Suddenly, he felt his sleeves move, and when he turned around, he saw Duan Tingfang saying in panic, "Brother, you look so ugly, you have to force a smile."
"They have to be able to squeeze out. Don't you see that these guys have already regarded themselves as wolves before they even entered the house?" Duan Tingxuan said angrily, looking up at the sky. The scorching sun was blazing in the sky. He suddenly took a few quick steps to the prince and said with a fake smile: "It's hot today, why did you come here? Don't you usually stay at home in such weather? Even the queen doesn't need you to pay respects. My grandmother is just celebrating her 68th birthday. How can you deserve to come in person?"
The prince smiled and waved his fan. Although he was fat and clumsy, he was of noble blood and had a bit of a carefree temperament. Hearing this, he chuckled and said, "Speaking of which, this is all thanks to you, Tingxuan. Thanks to you for going to the East Palace every evening to train me these past two days. Don't say, although I was so tired that I was foaming at the mouth, my body is really much stronger than before. You see, I didn't sweat much from the East Palace to here. But it's hot weather after all. Go get me two bowls of herbal tea when you get into the house. Make them big."
Duan Tingxuan staggered and almost fell to the ground. Did he shoot himself in the foot? Prince, you are the crown prince, how can you be so mean? Who did you learn this from?
Jiang Changning also echoed and laughed, "That's right, in this weather, drinking your sister-in-law's herbal tea is the best way to cool down. Also, in order to avoid being conspicuous, you should find a side hall for us first, and it's best not to let too many people know we're here."
"Did the Second Prince think of not letting too many people know about this now?" Duan Tingxuan sneered, "What a pity! You guys are so loud and powerful, do you think you can hide it if you want to?"
Before he finished speaking, the guests in the hall had received the message and came out to greet them. The scene was chaotic for a while. After finally finishing the worship, Duan Tingxuan saw several servants coming out from the back of the house, talking and laughing. He was immediately stunned when he saw these people, who kept running back and forth as if they were going to escape. He shouted, "Come here, why are you so timid? You, go to the backyard and tell them that the princes are here. Ask your grandmother to send a few more maids to serve tea and water."
"Yes." The servant who was named ran away in a flash. The remaining few looked at each other at a loss, and then Duan Tingxuan ordered again: "The princes' carriages are outside. You guys go and help clean them up. By the way, what did you say just now? What happened in the backyard?"
A servant bowed and said, "My Lord, we just asked Madam Lu to go to Chunfeng Garden for help. Madam made something this big. It has seven layers and is called a birthday cake. We didn't see what it looked like, but we helped to carefully lift it and put it on a small wheelbarrow. It will probably be transported to the North Courtyard now."
"Birthday cake?"
The prince was the first to call out, and just looking at his anxious look at that moment. It was hard to tell that this was the crown prince who was praised by the emperor as "calm, wise, and unparalleled in benevolence and righteousness". He turned around and said to Duan Tingxuan: "I don't think we need to sit in the hall. Let's just have some fun today and celebrate grandma's birthday. By the way, let's take a look at what my brother-in-law's birthday cake looks like. Wow, seven layers? Did she build a building?"
Everyone had also heard that the fierce woman in the Anping Marquis's mansion had changed her personality and was now clever and skillful, and was even good at cooking. They came here today with a glimmer of hope, wondering if they could eat some fresh dishes. After hearing the servants' story, they had been itching to try it. After hearing the prince's words, many people responded immediately. So the old marquis Duan Ni followed suit and took his three sons to accompany seventy or eighty guests to the north courtyard.
At this time, Su Nuannuan, Aunt Jing Duan Xinqi and several maids were unaware of the grand occasion in the North Courtyard. They were slowly watching the maids pushing the cake cart over there. Honglian kept reminding them to be careful. Although there was a shelf blocking the way, it was too easy for something to go wrong with such a tall cake, which would spoil the fun.
"Okay, Honglian, you don't have to be so nervous. I see that everyone is pushing forward steadily. If you keep talking like this, it will make people panic. Something will happen if nothing happens." Su Nuannuan shouted at Honglian while waving a round fan, and immediately received the sincere support of the maids. They were indeed almost scared to tears by Honglian.
"Grandma, did you ask grandpa to custom-make this cake stand?" Aunt Jing also noticed that the maids were in a bad mood, so she quickly brought up a topic, hoping to make those poor maids relax a little.
"Yes, your master is unreliable. He told me five days in advance. It was too late to make it now. Fortunately, he is on good terms with the Fourth Prince. He asked the skilled craftsmen of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to make it according to my description. He is a master after all. Although it looks a little different from what I described, it is flexible and delicate. If it weren't for this frame, the cake today wouldn't be so majestic."
