The egg tarts Jiang Yanyi made in a small bowl were very big, and she burped after eating two.
There was still half of the egg tart liquid left, and she was afraid it would go bad, so she poured it all into the egg tart crust and baked it in the oven.
With the experience from the first time, Jiang Yanyi was able to control the heat better this time, and none of the egg tarts were burnt.
The folds on the egg tart crust are distinct, and the egg tart liquid in the middle swells slightly after solidifying due to heat. The golden egg tart is paired with a small white porcelain pear-shaped bowl underneath, and the appearance is so exquisite.
Jiang Yanyi thought that it was time to consider including egg tarts in the hot pot restaurant’s dessert menu.
She took out the egg tarts and let them cool, then used tongs to pick up the unburned large piece of charcoal in the fire pit under the oven and put it into an earthenware jar nearby. She then held down the jar with a wooden board so that the charcoal fire would quickly go out in an oxygen-free environment.
This is a common way for ordinary families to collect charcoal. When cooking, they would pick out the charcoal from the stove and store it in a jar. This way, they could save some charcoal in the winter and save some money on buying charcoal.
There was a sudden knock on the door of the shop in front. After the experience of Hu Baiwan's trouble in the morning, both of them became more cautious.
Jiang Yanyi went to the shop in front in person, and saw through the crack in the door that it was the housekeeper of the Feng Mansion next door, so he opened the door.
Fu Xi brought two servants with him, and smiled and clasped his fists towards Jiang Yanyi: "I'm sorry to bother our neighbors."
Jiang Yanyi hurriedly said, "No, that's too polite. There was a rascal causing trouble in the shop this morning, but it was your palace soldiers who drove him away."
Fu Xi then asked with concern: "Has any of our neighbors been hurt by that scoundrel's men?"
"Not really." Jiang Yanyi stepped aside and said, "Please come in and sit down. I'll pour you a cup of tea."
Fu Xi waved his hand and said, "If that rascal comes to cause trouble again, the neighbors can just send someone to the mansion to inform us. There are many soldiers in the mansion, but we can't take down a rascal."
"I'm not here to ask for tea today. The Grand Concubine has a poor appetite these days. She often puts down her bowl and chopsticks after eating a few bites. The servants can only try their best to make some snacks that suit her taste. I heard that the neighbor is good at cooking, so I came to ask for help."
Jiang Yanyi smiled and said, "I am still new to making dim sum, so I dare not show off my skills in front of your chef. But it just so happens that I made some dim sum today. You can take a look. If you think it's okay, it will be an honor for our shop to present it to the Grand Empress Dowager."
As he spoke, Jiang Yanyi motioned Qiu Kui to get the egg tarts from the kitchen.
Soon, Qiu Kui came out with six egg tarts on a tray, and the air was instantly filled with a sweet and milky aroma.
When Fuxi was working in the palace, he had seen many dim sum made in the imperial kitchen. When he saw this dim sum, he couldn't help but say that it was very exquisitely made.
Jiang Yanyi picked one up and handed it to him: "Try it."
Fuxi took a bite and looked quite surprised. He praised: "Is the base of this dish made of Luohan cake? It's so crispy! And the top is as tender as milk tofu. My neighbor is really skillful!"
Luohan Bing gets its name because the inside of the cake is stacked layer by layer, resembling a stack of Luohan. When making egg tart crust, several layers are also folded, so the two have some similarities.
"You're too kind." Jiang Yanyi said with a smile.
Fu Xi hesitated for a moment and said, "I have an unwelcome request. Would you like to teach the chef of the palace to make this dessert? This hundred taels is used to buy the recipe of the dessert of the neighbor. Don't worry, the chef of the palace will never tell others about the recipe of this dessert. It will only be made in the palace for the Grand Empress Dowager."
As he spoke, he took out a silver note worth one hundred taels from his sleeve.
Selling a recipe for egg tarts for one hundred taels is definitely a sure-win deal.
I have already spent a lot of money on decorating the store myself, and I still have to buy food and other things later. The money I have is really tight. People from Feng Mansion came to my door at this time. I just wanted to doze off when someone handed me a pillow.
Jiang Yanyi was somewhat tempted, but she was concerned that the other party was from the Feng Mansion. She had already received many favors from Feng Shuo and did not want to take advantage of them again, so she said, "I will have to rely on your blessing to open a shop here in the future. It's just a dessert recipe, how can I charge you for it?"
She knew that the Grand Empress Dowager was of noble status. If she bought food outside, if there was any problem with the food, it would implicate many people and it would be difficult to explain. The safest way was to give the recipe to the palace and let the chef there make it himself.
Fu Xi said with a smile: "Since the neighbor is doing business, how can we let him suffer a loss? The palace collected the menus and gave this price, so the neighbor should stop refusing."
