Chapter 280
Chapter 280: Entering the Ouyang Family
“I’m also a mute. As long as it’s someone who cooks for Ouyang Tang and Ouyang Tian, they’re all mute. Even if it’s someone who delivers the vegetables, there will be someone to test the poison. There will also be someone to arrange it. In order to protect the safety of these two old monsters of the Ouyang family, they’ve done their best.”
Dark 1 cleared up Shen Xiaoxiao’s doubts.
Hearing this, Shen Xiaoxiao felt a little better. As long as they were all mute, it was fine. However, these two old fogeys were really a scourge. It was simply too much to ask a mute to serve them.
“It’s almost time. Miss, you should go with Dark 1. Be careful. And your stomach, have you used something to protect it?”
Shen Xiaoxiao nodded at 19 and pointed at her stomach. This answer was obvious. 19 did not know whether to laugh or cry because of Shen Xiaoxiao’s actions. Miss, can you not get into character so early?
He was really… really unaccustomed. Wouldn’t it be very uncomfortable for a chatterbox to suddenly become mute?
Shen Xiaoxiao had long been familiar with the map, so when he secretly brought Shen Xiaoxiao through the servant’s corner door into the big kitchen, she had already matched these roads with the road map in her mind.
Looking around carefully, she found that the various courtyards of the Ouyang family had almost been repaired, except for the problem of the number of rooms.
Ouyang Tang’s courtyard was the largest courtyard of the Ouyang family after Ouyang Tian’s. It had a total of four courtyards. His three wives and concubines all lived here. After his three daughters married off, they naturally didn’t have to live in the elegant building that the Ouyang family had specially built for all the girls. On the other hand, his two sons had already married and lived in the two courtyards that had two courtyards not far from his courtyard.
The kitchen was in a courtyard that was split apart in the backyard of Ouyang Tang. There was a garden in the middle of it, so it was quite convenient.
Moreover, Ouyang Tang and Ouyang Tian’s courtyard were not far from each other. They were separated by the largest artificial lake of the Ouyang family, which was just around the back of the rockery.
On the whole, the entire Ouyang family was similar to the shape of a circle. Ouyang Tang and Ouyang Tian belonged to the two points of the circle, and the dividing line in the middle was the artificial lake.
Shen Xiaoxiao was very dramatic. She did not say a word when she said that she would pretend to be mute. Her whole body was so empty that she looked like an ordinary kitchen woman who could not be ordinary.
They were wearing white cotton shirts and white hats on their heads. This was the same as the cooks in the modern kitchen. Those who worked in the kitchen had to hurry up and tidy up.
Shen Xiaoxiao followed Dark 1 to the kitchen. There were two stove eyes left there. When she looked at them, Shen Xiaoxiao realized that Dark 1 was the cook who was in charge of Ouyang Tang’s supper. There were three disciples who worked for him. They were all around 30 years old.
They did not speak, but they had a tacit understanding. Dark 1 only needed to compare spoons for them to know what he wanted.
As the only chef in charge of the dishes (the only one was the one in charge of washing), Shen Xiaoxiao stood aside and remembered all the steps clearly.
It was inevitable that people would not ask about it. As for sign language, when Shen Xiaoxiao came, she had told Dark 1 that she knew a little about it.
Of course, Dark 1 had already known about this earlier. When they were in the dense forest, Shen Xiaoxiao did not know how to speak very well. When she and Yan Kuan were desperate, she would occasionally use one or two sign language postures. Hence, Dark 1 was very clear about this.
Otherwise, how would he dare to rashly pull Shen Xiaoxiao over to be a cook?
A very complicated dish of three fresh noodles was prepared and placed in a very exquisite silver bowl. It was placed in a small box with a designed insulation device inside. No matter how far they walked, it would not get cold when they reached the courtyard of Ouyang Tang.
Dark 1 and Shen Xiaoxiao went to deliver the food together. Dark 1 walked in front. He wanted to help Shen Xiaoxiao take the box, but this was the rule. This thing had to be carried by the cook. It must be remembered that no one else was allowed to take it in the middle. This was to prevent someone from poisoning it, and also to prevent it from getting cold in the middle.
Dark 1 walked a little slower. This box did not look big, but it was a little heavy. He would not forget that Miss was a pregnant woman. He did not dare to be careless about this.
The two walked through a large garden and went through a small path. The Ouyang family’s inner courtyard was so big that it could be said to be endless. Not only that, there were countless cloisters and paths in the surroundings. If one was not careful, one could easily get lost.
Of course, the entire mansion was brightly lit even at night, and all the cameras were ablaze with strange red lights.
Tonight, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse, which added a strange sense of tranquility to the current situation.
Shen Xiaoxiao and Dark 1 were focused on walking forward. If there were any unusual movements along the way, it was very likely that they would be discovered by someone outside the camera.
After walking for about 15 minutes, they arrived at the inner courtyard of Ouyang Tang. Shen Xiaoxiao calculated the time. It was about 9:30 now. She stood outside the cloister with her head lowered, waiting for the butler-like person outside to inform her.
These practices were really returning to a simple and unsophisticated life. Decay, feudalism, and the feeling of slavery. Shen Xiaoxiao could feel it all at this moment.
The Ouyang family really treated themselves as a noble or a descendant of the emperor.
The passer-by, the messenger, the poison tester, oh, and the one Shen Xiaoxiao saw at the moment was a 20-year-old woman with a flushed face and disheveled clothes. She was sitting on Ouyang Tang’s lap and giggling ineffably.
She took a look and quickly put the food on the table. An old man in his 70s and an 80s and a young girl doing something that made people’s hearts race. This was really, really shameless.
It turned out that no matter how serious and strict you were on the outside, on the inside, when you really saw it, you would still feel disgusted.
“Reward, today’s braised San Xian is not bad. Have you prepared it for the Old Master? Send it over!”
After testing the poison and tasting it, Ouyang Tang decided that this dish could definitely be given to his big brother.
His words of reward carried the arrogance and unshakeable attitude of the Ouyang children of the old capital. If she was not in China, she would have thought that she had definitely traveled back to the Qing Dynasty and watched these declining princes display their final glory.
Shen Xiaoxiao and Dark 1 respectfully retreated. Now they had to return the way they came. Once they reached the kitchen, they would make a dish of three delicacies and send it to Ouyang Tian. This was also the moment that they had been looking forward to for a long time tonight.
Shen Xiaoxiao’s heart was beating nervously. She didn’t know if she would be able to meet Yan Kuan, but no matter what, she would not give up at this time. She would definitely meet him.
When the dishes were ready, Shen Xiaoxiao still carried the box and walked in front secretly.
This time, they were going to pass by the artificial lake that stretched across the entire Ouyang family. They were going to walk through the curved corridor and enter the other core area of the Ouyang family.
It was already 10 o’clock. This time was the time when Ouyang Tian would meet Ma San or even a fake. They wanted to send the food directly to the main courtyard. Fortunately, Ouyang Tian’s study and bedroom were only separated by a wall. It was actually very difficult to avoid their gaze and enter under Ouyang Tian’s bedroom.
However, just because it was difficult did not mean that they would not do it. Just as Shen Xiaoxiao and the others were carrying the wooden box and stepping into the inner courtyard, they were stopped by a voice. “Stop!”
Shen Xiaoxiao and secretly turned their heads to look. It was actually An Ning. Why did she stop them? Could it be that she had discovered something?