Ah Bing and Tangyuan nodded. Such trivial matters were naturally taken care of by them, and they said: “Master Wen, just go on your own!”

Wen Mingtang nodded and wrapped a piece Zīfàn gāo in oil paper. The Zīfàn gāo was obviously prepared to be eaten on the way. After taking two steps, she turned back and went to the kitchen.

Tangyuan who was serving in front of the counter subconsciously looked through the square holes in the wall to the kitchen, only to see Wen Mingtang raise her head and pause for a moment at the row of kitchen knives that were sharpened every day, and then actually take out one of them. The slender boning knife was taken away.

Tangyuan who was serving the morning meal was stunned for a moment. When she came back to her senses, she could only see Wen Mingtang’s leaving figure.

Master Wen was going out, why did she take a boning knife? Tangyuan was momentarily puzzled, but after a pause, quickly found a reason: Well, a chef! It doesn’t seem like a problem to carry an eating tool around!

The more she thought about this reason, the less wrong it became. Tangyuan nodded seriously and continued to serve the food.

The bell of Chen¹ hour rang, and the public kitchen of Dali Temple gradually became lively. Master Wen, who was always seen in the past, was not here today, which naturally aroused many people’s inquiries.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief after learning that Wen Mingtang was only out for business.

They finally found a public chef who cooks such delicious food, so please, don’t run away!

It was easy to go from frugality to luxury, but it was difficult to go from luxury to frugality! If there was no Master Wen, only Sun and Wang would be left to cook their food every day, how would people live their lives?

The much-discussed Wen Mingtang was currently holding a rice cake in his hand, eating as he walked through Chunfeng Street towards the Jiofang Academy².

Places like Jiaofang only get lively at night. Now that the sun had just risen, there were naturally not many people on the long street near Jiaofang in broad daylight.

Most of the people on the street were maids and handymen shopping, occasionally yawning and looking miserable.

Due to the special nature of the place, these people had their day and night reversed compared to ordinary people. As a result, Wen Mingtang, who was holding up a Zīfàn gāo and eating it in high spirits, seemed a little out of place among them.

Because she was out of place, the maids and servants passing by would occasionally cast their eyes on her, but after seeing her gray linen robe, they averted their eyes.

Wen Mingtang squatted down by the alley diagonally opposite the entrance of the Jiofang Academy and looked at the people coming out of the entrance of the Academy.

While she had just finished the piece of Zīfàn gāo and wiping her mouth with a handkerchief, a maid came out of the Academy.

Despite the obvious attire of a maidservant, her dress was much more exquisite than the maidservants found throughout the streets. If it weren’t for the fact that the loose Hanfu attire was more suitable for movement and not conducive to dancing, it might have been more splendid than what some singing and dancing courtesans wore.

Compared with ordinary maids who may be cautious, listless, or have a calm expression, this maid’s face showed an arrogance rarely seen in the other maids next to her.

This expression… was exactly the same as what she saw in the Sū Shān shop.

She was finally out, she was the one Wen Mingtang was waiting for! When she saw the maid, she stood up and walked over.

The maid who was about to go to a nearby restaurant to buy the morning meal unexpectedly saw someone walking straight towards her. She frowned instinctively and said, “You don’t have eyes. If it disturbs Xiù gūniáng’s interest in eating the morning meal, are you able to take on the responsibility?”

Wen Mingtang, who was scolded, looked at her and smiled. When she was about to speak, she saw the maid waving her hand away: “Who are you? Why don’t you get away quickly?”

It seems that she had not recognized her.

The arrogance in the Sū Shān shop that day didn’t seem to be directed at her specifically but towards everyone.

Wen Mingtang lowered her eyelids, remained silent, raised her eyes again, looked at the maid in front, and said, “I would like to meet that xiù gūniáng of yours!”

As soon as these words were spoken, they elicited a mocking laugh from the maidservant. She rolled her eyes, glanced at Wen Mingtang, and disdainfully fanned the air in front of her nose with her hand. She said, “Reeking of oil, do you think our xiù gūniáng would want to meet someone like you?”

There’s no way around the oil scent, after all, having made rice cakes all morning, even a celestial being covered in floral fragrance would likely pick up a bit of an aroma after a turn in the kitchen.

Wen Mingtang looked at her and asked: “Is your xiù gūniáng’s name Wen Xiutang?”

The maidservant was taken aback at the words. Before she could ask how he knew, Wen Mingtang continued, “My name is Wen Mingtang, and your xiù gūniáng is my zú jiě!”

The maidservant snapped back to reality, staring at Wen Mingtang for a moment. As she observed the oil-stained linen robe covering him, her eyebrows, which had just relaxed, instinctively furrowed again. The more she frowned, the tighter her expression became. When she saw the face mostly hidden by a thick fringe, she paused, shook her head involuntarily, then suppressed the disgust in her eyes slightly and said, “I’ll go buy breakfast for our talented girl first. After returning, I’ll inquire with her before saying anything. You wait here for now!”

Wen Mingtang nodded in agreement, turned around, and walked toward the entrance of the alley where she was originally staying. Her hearing was always good, and she heard what was being said behind her. The maid whispered in a low voice: “After all, she is also the clan sister of Miss Xiu. Her appearance is far worse than that of Miss Xiu, and she smells terrible, just like a cook in the kitchen.”

Wen Mingtang couldn’t bear to hear this. She couldn’t help but curl her lips: This maid was quite discerning! She was indeed a cook.

She walked to the entrance of the alley and squatted down.

Watching the maid enter the restaurant, a moment later, she walked out carrying an exquisite food box and walked directly into Jiofang.

Wen Mingtang squatted on the ground and waited for a while. Soon, the maid came out of the Academy. Probably because the sun was too bright, she didn’t come over. She only waved at her from a distance and motioned for her to come over.

Wen Mingtang stood up and walked over as soon as she was called. He walked up to the maid and asked, “My zú jiě…”

Before she could finish her words, she was interrupted by the maid. She frowned and said, “Don’t yell zú jiě³, call her xiù gūniáng⁴.” After saying that, she turned around and took Wen Mingtang to the side.

Wen Mingtang glanced at the open door of the Academy and asked the maid: “Why aren’t we going through the main entrance?”

“You can’t go through the main entrance!” the maid said.

Wen Mingtang raised an eyebrow: Some powerful people have rules that only the powerful can enter through the door, but no one else can. But where does this rule come from in a place like the Jiaofang Academy? This place was accessible to everyone.

The maid glanced at her and said, “What do you know? Our talented girl is the number one in Jiofang. Many people are jealous of our talented girl openly and secretly! If someone sees you swaggering in through the main entrance like this, wouldn’t it be giving them a chance to criticize our xiù gūniáng?”

Wen Mingtang was silent and said “oh” to express that he understood.

The maid led her around the main entrance and towards the back entrance of the Jiofang Academy.

On the way there, she warned her again: “Even if you go through the back door, if you happen to encounter someone and they ask, I’ll say our xiù gūniáng hasn’t been feeling well lately and has hired a cook. You can say you’re the cook preparing small snacks for her. Understand?”

Wen Mingtang nodded and said with a smile: “I am a cook!”

The maid: “…”

Glancing at her, the maidservant led Wen Mingtang to the back door of the Jiofang, entering through the slightly ajar entrance.

(End of chapter)

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Footnote

1. 7 am to 9 am
2. This is basically a Courtesan house. They are not same as brothels because people came here more for music, dance, and other social activities, much like Geisha of Japan.
3. Clan sister
4. Talented lady