When Jiang Xuening returned to her room, she was already drowsy. She reluctantly washed her face, and taking advantage of the cold weather, burrowed into bed to sleep.

When she woke early the next morning, the sky was already bright.

The entire General’s Residence was quiet and peaceful. The sounds of last night’s toasting could no longer be heard. She figured the welcoming banquet had already ended. Yawning, she got up. Since she’d already missed breakfast time anyway, she had someone bring her water for bathing and slowly took her time getting ready, planning to eat at noon instead.

However, she hadn’t expected that just as she’d finished drying her hair, Jianshu came from outside.

Jiang Xuening somehow felt her spirits lift.

Before Jianshu could even speak, her eyes brightened: “Master is looking for me?”

Jianshu was actually startled by her reaction. He paused before replying: “Yes.”

Jiang Xuening lowered her voice and asked eagerly: “Did your master make food?”

Jianshu looked at her with a ghostly expression, unsure whether he should reveal the truth to her. But recalling how his master had just been staring at that table of dishes, his spine was still cold. In the end, he didn’t dare say more and only nodded: “He did.”

Hearing this, Jiang Xuening immediately jumped up and clapped her hands: “I knew it! Master is an immortal descended from heaven, a sage come to earth—even Guanyin Bodhisattva doesn’t have as kind a heart as his. There hasn’t been anything good to eat along this journey. I’ve eaten so many peach slice cakes I’m sick of them. Last night at the banquet, I was thinking that Yan Lin’s household cooks really weren’t very good. I didn’t expect Master would make food today. Wait for me a moment, I’ll be right there.”

Jianshu: “…”

Your heart really isn’t small at all, is it?

Jianshu replied “yes” and stood outside waiting. Once she’d finished tidying herself, he led her through the courtyard and central hall to Xie Wei’s quarters.

A few gray-black bricks were laid beneath the eaves, with an evergreen planted inside.

The dwelling itself was unremarkable in appearance.

But this place saw few visitors and was exceptionally quiet—probably a room Yan Lin had specially selected for Xie Wei.

At this moment, several dishes were already arranged on the kang table by the window.

Xie Wei sat on the left side, with a cup of wine at his elbow.

Just as footsteps could be heard outside, before anyone had even entered, Jiang Xuening’s greeting voice already carried inside: “Master, this student has come to pay her respects!”

Jiang Xuening leaned against the doorway and first peered inside.

Indeed, she saw Xie Wei sitting there.

This was exactly like when they secretly met in the kitchen at Jinan Prefecture—not to mention the fine dishes were already laid out on the table without her needing to do odd jobs or tend the fire. Joy sparkled in Jiang Xuening’s eyes.

Xie Wei’s eyes held a light, ethereal quality, floating and indistinct. He raised his gaze to look at her and smiled: “Come in.”

Jiang Xuening obediently complied and entered.

Not only did she enter, she very consciously sat down across from Xie Wei, picked up the pair of ivory chopsticks placed on the right side of the table, and looked down at the spread of dishes with joy written all over her face.

There were fully five or six dishes.

The smoked squab was deep red in color, the jade-white tofu tender and juicy, the chicken shred and white fungus soup bright and fresh, the white flowering duck tongue sliced into delicate pieces. Even more impressive was that in the center sat a plate of lamb, brushed with some unknown sauce so that every slice had an oily sheen on its surface, garnished with some scallion segments on the side.

Just the scent wafting out was enough to make one’s mouth water.

Jiang Xuening nearly reached out with her chopsticks immediately, but looking up she only saw Xie Wei sitting across from her drinking wine. She couldn’t help but freeze, looked carefully at what was in front of him, then looked at her own chopsticks, and asked puzzled: “Why doesn’t Master have chopsticks over there?”

Xie Wei looked at her and said: “I was full last night.”

Jiang Xuening figured this meant “not hungry.” She turned her raised chopsticks in a circle and asked tentatively: “So all this was made for me?”

Xie Wei took a small sip of wine and smiled: “You are my student, after all.”

Inexplicably, Jiang Xuening felt a chill down her back.

But with delicious food before her, and Xie Wei’s appearance actually no different from usual, and with how well he’d treated her recently—this had completely dissolved her original wariness toward him. At this moment, she didn’t think deeply about it at all.

Happily, she raised her chopsticks and picked up a slice of lamb to put in her mouth.

The meat quality was indeed tender and delicious.

Only…

This taste seemed slightly sour?

Jiang Xuening tasted it carefully, thinking it was because the brushed sauce was rather unique, maybe some new flavor—she’d need to try more to know for sure.

So she quickly picked up another slice.

However, when she bit down and chewed it in her mouth, several streams of sour liquid mixed with the meat’s fat were all squeezed out at once, filling her entire mouth.

“Ugh!”