"Sister-in-law, I can't wait to see the cake being unveiled in front of all the guests. To be honest, I've never imagined that kind of scene in all my years. It must be so exciting."
"Don't say that the second young lady hasn't imagined it. Even I... Grandma knows where I was that day. It's the world's number one den of money. If we talk about singing and dancing, luxury and extravagance, there is no place that can compare to it. But I have never seen such a scene."
Aunt Jing, who was always calm, was slightly excited in her tone, but she heard Su Nuannuan laugh and said, "Don't say that. You also know what kind of person I was back then. Your grandfather said that I was arrogant and extravagant. Today, I let you understand it like this. Well, my filial piety has turned into a life of luxury."
"I was just making an analogy." Aunt Jing didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Suddenly, she saw a few maids hurried over from the opposite side. Seeing them, they greeted them with a happy face and said with a smile: "Grandma, why are you still taking your time here? You don't know, the old lady's yard is crowded with people. The halls in the entire north courtyard are packed with people. Everyone is waiting for grandma's birthday cake."
"What?"
Su Nuannuan was surprised: "How can there be so many people? Didn't they say before that there were only more than a hundred? I counted and it's about the same. There aren't so many noble wives in the capital that they can overwhelm the crowds, right?"
The old woman laughed and said, "Originally there were only more than a hundred female relatives, but the princes came. Once they came, the adults, the princes, and the dukes, marquises, and earls also came. There were more than a hundred more people, and the courtyard was crowded."
Su Nuannuan stood there, with no wind around her, but she felt like she was going to get confused: Damn, there are more than a hundred more? This cake... is there enough to share? God has mercy on her, her arms are sore, damn Duan Tingxuan doesn't know how to control the flow of customers? So many people showed up at once, even a god can't do anything.
"Who said that Grandma made a birthday cake?" Aunt Jing grasped the crux of the matter decisively. The maids laughed and said, "How dare we ask? Grandma, you should go quickly. The old lady is waiting impatiently."
Aunt Jing heard this and thought: OK! Can we let the old man wait? So she turned to Su Nuannuan and said, "Sister, since that's the case, let's hurry up."
Su Nuannuan spread her hands and said, "I would like to go faster, but the problem is that I can't go faster." Then she pointed to the maids and said, "They are already walking on thin ice. If we speed up, who knows if there will be mistakes?"
Aunt Jing was speechless. As expected, several wives and old ladies started to shout, "Don't hurry up, grandma. If you hurry up, the big cake will fall down."
The maids who came rushing over were also dumbfounded, and suddenly heard Su Nuannuan laughing again: "If you want it to be faster, it's also possible. Go back and tell your master to come over to pick you up, otherwise just wait."
Several maids took the order and left. In less than half an hour, they saw the young marquis rushing over. When he got close, he complained, "I'm so angry. I thought there would be delicious food here today, but the crown prince, the second prince, and the fourth prince brought the other princes. I don't know what birthday gifts they gave, but their intention to plunder is obvious. And those adults, when they heard about this cake, they lost their manners and stretched their necks to look. Nuannuan, your cake... Oh my God, it's so high, does it really have seven layers?"
Su Nuannuan rolled her eyes and gritted her teeth and said, "It's only the seventh floor. I thought there would be many guests today, and I must make sure the old lady's birthday is perfect. One piece for each person would be enough. Who knew that more than a hundred people came? I don't care. If you have the ability, you can distribute it."
Duan Tingxuan laughed and said, "No, if Nuannuan divides it, no one can say anything. If I divide it, it will be difficult. After all, I still have to hang around in the court, and I will meet those guys one by one. Who should I give it to? You have to divide it. Um! In fact, there are not more than a hundred guests. They are all guests who should come. It's just that you are biased, thinking about the women and forgetting about us men... Jing'er, you are still laughing. This is what you want, right?"
Aunt Jing just kept smiling as usual. She didn't expect to be shot. She was speechless and turned to Su Nuannuan and said, "Grandma... I... Grandpa... I... How could I smile? It's just... very normal... Should I cry on a day like this?"
"Look at you, Sister Jing is so angry that she's talking nonsense." Su Nuannuan couldn't help laughing, and said to Aunt Jing, "Okay, don't worry. Our master is getting anxious and angry because he sees too many wolves fighting for food."
"That's right, I was just too anxious. If I had known earlier, I should have made this cake with 17 or 18 layers..."
Before he could finish, Su Nuannuan kicked him. The young marquis reacted quickly and jumped away. His wife gritted her teeth and said, "Try to say that to me again? Seventeen or eighteen floors? Do you think I'm playing with building blocks? We've been busy with this one since early in the morning, and with the help of the second lady, Sister Jing, and the maids, we're all exhausted. You're still thinking about the seventeen or eighteen floors. Do you want to tire us to death?"
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