Xie Fengran and Lan Fang exchanged a glance, and both saw a hint of surprise in each other's eyes.
Finally, Lan Fang spoke first, huffing and saying, "Miss, this must be from the Prince. Let this servant go and send him away."
Humph, she hadn't forgotten how she was just chased out by the Prince.
But she overlooked her miss's gluttony. When she looked back, her miss's lips twitched.
Seeing her looking over, her miss looked rather eager, "Lan Fang, since they've sent it here, wouldn't it be a waste to send them back?"
That seafood egg custard, fish soup and braised pig's trotters were simply delicious. It would be a great pity to send them away when they were right at the mouth.
Moreover, she thought that since she had learned such a big secret about Qin Junxing today, it was reasonable for her to take some hush money for keeping it secret!
Thinking of this, Xie Fengran immediately felt justified. She instructed Lan Fang, "Go out and have a look. If it's really the Prince's man, tell him that this miss has accepted his hush money and will surely keep her mouth shut."
"Miss, really accept it?"
Xie Fengran waved her hand, "Go! Weren't you just saying that he didn't invite us to dinner? Now that it's right in front of you, are you still unhappy?"
"Alright!"
Lan Fang walked out reluctantly.
Xie Fengran watched Lan Fang's back and quickly threw the pastry in her hand back.
Not long after, Lan Fang came in with a little maid carrying a food box.
The little maids quickly laid out a whole table of dishes. Lan Fang reported to Xie Fengran, "Miss, it's indeed from the Prince. It's still that guard from before. This feast was ordered by the Prince long ago. He originally wanted to invite the miss to dinner in the teahouse, but something came up and it was delayed. He hopes the miss will forgive him."
"This servant told the guard what the miss said, and the guard promised to convey the message!"
"He doesn't dare not to convey it! Go and call Cheng Hui back for dinner."
Just then, Liu Yi came in with a basin of water. She happened to hear this and stopped Lan Fang, "The small kitchen made milk egg custard at noon. Young Master had two small bowls. Miss, don't let the young master eat any more!"
"In that case, we'll eat. Go and call He Xiang. Let's eat together."
"You and Sister Lan Fang can eat. Liu Yi and I ate too much at noon."
Lan Fang knew Xie Fengran's temper and didn't decline. She had already sat down. Hearing what Liu Yi said, she gave her a resentful look, "Good for you, Liu Yi. You didn't leave any food for me and the miss."
"Who doesn't know that the miss always takes you out to eat delicious food. Liu Yi and I have never had the chance!"
Liu Yi retorted without giving in.
"Alright, alright. Next time you all go. I'll take you to a restaurant!" Xie Fengran changed a pair of chopsticks, picked up a piece of fish and stuffed it into Liu Yi's mouth, asking, "How about it? Not bad, right?"
Liu Yi nodded, "The miss is still the best. But I think this cooking skill is about the same as Granny Fan's in the small kitchen."
Just as she was speaking, He Xiang came into the room. She was holding a stack of children's clothes. Seeing Lan Fang sitting there, she was slightly stunned and felt a bit uncomfortable.
Coming to her senses, she saw Xie Fengran waving at her. She walked over timidly, "Miss, you called me!"
"Open your mouth!"
He Xiang opened her mouth instinctively, and a mouthful of fish was stuffed into it. It was full of fresh flavor!
Before she could swallow it, she saw her miss looking at her with a beaming smile and asking, "Is it delicious?"
He Xiang quickly nodded, "It's delicious, Miss. Did Granny Fan make this?"
"This is the craftsmanship of the chef in Jingyueju!"
"This servant thinks it's about the same as what Granny Fan made!"
Xie Fengran hadn't eaten the food made in the small kitchen these days. Hearing what they said, she became a bit curious, "I'll try it tomorrow!"
After saying that, she started to eat on her own.
Lan Fang first served Xie Fengran some dishes. When she saw that her miss had eaten enough, she picked up the dishes that had been touched and started to eat.
He Xiang looked at Lan Fang and then at Xie Fengran. She only felt that the miss was really kind to them maids!
When she was a second - class maid, she wasn't allowed to enter the main room. If she did enter, there would surely be someone following her, so she naturally couldn't see such a scene.
Now the rules remained the same. Only their senior maids could enter the miss's room.
The other maids stayed outside. There was a clear distinction between the inside and the outside, and the rules were quite strict.
But as long as they served whole - heartedly and didn't break the miss's rules, the miss was easy to talk to.
Others only knew that the rules in their courtyard were strict and that the miss had the bearing of the old madam, but they didn't know that the miss treated the maids like this in private.
Xie Fengran naturally didn't know what He Xiang was thinking. She just felt that if the maids around her couldn't be on her side, wouldn't she be putting herself in danger?
So no matter what their temperaments were, as long as they weren't bad people and, most importantly, were loyal, the rest could be taught.
Moreover, Liu Yi and Lan Fang had grown up with her since childhood. This kind of bond was naturally unmatched by others!
After dinner, Xie Fengran took a stroll in the courtyard. Seeing people carrying in the toys made for Xie Chenghui, she asked in surprise, "Where did these come from?"
Liu Yi came over and handed Xie Fengran a cup of herbal tea, "Zhu Qing asked her senior brother to find someone to make them. She said that children in the countryside all play with these. This servant saw that they were not dangerous, so she agreed."
"Oh!"
Xie Fengran responded and thought to herself that these secret agents were really being under - utilized. They either investigated trivial matters or made toys for the children.
However, they were really handy to use!
Xie Fengran became even more reluctant to hand over this group of people. She didn't want to give them to the emperor, nor did she want to return them to her grandmother. She wanted to keep them for herself!
However, before that, she had to have enough ability to protect these people!
Thinking of this, she hesitated a bit.
Secret agents!
Secret agents that even the emperor didn't have. They were really a hot potato!
Seeing Xie Fengran looking so entangled, Liu Yi reminded her, "Miss, you've been walking around for a while. Do you want to take a nap?"
Xie Fengran looked at the sky. It was still early. She nodded, "Wake me up before dinner. I'm going to pay my respects to Grandmother."
"Yes!"
Xie Fengran was well - fed and content. But after Qing Ye went back, he told Qin Junxing word for word what Xie Fengran had said about the hush money.
"Hush money!" Qin Junxing didn't expect this girl to come up with such a reason.
He couldn't help but curl his lips. He felt that all the gloom in his heart had dissipated. He tapped on the table, as if he had discovered something interesting, "How could this king's hush money be so cheap!"
That look made Qing Ye quickly lower his head.
He knew how bad - tempered his master was. He was even worse than Miss Xie. Now seeing such a smile on his master's face.
Miss Xie, you're on your own!
"Tell Qing Ling to send that set of white jade jewelry to the Marquis's Mansion for her. Just say that this king said the hush money given was too little. This king is worried that she might leak the secret, so this is a supplement."
"Master, that set of jewelry was given by the Princess when we came. She told you to use it for..."