Jiang Wanru came out of the conference hall in the morning, accompanied by two housekeepers and three maids. One of the maids was the senior maid who served beside the second madam. They went straight to the large kitchen. The senior maid who served beside the second madam stopped Jiang Wanru from entering the steaming hot kitchen. She smiled and said: "Third Madam, please wait for a moment. It's not necessary for you to personally go in and take a look. I'll go invite the housekeeper to come out and explain everything to Third Madam in detail."

  Jiang Wanmu stood smiling at the entrance of the large kitchen, where snow was still drifting outside. Inside, however, the stoves were all brightly lit, and the room temperature was so warm that several male cooks were standing by their pots wearing only single-layer clothing, busily stirring the food in their pots with both hands. Jiang Wanmu smelled the aroma of the food and felt that only this place in the Wang Fu had some human touch to it. The maid had already found the young woman in charge of the kitchen and whispered two sentences to her, and could be heard calling out happily "Congratulations".

  The people in the large kitchen, who were busy with their work, couldn't help but steal glances at Jiang Wanru. There was surprise in their eyes because it used to be the second madam who personally came to the large kitchen, and the third madam would stand behind her like a shadow. When Jiang Wanru saw that they didn't hide their gaze, she slightly retreated to one side. The young housekeeper, with a smile on her face, came out to greet her, smiling as she curtsied and asked: "Third Madam is well, today we need your guidance." Jiang Wanru just smiled and nodded, and under the repeated invitations of the housekeeper, several people followed her into the open room next to the large kitchen.

  After everyone sat down, the housekeeper carefully introduced to Jiang Wan the order of dishes served in the main kitchen today and also explained to her that when tasting the dishes, she should speak freely about whether they were salty or bland. In the main kitchen during these festival days, all the cooks who had been working in the Wang mansion for over a decade were used. Among them were cooks who were accustomed to cooking for Old Master Wang and Old Mistress Wang, as well as those who were accustomed to cooking for the young masters and mistresses.

  The dishes for the annual festival were always decided after being tasted by the Crown Prince's wife.

  Jiang Wanmu smiled calmly on the surface, but in her heart, she was thinking that this housekeeper's eyes were really sharp. Looking at her appearance, she still had some thoughts of sending herself to be roasted and helping her earn more popularity, or turning around to curry favor with the four most powerful people. Jiang Wanmu just smiled at the housekeeper, not uttering any words of affirmation or negation from her mouth. The two housekeepers who followed behind Jiang Wanmu saw that she didn't take the kitchen housekeeper's bait and secretly let out a sigh of relief.

  The grandmother of the kitchen manager was the old queen's former personal maid, and because of this relationship she became the head of the kitchen at a young age. Jiang Wan couldn't figure out the relationships between the people in the Wang household, but the two managers knew each other very well. They were just suffering on this road, with the second wife's maid standing close to them, then standing in front of the large kitchen door, and they also didn't have a chance to hint at Jiang Wan about the manager's identity.

  When it was time to serve the dishes, the woman in charge of the kitchen came out of the room. After a while, she led several people over, carrying several small bowls. She first introduced the names of the dishes to Jiang Wanru and asked her to taste them. After Jiang Wanru took the bowl, she used a silver spoon to scoop up some food, took a light bite, smiled and nodded in approval, saying "Delicious." She then handed the bowl she had tasted to the woman in charge, smiling and saying "Delicious, you try it too." The woman in charge smiled as she accepted the bowl, tasted it, and then passed it on to three maidservants to taste.

  Although Jiang Wanru only tasted one or two mouthfuls of each dish, after tasting eighteen dishes, she felt that she was already 80% full. The housekeeper thought that she would be satisfied today, and the few people who followed her were not very impressive. In the end, the housekeeper sent a bowl of fresh soup to each of them, and after drinking the delicious soup, Jiang Wanru was so full that she sat on the stool for a long time and didn't want to get up. The two housekeepers and three maids also ate their fill, and none of them wanted to move afterwards.

  The housekeeper glanced at the few people in the room, suppressing a smile and excusing herself to leave. The few people sat in the room for a while, and the maid next to the second lady took the initiative to bid farewell and leave. With no one else in the room, the housekeeper whispered to Jiang Wanru: "Madam, why don't you go to the small hall and discuss this matter with the young master's wife?" Jiang Wanru thought for a moment and shook her head slightly, saying: "No need, the young master's wife is busy now, I won't take up her time." The two housekeepers looked at each other after hearing Jiang Wanru's words, both with expressions of regret in their eyes.

  Jiang Wanru sat for a while, then stood up with a smile, and the rest of the people followed suit. As they left the large kitchen, the kitchen manager personally escorted them out. Along the way, the manager's wife had endless kind words to say, but Jiang Wanru just smiled faintly as she listened. When they reached the next intersection, Jiang Wanru politely declined her offer to continue escorting them further.

