Imperial City; Liu Residence

After Wēi Wò Yàn and the Commander left. Liu Tián Qǔ walked out of her lounge into her inner courtyard. She sat on the grass underneath a big beautiful peach blossom tree, with the lovely scents of the courtyard to soothe her. Liu Tián Qǔ began to meditate to calm her mind.

Several moments later, after calming her mind, Liu Tián Qǔ began to review her predecessor's memories for information on this period of time. Liu Tián Qǔ also searched her predecessors' memories for the return of the four families to the Tolling Lands.

Liu Tián Qǔ's heart shook in complete shock. Liu Tián Qu checked over and over to see if she was mistaken. After the fourth search, Liu Tián Qu fell into a heavy contemplation. All the events that have been happening over the past few weeks. Most of them never happen in the past life of her predecessor.

In her predecessor's memories, things were completely different during this period of time. The names of the Four Martial Families were never cleared. The royal family was never able to catch Elder Chen and all the traitors both in the Imperial City and on the borders.

On a second thought, Liu Tián Qu thought that it made sense. All the crooked Ministers and Officials got away last time. Only a few small-time smugglers were caught and quickly executed. None of the letters that were found in the manors of Elder Chen's son or in the manors of the other convicted Ministers ever seen the light of day. It was like they never existed.

Since the Four Martial Families were never exonerated, Commander Jiang never revealed his identity. Once Commander Jiang's wife was killed, and he went crazy. Keeping his identity, a secret was no longer important to him.

It's was Minister Peng who revealed Commander Jiang's identity. Minister Peng had secretly known for a long time who Commander Jiang was. The crazed Commander Jiang had then confirmed his identity. His wife was the only reason he was even able to he his emotions stabilized. With his wife and his sanity gone. What was there for him to fear?

There was no answer in her predecessor's memory to many of the questions Liu Tián Qu had. There were many things the Liu Tián Qu was seeking answers to in her predecessor memory that remained unanswered. There was much her predecessor didn't know. After all, her predecessor had lived a life of confinement.

In the memories of her predecessor, Liu Tián Qu found no mention of Wēi Wò Yàn, Wēi Yǒng Měng, Jūn Zhōng Xīn, Měng Tiān Cái. It's like they never existed. If they had lived during that time, then they remained hidden. There were no memories of Commander Jiang's stolen twin son. Everything was completely different. It was only then Liu Tián Qu realized she completely changed the fate of so many people. Not only that, she also changed the fate of the Tolling Lands.

It's too late to worry about the butterfly effect now. The timber has become a boat, and the rice is cooked. However, if given another chance, I still would do the same thing again. Rather than worry about the past, I will just live diligently. I will make sure to live well. Liu Tián Qu thought to herself. After viewing, a few more memories Liu Tián Qu rose from where she sat under the big peach blossom tree. Exiting the inner courtyard, Liu Tián Qu reentered her lounge and called for Sōng Hé Píng.

"Yes, Young Master," Sōng Hé Píng bowed upon entering the lounge. "Hé Píng, will you please summon the housekeeper, Zhou Yu, the head chef, and the butler for me?"

"Yes, Young Master," Sōng Hé Píng bowed and retreated.

As Liu Tián Qǔ waited for the arrival of the Butler and Housekeeper, she retrieved the teapot from the tea tray. The tea tray sat in the middle of the long low table in her lounge. Liu Tián Qǔ empty the remaining tea in the teapot, which had gone cold. After cleaning the pot using hot water from a large pot that sat on a brazier near the long low table. Liu Tián Qǔ set about making a pot of the White Tea that Hou Dao had bought back for her.

A short while later, the housekeeper, Zhou Yu, the head chef, and butler arrived. They arrived just as Liu Tián Qǔ finish making the fresh pot of tea. Liu Tián Qǔ dismissed Sōng Hé Píng and beckoned the butler, Zhou Yu, the head chef, and housekeeper over to the table to join her. After they were seated at the table, Liu Tián Qǔ poured tea for everyone.

Liu Tián Qǔ waiting until the butler, Zhou Yu, the head chef, and housekeeper took a sip of tea before she began. "I will be brief, time is short, and I need to go over to Wang Royal Manor to speak with Wang Fèn Yong. I need you to prepare four inner courtyards. We will be having guests who will be arriving shortly. There is a strong possibility that they will stay awhile. The guest are all men. Keep that in mind, when assigning people to attend to them." Liu Tián Qǔ informed the housekeeper.

"That is no problem, Young Master Liu. I will take of that right immediately after the meeting."Housekeeper Zhou said.

"The surviving four martial families have returned to the Tolling Lands. They will be staying with us a while." Liu Tián Qǔ bluntly said.

Liu Tián Qǔe chuckled inwardly as she watched the expressions on everyone's face. To say they were shocked was an understatement. All four of them gawked at Liu Tián Qǔ. Their mouths were gaped wide open in shock.

It was the butler who finally managed to croak out, "You mean the four martial families whose names the Emperor just cleared?"

