Chapter 370 - Getting Face (1/2)

“When this little friend found out that today was the birthday banquet, she personally made some roasted chicken and ducks for us. I also heard that she also prepared a lot of beautiful longevity peach cakes to finish the meal as a sweet.”

As he was talking, the head steward led a bunch of servants out who were all carrying roasted duck and roasted chicken. The dense fragrance of the meats immediately enveloped the whole banquet area. Yu Xiaocao deliberately made a bit more than was needed, so every table was graced with a duck and chicken with some extra roasted fowl left over!

It was obvious that the roasted ducks and chickens had just come out of the oven. Puffs of hot steam billowed out of the roasts. Roasted duck that had just come out of the oven had thin and crispy skin, tender meat, so it had a very good mouthfeel! Roasted chicken had tender skin, flavorful meat, and even its bones were soft. A single bite melted in people’s mouths and conquered their taste buds. No matter whether it was the guests at the men’s tables or women’s, all of them started out their meals with these two roast fowl.

After they finished eating most of the meal, the head steward came out again with servants who were holding the longevity peach cakes. The cakes were vivid and lifelike, resembling real peaches. Furthermore, the coloring on the cakes was very attractive to the eye. Yingtao also came out, wearing her new set of pink clothing, and gracefully stopped in front of the prefectural magistrate’s wife. She revealed a beautiful smile and crisply said, “When our young miss found out that it was your birthday, she personally made these longevity peach cakes for you. We hope that the madam will have a fruitful and enjoyable life and be blessed with many more years to come!”

“Oh ho, which family is this maid from? She looks quite smart and lively ah! How come I feel like this maid seems very familiar to me?” The prefectural magistrate’s wife was very happy and complimented Yingtao a few times. Earlier, the roasted ducks and roasted chickens gave her quite a bit of prestige and face in front of her close friends and acquaintances. These lively longevity peach cakes also added quite a bit to her birthday banquet.

Yingtao smiled appropriately and stated, “Thank you for your kind compliments. This servant is a maid from Zhaoyang General’s Estate. I am currently serving under the young miss!”

The daughter of Zhaoyang General? The adopted daughter of General Fang? The prefectural magistrate’s wife was suddenly enlightened. She had also been invited to the celebration of General Fang’s heir’s first birthday. During the banquet, the most memorable thing was the last dessert: a cake that was as tall as a person and had many layers. Not only did the cake look beautiful and delicate, but it also tasted delicious. None of the famous dessert shops or pastry shops in the capital were able to create such a fantastical dessert.

Unfortunately, there were a lot of guests and not enough cake. Every person only got a tiny piece. The prefectural magistrate’s wife didn’t even get to taste a few bites before she had finished her slice. It was said that the cake was personally made by General Fang’s adopted daughter. When the chef from the most famous bakery in the capital, Daohua Village’s Pastry Shop, heard about the whipped cream cake, he personally came over to the general’s estate to ask to see General Fang’s adopted daughter. Unfortunately, the lass had already left the capital and couldn’t be found!

Everyone in the capital knew about Daohua Village’s Pastry Shop. It was a popular bakery with a very good reputation. Rumors said that the head pastry chef was the descendant of an imperial pastry chef from the previous dynasty. When the current emperor was young, he liked to leave the imperial palace and go to Daohua Village’s Pastry Shop to buy pastries. Their pastries were so popular that the business at the shop was as busy as Zhenxiu Restaurant.

The head pastry chef at Daohua Village’s Pastry Shop had a rather weird personality. There were scores of high-ranking and wealthy families clamoring for him to make cakes for them. However, he only took the orders that interested him. If he wasn’t interested, it didn’t matter how much money the person threw at him, he wouldn’t even bat an eye. Furthermore, he had caught the emperor’s eye. Every month, Chief Steward Su personally left the imperial palace to pick up pastries for the emperor. Therefore, it didn’t matter how much power or money a person had in the capital; no one could force this chef to do anything!

Since even he personally went over to see the little lass who made the cake, it meant that General Fang’s adopted daughter truly had a special talent at crafting desserts.

The head maidservant, who was currently presenting these longevity peach cakes to everyone, had stated that she was the maid of General Fang’s adopted daughter. So didn’t that mean that these longevity peach cakes were made by someone more talented than the head pastry chef at Daohua Village’s Pastry Shop? The prefectural magistrate’s wife really looked forward to these cakes!

“Your young miss has worked hard and is very thoughtful. I will personally come over and thank her another day!” The prefectural magistrate's wife had one of her personal maid servants present a well-crafted silver bracelet to Yingtao. After Yingtao took it, she said a few more pleasantries and then left.

All of the longevity peach cakes had been served to every table at the banquet. The prefectural magistrate’s wife had the servants take out knives and carefully cut the cakes into small slices for each table. These slices were then served to all of the guests. On the inside, there were yellow peaches and red strawberries, which really made the cakes seem quite appealing.

“It’s so delicious! I don’t think I’ve eaten anything more delicious in my entire life ah!” The daughter of the sub-prefect’s family had a pure personality. After tasting a bite, she couldn't help but proclaim her thoughts as she genuinely sighed over the cake.

“The cake is tender and soft and melts in one’s mouth. The fruit filling is also colorful and delicious. Even the capital’s Daohua Village might not be able to create such beautiful and delicious cakes!” The wife of the local magistrate had grown up in the great tutor’s residence. Although she was only the daughter of a concubine, she had seen more things than most other women from other families. If she even stated this, it truly meant that these cakes were special beyond regard.

Hearing all of these noble madams and misses praising these cakes, the prefectural magistrate’s wife felt that this all reflected good on her. Who would have thought that her husband, who had thought he was only doing a favor for Royal Prince Yang, had actually ended up selling his residence to the adopted daughter of Zhaoyang General? The Yu’s Braised Food Store? Oh right! During the birthday celebration of General Fang’s son, Lady Fang had introduced her adopted daughter and said that her surname was Yu. How could she only think of this now?

The prefectural magistrate’s wife couldn’t help but share her experiences at Zhaoyong General’s son’s celebration. During that banquet, she was able to sample the birthday cake and the taste and beauty of the cake was exactly the same as these longevity peach cakes. The local magistrate’s wife also chimed in. She stated that General Fang’s adopted daughter not only knew how to craft fantastic cakes but she was also very proficient at medicine. When the empress’s little prince was ill, this girl was the one who cured him. The medicinal cuisine she concocted had also rejuvenated and healed Princess Consort Jing’s body…