Mrs. Jiang’s face turned pale, feeling a bit embarrassed, but she quickly countered, “It was a sudden decision. I just want to ask you, Dongdong clearly promised me that Mu Xiu would come home with me this time. It’s his birthday, and my Jiang family has started sending out invitations, but I heard your Xiao family is planning to host his birthday celebration. Even his classmates have been invited. The speed is remarkable! It embarrasses my Jiang family!”

She then added sarcastically, “Ever since Sister Shen stopped handling things, the Xiao family has lost all its rules!”

Xie Qingyun was confused. What birthday?

Dongdong’s birthday was indeed approaching, but their family hadn’t planned to host a party, let alone invite his classmates.

Still, the Xiao family wouldn’t let her slander them like this. Xie Qingyun immediately replied, “Mrs. Jiang, let me make this clear. My Xiao family has no plans to host any birthday banquet, let alone invite Dongdong’s classmates. Moreover, Mrs. Jiang, even if my mother isn’t involved, I won’t let you speak so presumptuously!”

Though she smiled gracefully, her voice turned sharp and cold.

Mrs. Jiang was startled but felt Xie Qingyun was just denying it, so she sneered, ready to argue again.

Just then, Yan Qiushu, who hadn’t left yet, sighed and stepped in, “Mrs. Jiang, I think this is a misunderstanding. Dongdong invited his classmates to the Xiao family to celebrate his birthday.”

Dongdong had asked her, and at the time, she assumed the Xiao family agreed, so she didn’t feel the need to inform them. After all, she was just a guest. Who knew it was all the child’s idea?

She often made delicious food and told Dongdong to invite Wan’er, so perhaps he got used to inviting friends too.

For the first time, Mrs. Jiang glanced at her. Raising an eyebrow, she asked, “And who are you?”

Yan Qiushu was speechless.

She now knew where Nanny Ji got this attitude from.

Xie Qingyun stepped forward and introduced her, “This is a guest of my Xiao family, named Yan. She’s also the adopted sister of my sixth son.”

Mrs. Jiang’s expression softened a little. She asked suspiciously, “You’re saying Dongdong invited them himself? Impossible! He promised me that Mu Xiu would come back to the Jiang family this time!”

Yan Qiushu replied calmly, “Mrs. Jiang, may I ask how old Dongdong is?”

Mrs. Jiang, feeling the urgency, reflexively answered, “Five years old.”

“How well do you think a five-year-old can remember?” Yan Qiushu smiled. “Didn’t you once forget to return him to the Xiao family for six months?”

Mrs. Jiang was silent.

She knew what was going on. Dongdong didn’t keep his promise, but he was just a child with a poor memory. Still, the invitations from the Jiang family were important.

Her expression shifted, and she glanced at Yan Qiushu as if unsure what to say next.

Yan Qiushu understood and politely excused herself.

After taking a few steps, she overheard a low conversation.

Then, Xie Qingyun said sternly, “Dongdong is my Xiao family’s child! You agreed for your son to join our family and accepted the benefits. Now you want to take the child back? It’s not that simple!”

The two continued exchanging words but reached no agreement. Mrs. Jiang lost her temper, angrily shouting, “How many people have died under the ‘Xiao’ name in your family? Are you planning to kill my grandson too?”

“Show her out!” This completely infuriated Xie Qingyun. She waved a hand, instructing the maid to escort Mrs. Jiang out.

Mrs. Jiang didn’t expect this treatment. As she was carried out, she kept angrily shouting, “Xie Qingyun, how dare you! You’re so bold!”

Yan Qiushu saw only the end of it all and found the situation a little amusing.

She had been chatting with Dongdong earlier and heard that the Jiang family didn’t want him back. She didn’t expect Mrs. Jiang to have such an unreasonable attitude.

Even though she wasn’t directly related to the Xiao family, Yan Qiushu couldn’t just stand by.

Especially since the Xiao family had treated her so well.

Yan Qiushu felt determined to help keep Dongdong in the Xiao family!

Nanny Huang and Shui Yu had casually mentioned that after Dongdong returned, he often visited Madam Xiao, which made her feel less lonely. They believed Yan Qiushu’s cooking kept Dongdong around, and they were grateful.

Having children in the house made it feel more lively.

And while the Xiao family seemed to be in a difficult situation now, in the story, after Xiao Huaiting died, the new emperor showed special favor to the Xiao family to win their loyalty and military power. So, there wasn’t really a danger to Dongdong staying here.

What she was doing was just aligning with everyone’s wishes, not her own choice!

With that in mind, Yan Qiushu quickened her pace. She returned to her place and headed to the kitchen without resting: “Shui Yu, please help me start the oven.”

“Okay,” Shui Yu replied and left.

Yan Qiushu then said, “Nanny Xu, could you hire two strong and patient workers for me? I’ll pay them ten cents each.”

For an ordinary worker, ten cents was a decent amount for helping out with small tasks.

Nanny Xu quickly nodded and left to find someone.

Yan Qiushu began beating the eggs.

Yan Qiushu wanted to make a cake and happened to receive a lot of good peaches from the Xiao family’s farm, which she could use to make peach jam.

Soon, everyone in the yard was working under her direction, and even the two helpers brought by Nanny Xu were busy beating egg whites quickly.

Since they were paid, they worked extra hard.

Yan Qiushu was preparing low-gluten flour by putting regular flour into the oven for a short time. After taking it out, she sifted it with a cloth and then mixed in some corn starch.

The next step was beating the egg whites and yolks separately and gradually adding sugar, which are the basic steps in baking. After that, she added milk and some low-gluten flour to the egg yolks, mixed them well, and combined them with the beaten egg whites. She poured the mixture into a prepared mold and put it into a preheated oven.

While waiting, Yan Qiushu started cooking the peach jam, which needed a lot of sugar. As she was frying it, a pleasant sweet aroma filled the air.

Shui Yu, who was nearby, smelled it for the first time and felt dizzy: “Girl, what is that smell? It’s so good!”

Yan Qiushu couldn’t resist the temptation and kept looking at the oven eagerly: “It’s the smell of cake…”