The next morning, just after the hour of Mao, Jiang Muyu got up and started working.

This was the first birthday she had prepared for Tangtang, so naturally she had to pay more attention to it.

In previous years, the original owner had never prepared a birthday for Tangtang. It was all prepared by the housekeeper and the nanny in the mansion, and the original owner would at most attend the banquet. Therefore, she wanted to make up for the motherly love that Tangtang had not had in the past three years.

"My lady, everything you ordered has been arranged."

"Yeah." Jiang Muyu nodded.

There are two large kitchens in the palace, one for regular use and one for backup. Today, both were opened at the same time, used to make desserts and meals respectively.

The banquet started at noon.

After Jiang Muyu finished arranging the trivial matters, she went to the kitchen to make a cake.

Today she called two more guards to help make the cream.

She separated the egg yolk and egg white, took the egg white and put it in a basin. She handed the basin to the guard and said, "Use a whisk to beat it in the same direction until a lot of foam is produced."

"Yes, my lady."

The other three people were already very skilled at it, so they started beating the eggs without her saying anything.

Jiang Muyu smiled with satisfaction, "Not bad, if you do a good job, I will reward you handsomely."

"Yes." Several people said in unison.

Chef Liu was making snacks at the other end of the kitchen. He would come over from time to time to take a look. Seeing five tall and strong guards holding basins in one hand and stirring with chopsticks in the other, he could not help but ask, "Madam, what kind of pastries are you going to make today?"

Jiang Muyu said: "Make a birthday cake for Tangtang."

"Is it the one you made yesterday?" Master Liu frowned and said, "Excuse me for being frank, the cake you made yesterday did taste good, but the appearance..."

She just made a cake base yesterday without any cream on it, so it looked natural.

"Master Liu, don't worry about this. I know everything."

"Okay." Master Liu no longer dared to underestimate her pastry skills.

Jiang Muyu was cutting various fruits. Since there was no chocolate yet, she could only use fruits for decoration.

After the guards had beaten the eggs, she processed them, put them into a mold, and pushed them into the oven.

When Liang Qingchen came back from the morning court, she had just finished making the cake. A group of people gathered in the kitchen to admire the beautiful cake.

Master Liu couldn't help but exclaim in amazement, "This is simply a work of art. Your Majesty is truly a master of art. I am truly in awe of you."

Jiang Muyu smiled and said, "Master Liu is the real master. Not only can you make the recipe I gave you perfectly, you can even make it better."

"How dare I call myself a master in front of Your Majesty? I have only made some minor improvements on Your Majesty's original creation, and sometimes I am afraid of adding unnecessary details."

Jiang Muyu quickly said: "These pastries are not my original creation, I also learned them from... from classics."

"What book are you talking about, madam?"

Jiang Muyu was stunned for a moment, then said awkwardly, "This...I am not in a position to tell you."

Master Liu nodded in understanding, "I was just being nosy."

Fortunately, he didn't ask her too much, otherwise Jiang Muyu really wouldn't know how to answer. The pastries she made are common in modern times. Although she didn't know who invented them, she didn't dare to take credit for them.

When Liang Qingchen walked in, he saw everyone gathered together. He walked over curiously and peeked inside. He saw a round, basin-sized, exquisite and beautiful object placed on the table in the middle.

"What is this?" he asked.

The others saw him and immediately bowed in unison, "Your Highness."

Liang Qingchen's status as the master in the mansion is unquestionable, and he is not as gentle and easy to talk to as Jiang Muyu. Everyone in the mansion is quite afraid of him and dares not act rashly in front of him.

"No thanks," he said.

The smile on Jiang Muyu's face faded a bit, and he nodded at him, "You're back."

"Yes, I just came back from court." Liang Qingchen walked over to her and looked at the cakes on the table. "Did you make this?"

"Well, I succeeded on my first try yesterday, and I left a piece for you. Yun Xuan said you had tried it."

"Is this the yellow cake I ate last night?"

Jiang Muyu nodded and said, "Yesterday that was the cake base, the inner layer. Now I've spread cream on the outside and added decorative fruits and candied beans, so it naturally looks much better."

He nodded, not quite understanding, "Is this the birthday present you're going to give to Tangtang?"

"Of course not." Jiang Muyu said, "The cake is one thing, and the gift is another. They are not the same thing."

"I've never seen you so attentive on my birthday." Liang Qingchen's tone was filled with a hint of grievance.

Jiang Muyu glanced at him and said, "You know exactly why."

He pursed his lips and said, "Can you prepare so carefully for my next birthday?"

"You're going to tire me out by doing this every time? You're already so grown up, why would you still want to compete with a child for affection?"

Jiang Muyu walked outside after she finished speaking, and casually ordered, "First, move the cake I made to the side room of the West Guest House, and don't let anyone damage it."

"yes."

Liang Qingchen stared at her back and frowned slightly.

After half of the Si hour, people from the Marquis' Mansion arrived at the Prince's Mansion one after another.

When Jiang Muyu heard the news, he went to the gate of the mansion and waited.

The first to arrive were Marquis Jing'an and his two legitimate sons. They were led into the mansion by the housekeeper. After all, it was not proper to let Liang Qingchen come to greet them.

Jiang Muyu was waiting at the door. When she saw Mu getting off the carriage, she immediately went to meet her and supported her.

"How can we trouble Her Majesty the Princess to come out in person to greet us? This is against the rules." Although she spoke in a reproachful tone, her tone was happy.

Jiang Muyu smiled and said, "It's normal for a daughter to go out and greet her mother. What's wrong with that?"

"You..." Mu tapped her forehead.

Dong and Lin got out of the carriage at the back and bowed gracefully, "Dong (Lin) greets the princess."

"No need to be so polite, sisters-in-law."

Jiang Muyu led them into the palace when a servant came to report that someone had been sent from the palace.

"Take the person to the main hall first, I will be there immediately."

"Yes." The servant hurriedly retreated again.

She turned to Madam Mu and said, "My daughter, please go out for a moment."

Mu nodded quickly, patted the back of her hand gently, and said, "Go quickly. Don't keep us waiting."

"clear."

Jiang Muyu left the west guest courtyard again and went towards the main hall.

She knew without hesitation that it was the Emperor and the Empress Dowager who had ordered the palace maids to deliver the birthday gift. Although her invitation was delivered to the palace, she never thought that they would come to the palace in person.

Sure enough, as soon as she entered the main room, she saw Eunuch Wang standing inside with his back to her.

She put on a friendly and dignified smile and walked over: "Eunuch Wang, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

Eunuch Wang turned around, also smiling, "What are you talking about, Princess? It is our duty as servants to wait for our master."

"Well, did the Queen Mother allow you to come to the palace this time?"

"Yes, the Queen Mother was not feeling well and could not come, so she sent a servant to bring a birthday gift to the little princess."

"The Queen Mother has always been in poor health. I understand. When I have time, I will go to the palace to visit her in person. This time, it will be Eunuch Lao who will make the trip."

The corners of Eunuch Wang's lips twitched slightly, and he thought to himself: The Queen Mother is not very happy to see you.

But he naturally didn't dare to say this, and nodded quickly.

Then he immediately ordered people to present the birthday gift prepared by the Queen Mother, which was a top-grade red coral, a superior purple clay Haitian Chuyue inkstone, and a set of exquisite head ornaments of extremely high quality.

Although the Queen Mother was not a very kind person, she was very generous in giving gifts. Jiang Muyu smiled so much that his eyes curved.

Although she had a fake professional smile on her face when she first came out, her smile was definitely from the heart when she sent Eunuch Wang away.