Chapter 377 - Feeling Ou (1/2)

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Meixiang was astonished in her heart. Miss Yu was glib-tongued, but her young master liked her acting like this. Had it been someone else, they would have already been smacked to death, right?

“Come, let’s go make peach blossom cakes!! Older Sister Meixiang, please take a seat in the front courtyard. When the peach blossom cakes are ready, you can take some back for Princess Consort Jing to have a taste. Peach blossoms can enhance one’s beauty and nourish one’s skin. It’s the most suitable for women to eat.” Meixiang was interested after hearing Yu Xiaocao’s words, so she stayed back to help in the kitchen.

Yu Xiaocao kept only the petals of the flowers, and soaked the petals in a light-concentration of salt water for ten minutes. She heard from Meixiang that Princess Consort Jing had high-quality West Lake lotus root starch, which was bestowed by the Imperial Palace, so she told her to go back and ask for some.

Without a food processor, Yu Xiaocao could only take out the pestle used to grind herbs and ask Royal Prince Yang to help pound the petals into a paste state. Then she mixed it with sheep milk that had been boiled with almonds. After that, she poured it into an earthenware jar and mixed it with lotus root starch. She added powdered sugar, stirred well, and boiled it over a small fire until it turned into a thick substance. While it was being cooked, it needed to be continuously stirred in a quick motion until it turned thick and smooth. Afterwards, she poured the cooked mixture into a container to let it cool down and solidify.

After solidification, she cut it into small cubes and put a few flower petals on top. It really enhanced one’s appetite to see the creamy-white peach blossom cakes decorated with pink peach blossom petals.

After that, Yu Xiaocao made peach blossom soup, which was a dessert from the drama The Journey of Flower in her previous life. After cooking glutinous rice and sheep milk into gruel, she sprinkled some flower petals inside. Those who liked a sweet taste could add some white sugar. The two peach blossom desserts captured the hearts of all the women, and even Madam Liu couldn’t help but eat a few more pieces.

In the end, Zhu Junyang followed Meixiang back to the manor in the West Mountain. Meixiang brought back a box full of peach blossom cakes, which caused the maidservants beside the princess consort to exclaim, “Miss Yu’s skills in making pastries are even better than the pastry chefs of Daoxiang Village Pastry Shop [1] in the capital. People will drool just by looking at these peach blossom cakes!”

Princess Consort Jing, who was drinking the peach blossom soup and eating the soft and fragrant peach blossom cake, couldn’t help but sigh, “Which lucky brat will end up marrying this lass Xiaocao? Whoever marries her must have accumulated a great blessing from his previous life ah!”

“Humph! Her? She’s not good at any of the ‘three morals and four virtues’, so whoever marries her will surely be angered by that mouth of hers. It would be weird if she can get married!!” Zhu Junyang suddenly felt annoyed when he heard her words, and even the flavor of the peach blossom cake in his mouth changed. Thus, he coldly made a spiteful remark.

Princess Consort Jing could feel the change in her son’s mood. She looked around and came upon a realization within her heart—her silly son liked that lass, but he hadn’t realized it yet. This slow-witted kid.

Princess Consort purposely argued with him, “Why wouldn’t Xiaocao be able to get married? It’s already outdated to use the standard of ‘three morals and four virtues’ to measure women. Isn’t the emperor advocating for the equality of men and women? Xiaocao looks so pretty and delicate, and with her big eyes and fair skin, she definitely won’t be too bad looking when she grows up.”

She paused for a moment, glanced at her youngest son, and then continued, “The little girl has a kind and honest disposition. She’s innocent and cute, and has a proper sense of propriety. Moreover, she has such superb cooking skills that even the emperor emeritus can’t stop praising her! She’s also good at doing business. She had opened braised food shops one after another, and there’s also one in the capital! When coming back, I had wanted to buy two salted ducks to bring along on the trip, but I couldn’t even get in line. Ay… If we prepare the ducks and all the other ingredients tomorrow, would Xiaocao be willing to make some salted ducks for us?”

“Will she dare to not agree if this prince asked?” Zhu Junyang replied with a snort. His mood was very complicated, but he also didn’t know what he was troubled about.

Princess Consort Jing blinked her eyes, which were very similar to her son’s, and went on, “The lass is concerned about your identity, but you also shouldn’t go too far. Don’t always bully her with your power as the royal prince! Where were we again? Oh right, Xiaocao is not only good at cooking, but she’s also good at tending flowers and plants. My precious flowers, which were about to die, had come back to life in her hands. They look even better than when I first bought them back!”

“Oh! That’s right!! The lass also has medical skills. She had unexpectedly saved the empress’s precious baby and left a good impression on the emperor and empress. She had also nourished my health back to normal. In the past, I would feel dizzy after walking a couple steps. Now, I can even walk several kilometers on the mountain road without feeling breathless. Your lord father thought that it was the fengshui on the West Mountain that heals people!”

Princess Consort Jing beamed with joy as she talked about her increasingly stronger and healthier body. Her husband said that, when he had breaks, he would take her to go sightseeing and spend some alone time together as a married couple!

“Also…” Princess Consort Jing was becoming more and more enthusiastic as she spoke. However, she was interrupted by her youngest son.

“Lady Mother, Yu Xiaocao wouldn’t be a long-lost child of you and Lord Father, right? You’re working so hard to praise that you’re giving off the feeling of Old Wang selling melons—praising his own products!” Zhu Junyang felt even more irritated in his heart. He also felt puzzled, ‘I have already passed the age of fighting for favor ah, so why do I feel displeased when Lady Mother is praising that lass so much?’