As for Brian Carter, he simply lifted his nose to the sky, having already anticipated her reaction. This bowl of soup was, in fact, a deliberate move by Brian Carter. With his keen sense of smell, he had just caught a faint scent of tofu on Abigail Grant, and thus knew that this young lady had a particular fondness for soy products. Although her complexion looked fine, there was a certain paleness to her skin—a sign of protein deficiency. In other words, she could afford to eat meat, but lacked protein; the only explanation was that she didn’t like meat. People who don’t like meat usually prefer lighter flavors, so he decided to make tofu soup, which would suit Abigail Grant’s taste perfectly.

Of course, the most important ingredient was the chicken bouillon. The appearance of this era-transcending seasoning was enough to change the entire landscape of cooking in this time. Perhaps chicken bouillon was nothing special to people of later generations, but in this era, it was like giving a child who had never tasted sugar a taste of sweetness—utterly irresistible and beyond imagination.

When Abigail Grant took her first bite, her delicate shoulders trembled slightly, and she couldn’t wait to take a second. She forgot to blow on it, though, and burned her tongue, clicking her tongue in response and sticking out her tender little tongue, looking even more adorable.

“Is it good?”

“Mmm... mmm...”

“Don’t choke.” Brian Carter reminded her smugly.

This guy, when he got cocky, looked completely shameless, which made Grace Grant secretly hate him even more. But Abigail Grant couldn’t care less at the moment. She opened her cherry lips and scooped a piece of tofu into her mouth. The tofu, like pearls, melted instantly, fresh but not greasy—truly irresistible.

Normally, Abigail Grant didn’t have much of an appetite, but today, she ate quite a lot. She finished the entire bowl of soup, not even leaving behind a scrap of residue at the bottom.

She looked up, suddenly realizing her loss of composure and feeling a bit embarrassed. But thinking of Brian Carter’s earlier rudeness, she also felt a bit annoyed. Her emotions were truly complicated.

“Mm, not bad.”

Brian Carter flashed a proud smile and reached out his hand. “Pay up. This soup is a secret recipe from a century-old shop—thirty coins.”

The price was obviously steep, but Brian Carter didn’t mind turning this place into a black shop at all.

Abigail Grant’s impression of Brian Carter dropped even further, and she thought to herself, “Not only is he a bookworm, he’s a money-grubbing bookworm.”

She touched the treasure pouch at her waist and casually tossed out a piece of silver, saying arrogantly, “Is that enough?”

Brian Carter accepted it without even weighing it, knowing it was more than enough. Only then did he smile and say, “A misunderstanding, a misunderstanding. I thought you were sent by the Zhou family to cause trouble, but now I see your evaluation of my cooking is fair. Looks like it’s a case of the river flooding the Dragon King’s temple—family not recognizing family.”

“Who’s family with you?” Abigail Grant cursed inwardly, but in the cramped kitchen, she couldn’t lose her temper. She just shot Brian Carter a cold look.

So everyone left the kitchen. But as soon as Brian Carter stepped out, several guards outside could no longer hold back. With a flick of their arms, blades flashed, and several gleaming broadswords were pressed against Brian Carter’s neck.

Brian Carter immediately froze, unable to move.

At this moment, Abigail Grant looked at him arrogantly and said, “You’re quite bold. Do you know who I am?”

The fact that this man’s cooking was delicious was one thing, but his earlier rudeness was another. Abigail Grant was a woman, and as the saying goes, “the most venomous is a woman’s heart.” This bookworm actually dared to be rude to her—how could she not teach him a lesson?

Brian Carter was startled. Was she serious? People in ancient times really were barbaric, drawing their swords at the slightest provocation—even the women were so fierce.

However...

He smiled. Even facing several steel blades, while his useless cousin David Carter was trembling in fear at the side, Brian Carter clasped his hands behind his back and said with a grin, “Then, do you know who I am?”

Abigail Grant had expected this bookworm to be scared out of his wits and was looking forward to his embarrassment, but to her surprise, he was even more arrogant than she was. This made Abigail Grant even more embarrassed and angry. “Who are you?”

“You can’t even tell? Fine, I’ll tell you. I am a scholar...”

“...” Abigail Grant was momentarily stunned.

But Brian Carter exuded the musty air of a pedantic scholar from head to toe. He shook his head and recited, “A gentleman can be killed but not humiliated. I am a dignified man, reading the classics at three, mastering literature and history at ten—how could I suffer your humiliation? You want to kill me? Fine, go ahead.”

“...” The guards looked at each other in confusion.

Brian Carter had already closed his eyes and began to mutter, “Heaven and earth have righteous energy, assorted in various forms... below as rivers and mountains, above as sun and stars...”

This was the “Song of Righteousness” by Wen Tianxiang, a poet of the Southern Song dynasty. Reciting it at this moment, he really did look a bit like a hero facing death. Abigail Grant was taken aback, then couldn’t help but burst out laughing. “I was just joking with you. In any case, you gave me a fright, so you should compensate me. Hurry up and make a few bowls of pearl and jade soup for me to take... home.”