  Jiang Wanru returned to her room, stretched her waist, and heard Lian Hao's voice coming back. She quickly sat up straight at the desk. Lian Hao entered the room, glanced around Jiang Wanru, and said: "Today's dishes are not bad, and serving them was smooth." Jiang Wanru smiled and said: "It was arranged properly by the young master's wife." The two had nothing to say for a while, looked at each other, and then turned their heads. For a moment, Jiang Wanru also felt that she really had nothing to say to this person in front of her, except for silence. Lian Hao looked at Jiang Wanru, who didn't show any remorse, sat for a moment, and then left with a flourish.

  Jiang Wanru closed her eyes and sat in the room for a while, vaguely hearing someone talking in the courtyard. When she opened her eyes, she heard the sound of knocking on the door, and she said, "Come in." Ji Yan pushed open the door and walked in, seeing Jiang Wanru standing by the window with a faintly visible tired expression on her face. When Jiang Wanru turned around to look at Ji Yan, there was a faint smile on her face. Ji Yan thought she had seen wrongly, so she approached Jiang Wanru within three feet, looking at her still calm and composed demeanor, then said, "Miss, we need to go to the main hall to receive guests."

  The people in the Wang Fu still gave Jiang Wanmu face in front of others, never refusing her to appear in public on grand occasions. As Jiang Wanmu and Ji Yan walked out of the room, Jiang Wanmu saw the housekeeper standing beside the Crown Prince's wife in the courtyard, smiling as she approached. The housekeeper said with a smile: "Third Madame, today's lunch was successful, Master said Third Madame put her heart into it." These words made Jiang Wanmu feel embarrassed, and she smiled and said: "I don't deserve this credit, it was the Crown Prince's wife who put her heart into it, I just basked in the glory of the Crown Prince's wife. Today I was a bystander, indeed the Crown Prince's wife is good at using people." The housekeeper looked at Jiang Wanmu with deep meaning and smiled: "I will tell Master about Third Madame's words."

  Jiang Wanru smiled faintly after hearing this, she said that these words were not meant to flatter the prince's wife, nor was it intentionally pretending to be noble. She spoke from her heart. She had always felt that others' achievements were their own and didn't need to be snatched away. Even if they could be snatched, once in hand, they weren't worth cherishing so much. Moreover, one would have to exhaust themselves to guard it, and sometimes might not even be able to keep it safe. It was better not to waste the effort, therefore she never went after others' achievements.

  Jiang Wanru led the two maids into the grand hall, and after entering, she followed the rules and bowed to the four people on the main seat. The four people on the main seat received her courtesy indifferently. Jiang Wanru originally wanted to walk to the right side according to habit, but as soon as she took a step, she felt that something was not quite right. The seating arrangement in the hall did not separate men and women like before, but instead followed the order of age from young to old like this morning. Jiang Wanru's eyes had already swept to the side of Shizi's wife, and naturally quickly scanned to the empty seat beside Lianhao, hurrying over with quick steps.

  A stunningly handsome man sat next to a woman who could only be described as delicate, originally two people with vastly different appearances. However, upon closer inspection, their demeanor and expressions were surprisingly harmonious. Lian Hao glanced at Jiang Wanru sitting calmly beside him, seeing her face serene and unruffled in the face of the scrutinizing gazes from the crowd in the hall. At this moment, Lian Hao found himself somewhat perplexed by her, as logically speaking, Jiang Wanru should have been curious when she sat down, yet she seemed to accept the situation with an unusual calmness.

  The hall was filled with the sound of chatter, and after sitting for a while, the young master stood up smiling and said: "A family reunion, some of us haven't seen each other in a long time, why don't we talk about our recent situations?" The young master's proposal naturally received responses, and immediately the third uncle's household started talking about their son's progress in school, followed by the fourth aunt's household discussing their daughter's marriage. The trivial matters of the three big aunts and seven big aunts' households were all brought up for discussion.

  Jiang Wanru listened with great interest, from the trivial matters of her mother-in-law and others, she could hear about the current situation of the relatives in the Wang family, and some men's families were not peaceful. Even Ci Mochen's biological mother sighed that her son was not as smart as his older half-brother in his early years. As soon as she said this, the faces of the people in the main hall of the Wang mansion turned cold by 30%. Jiang Wanru looked at the woman from a distance, feeling that she was not intelligent before, and now felt that she was too stupid. Usually, she could suppress her older half-brother, but in this occasion, she could only say words of praise and boasting.

  In the hall, some people's eyes swept towards Jiang Wanmu, seeing that there was still a faint smile on her face, and she was obviously listening very carefully to what everyone was saying. Lian Hao glanced at Jiang Wanmu, saw that her eyes were clear and calm, and leaned in close to remind her in a low voice: "I heard those two have been causing trouble for no reason these days, making life unbearable for everyone in the household. When you see them, remember to keep your distance and avoid them as much as possible." Jiang Wanmu glanced sideways at Lian Hao, not expecting him to be so kind as to remind her of this.

  Jiang Wanmu nodded and said, "Mm, I'll remember what you said." She turned her head to continue listening to the gossip in the hall. Lian Hua looked at her with a curious expression, then leaned in close and whispered, "I see you like listening to these things, why don't you ask me more about it?" Jiang Wanmu slightly moved away from him and explained in a low voice, "I'm not interested in other people's marital affairs. I just rarely get to hear about other families' daily life, so I'm just listening for now."