“Huahua, eat some pomegranate!” Qiu Kui peeled a handful of pomegranates and handed them to Jiang Yanyi.

Jiang Yanyi snapped back to reality, putting away her motherly gaze.

She tossed a piece of pomegranate into her mouth and bit down, releasing a burst of sweet and sour juice.

With determination, she exclaimed, “Today is another day to work hard at the shop!!”

Though Qiu Kui didn’t know why Jiang Yanyi was suddenly so invigorated, she felt happy too, echoing her shout: “Open the shop, open the shop!”

The two laughed together in the courtyard.

Jiang Yanyi was preparing to deliver osmanthus cakes to the neighbors.

Although she thought pumpkin cakes were quite tasty, osmanthus cakes would be better for gifting.

She didn’t know much about making cakes, but she had noticed that osmanthus cakes frequently appeared in novels she read in the past.

Out of curiosity, she searched for tutorials online and managed to make them that looked pretty good.

Jiang Yanyi entered the kitchen, mixing rice flour and glutinous rice flour in a bowl.

Osmanthus cakes primarily use rice flour to ensure they are not too sticky.

Adding a bit of glutinous rice flour increases the stickiness, preventing the cakes from falling apart at the slightest touch.

The method of making osmanthus cakes is intricate, especially when it comes to the water used.

Fresh milk is best; if not available, soy milk can be used instead.

Using plain water might result in a slightly lacking flavor.

Since Jiang Yanyi was new to the area and didn’t know where to buy fresh milk, she found it too troublesome to grind beans and cook the soy milk just for a cake.

So, she asked Qiu Kui to go out and see if there were any breakfast stalls selling soy milk, to bring some back.

Qiu Kui returned shortly with two big bowls of soy milk.

Jiang Yanyi only used a portion, planning to fry two youtiao (fried dough sticks) to eat with the remaining soy milk for breakfast.

When making osmanthus cakes, the “moisture” of the rice flour is crucial.

If there’s too much water, it will be sticky; too little will result in cakes that fall apart when steamed.

The right consistency should allow you to squeeze it together with your hands, and it should fall apart easily when you pull it apart.

After this step, Jiang Yanyi sifted the rice flour mixture through a fine sieve, ensuring a soft texture.

After sifting, she covered it with a damp cloth to let it rest for a while.

She had Qiu Kui start a fire and heat a pan for the filling, planning to make both filled and solid osmanthus cakes.

The filling consisted of peanut powder and red bean paste.

Why red bean paste? Because sugar was too expensive, and Jiang Yanyi felt it was a bit too painful to use.

She heated the peanut powder in the pan over low heat, and after scooping it out, she immediately mixed it with dried osmanthus flowers and red bean paste.

The osmanthus flowers released their fragrance as they were enveloped in the hot peanut powder.

Jiang Yanyi added some lard to enhance the flavor; it was said that traditional snacks needed lard to bring out the taste.

Qiu Kui leaned over the stove, inhaling the aroma: “I now think osmanthus cakes are the best cakes in the world; pumpkin cakes can only rank second.”

Jiang Yanyi smiled and replied, “I’ll make you jujube cakes another day.”

Qiu Kui was nearly in tears from longing: “Huahua, let’s just open a cake shop!”

Jiang Yanyi found her amusing.

She spread a layer of the rested rice flour mixture in a mold, sprinkled dried osmanthus flowers on top, then added another layer of flour, followed by the filling, and topped it with another layer of rice flour and dried osmanthus flowers.

After leveling it with a spatula, she placed it in the steamer to cook.

Finally, it was done!

Jiang Yanyi kneaded the remaining dough and fried two youtiao, and she and Qiu Kui enjoyed one each with soy milk, resolving their breakfast.

Once the osmanthus cakes were ready, Jiang Yanyi removed them from the mold, cut them into pieces, and delivered a plate to a few nearby families.

The neighbors had heard that Lui Ji’s rouge shop had been rented out, but the new tenant had been living a quiet life, and they hadn’t met her yet.

Today, they saw a young lady with a striking appearance, who was also efficient in her work, delivering cakes to them for the first time.

Without saying much else, her thoughtful demeanor instantly left a good impression on them.

On her way back, Jiang Yanyi’s food box was stuffed with the neighbors’ return gifts.

This was a good start, and she felt happy, her steps noticeably lighter.

The last large plate was taken to the Duhu Mansion.

