The Lucky Heiress

“Indeed. My daughter meant no harm, she was merely worried that the food in the mansion might not suit the distinguished guest. Therefore, she wanted to add a couple of dishes to the menu. She specifically gave the cakes to the kitchen maid and reminded her not to mention to anyone that were made by her.” Wei Qingwan explained in a gentle voice, undisturbed.

She had foreseen that Madam Yun would question her beforehand, thus, she’d prepared her words carefully.

Madam Yun let out a sigh, “Next time you have such considerations, you should discuss it with your mother first. Doing this privately is somewhat inappropriate.”

“It was naive of me,” Qingwan admitted, “I thought it was merely an extra two dishes, and outsiders would think they were simply prepared by our kitchen staff. I didn’t give it further thought.”

Wei Qigwan’s explanation was almost identical to Madam Yun’s conjecture.

Indeed, her daughter was simply considering what’s best for the family.

After all, before this, no one knew that Ruoruo’s maid was such a good cook; having an extra backup plan wouldn’t hurt.

“Nevermind, nothing serious happened. However, your father doesn’t completely agree with what you did. Don’t do it again next time,” Madam Yun advised.

“Is… Father… angry?” Wei Qingwan was taken aback.

“He’s not mad at you, he just thinks that what you did was improper,” said Madam Yun.

Upon hearing this, Wei Qingwan lowered her head, a tear lingering in her eyes.

Madam Yun added, “Your father doesn’t blame you, he is just worried that you might have hidden motives. I’ve explained to him already, he too, hopes he’s overthinking. I will explain it to him again later.”

Wei Qingwan bit her lip, “Mother, please believe that I have no other intentions. I’ve deeply reflected on my mistakes during these days of confinement. I’ve been just thinking about how to make for it. I wouldn’t dare to have any other thoughts.”

“Your mother grounded you to help you reflect. It’s comforting to see that you have realized your mistakes and have a better manner of handling such situations next time.”

“I understand, mother. I bear no resentments against you.”

“Hmm, I’m glad you think that way,” Madam Yun nodded with relief.

“Kartha, how did the distinguished guests rate today’s food?” Wei Qingwan asked.

“They were extremely pleased, very satisfied,” Madam Yun replied.

“Really? That’s excellent news.” Wei Qingwan’s face beamed with joy.

“However, the guests did not eat the two cakes you made,” said Madam Yun.

“Did not eat?” Wei Qingwan’s joy momentarily froze.

“The guests were full from the rest of the feast and had no appetite left by the time the cakes were served. I heard that Master Lu took a bite, but it wasn’t to his liking,” Madam Yun explained.

Madam Yun was also very surprised by this. Her daughter’s osmanthus and almond cakes were excellent, yet they were overshadowed by the cooking of her older daughter’s maid.

Wei Qingwan’s smile strained, but she still continued to praise, “Then, the dishes prepared by sister’s maid must have been very delicious.”

“I haven’t tasted it before, but it seems that the Xie siblings weren’t just speaking without knowledge,” Madam Yun sighed.

“Hmm,” Wei Qingwan gave a low response, her smile still forced.

After chatting with Wei Qingwan for a while, Madam Yun left.

After Madam Yun left, the smile completely faded from Wei Qingwan’s face.

Why did things turn out this way?

She had no intentions to play any tricks using the two dishes, but in her plan, she could have at least earned some merit for her family.

But now, the outcome was completely the opposite. The harsh contrast left her with a bitter taste in her mouth.

###

In the afternoon, Wei Ruo and Xiumei were resting in the courtyard when news came from the front yard that Qin Mama had arrived, bringing lots of gifts.

When Wei Ruo and Xiumei arrived at the front yard, several boxes were already piled up in the courtyard, and people were constantly moving more into the mansion.

When Wei Ruo saw Chu Lan’s subordinate carrying a plate of gold, she instantly felt that the meal she made for Chu Lan at noon was quite plain. Under such a massive reward, she should have put more effort into her cooking to impress him!

Qin Mama came up to Wei Ruo and handed over the list of gifts, “Miss Wei, I am here on behalf of Master Chu to present these items to you.”

Since she didn’t explicitly mention Chu Lan’s status, she could only say they were gifts, rather than rewards.

“Please pass my gratitude to Master Chu,” Wei Ruo said.

Shortly after, Qin Mama said, “Additionally, Master also instructed me to take back the cultivation records of the paddy fields south of the city.”

“It has been prepared. Meimei, go get it,” Wei Ruo instructed Xiumei to fetch the cultivation records.

“Thank you, Miss Wei,” said Qin Mama.

With this, Madam Yun came over and thanked Qin Mama, “Thank you for your efforts today.”

Qin Mama politely replied, “I am merely doing my duty, helping to lessen the burden for my master is part of my job.”

Xiumei brought the cultivation records that Wei Ruo had prepared in advance and placed them in a brocade box. After Qin Mama checked them on the spot and confirmed that there were no issues, she took them with her.

After Qin Mama and the others left, Madam Yun looked at the yard filled with gifts, thought for a moment, and ordered the servants to move them all to Tingsong Garden.

“You organize everything and see if there’s enough space in Tingsong Garden. If not, move them to the storage warehouse. Give me the list and I will keep it for you,” said Madam Yun.

Wei Ruo nodded and had everything moved to Tingsong Garden.

Although the space she used for storage in Tingsong Garden was limited, she still had another storage space of her own, so there was absolutely no issue with it being too small.

However, in order to avoid suspicion, Wei Ruo would still take some of the boxes to the manor’s main storage warehouse.

The last time when the Xie family sent over a pile of gifts, it had already filled up Wei Ruo’s storage room. Now there was another pile of gifts, and if she really stuffed them all in, it would be suspicious if others didn’t have any doubts. Therefore, she must take out some things that were taking up too much space.

Of course, the boxes that were taken to the manor’s main storage warehouse wouldn’t contain any valuable items. Wei Ruo still preferred to keep valuables by her side.

After all the items were moved back to Tingsong Garden, Xiumei did a check, and the first thing she counted was the impressive plate of gold.

“Miss, there must be a hundred taels of gold here!”

“Yeah, it’s written on the list that it’s a hundred taels of gold.”

“That’s wonderful, Miss! Now you have the money to purchase more land!” Xiumei couldn’t help but express joy.

“Yes, to buy even more fields! More houses!”

She was currently short of funds, with a lot of money invested. This was just the time she needed money.

Chu Lan was quite decent to her, he really sent her valuables. One could say he somewhat lessened the resentment she had towards him, even though it was only slight, it wouldn’t disappear completely..