The nanny that Lu called in to take measurements for the people in the mansion worked in an embroidery workshop which was one of the businesses of the Duke's Mansion.

The nanny at the embroidery workshop was very perceptive. Seeing how generous Lu was to Wen Ye, she knew that the relationship between the sisters-in-law was different from what was said outside.

He was much more respectful when treating Wen Ye.

In fact, Lu thought that she didn't have any unnecessary thoughts. She just felt that Shen, as Wen's biological mother, could be so generous, and as Wen's eldest sister-in-law, she naturally couldn't fall behind.

It has nothing to do with Wen Ye. It is a competition between the Duke's Mansion and the Wen family, that's all.

After measuring the size, Wen Ye was finally able to sit down and take a break. The walnut cakes were bought by Taozhi from Furongji, and they were much more delicious than the ones Xu Yuejia brought back from Caiyunzhai.

Wen Ye ate two pieces and then opened the envelope in front of Lu.

Of course, the letter was not written by Shen. Wen Ye read it from beginning to end. In addition to talking about clothes, the letter also mentioned that her younger sister Wen Ran was not selected. However, the aunt said that her younger sister was not sad at all because the emperor rewarded her with a lot of valuable things and silver.

The piece of jade in the box was the gift. Aunt Chang emphasized this point very much in the letter, fearing that Wen Ye would forget it.

After reading the letter, Wen Ye packed it up and asked Taozhi to keep it.

When Mrs. Lu saw that she had finished reading the letter, she asked, "Is everything going well at your parents' home?"

Wen Ye: “Everything went smoothly.”

Mrs. Lu glanced at the clothes in the box again and said, "This dress suits you very well, both in style and color. My birthday is coming in a few days, why don't you wear this dress to meet guests with me?"

It will take more than a month for the government to decide on the matter. Even if we rush the work, it will take another month. I'm afraid it will be too late.

Wen Ye put down the pastry and asked, "Sister-in-law's birthday...how are you going to celebrate it?"

If Lu hadn't mentioned it, she might never have remembered it.

Lu said, "Of course I invited some people I know well. Apart from your two aunts, most of the others are my former close friends."

But nowadays everyone is married and has children, so there are not many opportunities to meet each other.

Although she is of high rank, she is still young, and it is not appropriate to celebrate her birthday in a grand manner. Besides, it only happens once a year, and Lu does not want to invite someone who is only superficially competent.

On her birthday, Lu just wanted to take it easy.

Wen Ye had a plan in mind, and said with a smile: "Since sister-in-law thinks it looks good, then let it be."

She is not picky about what clothes she wears because everything she wears looks beautiful.

Wen Ye had no chance to wear ugly clothes.

Mrs. Lu didn't want to listen to her flattery anymore, "Okay, go back and sort out these things that the Wen family sent."

"Oh, by the way," Mrs. Lu added, remembering something, "Take this walnut cake back with you as well. Xuan'er can't eat walnuts, so remember to finish it and don't let him see it when he passes by."

It was the first time that Wen Ye heard that Xu Yuxuan couldn't eat walnut cakes.

No wonder she had never seen walnuts in the house. If she wanted to eat them, she had to ask Taozhi to go out and buy them.

After returning to the West Courtyard, Wen Ye began to think about Lu's birthday.

Gifts must be given.

Regardless of anything else, since Mrs. Lu was so good to her, this birthday gift could not be perfunctory.

But the Lu family had no shortage of valuables. There were several boxes of treasures in their private vault. He must have gotten tired of looking at them every day.

Moreover, her most valuable treasures were all given to her by Lu.

You can't send it back.

Wen Ye thought about it and decided to make a birthday cake. Although this would waste people and time, it would definitely not waste her.

A good gift should be one that touches people's hearts.

Hong Xing had never made a cake before, so Wen Ye orally told her the steps he remembered and let her try it bit by bit.

The cake base is easier to make. After a few failures, Hong Xing became skilled in making it. She did not throw away the failed cake bases. The reason for the failure was mostly due to the ratio of ingredients. The cakes she made in the previous attempts were either too sweet or not soft enough.

