He Changdi paused. He didn't expect Lai Yue to give such a reason.

He pursed his lips and wanted to scold Lai Yue, but he suddenly thought of the faintly discernible and extremely alluring smell he smelled in the study last night.

In addition, Lai Yue had wolfed down the food, so He Changdi could imagine how delicious that dish was.

Lai Yue was his personal manservant and had been by his side since he was young. He had eaten a lot of good food, and if even this picky fellow liked the food, it must have its merits. However, he subconsciously didn't want to admit that it was made by Chu Lian.

He Sanlang snorted coldly and got up to ignore Lai Yue. He originally wanted to go straight to the front yard, but he caught a glimpse of the busy kitchen out of the corner of his eye. He Changdi changed his direction and walked toward the parlor.

Gui Momo, who was tidying up in the reception pavilion, jumped in fright and hurriedly bowed to He Changdi. "Good morning, Third Young Master."

He Changdi swept his gaze around the reception pavilion and asked coldly, "Where is your grandmother?"

Gui Momo lowered her head and secretly glanced at the tall and slender He Sanlang. She said in a low voice, "Third Young Mistress is … in the little kitchen …"

"What a scandal!

Since when does our Duke Jing 'an's residence need her to personally cook a meal? If word of this gets out, what will others think? "

When Gui Momo heard He Sanlang's words, she lowered her head even more and didn't say a word.

He Changdi snorted coldly but sat in front of the table in the reception pavilion and didn't leave.

Actually, he just had nowhere to vent the anger that had accumulated last night and couldn't hold it in when he saw Gui Momo. After all, Gui Momo was Chu Lian's most trusted supervisor.

Gui Momo gave a look to the young maidservant beside her to quickly serve tea while she watched He Sanlang from the side.

Gui Momo felt strange. It was obvious that Third Young Master was dissatisfied with Third Young Mistress. According to common sense, he should have gone to the front courtyard by now, but he was sitting in the reception pavilion calmly, as if he was deliberately waiting for something.

He Changdi sat in the Flower Hall. The Flower Hall was filled with Chu Lian's dowry decorations, which made him gnash his teeth in hatred. If it weren't for last night's food that aroused his curiosity, he would have left long ago. How could he have waited here patiently?

Chu Lian brought Xiyan and Ming Yan to the small kitchen early in the morning.

After chopping the meat, adding the egg whites, onions, and garlic, mixing the stuffing, rolling out the thin dough, and waiting for each and every one of them to be placed into the pot, it took about an hour.

Although Chu Lian didn't do anything, she just sat at the side and gave pointers to Xiyan and Ming Yan. It was early summer now, and they were in the small kitchen. An hour later, their bodies were so hot that they were covered in a layer of sweat.

She wore a cool light red muslin dress today and the layers of the skirt were very nice to look at. After dressing up in the morning, Gui Momo even praised that this dress matched Chu Lian very well as it was like a delicate peony that had just bloomed.

But now that she was sweating, the thin muslin dress stuck to her body, revealing the light pink dress she was wearing inside. Even the thin ribbon on her shoulders could be seen clearly.

Chu Lian only discovered the awkwardness of this dress when she stood up.

She instructed Xiyan and Ming Yan to bring the muslin to the Flower Hall. In order to match the muslin, Chu Lian specially taught Xiyan to bake some fragrant scallion pancakes. However, there was no vegetable oil. The pancakes were made with pork fat, which might be a little greasy when eaten later.

Gui Momo said that the methods that Third Young Mistress taught her were all secret recipes and could not be seen by others. Thus, when Chu Lian brought the two senior maidservants to the small kitchen to cook, the door was always closed.

Now that the door was opened, the cool morning breeze blew over, making the sweaty Chu Lian feel much better.

Chu Lian wanted to quickly go back and change her clothes, so she quickened her steps. But just as she reached the Flower Hall, she saw He Sanlang sitting there.

Hearing the sound of footsteps, He Sanlang, who had his head lowered, looked up. When he saw the clothes Chu Lian was wearing, his handsome face first turned red, then black.

Chu Lian was startled for a moment before she waved the circular fan in her hand and walked to He Changdi's side. Her large, watery eyes blinked. "Husband, why are you up so early?"

He Changdi saw that her slender shoulders were imprinted and suddenly remembered that Laiyue was still standing in the Flower Hall. He immediately stood up, grabbed Chu Lian's slender wrist, and dragged her into the bedroom.

Chu Lian was brutally dragged into the bedroom by him. Her eyes widened in shock, and she had yet to react to what had happened.

When they entered the bedroom, He Changdi fiercely shook off Chu Lian's hand and coldly said, "Change your clothes!"

Chu Lian furrowed her pretty brows and rubbed her wrist, which was red from his grip. When she heard his words, she lowered her head to look at the clothes she was wearing.

The muslin dress was indeed a little translucent after being stained with sweat, but this was nothing to Chu Lian, who even wore bikinis in the modern world.

Chu Lian rolled her eyes in her heart and turned to look at He Changdi. Didn't this fellow dislike her?

What did it matter to him what she wore now?

And what was going on? Didn't he tell her to change her clothes? Why was he staring at her with a pair of thick brows?

Although the young girl was petite, she usually wore loose clothes that didn't show off her figure. But now, this translucent light red muslin dress undoubtedly revealed the young girl's curvaceous figure.

He Changdi stared blankly for a moment.

Chu Lian frowned and used the circular fan in her hand to cover her chest. She glared at He Changdi and walked to the wardrobe to take out some clothes. Chu Lian randomly took out a dress and turned to see that He Changdi was still standing by the screen with his hands behind his back. She slightly pouted and said unhappily, "I'm going to change. You can leave first."

Only then did He Changdi realize that he had been staring at Chu Lian the whole time. He felt vexed and turned to leave without saying a word.

Chu Lian muttered as she changed her clothes, "You left so quickly. If you have the ability, then don't look at me just now!"

When He Changdi returned to the reception pavilion, Xiyan and Ming Yan had already arranged the freshly cooked food on the dining table.

Although the reception pavilion was filled with an appetizing aroma, He Sanlang didn't look at the food on the table first. Instead, he looked at Lai Yue and signaled him to leave with his eyes.

After Lai Yue left, He Sanlang sat down at the table.

His deep phoenix eyes looked at the food in front of him. Ming Yan took the initiative to ladle a bowl for him, poured some vinegar, and handed him a small spoon.

He Changdi paused for a moment, then took the spoon and glanced at Ming Yan.

He Sanlang's gaze was too oppressive. Ming Yan trembled and spilled everything.

"Third Young Master, this is the shou that Third Young Mistress taught this servant to make. There's a scallion pancake on the side. Third Young Mistress said that shou should be paired with vinegar and finely chopped spring onions for it to taste good. Third Young Master, you … you should try it first."

He Changdi's gaze was indifferent, as if he was completely unmoved by Ming Yan's words. He was as cold as a block of ice. Only he himself knew how shocked he was.