Chapter 5: The Concubine Who Steals Chicken

After the wedding night, Ning Yuxuan tenderly kissed Wenwan's lips and said awkwardly but earnestly, "You are mine now."

Blushing, Wenwan glared at him and said, "Just because you're the Marquis, don't think I won't dare to do anything. If you ever fall in love with someone else, I will leave too!"

Ning Yuxuan chuckled softly and took her hand, placing it on his chest. "With you by my side, how could I possibly fall for someone else? I give my whole heart to you, believe it or not?"

Wenwan scolded him with a glance but then obediently lay in his arms. With so many women in the backyard, starting tomorrow, she would strive to be a woman worthy of the Marquis's status. Even though her family background was not good, she was not afraid, as long as Yuxuan's heart belonged to her.

"Go to sleep," Ning Yuxuan kissed her forehead.

Wenwan nodded and was about to close her eyes when suddenly there was a commotion outside.

"Water's leaking—"

Startled, Ning Yuxuan got up and put on his clothes, then opened the door. "What's going on?"

Guibai glanced at the direction of the kitchen and whispered, "Master, there's a water leak in the kitchen, and the servants are putting out the fire. But it's far from the Rose Garden, you can continue to sleep."

"The kitchen? How could there be a water leak out of nowhere? Send someone to investigate. It's the wedding night, don't startle the new wife," Ning Yuxuan frowned and ordered.

"Yes," Guibai replied and instructed a servant to inquire about the situation.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, a pile of firewood somehow caught fire, igniting an oil drum nearby, almost causing a disaster. The servants used sand to extinguish the fire and searched the area. The head cook, Madam Li, mentioned that a plucked chicken and two lotus leaves were missing, and the seasonings had been tampered with. The leftover rice in the wooden tub was also gone.

Who would stay up in the middle of the night, come to the kitchen to steal food, and cause a water leak? The steward of the Marquis's household immediately sent people to investigate and woke up all the servants in every room and courtyard, searching inside and out, but they couldn't find the missing chicken.

After a commotion that lasted half the night, the steward decided to leave the matter to the new wife to handle in the morning and dismissed the servants to rest. Exhausted, Wenwan returned to the Siguoge (Pavilion of Reflection), but as soon as she closed the door, she saw her mistress sitting on the bed with bright eyes.

Startled, Wenwan instinctively stepped back. "Did I wake the mistress?"

Jiman shook her head mischievously and gestured for Wenwan to come over.

Wenwan walked over cautiously, eyeing her mistress. "Mistress?"

"Are you hungry?" Jiman asked.

Wenwan was surprised by the sudden question. "No... not hungry."

She said so, but in the Siguoge, she never had enough to eat, and she hadn't had dinner today. How could she not be hungry? Her stomach growled, betraying her words.

Jiman sighed. This little girl, following Niesangyu, was also quite pitiful, like a wet chick.

She took out something hidden on the bed and gestured for Wenwan to be quiet, then pulled her to sit at the wooden table in the middle of the room.

Two things wrapped in large lotus leaves emitted a fragrant aroma when unwrapped. Wenwan's eyes widened. "Roast... chicken?"

The missing chicken from the kitchen turned out to be stolen by her mistress!

"It's not roast chicken, it's lotus leaf chicken," Jiman proudly explained. "I boiled the chicken in hot water, rubbed it with salt, stuffed it with seasoned rice, wrapped it in lotus leaves and mud, and threw it into the fire!"

Wenwan was dumbfounded. She was Niesangyu's maid, but she had never known that her mistress had such skills.

"Mistress, stealing... will get you punished," Wenwan said, trying to swallow her saliva.

Jiman took out the bowl and chopsticks she often used for meals, untied the chicken's belly, and rolled her eyes. "Who would know that I stole it? Besides, I'm still the Marquis's concubine. Even if it's known that I stole a chicken to eat, it would tarnish his reputation. Even if he knew, he wouldn't openly blame me."

The rice, mixed with chicken fat and spices, emitted a tantalizing aroma. Wenwan looked at Jiman several times, feeling that her mistress had suddenly become much smarter.

But she was also very hungry at the moment. After hesitating for a while, she finally gathered the courage to speak. "Mistress, can I... have some bones? I don't eat meat, just the bones will do..."

Seeing the girl's pitiful expression, Jiman poured half of the meal into a bowl and tore off half of the chicken, pushing the remaining half and the rice in front of Wenwan. "You're a human, not a dog. Why would you gnaw on bones? I can't finish a whole chicken by myself. One half for each of us, hurry up and eat, don't let anyone find out."

Wenwan's eyes widened, and she looked at Jiman with joy and caution. "Can I finish it?"

Jiman frowned. "If you don't want to eat, next time I'll just bring back half, and you can continue to starve!"