The Xiao family's banquet was mainly for Dongdong's birthday, so the special banquet hall was at one end, but the scene of children playing was at the other end. Yan Qiushu's gift was a birthday cake, but in this era, there was no sense of ritual such as blowing out candles, so this was put off until everything was almost done, and then she came down from the table and brought Shui Yu to deliver the birthday cake.
Who would have thought that by such a coincidence, I would actually run into someone the original owner knew?
She pursed her lips and turned her head, her heart sinking.
Sure enough, the original owner's sister, Yan Qiuyuan, the heroine in the book, was walking towards her with her maid.
Both of them wore veils, which obscured their features and made them unclear.
The person who spoke was Yan Qiuyuan's personal maid. She smiled and said, "Miss, this is our first time at the Xiao Mansion. Where is the dressing room?"
Yan Qiushu pointed in a direction.
The other party thanked him and left with Yan Qiuyuan. After only two steps, he suddenly turned back and asked with a smile, "May I know your name, young lady?"
Yan Qiushu raised her eyes slightly and looked at her without saying a word, wondering in her heart, could it be that he recognized her?
Yan Qiuyuan: "It's like this, I think the girl looks familiar, as if I've seen her somewhere before, but I don't know her name, so I'm asking."
Yan Qiushu breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Not really."
She was very different from the original owner. The original owner was weak in nature and learned the delicate and graceful demeanor of her aunt. She was a woman who could farm alone before, so she was not weak at all. Even her makeup, hairstyle and clothing style were different. In order to prevent herself from being recognized accidentally, she deliberately put on makeup and changed her eyebrows.
So at this moment, she just shook her head indifferently and continued walking forward.
She could change her appearance, but not her voice for now, so she could only be an impolite person.
It's better than revealing her true identity. The heroine of a house-fighting novel has a lot on her mind, and she really doesn't want to provoke her.
Fortunately, her appearance really made Yan Qiuyuan look unhappy. As a concubine's daughter, her identity was often used to make malicious ridicule, especially after she got engaged to the Prince of Jin, more people targeted her.
Now that this person is so rude, I'm afraid she is another woman who can't get the prince's love and is deliberately embarrassing him.
No wonder she felt familiar with it, it was probably the same ugly face as those women!
Yan Qiuyuan immediately snorted coldly and said gloomily: "Let's go!"
When her future husband takes the throne, no matter how noble their status is, won't they all have to kneel down and pay homage to her?!
Yan Qiushu had no idea what the other person was thinking. After leaving, she quickened her pace and arrived at a small garden specially set up for children to gather.
At this time, a dozen half-grown children and many servants gathered here to eat and drink.
Dongdong, sitting in the main seat, looked eagerly towards the entrance. His expression also attracted the attention of others. Zhou Zhaoqin said anxiously, "Why hasn't Sister Shu, the one you mentioned, come yet? I'm starving!"
"Almost there!" Dongdong pouted, "Didn't you eat so much?"
"None of them taste good." Zhou Zhaoqin said with disdain.
He felt that his guess was correct. Sure enough, the food made by his sister A Shu was the most delicious.
Dongdong pouted. The friends he wanted to invite the most didn't show up. The ones who showed up were those he didn't know very well. Even his cousins from the Jiang family didn't come. He felt a little disappointed and a little impatient at being rushed. Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly stood up and waved, "Sister Shu!"
The children also looked over. They knew that this sister named A Shu would bring a lot of food, and their eyes immediately lit up like the candles beside them.
Yan Qiushu suddenly felt extremely pressured. With so many children staring at her, she quickly said, "Shui Yu, bring the cake over."
Shui Xuan quickly stepped forward and handed over a large round cake. The food box was also very large. After opening it on the table, the children were all surprised: "Wow! It looks great!"
I saw that the cake in the red food box was not yellow as Dongdong had said before, but colorful!
The big round cake is divided into different equal parts by jams of different colors, including red cherry jam, pink peach jam, purple grape jam and so on.
The conditions were limited and the colors were somewhat similar, but for children who had never seen such a scene, it was definitely a surprise.
Especially the sweet milky flavor of the cake and the sweet and sour aroma of the jam made them drool.
Dongdong was diligently cutting the cake with a wooden knife. A very noble-looking little boy beside him stared at Yan Qiushu for a while, as if confirming something. He then turned to Dongdong and said domineeringly, "Xiao Pingzhou, give your sister A Shu to this prince!"
Yan Qiushu: “?”
Dongdong said without a second thought: "No!"