Jiang Yanyi knocked on the large red lacquered door of the Duhu Mansion and handed over the plate of osmanthus cakes, explaining her intention.

The doorman accepted it and said he would inform the master of the mansion.

Just as Jiang Yanyi returned home, Feng Shuo arrived at his doorstep on horseback.

He spotted Jiang Yanyi leaving from in front of his house and recalled that not only had he not picked up the pomegranates that had fallen into her courtyard that morning, but he had also intentionally picked two for her.

Something in his heart stirred, like a cat’s paw scratching, as he eagerly wanted to know what she had come over for.

Upon entering his house, his first question to the doorman was, “Did the chef from the neighboring shop come by?”

The doorman was taken aback by the question.

Once he collected himself, he quickly relayed the news about Jiang Yanyi delivering the osmanthus cakes: “That girl said that two pomegranates from the tree in our western courtyard fell last night due to the wind, so she specially made a plate of cakes to send over.”

Feng Shuo’s dark eyes brightened slightly as he asked, “Where are the cakes?”

The doorman had just entered the house when Feng Shuo mounted his horse and rode to the door.

The cakes had indeed not yet been taken away.

When he opened the door for Feng Shuo, he also placed the cakes in the nearby side room.

As soon as he heard Feng Shuo asking about them, he hurried to fetch them.

He was somewhat surprised; he thought this matter would just be reported to the steward, and that would be enough to inform him of the favor.

Unexpectedly, Feng Shuo seemed quite interested in this matter.

The doorman recalled that the girl who delivered the cakes had a lovely appearance and had a vague guess in his heart.

He secretly resolved to be more cautious if he encountered that young lady again in the future.

---

Feng Shuo strode toward the western courtyard with the large plate of osmanthus cakes, the fatigue of the previous night dissipating slightly at this moment.

The western courtyard was only separated from Jiang Yanyi’s courtyard by a wall, and he could regain about ninety percent of his sense of taste here.

He sat in the pavilion eating pastries.

The osmanthus cakes on the plate were cut into beautiful diamond-shaped pieces, adorned with tiny bits of dried osmanthus.

They were soft and fluffy, with a sweet and rich filling in the center.

The taste reminded him of the osmanthus cakes he had eaten before he lost his sense of taste.

Perhaps sweets could help people relax; at this moment, the sharpness in his features faded, and his expression became somewhat absent-minded.

His delicate eyelashes hung low, and the strands of hair on his forehead floated gently in the breeze, the corners of his mouth lifting into a bitter curve.

The wound on his palm, which he had torn open that day, had not yet scabbed over.

Today, during training, it had been ripped open again.

Blood stained the osmanthus cake, and he swallowed it all, as if swallowing down his past.

The metallic sweetness lingered in his mouth, and he realized that the countless times he had clenched his teeth and swallowed blood over the years were filled with the taste of rust.

Everything he possessed now had been snatched away like a vicious dog.

Only his sense of taste—something he thought he would never have again—had suddenly returned.

He wanted to hold onto this sense of taste.

Recognizing the flavors of sour, sweet, bitter, and spicy made him feel alive.

But beyond taste, he could faintly sense something else from that chef, though it was too vague.

He had an instinct that if he got closer to her, he might understand what it was.

“Huahua, the osmanthus cake is so delicious!”

The voice from the neighboring courtyard broke Feng Shuo’s thoughts.

Due to his martial training, his hearing was sharper than others; even without trying to listen, the sounds from next door were especially clear to him.

“The filling is really sweet!”

“Huahua, you must try some!”

Chattering, it was all the same person’s voice, not the one he wanted to hear.

It seemed heaven had finally granted his wish, as a cheerful and melodious female voice soon sounded from beyond the wall: “I’m eating pomegranates; the sweetness of these is more to my liking.”

Feng Shuo’s gaze involuntarily shifted to the pomegranate tree at the corner of the courtyard.

She liked eating pomegranates.

This plate of osmanthus cakes had been exchanged for two pomegranates.

If more pomegranates had fallen, what would she make tomorrow?

That night, a shadow slipped past the patrolling guards of the mansion and entered the vacant western courtyard, crazily tearing half the pomegranates from the tree and stealthily tossing them into the neighboring yard.

Xing Yao stood on the wall, helping his master keep watch, unable to refrain from speaking up: “Master… the tree is almost bare.”

Under the moonlight, Feng Shuo pressed his delicate lips tightly together, staring in the direction of Jiang Yanyi’s room, murmuring softly, “I can’t be the only one in turmoil.”