Having spent so many days with the Fourth Prince, Lanqin had gotten to know his temperament a bit. Seeing him say this, she knew he was deliberately teasing her, so she pouted and said, "This concubine went to pay her respects to the Princess Consort this morning, and then Nianxue, Xicha, and the others came up with some new ways to prepare food. Then Your Highness will have something delicious to eat. Don't you think these things are a big deal?"
Fourth Master stared into Lanqin's eyes and said, "I haven't come to see you these past few days, are you angry?"
Lanqin glanced at the Fourth Prince with feigned resentment and said, "The First Prince has passed away suddenly, and I'm sure Your Highness is deeply saddened. Your Highness must be especially so with your wife. You should naturally spend more time with her."
Lanqin gave herself a good internal compliment. As a concubine, she had done a decent job.
"Understand the first wife, and cook food to please the master!" Lanqin couldn't help but chuckle, a hint of a smile playing on her lips.
"What are you laughing at?" Fourth Master had just given Lanqin a small thumbs up for her sensibleness, but seeing her laughing instead of being worried, he couldn't help but ask curiously.
"It's nothing, Master. Come with Lanqin to make candied apples and candied pears. I guarantee you'll love them!" Lanqin remembered what she had told Niu Baoquan that morning, so she immediately got up.
The Fourth Prince has been busy with Honghui's affairs and palace matters these past few days. Today, he returned at noon to visit the Little Princess and hopefully have a moment to clear his head. Seeing Lanqin's words, the Fourth Prince became interested in seeing what the Little Princess was up to.
When Lanqin called someone in to help her wash and dress, Fourth Master sat quietly to one side and watched Lanqin get ready. Nianxue, who was standing to the side, blushed at Fourth Master's opinion.
"Your Highness, Lanqin also bears some responsibility for Honghui's situation. If I hadn't made those things for him to play with, perhaps..." After gaining the Fujin's "forgiveness," Lanqin was eager to know if the Fourth Prince held any grudge against her for this matter. Having not seen him for some time, Lanqin had harbored suspicions that the Fourth Prince might be blaming her for the things she had made that had harmed the First Prince.
Before she could finish speaking, Fourth Master flicked Lanqin's forehead and lightly scolded, "I'm still investigating Honghui's drowning. You don't need to rush to take responsibility. I will find the person who should be held responsible. I know in my heart who is responsible and who is right and who is wrong."
Although Lanqin heard him scolding her, she felt a warmth in her heart. When the Fourth Master said that, he was actually saying that he didn't blame her. A weight was finally lifted from her heart.
When Lanqin and Fourth Master walked out of the main room hand in hand, they saw Li Shubao and several maids, including Huanbi and Ziran, gathered at the entrance of the small kitchen, washing some apples, pears and oranges in water.
Fourth Master walked up and frowned, saying, "These are the ingredients you want to make into candied apples and candied pears. Why are they all wilted?"
The servants were momentarily at a loss for words, but Lanqin quickly interjected, "I told them to get these unwanted fruits. If they're left for a few more days, they'll probably rot. It would be a shame to throw them away and use them in cooking."
Lanqin once saw baskets and baskets of fruit being thrown into the garbage dump and dragged away by the servants in charge of cleaning and chores in the mansion. She was stunned by the generosity of the Fourth Prince's mansion.
However, since he was born and raised in the most precious Forbidden City, the Fourth Prince would never eat such wilted fruit. Seeing that Lanqin was distressed by these things that they didn't care about, he felt that this little princess was not the kind of pampered woman. In fact, she could be described as "good at managing a household".
After washing the apples and pears, cut them into cubes. Lanqin called Niu Baoquan over and instructed him to prepare some flour paste. She then rolled each of the washed apple cubes in the paste. Next, she used long bamboo chopsticks to pick up the flour-coated apple cubes and fried them in the oil until they were golden brown.
Lanqin stood beside Niu Baoquan, explaining the characteristics of the dish as she spoke, and even Fourth Master listened with great interest. He probably never imagined that such an ordinary fruit could have so many intricacies.
It seems that the little princess not only loves to eat, but also knows how to eat well!
Once all the apple and pear pieces, along with the oranges, had been fried until golden brown, Lanqin instructed Niu Baoquan to prepare another clean pot. He poured in white sugar and simmered it over low heat until it turned a deep orange-yellow color and became a paste. Then, he added the apple pieces, stir-fried them briefly, and removed them from the heat.
Fourth Master didn't even have a chance to interject; he could only watch dumbly as Lanqin directed Niu Baoquan around in circles.
A moment later, I heard, "Master Niu, you've fried it too long!"
A moment later, I heard, "Master Niu, stir it quickly, the sugar is sticking together!"
Several maids also went into the small kitchen to watch Lanqin direct Old Man Niu in making candied fruit. They had never seen fruit made into a dish before, and they were all quite surprised by this novel approach.
After Lanqin rinsed the first bowl of candied apples in the prepared cooled boiled water, a bowl of candied apples with excellent color and taste was born.
"Master, come and have a taste!" Lanqin said to Fourth Master with her bright eyes, holding a bowl of candied apples.
Fourth Master stared blankly at the bowl of things. He had never eaten fruit like this before, but it looked quite tempting.
Huanbi, quick-witted and agile, handed a pair of chopsticks to the Fourth Master. After glancing at her, he took the chopsticks, picked up the candied apple from Lanqin's bowl, smelled it first, and then took a small bite.
"Excellent, delicious! Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with the aroma of fruit, caramel, and flour. Fourth Master has always preferred sweet flavors and dislikes greasy, meaty dishes, so this candied apple is indeed to his liking." He ate several pieces in a row and said to Lanqin, "Hongjun and the others will definitely love this way of eating! Very well done, Niu Baoquan, reward him!"
"This servant thanks Your Highness for the reward!" Niu Baoquan was overjoyed. If he hadn't been frying apples in his hand, he would have knelt down immediately and kowtowed twice to Fourth Master and Lanqin.
Lanqin cheerfully called to Nianxue and the others to come and try it, but they dared not do so because the Fourth Master was present. Ziran said, "Princess, Chef Niu already knows how to make candied apples. There's a lot of smoke here, so please go back to your room and rest. I'll wait here and watch over it. Once it's done, I'll send it to you immediately."
Lanqin was also a little tired, and besides, the small kitchen was indeed not big. With all of them crammed in there, it was a bit crowded. So she said to Fourth Master, "Master, let's go back to the room. We'll leave this to them."
Fourth Prince nodded and instructed Zi Ran, "Go and send some to Third Prince, Eldest Princess, and Second Princess." After saying that, he and Lan Qin carried the first bowl of candied apples back to their room.
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