Zhou Zhaoqin frowned slightly, and said as a matter of course: "Your Highness just wants to take your cook away. I will compensate you. I will ask the emperor to give you a royal chef."
"Don't even think about it!" Dongdong was a little angry, with a sour face.
At this moment, a voice broke the stalemate: "I think this is a good idea, Dongdong. A royal chef in exchange for a cook like you, your family is really getting the better deal. After all, not every family can have a royal chef."
Everyone looked and saw a young man who looked somewhat similar to Zhou Zhaoqin walking slowly towards them with a smile on his lips, as if he was teasing the other person, but also as if he was supporting Zhou Zhaoqin.
Moreover, the expressions of the two men when they looked at her were exactly the same, and it should be said that the man's was more arrogant, and the look they gave Dongdong was filled with a bit of malice.
With the support of others, Zhou Zhaoqin straightened his chest and felt more and more that he was not wrong.
Dongdong's face was tense and he glared at the person in front of him angrily.
Yan Qiushu also wanted to curse. No wonder the third prince was defeated so badly in the plot. He even bullied children!
She knew very well that the Third Prince was not targeting her this time. It was more like he was angry somewhere else and was looking for a place to vent his anger, so he just said a few words.
"I don't want a royal chef! I only want Sister Ashu!" Dongdong said aggrievedly.
Fortunately, at this moment, another clear voice appeared without hesitation: "Your Highness, Miss Ashu is not a cook, but my adopted sister!"
The Third Prince quickly turned his head to look. Xiao Huaiting strode towards him. As he approached him, he spoke again meaningfully, "Your Highness, you are overthinking. I'm afraid your wish may not come true."
The Third Prince's expression turned cold and he looked at him slightly gloomily.
Xiao Huaiting ignored her and walked straight to Yan Qiushu, picked up Dongdong, and apologized to Yan Qiushu: "I'm sorry for making you feel wronged."
"No." Yan Qiushu shook his head. The situation was special and beyond his control.
This incident was just a fuse, and she was unlucky enough to encounter it.
Dongdong immediately hugged Xiao Huaiting's neck, buried his head and said nothing, but his shoulders could still be seen shaking, and he looked like he was crying in anger.
Yan Qiushu sighed with heartache.
Xiao Huaiting's face also turned cold. The young general who was invincible on the battlefield glanced at the father and son with an indifferent expression. After a few seconds, he looked away and looked at the manager in charge of the situation here. He said in a deep voice: "Aren't you going to have a birthday cake? Come and cut the cake!"
The steward, who had been hiding and not daring to speak, stepped forward quickly and said, "Yes, I'll cut it right away."
Seeing this, the Third Prince's gloomy gaze swept over Yan Qiushu and landed on Xiao Huaiting. He sneered, "So she's not the cook. If that's the case, then it must be a misunderstanding. But who knows, maybe this girl would be willing to come to my house? After all, good birds choose the trees they roost in!"
He raised his eyebrows and smiled, "Miss Ah Shu, what do you think? This prince admires your cooking skills. If you are willing, this prince will invite you to the palace as a royal chef. You should know that following this prince is more promising than staying in the Xiao family."
Yan Qiushu lowered her eyes and smiled, "Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness. My son is lazy, so I won't bother Your Highness anymore."
As soon as the words fell, Xiao Huaiting let out a mocking laugh: "Heh~"
At this moment, silence was more powerful than words. Without saying a word, just a laugh, the Third Prince's face turned pale. He said gloomily, "In that case, the girl should stay in the Xiao Mansion and live and die with the Xiao family!"
He spoke the last few words in a particularly sinister tone, as if he had already anticipated the death of the Xiao family.
After saying that, he took his son's hand and was about to walk out.
Zhou Zhaoqin pouted: "I'm not leaving!"
He hasn’t had the chance to eat that delicious-looking cake yet!
The man's dark face seemed to become even darker. The next second, he shook off his son's hand and walked out indifferently.
Zhou Zhaoqin was dumbfounded. He didn't expect his father to do this. He looked at the wet nurse helplessly. The wet nurse also had a pale face. Only then did he realize that his father was really angry just now.
He was panicking and couldn't control his expression: "Wow..."
The child's crying actually broke the tense atmosphere. Yan Qiushu's somewhat stiff face showed a hint of smile. Although the child was a little naughty, he was inexplicably funny.
She picked up a piece of cake and handed it over: "Okay, stop crying, please eat the cake."
