Xia Zhuofeng watched You walk away from him in shock. She was like a whole new person with all that strength and steely determination. Was she influenced by Second Daughter-in-law?

The next day, Ye Jiayao got up early and still went to greet Xia You. Although You told her not to bother with the schedule anymore, she felt like greeting the elders every morning is a respectful ritual she can’t pass on.

As always, Qiao was already there when she arrived. The only difference was instead of snide remarks, Qiao looked at her with more respect now. The events last night showed Qiao just how strong and clever Jinxuan was. Besides, she also heard about Mother exempting her from the schedule and sending some porridge for her last night, so she figured that Mother has finally accepted Jinxuan. Qiao had to be extra cautious.

“Second Sister-in-law, are your knees okay?” Qiao asked, concerned.

Ye Jiayao smiled. “They are fine now. Thank you for caring, Big Sister.”

“Madame is here,” a servant girl announced.

When You saw Jinxuan waiting for her, her respect for her second-daughter-in-law just rose. However, as always, she couldn’t let her know that.

After the two young mistresses finished their greeting, You began, “Both of you have your tasks for the day. We don’t have that much time so I’ll let you go so you can get started immediately. The wedding day is coming soon and there’s still a lot of preparations to be done…”

Ye Jiayao felt a little guilty. If the culinary competition wasn’t so close to Chunfeng’s wedding, she could’ve helped much more.

When they walked out of the door, Qiao said, “I have to get some silvers from the accountant. I will see you later.”

Ye Jiayao bid her goodbye and then rushed to Heavenly Residence with Jiang Yue.

Today was the crucial semi-final match. Only ten out of 36 people would be advancing to the finals. Just getting to the finals would be an honor for Zhong Xiang, but if he could get to the top three, he’d be able to work at the Emperor’s kitchen. This was the ultimate goal for most chefs, which is both bad and good for Heavenly Residence. If he wins, the popularity and reputation of Heavenly Residence would grow even more, but if he leaves to work for the Emperor, there would be no one to manage the kitchen. Although Deng Haichuan and Wang Mingde are good cooks, they’re not nearly as good as him.

Ye Jiayao shook this thought off. She’s not going to hinder Zhong Xiang’s development just because of her interest.

Qiao was just about to head out after getting some silvers when she saw Zhou. She wanted to pretend that she didn’t see her, but Zhou came up to her and she had no choice.

“Third Auntie.”

“Mingxiu, where are you going? I heard you have an embroidery workshop in Jin Ling, I was just about to check it out!” said Zhou with a smile.

Qiao’s heart skipped a beat. She doesn’t want to go with Zhou to her embroidery workshop because she was sure to pick out all the expensive stuff. Unlike Heavenly Residence, Qiao’s shop was earning lousy profits.

“Oh, Mother told me to go to the Peony Garden outside the city to pick out some nice potted plants,” Qiao quickly said.

Zhou’s eyes brightened. “Really? When I used to live here, that was famous for their beautiful peonies but I never got to go. I’m gonna come with you, I want to plant a few pots in my new house too!”

Qiao wanted to grumble a complaint. This was the last thing she wanted, but she has no other choice.

Today’s quarter-finals attracted more crowd and the places where two matches were being held were both packed.

Zhong Xiang was obviously more nervous than he was yesterday. “I don’t know what they’ll test us with today.”

After the match yesterday, the organizers told them that they wouldn’t need to bring their tools and ingredients for the semi-final.”

Ye Jiayao said, “You must have confidence that our preparations have been done adequately. With your strength, there is absolutely no problem.”

“Brother Xiang, Second Young Mistress said you can do it which means you will be fine,” Wang Mingdetold him with conviction.

“Brother Xiang, you can do this,” Jiang Yue cheered, smiling at him.

Zhong Xiang blushed. “Well, I will do my best.”

The five judges began to move toward the rostrum, and the host began to announce the rules for today’s match.

It was still a stipulated item. The same tools and ingredients will be provided for all of the participants. The participants would decide what dish they want to make according to the theme and they are only given two hours to finish it.

Today’s theme is noodles.

The staff members brought the ingredients out one by one.

