Yang Haiyan, surprised to hear this, replied, “That’s my fault; I should have visited you earlier.”

The Young Master’s Wife: “After hearing you say this, I really want to try them.”

Yang Haiyan: “What I made today isn’t what you’ve seen at the shop, but rather a new creation of mine. Please wait a moment.” She then called in Granny Lian.

Granny Lian entered holding a large round food box.

However, other families don’t have boxes this big.

Yang Haiyan took the large round box and placed it on the low square table in the middle: “Madam, why don’t you open the lid?”

The Young Master’s Wife found it interesting: “I hope there’s no surprise inside!”

Yang Haiyan: “You’ll see for yourself.”

Upon hearing this, the Young Master’s Wife became even more curious.

She lifted the string on the lid with both hands and removed it.

Inside, she saw a large, round cake. “What is this?”

The cake had three layers: the first layer was the smallest, the second layer larger, and the third layer the largest.

All three layers of cake were golden yellow, and the aroma was irresistible.

In modern times, this would be called a three-layer cake.

More intricately, the top layer had red characters that read: “Congratulations,” showing extra thoughtfulness.

Mrs. Ao Jiang was also very surprised: “This looks somewhat like a small cake.”

Yang Haiyan: “This is a three-layer cake; there are buttons on the side of the wooden box that can release a round plate around it.”

The Young Master’s Wife followed Yang Haiyan’s instructions and unfastened the circular board around the cake, then exclaimed in surprise, “There’s filling inside this big cake! The filling of the first layer… is it red bean?”

Mrs. Ao Jiang: “It looks like it.”

Yang Haiyan: “You guessed it right.”

The Young Master’s Wife was pleased: “Then for the second layer, is this yellow filling honey?”

Yang Haiyan sighed: “You’re right again.”

Seeing her confidence, the Young Master’s Wife felt even prouder but then furrowed her brows: “What is this third layer? It’s white; is it flour? No, it isn’t.”

Yang Haiyan: “Why don’t you cut a small piece and taste it? There’s still a surprise inside.”

Seeing her confidence, the Young Master’s Wife had Mrs. Ao Jiang cut a small piece.

Mrs. Ao Jiang said, “I’m not sure how to cut this; Haiyan, you should do it.”

Yang Haiyan picked up a long wooden knife, which she had asked the carpenter to make.

As she sliced from the top layer to the bottom in a diamond shape, she asked Mrs. Ao Jiang, “Aunt, do you have plates and small spoons?”

Mrs. Ao Jiang quickly instructed someone to prepare plates and small spoons, three sets in total—one for each of them.

Yang Haiyan prepared three pieces for each plate, each of a different flavor: “Madam, Aunt, please taste.”

The Young Master’s Wife and Mrs. Ao Jiang curiously sampled the snacks.

The flavors of red bean and honey were what they expected; while the cake was delicious, it wasn’t extraordinarily surprising.

However, when they tasted the filling from the bottom layer, they were completely conquered.

Indeed, there’s no woman who can resist cream.

Yes, the bottom layer was cream, but there was more than just that.

The Young Master’s Wife took a couple of small bites and began to guess: “I’m not sure about this white filling; it’s somewhat like milk, somewhat like flour. Judging by the taste, it should be dairy related—could it be made from goat’s milk? As for the other flavor, it should be apple.”

Yang Haiyan was also surprised and admired the Young Master’s Wife: how amazing was that?

She had flaunted a bit of modern technique, yet the Young Master’s Wife had seen through it immediately.

Seeing her expression, the Young Master’s Wife was particularly pleased.

She was twenty-five this year and had shed her youthful innocence.

Observing how unpretentious Yang Haiyan was, she naturally liked her: “What? Did I guess right?”

Yang Haiyan: “You really did! The first layer is red bean, the second layer is honey, and the third layer is goat’s milk apple, which is why I named this big cake ‘Goat’s Milk Apple Cake.'”

Having referred to herself as “this humble one” earlier, she now unconsciously drew closer to the Young Master’s Wife.

“Goat’s Milk Apple Cake?” The Young Master’s Wife pondered the meaning behind it, “That sounds quite appropriate, a pastry made with goat’s milk, apple, and eggs. However, I know about goat’s milk; how did you make it like this? And this flavor is much better than regular goat’s milk.”

Yang Haiyan said, “It’s a bit complicated to explain. I’ll write down the recipe for you later and send it over.”

The Young Master’s Wife replied, “No need for that. If I want to eat it again, I can just order it from your shop.”

The three of them enjoyed the fruit cake when Mama Tian came to report that the other wives of the thousand-man commanders and the other beauties from the generals’ households had started to arrive one after another.

Seeing this, the Young Master’s Wife said, “You all go out; I won’t go.”

