"Your Highness, how did you know I returned to General Leng's manor?" Leng Ruo Li asked curiously.
"I guessed!" Jun Mo Han replied coolly.
Leng Ruo Li: "..."
Jun Mo Han was a proud man. He would never tell her that the moment she stepped out of the Cold King's manor, he had dispatched two hidden guards to follow her discreetly.
In truth, it was his secret guards who reported Leng Ruo Li's arrival at General Leng's manor. As soon as he heard, he rushed to General Leng's manor.
However, the moment he reached the main gate of General Leng's manor, he heard someone in the courtyard talking about his consort extorting money. Upon hearing this, his expression immediately darkened. With so many industries under the Cold King's manor, would they be short of tens of thousands of taels of silver from that Leng Ruo Shuang?
Thus, he intervened to help his consort deal with that detestable concubine from Prince Qing's manor.
"Father, we can no longer use this scholar Zhang, General Leng," Leng Ruo Li suddenly said.
Upon hearing this, Scholar Zhang immediately knelt in panic before Leng Ruo Li and Leng Jin Yu, repeatedly kowtowing. "Consort, Great General, I know I was wrong. Please do not expel me from the manor."
"Scholar Zhang, if you had known this day would come, why did you do it in the first place? If you hadn't been foolishly tempted, would you have ended up like this?"
Leng Ruo Li sneered repeatedly.
"Consort, I beg you. I truly need this job to support my family," Scholar Zhang pleaded.
"Hah! Scholar Zhang, do you think Father and I truly didn't know about the money you embezzled from our General Leng's manor all these years? Father probably spared you further repercussions out of respect for your deceased father," Leng Ruo Li said sarcastically.
Leng Ruo Li's words shocked Scholar Zhang on the spot.
He had always believed his money-stealing acts were flawless, but he never expected that Leng Jin Yu and Leng Ruo Li had already discovered his secret.
"Great General, Consort, I was just greedy back then, wanting to earn more money to support my family," Scholar Zhang argued cunningly, attempting to move Leng Jin Yu and Leng Ruo Li with emotion.
Hearing this, Leng Jin Yu glanced at Scholar Zhang, who was kneeling on the ground, and narrowed his eyes slightly. He immediately instructed Steward Qi, "Steward Qi, I don't want to hear any more nonsense from him. Go and retrieve the household ledger for distributing monthly salaries and show it to Scholar Zhang. After he has looked through it, pay him fifty taels of silver and have him leave General Leng's manor."
"Yes, Great General!" Steward Qi replied respectfully and turned to leave.
"Li'er, please invite His Highness the Cold King into the inner chambers to sit," Although Leng Jin Yu was displeased that Jun Mo Han had concealed his illness from him, he was a prince nonetheless, and there were distinctions between ruler and subject. Leng Jin Yu still had to host him properly.
"Father-in-law, why don't we go to Li'er's courtyard to enjoy some tea? I happened to bring this year's tribute tea from Southern Zhao from the Cold King's manor. I heard from my father that this batch of tea has an excellent flavor. Let's all three taste it together," Jun Mo Han said to Leng Jin Yu in a flattering tone.
Leng Ruo Li found Jun Mo Han's tone somewhat strange, as this was the first time she had ever seen him speak so submissively to someone.
Had this Jun Mo Han offended her father?
Indeed, Leng Jin Yu's silence made Jun Mo Han appear particularly awkward.
To ease the atmosphere, Leng Ruo Li chimed in, "Father, why don't you both come to my courtyard to sit for a while? You can enjoy some tea, and Li'er will personally cook something delicious for you."
Upon hearing Leng Ruo Li say she would personally cook for them, both Leng Jin Yu and Jun Mo Han's eyes lit up.
"Li'er, are you really going to cook yourself?" Leng Jin Yu and Jun Mo Han said in unison.
"Yes, I will personally cook lunch today, using a method you've never tried before," Leng Ruo Li said with a slight smile and a mysterious expression.
"Let's go, we'll all go to Li'er's courtyard to sit."
Leng Jin Yu's expression instantly changed upon hearing this.
Thus, the three of them quickly headed to the Ming Yue Courtyard.
Leng Jin Yu and Jun Mo Han sat down in their usual pavilion. Leng Ruo Li instructed Xing'er and Ling'er to bring them tea sets and boil water.
Then, Leng Ruo Li, accompanied by the two young maids, went to the manor's main kitchen to collect a large quantity of vegetables and meat, along with some pork bones, and ostentatiously returned to the Ming Yue Courtyard.
The weather in Tian Wu Kingdom had been gradually getting colder. For lunch today, Leng Ruo Li planned to have hot pot with Leng Jin Yu and Jun Mo Han.
In her modern life, she had loved visiting hot pot restaurants with her teammates during winter. Eating it fresh off the stove was wonderful. It made her feel warm and created a great atmosphere.
It had been several months since she had transmigrated to Tian Wu Kingdom, and she hadn't had hot pot yet. So today, she decided to have it.
"Xing'er, go and ask Steward Qi to help me get two large clay pots that are normally used for making soup from the storeroom."
"Yes, Consort!"
Although Xing'er didn't know the purpose of Leng Ruo Li asking for two large clay pots, she didn't question it and quickly ran off to find Steward Qi.
After Xing'er left, Leng Ruo Li instructed Ling'er to wash the vegetables and meat clean.
Leng Ruo Li quickly started a fire, blanched the pork bones she had just brought from the main kitchen, washed them clean, added some ingredients, and placed them in a large pot to simmer the bone broth over high heat.
At this time, Leng Ruo Li cut the washed cabbage, potatoes, sweet potatoes, etc., into pieces and sorted them into basins. She also thinly sliced the fish, lamb, and beef and sorted them into separate basins.
Half an hour later, the bone broth in the pot had a rich aroma.
Then, Leng Ruo Li opened the lid and ladled the large bone broth into the two clean large clay pots that Xing'er had brought from the storeroom. She placed them on a stove typically used for simmering soup and added some charcoal.
She then had Xing'er and Ling'er carefully carry the two pot bases and the two stoves to the courtyard, dividing them into two tables. She then had them light the charcoal in the stoves to simmer the broth. After that, she had them return to fetch the vegetables and meat and place them on the tables.
Meanwhile, Leng Ruo Li was in the kitchen preparing various dipping sauces: sesame paste, shacha sauce, white pepper, chili sauce... etc. These sauces were all taken from her system space and had exceptionally authentic flavors.
Originally, Leng Ruo Li had planned to make a Yin Yang hot pot, with one side being spicy and the other a clear broth. However, since there was no special Yin Yang pot here, she could only make one type of broth.
Given that Leng Jin Yu had just recovered from his illness, she decided against a spicy broth. Thus, she could only make a clear broth. However, Leng Ruo Li had prepared several types of chili sauces. If anyone wanted to eat spicy food, they could dip it in the chili sauce, which would also be quite delicious.
When Leng Ruo Li came out of the kitchen with the dipping sauces, she looked up and saw a group of fools in the courtyard staring blankly at the raw vegetables and meat on the table.
This included her father and Jun Mo Han, both looking at the arrangement on the table with bewilderment.