Warm medicine emits fragrance

Fan Liuer stared at the dark lump, torn between whether or not to eat it.

After staring at each other for a while, she decided to peel off the outer layer to take a look.

Wasting food is shameful; what if there's still some food left in it?

I reached out and patted the blackened surface of the sweet potato; the outside was charred and hard.

The temperature wasn't too hot, so she carefully picked it up and pried it open.

The kitchen lights had long been off, and now the only light was from the lantern she had placed on the stove.

She held up the sweet potato and brought it closer; inside the dark, charred shell, the red flesh was visible.

It's still edible.

She was secretly delighted and carefully peeled off the charred crust to get out the small amount of meat.

With one bite, the soft, sweet flavor melted in her mouth, and she squinted her eyes in delight.

Really delicious!

Roasted sweet potatoes taste much better than steamed ones!

She immediately regretted it; she should have baked two more. Now, this wasn't even enough to fill her teeth.

She finished it in two bites, still wanting more.

Looking at her fingers, which were stained black with charcoal, she immediately decided to burn a few more.

Since her hands were already dirty, it would be a shame not to eat a few more of her food after all that trouble.

Without further ado, she added a few more pieces of firewood to the stove and got up to get some sweet potatoes.

She was happily cooking for herself, unaware that chaos was brewing outside the kitchen.

Li Chenbi arrived at the side courtyard in a fit of anger. It was late at night, and since there were no masters to serve, most of the servants had already gone to sleep.

Only the two servants guarding the gate remained on duty.

Upon seeing Li Chenbi appear, both of them were taken aback, feeling both surprised and somewhat apprehensive.

"Second Master!" The two immediately bowed in greeting.

Li Chenbi walked straight past the two of them, and a gust of wind swept by.

Upon entering the side courtyard, Li Chenbi stood in the yard, looking at the rows of houses in front of him, and turned his head to look at Li Qiuping.

Li Qiuping understood and quickly stepped forward, leading Li Chenbi in one direction, "Madam Fan's room is this way."

At the same time, he thought to himself that it was a good thing he came with him on the day of the move, otherwise he would have gotten angry again if he couldn't find the right place.

After passing through the courtyard and turning past the outermost corridor, the master and servant stopped outside the door of a room.

"Sir, this is Fan..."

Before Li Qiuping could finish speaking, Li Chenbi pushed the door open and entered, followed by the sound of the door closing, leaving Li Qiuping outside.

Li Qiuping touched his nose, silently stepped aside, and pondered in his heart.

I wonder if Second Master will stay here tonight. If he will, he should hurry up and have someone prepare water.

But given their recent state of affairs, he wasn't so sure.

If he asks someone to prepare water, but the person doesn't stay overnight, then he'll be blamed for meddling.

As he was struggling with this decision, the door suddenly opened again, and Li Chenbi came out of the room, his face even more unpleasant than before.

Li Qiuping was shocked. What exactly did Madam Fan say that made him so angry in such a short time?

"Where is he?" Li Chenbi asked in a deep voice.

Li Qiuping paused, then came to his senses, "Is Madam Fan not in the house?"

After saying that, he glanced at Li Chenbi, whose face was clouded with gloom, a sign of an impending storm. He immediately said, "I reckon he couldn't sleep and was taking a walk somewhere. I'll go find him right away!"

After saying that, he took off running outside.

The side courtyard wasn't large, and he returned after a short while. "Master, I couldn't find him in the side courtyard. Perhaps he went outside. I'll go look outside again."

Upon hearing this news, Li Chenbi felt a chill in his heart.

He knew Fan Liuer too well; she was an extremely cautious person.

The side courtyard is unlike the main courtyard.

The main courtyard was brightly lit, and there were people on night duty everywhere. She had a maid with her at that time, and occasionally, if she couldn't sleep, she would wander around the garden outside her room.

But the side courtyard was different. It was a mixed bag of people, and without a master around, it was naturally filled with a lot of filth. Since she had no maids with her, it was impossible for her to go out and wander around at night.

Besides, it's already autumn, and the night wind is chilly. Even inside the room, she might not feel warm, so why would she go out to be exposed to the wind?

Unless there is some unavoidable reason for going out.

Or perhaps, they were taken away by someone.

Thinking of this, all the anger in my heart turned into worry. The thought of what might happen to Fan Liuer made my heart clench.

"Wake up everyone in the side courtyard!"

"Yes, sir, I'll go right away!"

In less than a quarter of an hour, the side courtyard was brightly lit, and all the sleeping servants were woken up and stood in several rows in the courtyard.

Li Qiuping asked the crowd, "Does anyone know where Madam Fan has gone?"

The group looked at each other and shook their heads.

Li Chenbi was furious. "Nobody knew? This person lived in the side courtyard, and suddenly he's gone, and nobody even knew!"

Having said that, he turned to the steward of the side courtyard and shouted sternly, "I think you don't want to be the steward anymore!"

The steward, terrified, immediately said, "Second Master, this side courtyard is always strictly managed. Servants are not allowed to wander around outside after their shifts. If Madam Fan left the side courtyard, the gatekeepers would definitely know. I think she must still be inside!"

Li Chenbi looked impatient. "Then go find him for me. If you can't find him, you'll be held responsible!"

"Yes, yes, yes!" The steward immediately said to the people behind him, "Go find her quickly, turn the side courtyard upside down, we must find Madam Fan."

The crowd immediately dispersed and began searching for the person in each room.

The noise didn't reach the kitchen, which was a bit far from their residence. Fan Liuer was also focused on controlling the heat, so she didn't pay any attention to the noises she heard.

This time she baked very carefully, afraid of burning it again.

However, I still couldn't get the heat just right, and the outer shell was a bit burnt, but it was more successful than the first one, at least it wasn't charred.

After confirming that it was ready to eat, she couldn't wait to take the sweet potato out of the stove hole. She didn't even wait for it to cool down before grabbing it in her hand, scalding her hands and fidgeting with them.

Just then, the kitchen door was suddenly opened, and a servant rushed in. Upon seeing Fan Liuer, he immediately rushed out again, shouting at the top of his lungs.

"Here she is! Lady Fan is here!"

Fan Liuer was so frightened that she dropped the sweet potato, feeling somewhat apprehensive.

She knew the rules of the side courtyard; they were not allowed to wander outside after nightfall.

She not only wandered around outside, but also rummaged through the kitchen to eat things; if she gets caught, she'll be punished.

Previously, due to her special status, perhaps nothing would really happen to her.

But now that she has been sent back from the main courtyard, many people say that Li Chenbi is tired of her. Although he doesn't openly embarrass her, he is not as friendly to her as before.

Will they take this opportunity to make things difficult for her?

Looking down at the sweet potato that had fallen to the ground, she immediately squatted down and picked it up.

Let's destroy the evidence first!

Before she could decide where to hide the sweet potatoes, hurried footsteps sounded outside, and then a tall, slender figure appeared at the door.