Chapter 1614 - 589: The Fake True Heiress (Part 10)

The Marquis Mansion was about to host a chrysanthemum banquet; starting with the Marchioness, several female leads were busy preparing.

The Ma Family was a young daughter-in-law, and was never one to seek power or authority, she never took the initiative to involve herself in household duties.

At most, the Marchioness saw her with ample free time and assigned her a less important task for her to oversee.

For instance, this time, it was nominally a chrysanthemum banquet, but actually, it was for Gu Jingyuan’s return, a matter of the third branch.

Although the Ma Family did not need to shoulder the main responsibilities, if she were to shirk all duties, it wouldn’t be her unwillingness to compete with her sisters-in-law, but rather her lack of sensibility.

The Marchioness was always astute and conducted matters discreetly, so she naturally wouldn’t let such an obvious family discord arise.

Thus, she assigned the Ma Family the duty of managing the tableware and decorations.

The Ma Family was grateful for her mother-in-law’s thoughtfulness and worked diligently once she received her task.

With her being so occupied, she couldn’t attend to the affairs of the third branch.

He Tiantian, however, took the chance to stroll around the courtyard, and several times, she breached the barricades of the rough servant girls and matronly servants, reaching the outer courtyard.

He Tiantian wasn’t genuinely curious about the scenery of the Marquis Mansion, nor did she truly want to network within it; she was deliberately putting on a show to provoke the Ma Family into action.

Indeed, the Ma Family soon took action—

The day before the chrysanthemum banquet, the little servant girl brought meals to He Tiantian as usual.

There was no deduction or preferential treatment; whatever the standard for guests at the Marquis Mansion, so was it for He Tiantian’s three meals a day.

Two meat dishes, two vegetarian dishes, a bowl of soup, and a staple dish.

However, perhaps due to the upcoming banquet, the main kitchen procured many good ingredients.

Some were bought in excess or were perishable, so they were prepared in advance for the household masters to taste.

As a guest, He Tiantian naturally had a share.

"...What’s this? It looks quite intimidating!"

He Tiantian had been in the Marquis Mansion for a few days and had already shed her initial timidity and anxiety.

She still pretended to be ignorant as far as possible, but privately, when facing "her" little servant girl, she displayed the demeanor of a mistress.

That was more authentic, still putting on airs with pretentious authority.

Little Servant Girl: ...

Humph, never even tasted crabs, truly an unsophisticated mountain village girl, yet dares to act like a mistress in front of me, the mistress!

"Just so you know, Miss He, these are crabs! Crabs are at their fattest in autumn, and for tomorrow’s chrysanthemum banquet, the Young Madam specially ordered many from the estate."

The little servant girl’s eyes flashed with disdain, and her tone was slightly disrespectful, "The Marchioness said these crabs are excellent, so the house masters should have a taste first. If they’re good, we’ll have more sent from the estate tomorrow!"

Having said that, the little servant girl placed the meal tray before He Tiantian without further explanation.

For instance, how should the crab be eaten?

Should it be gnawed with the shell and meat together, or should the shell be removed first?

Should the meat and yolk be eaten together, or should the crab’s gills, lungs, and other innards be removed?!

The little servant girl deliberately did not offer more guidance, nor even lent a hand to help, wanting to see He Tiantian make a fool of herself.

He Tiantian: ...

The original character might not have had worldly experience, but she was clever enough.

When confronted with something unfamiliar, she would never make a fool of herself in front of others.

Even if she was curious about this newly encountered gourmet ingredient, she would send others away to enjoy it in secret.

It was just unknown how the little servant girl would report back if He Tiantian did just that.

He Tiantian glanced at the plate with steamed crabs, amusement flashing quickly in her eyes.

"Alright, you may leave now, I’ll eat by myself, there’s no need for you to serve me!"

He Tiantian said blandly, waving her hand to dismiss the little servant girl!

Little Servant Girl: ... Can’t leave!

Sister Onyx from Third Young Madam’s side had instructed that she must watch Miss He eat all the crabs with her own eyes.

If she left first, and Sister Onyx asked later, how, how would she respond?

The little servant girl might strut like a "servant girl of the main branch" in front of He Tiantian, but in the third branch, she was just a third-class little servant girl.

Not to mention Sister Fei Cui from Third Young Madam’s side, even second-class Onyx, Pearl, and others at the third branch commanded only respect and fear from her!

Finally, Sister Onyx had given her this task, perhaps at Third Young Madam’s behest, and even if she had doubled her courage, she dared not be negligent.

She quickly changed to a smile, respectfully saying, "Miss He, please allow this slave to serve you."

As she spoke, to prevent further refusal from He Tiantian, she promptly found some small scissors and skillfully clipped off the crab’s large pincers, pried open the thick shell, revealing the succulent crab roe.