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Chapter 1: Pea Wandering Puff Pastry and Egg Yolk Meat Muffins
Bianjing, in a poor neighborhood called Tan Alley.
A family was crying at their doorstep.
“My child! We finally found you!”
A woman slapped her thighs as she wailed, nearly collapsing from emotion.
“Damn those kidnappers!”
A man in a short tunic and straw sandals was sobbing uncontrollably, snot and tears running down his face, yet he still held his wife to keep her steady.
In the middle of all this, Ye Zhan was also wiping her tears.
She had originally been an orphan. After years of effort, she became a top chef, only to accidentally time-travel while searching for ingredients.
After crossing over, she found herself as a maid in a wealthy household. Just as she was getting familiar with the place,
she unexpectedly received shocking news two days ago, she had actually been kidnapped as a child!
It turned out that the kidnappers had unknowingly taken the daughter of a princess. Once caught, they confessed to a string of old cases, and she was one of the long-lost victims.
Hearing how the Ye family had sold off their possessions and never stopped searching for their daughter over the years, Ye Zhan, who had grown up as an orphan, was deeply moved as they clung to her and wept.
When she had transmigrated, the original owner of this body had already died of illness. Thinking of how this family had been torn apart and how she herself had never had a family, tears welled up in her eyes.
“Thank you, officers!”
In the midst of her crying, Ye Zhan’s mother, Mi Feng Niang, suddenly seemed to remember something. She wiped her tears with a handkerchief and swiftly got up to pour some water.
“You must be cold from standing outside. Let me prepare some tea for you two.”
The two constables waved their hands. “No need to trouble yourself. We are just following orders.”
Only then did the group turn their eyes toward the young man standing nearby, upright like a tower.
He wore a crimson robe embroidered with intricate patterns, layered with iron armor.
Under the sunlight, the silver sheen of the armor gleamed like scattered frost. A bright red sash cinched his waist tightly, accentuating his broad shoulders and narrow waist.
Ye Zhan quietly admired him in her heart: What a striking young man.
Sensing their gazes, the young man gave a polite nod.
“We are from the Jinwu Guard, merely assisting with the case. You need not be so formal. Please carry on.”
Ye Zhan mentally took note.
Her time as a maid in a wealthy household had given her some knowledge, Jinwu Guards were imperial bodyguards.
Given that a county princess had been abducted, it made sense that the emperor’s personal guards were involved in the search.
Mi Feng Niang, however, didn’t concern herself with such details. Instead, she immediately praised him, “Officer, you truly have an imposing presence.”
She then brought out some fine Liu An tea for the guests, all while shouting for her husband to buy lychee paste and snow pears from the alley entrance.
“No need for such courtesy.” The Jinwu Guard raised a hand to stop her. “We are on duty and cannot impose.”
With a single glance, he signaled the constables that it was time to leave.
Mi Feng Niang quickly tugged at her husband’s sleeve.
The couple enthusiastically sent them off. “Officers, you are our family’s saviors! Please do us the honor of stopping by whenever you pass through!”
Even in the midst of this, Mi Feng Niang didn’t forget her business. “By the way, are any of you three unmarried? I happen to be one of the top matchmakers in this neighborhood!”
Then, as if suddenly realizing something, she smacked her forehead. “Oh, how foolish of me! Officers like you wouldn’t need someone like me for matchmaking. That’s a job for the high-ranking “zi bei zi” matchmakers!”
It was only later that Ye Zhan learned that even matchmakers in the Song Dynasty had different ranks.
Matchmakers like her mother, who carried parasols and wore simple skirts, were the lowest tier. Only the “zi bei zi” matchmakers were qualified to arrange marriages for officials.
Yet, with just a few words, Mi Feng Niang had managed to flatter the right people.
The constables, who had originally intended to leave without another word, suddenly chuckled and decided to share some extra information:
“The kidnappers have been caught, and the princess was overjoyed to reunite with her daughter. In a few days, she will hold a religious ceremony at Daxiangguo Temple. There will be alms distributed, you should wait at the mansion gates, and you might receive some rewards.”
Ye Dafu and Mi Feng Niang beamed even brighter at this news.
They bowed repeatedly as they sent off the officers before eagerly pulling their daughter inside. “My child, come in, come in!”
Only now did Ye Zhan get a proper look at her home.
Only one wall was made of bricks, while the rest of the house was built with wooden planks.
It was clear they had constructed this “illegal extension” by leaning against someone else’s brick house.
The roof was low, and one had to duck upon entering to avoid hitting the doorframe.
