SFS Chapter 157 Song Seeks Suicide?
Chapter 157 Song Seeks Suicide?
"Oh, Minister Mu, what delicious dishes did your eldest daughter send over today?" Wang Ning, the Vice Minister of Works, asked with a smile.
Mu Chang'an glared at him. "Hmph! You still have the nerve to say that? If you hadn't told my brother-in-law that you were coming to find me, the Mu family wouldn't be in such trouble now. Now look what's happened, the two children are so scared that they're afraid they'll be snatched away even when they go to school."
"Hehe." Wang Ning chuckled dryly. "What do you think I can do? They've asked someone to come to me for help. I can't just say no, can I? He's your brother-in-law, after all. Even if you don't give face to my colleague, you should at least give face to the adults, right?"
"Alright!" Mu Chang'an glared at him with a smile. "Sigh, our Ministry of Works is busy right now, and my wife and daughter aren't getting any rest either. My wife has to take care of young Qingyang and often goes back to the Zhenguo General's Mansion to attend to him when he's ill. These days, my Ah Nuan is managing everything in the mansion. She's such a little girl, she's exhausted."
Wang Ning nodded. "That's true. That housekeeper seems to have an easy life, but he actually has a lot on his mind. Just look at the meals your Ah Nuan brings you every day; she really puts in a lot of effort. Having a daughter is so wonderful!"
Mu Chang'an laughed loudly, "Why does this sound so sour to me? Minister Wang, are you jealous? Haha! Then go home and keep trying, and have your wife give birth to another daughter for you!"
Wang Ning felt somewhat helpless upon hearing this. His family was quite large, but unfortunately, he only had four good-for-nothing sons. He had finally managed to have a concubine who was pregnant with a daughter, but she was born prematurely and died.
"Alright, alright, we know you have a sweet little girl, right? You don't need to keep showing off in front of us subordinates, do you?" Wang Ning's tone was even more sarcastic this time.
"Greetings to the master, greetings to the lord."
Just then, Mu Chang'an's attendant entered.
When Wang Ning saw that he was carrying a food box, he naturally had no intention of leaving. He craned his neck to take a look, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets.
"Alright, stop stretching. There's so much food, I can't finish it all by myself anyway. Sit down and join me."
"Really?" Wang Ning's eyes lit up, and he grinned.
The attendant, named Mu Rong, had been with Mu Chang'an for many years. Seeing Wang Ning's greedy expression, he smiled and said, "Please, Lord Wang, have some. Yesterday, the master said that the Longjing shrimp dish was quite good. So, today, the young lady instructed the kitchen to make several trays of shrimp dumplings. Knowing that Lord Wang also loves shrimp, she specially ordered extra to be made."
"Oh? Your young lady really gave such instructions? So you even knew I love shrimp?"
“The young lady didn’t know at first, but when the master went back, he said that the Longjing shrimp was something he barely ate, and it all went into the lord’s stomach. So the young lady naturally found out. But the young lady said that the master must feel a bit lonely eating alone in this yamen. Since Lord Wang also likes it, it’s fine for him to eat with him.”
As Mu Rong spoke, he took a slightly smaller food box from another servant, took out a cloth bundle from it, and upon closer inspection, it appeared to be padded with cotton.
Mu Rong carefully untied the knot, and Wang Ning could see that it was actually a small clay pot inside.
When the lid was lifted, the entire room was filled with the rich aroma of chicken soup, along with a faint scent of herbs.
After Mu Rong served the soup to the two of them, Wang Ning couldn't resist taking a sip first. "Mmm, it smells so good. Is this ginseng chicken soup?"
As she spoke, she took another sip. "Wait a minute! Ginseng chicken soup shouldn't taste like this. But the taste is truly exceptionally good."
Mu Rong smiled and said, "Lord Wang is in for a treat today. This is Lingzhi Chicken Soup. The young lady specially prepared it this morning. Except for the chicken, which she didn't prepare herself, all the other ingredients were personally selected and prepared by her. It contains red Lingzhi, Chinese yam, goji berries, longan pulp, dried tangerine peel, a few pitted red dates, monk fruit, and so on. It was then simmered over low heat for two hours, so the taste is naturally excellent."
"Lingzhi chicken soup? This is the first time I've heard of it. Has Lord Mu had it before?"
Mu Chang'an nodded. "Anuan used to do this in the manor too. She said that because this soup uses a lot of herbs, she always prepared it herself. Is this all she made?"
The last sentence was clearly directed at Mu Rong.
"Reporting to Master, the eldest young lady said that everyone in the manor will receive a share. What we brought for you is just enough for two people."
Mu Chang'an smiled with satisfaction, "Anuan is indeed thoughtful. Father should be happy now."
"Indeed! I heard that as soon as the old master returned home today, he heard that the eldest young lady was making Lingzhi chicken soup in the kitchen, so he immediately rushed over. He talked with the eldest young lady quite a bit in the kitchen."
Upon hearing this, Wang Ning was filled with envy and didn't know what to say. Then he thought about how he only had four sons, and now his eldest son was about to get married. He wondered if he could find him a good daughter-in-law like Mu Xin Nuan.
Wang Ning's eyes lit up, but then he thought about Mu Xin Nuan's age, and realized he'd probably have to wait another two years. Looking at how much Mu Shangshu doted on his daughter, he decided against it. He was sure he wouldn't get the better end of the marriage proposal. He'd better just forget about it!
The Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue have been extremely busy lately, so naturally, quite a few people are having their meals in the government offices!
At first, the adults here would send someone to buy food from outside, or simply make do with some snacks. But ever since Mu Chang'an's daughter started bringing him meals in different ways every day, the adults here gradually stopped eating what they bought from outside.
They all instructed their families to send meals over. However, no matter what delicious food anyone else prepared, it seemed that nothing tasted as good as what Minister Mu ate! Even those with good connections found out that for more than ten days in a row, Minister Mu had not eaten the same lunch or soup twice!
Thus, Mu Xin Nuan, who had never left the mansion, was unaware that she was already quite famous outside.
While everyone outside was praising Minister Mu for having such a wonderful daughter, Mu Xin Nuan was hiding in a side room of her Yue Xuan, once again pondering a poison with special properties mentioned in a book.
After working for several days in a row, Mu Xin Nuan instructed Mu Hua to guard the door for her outside, and finally it was done!
However, once the drug is made, the people who test it will have to cooperate!
Mu Xin Nuan never expected that the Song family, which had been quiet for three years, would start to seek death.