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Shui Yu quickly brought out another food box. When she opened it, a sweet aroma wafted out, making the other kids look over. Inside were small wooden bowls.
Each bowl held a smooth egg custard-like mixture topped with brown spots, all covered by a thin, crispy dough.
It looked like a snack but also different from one.
Each child could only have one egg tart since there were other foods. Dongdong, as the birthday boy, got two.
Excited by the new food, Dongdong stopped paying attention to the cake and focused on the egg tarts, exclaiming, “Wow, Sister Shu, you are amazing!”
He knew how to eat them, so he grabbed one with both hands. It kept its bowl shape but had a crispy outside and a soft bottom. When he bit in, it crunched loudly.
The tart crust was a bit tough, needing some chewing. It had a slight salty taste in the sweetness, while the filling was very sweet.
Sometimes the egg filling can be overcooked, but this one was sweet, soft, and creamy, especially the crust, which tasted really good.
“It’s delicious!”
“Hey, I got a peach!”
“I got one too, it’s so sweet…”
The other kids also received their egg tarts from the servants. Some had special ingredients, making those kids feel lucky and eager to show off.
Dongdong licked his lips but felt disappointed that he hadn’t tasted anything yet, so he quickly moved on.
He finished one tart and quickly started the second. Luckily, one had extra ingredients. He carefully tasted it and excitedly held it up to the other kids, saying, “I got one too! Guess what it is?”
The kids were playing together, and Yan Qiushu felt her work was done, so she stepped back.
As she reached the exit, a slightly imposing figure approached her.
Yan Qiushu glanced over, and the young man smiled, saying softly, “Sorry for the trouble today. He was looking for a fight because of my Xiao family.”
Yan Qiushu shrugged and shook her head, “It’s fine, I didn’t do anything to him.”
Xiao Huaiting sighed with relief and walked with her to the area separating the front and back yards. He suddenly stopped, sent Shui Yu and the others away, and whispered, “Don’t take the Third Prince’s words seriously. I won’t say more, but he’ll fall faster than my Xiao family. Even if I die, my family will be fine. You can live here peacefully.”
Yan Qiushu took a deep breath and looked up at him.
The young man smiled confidently, his eyes sparkling, but also seemed to hold many unspoken thoughts.
He might have known his fate already.
The story unfolded as he said.
Xiao Huaiting died in battle two years later. Before that, the Third Prince forced the emperor to step down because his army was taken by Xiao Huaiting. After failing, he hanged himself. Three months later, news of a major defeat at the border reached Kyoto. The fighting among princes harmed the nation’s interests and went against the will of heaven. The Prince of Jin gathered the old members of the Xiao family and, while the princes fought among themselves, took control of the court to become emperor.
Later, to appease the Xiao family members, they received titles and rewards, but without any adult males left, they had titles without real power.
This situation wasn’t good. Due to too much pressure, even without war, the Xiao family’s people didn’t live long and often died.
Now that she was an outsider, it was hard to say much.
Even though Xiao Huaiting seemed to trust her and shared reassuring words, he didn’t reveal anything significant. He didn’t know what proof he could use if she turned out to be a spy.
Yan Qiushu smiled and was about to say goodbye when she suddenly had an idea: “Wait!”
The boy, who was also about to leave, stopped and looked at her.
Yan Qiushu bit her lip, lowered her eyes to avoid his bright gaze, and slowly said: “General Xiao, I overheard something about the third prince while at home. Do you want to know?”
“Please tell me,” Xiao Huaiting replied, raising his eyebrows in curiosity.
Yan Qiushu continued: “The third prince’s wife’s family borrowed money in Jinzhou to support him financially!”
The governor of Jinzhou is the third prince’s father-in-law, who is very powerful there. However, a crisis will arise in a year. When his father-in-law gets into trouble, the third prince will also be in danger. He tries to escape this situation but fails. The Jin prince learns about it early and stops him, gaining the emperor’s trust and power over the imperial guards.
Xiao Huaiting’s expression changed: “Is this news true?”
Yan Qiushu nodded.
Xiao Huaiting’s lips moved, as if he wanted to ask more, but he smiled faintly: “Thank you for telling me.”
Yan Qiushu raised her eyebrows, bid him farewell, and walked toward the inner courtyard.
As she walked, she heard a nanny beside Wan’er trying to comfort the child: “Little Miss, don’t cry anymore. If you cry, you won’t be pretty anymore…”
The child responded softly, her voice nasally and slightly whiny: “I don’t want to cry either~”
Just then, she started crying again.