"Wuwu... burp..." Zhou Zhaoqin sobbed as he opened his watery eyes. He first glanced at Yan Qiushu, then stared straight at the cake. He was no longer crying, but he had just cried so hard that he burped.
He stretched out his chubby little hand very willingly, took the cake, and took a big sip with the small spoon on it.
"Hey! So sweet, so delicious!"
The rain stopped and the sky cleared up. Zhou Zhaoqin's panic was soothed by the sweets. He took two more bites and gave Yan Qiushu an embarrassed smile: "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Yan Qiushu smiled and urged the manager to distribute the cakes.
The other children who had no relatives around were also a little scared. They looked at each other and didn't dare to say anything. Fortunately, the person in charge brought over the cake at this time.
As the children ate sweets, the fear on their faces faded a lot.
The young man who had just taunted the enemy away also looked at the child in his arms at this moment and said softly, "Dongdong, you haven't eaten your birthday cake yet. Want a bite?"
Dongdong raised his head with sobs, his eyes, nose and mouth were all red, but after hearing this, he nodded.
Children's emotions come and go quickly.
Everyone was a little scared at first because of the scary atmosphere between the two adults, but they soon became happy again after eating sweets.
This cake is indeed delicious even for children who have never eaten it before. The cake base is soft and delicious, and the jam on the cake is sour and sweet. Everyone is very satisfied after eating it.
The only thing I have tried is the Dongdong. Although I think it is delicious, it lacks the freshness and surprise, so I am still a little uninterested.
After all, they were only five years old. Even though they knew the difference in status, they did not expect it to be so big.
It was also because the Third Prince's family did not know how to educate their children. Even if he was a real emperor, he would not have such an arrogant attitude for the sake of face and reputation. It was really a conceptual shock to him, a child who had been raised and spoiled by two families.
Yan Qiushu rubbed his little head and said with a smile: "Dongdong, in fact, in addition to the birthday cake, I also prepared something delicious, but I need you to guess it correctly before I can give it to you."
Dongdong forced himself to cheer up and asked, "What is it?"
"It's something called egg tart." Yan Qiushu said with a smile, "You have to guess whether it's sweet or salty."
She deliberately emphasized the word "sweet".
Dongdong blinked, not understanding what he heard. He bit his finger and thought for a moment, then tentatively said, "Salty..." Just as he uttered a syllable, he was hit on the head. He quickly covered his forehead and glared at his uncle.
The boy said with a smile, "I'll give you another chance. Answer again. Sweet or salty?"
Dongdong suddenly realized and said embarrassedly: "Sweet!"
Yan Qiushu smiled brightly: "Correct! Shui Yu, bring it here."
Shui Yu immediately took the second food box from the person behind him. When he opened the box, the sweet smell that was similar to but different from the cake attracted the attention of other children. In the big food box lay a lot of palm-sized wooden bowls.
There was a pool of solid egg custard in the wooden bowl, with some burnt yellow dots on the surface. Between it and the wooden bowl, there was a layer of extremely thin dough, which looked extremely crispy.
This thing looks like a snack, but not like a snack.
Because there were other foods, each child could only have one egg tart. Dongdong, as the birthday boy, could eat two.
When he encountered something new to eat and was interrupted by a question from Yan Qiushu, his mind was no longer on the previous thing. Instead, he stared at the egg tarts intently and said in surprise: "Wow, Sister Shu, you are amazing!"
Always doing things he has never seen before!
Dongdong was happy. He knew how to eat egg tarts, so he reached out with both hands and took out the egg tarts from the small bowl. Because of its fixed shape, it still looked like a small bowl after being taken out. The outer ring was crispy, and the bottom was relatively soft because of the egg tart liquid. When he took a bite, it was so crispy that it crumbled, and the sound of "crunch, crunch..." kept ringing in his ears.
The egg tart crust is a little tough and needs to be chewed twice. It has a slight salty taste in the sweetness, but the egg tart liquid is extremely sweet.
Sometimes the egg liquid is steamed too long, but the egg tart liquid with the addition of milk sugar and other things is sweet, soft and delicious, full of milk flavor, and extremely delicate, especially the crust, which tastes particularly good.
“It’s delicious!”
"Hey, I ate a peach!"
"I have one too, so sweet..."
The other children were also served by the servants and had their share of egg tarts. Some of the egg tarts had some extra toppings. Those who ate them felt like they had won a prize. Their eyes sparkled and they couldn’t wait to show off to those around them.
Dongdong smacked his lips, not tasting any other flavor in his mouth. Disappointed to find that he hadn't eaten anything, he quickly sped up.
