"A birthday cake?" Zhu Xiang, Chef Wu, and his two apprentices all looked at Yan Ning and asked, "What is that?"
Seeing that the four people of different statuses were speaking in unison, Yan Ning felt bad for her quick tongue and explained with a troubled expression, "In the words of the capital, it's longevity cake, something eaten during birthday celebrations!"
"Oh!" The four nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.
On the day of the birthday banquet, all the guests were officials and dignitaries. After a busy day, Yan Ning knew that the old lady was too tired to see her again. Moreover, she had never made a cake before, especially in ancient times without machines, where everything had to be done by herself.
Realizing that success was impossible on the first try, Yan Ning rolled up her sleeves, which were embroidered with lilies, preparing to act immediately. Seeing this, Zhu Xiang quickly grabbed Yan Ning's hand, pulled down her rolled-up sleeves, and exclaimed, "What are you doing, Madam?"
Yan Ning glanced at Chef Wu and his apprentice, who were both hanging their heads, and smiled awkwardly. She told Chef Wu what she wanted to know about the ingredients and asked him for an empty stove.
A short while later, Chef Wu arrived with the ingredients, but he didn't intend to leave. Everyone knew that Yan Ning was the General's darling, and Chef Wu didn't even want to think about the consequences if something happened to her in the kitchen. He had worked hard for most of his life, and was about to return home in glory; he didn't want anything to go wrong.
When the Emperor sent him to the Fucha Mansion, his gratitude was heartfelt. Everyone in the palace knew that the Fucha Mansion in the capital was a favored residence, free from the cumbersome rules of the palace.
Unexpectedly, less than a year after he arrived at the Fucha residence, General Fu Heng volunteered to move out of the capital and build his own residence in the inner city. Although it lacked the grandeur of the capital, the freedom to move between the inner and outer cities satisfied him.
Yan Ning stopped what she was doing on her sleeve. She looked at Chef Wu and said, "Chef Wu, please go ahead and get busy! Zhu Xiang and I can handle things here!"
Chef Wu remained completely still. Having finally made it through decades, how could he let a small oversight ruin his future? "This servant will wait here. If Madam needs anything, please give the order!"
Seeing that Chef Wu still showed no sign of leaving, Yan Ning cleared her throat and said to Zhu Xiang, "Zhu Xiang, see Chef Wu out!"
Chef Wu's forehead was covered in a fine layer of sweat. Although he was a royal chef, his master was still his master, especially one as beloved as Fukang'an. Chef Wu wiped the sweat from his brow and followed Zhuxiang out. With such a delicate master in the kitchen, it was inevitable that she might be startled or frightened. Chef Wu didn't go far outside; he stood at the doorway. In case anything happened inside, he could try his best to clear his name.
"You two, come here!" Chef Wu straightened his posture and called his two apprentices over. "I've taught you quite a bit over the years, and now this is a good opportunity for you to gain experience. Don't you dare spoil the masters' appetites! Otherwise, I might not be able to protect your lives!"
Although the two sous chefs knew that their master was deeply worried about the new lady inside, they didn't say it out loud. They took the menus submitted by each courtyard, divided the tasks, and then went about their business.
Faced with these primitive fire-starting tools, Yan Ning looked troubled and decided to prepare the base sauce first. She looked through the ingredients; they were all what she needed. Chef Wu had even carefully labeled them for her, otherwise, she really wouldn't have been able to distinguish the fine powders that looked the same.
Yan Ning wanted to use peony 'dew' and chestnut flour to make the cake's prototype, so that the peony fragrance would infuse the chestnuts, smelling like peonies but tasting like chestnuts. Although Zhu Xiang had never seen anything Yan Ning had drawn, she did whatever Yan Ning asked her to do. For a time, the two of them were busy and having a great time.
Unfortunately, chestnut flour was too soft and difficult to shape, so Yan Ning added some glutinous rice flour to create the cake's basic form. Yan Ning was worried that she wouldn't know how to start a fire, but Zhu Xiang was quick and had already started the fire before Yan Ning could react.
Yan Ning gave Zhu Xiang an approving look and put the cake into the steamer. Half an hour later, Yan Ning took it out and found it to be soft and mushy, oval-shaped, and lacking any aesthetic appeal, so she had to start over.
After several attempts, a pile of flat, crooked, and riddled-with-hole chestnut cakes covered the kitchen counter. As if he had anticipated this, Chef Wu prepared ample ingredients for Yan Ning.
From Li Chang's words, Fukang'an began to have doubts about Xi Ying, but Xi Ying's gentle and virtuous image was already deeply ingrained in his mind. Fukang'an didn't really believe that all of this was related to Xi Ying; on the contrary, he thought that E Lan was framing Xi Ying.
As Fukang'an stepped into Changting Garden, Xia'er and Qiu'er, who had just changed into the maids' clothes of the Fucha family, came out of the side room and welcomed Fukang'an into the main room. Xi Ying was inspecting the Hundred Longevity Picture she had embroidered for the old lady when she looked up and saw Fukang'an enter. She quickly went up to greet him and curtsied.
Fukang'an waved his hand, signaling her to get up, and then walked to the main seat and sat down. "I saw you only accompanied by Qiu'er the other day. Is Xia'er sick?" Fukang'an glanced at Xia'er and Qiu'er who were guarding the door.
Xi Ying sat down in front of Fukang'an. "General, I am flattered that you care about me so much! My family had some matters to attend to, so I sent Xia'er back for a few days!"
"Oh? What is it?" Fukang'an knew about Xi Ying's family situation. Xi Ying was competitive and ambitious, while her brothers were disappointing and always caused her trouble.
"Haisheng's wife, Chen, is now eight months pregnant and about to give birth! But Haisheng is stingy with money and hired an experienced woman from the slums as a midwife. When I found out, I was afraid that the midwife wouldn't do a good job of delivering Chen's baby, so I ordered Xia'er to give the midwife the money. Who knew that the midwife would die at home a few days ago, so I asked Xia'er to keep an eye on Haisheng and make sure he finds a proper midwife."
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