"Indeed," Liu Tián Qǔ nodded.

"They will be staying with us a while. It's also about time that everyone knew that Commander Jiang is Jiang Tài Píng of the Jiang family. We are expecting Wēi Yǒng Měng and his son Wēi Wò Yàn of the Wēi family. Jūn Zhōng Xīn of the Jūn Family and Měng Tiān Cái of the Meng Family."

"My world!" the chef exclaimed in shock. The chef was a stout, tall, jolly middle-aged man who loved to cook and loved to eat. "Commander Jiang is of the Jiang Family!?"

"Yes, he is," Liu Tián Qǔ looked at Butler Zhou and said, "Butler Zhou, you met Wēi Wò Yàn earlier." Liu Tián Qǔ saw the confused incomprehension in the Butler's eyes.

Liu Tián Qǔ said, "Wēi Wò Yàn is the young boy that I tricked earlier into helping me."

"The skinny young boy who looked as if hadn't eaten in weeks? That's Wēi Wò Yàn?" The Butler said, feeling deep horror. He greatly admired the Four Martial Families. Seeing the Young Wēi Master looking like that couldn't be good.

The housekeeper and Zhou Yu were stunned speechless. The housekeeper had yet to gather her wits.

With a sad look on her face, Liu Tián Qǔ nodded, "That brings me to say, Head Chef Yin, your cooking has improved by leaps and bounds. You still have a ways to go, but you are doing well. You are a swift learner, so I feel in no time at all you will be an awesome Chef." Liu Tián Qǔ smile at the middle-aged man as he blushed in pleasure.

"Judging by the looks of Young Master Wēi the returning martial families have had a very rough time of it. Wēi Wò Yàn looked extremely gaunt, skinny, and malnutrition. I want you to hold off on the heavy, greasy foods for the next few days. I want them to eat healthy, nourishing filling food that is light on their stomach for the first couple of days. That should be easy enough to handle." Liu Tián Qu said, looking at Head Chef Yin.

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"I can handle it. Young Master Liu," The Head Chef said in a firm, confident voice. "We covered healthy soups and vegetables. You showed me how to cook healthy savory and flavorful dishes that are nongreasy. You also showed me how to cook and make sauces using medicinal herbs."

"Good," Liu Tián Qu nodded in satisfaction, "I will still come by the kitchen at least once a day to continue giving you pointers until I am completely satisfied with all the food you cook." Liu Tián Qu informed the Head Chef.

"After a few days, you can begin inquiring on what dishes our guests prefer to eat and serve them whatever and whenever they would like to eat, whether it's mealtime or not." Liu Tián Qǔ informed the head chef.

"How is the assistant that you have been training coming along?" Liu Tián Qu asked.

"Assistant Chef Rui has progressed very well. There are certain things he needs a bit more fine-tuning on, but for the most part, he is doing well," the Head Chef reported.

"Good when you go back tell him that starting today he will report to the residence garrison's kitchen. He will be the assigned Head Chef of the main kitchen there. I am sure you are aware that two hundred and ninety-two house guards came in earlier today."

Looking over to the Housekeeper Liu Tián Qu inquired, "Housekeeper Gao, have you finished staffing the residence garrison and filling the pantries?"

"Yes, Young Master Liu, everything has been taken care of, the whole residence garrison have been fully staffed," the housekeeper confirmed.

"The barracks of the residence garrison have been cleaned. So have the training fields, and Armoury. The wash women are already at work cleaning the dirty clothes of the warriors that just came in. The new latrines are completed, the bathing houses were scrubbed down. The water boys assigned to the bathing houses are keeping the water in the bathing house clean and plentiful. The dining halls were completely scrubbed down. All the utensils and bowls that could not be salvaged were replaced," the housekeeper reported.

"The pantries were fully stocked. The kitchen staff is already in place, awaiting their newly assigned Head Chef. There are several more things for me to take care of, but for the most part, all the main things that are needed to have a fully functional resident garrison are in place and have been taken care of," the Housekeeper completed her report.

"Housekeeper Gao you are completely awesome! I am so happy you are here." Liu Tián Qu praised her Housekeeper and smiled inwardly as Housekeeper Gao face tinged pink as she blushed at Liu Tián Qu praise.

Liu Tián Qǔ looked back over to the Head Chef, "Head Chef Yin, I want you to begin training three new assistants to assist you in the kitchens. I want you to also give free rein to the person that Housekeeper Gao brought in along with the last group of slaves she bought." Liu Tián Qǔ ordered.

"He was one of the people I had Butler Zhou investigate. It is confirmed that he told the truth. Indeed he was once an assistant in the most famous bakery in the Imperial City. I want him to begin baking pastries and snacks. I will come to taste them. If they are good, then he will become the residence baker. When I come to the kitchen to give you your daily pointers. I will also give him a few pointers.

"Yes, Young Master Liu. I have tasted some of his baked goods, and I found them to be marvelous. I had intended to request that you turned the baking over to him. I will immediately inform him when I go back."

