Especially Murong Xiude. Ever since he started taking Chi Sanye's medicine, his spirits have grown and he gained some weight. Because of his good health, his facial features looked more handsome too. The servant girls would blush when they saw him. Ruyue was no exception. She had always liked to look at handsome boys, and now that Murong Xiude’s good looks became even more obvious, she became more in love with him.
When Ruyue heard Murong Xiude’s compliment, she couldn’t stop smiling.
Shen Xiangwan was a little upset that she was not Ruyue’s favourite anymore. And Xiaoqi was also very adorable too! Just when she was thinking about Xiaoqi, he came out of the room. However, He Deping did not come out. It looked like He Deping had already known that they were playing outside here.
"Xiaojiu, look, you should roll it like this."
Murong Xiude ignored Ruyue and glanced at Shen Xiangwan instead. She was making the dumplings attentively without any intention of teaching him.
He obediently pinched the dumpling wrapping and began to roll it.
In fact, Murong Xiude was a very fast learner, and he found the skill extremely easy to learn.
The first few dumplings that he had made did not look very good. Xiaoqi grinned smugly and said, "Look, Young Master, yours is not as good as mine. Haha!"
But when Xiaoqi saw the next dumpling that Murong Xiude had made, he immediately shut up.
The dumpling in Murong Xiude's hand was perfectly shaped. His jaw dropped, and he turned to look at his own dumpling. He scoffed, "Perhaps you are lucky, so you made a perfect one."
Shen Xiangwan heard Xiaoqi’s remark and shook her head in disappointment. She could not believe that her own brother would be so petty.
However, she was amazed when she saw the dumplings that Murong Xiude had made. It seemed that he was quick to learn, and he could learn anything if he wanted to. Apparently, although he had been tortured so much when he was young, his brains were still uninjured.
"Sister Wan, is my dumpling okay?" Murong Xiude thought that since Shen Xiangwan was two years older than him, there was nothing wrong with calling her Sister.
Shen Xiangwan took a glance at the dumpling and nodded. "Well, it's perfect."
Xiaoqi was unconvinced, so he passed his dumplings to her. "Sister...Sister Wan, look at mine, I have also made a good one."
Xiaoqi was only six years old, one year younger than Murong Xiude.
Before Shen Xiangwan could give her comment, Xiaojiu rushed to compliment Xiaoqi like an adult. "Xiaoqi, you are still young. You'll learn slowly."
Shen Xiang blinked as she heard Murong Xiude’s patronizing tone. Meanwhile, Ruyue watched the children in amusement. Obviously, all of them were still young, but they were already acting like miniature adults.
He Deping heard Murong Xiude's whispers in the room. He shook his head gently.
Actually, he understood Shen Xiangwan’s meaning. She had wanted him to teach Murong Xiude.
He didn’t really want to intervene in the affairs of the Young Masters in the mansion.
Especially Murong Xiude. His background was the most special among all the Young Masters.
According to the laws, Murong Xiude was the Duke’s true heir in this mansion.
The other Young Masters, like Young Master Ming, were just commoners.
As for the others, they were only the Duke’s b*stard sons with his commoner wives.
None of them could compare to the Ninth Young Master.
However, no one in this mansion treated him as a real Young Master. Only Shen Xiangwan and her group were sincere to him. In his opinion, their friendship was only that of childhood playmates, and it probably won’t last long.
Shen Xiangwan did not know what to say to He Deping’s opinion on this matter.
She could only wait and see if everything would go as she planned. At least Xiaoqi is learning from him for now.
Despite He Deping being prejudiced against the Young Masters, he was still willing to teach the slaves who were willing to learn.
"I'm afraid you won't be able to get close to Mr. He for the time being. Fortunately, Xiaoqi can learn from him. In the future, we can let Xiaoqi study with him. Do you think this is a good plan?" Shen Xiang asked gently. Of course, Murong Xiude would agree. In fact, there is nothing more he would ask for as long as he could be with her.
They were almost finished with the dumplings. Meanwhile, Ruyue and Xiaoqi were busy cooking dumplings on the stove and watching over the chicken soup. The two girls began discussing how to ration the food later.
Murong Xiude stared at Shen Xiangwan hesitantly. "Sister Wan, can you... come to my courtyard tomorrow to cook some food? I… I asked Xiaoqi to prepare some materials. We have a piece of pork and some bones. I... I can also learn to cook..."
Shen Xiangwan raised her head and stared at him with her dark eyes, her face expressionless. "Why so sudden?"
Murong Xiude was a little upset. Why couldn’t he ever hide his feelings? Shen Xiangwan was really smart. She knew that he was trying to hide something from her.
Since he had already messed up his plan, he bowed his head and told her the reason.
"It’s nothing... It’s just... I remember tomorrow... should be my... birthday."
Shen Xiangwan's gaze wavered, but she pretended to not care as she cleaned up the table. "Well, I will come tomorrow."
"How about just you and Xiaoqi?" Murong Xiude lowered his voice and asked impatiently.
Shen Xiangwan stared at him in confusion.
"Well, Sister Ruyue... may have something to do tomorrow. I've already asked."
So that was the reason.
Shen Xiangwan nodded slowly. "Never mind, we will come tomorrow night."
All the Young Masters in this mansion, even the daughters, would celebrate their birthdays with a party.
However, no one remembered Murong Xiude, the true heir.
She knew he was living a difficult life.
Shen Xiangwan's heart went soft after hearing his words.
She turned around and brought a bowl of rice and chicken soup especially for him. Murong Xiude kept thanking her. "Thank you Sister Wan..."
Ruyue saw his grateful gestures and felt pity for him. "Look at him, he has not received enough love..."
However, they didn't notice that Murong Xiude's was hiding a happy and contented smile by lowering his head. He knows now, that although Shen Xiangwan was tough on the surface, she still had a soft heart, and she loved him and Xiaoqi.
Despite having only dumplings and chicken soup sprinkled with chopped green onions as their meal, they thought that it was the most delicious food in the world.
Xiaoqi and Murong Xiude’s portion of soup was specifically made by Shen Xiangwan. She had meticulously avoided the oil and gas when cooking their soup. Because of their good appetite, both of them each drank two big bowls of chicken soup.
The two boys took one chicken leg each.
Mr. He was given a chicken wing. At first, Ru Yue refused to take the other chicken wing, but Shen Xiangwan forcibly stuffed it into her bowl.
"I love chicken head the most."
The five of them enjoyed themselves eating the little chicken.