Chapter 41，Part1: Jin Wang Dotes on His Concubine Ch. 41 Pt. 1

Translated by gingercat

Edited by gingercat

The small kitchen was the busiest at noontime.

Everyone had their own work that needed to be done, so they would take turns to have their lunch break. Yuyan and Yucui had become more restrictive after Jin Wang’s last visit to the small courtyard. During his last visit, he found no one working at their posts.

Yaoniang came to the small kitchen to get her lunch.

The meals for the wet nurses were made separately. To produce the best milk to feed the little princess, the nurses’ meals were all first-class. There were chicken, duck, lamb, and fish. None of the meals were repeated. Additional fruits and snacks were also provided.

For today’s meal, besides the dishes of meat and vegetable, there was also soup. It was a soup of pig trotters with soybeans and herbs. This soup was good for promoting milk production and served as nourishment for the wet nurses.

Flowers floated at the surface of the milky white stew. Within the soup, pieces of pig trotters and soybeans bobbed up and down. The chef began to stew the soup before sunrise and it was simmered slowly over a low fire. Now, she opened up the lid of the pot and a savoury aroma swirled through the air. The people who stood nearby, couldn’t help but salivate at the smell.

“It smells sooo good! What delicious food did Mommy Mo make today? Let me try some.” The speaker was a young servant girl named Xiao Man. Whenever she saw something yummy, she would want to try it.

When she first entered the small courtyard, she was very thin. Now, she more closely resembled a chubby ball. According to the nannies who worked in the kitchen, she was round enough to be butchered for a New Year’s celebration. These words weren’t meant to be reprimands but were said with helplessness and even hints of pride.

Xiao Man’s mouth was very sweet and she was a hard worker. Everyone loved her very much.

Seeing that Xiao Man was gluttonous again, Mommy Mo laughed. She slapped away Xiao Man’s outstretched chubby paws and said, “This was prepared for the wet nurses. You can’t eat this.”

Xiao Man gulped and enviously said, “Nanny Su and the others have really great meals. If I could eat their food every day, it would be great.” n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Old Lady Wang, who stood at the side and was filling a large basin with cooked dishes, heard this and laughed. She joked, “If you want to eat their meals, it won’t be easy. First, you have to find someone to marry. Then, you need to have a kid. But being a nanny is a pretty nice job with decent pay.

Old Lady Zhao was angered. “You uncultured swine! Xiao Man is still young. Telling her this, aren’t you afraid of misleading her?” As she said this, she stuffed some fennel seeds to Xiao Man. “Here, you can eat these instead.”

Xiao Man thanked her and ran away with a big grin. The servant girls like her, who did labour work, were usually the last to enjoy lunch.

Mommy Mo saw Yaoniang walk in. She smiled and said to her, “Nanny Su is here early today.”

Yaoniang nodded. “The little princess is asleep so I came here first. Later, Yuyan will come and we will switch.”

The wet nurses’ meals were already prepared and served on the plates. Mommy Mo looked at Yaoniang hesitantly and asked, “I stewed some pig trotters today. Do you want any?”

Yaoniang didn’t like to eat meat. She especially disliked this type of meat stew. Yet, to produce enough milk for the princess, she does try to eat as much meat as possible. But she would never drink the broth. Despite not drinking the broth, Yaoniang produced enough milk so it didn’t really matter. Mommy Mo also knew about this, which was why she asked.

Unexpectedly, the sun must have risen from the west today because Yaoniang nodded.

Although Mommy Mo was surprised, she didn’t say anything. People’s tastes were constantly changing. Even if you didn’t like something yesterday, you could like it today. There was nothing wrong with that.

Yaoniang carried her lunchbox and returned to her bedroom to eat.

She opened her lunchbox and took out the dishes one by one. Although the dishes couldn’t be described as gorgeous in colour or rich in flavour, the quantity was there. There was a small plate of everything.

Bite by bite, Yaoniang slowly ate the meat.

If others were to see this, they would be shocked senseless. After all, Yaoniang preferred vegetables over meat.

It was obvious that Yaoniang struggled to down the meat. But she continued to eat. Soon, she finished an entire bowl of rice along with some vegetables.

Her appetite was not small. Despite being completely full, she still forced herself to drink the entire bowl of greasy pig trotters stew.

When she finished eating, she felt like there was still food stuck in her throat.

There was a reason why Yaoniang forced herself to eat like this. Recently, she discovered that her supply of milk was decreasing.

She didn’t think much of it at first. But as the little princess’s appetite increased day by day, the deficiency became more and more obvious

Logically, this situation shouldn’t happen to Yaoniang. She was a mother in both of her lifetimes and raised several babies. She understood how to keep an ample supply of milk. She would squeeze some out at a fixed time every day, regardless of whether she already fed the princess. This way, as long as her intake of nutrition remained constant, her milk shouldn’t decrease.

Yet now, even though she squeezed out milk every day, her supply dwindled. She could even feel the volume of milk production decreasing.

Yaoniang began to panic. She was a wet nurse! What kind of wet nurse could not produce milk? Soon, she could lose her job! At first, she was angry with Jin Wang and blamed him for causing this situation.

But since she was used to being timid, she didn’t dare to complain when she was with him. She could only dodge or avoid whenever it was possible. Yet, she didn’t forget to carefully observe. From her observations, she realized that it had nothing to do with Jin Wang. She was furious.

But why was there less milk?

After thinking about it, Yaoniang believed that it must have something to do with her diet. It must be because she didn’t eat enough meat, hence the situation today.

Yaoniang ate a little too much so she didn’t dare to recklessly move around. She rested in her room for a while to digest before making her way to the kitchen with her used dirty dishes. Then she went to the small building and switched with Yuyan so she could go enjoy her lunch.

A day passed by in a flash. After Nanny Qian and Nanny Wang came over to take their shifts, Yaoniang returned to her room.

She fetched some water to prepare for a bath when she heard some movement outside.

Yaoniang opened the door of her room and peeked out. There was a loud noise coming from the small building mixed with the cries of the little princess. Something seemed to have happened.

Without taking any extra time to think, she closed her door behind her and went to the small building. When she entered the room, she saw Mammy Mu’s frightening expression. Nanny Qian and Nanny Wang were also upset. Yucui held the crying princess with an ugly expression on her face. Only Yuyan was missing.