Farewell Flower Festival

In the shadow cast by the palace wall, Chao Yan sat against the wall and carefully tore off a layer of skin of a steamed bun. She picked up the steamed bun that had fallen on the ground before. It was not her fault that she had no ambition. She was really very hungry. She could not remember how long it had been since she had a full meal.

There was still a steamed bun in the food box that had not fallen out, and two plates of overturned bean sprouts and cabbage, but the steamed buns were all stained with vegetable leaves and soup, and the skin was softened, so she had no idea where to start.

Moreover, the steamed bun in my hand has a faint fragrance...呸...a rotten smell. I don’t know how many days it has been left, but the skin has become hard. The bean sprouts and cabbage are so bland that there is not a drop of oil at all.

It seems that the little devil's life is quite hard~

She sighed, took off a small piece of the steamed bun and put it in her mouth. A faint sour taste lingered between her lips and teeth. She resisted the urge to spit it out and swallowed it. She comforted herself in her heart that this was a soft and fragrant big bun, not sour, not at all...

When Chaoyan came back with the food box, the sun was about to set. Before she had taken a few steps, Yunxiang stopped her and asked in a sarcastic tone, "Why did you take so long to deliver a meal?" Xi'er, who was following behind her, asked gloatingly, "Did the Fourth Prince make things difficult for you?"

He had to act miserable, so he lowered his head and stammered, "Fourth...Fourth Prince...so fierce...so fierce..."

Yunxiang smiled proudly and said, "She deserves it!" Xier urged from the side, "Sister, I think I'll let her deliver meals from now on."

Chao Yan shook her head fearfully and said, "I won't go... The Fourth Prince is so fierce... I won't go..." She complained to herself that her pretentious performance was really embarrassing~

After Yunxiang and Xier left triumphantly, Chaoyan's timid expression disappeared, and she went to the kitchen with her lunch box. As soon as she reached the door, she heard someone talking inside. It was Aunt Li's sarcastic voice criticizing people, saying that the dishes in the past two days were too salty, and she used this as an excuse to deduct half a month's salary from the cook Aunt Sun. Aunt Sun did not dare to complain, but had to admit her mistake with a smile, and cook two delicious dishes for Aunt Li later.

If the chief steward of the imperial kitchen, Eunuch Liu, is compared to the chairman of the board, then Aunt Li is a small manager, managing a dozen people including Aunt Sun. She is mean, stingy and greedy. She takes it out on her subordinates when she is not satisfied, scolds them and deducts their monthly salary. Only Yunxiang is favored because she is smart and sensible, in other words, she is good at flattering, and gradually becomes Aunt Li's confidant.

However, Yunxiang has become more and more flamboyant recently. As the saying goes, a full moon will wane and full water will overflow. Once she overshadows Aunt Li, she will be in trouble.

When Chaoyan heard Aunt Li say that she wanted to eat fish, she sighed in her heart that the kid's life was worse than that of the servants. The servants enjoyed rich food and fish, but he, a prince, could only eat tofu and cabbage. It was obvious that his life in the palace was oppressive. It was understandable that he was a little perverted, but he was not the one she wanted to cling to. She had to find the "rumored male protagonist" to rely on. At present, it seemed that the Fourth Prince had no future, so she should keep her distance for now.

"Who's there?" Aunt Li glanced at the door. Chao Yan lowered her head like an ostrich and moved to the door. Aunt Li asked, "I was looking for you. Where did you go to be lazy again?"

Chao Yan replied timidly: "Yes... Sister Yunxiang asked me to deliver food to the Fourth Prince."

Aunt Li snorted coldly, "You dare to talk back? Forget about this month's salary." She glanced at the food box in Chao Yan's hand, smiled contemptuously, and said, "Don't think that you can get away with using the Fourth Prince as a shield. Everyone in the palace knows that the Fourth Prince is not favored. The emperor has thrown him into the cold palace for ten years without paying any attention to him. You don't even take a mirror to look at your face. You are neither human nor ghost. Even the Fourth Prince would look down on you. You still want to climb up the social ladder? No way!"

Aunt Li spoke the last two sentences with particularly gritted teeth, staring at the door, as if she was speaking indirectly to someone else. She then scolded Chao Yan to go to work, and after a few complaints, she left the kitchen with her slightly plump waist twisted.

After Aunt Li left, Aunt Sun kindly reminded Chao Yan to stay away from Mu Tianling. After all, he was the son of a guilty concubine and his future was bleak.

Chaoyan had no intention of getting involved with the other party. After all, an insignificant minion like her couldn't help much. It would be more reliable for them to find a big shot to help them.