"Good," Liu Tián Qǔ said before saying, "Head Chef Yin as of this very moment. No one who does not belong in your kitchen is allowed to enter. Absolutely no one! I want you to form three special groups of four people. These people will be given the title of food bearers. In addition to the normal duties these food bearers will already have. They will be assigned to deliver the meals of our guest to their courtyard. No one else is allowed to handle the food of our guests while it is en route other than these three groups of people. Do I make myself clear?" Liu Tián Qǔ asked the confused looking Head Chef.

"Yes, Young Master Liu," the head chef said. Although it was apparent, he really didn't understand.

Liu Tián Qǔ decided to take a moment and explain, "Head Chef Yin, I can see you don't understand, allow me to explain. I wish to eliminate the opportunity anyone may have to tamper with any food coming from your kitchen before it reaches its destination."

The Head Chef Yin eyes popped open in shock, and before he could catch himself, he roared in a loud voice, "Who would dare?" Liu Tián Qǔ had really shocked the Head Chef this time.

His eyes weren't the only pair to pop open in shock. Not even the Butler or Zhou Yu expected Liu Tián Qǔ to say anything like that. They were shock completely speechless.

It was the Housekeeper who spent years in the Imperial Palace and seen all kinds of schemes who immediately understand. She was a bit shock because she didn't expect this from her new Young Lord. However, she immediately understood.

"Head Chef Yin, this is a new residence. As of now, in his free time, Butler Zhou is investigating each servant in this residence. I don't know who may have slipped into my residence. I haven't had time to focus my energy in that direction yet. What if we have a very determined young female who wish to slip something in our guest food and seduce our guest? What if we have some who slipped in who wish to harm our guest using poison? Until I know for sure who can be trusted in our residence and weed out those who don't belong here, I wish to take no chances." Liu Tián Qǔ explained.

Everyone sat at the table, staring at their new Young Lord with wide eyes. Never would their thoughts have strayed in this direction if Liu Tián Qǔ didn't direct the way.

"I wish to minimize opportunities. I also wish to protect my Head Chef, whom I happen to like very much. If something happened to the food delivered to the guest, I would not be able to protect you." Liu Tián Qǔ informed the Head Chef. She saw understanding bloom in his eyes.

"You must pick these three groups of people very carefully and wisely. I didn't create this position to give the kitchen workers a hard time. I am quite sure they already have enough to do. However, these guests are too important. They escaped much danger and harm. If these guests come to any harm in Liu Residence, I don't think anyone of us can escape being implicated." Liu Tián Qǔ nodded in satisfaction when she saw that everyone understood the seriousness of the matter.

"I will diligently give my complete attention to this matter," the Head Chef said. He refused to offer up his head to fulfill someone else's goal.

"Good, other than the people designated for this task, no one else may touch the food being delivered to our guest while it is en route from the kitchen to the guest. Not even the servants attending to the guests. If a servant assigned to the guest come to the kitchen for food for the guest. The food bearers must carry the food to the guest. They must closely guard and watch over this food. From the moment the food leaves the kitchens to the moment it reaches the guest, only the food bearers are allowed to handle the food. Only after reaching the guest are the servants who are attending to the guest are allowed to handle the food."

Liu Tián Qǔ held the gaze of the Head Chef and said, "Take care of this matter very carefully. Do not needlessly offer up your head and implicate the Liu Residence," Liu Tián Qǔ warned the Head Chef.

"If there is anyone you suspect in your kitchen or anyone you are suspicious of, this person must immediately be reassigned. I will leave that to you, the butler and housekeeper to sought out. The kitchen is your battlefield, and you are the general. Keep a very close watch on all your warriors. Do you now understand?"

"I understand, Young Master Liu," The Head Chef bowed.

"Good, it is vital that Head Chef Yin, Housekeeper Gao, and Butler Zhou have a meeting with all the kitchen staff and all the servants chosen to attend to the guests. This matter must be carefully explained. Make sure to stress the importance of this matter to all the kitchen staff and the servants who will attend to the guest."

Liu Tián Qǔ met the gaze of everyone and said, "Take care of this matter before I return from Wang Royal Manor."

"I will be sure to do so immediately," Head Chef Yin said.

"Don't worry, Young Master. We will take care of this matter most carefully," the Butler said, and the housekeeper and Zhou Yu nodded in agreement.

"Good, there are a few more things left for me to say, then I will let everyone go so you all can attend to your duties. First, I would like both male and female attendants to be assigned to each guest unless they say otherwise. However, the women assigned must only be older females. I want Housekeeper Gao, Butler Zhou, and Zhou Yu to keep a firm eye on the younger female servants of our residence. I don't want them getting ideas and running rampant in my residence." Liu Tián Qǔ said in a stern and firm voice.

"To help you better keep everyone under control. I want you to find the best candidate in each section and assign a supervisor." Liu Tián Qǔ said.

"We have already begun doing so Young Master, only three sections of the residence are left to assign supervisors to. That will be taken care of immediately." Butler Zhou said.