Chapter 57: Let's cook together
Back to the kitchen, XiaoRue keeps blowing to keep the fire under the pot. She so focuses that she doesn't realize someone giving her a sweet glaze. ManQi chuckles when a little smoke blew on XiaoRue, makes her coughs a little and XiaoRue hears it. She glares unpleased back to ManQi. ManQi gestures sorry,
"I didn't mean to...anyway, what are you doing here?"
"I am cooking medicine for Xiao Jie" XiaoRue answers and them she asks back to ManQi, "What ARE you doing here?"
"Looking at you cooking medicine" teased ManQi. It easily makes XiaoRue feels shy.
"No, seriously, what are you doing here? Don't you suppose to be with Prince Li?"
'I come to see you...' ManQi smirks and hold those words only in his mind, while he explains to XiaoRue,
"Ehm...I am looking for Aunt Tong actually..."
Aunt Tong who stands not so far from them reacts,
"Is Prince Li want anything, ManQi?"
ManQi continues,
"Prince Li has a guest in his study room and they need drinks.
Aunt Tong immediately understands and prepares the drink as instructed. While XiaoRue feels curious,
"Is the guest Minister Hua?"
ManQi nods his head, "That's right"
At outside, QingQing stops her step when she hears it.
"What is it, QingQing?" TanTan wonders why she stops. FangFang is also wondering with her big eyes.
"Nothing..." QingQing continues walking in the kitchen, followed by TanTan and FangFang.
TanTan's voice is heard by others, makes XiaoRue and ManQi noticing them. Seeing ManQi, QingQing back to her flirting gesture. She comes closer to ManQi,
"It's been a while I don't see you today, hand..." ManQi looks annoyed to her, "I mean...ManQi... I really miss you..."
Although XiaoRue keeps watching how QingQing tries to flirt, she keeps walks to TanTan,
"Eng...XiaoJie, why is XiaoJie here? In the kitchen? Is XiaoJie looking for me?"
"Yes, but not looking for you only, we are looking for food...FangFang is also hungry so let's have lunch together..."
TanTan smiles. After experiences the unpleasing memories, she really doesn't want to eat alone...
"oh...alright. I'll prepare food, XiaoJie and everyone may just waiting in the room..."
But TanTan doesn't want to, she smiles and tells everyone there.
"Hm...I see you still busy with the medicine...why don't we prepare together, I like to cook some food for FangFang today..." She is also want to please FangFang today with a sweet food that she may remember to make in her future life.
The weird expressions come from XiaoRue, Aunt Tong and even ManQi.
"XiaoJie...you..never cook before.." There is clearly has an unsure tone in her voice. And XiaoRue is right, HuaMuTan was never cooked before. As a spoiled granddaughter of Lady Hua, she always is served and never serves anyone else. No wonder, what TanTan says surprise them a lot.
Even Aunt Tong who is pouring tea in the teapot doesn't realize that it's already full, QingQing notices it..
"Aunt! Watch out the tea..."
Aunt Tong just realizes what happens, she becomes panic, and some tea spilled out to her cloth.
"Ow, how clumsy I am..."
QingQing immediately reacts to help Aunt Tong...She grabs any wipe cloth around and hands it to Aunt Tong
"Let me help you...Is this tea for the guest?"
Aunt Tong takes the wipe cloth and tries to wipe out the spilled tea right away from her cloth, she just nods hearing QingQing's question,
"Yes...yes...they are for Prince Li and the guest...Minister Hua...oh they are waiting, I suppose to deliver them now..."
QingQing promptly cleans the tray, she looks suddenly get an idea and offers her help,
"Why don't I help you deliver this..?"
Aunt Tong looks unsure to QingQing,
"This...how come I bother the guest of this house to do it..no...I will have XiaoRue here to do it!"
"And throwing a chance to have time with my handsome GeGe here? No way... HuaMuTan, XiaoRue...let me do this..."
QingQing winks her eye, as this is a playing thing for her.