After the sweet and sour fish was ready, Chaoyan's stomach was already jumping up and down because of the aroma in the kitchen. She tried hard to control the saliva at the corners of her mouth. She had never been so greedy in her life. It was really embarrassing.

Aunt Sun put the dishes into a lunch box and gave it to Chaoyan to deliver. After she left with the lunch box, the thought of stealing the food grew wildly in her mind like weeds. She felt guilty as if someone was watching her, but in the end she had the nerve to resist the temptation.

……

When she was almost at the door, Chaoyan heard voices coming from inside the room. She wondered who Aunt Li was criticizing again. When she listened carefully, she found that the other party had a shrill, duck-like voice, a typical eunuch's voice. She didn't have this feeling when she listened to Eunuch Wu speaking before. Maybe it was because the other party's voice was so kind and amiable that it didn't sound harsh to her.

The voice sounded familiar, and Chaoyan immediately extracted the other party's identity from the original owner's memory. It was Eunuch Qian, a small steward in the imperial kitchen and Aunt Li's superior.

"How's that thing we talked about last time going?" This was Aunt Li's flattering voice. Chaoyan could even imagine that Aunt Li's slightly plump face was filled with crow's feet from smiling so much.

"He's a step too late. The chief steward assigned him to someone else." This was the shrill voice of Eunuch Qian. Chao Yan cursed him as a dead eunuch in her heart. The other party left a very bad impression in the original owner's memory.

Aunt Li asked who it was assigned to, and Eunuch Qian said it was Aunt Qiu. Aunt Li was so angry that she called the other party a vixen who used all kinds of despicable and despicable means.

Chaoyan also learned a little about the grudge between Aunt Li and Aunt Qiu from the original owner's memory. The two entered the palace together and were good sisters at first. Later, Aunt Qiu became better than Aunt Li, and the two became estranged. Now they are even more incompatible. She also knew what Aunt Li said. Not long ago, Concubine Chen in the palace became pregnant. The emperor specially allowed Concubine Chen to open a small kitchen in his palace. Aunt Li wanted to climb up the ladder and transfer to Concubine Chen's palace. As a result, this good job fell on Aunt Qiu, and she was so angry!

Seeing Chaoyan standing at the door, Aunt Li called her in in an unpleasant tone. When she walked in with the food box, she heard Eunuch Qian snorted disdainfully, and he disliked her very much.

"Why did you let this ugly bastard come over again? It makes me sick just by looking at him."

Damn eunuch! Chao Yan cursed in his heart.

Aunt Li poured a glass of wine for Eunuch Qian in a flattering manner, and seemed to be giving him a wink when she handed it to him. Eunuch Qian even squeezed her chubby hand when he took the wine. The scene of a dead eunuch flirting with an old palace maid was quite hot to the eyes, and it really made Chaoyan sick. She felt goosebumps all over the floor, and didn't want to stay any longer. She felt a little disgusted when she saw the dishes they were eating. Fortunately, she didn't eat them secretly before.

Aunt Li is almost forty years old. She is slightly plump, with fair skin that she still has the charm of a middle-aged woman. She must have been quite pretty when she was young. She is a few years younger than Eunuch Qian, and the unclear relationship between the two has been going on for some time.

After pouring the wine, Aunt Li took the food box from Chaoyan, opened the lid and placed the dishes on the table and said, "This girl is honest, unlike Yunxiang, who has grown so powerful that she almost ignores me. She only wants to climb up the social ladder and doesn't even consider her own worth."

Eunuch Qian squinted his eyes and smiled: "I think Yunxiang is a very sensible girl."

Aunt Li's eyes darkened for a moment, and she attentively poured a glass of wine for Eunuch Qian, and did not mention Yunxiang anymore. Eunuch Qian sipped the wine happily, glanced at Zhaoyan, and waved her away, "Go away, don't stand here and spoil my appetite."

Chaoyan said "Puh" in her heart, as if she was very willing to stay, Puh!

When she left, she heard Eunuch Qian's duck-like voice saying to Aunt Li, "Don't let this ugly guy come over next time. It makes me lose my appetite. I can't eat this dish anymore."

She cursed the dead eunuch in her heart. After coming out, Chaoyan caught a glimpse of a figure in the yard who turned and left in a hurry. She recognized it as Yunxiang's back. As soon as she returned to the small kitchen, Yunxiang followed her in and asked her what she had seen just now. Chaoyan thought that this girl seemed to have no brains. Isn't it equivalent to confessing by asking this question? Before she could speak, Yunxiang threatened her in a low voice that if she dared to say anything, she would be rude to her. Chaoyan nodded timidly. Yunxiang still felt unsatisfied. She rolled her eyes and came up with another bad idea, asking her to deliver dinner to the Fourth Prince.