Chapter 55 (Biscuits)

Palace

A pretty woman was half lying on the couch, she looked to be in her thirties, with some traces of age at the corners of her eyes, but the rest of her body was well taken care of, her figure was charming and alluring, her gorgeous palace dress was neatly taken care of by the palace servants, even though she looked so lazy, she did not look unkempt.

The weather was still a little cold at the end of January, and there were two charcoal stoves in the palace, which kept the temperature just right.

After a while, the woman moved, and the palace maid immediately came forward to help her turn around and put her clothes in order.

The woman curled her lips in comfort, her narrow and seductive eyes slightly opened, and she asked lazily, "What's the reaction from the Xiao family?"

The voice seemed lazy, but it revealed majesty and coldness.

The palace maid said hurriedly, "I don't see any difference. The Xiao family has never liked to go out. It has been like this for many years. The servants in the mansion are also the same as before."

"Hmm?" Concubine Lu narrowed her eyes and spoke in a deep voice.

The palace maid turned pale and began to sweat from nervousness. However, she really didn't know what else was different. She kept recalling what she had seen in her mind. Finally, she managed to come up with one answer: "Early this morning, a servant went to Prince Chang's mansion and delivered a large can of milk."

Concubine Lu said with an unchanging expression, "You sent it over specially?"

The palace maid whispered, "Yes."

"Where's Lao Wu?"

The palace maid said, "His Highness said that he has many things to do in the new mansion outside the palace, so he will come to pay respects to the Queen on the first and fifteenth day of every month."

Concubine Lu's eyes turned cold, she bit her lips in frustration, and with a hint of resentment, she said unhappily, "Go kneel for an hour."

The palace maids shuddered, but seemed to be relieved, and went out and knelt obediently. Although they were punished, it was better than having a sword hanging over their heads. Recently, the queen's temper has become worse and worse, mainly because Prince Chang has regained power, and the princes have been crowned kings one after another, and there is no longer any special treatment as before.

Especially now that the fifth prince has been crowned king, Concubine Lu is even more uncomfortable as she cannot come to the harem whenever she wants and cannot see her son.

When the empress was in a bad mood, she would punish these palace maids. She would not let them die, but would injure them. If she didn't like them, she would replace them. Countless palace maids came and went in the palace.

She knelt on the ground. The other palace inhabitants who were busy in the palace looked at her with sympathy, but no one dared to say anything and they spoke even more softly.

Xue Family

The young man came back from the west of the city again, his handsome face showing a bit of disappointment. He walked past sighing all the way, completely ignoring the woman who was watching him.

The woman frowned deeply and said in a deep voice: "Xue Jiahe, the exam is coming up soon. What are you doing out all day?!"

Xue Jiahe paused, bowed to the woman, and shouted, "Mom, I'm just going out for a walk."

Madam Xue strode closer and sneered, "Old Fifth, I gave birth to you, and I don't know you? How can you run out every day without anything? What on earth is there in the west of the city that has attracted your soul? Could it be that girl from the prostitute courtyard--"

"Mom, don't talk nonsense!" Xue Jiahe raised his voice in embarrassment, interrupting his mother's somewhat excessive words, but his flushed face and somewhat sparkling eyes showed his guilty conscience.

Madam Xue stared at him closely, not missing a single change. She asked hesitantly, "If you are not from the courtesan, then why do you always go there?"

Xue Jiahe didn't want to say anything more, so he cupped his hands and said, "Don't worry, mother. I will do my best in the exam and won't delay."

He wanted to leave after saying this.

Seeing her son angry, Mrs. Xue softened her attitude. She quickly chased after him and coaxed him softly, "Jiahe, mother is just angry that you always go out and ignore your studies. If you have anything to do, tell me. If there is a girl you really like, I will go and propose marriage to you..."

Xue Jiahe stopped abruptly and asked in surprise, "Really?"

Madam Xue's eyes sparkled, and she smiled and said, "Of course it's true. What's the girl's family background like?"

Xue Jiahe's enthusiasm immediately cooled down like a bucket of cold water. He hesitated and asked, "What if it's not good?"

Although he knew that the girl was in the Xiao family, he also heard from his nephew that she was not a real member of the Xiao family, but just a guest. She was able to live there for a long time, which might have something to do with it, but given the current situation of the Xiao family, it might be related to her. It would be better for him to let his mother like her.

As a son, he knew his mother's temperament very well.

Mrs. Xue's smile did not change, she secretly thought to herself, and said softly: "That's not impossible, it's just Jiahe, you also know that although you are the legitimate son, you already have your eldest brother in the family, and the Xue family's property will naturally be distributed to him. If you take the imperial examination route, you must not be alone in the court. It would be great to have a good father-in-law to help you..."

Xue Jiahe felt a little cold in his heart and turned away.

Madam Xue hurriedly followed, and began to get a little annoyed: "What else can I do? I'm doing this for your own good. Besides, what's wrong with being the daughter of Prince Jin? She has the title of county lord, her father is a prince, her brother is also very promising, and is deeply trusted by His Majesty. Even if a new emperor ascends the throne in the future, she will have a very good future. With such a Yue family——"

"I don't need it!" Xue Jiahe growled with an unpleasant expression.

