Seeing that He Yanxiu seemed somewhat resistant, Su Yujin blinked and put the spoon back in the bowl. “Then shall I go and call a servant?”

Perhaps the Second Master wasn’t quite used to being served food by a woman.

He Yanxiu, “…”

“No, no need.”

He Yanxiu hurriedly opened his mouth, and when Su Yujin handed him the spoon full of porridge, he swallowed it in one gulp.

Although being fed porridge was a little awkward, the meat porridge tasted really good.

The aroma of rice grains and minced meat, mixed together with a hint of salt, gave it a slightly salty taste. A little chopped coriander was added, making the porridge fresh and delicious.

He Yanxiu nodded, “The taste is not bad.”

Su Yujin fed He Yanxiu a few more spoonfuls of meat porridge, which He Yanxiu also ate with relish.

“Does the Second Master think there’s anything wrong with the taste?” Su Yujin suddenly asked.

Something wrong?

He Yanxiu held the porridge in his mouth for a while, even chewing it twice before swallowing. “There’s nothing wrong with it. On the contrary, it seems that the meat in this porridge was marinated with a little black pepper and rice wine, so it has a slightly spicy flavor and doesn’t have the original fishy smell of pork.”

Su Yujin glanced at He Yanxiu. “Second Master is right, it was indeed marinated with black pepper and rice wine. But how could Second Master taste such a subtle flavor?”

He Yanxiu was stunned for a moment.

Yes, he could taste such a subtle flavor?

“Could it be…” He Yanxiu raised his eyebrows.

“Exactly.” Su Yujin nodded. “Second Master’s experience with the mine collapse can be considered a blessing in disguise. His sense of taste has recovered significantly. Although it is not quite at a normal level, you are almost completely recovered.”

“If this continues, the illness will heal faster than initially expected. In my opinion, you will only need to take the pills for another two or three months at most, and Second Master will be almost fully recovered. You don’t need to take the pills I made before anymore. I’ll just add a few auxiliary herbs to the herbal soup I’m using to treat your injuries. I’ll make some more pills in a few days, and Second Master can take them then.”

“Okay.” He Yanxiu nodded, his eyes and brows beaming with joy.

The fact that his sense of taste would be fully restored soon was a tremendous joy.

Being able to enjoy all kinds of delicious food again, especially the dishes made by Su Yujin, would greatly enhance his experience.

However…

After swallowing several more mouthfuls of minced meat porridge, He Yanxiu asked, “You just said that Lord Qu has gone to investigate the mine collapse?”

“That’s right.” Su Yujin nodded. “After learning about the mine collapse, Lord Qu came to find me to go into the mountains to rescue the animals. On the way, the horses went mad. When we arrived at the mine, I discovered that some people were obstructing the rescue.”

He Yanxiu was silent for a moment, then nodded. “This matter is indeed somewhat strange.”

Speaking of which, before the mine collapsed, he heard a loud bang.

At first, he thought it was just rocks falling, but now, thinking about it carefully, it was highly likely that someone had used explosives.

And the horses going mad and the delay in the rescue mentioned by Su Yujin clearly indicated that they wanted him dead.

Was it that person who did it?

If someone wanted him dead, that person would be the prime suspect.

But even if they were the most suspicious, sufficient evidence was needed to bring it up.

“It seems that I will have to trouble Lord Qu this time,” He Yanxiu said in a deep voice.

Qu Zhiwen was diligent and meticulous in his work. If he were to investigate thoroughly, following the clues, they would likely uncover a great deal.

Seeing He Yanxiu’s face visibly darken, Su Yujin knew this likely involved internal court infighting, so she said nothing more and continued feeding him the meat porridge.

Perhaps because his sense of taste had returned, He Yanxiu was happy and, enjoying the taste, finished the entire bowl of porridge and asked Su Yujin to scoop him another bowl.

“Add a plate of steamed buns as well.”   

While He Yanxiu was eating the minced meat porridge, he noticed a half-serving plate of steamed buns on the table.

Were they leftovers from Su Yujin?

They looked delicious with their thin skins and fillings.

He Yanxiu felt like he wanted to eat everything he saw at that moment…

Su Yujin, “…”

Sure enough, the Second Master was a glutton at heart.

But he had just woken up and needed to rest in bed for a while, so he shouldn’t eat too much at once. Small, frequent meals were better to avoid putting a strain on his stomach.

After weighing the options, Su Yujin instructed Ai Cao to scoop half a bowl of minced meat porridge and two mushroom and minced meat steamed buns she had just eaten from the small kitchen.

He Yanxiu, “…”

A bit too little.

Not enough.

Su Yujin said quickly, “There’s only this much left in the small kitchen. Second Master, please eat first. If it’s still not enough, I’ll tell the small kitchen to make some more later.”

Making it fresh naturally took time, and how long that took was up to her.

Since Su Yujin had said so, He Yanxiu felt he couldn’t just accept the food without permission, so he finished all the steamed buns and minced meat porridge Su Yujin had brought.

After finishing his meal, He Yanxiu drank a bowl of the new medicine Su Yujin had prescribed for him.

“I don’t have anything to do here right now. I’ll just lie down and rest for a while. There are others watching over me; you should go and rest.”

He Yanxiu could see that Su Yujin was exhausted.

Su Yujin was indeed very tired and didn’t refuse, “Then Second Master, please rest well, I’ll come again tonight.”

She added, “If you feel uncomfortable anywhere, just tell someone to call me.”

“Okay.” He Yanxiu nodded.

Su Yujin went back to her room, washed up briefly, and lay down to rest.

Because of her exhaustion, she slept very soundly.

She was awakened by the chirping of birds outside, and when she opened her eyes, she saw the dim candlelight in the room and the complete darkness outside the window.

Su Yujin hurriedly got up. “What time is it?”

“Miss, it’s already early, Hai Shi (9-11 PM).” Ai Cao helped Su Yujin put on her outer robe and fasten her belt.

“It’s so late, why didn’t you wake me up?”

Before going to bed, Su Yujin had instructed Ai Cao to wake her up at You Shi (5-7 PM).

“I was going to wake you, Miss, but Second Master told me this afternoon that you were tired and should sleep a little longer, and not to wake you. I saw that you were indeed very tired, so…”

Ai Cao hurriedly said, “But don’t worry, Miss, Second Master has already eaten dinner and drunk his evening medicine.”

“What did he eat?” Su Yujin asked. “How much did he eat? Did he ask for food again this afternoon?”

People who have just regained their sense of taste often find it very difficult to resist the temptation of delicious food and are very prone to overeating, resulting in bloating and indigestion.

Especially since He Yanxiu was covered in injuries, some of the herbal medicines he drank were already likely to cause stomach upset. Overeating would only worsen the situation.

Author’s Note: It’s the third day of staying home, and apparently, fourteen people were taken away from our neighborhood today… o(╥﹏╥)o

(End of Chapter)

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