Ancient Foodie Survival Guide Chapter 12
Tled by Serena Love
Edited by Ruby, Frizzy-Spring-Onion, and unsaltedfish
Chapter 12: Midnight Snacks
Bai Zhi, wanting to distract Jiang Shuyao from her "sadness", feigned excitement and said, "Miss, we’ll be able to attend the banquet at the princess’s mansion in a few days. We can finally get some fresh air."
Jiang Shuyao had a headache just thinking about it. She didn't want to attend banquets; hearing about them was troublesome.
Seeing that her mood worsened, Bai Zhi changed her tone, "The young lady hasn't met with Princess Changle since getting married. You must be looking forward to this banquet."
Jiang Shuyao's forehead vein twitched. Princess Changle was the warrior who took her "sisters" to molest handsome boys and caused a large number of them to fall into the water. People could easily picture her aggressive nature by listening to her deeds. She didn’t know if the princess would find that her former nympho sister had turned a new leaf.
"Yeah. It's just that I'm now a married woman, so I can't mess around with her anymore."
Bai Zhi thought of Jiang Shuyao's previous behaviors, laughed awkwardly, and hurriedly changed the topic, "Miss, since we have nothing to do, let’s start choosing the clothes and jewelry for the banquet."
Clothes and jewelry...
Jiang Shuyao was helpless at the thought of the plain clothes and delicate jade ornaments in the cabinet. The original owner's aesthetic was a painful sight to see. She chose a few bright clothes, which she had worn several times in a row.
"If I'm going to the banquet, I want to make some new clothes." She had money anyway, so why not buy more?
Bai Zhi, who was accustomed to Jiang Shuyao's lavish and generous nature, nodded without hesitation, "Then this servant girl will ask the butler to call all the best embroiderers in Chang’an."
Jiang Shuyao added, "There is also jewelry; I want to buy some new pieces."
Bai Zhi froze. "However, people don’t usually choose jewelry at home..." For clothes, they only needed to bring a few carts of cloth, but jewelry was different. Expensive jewelry was strictly guarded and preserved, and some pieces were so valuable that people wouldn’t even get the chance to glance at them.
Jiang Shuyao didn't want to go to the banquet with only simple gold ornaments, without even a pair of gorgeous earrings.
"It would be great if I could go out for a while." She mumbled with her shoulders slumped.
Bai Zhi was afraid that the lady who had been quiet for a while would begin to cause trouble again, and persuaded, "The Old Madam has been very strict lately, and the scripture copying incident has angered her. Miss needs to be patient and wait until the Old Madam's anger dies down, then it will be easier to act freely."
Girls always liked to dress up, especially when they make an appointment, they want to look beautiful. Jiang Shuyao couldn't think of another way, so she could only compromise, "Then send people to get me some brightly colored clothes for me to choose from. If you can, go to the gold shop to buy some jewelry. There is no limit to style, the more complex and sophisticated the better."
"This is ..." Bai Zhi had never heard of such orders. People would spend a lot of money to buy jewelry, so even the most intimate maidservants would not dare take this job.
"Forget it." Jiang Shuyao decided not to trouble her servants anymore. Although her maternal family were wealthy merchants, she had never managed even the expenses of her most basic needs, so squandering the family fortune was beyond her. This was money she simply couldn’t make use of.
She said, depressed, "I haven't been out of the house since I got married, and I don't know what the market outside looks like now." To be precise, she has never seen the ancient market after crossing over. Jiang Shuyao was curious to the point that it was uncomfortable, she couldn't wait to grow wings and fly outside to see.
Seeing her eager appearance, Bai Zhi heard an alarm in her heart, and her inspiration suddenly appeared, "Why don't you ask your husband to take you out?"
"Huh?" What kind of scheme was this? Jiang Shuyao was all ears, "Tell me in detail."
"The young master will take a break in a few days, so it's not too much to let him accompany his newly married wife. If the master takes the young lady out, then the Old Madam can't say anything."
