Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 538 - 536

Chapter 538: 536

Yang Liu nodded in understanding.

Everything was progressing smoothly.

"It smells so good! Rui’an County. What are you making?" Shangguan Wanru sat there stoking the fire, but she was not one to stay quiet, constantly getting up to see what Xiao’er was stirring in the wok.

Xiao’er was patient and answered all her questions diligently.

Finally, all the dishes were cooked, with only the yam and pork rib soup still simmering in the stove.

Seeing that Princess Wanru hadn’t caused any trouble, Xiao’er said, "Princess, let’s take these dishes upstairs first. Please keep an eye on the stove, let the soup simmer a little longer so the ribs can release more flavor. I’ll be back soon."

"Alright, leave it to me."

So, Xiao’er and the others started to serve the dishes.

There weren’t many dishes, but each was generous in portion, so each person could only carry one to two plates at a time. It took them two trips to complete the task.

Shangguan Wanru sat quietly by the stove, gazing at the fire in it. After a while, she remembered Xiao’er’s instruction to have Yang Mei lift the pot lid and use a soup ladle to stir the soup in the sand pot in order to prevent the yams from sticking to the bottom and getting burnt. If that happened, the soup would have a burnt taste.

Shangguan Wanru wasn’t completely clueless. She picked up a clean dishcloth from the side of the stove, used it as a mitt to lift the pot lid, then, mimicking Yang Liu, she held the sand pot lid with one hand while carefully stirring the soup with a spoon in the other hand.

Droplets of water from the pot lid splashed onto her embroidered shoes and the top of her foot, scalding her. She quickly pulled back her foot and accidentally dropped the sand pot lid, which she was already not holding securely. The lid hit one end of a piece of firewood in the stove, causing the burning wood to fall out of the stove and onto Shangguan Wanru’s foot. With a sharp shriek, she kicked the wooden piece, which tumbled onto a pile of nearby straw, igniting it instantly.

Shangguan Wanru’s trouser legs caught fire, and she frantically kicked her legs and searched for something to put out the fire.

This year, Li Mingjun was also participating in the Dragon Boat Race. As he had noticed Xiao’er and her group earlier, he purposely followed them, hiding in the dark to observe their actions.

Upon seeing the kitchen catching fire, he sneered inwardly, without any intention of helping.

If Princess Wanru got burnt, the Empress Dowager and Prince An would certainly blame it on Rui’an. He looked forward to seeing how comfortable she would be in the future after offending these two individuals!

When Xiao’er and the other two were returning, they saw smoke coming out of the kitchen window and rushed over.

Xiao’er picked up a bucket of water from the courtyard and rushed inside. Yang Liu and Yang Mei also grabbed whatever water containers they could.

When Xiao’er arrived and saw Shangguan Wanru’s trousers on fire, her face turned pale. She promptly dumped the entire bucket of water on her legs.

The fire was finally out.

"Princess, are you alright?" Xiao’er asked, rushing over to support her.

"Rui’an, my leg hurts. I’m so scared!" Shangguan Wanru cried out, her face white with fear.

Yang Liu and Yang Mei started to extinguish the fire source with the water from their buckets and basins, then ran out again to get more water.

"Miss, you take Princess Wanru to a private room first, we’ll deal with the fire," Yang Liu gave this hurried instruction to Xiao’er.

"Don’t worry, I’ll carry you out and apply some medicine. The pain will end soon," Xiao’er rushed to reassure her.

Li Mingjun, who was hiding in the dark, noticed the two of them standing close to the fire. A yellow tabby cat jumped onto the stove, seeming to steal some food.

Li Mingjun pulled out a hidden weapon and shot at the cat.

Wounded by the weapon, the cat let out a shrill "meow" and leapt up, knocking over an oil jar. Oil spilled everywhere, porcelain shards scattered all across the floor.

Already shocked, Shangguan Wanru, upon hearing the cat’s desperate yowl, thought that the cat was also caught in the fire. Panic-stricken, she jumped onto Xiao’er, gripping tightly onto her.

Overwhelmed by Shangguan Wanru’s sudden onslaught, Xiao’er staggered backwards, her feet slipping on the spilt oil.

Her foot slipped, and under the force of gravity and her unbalanced body, Xiao’er fell gloriously backwards.

As Xiao’er landed on the ground, her right hand made contact with the burning straw, causing her to frown in pain. She quickly pulled her hand away and slapped the burning part of her sleeve against the ground, extinguishing the flames.

Xiao’er’s left leg was just pierced by a shard of porcelain at the crook of her knee, causing unbearable pain.

Shangguan Wanru, who had fallen on top of Xiao’er, disregarding her own injured foot cried out: "Princess Rui’an, are you okay?"

Li Mingjun had not expected such good fortune could happen. It was a surprise delight, prompting him to sneak away with a cold smirk.

Yang Liu and Yang Mei rushed into the scene and were utterly shocked by what they saw!

What was the young lady doing added into the mess? She wasn’t the kind of person who would make things worse by trying to help!

Yang Liu and Yang Mei, forgetting about the fire they were supposed to extinguish, hurried to help them up.

The smoke emerging from the kitchen caught the attention of a waiter in the shop.

Seeing the fire in the kitchenette, he quickly shouted for help to put out the fire.

Shangguan Xuanyi was here to help, so he also hurried over. When he saw the dense black smoke pouring out of the kitchen window, along with the flickering yellow flames, he turned pale and rushed in quickly.

At this point, Xiao’er and Shangguan Wanru were just helped up.

Shangguan Xuanyi immediately spotted Xiao’er’s injured hand and bleeding leg, and his face turned even more serious.

He quickly rushed forward and carried her: "How did you get injured!"

"I slipped. We should leave quickly, we’re getting in the way of those fighting the fire." Xiao’er covered her nose to prevent inhaling more smoke.

The kitchen was already narrow, but with so many of them inside, the firefighters couldn’t get in. The fire had already reached the window frames and beams.

Shangguan Xuanyi did not hesitate, holding Xiao’er he dashed out of the kitchen.

Yang Liu also picked up Princess Wanru and followed suit.

Yang Mei wanted to follow, but Xiao’er told her to continue fighting the fire so it wouldn’t spread.

All the shops by the river were connected, and it was essential to prevent the fire from reaching the backyard of the shop next door as well.

Di Shaowei had waited for Xiao’er’s group to come back for quite some time. Smelling the fragrant food but seeing no one return, he got anxious and decided to go downstairs to help. Just as he left the private room, he saw Xiao’er being held by Shangguan Xuanyi and Shangguan Wanru being held by Yang Liu. Quickly, he asked: "What happened?"

"The kitchen caught fire, so go help put it out," said Xiao’er.

Listening to Xiao’er, Shangguan Xuanyi didn’t know whether to be angry or amused. Despite the girl being injured, all she could think about was putting out the fire!

Xiao’er and Shangguan Wanru were taken to a separate private room.

Xiao’er then urged Shangguan Xuanyi to leave.

At this time, Shangguan Wanru’s maid also received the news and rushed over.

Although Shangguan Xuanyi worried immensely, he put down Xiao’er, left her in Yang Liu’s care, and quickly left.

He didn’t want to delay Xiao’er’s wound treatment, not even by a fraction of a breath.

Shangguan Wanru’s burn on her leg was much worse than Xiao’er’s hand. She had been crying non-stop, but when she saw Xiao’er - calm-faced despite a burnt hand and an injured leg - and heard her giving orders on what to do in a composed and methodical manner, she found herself unable to shed any more tears.