It was still edible. Wen Ye tasted some and asked Yunzhi and Taozhi to distribute the rest to the servants in the west courtyard.

Cream is more troublesome to make. In ancient times, there were no mixers, so people could only beat it manually.

For several days in a row, many servants in the west courtyard not only felt sore in their arms, but also trembled violently when they held things.

Taozhi also tried a few times, but the result was that when she served tea to Wenye the next day, she almost spilled tea all over Wenye.

Xu Yuejia quickly noticed this change in the West Courtyard.

Two days before Lu's birthday, he finally managed to make a decent cake, a very ordinary round model, only the size of an adult man's palm.

During dinner, Wen Ye asked someone to put the cake in the middle. Xu Yuejia glanced at it and said, "Have you been busy with this these days?"

Wen Ye nodded: "Yes, you can try it."

She is still very confident in Hong Xing and her own craftsmanship.

Wen Ye asked Yunzhi to cut a tooth for Xu Yuejia and said, "I plan to make a cake for my sister-in-law as a birthday present. What do you think, my dear?"

Xu Yuejia raised her eyes and looked at her: "Are you short of money?"

Wen Ye almost couldn't help but roll her eyes at him: "My dear, haven't you ever heard of 'a thought is worth a thousand gold'?"

Xu Yuejia understood, but still sent a box of silver ingots after dinner.

Wen Ye: “…”

At this moment, she really wanted to know what kind of image she had in Xu Yuejia's heart.

In order to keep it secret, apart from Xu Yuejia, only the people in the West Courtyard knew that Wen Ye was making a new kind of snack. However, they did not know that this new kind of snack was prepared for the Duke's wife.

Wen Ye told them not to tell anyone, and naturally would not tell them what it was used for.

A thoughtful birthday gift should of course come as a surprise.

Most people in the West Courtyard were used to the Second Lady's unconventional ways of doing things, and most of them thought that she was just killing time by researching new pastries.

Only Xu Yuxuan felt personally that he seemed to have lost a playmate recently and felt a little lost.

Nanny Ji had a vague guess, but she didn't make a fuss about it. She just pretended she knew nothing and continued to concentrate on raising the young master.

Today is the Duke's wife's birthday, and the Second Lady went to Linshui Pavilion early in the morning.

Xu Yuxuan was finally able to come to the West Courtyard, but was disappointed again. He couldn't help feeling a little emotional at the moment. He carried a small stool to the outer wall of the main hall, then put the stool down and sat on it.

The small figure from behind actually made people feel a sense of pity.

Nanny Ji couldn't help but feel a little distressed when she saw this, but she had no intention of carrying him to look for someone.

Today, the Duke's wife only invited a few close friends and relatives. Even the young master, the second son, and the Duke had to stay away during the day.

It would be even more difficult for the young master to join in the fun.

So Nanny Ji comforted him by saying, "How about I play shuttlecock for you, young master?"

The last time was an accident, and Nanny Ji would not allow herself to fail. As soon as her legs healed, she began to practice shuttlecock kicking for 25 minutes to half an hour every day.

After half a month, her legs and feet no longer felt sore from kicking, and she could kick more than ten times at a time.

Xu Yuxuan probably also understood that his mother would not take him to find his mother, so he retreated and nodded.

He even said obediently: "Thank you for your hard work, Mammy~"

Nanny Ji immediately smiled and said, "It's not hard, Nanny. It's not hard at all."

Lu's birthday banquet was not held in the main courtyard, but in the Linshui Pavilion in the side courtyard.

Although this place is not big, it is the best view spot in the Duke's Mansion. It was specially renovated according to the courtyard where Lu lived before she got married.

Holding the birthday banquet here also has a special meaning.

Everyone who came to the banquet tacitly called Lu by her nickname.

Among Lu's former close friends, Wen Ye only knew one, the seventh aunt Yu, but today he got to know a few more.