This outburst of anger made Madam Xue's face pale. She dared not chase her son to talk anymore. She just watched him walk away. She stamped her feet in anger and said angrily, "Little ungrateful bastard! Am I not doing this for his own good? It's really a bargain for him to marry the daughter of Prince Jin. He can't just like a woman with a good family background..."

"Grandma~" a baby voice sounded.

Mrs. Xue's ugly mood froze for a moment, but she quickly calmed down and smiled: "Hey, come here and give grandma a hug."

Xue Guangxiu trotted over, his big eyes twinkling, and asked, "Grandma, is my uncle going to get married?"

Mrs. Xue smiled and asked, "How do you know?"

"Because he always asks me about Sister Shu's situation, my dad said he must want to get married. Grandma, can you help my uncle marry Sister Shu?" The child smiled expectantly on his face: "Then I can eat delicious food every day!"

Mrs. Xue's smile disappeared at this moment, and she wondered, "Sister Shu? Who?"

Xue Guangxiu said: "She is Xiao Pingzhou's elder sister."

Mrs. Xue then remembered and frowned. Her grandson and Xiao Pingzhou were in the same enlightenment class. In the past, the Xiao family would send some food to the children to seek the parents' approval.

At that time, she even praised the cook for her cooking skills. She never expected that her own son would actually like a cook?

Mrs. Xue's face darkened and she was about to get angry, but when she thought of the way her son was obsessed with her and wouldn't let her say a word, she hesitated again. But she was just a cook, so if she took a concubine to comfort her son first, it wouldn't be impossible.

She muttered that she had to ask someone to find out about the girl's situation.

Even if she was a concubine, not everyone could enter the Xue family.

“A-choo!”

Yan Qiushu sneezed and rubbed her nose subconsciously.

Dongdong immediately pointed at her hand and was very happy: "Sister Shu, your nose is white!"

Yan Qiushu glared at him and smeared three white marks on his face: "Now you are like this too."

Dongdong covered his face in horror.

The two people next to them were still laughing, Yan Qiushu went over and wiped each of them, Xiao Pingsong and Wan'er both exclaimed and quickly wiped their faces.

Yan Qiushu then shook her head, washed her hands, dried them, and kneaded the dough into a ball again. On the table beside her, the butter had already been extracted.

After being frozen overnight, a layer of milk skin will form on the surface of the milk, and under the milk skin is the fat. Scoop it out and put it into a bowl and stir it constantly. Add ice milk continuously during the stirring process to prevent the temperature from rising and the butter from melting.

Until there are more and more cotton-like things, finally they are picked out and shaped into butter. However, because it is not processed by machines and is purely manual, the color of the butter can only be off-white. However, after being squeezed by oil paper, it is still a square solid.

She cut a piece with a knife and put it into the pot, where it immediately melted into oil and water. Yan Qiushu then put two slices of meat on it and added a little pepper and salt, and a simple steak was ready.

The children were originally wondering what they could do with this food, but after tasting the different-tasting meat steak with a hint of milk flavor, they understood and pestered Yan Qiushu to make more food.

But Zhou Zhaoqin also came.

The child's mother just passed away, so he definitely wouldn't be able to eat it if the food was cooked as pickled mustard greens. However, Yan Qiushu still hesitated for a moment. Is milk considered vegetarian?

Fortunately, Aunt Xu was knowledgeable and told her that milk is vegetarian, and eggs, if they are first laid eggs, that is, unfertilized eggs, are also vegetarian, so Yan Qiushu thought of making it.

Among all the bread, toast is her favorite.

It is being kneaded into a ball at the moment.

Wait for it to ferment, knead it, ferment it again, add butter and knead it again until it becomes a smooth ball. Check whether it can be stretched to the point where a glove film can be formed.

At this step, wait for it to ferment for a while, then press it again to expel the gas inside, knead it into a ball, put it in a baking iron box, and finally put it in the oven.

In addition to toast, Yan Qiushu also made a lot of cookies, which was a much simpler step.

While waiting for the toast to bake, the cookie dough can be taken out halfway through. Because there is an open flame here, the wax paper will burn if you put it in. Therefore, the bottom of the cookie dough is in direct contact with the iron plate. After taking it out, you need to pry it open one by one with a small shovel.

"I'll do it, I'll do it!" Dongdong volunteered, raising his little hand high.

Yan Qiushu handed him the small iron shovel. Round yellow biscuits were lying on the iron plate. He used the knife to shovel them over and with a little force, the biscuits turned over and fell off.

Wan'er picked up the food one by one with chopsticks and put them on the plate.

After Dongdong had pried a few of them, Yan Qiushu waved to Zhou Zhaoqin: "Second Prince, do you want to help?"

The young boy who had been standing obediently by the side had been motionless at first, but when he heard this, his eyes obviously brightened up a lot. Just as he stepped forward, Nanny Li held him back and frowned, saying, "Miss Yan, you can't order the Second Prince around!"

Yan Qiushu went straight to Madam Xu's side, pulled Zhou Zhaoqin over, and asked, "Do you want to come?"

