Chapter 633 Strawberry Cake
The gates of the Xiao residence were tightly closed, and outside were guests who had come to offer their birthday wishes.
As everyone knows, today is Old Master Xiao's birthday. The four selected restaurants have already entered the Xiao residence, but there is no sign of a banquet being held at the entrance.
"Is Old Master Xiao planning to hold a small celebration this year?"
"No way, I've noticed the Xiao family has been buying a lot of ingredients these past few days. If they're not holding a banquet, what are they buying them for?"
Amidst the murmurs, the gates of the Xiao residence suddenly opened.
Xiao family servants poured out and stood in a row, forming a human wall to block the guests from entering.
At this moment, Xiao Huai and Xiao Zheng came out from inside and bowed to everyone.
Xiao Zheng was a high-ranking official in the capital. Outsiders would assume he came from a prominent family, and no matter how high his status, he couldn't compare to an official. So, he quickly took a few steps back, bowed, and said, "Greetings, Lord Xiao!"
Xiao Zheng waved his hand, indicating that everyone didn't need to be so polite.
The servants made way for Xiao Zheng to step forward.
"Thank you all for remembering my father's birthday! My father prefers peace and quiet, so I will not ask you to sit down. Anyone who has come to the Xiao family to celebrate his birthday today may take a snack with them when they leave."
Xiao Zheng's words were very clear: offering birthday greetings was acceptable, but entering was not allowed, nor were gifts accepted; one should simply collect some refreshments and leave.
Some people think the Xiao family is too arrogant, but they forget that the Xiao family didn't invite them at all.
Arriving uninvited is disrespectful to the Xiao family.
It goes without saying how many of them wanted to take the opportunity to curry favor with the Xiao family.
Xiao Zheng was an official appointed by the imperial court, while Xiao Huai was a notorious playboy in Yunhe County.
He glanced at the disgruntled people outside and shouted, "If you have an invitation, the Xiao family welcomes you to celebrate our birthday. Please proceed to the Xiao family hall with your invitation. If anyone tries to cause trouble, don't blame me for being ruthless!"
Xiao Huai waved his fan, and suddenly many yamen runners appeared at the door, the leader of whom was Chen Yongnian.
Chen Yongnian bowed to the two young masters of the Xiao family, then turned to the surrounding crowd and said, "Chen Yongnian, the military officer in charge of the military affairs, is ordered to maintain order in Yunhe County. Anyone who causes trouble will be punished with a beating!"
His imposing presence was so overwhelming that it made people feel somewhat intimidated.
But when Xiao Huai saw this, a wicked smile curled at the corner of his mouth. He thought to himself: Wan Qiqi really has some skills. He was looking forward to his future interactions with Wan Qiqi more and more.
At this moment, someone produced an invitation, "Gentlemen, the Zhou family has come at your invitation!"
Xiao Huai took the invitation, glanced at it to confirm it was correct, handed it to his servant, and said with a smile, "So it's Master Zhou, please come in!" He gestured for him to come in.
Once everyone had gone inside, his expression suddenly changed, and he murmured in a low voice, "Father went to great lengths to get me married. Now that the Qin family is gone, he wants Miss Zhou."
Xiao Zheng took a step back and replied in a low voice, "I heard that the Zhou family's youngest daughter is engaged to the Xie family, so you can rest assured."
Xiao Huai's eyes flashed with surprise, "Fourth brother, how come you have such good connections in the capital?"
Xiao Zheng smiled without saying a word, accepted the invitation from the person who had woken up, and led the people inside.
"I heard you're engaged?" Xiao Zheng turned his head and asked the person next to him.
Xie Xing looked surprised. "I only found out about this yesterday. How did you know?"
"Why should I tell you?" Xiao Zheng said arrogantly, then added, "If you really want to pursue a career in government, you should take it one step at a time, with a clean record, otherwise I can't protect you!"
Xie Xing raised an eyebrow. "Ah Zheng, it's been years since we last met, and you're lecturing me the moment you arrive?"
"This isn't a lesson, it's a warning, for your own good."
Xiao Zheng and Xie Xing chatted as they walked inside.
Not far away, Xiao Han frowned upon seeing this.
My brother and Xie Xing are old acquaintances and have a good relationship. Now that we meet again in the officialdom, it remains to be seen whether we can maintain our friendship in the future.
He couldn't help but feel a little worried, fearing that his younger brother's past integrity would be ruined by his friend.
However, Xiao Han didn't think about it for too long. Recalling what Wan Qiqi had told him before, he decided to go and check on the situation.
If Wan Qiqi's possessions truly please her father, it would be the icing on the cake for the birthday banquet!
Kitchen and side room.
Wan Qiqi held the piping bag and squeezed the filling onto the cake for a while, but still thought it looked awful and was an eyesore.
Then, she glanced at the strawberries next to her and decided not to decorate them with buttercream frosting, but to simply stick strawberry slices on top.
Soon, Wan Qiqi had decorated the cake with strawberries, making it look very pretty with their red and white colors.
With a creak, the door was suddenly pushed open.
Wan Qiqi's concentration was interrupted, and she was startled by her sneaky actions. The strawberry slipped from her hand, fell to the ground, rolled a few times, and stopped in front of a pair of cloth boots.
Wan Qiqi looked up from the cloth boots and finally saw a foreign face. She was startled again. "You didn't knock before coming in?"
"I was looking for a place to rest, but I didn't know you were here," Aji said earnestly, as if it were true.
He saw Wan Qiqi talking to Xiao Han, and then he secretly ran away, wanting to see what this woman was up to.
As it turns out, this person really does seem to be a ghost!
Aji looked down at the things at his feet, bent down to pick them up, and held them between his fingers for a long time, his eyes filled with doubt. "What is this? And what is that?"
His gaze passed over Wan Qiqi and lingered on an unidentified object on the table.
Before Aji asked these questions, Wan Qiqi had the urge to knock Aji unconscious and then run away with the cake.
If the other party asks, just say that they are hallucinating and that nothing like that happened.
However, she had to give away her cake.
Once Aji sees the cake, he'll know it's not a hallucination but a real event, and he'll come to question who did it.
Therefore, Wan Qiqi has more to explain.
Therefore, Wan Qiqi felt it was time to be clear: "What you have in your hand is a strawberry, and what's on the table is a birthday cake."
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