After he said this, Jiang Yanyi felt relieved. It would be fine if he was not so generous to her alone.
It is said that once the money and goods are paid, you won't feel guilty.
Ever since Feng Shuo's outrageous move that day, Jiang Yanyi has been reflecting on himself day and night, fearing that he had taken advantage of others.
How can I describe this feeling? It's like when you were in school and a boy told you he liked you, but you thought there was no possibility for you two and told him clearly, but if he bought you breakfast or something, you still accepted it.
This is bullshit.
The deal was confirmed, so Jiang Yanyi asked Qiu Kui to look after the house while he followed Fuxi to teach next door.
The Protectorate was a seven-story courtyard. After Jiang Yanyi entered the palace, he once suspected that he was walking on a university campus. The reason was simple: it was too big...
She now understood a little bit why Fuxi had said before that the west wing of the mansion was idle. The courtyard was so big, Feng Shuo was alone, and the only female owner in the mansion was the Grand Empress Dowager, so naturally there would be some small courtyards vacant.
Jiang Yanyi had no idea that Fuxi deliberately took her in a big circle just to pass by the greenhouse.
Along the way, Fuxi occasionally introduced some courtyards. When passing by the greenhouse, he said with regret: "The two masters of the mansion don't like to take care of flowers and plants. It's a pity that such a large greenhouse has been empty. I have tried to rent it out several times, but I can't find a tenant..."
Jiang Yanyi thought of the pot of peppers in her backyard, and an idea surged wildly in her mind. She asked tentatively: "I see that your greenhouse is built so well. Even if I rent it, the rent is not cheap, right?"
How could Fuxi not know that the girl was trying to find out what he was thinking? He said, "The palace didn't expect to earn that little rent from the greenhouse. It's just that our family saw that the greenhouse was always empty and felt that it was a waste of space."
Jiang Yanyi hesitated for a while, but finally spoke: "Housekeeper, can you rent the flower room in your house by the square foot instead of the whole room?"
Fu Xi said: "Of course it is possible. If the neighbors want to use the greenhouse, they can just use it directly. There is no need to pay rent..."
"I have to pay the rent." Jiang Yanyi interrupted Fuxi quickly. Thinking that the pepper seedlings had been settled, she smiled and said, "Since we are your neighbors, how can I always take advantage of you?"
Fuxi nodded secretly. Seeing that she was not greedy for any small advantage, he felt that there was nothing wrong with the character of this girl in front of him.
In the end, Jiang Yanyi rented a small piece of land in the greenhouse of the Protectorate Mansion at market price.
After she taught the palace's cook how to make egg tarts, she went home and focused entirely on growing pepper seedlings.
***
Capital city, imperial palace.
Outside the Cangjiao Palace, a begonia was in full bloom, with the bouquet of flowers sticking out half of the palace wall, making the withered yellow fallen leaves beside it look even more desolate.
The autumn wind was howling, and a group of palace maids and eunuchs were kneeling on the ground outside the palace. The coldness seeped into their knees bit by bit through their clothes, but no one dared to breathe.
A begonia was blown down by the wind and floated to the upper of the new emperor's shoes embroidered with a golden dragon and cloud pattern. The new emperor stood with his hands behind his back, his face cold, his pair of auspicious phoenix eyes full of gloom, and said to the people in the palace: "If you refuse to eat for a day, I will make them kneel outside for a day!"
Autumn came late in the capital. It was fine during the day, but it was very cold at night. When many palace servants heard the new emperor say this, they were so scared that they trembled and kowtowed to the inner hall and cried, "Empress Xi, please have your meal!"
Jiang Yanxi walked out of the hall slowly. She had been on a hunger strike for two days. She was already thin, and her chin was now even more pitifully pointy. Her skin was pale, and there was not much blood on her lips, which were even cracked.
She said weakly, "This is the only way you can do it, right?"
The new emperor's face suddenly turned ugly.
The chief eunuch who followed the new emperor hurriedly said, "Madam Xipin, I asked the imperial kitchen to cook your favorite snow frog soup. Would you like some?"
At his signal, the palace maid came forward with a tray, but Jiang Yanxi only glanced at the soup in the white jade bowl and knocked it to the ground.
Looking at the new emperor's increasingly ugly expression, she felt a rare sense of revengeful pleasure in her heart.
She looked at the new emperor. Even though her weak body made her voice soft when she spoke, every word she said was like a needle piercing her. "You are the emperor. I cannot resist you. You will punish all of my clans and execute them... Ha..."
She even laughed until she cried: "I'm not even afraid of death, do you think I'll be afraid of you? What does the life and death of others have to do with me?"
The palace maids who were kneeling on the ground were all panicked when they heard her say this, and they kowtowed like crazy: "Empress Xi, please have mercy! I don't want to die..."
