The bamboo curtain at the doorway swayed slightly. Only the two sisters were inside. Shi Xi looked at Shi Lan with a serious expression, "What exactly are you trying to do by sending people to monitor the side courtyard?"
Shi Lan rolled her eyes and muttered, "I didn't!"
Shi Xi glared at her, "I heard everything, and you still won't admit it? You want me to bring Mother here so she can question you, right?"
Shi Lan's expression changed, and she quickly jumped off the chair, grabbed Shi Xi's sleeve, and begged for mercy, "Sister, I'll tell you everything, but please don't tell Mother."
Shi Xi said with a stern face, "You go first."
Helpless, Shi Lan had no choice but to tell him about her visit to Shi Yi that day, adding, "Sister, I was just curious and wanted to see what was going on with her."
Shi Xi frowned at her, and after a long while said, "Now that you've seen it, what are you going to do?"
Shi Lan shook her head and chuckled, "She went to all that trouble to make chicken soup, she definitely didn't do it for herself. I bet it's to please either Dad or Mom. I'll make one too, and we'll see whose it is."
“She doesn’t know how to please Mother; she knows Mother hates her,” Shi Xi said coldly, as if mentioning Shi Yi was an insult to her.
Shi Lan stared blankly at Shi Xi's sudden change of expression, without saying a word.
Shi Xi sensed something was wrong, and her expression softened. "These are things from the previous generation. You're still young, so you don't need to worry about them."
Shi Lan nodded, thinking to herself that this was not a matter of reason or not. If she wanted to protect the Shi family, she had to confront Shi Yi. When the emperor lost his temper, he didn't care how young she was.
The curtain swayed, and Cuizhi hurried in. "Reporting to Miss, Eldest Miss, we did indeed request a chicken for the side courtyard, and specifically requested an old hen."
Shi Xi gave a cold laugh, "She certainly has standards."
Shi Lan stroked her smooth chin and asked, "Cuizhi, what are you best at?"
“Miss, you’ve forgotten, my specialty is pastries.”
Shi Lan pursed her lips.
Yes, the original owner had a sweet tooth, especially for sweet and sticky pastries. In order to let her eat them anytime, Cuizhi specially learned a special skill in making pastries from the cook.
Shi Xi glanced at Bi Cao standing at the door and sighed.
When she was little, she liked sweet and sour fruits. Ever since she started following her, Bi Cao has been thinking about making candied fruits, but she is not good at making soup.
"Fine, then let's make some desserts," Shi Lan said, being a straightforward person. Since she couldn't compete, she decided to find another way.
As the sun set, steam filled the small kitchen of Lanxiang Courtyard. Cuizhi carefully took out the small square cakes in red, green, white and purple from the steamer.
Shi Lan looked at it with longing and reached out to pick one up, but it was too hot and burned her so badly that she jumped up and threw the pastry away.
"Miss, how are you?" Cuizhi hurriedly put down the delicate porcelain plate in her hand, grabbed Shi Lan's small hand, and blew on it vigorously.
Shi Lan grinned, inhaling the cold air; her several snow-white, chubby fingers were already red from the heat.
As night fell, a dim yellow lantern was slowly raised from the side courtyard. Two figures, one tall and one short, walked around the flowering trees for about half an hour before arriving at the door of the study. As soon as they stepped onto the bluestone path leading to the study, they heard Shi's father's hearty and cheerful laughter coming from inside.
The person who was about to take a step paused, and Dan Cai, who was standing outside waiting to be summoned, quickly stretched out her arm to stop her.
"Master is currently handling official business. Miss, please come again tomorrow."
Shi Yi's expression was extremely cold. Hearing the children's laughter inside, she slowly clenched her fingers and stared coldly at Dan Cai, who was smiling insincerely. Ying Tao, who was supporting her, stepped forward and shouted, "Miss knows that Master is busy with official business, so she specially prepared a nourishing soup. How many servants do you have to dare to stop her like this?" As she spoke, she stepped forward to pull her away.
Dan Cai was a servant who attended to Shi Fu's writing and ink, and she usually had some influence in the household. Hearing Ying Tao's merciless rebuke, her face flushed, and her delicate little face immediately changed color.
"Master instructed us not to disturb you unless necessary. I stopped you for your own good, so you wouldn't get a bad experience and lose face."
Dan Cai, quick-witted and sharp-tongued, immediately retaliated after being humiliated, raising her eyebrows in a defiant manner.
Cherry was furious and pushed Dan Cai, causing her to stumble. Dan Cai was not about to back down and immediately started fighting with Cherry. Cui Zhi, who was waiting for Shi Lan a few steps away, could not stand by and watch, so she could only try to stop them and occasionally lend a helping hand to Dan Cai.
Inside the study, Mr. Shi's face was dark, and the smile that had been on his face earlier was gone. Shi Lan sat obediently to the side, diligently copying the calligraphy, occasionally stealing glances at Mr. Shi.
The noise outside the door grew louder and louder. Finally, Mr. Shi could no longer contain himself and slammed his hand on the table, shouting, "Someone come here!"
There was a moment of silence outside. The carved door was pushed open from the outside, and Dan Cai fell to the ground in a disheveled state. She rushed to complain, "Master, I kindly advised the Second Miss not to delay your official business, but who knew that Cherry couldn't tell the difference between green and red and would beat me like this." As she spoke, she pitifully raised her small face full of scratches.
Cuizhi knelt quietly to one side without saying a word.
Shi's father glanced at Cuizhi, frowned, stared at the disheveled Dancai, and remained silent.
Shi Yi gracefully stepped across the threshold, curtsied elegantly, and said, "Daughter greets Father."
A hint of impatience flashed across Shi's father's brows. Too lazy to even call out to her, he asked her coldly, "What happened just now?"
Shi Yi glanced at Dan Cai indifferently and said calmly, "I heard that Father often works through the night on official business. Staying up all night is the most exhausting thing. I was worried that Father was too tired, so I specially made some nourishing soup. Just now, I was a little too emotional and lost my sense of propriety. Please punish me, Father."
Shi Yi gracefully bowed again. Seeing that she was very polite and spoke in a gentle tone, and that she seemed to have no dissatisfaction, her father relaxed his tightly furrowed brows and gave a soft "hmm".
Cherry opened the food box, took out the warm soup pot inside, and placed it on Shi Fu's table.
Shi Lan looked at the white soup pot with blue flowers, pursed her rosy lips, and said with admiration, "Second sister is really amazing, unlike me who burned my hand while making a square cake."
Upon hearing this, Mr. Shi didn't even bother to look at the soup pot. He quickly grabbed her chubby little hand and looked it over from side to side. "Where are you burned? Are all your maids good for nothing? How could you possibly do those chores?"
Shi Lan held up her little hand and pointed to her slightly red finger, indicating the injury to her father, "It's here. You can see it's still red."
Mr. Shi blew on the wound tenderly and asked softly, "Does it still hurt?"
Shi Lan shook her head, picked up the last piece of cake from the plate, put it to her father's lips, and said coquettishly, "Daddy, eat the cake. If you eat it, Lan'er won't feel pain anymore."
Mr. Shi was so moved that he melted into a lump in his stomach. His daughter was so young, yet she was so filial. She even got her hands all injured while making him snacks.
Shi's father opened his mouth and ate the pastry in one bite.
Shi Lan blinked her big almond-shaped eyes and looked at her father expectantly, "Is it delicious?"
Mr. Shi nodded, feeling the sweet and glutinous taste flow from his mouth to his heart. "Delicious."
Shi Lan smiled, her eyes crinkling, and happily wiggled her little feet.
(To be continued.)
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