Chapter 322: Saving Dinner for His Return Tonight

Chapter 322: Saving Dinner for His Return Tonight

"Why is it soft-shell turtle soup?" Lu Lingyun eyed the large bowl of turtle soup in front of her with suspicion.

Something's off.

The Marquis's Mansion rarely eats turtle.

Exotic delicacies weren't uncommon in the mansion, and they occasionally had rare dishes for variety, but why did they have rabbit meat yesterday and turtle soup today?

"Sister-in-law, we're tired of beef, mutton, and pork every day. We wanted a change. Try it and see if you like it." Said Qin Shaojing as she finished off the bowl of turtle soup in front of her.

At this, Lady Qin also picked up her spoon and took a small taste.

"How is it, Aunt? Do you like the taste?"

"The taste is excellent," Lady Qin said dotingly as she looked at Qin Shaojing.

Since both of them had drunk it and there seemed to be no issues, Qin Shaojing then looked at Lu Lingyun. "Sister-in-law, quick, try it! Or are you afraid I poisoned it?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Lingyun's brow twitched slightly. "How could that be?"

She took a small sip of the turtle soup, nodded slightly at its fresh and sweet taste. "It's really good."

"Since it's good, have more!"

"It's good, but it's too greasy for the morning." Lu Lingyun stopped Qin Shaojing from continuing to fill her bowl with soup. Seeing this, Qin Shaojing began to pile other dishes onto her plate.

"This amaranth is light. Sister-in-law, try it!"

Qin Shaojing's enthusiasm was too much. Lu Lingyun furrowed her brows as more vegetables were piled on her plate.

Something's off. Very off.

Why turtle soup?

And many dishes on the table were uncommon.

Although it's unlikely to be poison, there's too much going on.

As Lu Lingyun pondered, Lady Qin picked up her chopsticks and took some amaranth.

After taking a bite, Qin Shaojing said, "Aunt, there are other vegetables. I specially cooked them for you. Try this one too."

Lu Lingyun sensed something was off but couldn't pinpoint what. When she looked up, she met Qin Shaojing's smiling eyes. "Sister-in-law, eat more!"

Her plate was already piled with amaranth by Qin Shaojing.

Lu Lingyun smiled and nodded.

Out of caution, Lu Lingyun ate only a few bites of the amaranth and stopped. Seeing how little she ate, Qin Shaojing tried to persuade her further, but Lu Lingyun told her she didn't like it, and Qin Shaojing visibly showed her dissatisfaction.

Lu Lingyun's suspicions deepened. What exactly was Qin Shaojing trying to do?

Could it be that she put something in the food? Was she really that desperate for me to eat it?!

But both she and Lady Qin had eaten during the meal, so it couldn't be anything dangerous.

Soon, breakfast was over.

Lu Lingyun returned to her own room after speaking with Lady Qin and Qin Shaojing for a while.

At noon that day, Lady Qin came to call her for lunch, but Lu Lingyun was busy and had the nanny turn her down. When she returned, Nanny Wan brought two dishes.

One was plain sliced beef, and the other was river snails.

In the northern Imperial City, river snails were rarely eaten.

Seeing these two dishes, Lu Lingyun was suddenly struck by a realization.

In her previous life, she had lived in Jiangnan for more than ten years and had often seen river snails.

Beef and river snails cannot be eaten at the same time!

Eating them together would be difficult to digest and cause bloating!

"Did Qin Shaojing give you these again?" Lu Lingyun immediately looked up at Nanny Wan.

Nanny Wan nodded, "It was Miss Qin who said so."

"And what about yesterday's rabbit meat and baby bok choy?"

"Miss Qin was the one who mentioned those too."

It finally clicked for Lu Lingyun.

Rabbit meat was fine on its own, and so was baby bok choy, but Su Ying's vomiting and diarrhea were because she ate these two dishes together!

These were incompatible foods!

Including this morning, when she kept urging Lu Lingyun to drink the turtle soup and eat the amaranth, while Lady Qin only took one bite of the amaranth before deciding to eat something else—those two must also be incompatible!

In that instant, Lu Lingyun finally figured out Qin Shaojing's attitude and behavior.

So that's what it was!

After realizing this, Lu Lingyun couldn't shake off a growing sense of fear. Luckily, she had always been cautious and ate very little whenever something felt off. On top of that, she had been fortunate enough to be reborn, with the experience of living in Jiangnan for more than ten years, which allowed her to recognize the incompatibility of beef and river snails. Otherwise, who knows how much trouble Qin Shaojing might have gotten her into!

With so many incompatible foods being sent to her every day, Qin Shaojing really wanted her dead!

At that thought, Lu Lingyun felt both angry and frightened. Qin Shaojing really had a heart of stone!

"Young mistress, is there a problem with these dishes?" Nanny Wan asked uncertainly, seeing Lu Lingyun's unusually gloomy expression for the first time.

Looking at the beef and river snails, she furrowed her brows.

Being experienced, she knew quite a few foods that didn't go together, but the pairing of beef and river snails was such an obscure and incompatible combination that even she wasn't aware of it!

Seeing Lu Lingyun's expression, she tentatively asked, "Eating beef and river snails together causes bloating?"

Lu Lingyun nodded.

The cunning Nanny Wan immediately thought of the day before. "And the rabbit meat and baby bok choy from yesterday..."

Lu Lingyun nodded, "Su Ying's vomiting and diarrhea were because she ate these two incompatible dishes."

Hearing this, Nanny Wan couldn't help but angrily say, "This eldest miss of the Qin family is truly malicious! Plotting against us like this! Does she really think this is her own home? Even if she were a legitimate young miss, doing something like this would mean she wouldn't be welcome!"

Having said that, Nanny Wan picked up the two dishes again, ready to storm into Lady Qin's room and confront Qin Shaojing by throwing the dishes in front of her.

She had served Lu Lingyun for seven years and had long grown accustomed to living in the Marquis's Mansion.

Although her family was still in the Lu Family, serving under Madam Liu, she had long since realized this.

As long as she did her job well by Lu Lingyun's side, her family would continue to thrive in the Lu Family!

Madam Liu could no longer control her, nor could she cause her family any hardship.

As a result, Nanny Wan had become extremely loyal to Lu Lingyun.

At least here in the Marquis's Mansion, Lu Lingyun was her undisputed mistress, and no one could harm her.

As Nanny Wan was about to leave, Lu Lingyun said, "Stop."

"Young mistress, we can't tolerate this insult!"

Tolerate?

There's no way she could tolerate it!

Lu Lingyun sneered. Not only would she not tolerate it, but she would also deal a bigger blow to Qin Shaojing.

"Leave the dishes here. Later, you go and tell her that I truly enjoyed the dishes."

Nanny Wan hesitated for a moment, then heard Lu Lingyun continue.

"When the marquis returns tonight, invite him to dinner tonight. Lu Lingyun glanced at the two dishes. "Put these dishes away and serve them to him reheated."

Nanny Wan: "..."

Looking at Lu Lingyun, who remained calm and composed without changing her expression, Nanny Wan thought, our young mistress is truly something else!