She picked one up with her white fingertips and tasted it. It was sweet and had a refreshing fragrance. When she bit into it, it had a slight chewiness like candied fruit. When she swallowed it, her entire mouth was filled with the delicious smell of kumquats.

Perhaps it was Xiyan's first time making kumquats, but she added too much rock sugar when she cooked them. It was too greasy, but other than that, everything else was well done.

Xiyan stared at Chu Lian's expression nervously, waiting for her evaluation.

Chu Lian finished one and nodded with a gentle smile. "Try them all!"

The other three geese had long been eager. When they heard Chu Lian's words, they couldn't wait to pick one up and put it in their mouths. Only the heavens knew that when Xiyan came in with the plate of honeyed kumquats, they were attracted.

If the kumquats were eaten directly, they would taste bitter and astringent with a tinge of sourness. However, after being processed like this, the original astringency and sourness were gone, and the unique fragrance and sweetness of the kumquats were accentuated.

As soon as the geese took a small bite, their eyes lit up.

Ming Yan nodded shyly. In just a short while, Chu Lian discovered that this maidservant was easily embarrassed.

Indeed, there was no harm without comparison. After eating the pastries made with Chu Lian's "secret" recipe and recalling the pumpkin pastries, the geese finally understood why Third Young Mistress said those pastries were too ordinary.

"How is it?" Chu Lian asked with a smile.

The geese nodded like chicks eating rice.

Chu Lian saw that they all seemed to want more after eating. She glanced at the large pot of small kumquats and instructed Xiyan, "Xiyan, make all of these small kumquats. Remember to add less rock sugar this time and leave two small bowls. I'll personally bring them to Grandmother and Mother in a bit. You guys can share the rest."

Honeyed kumquats could be eaten as a dried fruit dessert, and could also be made into fruit tea. It had the effect of regulating qi and reducing phlegm. With an appropriate amount of red dates, it was most suitable for women.

Xiyan had just learned this recipe, so she obviously wanted to make it a few more times. Third Young Mistress could also use this honeyed kumquat to show off in front of the He family. This was something that gave a newlywed a lot of face.

She didn't know what Matriarch He said to He Changdi in the front yard, but he didn't come back until it was almost noon.

Although Chu Lian didn't want to pay attention to him, they were newlyweds after all. She still needed to have the necessary etiquette.

The young couple had lunch in their own courtyard.

He sent a maidservant to the kitchen to give the order. After half an hour, a maidservant from the kitchen would bring food boxes to the courtyard.

Ming Yan led the two young maids to lay out the dishes before entering the inner chamber to help Chu Lian out to eat. He Changdi went to the study upon returning from Old Matriarch's place and Gui Momo had already gone to call her.

Chu Lian didn't eat much in the morning, and the pastries that Xiyan went to the kitchen to get were not to her liking. Although she ate two honeyed kumquats, they weren't enough to fill her stomach. It wasn't easy for her to wait for lunch, and she was hungry now!

Filled with anticipation, Ming Yan helped her into the reception hall. From afar, Chu Lian glanced at the dining table.

Her eyes, which were shining with a golden light just now, were filled with disappointment when she saw the four or five plates on the table, like a little girl whose lollipop had been snatched away.

What … what was all this!

Clearly … clearly, the people of the Great Wu Dynasty were all well-dressed, and everything looked very similar to the Tang Dynasty, but why was the food so rough?!

Look, look, look, what was placed on the table!

She didn't know what it was made of, but there were palm-sized pancakes, pieces of white meat, cooked vegetables, and fish lying in the soup that didn't look appetizing at all …

There were five or six dishes in total, but the most eye-catching were the two bowls of snow-white rice.

Chu Lian finally understood why Duke Jing 'an's estate could become famous for its ordinary pastries. With these unappetizing dishes, even if it was a pancake or fruit pancake, it would probably be famous in Shengjing!

Ming Yan, who was standing behind her, saw that the corners of her master's mouth were twitching and her expression wasn't right. She thought that there was something in the food that Third Young Mistress didn't like and hurriedly asked, "Third Young Mistress, is the food not to your liking?"

Chu Lian resisted the urge to vomit blood and faked a smile as she shook her head. "No."

Ming Yan heaved a sigh of relief and whispered into Chu Lian's ear, "Third Young Mistress, look, there's roasted venison!

We don't even get to eat this once in half a year in the Ying Estate! "

Chu Lian sweated. So the people around her were all "foodies"?

At this moment, He Changdi happened to enter from outside. He glanced at Chu Lian from the corner of his eyes, then lifted his robe and sat on the main seat, completely ignoring his new wife.

Chu Lian squatted down in front of He Changdi and sat on the wooden stool next to him.

Fuyan and Jing Yan, who were serving them, handed chopsticks to the two of them.

Chu Lian frowned as she looked at the dishes on the table, but she didn't notice that He Changdi was secretly watching her out of the corner of his eye.

When he saw the expression on her face, he sneered in his heart. What?

This "country bumpkin" who just came out of the Ying Estate was probably shocked silly by the ordinary food at Duke Jing 'an's estate!

Ha!

