they had come to her for this reason, Chu Lian wasn't a cold-hearted person. Saving a life was better than building a seven-story pagoda. Moreover, the person she was saving was the famous old Duke Zheng in the capital.

However, she couldn't say anything definite. She had only promised the housekeeper of Duke Zheng's household that she would do her best.

Even so, the housekeeper acted as if he had grasped onto a life-saving straw and thanked her profusely.

Seeing Chu Lian's way of doing things, Matriarch He secretly nodded. Third Husband's wife was kind-hearted, but she wasn't blindly softhearted. She knew her limits and didn't try to show off. Although she was usually a bit lazy, when it came to big matters, her ability to steer the ship wasn't bad.

On the way to Duke Zheng's Mansion, Chu Lian did not stay idle.

She first asked the Chief Butler of High Duke Zheng's Mansion about his preferences in food, and then asked about the old High Duke Zheng's physical condition. After careful consideration, she made a preliminary decision on which dish to cook.

After receiving Jinyi Xiangjun's order, the housekeeper immediately ordered a follower to rush back to the manor to prepare the ingredients that Xiangjun had mentioned.

Old Matriarch He and Chu Lian arrived at the Duke of Zheng residence half an hour later.

As soon as he got off the carriage at the second gate, he was personally welcomed into the backyard by Duke Zheng's wife and entered the old Duke Zheng's bedroom.

When Crown Prince Zheng returned to his residence, he only saw that there were a few more carriages parked at the second gate. The servants from the stables were taking care of the extra horses.

Xiao Bojian dismounted from the horse's back and scanned the carriage. He said in confusion, "Tiancheng, this looks like Count Jing 'an's carriage."

Crown Prince Zheng took a closer look at the emblem on the carriage. It was indeed the case. Crown Prince Zheng only knew that his grandfather's health had deteriorated over the past two days, but his parents did not tell him the real reason for his grandfather's illness. Thus, Crown Prince Zheng was still in the dark.

He glanced at Chang Sui beside him. The quick-witted Chang Sui quickly went to ask around. After a while, he came back and whispered a few words in Crown Prince Zheng's ear.

Crown Prince Zheng was surprised. "Brother Xiao, it's Old Matriarch and Jinyi Xiangjun from Count Jing 'an's Estate."

Xiao Bojian was also a little surprised. At the same time, he felt a faint sweetness in his heart. It seemed that he and Lian 'er were fated. He came to Duke Zheng's Estate today and bumped into her.

Although Crown Prince Zheng was still thinking about the delicacies made by Jinyi Xiangjun, his grandfather's health had been deteriorating over the past few days, so he wasn't in the mood. However, he had eaten Jinyi Xiangjun's dishes that day, so he planned to thank her in person if he met her in the backyard.

Xiao Bojian's eyes moved. Although he didn't say anything, he instantly calculated in his heart.

Although Xiao Bojian was good friends with Crown Prince Zheng, he was still an outsider. He couldn't easily enter Duke Zheng's backyard.

He often came to Duke Zheng's Estate as a guest, but he rarely stepped into the backyard. Most of the time, he went with Crown Prince Zheng to the study in the front yard of Duke Zheng's Estate. This time was no exception.

The old madam of Duke Zheng's Estate was already waiting anxiously at the entrance of the courtyard. When she saw Old Matriarch He and Chu Lian, she went to welcome them.

When she got close, she grabbed Old Matriarch He's hand, tears welling up in her eyes. "Older sister, I've finally waited for you to come!"

Old Matriarch He patted her hand and comforted her. "Don't be so polite. Let's go in and see the old duke first. You can tell San Lang's wife about the old duke's taboo."

The old madam of Duke Zheng wiped away her tears and nodded vigorously. Then she led Chu Lian and the old madam into the inner room.

Old Duke Zheng was indeed seriously ill. Perhaps he had fainted and was dreaming. He was still mumbling unconsciously, but his voice was hoarse and weak. Chu Lian moved closer to his ear and finally understood what he was saying.

She couldn't help but feel speechless. This old duke who had one foot in the coffin was about to lose his life. In his dreams, he was actually mumbling "oranges, fat crab …"

Just how much did he like to eat!

Chu Lian didn't know how to take a pulse and didn't understand traditional Chinese medicine. The imperial physician who was taking the old duke's pulse was still waiting. Chu Lian carefully asked the imperial physician about the old duke's current condition and food taboos. When she was clear about everything, she then led Xiyan and Ming Yan to the small kitchen that Duke Zheng's Estate had prepared in advance.

There were all kinds of ingredients in the small kitchen. Many of them had been sent in not long ago according to Chu Lian's orders. They were all the freshest ingredients.

It was autumn. The crab meat was fat and fragrant. The oranges were also ripe. No wonder the old glutton, Old Duke Zheng, kept talking about these two things.

Since he kept talking about these two things, Chu Lian already had a plan. Why not make a crab fermented orange?

She had to prescribe the right medicine when treating a patient, and she also had to cater to his preferences when cooking.

The method of making crab fermented orange was not complicated. The main thing was to choose the best fresh oranges and fat crab. There were all kinds of crab here, but there were no fresh and plump oranges.

