Worried that her younger sister wasn't eating well, she discussed with the rest of the family what kind of filling and delicious snacks to make.
I secretly made about twenty rice crusts, Ruyi cakes, and Yunnan ham pancakes.
Later, we removed the first two items and focused on making Yunnan ham pancakes instead, which were more satisfying.
Slice the ham thinly and steam until cooked. After removing it from the steamer, cut it into pieces the size of mung beans, add white sugar, honey, salt, and Sichuan peppercorn powder, and marinate for one and a half hours.
Then put some flour in the pot and stir-fry until it turns slightly yellow. Add the previously marinated filling to the lard and flour and mix well.
Then knead the dough with lard, honey, sugar water until smooth, and divide it into small portions.
Wrap the previously marinated filling inside and bake it in the kitchen oven over low heat for half an hour.
Wang Pangzi had the pastry chef's apprentice make it, took it to the kitchen to bake, and came back in the afternoon carrying a whole box.
Crispy and crumbly, with a perfect balance of salty and sweet. Wang Yan ate as she wrapped up two more packs.
I can't bring too much, for fear of being discovered, but this is delicious and can also solve my immediate problem.
My sister definitely needs to eat some meat, and the maids and servants in the courtyard share some with her, so that no one will say anything if she sneaks out to eat a couple of bites of meat and vegetables every day.
Don't think that no one can guess it, they just don't say it.
She cursed Aunt Yang inwardly a couple more times. How could she serve the young master if she didn't let the servants eat well? How could she cause trouble like this!
After Wang Yan returned home, she secretly slipped 20 coins to the old woman guarding the gate, which was quite a lot.
Granny Shi gave a wink, and soon after, Wang Ying was called over by Granny Shi to help close the door. The two quickly completed the handover of the items.
Wang Ying quickly pretended nothing was wrong and stuffed the two packets of pastries into her sleeve.
Two palm-sized oil paper packets, each containing 20 small pastries. They weren't filling, just enough to satisfy a craving.
After she returned home, during lunchtime, Manjing helped distribute the two bags of pastries.
Contrary to Wang Yan's expectations, the gifts were not distributed to everyone, but only to her brother, Chun'er, Xingzi, and the two gatekeepers.
As for the others, well, with so many people taking it, there are bound to be some with malicious intentions.
But unexpectedly, even with just a few people, something still happened!
The head maid, Fangtang, came over with a cold face and said, "Young Master wants you to go to the main room."
The two exchanged a glance, their hearts pounding with unease. "May I ask, sister, what brings you here?"
Fang Tang sneered, "What have you two done that you don't know? I advise you not to be too smug. You've deceived your superiors and betrayed your master. You even dare to disregard your master, and yet you still managed to find out. Such shamelessness is rare indeed!"
The two of them were immediately berated and then led to the upper room by Fangtang.
The third young master was lying on the bed, feeling dizzy and weak, while Xiang'er squatted on a low stool, carefully attending to him and wiping his eyes with a handkerchief from time to time. She looked extremely distressed.
Seeing the two of them approach, the young master raised his hand. "Did someone say you two were secretly eating together?"
Wang Ying and Man Jing weren't sure if he was bluffing or if he really knew. "Third Master, what makes you say that?"
"What did you eat?!"
As soon as he said this, the two maids who had served him for so many years immediately understood that his somber and confident tone meant he definitely knew.
Not daring to argue at that moment, Wang Ying steeled herself and was about to speak when Manjing spoke first.
"Please forgive me, young master. My younger sister is still young and works in the laundry room. She has never heard of the concubine's request for the whole courtyard to eat vegetarian food. She was rewarded for delivering clothes to the madam with two packets of Yunnan ham cakes."
On the way back, they passed by our courtyard and, seeing me, were so overjoyed that they came over.
I couldn't very well leave the courtyard to chase after her, and I didn't dare leave the lady's reward unattended, so I simply called two maids to share it.
Thinking of the blessings bestowed by elders, it inevitably carries a sense of good fortune.
He also specifically instructed them to return to their room after eating to chant sutras and pray for the Third Master.
"You're talking nonsense! It was clearly Wang Yan who delivered it, and you took it and distributed it to everyone." Liu Xiang'er stood up anxiously and insisted.
But the Third Young Master raised his hand to interrupt, looking at Fang Tang and Xiang'er with displeasure, "I thought they ate some weird stuff, but it's just two packs of Yunnan ham cakes, is it really necessary to make such a fuss?"
He suffered from headaches and nausea, and couldn't eat anything, let alone meat. He was barely clinging to life, relying on medicine and porridge every day.
Naturally, he had no interest in paying attention to what orders Aunt Yang had given to his courtyard.
It was only after today's commotion that I realized the servants in the courtyard hadn't had any meat for days.
He sighed, "I asked the head kitchen to make me a pot of chicken soup today. You can start eating now!"
"Third Master!" Fang Tang was rebuked twice and dared not speak again, but Liu Xiang'er was dissatisfied and stomped her foot, squatted down and begged again.
Fangli returned with the medicine kit from outside and saw her tugging at the young master's sleeve. She went over and helped her up.
"Miss Xiang'er! Young Master is dizzy and can't stand being shaken. Could you please take this medicine packet to the tea room and brew it for him?"
Gu Ting was finally able to catch his breath; he was dizzy and unable to speak.
After Liu Xiang'er left, Fang Li smiled and said softly to Wang Ying and Man Jing, "Don't be afraid, it's alright."
"Go out. Didn't the young master say he wanted chicken soup? Go to the main kitchen and inform him."
Then, he turned and glared at Fang Tang, who pouted unconvinced.
After the young master fell asleep, the two quietly withdrew and returned to Fangli's room. The head maid had her own room.
Fangli tapped her forehead with her hand, exasperated. "What are you doing? Do you need to intervene when they're stealing food?"
You've offended people for no reason and gained absolutely nothing. You're being used as a pawn, you know that?
Fang Tang retorted indignantly, "Young Master is sick and can't eat anything, but they're eating bags of food with their mouths greasy! This is disrespectful to their master, they deserve to be dragged out and beaten to death!"
Fangli rubbed her forehead. This was only possible because she was her own sister. If it were an outsider, she would have kicked her out long ago and promoted a clever partner instead.
"Alright, even the young master is making excuses to let them eat meat, so you better behave yourself and stop causing trouble!"
It's not worth it to fuss over such trivial matters and alienate the servants! This stupid girl just can't learn no matter how I teach her.
After dealing with Mu Jin so ruthlessly a couple of years ago, the Third Young Master realized something was wrong and has been trying to make amends and salvage his image ever since.
Otherwise, how could everyone in the courtyard have received so many rewards?
The two packets of gold and silver melon seeds in Wang Yan's house were what the brother and sister earned from their daily chores.
Fangtang wasn't that stupid after all. After she explained things to Fangtang in detail, Fangtang, who had originally wanted to scold the gatekeeper, remained silent.
If she doesn't step forward, others will naturally become impatient. Liu Xiang'er personally led Chun'er to find the mother-in-law who opened the door today.
"Granny Shi is in charge of the gates of our courtyard, so we have to be careful, lest we be dragged out and sold off one day because of dereliction of duty!"
Grandma Shi gave her a cold look, said nothing, and turned to go back into the house. It was time for her shift to change.
Liu Xiang'er never expected her to have this attitude and was met with a cold shoulder. However, she was afraid that the old woman would be unpredictable and start cursing, so she couldn't do anything about it.
With a cold snort, he could only toss the handkerchief aside and turn back into the house.
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