"Besides, look! The medicine's fire is almost off...you should watch on it, XiaoRue..." As she said, XiaoRue immediately checks the fire...while TanTan is not sure what to say, she observes that QingQing is obviously doing it coz of ManQi, she can't see what harmful can comes from that. In addition, FangFang beside her is distracting her by begging food and somehow she looks tenser since she steps into the kitchen.
"YangMu...I am hungry..." She grabs TanTan' hands more tightly. TanTan wonders why.
With a quick gesture, QingQing takes the tray and walks out, she looks to ManQi who looks confused to understand the act of QingQing.
"Come on...don't you hear what Aunt Tong said, the guest is waiting..."
Then she walks out first. ManQi is unwilling to follow her, but before he goes, he looks to XiaoRue and notices how unhappy look on XiaoRue's face.
"But Miss QingQing...?" Aunt Tong still tries to call back. HuaMuTan calms her.
"Don't worry Aunt Tong. She knows what she is doing... Now, would you like to help me to cook food?"
TanTan realizes that the kitchen is more like Aunt Tong's territory. She doesn't want to add more hostility that Aunt Tong already has towards her so she acts politely as she can
Aunt Tong widens her eyes, she can't believe what she heard, but as manners, she just obeys,
"Yes.sure"
"Will you cook, YangMu?Is it long?" FangFang is so curious, she keeps sticking to TanTan where ever TanTan moves.
'Let's see what I can cook?' TanTan observes around, she can easily find the ingredients she needs. She tells FangFang, "I will cook fried rice and some sweet food for you. Do you want to help me cook also?" She thinks it will be fun to make a sweet food with FangFang together. She remembers how she cooked with her Mom when she was little like FangFang.
But Aunt Tong sudden reacts terrified to hear it,
"No...I think it's dangerous, Young Madam, to let FangFang close with the fire...and she is afraid of fire since...." She doesn't continue but TanTan gets what she wants to say, 'since HuaMuTan tried to burn her alive...How can I forget about it...!!'
TanTan squits in front of FangFang, speaking gently to her,
"Do you want to be outside, waiting for the food?"
FangFang shakes her head, she still grabs TanTan's sleeve tightly.
"No, I want to be with YangMu..."
TanTan pats FangFang's head gently,
"Okay...but you need to listen to all my instructions. First, you may sit here, far from the fire..." And then TanTan begins to instruct FangFang how to make balls from the flour, helped by Aunt Tong.
When FangFang seems to understand how to do and starts to do it. TanTan turns to XiaoRue, willing to ask her help too. But she then discovers, XiaoRue is having an unhappy look and she seems to stare blank, freeze like a statue and doesn't watching the fire at all.
"XiaoRue?"
XiaoRue startled, and realizing she didn't do her work...she feels shame on herself, she sudden swings her fan to the medicine pot faster.
"I...I am sorry, Miss...the medicine will be ready soon..."
"Are you okay? You seem distracted...something bothers you?"
TanTan feels worried, she never sees XiaoRue like that before. TanTan keeps thinking what bothers XiaoRue, maybe...?
"Is ManQi bothering you?"
As fast as the wind blows, XiaoRue's face turns red immediately,
"No, He is not!!! I am not thinking of him at all...!!!"
The denial makes TanTan sure about what was in her thought, 'Seem XiaoRue is really jealous to QingQing... it's interesting. I wonder since when XiaoRue start to have felt with ManQi?' TanTan smiles.
XiaoRue clearly doesn't want to talk about it anymore, she checks the medicine, "XiaoJie, it's ready..." She turns off the fire, "Now...what can I help XiaoJie to cook?"
TanTan actually wants to ask her more, but it might be not the right time, as FangFang keep asking when the food is ready. So she is back to her cooking, instructs some jobs to XiaoRue. And then, everyone start enjoying the moment of cooking together, including Aunt Tong.
'Not bad...this new HuaMuTan maybe not bad at all..." She is now looking at TanTan with a different feeling.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
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