At this moment in the residence of the Marquis of Jining, Dou Zhaomiao, Miao Ansu, and Zhao Zhangru—the three girls—had already gotten up.
The three of them were now gathered in the kitchen, personally preparing exquisite meals and dishes...
"All done!" Dou Zhao smiled as she stood up straight, proudly showing off to Zhao Zhangru, who was standing next to her watching the scene. "This is the famous Sichuan dish—Peony Fish Fillets!"
"Wow!" Zhao Zhangru enthusiastically exclaimed, then bent her head with a puzzled expression as she carefully examined the plate in front of her and asked, "The preparation of this Peony Fish Fillet is so complex, it's hard to find in restaurants even in the capital! Shougu, who taught you how to make it?"
Before Dou Zhao could answer, Zhao Zhangru quickly picked up her chopsticks and reached toward the dish: "Let me have a taste first!"
"Cousin!" Dou Zhao, originally proud and confident, immediately panicked upon seeing this and quickly lightly tapped Zhao Zhangru's hand to stop her from sneaking a bite. "This is made for the Marquis! It's improper for you to eat it first!"
"But we agreed that I would also marry into the Marquis' residence as a concubine, right?" However, Zhao Zhangru's craving was already showing, and she pouted with some dissatisfaction. "Are the rules here so strict that concubines can't even sit at the table to eat?"
Normally, the rules in most noble households were strict, and concubines not being allowed to dine at the main table was considered natural.
However, last night when the three girls talked together, they heard from Dou Zhao that Wei Tingyu was very kind to the servants, so he certainly wouldn't be too harsh with the concubines.
Also, since the main wife of the Marquis' household was her own cousin and close friend, Dou Zhao would definitely not bully her by refusing to let her sit at the table.
Therefore, Zhao Zhangru, the greedy cat, became a little upset.
"Today, Sister Zhao is going to both our families to discuss taking concubines!" Meanwhile, Miao Ansu, busy nearby, saw Zhao Zhangru's greedy expression and smiled helplessly, shaking her head. "And the Marquis doesn't even know about it yet! Don't you want to wait for the Marquis to come back and leave a good impression?"
"Right!" The careless Zhao Zhangru immediately slapped her forehead, accidentally smearing some flour on it. But she didn't notice and just nodded, "We haven't officially entered the household yet, and I've already revealed my greedy nature. What if the Marquis thinks badly of me!"
"You know it!" Miao Ansu smiled upon hearing this. Zhao Zhangru understood reason perfectly when it was explained, but if no one reminded her, she would easily make mistakes. Of course, she couldn't be like her—she would have to remind Zhao Zhangru of many things in the household from time to time, otherwise this troublemaker would keep causing problems and make the Marquis dislike her, which would be troublesome!
"I don't even know if the Marquis likes spicy food!" Dou Zhao relaxed when Zhao Zhangru finally put down her chopsticks and stopped trying to sneak bites, then muttered to herself, "I even made him the Thousand-Threaded Shrimp..."
Before she could finish, she heard a crisp crack beside her ear.
Dou Zhao turned her head and saw Zhao Zhangru had actually picked up a shrimp from another dish with her hand and was already chewing it in her mouth.
"Cousin! How could you..." Dou Zhao was speechless. It was already useless to try to snatch the shrimp back because Zhao Zhangru had bitten off more than half of it in one bite.
As expected, a cat can't stop its habit of sneaking bites of seafood! Even if she pretended to give up, if you weren't paying attention, she would sneak a bite!
Fortunately, the plate of Thousand-Threaded Shrimp had more than a dozen shrimps. Zhao Zhangru eating one wouldn't be obvious after rearranging the plate.
"Susu! What have you been busy with for so long?" Zhao Zhangru, embarrassed after being caught sneaking a bite, smiled awkwardly and quickly changed the subject, looking toward Miao Ansu.
"I made this for good luck! A dessert!" Miao Ansu smiled and put down her chopsticks, then proudly carried a plate of desserts she had been preparing for a long time over to them.
"Golden Jade Hidden Treasures!" Like presenting a treasure, she placed a plate of visually appealing sweets on the table beside the two famous dishes Dou Zhao had just made.
"Hehe!" Seeing the two girls staring at her dessert without blinking, Miao Ansu shook her head proudly.
Early this morning, while Dou Zhao was busy cooking breakfast for the Marquis who hadn't returned the night before, Miao Ansu was planning to show off her skills!
Unlike Zhao Zhangru, who kept causing trouble and sneaking bites, Miao Ansu had been educated from childhood to be refined, both able to manage the hall and the kitchen.
So she directly prepared her best dish, waiting to present it to the Marquis later!
"Looks good!" Zhao Zhangru looked at the Golden Jade Hidden Treasures and quickly swallowed.
This dish was different—once you touch it with chopsticks, it would be ruined no matter how beautifully arranged. Zhao Zhangru knew her limits and gave up on sneaking a bite.
"I don't know what the Marquis is thinking!" To distract herself from the temptation of delicious food, Zhao Zhangru changed the topic, "He left the three beauties of the house here and stayed out all night! I wonder what urgent matter kept him out so late!"
Her words were a thinly veiled complaint about Wei Tingyu.
Dou Zhao laughed upon hearing Zhao Zhangru's question. They hadn't even officially entered the household, yet she was already planning to manage her husband.
It seemed she had chosen the right person to bring into the Marquis' residence! Having someone to help keep Wei Tingyu in check would definitely prevent him from acting recklessly.
"Enough of that! Sister Zhao, tell us how you two met?" Miao Ansu, having been taught since childhood that the husband is like heaven, felt it was rude to complain about him behind his back. Though not officially in the household yet, hearing Zhao Zhangru complaining made her quickly ask Dou Zhao, trying to change the subject.
"Met?" Dou Zhao was momentarily stunned. In fact, they had known each other since the previous life!
But she couldn't tell that to the two sisters in front of her, so she shook her head: "Before I married into the Marquis' residence, I had never met him!"
"Never met the Marquis? Weren't you already secretly betrothed?" Even Zhao Zhangru was stunned this time, looking at Dou Zhao in disbelief.