There was the daughter-in-law of a Hanlin scholar, the eldest granddaughter-in-law of the Minister of Justice, and the wife of the Junior Secretary of the Dali Temple.

Together with the two aunts and the cousin Yao, the table was just full.

Lu had more than just these friends before she got married, but after she got married, some of them changed their moods due to the environment and were no longer suitable for association. After a few years, only these few were left.

The husband's family's surname is Meng, and the husband is the fourth child in the family. His original surname is Liu. Wen Ye asked and found out that she and her second sister-in-law Liu were from the same family. However, due to the war in the early years, the ancestors of the two families were forced to go their separate ways. It was not until the lineage of Mrs. Meng Si's grandfather that the two families gradually became connected.

Madam Meng Si knew early on that her cousin Liu Ru was marrying the second brother of her good friend's sister-in-law Wen.

When her good friend invited Wen to his birthday party, Mrs. Meng Si understood everything.

Therefore, among the few people, her liking for Wen Ye was the most obvious.

Zheng was the eldest granddaughter-in-law of Minister Jiang. Her husband also worked in the Ministry of Justice and was Xu Yuejia's subordinate.

The Zheng family was not a wealthy family. When the previous emperor was alive, the Zheng family had always refused to make their position clear and was repeatedly suppressed by several princes who wanted to seize the throne. Zheng's grandfather, father and several brothers were almost framed and imprisoned.

In the end, it was Xu Yuejia who found enough evidence to clear the Zheng family's suspicion at the critical moment, and the Zheng family was able to escape danger.

After this incident, Xu Yuejia was transferred away from Shengjing and was not promoted for several years.

Therefore, Zheng has always felt guilty about the Duke's Mansion, and after meeting Wen Ye today, this guilt naturally shifted to her.

The wife of the Dali Temple's Junior Official's maiden name was Chen. She had been a childhood friend of Lu's and they had known each other since they were old enough to walk.

Chen was originally a daughter of a marquis, but later her father angered the previous emperor and was stripped of his title and demoted. It was not until the new emperor ascended the throne that her father was reinstated and his title was returned.

However, she was already married at that time, but her father's restoration of the title would also be beneficial to her as a married woman.

At least her mother-in-law no longer dares to embarrass her in public.

Putting other factors aside, the three of them had a very good initial impression of Wen Ye.

His eyes are clear, without any unnecessary thoughts.

However, the protagonist today is Lu, so the main purpose is to celebrate. After getting to know each other, everyone flocked to Lu.

As good friends, they don't have many opportunities to meet each other. Only because Mrs. Lu is the head of the family can she invite everyone to her house for a gathering on the occasion of her birthday, but others don't have such convenience.

Take Madam Meng Si for example. As the daughter-in-law of the fourth room, although she does not have to manage the miscellaneous affairs of the mansion, she is stuck in the middle and feels quite uncomfortable.

Her husband has seven brothers, and they all live in the same house. There is bound to be friction between the brothers and sisters-in-law.

For example, last time when the emperor was choosing a study partner for the princess, her sisters-in-law had a big argument, and they haven't reconciled yet.

Mrs. Meng Si knew that it was impossible to even think of inviting friends to her house for a birthday party like this.

Everyone chatted and laughed together, and also enjoyed the scenery, and then they took out the gifts they had prepared. They were not very expensive, but they were a thought. Besides, the Lu family did not hold this event every year just to receive gifts.

Lu took them one by one. She was very happy and said with a cheerful expression: "You know me best."

Aunt Yu glanced at Madam Meng Si and said with a gentle smile, "She personally went to the temple to ask the master to bless this peace locket."

Lu added: "I like whatever you give me."

Aunt Xu and the eldest aunt also presented birthday gifts, all of which were prepared roughly according to Lu's preferences.

Yao gave Lu a sachet she had sewn herself, which contained a calming incense she had researched herself. The effect was very good, and she also gave the recipe to Lu.

As the mistress of the Duke's Mansion, Mrs. Lu must have a lot of busy work to do. Comparing the two, Mrs. Yao felt that Mrs. Lu should need calming incense more than herself.

