My Fantastic Chef Wife

"Little Ye, are you sure you're okay?" Li Hongmei couldn't help her voice from quivering.

"Yes, I'm sure. He just threatened me, he wasn't really trying to kill me. He also wanted to know where Baoshan is, just like those other people."

"What?" Li Hongmei was dumbfounded by the shocking news.

I didn't expect that gentleman had also come looking for Baoshan. After all, he buys our snacks every morning and always helps Little Ye. How could he have held off on asking about Baoshan for so long and conceal his aim until today? It's too dangerous to have such a man lurking around us.

What on earth has Baoshan done? How has he made so many enemies?

…

As soon as Li Chengru returned to the inn, he began smashing everything he could reach.

Fengsheng couldn't stop him at all, so he stood aside, counting how much compensation he would have to pay later.

Li Chengru didn't leave alone a single corner of the room. Fragments of tables, chairs and porcelain soon littered the ground in a mess. The destruction didn't stop until he was exhausted and collapsed on his bed.

Fengsheng could tell that his master had either failed in his plan or hit a snag. He had told him that this plan wouldn't work. It would be better to threaten Ye Xiaoxian with a knife or kidnap someone she cared about, such as Li Hongmei. Wasn't there a boy in her family? If they kidnapped that boy as well, Ye Xiaoxian would definitely tell them where Xiao Baoshan was.

Li Chengru didn't get up until the afternoon. His usual vitality was lost in his eyes.

"Fengsheng, she knows everything. She knew our aim from the very beginning, but she didn't say anything. She has been watching us acting this whole time. She didn't tell me anything, even when I put a dagger to her neck. The waiter is right — she yields neither to persuasion nor to coercion."

Fengsheng couldn't believe his ears. Young master must feel so humiliated after playing this monodrama for so long, he thought.

Li Chengru was furious not only because he had lost face. but he had also failed to get the information he wanted.

Fengsheng sighed sympathetically. How heavy this blow was to his master's self-esteem! "Young master, your plan is excellent. You failed only because that woman is so cunning." Fengsheng comforted him.

Li Chengru went back to lying on his bed. "Fengsheng, I won't go back to the capital. I will try every way there is to find out where Xiao Baoshan is from that woman."

…

Soon, Liu Qianqian's wedding day was just around the corner. Jia Zhenbo and her had planned to get married last month, but a fortune-teller suggested postponing their wedding to avoid some destined conflicts in their lives.

A famous lady from a big family like Liu Qianqian always deserved a big wedding banquet. It was said that there would be 30 tables set at the feast. Usually, in such a big family, it was its cooks who prepared the feast. However, Squire Liu and Liu Qianqian wished their guests to enjoy the best feast at her wedding.

When Ye Xiaoxian was invited to be the chef for the banquet, she agreed without hesitation. Since Liu Qianqian would be the bride, her family just needed to hold a single banquet. Ye Xiaoxian went there a day in advance to prepare for the feast. She some salting and frying, as well as made various delicious sauces, getting everything ready for the next day's cooking.

Only when it became dark did Ye Xiaoxian finish her work. Just then, a maid came up to her saying that Liu Qianqian wanted a chat, so Ye Xiaoxian headed for her bedroom.

Liu Qianqian and Jia Zhenbo had been passionately in love lately. They wrote letters to each other every day and sometimes went out for some tea, but marriage would be such a big event in her life that she felt very nervous.

She had so much to worry about, including how to get along with her future mother-in-law and how to look after the house. More importantly, she was afraid that Jia Zhenbo might take a concubine when he grew tired of her.

"I'm sure he won't. You have to trust him and yourself." Ye Xiaoxian reassured her repeatedly.

A woman in this era was required to follow whatever her husband ordered. But Jia Zhenbo was in no way a male chauvinist. No one could be better than him as a husband for Liu Qianqian. Besides, she was certainly old enough to get married now, otherwise she would be gossiped about by other people.

Ye Xiaoxian told her to store her dowries well, especially her title deeds. All the money earned from these should be considered her private savings. Only a powerful woman would not be looked down upon by others.

After chatting all night, they finally fell asleep together. The following morning, the female matchmaker came to help Liu Qianqian with her make-up and dressing.

Ye Xiaoxian went to the kitchen in the backyard and began cooking for the banquet. When she guided the other cooks on how to cut up vegetables, she looked up to see a familiar figure in the front courtyard.

Li Chengru? Why is he here? Has Squire Liu invited him over? When did he make the acquaintance of Squire Liu?

She hadn't seen him for days, thinking that he might have left Qinghe county. So it was a surprise for her to meet him here.

Why did he stay? Does he still want to find out where Xiao Baoshan is?

But he soon disappeared from view, so she turned her attention back to her current work.

…

Li Chengru had brought a special and precious gift, a colorful parrot. The second the cloth was removed from covering the cage, the parrot faced Squire Liu and chirped, "May your love last forever!"

Squire Liu and the guests all burst into laughter.

Then, the parrot added, "May you live a long life."

Squire Liu's laughter grew even louder. Squire Liu liked to take a walk with his several precious birds in his spare time. Undoubtedly, Li Chengru's gift matched up to his expectations.

Squire Liu took the gift and began introducing Li Chengru to the other guests. "This young brother is my new friend. I was so impressed by his skills in training birds, so I soon made friends with him."

A guest asked, "So this young brother knows bird language?"

"Sure, hahaha!" Squire Liu liked and admired Li Chengru very much.

Li Chengru wasn't used to their strange way of talking, but he didn't show his dissatisfaction. After all, if he wanted to stay here long, he'd better make acquaintances with some people.

After Squire Liu went away to greet other guests, Li Chengru and Fengsheng sat down at a table.

Fengsheng whispered, "I learned that Little Ye is the chef at this banquet."

Li Chengru tutted dismissively and then thought to himself with disdain, "Does nobody know how to cook here? How can a woman prepare a banquet? Does she know how to make any dishes apart from snacks?"