Jiang Yanxi just glanced at the group of crying palace maids, then turned around with her tired body.
However, before she had taken a few steps, the new emperor suddenly grabbed her waist, carried her sideways and walked towards the inner hall.
She was too thin. Under the gorgeous robe, there was almost only a skeleton. When the new emperor picked her up, he felt that her whole body was light and fluttering, which made his heart inexplicably suffocated.
Jiang Yanxi struggled desperately, punching and kicking, even tearing his dragon robe and scratching his face, but it was all in vain.
When she was pinned to the bed by the new emperor, she almost resigned herself to her fate and closed her eyes.
He always used force on her.
However, the new emperor did not forcibly strip her clothes as usual, but only ordered in a deep voice: "Soup is here."
A bowl of Eight Treasures Soup was handed to him. He tilted his head back, took a sip, then leaned over to feed it to Jiang Yanxi.
Jiang Yanxi closed her lips tightly and refused to drink. He pressed her jaw with his hand, and somehow he used enough force to make Jiang Yanxi loosen her mouth.
After taking a mouthful of soup, most of it flowed out, and Jiang Yanxi choked and coughed.
The new emperor wiped the corners of her mouth with a bright yellow handkerchief and asked coldly, "Do you want to drink it yourself, or do you want me to feed you like this?"
Jiang Yanxi's tears fell from her eyes and sank into her temples: "If I die, it will satisfy everyone and I will be free too."
The veins on the new emperor's hands popped up, he pinched her chin hard, and said viciously: "Without my permission, you don't even have the right to die!"
"Just wait and see. I want to punish Jiang Jingan, but I can't find a reason!"
When Jiang Shangshu was mentioned, Jiang Yanxi finally panicked. She felt sad and hateful: "You are shameless! My father has devoted his whole life to his work, and you are a tyrant!"
The chief eunuch who was waiting outside heard Jiang Yanxi's scolding and dared not utter a word.
If anyone else dared to scold the new emperor like this, they would have lost their lives long ago, but since it was Jiang Yanxi who scolded him, the new emperor just sneered and said, "Keep scolding."
Jiang Yanxi closed her eyes and didn't look at him. Her voice was full of self-mockery: "I am nothing but a laughing stock in the palace. Your Majesty would find it more interesting to keep a canary than to waste time with me. The Queen Mother can't tolerate me, the Queen can't tolerate me, and the Grand Princess can't tolerate me. Everyone says that I used all my seductive tricks to seduce Your Majesty..."
"Whoever dares to make such irresponsible remarks, I will order his tongue to be pulled out!" the new emperor said angrily.
Fan Shengnian had treated her badly, so he killed Fan Shengnian. The court was unstable, and the Queen Mother and the Grand Princess found out that everything was caused by her, so they naturally didn't treat her well.
He still had to use the Fan family. In order to stabilize the Fan family, he could only first confer the title of Imperial Noble Consort on the daughter of the Fan family.
Fan Shengnian was taken away by the Queen. The Queen is now pregnant and is protected by the Queen Mother and the Grand Princess. He cannot touch the Queen. However, Fan's family has learned the inside story and is now fighting with the Queen's relatives.
The power of the Fan family was given by himself, and he can take it back at any time. If the Fan family can take advantage of the opportunity to trip up the Queen's relatives, he will no longer be controlled by his relatives in the court in the future.
The new emperor softened his tone: "I have already killed Fan Shengnian..."
Jiang Yanxi interrupted him with a sneer: "Your Majesty, do you really not know who harmed me?"
The palace fell into a brief silence. After a long while, the new emperor said, "When the queen gives birth to a prince, I will depose her."
When Jiang Yanxi heard the words "Dragon Heir", her pupils shrank and her hands unconsciously grabbed the quilt under her. She felt cold all over, but she still smiled and said to the new emperor: "It turns out that the Queen is pregnant. You should congratulate Your Majesty."
The new emperor looked a little embarrassed. He put his hand on Jiang Yanxi's abdomen and said, "I have always wanted to have a child with you..."
Jiang Yanxi dodged his hand, arched her back like a little animal, and rejected his touch.
"Your Majesty, the Duke of England is still waiting for you in the imperial study to discuss matters." The chief eunuch who was waiting outside saw that the time was almost up, and after hesitating for a long time, he finally spoke.
The new emperor closed his eyes and said to Jiang Yanxi, "I will go to handle government affairs first and come to see you later. Have a good meal. If you want to see your father, just ask someone to tell him."
After the new emperor walked out of the hall, he ruthlessly ordered the commander of the imperial guards: "Send more people to Xizhou, and they must bring back the head of the Jiang family's daughter!"