Zhou Zhaoqin pursed his lips and nodded slowly.

Dong Dong also listened to the movements of his hands. Although he was a little reluctant, Zhou Zhaoqin looked so pitiful. He handed the shovel over and reminded him: "Be careful, don't touch the iron plate with your hands, it's very hot!"

"Yeah." Zhou Zhaoqin raised the corners of his lips slightly, blinked his bright eyes and came over, prying open the biscuits one by one. There were not many on this plate to begin with, and when he had pried them all open, he looked at Yan Qiushu with some pride and wanted to say something, but quickly calmed down and lowered his head.

Yan Qiushu rubbed his head and said, "Wow, you are really amazing. You pried it out quickly and well!"

Zhou Zhaoqin couldn't help but let the smile widen.

Yan Qiushu smiled and took the children to the restaurant: "Let's go and eat some biscuits!"

"Okay! I want to eat a lot!" Dongdong had been looking forward to it for a long time and was the first to run in. Wan'er and Xiao Pingsong were also infected and they couldn't wait to go over and pat their seats first.

Yan Qiushu walked over slowly, holding Zhou Zhaoqin behind her.

Nanny Li, who was ignored the entire time as if she didn't exist, had a very dark face and was somewhat helpless and anxious.

Of course she understood the Royal Concubine's hint. She was not Zhou Zhaoqin's wet nurse. As for the Third Prince, except for the Third Prince himself who was a prince and whom the Emperor was reluctant to kill, almost all the others were dead, including Zhou Zhaoqin's wet nurse.

The Imperial Concubine sent her here, hoping that she would coax Zhou Zhaoqin into hating Prince Chang and his wife. However, before she could react, the situation changed and the Imperial Concubine also got the news. In this case, she decided to sow discord between the Xiao family and Prince Chang.

This is even more appropriate. The Royal Concubine has also prepared an excuse. If she fails to take good care of the child, she can punish her justly.

But Zhou Zhaoqin, who had not eaten much these days, ate a bowl of rice in one go yesterday. Now he is so interested in this cookie. Looking at the sugar added in it, he wants to lose weight after eating it like this? How is it possible?

The key is that no matter how she deliberately made trouble, the seemingly arrogant Miss Yan ignored her and was always gentle and patient with Zhou Zhaoqin, making her fist hit cotton without any effect.

If it really was of no use at all, she dared not even think about the methods that the Imperial Concubine would use.

Nanny Li was panicked and hurried over, just as she was about to talk about testing the poison.

The woman in front of her had already frankly let her take it: "You can only take one piece, hurry up."

Nanny Li's face darkened, but this was the Xiao family, so she didn't dare to be too arrogant. She could only pick up a piece of meat in frustration, muttering in her heart, "What good cooking skills, what kind of weird things are you making, how can it be delicious when you have never seen anything like it..."

But as soon as the biscuit entered her mouth, Nanny Li was stunned again.

Compared to yesterday's fried rice, this thing called biscuit in her hand is amazing!

The texture is extremely crispy and seems dry and hard to chew, but it softens with a little saliva. The rich milk flavor and sweetness are mixed with a slight salty taste, which is truly sweet but not greasy. With a little force, the biscuit seems to break into crumbs in the mouth, and the "crunch, crunch" sound of chewing gradually decreases, and finally disappears imperceptibly, leaving only a sweet milky fragrance between her lips and teeth.

This taste...

She thinks she can have a good time!

But just as the year came to mind, the woman smiled and handed biscuits to the four children: "This is your portion for today. Don't eat too much, or you won't be able to eat lunch later."

Then the children thanked in their baby voices. Zhou Zhaoqin, who had been silent for the past few days, followed the other three children and said sincerely, "Thank you, Sister Shu!"

Yan Qiushu smiled and said, "You're welcome."

Each child was given six slices of biscuits. She ate two of the remaining slices. Aunt Xu and Shui Yan were given five slices, and there were just enough left.

Just after dividing the pieces, Yan Qiushu took the remaining ten pieces and was about to give them to Shui Yu and Nanny Xu, when she suddenly realized that someone was staring at her. She followed her feeling and looked over, and saw Nanny Li looking at her.

Seeing her looking over, Nanny Li was about to smile: "This cookie is really ingeniously made and tastes great."

Yan Qiushu: “Thank you.”

Then he handed the biscuits to others and clapped his hands: "Let's make another one! One for each yard. Pingsong and Wan'er, you can take them back later."

The three children who were eating happily nodded quickly: "I know."

Dongdong finished speaking, and continued to take a big bite of the biscuit very busily. The crispy biscuit suddenly had a neat gap, and some crumbs stuck to the corner of his lips. He pursed his lips, chewed non-stop with his teeth, and his cheeks bulged. After he finished eating what was in his mouth, he stuck out his tongue, not forgetting to eat every bit.

Nanny Li took a deep breath, and the air was filled with the aroma of milk. It was even more unbearable because she had tasted it before. But she could also tell from Yan Qiushu's expression just now that she had no share in this thing!

She felt a little regretful and wished she had known better not to try it this time.

No, it should have been earlier. She shouldn't have offended this girl in the first place!

Really not giving me anything at all!