Yan Qiushu stopped and Shui Yu quickly stepped forward, saying softly, “Miss, it’s Miss Wan’er.”
She nodded and walked towards the sound.
No wonder she hadn’t seen Wan’er at the children’s banquet earlier; she thought Wan’er disliked the noisy environment and left. Instead, she found her here.
“Young lady, should we go back?” the nanny pleaded. “There are many mosquitoes here, and they will make you itchy soon.”
Wan’er whispered, “No, mother will be sad!”
The nanny sighed, holding her aching waist, and stood up. She spotted Yan Qiushu approaching and was filled with joy: “Miss Yan!”
Yan Qiushu nodded and walked to Wan’er.
The little girl seemed embarrassed. When she saw Yan Qiushu, she peeked and quickly hid her face in her legs, hugging her knees, refusing to look up.
She was hiding in a pavilion, which was decorated with lanterns for Dongdong’s birthday. Wan’er’s red ears were clearly visible.
“What’s wrong? Are you crying like a kitten and too shy to see anyone?” Yan Qiushu asked gently.
Wan’er nodded sadly: “Yeah!”
Yan Qiushu almost laughed; this sensitive child was cute. Wan’er always looked at others with her big eyes, which made her seem even more adorable. Yan Qiushu could picture Wan’er pouting, not wanting to cry but feeling upset.
Feeling soft-hearted, Yan Qiushu noticed her arms had gotten stronger lately and tried to lift Wan’er: “Since you don’t want to go back to your mother, why not come play with your sister?”
However, she misjudged her strength, staggered, and had to put Wan’er down again.
Seeing her fall, Wan’er laughed, then quickly covered her mouth to hide it, revealing her tear-filled eyes.
Yan Qiushu gave up and rubbed Wan’er’s head with one hand, then said with her other hand out: “Forget it, I’m not strong enough. You can go by yourself.”
Wan’er thought Yan Qiushu would ask why she was crying, but instead, she felt relieved and stood up to follow her.
The nanny, who had been watching anxiously, finally smiled and followed the two.
Back in the yard, Yan Qiushu asked Shui Yu to light a candle. She tilted her head and asked Wan’er, “Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat?”
Wan’er held her stomach and nodded: “Okay, thank you, Sister Shu.”
“You’re welcome.” Yan Qiushu rolled up her sleeves and got to work.
The kitchen was bright, with neatly arranged ingredients on the shelves. Next to the larger shelf, a smaller one held various kitchen tools, which she had built recently.
It wasn’t suitable to eat anything too greasy at night.
Drinking milk helps with sleep, but since the morning milk was already used up, she worried it would spoil.
Suddenly, Yan Qiushu remembered that chicken soup was being prepared in the big kitchen for the evening banquet.
She looked at Shui Yu and said, “Go get me a can of chicken soup.”
“Okay!” Shui Yu ran off.
Yan Qiushu looked at Wan’er, who was sitting quietly on a chair, and said, “Can I ask you for a favor?”
“What?” Wan’er stood up, seeming more interested than unhappy.
Yan Qiushu smiled and said, “I need a clean pair of scissors. Can you and Aunt Xu boil some water to disinfect them?”
“Sure!” Wan’er replied quickly and ran off to help Aunt Xu.
Yan Qiushu took a large iron basin, added flour and water, and started kneading the dough. This required pounding the dough repeatedly until the flour turned into a smooth ball. She made a slightly larger dough than usual.
Once finished, wait a moment.
Wan’er was still boiling water to cook the scissors noodles, which took a while.
After about a cup of tea’s time, the dough was ready, and the scissors were disinfected. Wan’er handed the scissors to Yan Qiushu through a clean cloth.
“Thank you, Wan’er!” Yan Qiushu said, surprised.
Wan’er smiled, twisting her body happily with her hands behind her back.
Children are like that. If you distract them, they’ll forget their sadness.
Yan Qiushu took the scissors, and when the light yellow chicken soup in the big pot began to boil, she started cutting the dough.
The smooth dough was cut into pointed shapes with a round middle. One by one, they dropped into the boiling soup with a slight “plop.”
After cooking for a while, the noodles began to float to the surface. The chicken soup became a bit whiter from the flour, making it thicker. It looked like little white fish jumping out of the water.
The delicious chicken soup now had a hint of flour.
Vyl[Translator]
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