Flour, eggs, oil, spices, a piece of pork, some greens, two tomatoes, a few mushrooms, a pot of water.

Ye Jiayao realized that the intention of today’s match was mainly the taste.

“Longxu noodles with tomato sauce,” Ye Jiayao told Zhong Xiang.

Zhong Xiang nodded. He took a deep breath and strode into the stadium.

Longxu noodles were Zhong Xiang’s best dish and it requires a lot of effort. Ye Jiayao had seen the modern culinary master, the Dragon’s Whiskers, and she has vivid memories of the magnificent scenes that flowed down 3,000 feet. She was confident that Zhong Xiang has reached that level. He could make noodles as thin as hair.

Today’s match was totally based on real skill, but creativity’s always a plus. Tomato kneading could make the noodles pink, and it would taste slightly sweet and sour.

The game began, and although Ye Jiayao appeared calm on the outside, she’s extremely worried about Zhong Xiang’s competitors.

She saw that the Shanxi chef who won the first place yesterday was making knife-cut noodles, and the shaving of the noodles was amazing.

Zhong Xiang had already begun to smash, and the pink noodles folded continuously in his hand. He patiently and calmly stretched the dough until the noodles gradually became fine. After numerous folds and stretching, he finally lifted his arms above his head and shook the dough. The filament gradually loosened and swayed with a graceful arc, hundreds of pale strands falling like a waterfall.

This display attracted a lot of people’s attention. Even the judges on the rostrum stood up.

Zhong Xiang, however, was too focused with his task he didn’t notice.

After the noodles were made, his pot has already heaten up so he added the cooking oil, stir-fried the egg whites and the various seasoned pork, and then used the pork fat to fry the mushrooms and vegetables. Next, he added the water to make soup.

After seeing him following the procedures perfectly, Ye Jiayao slowly calmed down.

Zhong Xiang did his best, it was up to the judges now.

When the time was up, only one participant in the competition wasn’t able to finish and was eliminated. The finished dishes of other participants were put on the rostrum and handed over to the judges for tasting.

Zhong Xiang waited for the verdict, excited. He felt like he had done well so he smiled at his friends to reassure them.

Whether or not he’ll make it to the finals, he was happy that he’d given his all.

The judging process took very long. The 35 participants and the hundreds of people watching on the sidelines were silent as they waited for the result anxiously.

After what felt like hours, the judges finally returned to their seats and the host began to announce the list of the finalists.

Ye Jiayao listened carefully.

Yesterday’s first place still held his spot, and the second place was the chef in the eighth place yesterday…

Zhong Xiang was still the fifth.

“Brother Xiang is really awesome!” Wang Mingde cheered.

Ye Jiayao nodded, relieved. “There are great hopes for him to reach the top three.”

The host finished calling out the finalists’ name and finally announced the details of the final match.

The final was in two days and everyone has to prepare their oools and ingredients. They are required to make two mains and two desserts.

“Second Young Mistress, it seems like you know what the final match will be like,” Wang Mingde remarked in awe. Second Young Mistress has been making Brother Xiang practice cooking two mains and two desserts.

Ye Jiayao cleared her throat awkwardly. This is all just one big coincidence.

Jiang Yue whispered to Wang Mingde, “Nonsense. If the people here hears you, they would think that the Second Young Mistress is cheating.

Wang Mingde quickly shut his mouth.

Ye Jiayao glanced approvingly at Jiang Yue.

The imperial court organized this competition so it would naturally be based on imperial dining. Three of the five judges were from the imperial kitchen and she has some knowledge about the royal kitchen’s requirements. She took a calculated guess about the final task for the competition, and it seemed to have paid off.

Meanwhile, Qiao returned to the Jing An Marquis’ mansion with a long face.

Third Auntie was rhameless. She said that she wanted to buy flowers but she didn’t bring any money. Qiao carefully bargained for lower prices so she could pocket the remaining money but instead, the leftovers went to Zhou’s purchases.

Qiao was annoyed that the money was gone, but she knew that if she told Mother about it, they could get it back.

Xia You heard that Zhou borrowed more than two hundred silvers. In the past, she would’ve just let it go, but this time, she’s not going to be as lenient. Every copper coin that Zhou borrows must be returned.