She asked Xiyan to immediately inform the old maid who was guarding outside to find the best fresh oranges. At this time, fresh oranges were on the market, so it was not difficult to find them.

The old maid hurriedly ran to the front yard with two young servant girls to find the supervisor who was in charge of purchasing.

Chu Lian personally processed the crabs and dug out the crab paste. She ordered Xiyan to help her while Ming Yan went to make ginseng porridge.

Soon, the crabs were processed, and the old maid also sent over the fresh oranges that Chu Lian needed.

The fresh oranges were yellow and emitted a fruity fragrance. The shape was uniform. At first glance, one could tell that they were the best oranges.

These oranges had to be cut one by one and the flesh in the center was dug out. Then, the stuffing mixed with crab meat, pork, water chestnuts, ginger, yellow wine, and so on were stuffed in. Then, the original orange slices were covered and put on a steamer to steam.

The old maid who sent the ingredients did not dare to stay in the small kitchen to watch. She obediently lowered her head and led the young servant girls to guard outside the small kitchen.

Xiyan washed the yellow oranges one by one and handed them to Chu Lian. In order to enhance the appetite of the consumer, Chu Lian even carefully carved simple patterns on the orange skin before cutting the orange. When she cut the third orange, the knife suddenly knocked. Chu Lian frowned and picked up the orange to break it open. She actually found a slender iron pipe in the center of the orange!

Xiyan suddenly widened her eyes and looked shocked.

On the contrary, Chu Lian had calmed down after being stunned for a moment. She glanced at Xiyan and then at Ming Yan, who was busy making porridge on the other side of the stove, motioning Xiyan to be silent.

Chu Lian's slender fingers moved the thin iron pipe twice and found the mechanism. With a light click, the iron pipe was opened, and there was a thin piece of paper rolled up inside.

The reason why Chu Lian was so familiar with it was that it had been described in the original text. Xiao Bojian liked to pass messages to Chu Lian in this way. He had used this special slender iron pipe.

Before opening the rolled up paper, Chu Lian saw a rice-grain-sized "Xiao" character on the outside of the paper.

Sure enough, it was Xiao Bojian who passed her the message!

How could Xiao Bojian be so narcissistic and still be haunting her? Chu Lian was really angry.

He was no longer in the mood to read what was written on the note. In front of Xiyan, he threw the unopened note along with the long and thin iron pipe into the fire pit under the stove. Sparks flickered in the fire pit and the small note was burnt to ashes.

Xiyan saw Chu Lian do this with her own eyes and let out a long sigh of relief. She knew that her mistress didn't have any feelings for Young Master Xiao. Her mistress's decision was right.

She was now the third madam of Duke Jing 'an's estate. Although she wasn't the legal mother of the first branch, she was still the mistress of the branch. Now, she was also the ruler of Jinyi Village. Even if her mistress stood aloof from worldly affairs, she couldn't shirk the responsibility and reputation on her shoulders. Moreover, besides the matter of the young master going to the north, he didn't do anything wrong to the third madam.

Not to mention the young master's good looks, just the He family's reputation was worth her mistress protecting.

Those noble ladies who married into rich families rarely didn't have to deal with their husbands' concubines after marriage.

Just this alone was enough to cause a wave of complaints.

Moreover, He Sanlang was born into a good family and was much better than Young Master Xiao.

It was all Young Master Xiao's fault. Their mistress was already married, so why was she still like a leech and wouldn't let go!

Xiyan hated Xiao Bojian in her heart. She was originally a generous and gentle maidservant, but now she cursed eighteen generations of Xiao Bojian's ancestors in her heart.

Chu Lian glanced at Xiyan and calmly instructed her, "Just pretend you didn't see it."

Xiyan nodded.

Afterwards, Chu Lian continued to prepare the remaining yellow oranges as if nothing had happened.

Two hours later, the nourishing and stomach-warming ginseng porridge and the fragrant crab stuffed orange were ready. Chu Lian specially mixed two refreshing side dishes.

Duke Zheng had been bedridden for a long time and hadn't eaten for several days, so he couldn't eat those hard dishes. The dishes she chose this time were just right.

Chu Lian cleaned up and hurried to Duke Zheng's bedroom with her maidservant carrying the food boxes.

In the study in the front courtyard of Duke Zheng's estate, Heir Zheng had already gone to the back courtyard. Only Xiao Bojian was left.

There were many books in the study in the front courtyard of Duke Zheng's estate. Xiao Bojian often came here to borrow books. At this moment, Wei Jia, who was dressed in his usual attire, whispered a few words into Xiao Bojian's ear.

Xiao Bojian's handsome face wrinkled and he was slightly angry. "What? She burned the note without even reading it?"

Wei Jia respectfully stood to the side and nodded.

Xiao Bojian was so angry that his chest heaved. He leaned against the boxwood chair and closed his eyes for a long time before his anger subsided.

Lian 'er!

Why are you so stupid? You don't believe me!

Do you know what was written in the note I gave you?!

Xiao Bojian thought bitterly and helplessly. He really wanted to catch that annoying little woman in front of him and bully her wantonly.