Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Cook Chen only truly breathed a sigh of relief once she had led Jiang Yunsui away from the Front Courtyard.

“Don’t be scared, don’t be scared.”

Jiang Yunsui comforted her in a soft, sweet voice.

Cook Chen patted her chest. “That scared the life out of me. Those people from the Zhou Family are truly pieces of work!”

Her face was full of lingering fear. “They actually tried to frame me.”

Thinking about it now, she wished she could cut that mother and daughter from the Zhou Family into a thousand pieces.

As for their ultimate fate, Cook Chen only felt a sense of relief.

“Fortunately, the Young Master is magnanimous and only docked a bit of my monthly pay.”

“But we’ll have to tighten our belts for a while.”

Her monthly salary was only one tael of silver. Losing three months’ worth of pay pained her deeply.

Still, it was better than being kicked out or losing her life.

“Suisui, aren’t you scared?”

Especially that final blood-curdling scream-Cook Chen had hurried Jiang Yunsui away specifically because she was afraid a small child would be terrified by such a sight.

She hadn’t expected the little thing to actually turn her head to look.

Jiang Yunsui shook her head. “I’m not scared.”

The ones who died were bad people.

Her concept of life and death wasn’t particularly intense; she had seen plenty of it back in the mountains.

Competition between wild animals was far more cruel than anything in the human world.

Although she was human now, her essence was still that of a mushroom.

In her eyes, humans were no different from those animals.

Cook Chen, however, thought of the relatives Jiang Yunsui had lost.

*That’s true,* she thought. *What could be more terrifying than what she’s already been through?*

“It’s good that you aren’t scared. Our Young Master doesn’t kill the innocent indiscriminately. That person deserved to die, so Suisui, you must never be afraid of him.”

She could only say this to Jiang Yunsui because the girl would have to serve before the Young Master in the future. If she lived in fear, her days would be very difficult.

Jiang Yunsui nodded, her youthful voice carrying a hint of cheer. “I know, Aunt Chen. I’m not afraid of him. He wasn’t mean to me.”

Listening to her, Cook Chen unconsciously relaxed quite a bit.

She wasn’t actually afraid of dead bodies; that shudder at the door earlier had been purely from the shock of the scream.

After all, she herself had crawled out from a pile of corpses.

Feel sympathy for people like that?

Heh, she didn’t have a shred of it.

In this world, people who were too kind or soft-hearted simply couldn’t survive.

Seeing that Jiang Yunsui was having trouble walking, Cook Chen picked her up.

“Auntie, can we still sell our Delicious Mushrooms?”

Cook Chen didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She hadn’t expected the child to be so resilient.

“If the Delicious Mushrooms can be sold for silver, then Auntie won’t be sad anymore.”

Cook Chen felt a warmth spread through her heart.

“It’s alright. If we can’t sell them, we’ll keep them to eat ourselves.”

“I work in the small kitchen. It’s fine to use it to whip up something for ourselves.”

Jiang Yunsui’s eyes lit up. “Okay!”

Now that the two had talked things out, their moods improved. Cook Chen felt even better when she realized the person who had been eyeing her position as a cook was gone.

This could be considered a blessing in disguise.

When they returned to their small courtyard that evening, several people dressed as maidservants arrived.

Mobei was a vast, sparsely populated region, and the Ji Family’s General’s Mansion occupied a massive area. Even someone of Cook Chen’s status had her own small courtyard.

The other cleaning maids lived four to a room in the servants’ quarters, which were located not far from Cook Chen’s courtyard.

The food and water conditions in this area weren’t great, but the living space was quite spacious.

The women who came by were all on good terms with Cook Chen.

They had been worried when she was taken away, so upon hearing she had been released, they rushed over to check on her and find out what had happened.

Small people had their own ways of surviving. They might not be ambitious, but they knew how to gather information. Any news that could be grasped had to be kept in hand.
They were smart enough not to pry into things they shouldn’t know.

Jiang Yunsui was crouching under the pomegranate tree, absorbing Moonlight Essence. When she saw people approaching, she called out toward the house.

“Aunt Chen, Sister Erya and the others are here!”

The three maidservants walked over and pinched Jiang Yunsui’s little cheeks as they got closer.

“Suisui is out here moonbathing again.”

Jiang Yunsui nodded earnestly. “Mm, moonbathing makes the body strong.”

“Alright, then we won’t disturb you.”

The three of them looked at Jiang Yunsui with pitying eyes.

In their view, Jiang Yunsui’s behavior was the result of some trauma that had left her mind a bit addled.

But they couldn’t deny her luck-to think she was actually serving at the Young Master’s side.

At that thought, they withdrew their sympathetic gazes. Heh, they might as well save that sympathy for themselves.

Jiang Yunsui buried her feet in the small pit she had dug. While she absorbed the moonlight, her ears were tuned to the conversation inside the house.

She loved listening to these trivial, interesting bits of news.

After hearing Cook Chen’s explanation, the three maidservants joined her in giving the Zhou mother and daughter, along with Aunt Zhou’s nephew, a thorough scolding.

“All they know is how to slack off. They don’t have a lick of talent, but because they have a few connections, she brags as if they’re the best in the world. With the way Zhou Zhuzhu sautés vegetables, if she really became the cook, who knows how much she’d embezzle? The food we’d get would probably be worse than swill.”

“Thankfully, the Young Master didn’t punish the wrong person and caught the real culprit. Truly audacious, daring to put something in the Young Master’s food.”

“It’s just a pity about those Delicious Mushrooms. Cook Chen, where did you find them? Those things are hard to come by.”

Cook Chen gave a vague laugh and changed the subject.

Listening from outside, Jiang Yunsui swayed her little head with a hint of pride.

This was all her doing.

In the future, there wouldn’t just be Delicious Mushrooms, but other tasty fungi as well.

It was just that the environment here wasn’t suitable for most mushrooms to grow. The Delicious Mushroom was the only species that could adapt to these conditions, which was why it was the first to sprout.

Jiang Yunsui also felt it was a waste. Such a large, fragrant bowl, and she hadn’t even gotten a taste.

Having gathered their news, the three maidservants comforted Aunt Chen and took their leave.

They had to be on duty tomorrow, so they needed to sleep early.

After seeing them off, Cook Chen called out to Jiang Yunsui.

“Suisui, come back quickly. Wipe yourself down and wash your face so you can get to sleep.”

Jiang Yunsui gave a chirp of agreement.

Water was scarce here in Mobei. The water for the General’s Mansion had to be hauled from the moat, and even for a grown man, the round trip took over two hours.

Consequently, everyone was very frugal with water. People only took a full bath once or twice a month; usually, they just wiped themselves down.

Fortunately, Jiang Yunsui had her own special way of bathing.

Before the sun had fully risen the next day, Jiang Yunsui was already up.

She stretched her limbs and hopped over to the little pit where she had crouched the previous night.

Then, like a Little Mushroom, she curled up and hugged herself. As the morning dew condensed and fell onto her, Jiang Yunsui became increasingly radiant.

This was her special way of bathing.

The morning dew didn’t just wash the Little Mushroom clean and make her smell sweet; it also helped her grow better.

As the morning sun rose, more and more droplets of dew hung from Jiang Yunsui’s hair, her face, and her body, appearing crystal clear.

Some of the dew was absorbed directly into her skin.

The sound of roosters crowing echoed through the air.

Movement could be heard coming from Cook Chen’s room.

Jiang Yunsui stretched and rubbed her face with her small hands.

Her movements were like a kitten washing its face.

Full of energy, she walked into the house.

After a night’s rest, her feet felt much better, and her gait was steadier than it had been the day before.