Some people wanted hot pot, some wanted barbecue, and some wanted stir-fried dishes. In the end, after much discussion, it was decided that for dinner tonight, there would be hot pot, barbecue, and stir-fried dishes.
Xia Wan'er's eyes crinkled with a smile, "Li'er, you definitely won't be able to manage preparing tonight's dinner all by yourself. Mother and Granny Hua will also help."
Xia Wan'er originally had two maids, Hua Yun and Hua Yue. However, the head of the Hua family had not yet fully recovered, so Xia Wan'er left those two young maids to attend to him and returned to the capital with Granny Hua.
At this moment, Madam An and Madam Jiang also said with chuckles, "Although our cooking skills aren't as good as yours and your mother's, we can still help by washing vegetables."
Grand Tutor Xia saw the throng of people filling the inner hall and standing outside the small courtyard. He immediately felt a pang of concern for his granddaughter. He shouldn't have mentioned wanting to eat Li'er's cooking earlier. Now, the Emperor and the Empress Dowager had come to the Xia mansion for a meal, and his granddaughter would be exhausted.
"There are many people eating tonight, so we can't let our Li'er girl get too tired. All you young ladies should go and help Li'er," Grand Tutor Xia said to the women in the inner hall.
At this, Leng Ruo Li and Xia Wan'er greeted the Emperor, the Empress Dowager, and Grand Tutor Xia and his wife, and then the group headed towards the kitchen.
Upon arriving at the kitchen, Leng Ruo Li and Xia Wan'er immediately assigned tasks to everyone present. Everyone was diligent and didn't require them to teach them seriously. Then, Leng Ruo Li and Xia Wan'er began their own work. As Xia Wan'er was more skilled at home-style cooking, she was responsible for tonight's home-style dishes, while Leng Ruo Li would prepare the hot pot broth and grilled meats.
Following that, everyone cooperated well with Xia Wan'er and Leng Ruo Li's work, completing their tasks quickly and efficiently.
In less than half an hour, the two of them had prepared two large tables of dishes, which were then served one after another into the inner hall and arranged on the two large tables placed there.
In the center of the tables was a鸳鸯锅 (yuānyāng guō - a hot pot pot with two compartments). Surrounding the pot were piles of stir-fried dishes, both meat and vegetable dishes. These stir-fried dishes looked appetizing and smelled delicious, filling the air with a tempting aroma that made one's mouth water.
Xia Wan'er leaned closer to Leng Ruo Li and whispered, "Li'er, you haven't been here long since you transmigrated, but the modern kitchen utensils you've prepared are too complete. I've been here for decades and haven't thought as thoroughly as you. Making these modern kitchen appliances."
Leng Ruo Li smiled and replied, "Mother, I originally intended to use these hot pot utensils for a hot pot restaurant. I asked the steward of the Cold King's mansion to find a blacksmith to make a batch. However, since the hot pot restaurant I planned has not yet opened, I had the steward of the Cold King's mansion store all these kitchen utensils and appliances in the Cold King's mansion's main warehouse."
"Last time I went out, I casually took three hot pot utensils and put them into my space, intending to use them on the way to the East Sea. But because time was tight along the way, we didn't eat hot pot. I didn't expect the first reunion dinner tonight to be perfect for using them."
"Alas, Li'er, it's all thanks to you that Mother could survive and reunite with your maternal grandparents."
Xia Wan'er said gratefully to Leng Ruo Li, reaching out to pat Leng Ruo Li's fair hand.
"Mother, we are a family. You don't need to say such polite words. Come, let's invite everyone to eat."
Leng Ruo Li said with a smile, then took Xia Wan'er's hand and entered the room to invite everyone to eat.
Everyone had been waiting in the inner hall to be called for dinner. Leng Ruo Li entered the room and shouted, "Dinner is served!"
Everyone immediately found their seats and prepared to eat. Their speed was more enthusiastic than anything.
Halfway through dinner, Ming Jiu Xiao returned to the Xia mansion. He joined the eating crowd.
It was a joyful and unforgettable reunion dinner.
After dinner, Xia Wan'er was mysteriously pulled into a room by the Empress Dowager, Old Madam Xia, and Leng Ruo Li's two aunts. Leng Ruo Yu also wanted to follow to listen, but all of them guarded against her and pushed her towards Jun Mo Han, which made Leng Ruo Li feel very frustrated.
Had she fallen out of favor with the Empress Dowager and Old Madam Xia?
What Leng Ruo Li didn't expect next was that Jun Mo Han was also kicked out by the Emperor and Grand Tutor Xia.
They even said that tonight they didn't need Jun Mo Han and her to escort the Emperor and Empress Dowager back to the palace, and that the Cold King and his consort could go out and have fun by themselves.
And so, Leng Ruo Li and Jun Mo Han were sent back to the Cold King's mansion in a daze.
The next morning, the sun was shining brightly, and the air was fresh.
This was the first morning Leng Ruo Li and Jun Mo Han had experienced since returning from the East Sea. As usual, after getting up, they simply washed up and then went to the courtyard to practice their morning exercises, practice martial arts, circulate their internal energy, and so on.
After an hour, Leng Ruo Li and Jun Mo Han finished their morning practice. They returned to their space to bathe, wash their hair, and freshen up. Then, they changed into clean and cool clothes, tied their hair neatly, and went to the living room for breakfast with Jun Mo Han.
After breakfast, Jun Mo Han accompanied Leng Ruo Li in a carriage to the bustling city.
Leng Ruo Li leaned out of the carriage window, looking at the lively street with great pleasure. She suddenly said to Jun Mo Han, "Jun Mo Han, let's go and see Jin Xiu Ge!"
Upon hearing this, Jun Mo Han simply smiled and replied, "Whatever you wish. Wherever you go today, I will accompany you."
Leng Ruo Li smiled after hearing this.
"Okay!"
"It's settled then. Ye Ba, Ye Jiu, let's go to Jin Xiu Ge!"
Ye Ba and Ye Jiu heard Leng Ruo Li's command and immediately turned the carriage around. The horses neighed twice, and with a "clip-clop" sound, they galloped towards Jin Xiu Ge.
Their carriage had not traveled far before they arrived at the entrance of Jin Xiu Ge.
As Leng Ruo Li and Jun Mo Han alighted from the carriage, they saw Mei Yue E standing in the alley to the left of Jin Xiu Ge. Before her, a man was kneeling and repeatedly kowtowing to her. So, Leng Ruo Li sent Ye Ba to investigate, while she and Jun Mo Han stepped into the entrance of Jin Xiu Ge.
When Leng Ruo Li and Jun Mo Han entered the shop, Shi Zhenghe and her employees were busily working and didn't notice the Cold King and his consort entering.
"Cai Die, Manager Zhou said that the small birds on the sleeves of this dress lack some spirit. Can you try to modify them?"
"Yes, Steward Shi. I'll take care of this. I will definitely make the patterns on this dress look even better."
"Good, then I'll leave this matter to you," Shi Zhenghe said with a bright smile.
Then, Shi Zhenghe, holding another dress, walked over to Niu Cui.
"Sister Cui, you are skilled at making stand-collar garments. Can you modify this dress into a stand-collar style?"
Niu Cui took the dress from Shi Zhenghe, looked at it, and replied with a smile, "Certainly! It's easy to modify this kind of dress into a stand-collar style. You can rest assured and leave it to me."
Shi Zhenghe's smile widened upon hearing Niu Cui's words.
"Hehe, then I'll trouble you, Sister Cui!"
With that, Shi Zhenghe quickly turned around and looked up, only to see the Cold King and his consort. He immediately became excited.