She didn't even know what to eat. How embarrassing!

All the nobles in Sheng Capital knew that although the British Public House had a large population, it was no longer as prosperous as it was twenty years ago. If one had to find a word to describe the current British Public House, it would be that it was "empty in appearance".

This was a tacit understanding among the nobles in Shengjing. If the old Ying Estate retired and the Ying Estate didn't have a descendant who could support them, then the entire Ying Estate would soon disappear from the prosperous capital of Shengjing and become an insignificant speck in the dust of history.

Ha!

In his past life, the Ying Estate still had that poisonous woman, Chu Lian. But in this life, he was here. He wouldn't let that happen again!

A cold glint flashed across He Changdi's eyes. When he thought about his grandmother's reminder to live harmoniously with Chu Lian in Qingyuan Hall, he found it laughable.

If he could, he would tell his family everything that happened in his past life so that his kind family would understand what a shameless poisonous woman Chu Lian was!

Unfortunately, he couldn't. Not only would his family not believe him, they would even think that something was wrong with him.

Unknowingly, He Changdi's right hand, which was holding the chopsticks, was clenched so tightly that the veins on the back of his hand bulged. He almost bent the chopsticks.

His somewhat abnormal actions attracted Chu Lian's attention. Chu Lian saw his handsome face slightly twisted as if he was enduring something. She frowned and asked, "Husband, what's wrong?"

Hearing Chu Lian's voice, He Changdi's tightly wound heartstrings seemed to be violently knocked. He Changdi froze for a moment, but after a few seconds, he regained his composure.

"Hmph, eat!

I don't think it's difficult for you to eat these even in the Ying Estate! "His icy voice seemed to be emitting cold air.

In his past life, when they had just gotten married, he had personally put food into Chu Lian's bowl. When he saw his beautiful wife shyly eating the food on the table, her small mouth moving non-stop, his heart was filled with joy. His wife must have suffered at the Ying Estate. Half of the food on the table went into her stomach, especially the two pieces of roasted venison. She couldn't stop praising them.

These images unconsciously popped up in He Changdi's mind, causing him to be annoyed and hateful.

Seeing that Chu Lian seemed to be in a daze and did not move her chopsticks, the corners of his mouth hooked up. He suddenly reached out and picked up the two pieces of venison into his bowl.

Chu Lian: …

The geese: …

Gui Momo: …

The corners of Chu Lian's mouth stiffened. She did not understand what this young master was playing at. Please, this entire table of food was not to her taste. Especially the two pieces of white venison that made people lose their appetites. Now that they had entered He Changdi's bowl, it was just right.

Chu Lian was in a good mood and reached out with her chopsticks to pick up some of the vegetables in front of her. Although there was only a bit of salt and lard, it could not hide the natural taste of the fresh vegetables. Mmm, not bad!

Chu Lian tasted the other dishes on the table. It wasn't that the taste was bland, but it only had a salty taste. Some of the ingredients had been cooked for too long and had lost their original freshness. All of them were failures!

In her heart, she gave these dishes a big grade. In the end, the dish that Chu Lian reached out with her chopsticks the most was the small vegetables in front of her.

After barely eating half a bowl of rice with the small vegetables, Chu Lian, who was a picky eater, could not eat anymore.

Chu Lian herself did not think much of it, but the expressions of the geese and Gui Momo beside her changed.

Their young mistress was so frightened by the young master that she only dared to eat the vegetables in front of her. The young master even fiercely refused to let the young mistress eat anything delicious. How could this be?!

Third Young Mistress was more beautiful than a flower and had just entered the family. How could she have offended the young master? He Sanlang did not like her at all. They had just gotten married, but their days were already like this. How could they live in the future?!

Gui Momo's brows were tightly knitted together. She was already worried for Chu Lian.

Fuyan, on the other hand, secretly smirked. Since the young master did not like Sixth Young Miss, then she had a chance.

Ming Yan and Jing Yan, who were standing behind Chu Lian, were stunned by He Changdi's actions.

The two pieces of venison were quite big. One of them could cover the entire bowl.

In Count Jing 'an's estate, venison was often served on the table. He Changdi did not like to eat it. He only did it on impulse to provoke Chu Lian. When he thought about how she couldn't eat or sleep well, his mood became extremely good.

In order to let Chu Lian watch him eat the venison, He Sanlang resisted the nausea and pretended to be very happy and enjoyed it. He forced himself to eat the two pieces of venison in big bites.

In the end, he ate so much that he felt disgusted. He forced himself not to vomit before swallowing the last bite.

The food was not to her taste, and Chu Lian's appetite was small. In the end, she simply put down her chopsticks and stopped eating. She sat to the side and watched He Changdi eat the venison. Chu Lian couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of saliva. She even broke out in a cold sweat for him. She couldn't understand how this guy's brain worked. He clearly looked like he was in so much pain that he wanted to cry, but he still ate so fiercely. In the end, out of humanitarian concern, Chu Lian asked Ming Yan to pour a cup of warm water for him and handed it to He Sanlang.

"Don't eat so quickly. Drink some water!" Chu Lian said sympathetically.