After dinner, Kangxi left both of his sons behind, while Consort Tong led the women to rest on the other side of the screen.
"Mother, can't we really rest?" Qingyan looked at Consort Tong suspiciously. Was she going to stay in the imperial carriage all night?
Songkelierha was still young, and soon after dinner she fell into a drowsy sleep. Qingyan put the little one on the bed and covered her with a silk quilt. Shu and Shuzhu placed strong tea in front of the kang table.
"More or less," Consort Tong sighed helplessly. "It's not that your imperial father is being paranoid, but your two families' carriages are probably being watched!"
The guards reported that the back of Yin's carriage appeared to have been marked.
What!
When Qingyan heard what Consort Tong said, her eyes widened. How could such trouble have come about?
"Mother, you can't scare people like that!" Qingyan pouted, feeling that Consort Tong was exaggerating.
Consort Tong smiled, knowing that Emperor Kangxi had said that Xiao Guai would never believe it.
Yin Genjue Luo also laughed; Xiao Guai's behavior always surprised people.
"I wasn't trying to scare you!" Consort Tong smiled helplessly; the little guy really was a headache.
Qingyan pouted as she listened to Consort Tong analyze reality, feeling somewhat resentful. She and her sister-in-law hadn't offended anyone, so why should they be the ones to suffer and bear the brunt of the hardship?
She squatted down and took a few sips of tea, hoping to calm herself down.
"Sulan, go make three cups of coffee!" Qingyan felt unwell as she drank her tea.
When Consort Tong heard these two words, she couldn't help but frown. When the missionaries came, they often told Emperor Kangxi how many benefits coffee had, but she thought it was no different from bitter medicine.
"Little darling, just make the ones for you and the eldest son, you don't need to make them for me!" Consort Tong quickly dissuaded her, absolutely not wanting to suffer this trouble any longer.
Su Lan stood at the doorway, looking at Qing Yan, waiting for her to give the order.
The servants of the Imperial Household Department were all trained so that, apart from His Majesty, no other master's orders could exceed those of their own master.
"Mother, are you sure you don't want to? We're going to have to stay up all night!" Qingyan was afraid she wouldn't be able to hold on.
For over ten days, they were busy preparing for the trip, and the rest of the time was spent traveling day and night. The women were all exhausted from the journey. Songkriyirha was young, so she didn't have to suffer, but the rest of the women were different.
"Little darling, prepare me a cup. I'm really struggling these days!" Looking at Qingyan's appearance, Yin Genjue Luo Shi knew that she would be drinking coffee for a long time.
"Well, as long as you don't drink too much, it won't have any effect!" The people from the Imperial Hospital have said a lot about the bad effects of coffee. Besides, the missionaries mostly use black coffee and rarely have milk or sugar.
When the coffee was served, Consort Tong was immediately drawn to its aroma. She looked at the light brown liquid with surprise, noting that it was quite different from the coffee the missionaries had prepared for them.
"Little darling, is this coffee?" Consort Tong asked with a look of surprise. "How come it doesn't taste the same as the coffee I've had before?"
Qingyan nodded and handed his white porcelain coffee cup to Consort Tong.
Su Lan quickly brought her another cup and placed it in her hand. She took small sips, and her mood instantly improved.
"It tastes good, quite different from what the missionaries brew." Consort Tong praised Qingyan's taste, saying that if the missionaries had made it taste like this, she certainly wouldn't have thrown away all that coffee.
Qingyan smiled and explained that the missionaries mainly used black coffee. She also told Consort Tong that adding milk and sugar to coffee in a certain proportion could change its flavor.
"Go, brew another pot, let's take it to His Majesty!" Qingyan saw that Consort Tong was very satisfied, so he quickly called Sulan to do the work.
This time, Consort Tong did not refuse, but instead sipped her coffee with a delighted expression.
"Little darling, what's this called?" Consort Tong glanced at Shuzhu and told her to learn from Sulan. Every time, the Court of Colonial Affairs would send coffee as tribute, so it was best not to waste it.
latté!
"Suhua, go and bring all the pastries from the ice cube tray!" The tiramisu was specially made by Qingyan using the refrigerator in her space. It contained coffee powder, and the authentic taste was definitely better than modern ones.
Consort Tong and Lady Yin Genjue were both stunned. It was quite novel to have pastries chilled in ice cube trays.
"Like cream?"
At the Prince's residence, Qingyan used the kitchen's supplies to make her own cream. Consort Tong tasted it and fell in love with the flavor, making sure to include cream in every dessert she made.
"There's cream inside!" Qingyan said with a smile as she explained the recipe for tiramisu to the two of them. "It tastes a bit bitter, and it contains a lot of coffee powder. Also, there's a legend about this pastry."
After taking a sip of her coffee, she began to tell the legend of Italian tiramisu.
Tiramisu, take me away!
This summary is what many young girls love to hear. In Western Europe, boys often order tiramisu and roses to please girls.
As the story ended, the two women who had been listening had starry eyes. She couldn't help but chuckle, realizing that no matter what age a woman is, she will always have a hidden girlish heart.
Men in the Qing Dynasty all had three wives and four concubines. As for their wives, it was already very good if they could be given enough respect. Such words were very appealing to them.
Outside the tent, Emperor Kangxi and his two sons sat there with dark faces, listening to Qingyan's story, feeling extremely distressed.
Qingyan couldn't help but give Xiaoguai a thumbs up. All three couples had grown up together as childhood sweethearts and held each other in extremely high regard. Even a simple pastry could inspire such a beautiful story in Westerners.
"Little Fourth, what is this 'Ti Su'?" Kangxi hadn't been paying attention at first, but after noticing that his two sons' ears were perked up, he put down the memorial in his hand and eavesdropped.
Yin's face darkened. "What...su? It's clearly tiramisu."
"The missionary said it was a kind of dessert. After Xiao Guai got the coffee, she has been studying it. She just got it a few days ago. Today, Mother used the coffee, so she remembered to send over the tiramisu!" Yin was annoyed. The little guy should have made it behind Kangxi's back.
snort!
Kangxi snorted coldly. He thought that when he got something good, he only knew how to give it to his mother. He, as the father, had no status anymore.
"Father-in-law knows nothing about this!" Yin quickly interjected, noticing Kangxi's displeasure.
Immediately, a smile appeared on Kangxi's face. Yin and Yin exchanged a glance. Their father's ability to change his expression was too fast; they really couldn't stand it!
"Father, the gifts have arrived. We'll definitely give them to Father-in-law. Don't be too happy, though; he really liked the coffee!" Yin couldn't bear to see Kangxi so pleased and directly dampened his spirits. (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please read at m.qidian.com.)
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