Chu Lian nodded. Of course she was going to treat her mother-in-law well. Although she had only met Madam Liu a few times, Chu Lian could tell that her mother-in-law was a person of integrity, someone kind and gentle.

If she wasn’t, Matriarch He wouldn’t have doted on her so much — at least, not to the point of personally visiting Madam Liu’s courtyard. The fact that she did said a lot.

By the time the two of them finished their stroll and returned to Qingxi Hall, it was nearing lunch.

When Senior Servant Liu saw that the two young madams had arrived, she called for the maidservants to begin serving the meal.

Madam Zou’s two daughters had already been brought to the parlour by their nursemaids and were seated. With the support of her maidservants, Matriarch He also settled down into her seat.

The round table was quickly filled with dishes. However, despite the happy sight that the feast made, Matriarch He sighed. “All the ladies in our family are here, except for your mother... If only she were well enough to sit here with us!”

After Matriarch He’s words, everyone at the table sunk into silence. Senior Servant Liu noticed that the atmosphere had turned bad and quickly tried to change the topic. “Madam, look here: there’s hasma today!”

Hasma was one of the most valuable food ingredients. It was good for beauty and keeping the lungs healthy. In the modern era, it was famous for its expensive price tag. Although Chu Lian was a foodie, due to her economical constraints, she hadn’t actually seen any dishes made with hasma before.

After hearing Senior Servant Liu point out the hasma, Chu Lian shifted her gaze over and saw a small enamel bowl with a green turtle pattern. It was half-filled with something black.

Chu Lian: ......

This was hasma? Chu Lian couldn’t suppress the corners of her mouth from twitching. She really should’ve known better. Considering the events that had transpired over the past few days, she should’ve just dropped any and all expectations she had for the cuisine here. There was no hope for this damned Great Wu Dynasty’s food! She was better off expecting nothing. That way, at least she wouldn’t be disappointed all the time.

She wouldn’t have minded if it were any other ingredient, but this was hasma! Even if you had the money, you wouldn’t necessarily be able to buy it. They actually placed it in a wok and just... boiled it? Just like that? And they even made it into something this black and unappetising, like it was some poisonous, dark arts cuisine! Who... who would even dare to eat this?

Chu Lian’s interest had been piqued at first, but upon looking at a hasma dish like this, she just couldn’t gather up the desire to eat it at all.

Chu Lian shrunk back into her seat. Someone else could have that ‘delicacy’ instead...

After Senior Servant Liu reminded her of the highlight of the meal, Matriarch He immediately recovered from her sadness and smiled at her two granddaughters-in-law. “The Empress Dowager was the one who sent over this hasma; it’s a very rare delicacy. It’s good for women, so why don’t the two of you share it later on?”

Madam Zou had eaten hasma before it and knew of its benefits. Some of her anticipation shone through in her eyes, but Chu Lian really didn’t have the courage to eat that black dish.

She courteously said, “Since there’s so little hasma, why don’t you have it, Grandmother? My body is perfectly healthy; there’s no need for me to eat it!”

Since Chu Lian had said so, it wouldn’t be seemly for Madam Zou to take all of the hasma for herself, so she said something along the same lines.

They weren’t able to change Matriarch He’s mind, so Senior Servant Liu split the bowl of black hasma into three portions. It wasn’t suitable for children to eat, so they didn’t give any to the two young children present.

Senior Servant Liu was smiling as she passed a white bowl containing the hasma to Chu Lian. “Third Young Madam, you’re quite lucky, aren’t you? Even the Empress Dowager might only get to eat hasma once or twice a year. You’ve managed to come at just the right time to have some.”

Chu Lian felt awkward and wanted to cry. She didn’t want to be here right now, okay? Not if it meant she had to eat that!

Finally, she had no other choice. Chu Lian forced that small bowl of black hasma into her mouth and down her throat. Honestly speaking, it tasted terrible. The hasma had been fried and boiled so much, that it was now too salty to even taste. The only thing her tongue could discern when she put it in her mouth was salt; all of the original flavour had been completely lost.

𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

After she finished eating it, she quickly washed it down with a bowl of tasteless soup.

This meal she had at Qingxi Hall was one of the most painful she had ever had.