He ate one with a slurp of his little mouth and quickly moved on to the other. Luckily, one of the two had something in it. He tasted it and immediately savored it carefully. After confirming it, he excitedly held up the egg tart and said to the other children, "I got one too! Guess what it is?"
The children were playing together, and as an adult, Yan Qiushu had completed her mission, so she chose to step away.
As she reached the exit, a slightly oppressive figure appeared beside her.
Yan Qiushu glanced sideways, and the young man smiled at her and said softly, "I'm sorry for getting you into trouble today. He was deliberately picking on me because of my Xiao family."
Yan Qiushu curled her lips and shook her head: "It's okay, I didn't do anything to her."
Xiao Huaiting breathed a sigh of relief and walked with her to the point where the front and back yards separated. He suddenly stopped, waved off Shui Yu and the others, and then whispered, "Don't take the Third Prince's words to heart. I can't say anything else, but he will die faster than my Xiao family. As for the rest, even if I die, the Xiao family members will not be harmed. You can live here in peace."
Yan Qiushu took a deep breath and suddenly looked up at him.
The young man smiled confidently, his eyes sparkling with stars, yet seemed to contain thousands of words.
He may have known his fate long ago.
Because the plot is just as he said.
Xiao Huaiting died in battle two years later. Before that, the third prince took the opportunity to force the emperor to abdicate because his army was taken away by Xiao Huaiting. After his failure, he hanged himself to death. Three months later, the news of the great defeat at the border reached Kyoto. The infighting among the princes damaged the national interests and was intolerable. The Prince of Jin summoned the old members of the Xiao family. When the princes were bruised and battered, he took control of the court in one fell swoop and ascended the throne as emperor.
Later, in order to appease the old members of the Xiao family, the Xiao family members were given titles and countless rewards, but because there were no adult males in the family, they only had titles and no real power.
But this was not a good thing. The Xiao family was so stimulated that even if there was no war, they all died soon after.
But now she is an outsider, so it is not easy to say much.
Even though Xiao Huaiting seemed to trust her very much and was willing to say such words to her to reassure her, he actually did not reveal anything. Even if she was a spy, he didn't know what evidence he could use to prove his betrayal.
Yan Qiushu smiled back and was about to say goodbye when a light bulb went off in her head and she said, "Wait!"
The boy who was also about to say goodbye stopped and looked at her.
Yan Qiushu pursed her lips, lowered her eyes to avoid those bright eyes, and said slowly: "General Xiao, I accidentally overheard something about the Third Prince at home before. General Xiao, do you need to know?"
"Please speak." Xiao Huaiting raised his eyebrows, quite curious.
Yan Qiushu said, "The Third Prince's wife's family lent money in Jinzhou in order to provide him with sufficient financial support!"
The Jinzhou provincial governor is the father-in-law of the third prince. There, he is all-powerful. However, things will break out a year later. When his father-in-law gets into trouble, the third prince will also be exposed. Following the clues, he will find out many things. In the end, in order to avoid being liquidated, the third prince chooses to force the emperor to abdicate. Of course, he fails. The prince of Jin learns about it in advance and brings people to stop him. As a result, he is deeply trusted by the emperor and gains some rights over the imperial guards.
Xiao Huaiting's expression changed slightly: "Is the news true?"
Yan Qiushu nodded affirmatively.
Xiao Huaiting's lips moved, as if he wanted to ask for more details, but he glanced at her and smiled faintly: "Thank you for telling me."
Yan Qiushu arched her eyebrows, said goodbye to him, and turned to go towards the inner courtyard.
But as they were walking, Yan Qiushu suddenly heard the nanny beside Wan'er coaxing the child: "Little Miss, let's not cry anymore. You won't be beautiful if you cry..."
The child who was being coaxed replied softly, with a heavy nasal tone and a hint of crying in his voice: "I don't want to cry either~"
As soon as she finished speaking, she couldn't help but started crying again.
Yan Qiushu stopped walking, and Shui Yu quickly stepped forward and said softly, "Young lady, it's Miss Wan'er."
She nodded silently and walked towards the direction of the sound.
No wonder she didn’t see Wan’er at the children’s banquet just now. She thought the child didn’t like such a noisy environment and went back first. She didn’t expect to meet her here.
"Little Miss, why don't we go back first?" The nanny pleaded, "There are too many mosquitoes here. You'll be itchy soon."
Wan'er whispered, "No, mother will be sad!"