Inside, the furniture was in shambles:
Rather than household items, it all looked more like discarded junk.
Ye Dafu rubbed his hands anxiously. “Well… it’s not much compared to other people’s homes.”
Mi Feng Niang also stole a glance at her daughter’s face, looking nervous.
Ye Zhan felt a pang in her chest.
Though her parents were shrewd and street-smart, they were still worried about whether their daughter would dislike her new home.
So she made sure to put on a bright smile. “Father, Mother, our home is great. I like it very much.”
The two elders let out a relieved sigh and eagerly pulled their daughter to sit down.
“We were afraid you wouldn’t be used to it.”
Ye Zhan placed the paper-wrapped package she had been holding on the table and unwrapped it. “Before coming home, I borrowed the kitchen at the mansion to make some pastries. Please try them, it’s my way of making up for all the years I wasn’t here to show my filial piety.”
At these words, the elders’ eyes reddened again. They took the pastries from their daughter’s hands. “Such a thoughtful child. Even if they don’t taste good,”
But before they could even finish their sentence, they both froze.
It smelled amazing!
Mi Feng Niang had picked a delicate pink pastry shaped like a peony flower. The moment she took a bite, the white flaky crust crumbled effortlessly, melting in her mouth.
The texture was as soft as clouds, filling her with sheer delight. Then came the flavor.
It was pea paste, smooth, golden, and without a hint of graininess, clearly filtered and refined numerous times. The sweetness was perfectly balanced, infused with a faint floral aroma.
Mi Feng Niang examined the pastry again. The filling peeking out from the peony center was a light pink hue, likely a mixture of pea paste and floral jam.
The delicate floral fragrance cut through the sweetness, elevating the entire pastry to something truly exquisite.
Ye Dafu had chosen a different one, its golden crust bore a small red dot on top.
The moment he bit in, the crispy layers flaked apart, revealing a rich, savory filling.
Curious, he examined the cross-section. Beneath the airy pastry were two distinct layers: one golden, the other resembling fine shavings of wood.
Ye Zhan was worried that her father might not be used to the taste, so she explained to him, “The golden part is salted egg yolk, and inside, I used pork to make meat floss.”
Bianjing had an abundance of waterways and ducks, so salted egg yolk was nothing rare. But what was this meat floss? Ye Dafu wasn’t the type to overthink things, he simply took a bite.
The salted egg yolk was soft and crumbly, with a slightly grainy texture. Whatever method had been used to process it, it had no unpleasant odor, only a rich aroma. It was so fatty that oil oozed out, filling his mouth with an indescribable satisfaction.
And that thing called meat floss, it was amazing. Slightly salty, it melted instantly upon entering the mouth. A mere press of the tongue, and it disappeared without a trace, leaving behind an endless, rich fragrance.
Golden, crispy crust, orange-hued egg yolk, amber-colored meat floss, how could such a combination of colors and textures be so delicious?
And this was in its cooled state. Ye Dafu couldn’t even begin to imagine how fragrant this pastry must have been when it was fresh out of the oven.
But was this really something his daughter had made? The couple found it hard to believe.
They put away the remaining pastries and recounted the past to their daughter. “When you were born, you were as beautiful as a flower. Even as a child, you looked like a golden boy or jade girl straight out of a painting. People used to say you had come to our family to enjoy a life of fortune.”
Perhaps it was because she was so adorable that, on the third day of the third lunar month, while visiting Jinming Pond in Bianjing with her family, she was kidnapped by traffickers.
The neighbors all said, “Raising a daughter means preparing a dowry. Finding her would only be a waste of money. Better off lost.”
But the Ye family was determined to find their daughter. Since she had gone missing in Bianjing, they even moved the entire family to the city to make the search easier.
That move led to their family’s downfall.
The Ye family had once been prosperous farmers in the countryside near Bianjing.
They owned dozens of acres of farmland, one ox, two donkeys, and three large tile-roofed houses. During busy farming seasons, they could even afford to hire tenants to work for them.
But after moving to Bianjing, the cost of living, the expenses of searching for their daughter, and the money lost to conmen who falsely claimed to have leads drained their wealth. Before long, they were left penniless.
With no other choice, the entire family had to find their own means of survival:
Ye Dafu set up a pawn stall, his wife arranged marriages and became a matchmaker, and the other children took up various jobs. While scraping together a living, they continued to search for any news of Ye Zhan, struggling to get by.
By the time dusk arrived, her siblings had returned home one after another. The family reunited, wiping their tears and recounting their struggles over the years.
The Ye family seemed to have a strong twin-bearing gene.