Jiang Shuyao's eyes sparkled with intrigue, yet a hint of confusion lingered. "But will he actually agree to it?" Typically, he wore a stern expression, often even disgusted.
Bai Zhi was truly a maid forged in the crucible of a household steeped in fierce rivalry and lethal intent. As an astute conspirator and advisor, she leaned in and whispered, "If the young master seeks distance from the young lady, you should relentlessly pursue him. Even a hint of threat can be seen as a form of flattery. My mother always said that men fear women's entanglements the most, especially when those women are beautiful. Even a century-old steel will yield like soft fingers." Notably, Bai Zhi's mother served as a powerful nanny beside Madam Xiangyang.
Jiang Shuyao carefully pondered over this and thought that this was a good method. Xie Xun hated her, so she would appear before his eyes just to disgust him. Once the disgust was there, in order to make Jiang Shuyao go away, he would promise her a small bribe.
As for the beauty tricks that Bai Zhi said, Jiang Shuyao automatically ignored them.
Xie Xun, a person of pure and upright nature, who acted like a monk would never get close to a woman, and would never develop a good impression of an uncultured woman like her who behaves erratically.
...
As the moon rose above the branches, its pure light poured down, spilling into the study through the partially closed carved window. Occasionally, a night breeze would waft by, bringing a refreshing coolness.
Xie Xun lit the lamp and read a book as usual. After reading, he forgot the time. He reached for the teapot and found that it was empty.
He was about to call someone, when from outside there was a sickeningly sweet call that made people feel goosebumps.
"Husband~"
"Pang!" Xie Xun lost his grip on the teapot in his hand. It fell off the desk and tumbled along the floor. What, what?!
Perhaps he was fascinated by the Commentary of the Water Classic just now, and his mind was not yet awake. Suddenly hearing this voice that shouldn't be anywhere near him, his skin broke out in goosebumps.
When Jiang Shuyao heard the noise in the room, she was a little confused and was about to speak, only to realize that she had almost forgotten to change her voice.
She pitched her voice, "Husband, what's the matter?"
Xie Xun calmed down and looked at the faint dark shadow reflected on the door.
Jiang Shuyao?
Jiang Shuyao's appearance flashed in his mind – first, her inelegant yet appetizing eating manner, then the way she wrote quietly in the study that night, like a lotus flower emerging from the water, radiant and charming.
Yet even then, she frowned and chewed her pen as she wrote those "chicken scratch" words. Put nicely, she was unconventional and free-spirited; less flatteringly, and a bit foolish. How could Jiang Shuyao have made such a sound just now?
Was there evil at work?!
"Husband~ Why don’t you answer me? Can I come in?" Jiang Shuyao was tired of speaking in this voice for such a long time just to bother Xie Xun. Could it be that he fell, knocked his head, and passed out?
This sentence shocked Xie Xun. He quickly got up, his sleeve accidentally swiped the pen holder in the process, and with a clatter, all the brushes rolled to the ground.
He had never been so flustered before. His inner irritation poured out and he shouted, "Wait!"
Jiang Shuyao didn't know what he was doing. She held a plate in her hand until her hands were sore. Finally, she walked towards the door impatiently, wondering how to kick the door open with her feet.
"Crack—"
The door suddenly opened, causing Jiang Shuyao to almost stumble. When she raised her head, she was faced with Xie Xun's cold face.
Although Jiang Shuyao often complained about Xie Xun's coffin face, it was usually a jade coffin that was pleasing to the eye. Now, although he still had a coffin face, it was surrounded by a sullen air, like a thousand-year-old rotting coffin that was about to spit out a ghost.
Xie Xun was tall, with wide shoulders and long legs. Although he was a civil official, he practiced martial arts all year-round. As he drew closer, he lowered his head to meet her gaze. The masculine pressure he radiated caused Jiang Shuyao’s courage to falter.
Reaching out to his unsmiling face, Jiang Shuyao smiled and raised her head, "Husband, can you let me in?" ‘This old lady's hands are sore.’
