The Prince of Jin said, "Tang Zhuyun!"
"Coming, coming," Tang Zhuyun pouted and went over, complaining softly, "Your Highness, can't you give me any face?"
The Prince of Jin then said to Jiang Beihan, "What happened today was her recklessness. I apologize to Beihan."
Jiang Beihan bowed to Prince of Jin, "Your Highness is too kind. Regarding today's events... I have other matters to attend to at my residence, so I must take my leave now."
After saying that, he simply took Yingxue and left.
"Come in with me."
Tang Zhuyun went in dejectedly.
One shouldn't be too arrogant, or one will easily be proven wrong.
Tang Baixin glanced at it, then went into the Tang Family.
Meng Yulan, feeling guilty and anxious, said, "Master, A-Yun, the Prince..."
"It's alright," Tang Baixin to himself. "If the prince hadn't shown up, Jiang Beihan would probably have stormed in in his rage."
The Prince of Jin appeared and poured cold water on Jiang Beihan, calming him down; the Prince of Jin then apologized, giving him a way out, so Jiang Beihan left.
In fact, Tang Zhuyun and Prince of Jin cooperated very well in this matter.
"I'm afraid the Prince will blame A-Yun."
"His Highness is only here to help us out; he won't make things difficult for A-Yun."
And that was indeed the case. Tang Zhuyun originally thought that Prince of Jin would scold her again. Anyway, she had already had her fill of scolding earlier, so she might as well let him scold her behind closed doors.
As a result, the Prince of Jin simply instructed her to cook, without saying anything else.
That's it?
Sure, she's excellent at cooking.
Tang Zhuyun was in a good mood. "Your Highness, I'll make you some chicken soup, hehe."
Although she was slow to react, she has now realized that if Prince of Jin hadn't intervened, things wouldn't have ended so easily. The two sides would probably have gone through several more rounds, making it a pointless spectacle for everyone to watch.
The main problem was her mood after her resounding victory; things are so much better now!
After finishing the chicken soup and preparing several other dishes, Tang Zhuyun called out to Xiu'er over the wall, "Xiu'er, bring a food box over here."
"They're here! They're here!"
Tang Zhuyun divided the prepared dishes in half and gave half to Xiu'er to take away, while presenting the other half to the Prince of Jin.
She belatedly realized that there were no women in the house—besides her, even the Nanny Rong was nowhere to be found.
"Your Highness, I'm treating everyone today," Tang Zhuyun said. "May I discuss something with you?"
The Prince of Jin sipped his chicken soup slowly and deliberately, his posture elegant yet... arrogant, Zidu lifting his eyelids.
"You see, my father's health isn't good, and when Linlin was growing up, she got used to my cooking... Can I still cook for them from now on? Don't worry, I'll pay for it myself, I have money... Or, how about I take care of you too?"
Soft rice is delicious and doesn't upset your stomach.
She felt a little guilty because she was now considered Prince of Jin's person, and strictly speaking, her money was also Prince of Jin's money.
"Song Jingyang, according to the rules of the manor..." Prince of Jin began.
"I know this is wrong," Tang Zhuyun immediately said obediently, as if she were about to be coerced by family discipline again, "But Your Highness is magnanimous, and my father still has to work for the Emperor's health for another fifty years!"
Prince of Jin ignored her and said to Song Jingyang, who was standing at the door smelling the aroma of food and whose stomach was rumbling with hunger, "Remember to give your concubine her monthly allowance."
"This," Song Jingyang hesitated, "There are no ready-made examples..."
It's up to you to decide how much it costs.
Other princely residences have chief clerks to manage these matters, but the Prince of Jin's Residence is an exception; no one manages them at all.
Tang Zhuyun: "Your Highness, please don't be so polite. I have money."
She didn't want to be his woman, nor did she want to spend his money.
The only person she could rightfully ask for money from was her future lover, although it was practically impossible for her to meet him.
"Then give her one hundred taels of silver every month," said the Prince of Jin.
Tang Zhuyun and Song Jingyang both stared wide-eyed.
Prince of Jin: "I can afford to support my own women."
Tang Zhuyun was stunned by the unexpected windfall.
Song Jingyang: "Could I contribute ten taels of silver, and cover my own food expenses, and eat leftovers?"
Tang Zhuyun may be a despicable woman, but her cooking skills are truly exceptional.
Because Tang Mingfan boasted about it, this matter had become common knowledge among officials in the court.
Tang Zhuyun: "Ten taels of silver? How much is your monthly salary?"
Twenty taels.
Twenty taels of silver a month, and you spend ten taels on food? You really are a glutton.
The Prince of Jin agreed, and Tang Zhuyun received 110 taels of silver.
She deposited the one hundred taels given to her by the Prince of Jin into a special account at a bank, which she planned to return to the Prince of Jin in the future if the opportunity arose.
When Tang Zhuyun went out to buy groceries, she discovered that the price of pork offal had risen sharply, almost reaching the price of pork. When she inquired, she was told that the daughter of the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, Tang Residence, had single-handedly caused the price of pork offal in the capital to rise.
Absolutely utterly wicked.
It's time to develop some new dishes.
Boiled Chicken in Chili Oil? Twice-Cooked Pork? Dongpo Pork Knuckle? Steamed Pork with Rice Flour? Mapo Tofu?
However, the Prince of Jin could not eat spicy food, so he ate something lighter first.
The Prince of Jin went to court and hasn't returned yet—this workaholic only rested for one day, and started attending court as usual the next day.
Tang Zhuyun changed his dressings every day and fed him well, so his wounds healed faster than a donkey's.
Of course, she wasn't working for nothing. While changing her dressings, she would secretly glance at his chest and abs, and sometimes she would even pretend to touch them accidentally. They felt really nice.
Tang Zhuyun cooked, Xiu'er ran over to help with the fire. Apart from the wall separating the two families, they were practically one family.
Tang Zhuyun was simmering a milky white bone broth and sticking flatbreads to the side of the pot when she suddenly heard Xiu'er ask, "Miss, have you and the Prince consummated your marriage yet?"
Tang Zhuyun's hand trembled, and the pancake almost fell to the ground.
Is that true?
She's completely forgotten about sleeping with him these past few days.
Why are you asking this?
"Nothing much, I just remembered that Grandpa and Miss Meng have already consummated their marriage, and I haven't heard you mention it."
"What?!" This time, the pancake really fell to the ground. "My older brother and Sister Meng consummated their marriage? How did you know?"
"On the second night after Jiang Beihan caused trouble, I got up to use the outhouse in the middle of the night and saw Miss Meng go into the old man's house. I was a little curious, so I poked a hole in the paper window to peek in. What I saw was shocking: Miss Meng went inside, took off her cloak, and wasn't wearing anything underneath. I was so scared that I ran away as fast as I could."
Tang Zhuyun: "What are you looking at if you have nothing better to do!"
Wow, these two are progressing so fast! And it was Sister Meng who took the initiative.
But if Big Brother just takes Sister Meng like this, isn't that a bit... well, fine, anyway, it's consensual.
"How are things between you and the Prince? Is the Prince sleeping well?"
Tang Zhuyun almost spat it out.
He can't sleep well at all!
She lay in bed all day last time, and her back hurt for several days afterward.
"I can't sleep well," she said irritably.
"Sigh, what a waste. You went through so much trouble and went through so much trouble to finally succeed, and now you can't even sleep well." Xiu'er said regretfully, "It's a pity that now that you're with the Prince, you can't go see Qingfeng anymore."
Tang Zhuyun gritted her teeth. "Then I'll let you try going to find Qingfeng... Your Highness..."
She saw Prince of Jin standing at the kitchen door.