Ah? The Wives I Abandoned Turned Out to Be Real

Chapter 2: The Ingredient Dispute:

“Madam, are you feeling unwell? Do you have a fever?”

One of the maids noticed Huang Qingwan’s flushed cheeks and quickly asked with concern.

“No, I’m fine.”

“Will the general be coming today?”

Hearing this, the maid standing nearby immediately showed a hint of indignation.

“Madam, the general hasn’t visited you in seven or eight years. It’s as if he’s completely forgotten that you even exist!”

But instead of being upset, Huang Qingwan let out a sigh of relief.

Her body… could not be touched by any man other than Su Lang.

With that thought, she hesitantly asked, “The new kitchen steward—is his name Su Mo? I heard he’s quite good at cooking.”

At the mention of Su Mo, both maids’ eyes lit up.

The slightly plump maid immediately responded, her words tumbling out in excitement.

“Madam, you’ve heard about Steward Su too?”

“I tasted the candied sweet potatoes he made once. It was delicious, truly amazing!”

The thinner maid, feeling a bit resentful, interjected, “What do you mean you ‘tasted it’? You ate half the plate!”

“That was supposed to be shared between both of us!”

“And you didn’t even leave any for me!”

The plump maid raised an eyebrow. “Madam hasn’t even commented, yet you’re getting all worked up.”

Huang Qingwan, feeling a headache coming on from their bickering, snapped, “Enough!”

“Chunzhu, find a way to compensate Shaoyao!”

Seeing that their mistress was upset, both maids immediately lowered their heads.

Chunzhu, the plump maid, cautiously replied, “Yes, Madam.”

After calming herself down, Huang Qingwan gathered her thoughts.

“Today is Lin’er’s birthday. She will be coming here soon to pay her respects. Let’s get ready and start with my makeup.”

At that moment, Shaoyao noticed the faint red marks on Huang Qingwan’s neck.

“Madam, your neck…”

Looking at the marks, Huang Qingwan was suddenly reminded of the suffocating pain of hanging herself.

Everything she had experienced before—

Was it just a dream?

Or was it real?

She couldn’t tell anymore.

…

“It’s fine. I’ll just wear a silk scarf to cover it later.”

“Oh, and if you happen to see Steward Su in the outer courtyard, ask him to prepare a plate of candied sweet potatoes for me. I want to see if it’s really as good as you two claim. Also, ask him if he knows how to make ‘Crisp Willow Sings to the Nightingale.’”

“Understood, Madam!”

…

Kitchen

The kitchen was bustling with activity. After checking the inventory with the purchasing assistant, Su Mo realized that two carp were missing, a leg of lamb was gone, three pounds of river shrimp were unaccounted for, and five fresh mushrooms, along with several rare spices, were also missing.

This wasn’t Earth.

Spices were extremely precious here.

The cost of the missing spices alone was more than all the other missing ingredients combined.

Today was the Second Young Miss’s birthday. These ingredients had been specially purchased for the banquet.

The realization made the purchasing assistant break into a cold sweat.

“Steward Su, I swear I counted everything carefully! I have no idea how this happened!”

Su Mo ignored his panic-stricken response and instead turned his gaze to Chef Liu, standing behind him.

At that moment, Chef Liu’s eyes darted around nervously. He instinctively shifted his body toward another stove, avoiding Su Mo’s stare.

Su Mo’s expression darkened.

It was obvious that Chef Liu was the thief.

But without solid proof, there was nothing he could do.

Still, as the newly appointed kitchen steward, he couldn’t just let this go.

Su Mo’s voice turned sharp and commanding as he suddenly raised his voice—

“Everyone, stop what you’re doing!”

“The kitchen is missing ingredients. This is a serious matter!”

“Right now—immediately—if anyone has taken anything, hand it over. If I find out later that someone knew about this but didn’t report it, they will be punished just the same as the thief!”

At these words, the kitchen fell silent.

The once-bustling atmosphere turned tense and cold.

A frail-looking chef hesitantly stepped forward.

“Steward Su, what’s going on? Are you sure something’s missing? Maybe we should check again?”

Su Mo shook his head.

“Chef Ma, there’s no need. I’ve already checked three times with Xiao Wang.”

Hearing this, Chef Ma immediately turned to the purchasing assistant.

“Xiao Wang, didn’t your uncle tell you? Once you deliver the ingredients, you must stay put and wait for Steward Su to check them before leaving!”

“Why didn’t you listen?!”

Xiao Wang’s face turned pale with panic. He was about to cry.

His uncle was Steward Guo, and he had worked hard to secure this job for him.