Old aged vinegar from who knows how many years—the sour taste stimulated her until her whole face wrinkled up. She immediately covered her mouth and, toward a bowl and plate on the side, spat out that piece of meat!

Yet the sour taste still remained in her mouth.

She was so disheveled she couldn’t even speak properly, and hastily reached out for water: “What flavor is this?!”

Xie Wei casually handed over the wine cup he’d taken two sips from.

Jiang Xuening didn’t even look before taking it and tilting her head back to drink it down in one gulp.

And then…

Her palm-sized face, already scrunched into a ball, instantly turned iron-blue. Choking, she dropped the wine cup, covered her own throat, and began coughing violently: “Cough, cough cough! Xie—cough cough cough! Xie Ju’an you—cough cough!”

It was as if she’d contracted consumption.

Her entire face flushed bright red. The extreme sourness and extreme spiciness were both in her mouth, like a ball of fire shooting up to the top of her head. She wanted to vomit but couldn’t!

She wished she could just die on the spot!

Xie Wei watched her without the slightest surprise: “What, very sour?”

Was he trying to murder someone for their money?!

In two lifetimes, Jiang Xuening had never eaten anything this sour!

Hearing his words, how could she not understand?

This was deliberately done to torment her!

She only hated that in one moment of inattention she’d been tricked—that Xie was ruthless and black-hearted, clearly an evil demon from hell. What had possessed her to think he was an immortal sage with a kind heart?

That taste was impossible to describe.

Jiang Xuening nearly fainted.

Where did she have time to answer Xie Wei’s question? She searched the entire room for tea water, but couldn’t even find a single teapot. Pressing her throat, coughing forcefully while supporting herself on the doorframe, she ran outside.

Xie Wei glanced at her once but didn’t stop her.

Daochin, Jianshu, and Shuqin were all in the courtyard.

The two of them had heard the rummaging sounds from inside the room.

However, seeing Jiang Xuening come out looking as if someone had poisoned her, they both felt alarmed.

Jiang Xuening was more familiar with Jianshu. Several coughs had already made her voice hoarse. At this moment, fearing even more that she’d be heard by that petty Xie person inside, she grabbed Jianshu and lowered her voice: “Quick, bring me a cup of water!”

As she spoke, she felt like retching again.

Jianshu’s eyelids twitched wildly, but he didn’t dare let her grab him too long and hurried to bring water.

A large teacup.

Jiang Xuening took it and gulped down more than half the cup before feeling somewhat better, but the sour-choking-spicy taste still lingered considerably in her throat, impossible to remove no matter what!

That Xie deserved death!

Jianshu observed her expression, his eyelids twitching wildly, and said in a small voice: “When Master is displeased, the things he makes don’t taste good—it happens.”

Jiang Xuening was on the verge of fury.

Could “not tasting good” describe that?

It was practically the strongest burning liquor mixed with a cup of vinegar! Drinking it nearly cost her half her life!

She tilted her head back and drank the remaining half cup of tea clean, handed it back to Jianshu, waved her hand, and walked outward.

Jianshu asked: “What about Master’s side?”

Jiang Xuening looked back at Xie Wei’s room and only felt that black smoke was billowing out from the entire dwelling. How could she dare walk half a step closer? Shivering, she said: “Don’t—don’t come find me again! Your master’s brain, cough, has problems…”

As she spoke, her voice floated somewhat.

Her whole person seemed to be treading on clouds, her body going soft, her feet unsteady, swaying as if she had only one last breath left, as she made her way around from that end of the corridor.

Daochin and Jianshu looked at each other in dismay.

Before long, they heard a calm voice call from inside: “Jianshu.”

Jianshu jumped and went in.

The full table of dishes had hardly been touched.

Xie Wei stood elegantly to the side, casually lifting a corner of snow-white brocade cloth to wipe a few drops of vinegar-wine that had gotten on his fingers, as if he hadn’t done anything at all, saying lightly: “Take it all to feed the dogs.”

Jianshu’s scalp tingled: “Yes.”

He cleaned up everything on the table and carried it out.

Daochin glanced once and shook his head.

Jianshu, still shaken, lowered his voice: “Because of Second Miss Ning and the heir apparent?”

Daochin said: “More or less.”

Jianshu was puzzled: “But previously he was so quiet about it…”

Daochin said: “If it could have worked out, it would have long ago. Why wait until now? Master needn’t waste his energy.”

Jianshu gestured at what he was holding: “Then what about this?”

Daochin looked and said nothing more.

The two exchanged glances again.

In the end, it was still Jianshu who resigned himself first, walking off to the side to dispose of these things that had taken an entire morning’s effort to make. But after walking only a few steps, he stopped again. Hesitating, he turned back and asked: “Daochin, what if the dogs won’t eat it? What do we do?”

“…”

Clearly, this was an extremely likely scenario.

Daochin fell silent, thought seriously for a while, and said: “Either the dogs die, or you die.”

Jianshu: “…”