She and the Young Master were avoiding attention and didn’t want others to know.

Mrs. Ao Jiang and Yang Haiyan: “Understood.”

Mrs. Ao Jiang and Yang Haiyan then stepped out to meet everyone.

The other wives and beauties didn’t find it strange.

After all, Qin Fang was from the Eighteenth District, and Mrs. Ao Jiang’s husband had previously been a thousand-man commander there, so naturally, Mrs. Ao Jiang and Yang Haiyan were the closest.

The banquet remained relatively harmonious, with none of the undercurrents typical in many novels.

Whether it was the wives of the thousand-man commanders or the generals’ beauties, everyone was exchanging polite compliments.

The beauties from the generals’ households were not familiar with Yang Haiyan, but the wives of the thousand-man commanders knew her well, mainly due to two incidents: the suicide on her wedding night and the opening of her pastry shop.

These two events had made Yang Haiyan quite famous among the families in the military camp.

As the banquet was drawing to a close, Mrs. Ao Jiang introduced Yang Haiyan to two wives of the thousand-man commanders, both of whom she had gotten along well with while living in the thousand-man commander’s residence.

One was from the Hong family, and the other from the Jiang family.

These two were previously under the same general as Mrs. Ao Jiang, and now that Mrs. Ao Jiang had been promoted, they were now under her command.

Thus, their relationship was good.

With this, Mrs. Ao Jiang brought Yang Haiyan to introduce her to the two wives, who naturally welcomed her.

After the banquet, Yang Haiyan walked a short distance with Granny Lian.

When they were almost at the door, she spotted Qin Fang’s figure and happily stepped forward a few paces, “What are you doing here?”

Qin Fang held her hand, “Are you cold? I waited for you here after the event ended.”

The hand warmer had long lost its warmth, and he was concerned she might be cold, so he waited for her there.

Yang Haiyan shook her head, “I’m not cold inside.”

There were more than ten families attending the banquet, but no one else was waiting there like Qin Fang.

Some people, upon seeing this, couldn’t help but think, “This Qin beauty has quite the skill; she has her man firmly wrapped around her finger.”

Once outside the general’s residence, Qin Fang asked, “Should we ride back quickly?”

Yang Haiyan nodded eagerly, “Yes, the donkey cart is just too slow.”

So the couple rode back, while Granny Lian took the donkey cart.

Upon returning home, Yang Haiyan quickly took a bath.

This is the convenience of having servants.

If they didn’t have servants, she would have to heat the water for soaking her feet and washing her face herself.

Now that they were back, Aunt Yu had already taken care of these tasks.

That night, Qin Fang didn’t read; after washing up, the couple climbed into bed.

Yang Haiyan nestled in his arms and talked about her day at the general’s residence: “Today, I met the Young Master’s Wife, and she was very courteous to me. The beauties of the general’s household are very easy to get along with, and she even asked me to call her ‘Aunt,’ which I didn’t refuse.”

Qin Fang’s hand rested on her waist, kneading her soft flesh, feeling quite good.

Listening to her, he explained, “Today, General Ao called me to the study to meet with the Young Master privately.”

Yang Haiyan understood immediately.

She had initially thought the Young Master’s Wife was being polite because of the soap formula incident, but it seemed her courtesy was mainly due to the Young Master’s connections.

Naturally, the Young Master’s Wife would be polite to someone the Young Master wanted to develop a close relationship with.

In the original story, after Han Zhen became a thousand-man commander, the Young Master also sought to privately win him over in this manner.

Two days later, on the seventh of December, the Qin family moved.

The eighth of December was the Laba Festival, and Yang Haiyan planned to celebrate it in their new home.

The commander’s courtyard was too small, and with the servants and private guards, it would be cramped, so they had to go to the new house.

After more than twenty days of settling in, the new home was almost ready, and the furniture she ordered had also been completed.

On the day of the move, Qin Fang went to the military camp for duty, while Uncle Hong and the remaining four private guards helped with the move.

When they arrived at the new courtyard, everyone admired the spacious environment, and their affection for the new place was quite evident.

Yang Haiyan made simple arrangements; since there were only two masters—herself and Qin Fang—the east and west wing rooms remained empty.

The servants stayed in the back room, while Granny Lian lived in the side room of the main courtyard.

In this two-courtyard layout, each servant’s duties became especially clear.

The pastry shop was temporarily closed, and Uncle Hong’s family also moved in.

The kitchen was under Aunt Fan’s management, but she had to take care of meals for the master, the private soldiers, and the servants, which was too much for her alone.

Thus, Aunt Hong assisted her.

As for Aunt Yu, the new house was spacious enough for her to manage on her own, and if she were to help in the kitchen as well, she would be overwhelmed.