The couple had given birth to a pair of twin sons and a pair of twin daughters, plus a youngest daughter, five children in total.
Their names were quite extraordinary: “Gold, Silver, Jade, Zhan, and Liuli”, the house was practically sparkling with precious treasures.
The two brothers looked exactly alike, but their personalities were completely different:
The eldest, Ye Jin, was eighteen. He dressed stylishly in a black double-collared tunic, kept his beard neatly shaved, and had a bright red rose tucked into his hair. With his slicked-back hair and constant smile, he had the appearance of a smooth talker.
The second brother, Ye Yin, had a straight nose and square mouth, a full beard framing his face, and a sturdy build. His clothes and shoes bore traces of dust, an upright and down-to-earth man.
Their professions were just as different. The eldest worked as a drifter at a tavern, pouring drinks and running errands for wealthy young masters, while the second was a fire guard at the city patrol bureau.
The eldest sister, Ye Yu, was Ye Zhan’s twin, though they didn’t look alike.
At fifteen, she had honey-colored skin, an oval face, a sharp chin, and a perky nose. Her entire demeanor radiated liveliness and confidence.
Her sleeves were rolled up high and secured with a fabric loop, her hair neatly combed to the sides of her face, decorated with a colorful paper ornament. She was efficient and capable, now working as a “quzao niangzi,” someone who sold small dishes and poured wine.
The youngest daughter, Ye Li, was ten years old. She wore her hair in twin buns, each adorned with two bright red hollyhock flowers, giving her a smart and clever appearance. She was apprenticed to a famous “shiyao” (folk healer) in the neighborhood, learning the arts of traditional medicine and sorcery.
Ye Zhan studied her family, and they studied her in return.
She had an oval face, skin as fair as snow, delicate yet harmonious features that exuded warmth and kindness.
She wore a lotus-pink half-sleeved robe, paired with a sky-blue pleated skirt. Over this, she draped a knee-length, deep purple coat. Beneath her skirt, the embroidered hems of her trousers peeked out, revealing intricate dragonfly and lotus flower patterns, like a summer lotus, standing tall and elegant.
Aside from her clothes, she wore no jewelry or ornaments, appearing simple and unadorned.
Mi Feng Niang wiped her tears. “Dressing so plainly, she must have suffered a lot.”
Bianjing’s citizens placed great importance on their attire. Even the women of poor families, like the Ye family, wore at least some accessories. For instance, Mi Feng Niang had a string of peach wood beads on her wrist, and the eldest daughter had a black wooden hairpin. It was unheard of to be entirely unadorned.
Ye Zhan shook her head. “I do have jewelry.”
Her maid had advised her not to show any wealth before understanding her family’s character, so she had removed all her jewelry before setting out.
“I was sold when I was four, drugged by the traffickers so I couldn’t remember anything. All I knew was that I was sold to a household of retired officials, the Du family, where the master was the Assistant Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.”
She told her family about her past.
“At first, I worked in the kitchen, tending the fire. A few years later, I caught the favor of Third Miss’s chief maid, Lian Hua, and served her closely for a few years.”
“A maid needs her own maid?” Mi Feng Niang found it incredible.
“In wealthy families, the chief maids are practically secondary young ladies. They have two little maids attending to their daily needs. Lian Hua had a gentle temperament and was generous during holidays, sharing her reward money with us. I only had to pour tea and water, not much hardship.”
“But you were still a servant, with no control over your own fate. My poor child!”
Her mother pulled her into an embrace, crying once more, while her siblings tried to console her.
Ye Dafu wiped his eyes and handed a handkerchief to his wife.
Ye Zhan continued, “Third Miss of the Du family found the phrase ‘carved and polished jade goblet’ poetic and bestowed the name ‘Yu Zhan’ upon me. Who would have thought that when combined with my sister’s name, it would spell ‘Jade Goblet’? It must have been fate.”
“What a cruel twist of fate.” Her mother wiped away more tears. “My daughter was reduced to a servant, not even able to keep her own name…”
Her family joined her in dabbing their eyes.
Just then, from the distant Bell and Drum Tower came the sound of chimes: “Dong—dong—dong…” A total of one hundred rings.
Mi Feng Niang, still wiping her tears, suddenly commanded, “It’s the end of the hour! Time to tally up! At least twenty wen each!”
The entire family, who had just been crying, swiftly gathered around the square table, sitting on wooden stools.
From the eldest, Ye Dafu, to the youngest, Ye Li, every single one of them reached into their pockets.
Copper coins clinked as they were tossed into the square basket on the table, their crisp sound echoing non-stop.
Ye Zhan: ?