How could he mess up on the very first day?!

“I… I had to use the restroom! Chef Liu said he would keep an eye on things for me while I was gone!”

“That’s right—Chef Liu!”

Xiao Wang suddenly rushed forward, stopping in front of Chef Liu.

“Chef Liu!”

“You were the only one watching over the ingredients. What exactly happened? Did you take them?”

“You can’t just accuse an innocent person without proof!”

Chef Liu’s plump face trembled as he shouted, his voice as grating as a broken gong.

He acted as if he had been terribly wronged, yet his eyes never dared to meet Su Mo’s gaze, afraid of revealing any guilt.

Then, using his large, bulky frame, Chef Liu grabbed the purchasing assistant Xiao Wang by the collar.

“Xiao Wang, do you think I would steal from you?”

“Or are you the one pocketing supplies and now trying to pin it on me?!”

Xiao Wang turned red with anger. He broke free from Chef Liu’s grip, grabbed a kitchen knife from the table, and lifted it high.

“What did you just say?”

“Say it again, I dare you!”

“F*** your mother!”

Young men were hot-blooded.

If not stopped, this could turn deadly.

Seeing this, Chef Ma quickly stepped in to restrain Xiao Wang.

“Xiao Wang, don’t act rashly!”

Su Mo also felt a headache coming on.

In this ancient world without surveillance cameras, cases like this were nearly impossible to prove outright.

For now, he could only issue a warning and find an excuse later to kick Chef Liu out.

But if someone died here, things would spiral out of control.

Without hesitation, Su Mo stepped forward and snatched the knife from Xiao Wang’s hand.

“Since no one wants to admit it, then we’ll search for it.”

“Until we find the missing items, no one is cooking!”

Hearing this, everyone immediately got to work, rummaging through every corner of the kitchen.

Even though it was winter, sweat beaded on Chef Liu’s forehead.

Finally, a kitchen helper discovered the missing ingredients and spices in a hidden bamboo basket tucked away in an inconspicuous spot.

Everything had been wrapped in white cloth, carefully concealed.

Xiao Wang cheered in excitement when he saw the recovered items.

“We found them!”

“We found them!”

“I told you I didn’t steal anything!”

But Su Mo’s face remained serious.

He swept his gaze over the entire kitchen.

“No matter who did this, let me give you all a piece of advice.”

“If you don’t want others to find out, then don’t do it in the first place.”

“The next time I catch someone stealing, the consequences won’t be this simple!”

“If I don’t send the culprit straight to prison for a few years, I, Su Mo, will write my name backward!”

After saying this, he shot a piercing glare at Chef Liu.

He needed to find a way to get rid of this man.

But Chef Liu remained unfazed, a smug expression on his face.

He had been working here for over twenty years.

What could a newly appointed kitchen steward possibly do to him?

Seeing this, Su Mo felt irritated but didn’t dwell on it. Instead, he snapped at the kitchen staff—

“Get back to work, all of you!”

“Don’t delay breakfast!”

The kitchen staff quickly resumed their tasks, following their usual routines.

Xiao Wang finally let out a breath of relief.

“Steward Su, if we hadn’t found the ingredients, I wouldn’t have known what to do…”

Seeing his anxious face, Su Mo had already made a decision.

“Hmm, it’s fine. Later, make sure to tell your uncle about this.”

“Also, let him teach you how to handle these situations better.”

Xiao Wang didn’t think much of it and quickly nodded.

“Got it, Steward Su. After this incident, I’ll be much more careful!”

“Good. Now go back to work.”

“Alright!”

…

Just then, Chunzhu and Shaoyao entered the outer courtyard, making their way toward the kitchen.

As soon as they spotted Su Mo, the two maids hurried over.

“Steward Su.”

“Steward Su.”

Seeing the two elegant young maids, Su Mo straightened himself and composed his expression.

They were the personal maids of the general’s wife—he couldn’t afford to be careless.

“What brings the two sisters here?”

Chunzhu giggled softly.

“Madam heard that your candied sweet potatoes are delicious. She wants you to make a plate for her.”

“She also asked if you know how to make ‘Crisp Willow Sings to the Nightingale.’”

Crisp Willow Sings to the Nightingale?

What was that?

Su Mo immediately shook his head.

“No, no, I’ve never even heard of that dish before.”

“But if Madam wants candied sweet potatoes, then no problem! I’ll make them right away!”

“And you two haven’t had breakfast yet, right? I’ll make a little extra so you can bring some back too.”

Chunzhu’s eyes curved into a smile.

“Steward Su, you’re so kind…”