Noon had passed, and Cai Wei, after a good sleep, awoke. The first thing she did upon waking was to instruct Chun Liu to boil water, as she wished to bathe and change, incidentally bidding farewell to her dear menstruation.
Chun Liu hesitantly said, "Miss, Guard Feng has ordered that to avoid detection by outsiders, we cannot light fires during the day at our manor."
Cai Wei replied incredulously, "We can't light a fire? How will we cook? Surely we aren't expected to eat raw food for three meals a day?"
Chun Liu said, "Guard Feng mentioned that all our meals should be prepared at midnight, during the third watch, or when dark clouds cover the moon, so that no one can see the smoke rising from the chimney. Hence, our three meals a day are all prepared at night and we simply eat them as is during the day."
It might be convenient to eat ready-made meals, but alas, cold rice and soup, no matter how delicious, lose their taste after sitting out all night!