This time she forgot to adjust her voice, so it was much more normal, and Xie Xun reluctantly eased his discomfort.
"What's the matter?" He had planned to station someone outside the study that day, but immediately forgot about it when she interrupted him.
Tomorrow, he must definitely have a few people outside the study to stop Jiang Shuyao!
"I thought my husband must be tired from reading, so I made some midnight snacks." She advanced a half-step, a gentle smile on her lips. Jiang Shuyao’s crimson lips parted, revealing her pearly white teeth, while the red beads on the hair ornament in her bun swayed with her motion.
It was said that beauty was best admired beneath the moon. Observing her smile under the moonlight captivated Xie Xie momentarily, and he subconsciously stepped back.
The smile on Jiang Shuyao's face remained unchanged, and she passed Xie Xun softly, placing the plate on the table.
"Husband, are you hungry? See if these foods are to your liking." She turned her head, the candlelight gave her a touch of gentleness.
Xie Xun was only momentarily stunned and soon recovered. He looked at Jiang Shuyao, feeling a dissonance in her behavior.
Though, perhaps this is how things ought to be. She had cast aside her reputation, even using death as leverage to marry him; it would be odd if she wasn't pestering him now.
Xie Xun would not lose his demeanor and care about her, but since supper had already been delivered, how could he still tell her to take it away?
Previously, because of Jiang Shuyao's cloying voice, he didn't even notice that she was holding the plate in her hands. Now the room was filled with the rich smell of food, making him swallow reflexively.
He walked over and cast his eyes on the dinner plate, "What is this?"
Jiang Shuyao didn't expect him to cooperate so much. The gloomy complexion just now disappeared without a trace.
Perhaps it was the irresistible temptation of delicious food. Moreover, Xie Xun's age can only be regarded as a big boy in modern times. He was at an age where he could eat a cow when he was hungry.
She introduced the food one by one, "This is fried noodles, this is sizzling tofu, and this is cumin chicken wings."
The dishes she prepared were always distinctive and innovative, transforming simple ingredients into extraordinary flavors. In contrast, many esteemed chefs in this era often focus excessively on lavish ingredients and elaborate techniques, neglecting the fundamental essence of taste that truly matters.
Xie Xun coughed, "Just leave it here, I'll eat it when I'm hungry."
Jiang Shuyao saw that he didn't look hungry, and had already expected him not to eat immediately. She nodded and said, "Then I'll go first. Husband, you can eat some to pad your stomach after reading. Nowadays, the weather is warming up. Although the food will cool slowly, eating cold food isn’t good for the stomach."
Xie Xun nodded.
Jiang Shuyao couldn't help but sigh. Scholars were truly different; even their appetites could be subdued. According to the modern clock, it was now 9:10 in the evening. In the past, even if she had dinner at 7, she would typically indulge in some snacks or fruit around 9 to satisfy her cravings. Moreover, people were accustomed to dining just before dusk, making it only natural to feel hungry again by this hour.
After she left, Xie Xun sat down at the desk and just picked up the writing brush before setting it back down and getting up.
He shook his head with an inexplicable sense of guilt, adjusted his robe, and sat down at the dinner table. Just as his chopsticks had touched the cumin chicken wings...
"Husband, tomorrow—"
Jiang Shuyao left too quickly and almost forgot to pester him about her main purpose for coming. She quickly ran back just as it popped up in her mind again, and ran into this embarrassing scene.
Xie Xun calmly put down his chopsticks and said coldly, "What else?" In truth, half of his face was numb with shame.
"Uh… I want to ask, will you come back to have dinner with me tomorrow?"
"Alright," Xie Xun said, placing his hands on his knees and reverting to his familiar pose of feigned studiousness to mask his embarrassment.
"Oh." Jiang Shuyao felt strange, forgot what she was going to do, and turned around again.
As she walked away, Xie Xun was left sitting there sullenly.
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