She was already somewhat overwhelmed by the management of the one and a half acres of land at the backyard of the Shen family. She could hardly imagine how her cousin's wife had survived all these years.

Wen Ye waited until everyone had sent their gifts before saying, "Sister-in-law, I've prepared something too, but it's a little different from everyone else's."

The slightest movement in the West Courtyard could be kept secret from Mrs. Lu, but she didn't know what was going on specifically.

Thinking back to Xu Yuxuan who hadn't been able to go to Chengxiyuan these days, Lu guessed, "So, you've been busy with this these days?"

Wen Ye would not miss such a great opportunity to show off. She said, "I have thought of a new snack called 'cake'. I'm sure my sister-in-law will like it."

After saying this, Wen Ye asked the maid to bring up the cake.

Wen Ye prepared a three-layer round style, with three layers of cake fruit filling inside, and an even layer of hand-whipped cream spread on the outside, followed by cream flowers mixed with fruit juice, a total of eighteen.

Chen was surprised and said, "This is the first time I've seen such a big snack."

The others were also shocked and looked at Lu, then came to their senses and looked at Wen Ye with inquiring and curious eyes.

Wen Ye took out a bunch of small oil-paper fireworks sticks from behind her like a magician. These were also specially made by her, and there were also eighteen of them.

She asked Yunzhi and Taozhi to stick the firework sticks into the mud not far away, forming a "heart" shape, the "heart" of Lu Yaoxin.

Before lighting them, Wen Ye said to Lu: "I will light them later, sister-in-law, just close your eyes and make three wishes in your heart, and then the wishes will come true~"

Lu couldn't explain how she felt at the moment. She seemed a little sour. She said angrily, "Where did you learn all this from?"

Wishes are not so easy to come true.

Wen Ye smiled and said, "Today is my sister-in-law's birthday. God will be lenient with her. Believe me."

Mrs. Lu looked at the big, odd-shaped snack and asked her, "How do we make this? Come on."

She can't.

Wen Ye and two maids lit up the fireworks sticks together, and then said, "Sister-in-law, start making a wish."

This was Lu's first time experiencing this, and it was very novel. She closed her eyes, made three wishes seriously, and then slowly opened her eyes. The firework sticks arranged into a "heart" shape were extremely gorgeous.

"What's next?" Lu couldn't help but ask.

Wen Ye smiled and said, "The next step is to divide the cake. You, sister-in-law, will make the first cut."

Lu cut it with a knife, hesitantly. She asked with some concern: "Have you tried the taste?"

Wen Ye pulled Xu Yuejia out unceremoniously and whispered in Lu's ear, "I made this with great difficulty the first time. My husband ate a piece and said he wanted more."

Lu: “…”

Why are you telling me about what happened between you and Zitan?

However, with her assurance, Mrs. Lu felt relieved and personally cut a few pieces and distributed them to the people present.

Aunt Xu and the eldest aunt both said that it tasted very good, soft, sweet and fragrant, with sweet fruits inside, and the layer of "cream" on the outside melted with a sip.

Zheng was more careful. She had just counted and had a question in her mind. Now that she tasted the delicious cake, she wanted to ask, "Why is it always eighteen?"

Wen Ye replied: "Eighteen represents my best wishes for my sister-in-law. I hope that she can stay young forever, just like when she was eighteen."

Lu scolded, "What nonsense are you talking about? Aren't you afraid of being laughed at?"

If the corners of her mouth could be slightly rounded, people might actually think she was blaming Wen Ye.

Wen Ye blinked her eyes with sincerity and said, "I'm speaking from the heart."

This guy is really good at talking. The others, holding the porcelain plates with cakes on them, turned their heads away.

Zheng, who had heard it, said: "......"

She shouldn't have asked.

Mrs. Meng was even more reminded of the sisters-in-law in her own family who were always at odds with each other. A mouthful of cake got stuck in her throat, unable to go up or down.

Really, I was shown off by Lu Yaoxin again.