Once the King of Liaonan no longer has this trump card in his hand, he will have plenty of ways to deal with the King of Liaonan!
***
Western state.
Fu Xi brought a plate of small egg tarts into Feng Shuo's study: "This is what we made when we invited the girl from the Jiang family next door to come to our house to teach the cook."
Feng Shuo looked at the document in his hand without blinking: "Put it down."
Fu Xi placed the egg tart in the small white jade bowl next to Feng Shuo's desk. As he bowed and left, he said, "I heard from the servants of Mingtan Court that the Grand Empress Dowager used half an extra piece of this dessert. I guess she liked it very much."
Feng Shuo's eyes sparkled: "Ask the kitchen staff to prepare some more for mother these days."
Fukuhi should be it.
Feng Shuo took a look at the exquisitely crafted pastry and did not move. He asked Xing Yao, "I asked you to arrange for someone to secretly protect the Jiang family's daughter. How is it going?"
Xing Yao said: "I have sent people to closely monitor the main street of the Protectorate, and any disturbance will be discovered."
Feng Shuo pondered for a moment and said, "It would be safer to send someone to protect her closely. She might hire a kitchen helper when she opens a shop. Go down and make the arrangements."
After Xing Yao took the order and left, Feng Shuo was thinking about Jiang Yanyi and the capital's affairs, and noticed the egg tart on the table. He picked it up and took a bite. It was sweeter than he had imagined, with a hint of milk and egg. The inside was soft and tender, while the outside was crispy, a bit like puff pastry, with a rich taste.
Feng Shuo finished the remaining three egg tarts without hesitation.
I suddenly couldn't bear to read the document in my hand anymore.
He left the study and went to the west wing.
Arriving at the pavilion in the west wing, Feng Shuo stood with his arms folded, leaning against the pavilion pillar as usual, his sharp eyes half-closed, his jawline delicate and cold.
The breeze gently blew the hem of his dark red robe embroidered with red gold, and the black iron wristband on his hand shimmered in the sun.
The gauze soaked in blood had dried and spread out into a light yellow circle, still wrapped around his palm, and when the wind blew, it brought a tingling sensation, as if she had accidentally touched his tender fingertips on the palm of his hand when she was bandaging his wound that day.
Feng Shuo subconsciously clasped his five fingers together and tried to grab something. When the wound on his palm was squeezed and caused some pain, his confused eyes suddenly became clear.
Feng Shuo turned his head slightly to look at the pomegranate tree in the corner of the yard, his gaze wandering far away. He liked staying here.
Separated by a wall, any sound from the opposite yard could be clearly heard by him.
He couldn't remember when he started to miss someone. At first, he thought she was a spy and it seemed natural for him to care about her every move.
Later, he discovered that she was his sense of taste. When he was upset, he always wanted to get close to her. It seemed nothing to do so just to be able to sense the five tastes.
But some things are like seeds that have been planted in our hearts long ago. With a little rain and dew, they will sprout and grow wildly like weeds.
The sun was setting in the west. He leaned against the pavilion pillar, his delicate face half in the sunlight and half in the shadows. His narrow eyes were tilted upwards. He uttered a few words softly: "Jiang Yanyi."
The parrot, which had called out "My Fair Lady" a few times at inappropriate times in the morning, was being kept in a cage nearby to reflect on its mistakes.
It tilted its head several times and stared at Feng Shuo cautiously with a pair of black bean-like eyes, but because there was a circle of white eye shadow covering its eyes, it looked particularly stupid.
The parrot pecked at the empty feeding trough twice with its big, sharp red beak, then stared at Feng Shuo for several times, and found that the other party had not noticed that its feeding trough had been empty for the entire afternoon.
Suddenly hearing Feng Shuo talking, it put aside its dignity for a bite of food and tried its best to imitate his speech to please its master: "Jiang Yanyi!"
Almost instantly, Feng Shuo grabbed the parrot's neck.
The parrot's eyes widened and it fell silent instantly.
The author has something to say: Parrot: Did you call the wrong nest again
Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated nutrient solution during 2020-11-11 18:01:39~2020-11-12 09:00:08~
Thanks to the little angel who threw the grenade: Du Chao Du Chao 1;
Thanks to the little angels who cast mines: Gao Erying 17; Apple Pie Chestnut 2;
Thanks to the little angels who irrigated the nutrient solution: Duchao Duchao 20 bottles; Lemon Passion Fruit 18 bottles; Stepmother is not poisonous, Girlfriend, Huahuahua Liaoluan, Huangfu Tieniu 10 bottles; Zhutou^(oo)^? 6 bottles; Huangmao Yatou, Liangliang 5 bottles; Red Hair Ah Ah, Yaoyao? Cheke Nao, Xueli Xueli, elle_zj1979 1 bottle;
Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!