The nanny sighed, pounded her aching waist, and stood up briefly to look around. She spotted Yan Qiushu approaching and was immediately overjoyed: "Miss Yan!"
Yan Qiushu nodded and walked to Wan'er.
The little girl seemed a little embarrassed. When she noticed her coming, she took a peek and immediately buried her head in her legs, hugged her knees with her arms, and refused to look up.
She was hiding in a pavilion. Because it was Dongdong's birthday, the pavilion, which usually had no lights, was now hung with lanterns, so her red ears could be clearly seen.
"What's wrong? Are you crying like a kitten and feeling embarrassed to see people?" Yan Qiushu asked softly.
Wan'er nodded sullenly: "Yeah!"
Yan Qiushu almost laughed out loud. This child was quiet and sensitive, but also very cute. When she looked at people, she always looked at them with her big eyes, which was very cute. She could now imagine that Wan'er must be pouting, neither wanting to cry nor not wanting to, feeling very aggrieved.
Her heart softened, and she glanced at her arms, which had been exercised a lot recently, and hugged her directly: "Since Wan'er doesn't want to go back to your mother, why don't you go to your sister's place to play?"
Then he exerted force, trying to pick the person up.
However, she overestimated her own strength and staggered two steps before she got off the ground and then put it down again.
Wan'er, who was being held, clearly felt her helplessness. The moment she fell, she burst out laughing, then quickly covered her mouth to block the laughter. This covered her mouth, revealing her tearful eyes.
Yan Qiushu gave up in frustration, rubbing her head with one hand and reaching out with the other: "Forget it, I don't have enough strength, you go by yourself."
Wan'er thought she would ask her why she was crying, but after hearing this, she felt much more relaxed. She actually stood up and was led away by her.
The nanny who had been watching worriedly finally smiled and followed the two of them.
Back to the yard.
Yan Qiushu asked Shui Yu to light the candle and asked, "Wan'er, are you hungry? Do you want something to eat?"
Wan'er covered her stomach and nodded: "Okay, thank you Sister Shu."
"You're welcome." Yan Qiushu rolled up her sleeves and started working.
The kitchen was bright and all the ingredients were neatly placed on the shelves. Next to the original shelf, there was a smaller shelf with various kitchen utensils on it. She had someone build it recently.
It’s not suitable to eat anything too greasy at night.
Drinking milk does help with sleep, but since the milk was delivered in the morning and has already been used up, I am worried that it will go bad and there will be nothing left by evening.
At this moment, Yan Qiushu suddenly remembered that there was chicken soup in the big kitchen preparing a banquet in the evening.
She looked at Shui Yu and said, "Go to the main kitchen and get me a can of chicken soup."
"Okay." Shui Yu ran over immediately.
Yan Qiushu looked at Wan'er, who was sitting obediently in the chair and waited, and invited her: "Can you do me a favor?"
"What are you doing?" Wan'er stood up immediately. She didn't look happy, but she was quite interested.
Yan Qiushu smiled and said, "I need a clean pair of scissors. Can you and Aunt Xu boil some water to disinfect them?"
"Sure!" Wan'er responded crisply, trotting to Aunt Xu's side and following her to get busy.
Yan Qiushu took a large iron basin, poured in flour and water, and began to knead the dough. This step required repeated pounding, and gradually the originally flocculent flour would be kneaded into a smooth dough. Considering the amount, the dough she made was slightly larger than an ordinary palm.
Once done, wait for a while.
Wan'er was still boiling water to cook the scissors, which took quite a while.
It took about a cup of tea for the dough to finish rising and the scissors to be disinfected. Wan'er handed the scissors over with her small hands through a clean cloth.
Yan Qiushu took it and said in surprise: "Thank you, Wan'er!"
Wan'er pursed her lips and smiled, put her hands behind her back, twisted her body, and looked very happy.
Children are like this. If you divert her attention, she will forget her sadness.
Yan Qiushu took the scissors and waited until the light yellow chicken soup with a hint of oil in the big iron pot began to boil, then she started cutting the dough with the scissors in front of her.
The smooth dough is cut into a shape with pointed ends and a round middle by scissors, and falls into the boiling soup one by one, with a slight "plop" and falls to the bottom of the soup.
But after cooking for a while, they began to float to the surface one by one. The light yellow chicken soup became slightly whiter because of the little flour on the scissor noodles. It looked much thicker, but it still formed a sharp contrast with the off-white chicken soup noodles, like little white fish constantly jumping out of the water and being covered by the churning water.
The originally delicious chicken soup now has a fresh fragrance of flour.
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