In Lotus Heart Court, Shen Yanshui had just finished a set of Baduanjin exercises and cultivated for a while longer when she saw a lovely little parrot, bright green all over with a spot of orange-yellow on its forehead, flying toward her with obvious familiarity.
“Great beauty! Great beauty!”
Shen Yanshui held out a finger to tease it. “Such a sweet-talker, aren’t you? How come your master didn’t learn even a fraction of your way with words?”
Little Jade pecked lightly at her fingertip with its sharp beak. “Great beauty! Great beauty! This young master is hungry, hungry! Give me something to eat, something to eat!”
Shen Yanshui tapped its little head, then plucked two roses from the vines along the courtyard wall and infused them with a trace of her ability. “Here.”
But she had other things to do today, so she could not spend all her time playing with the bird.
“Come on. Let’s take a look at the main kitchen.”
The Eastern Palace kitchens were not located in Changqing Palace, but in a palace compound next door, separated only by a wall. They were large, spacious, and immaculate—her first impression at a glance.
A plump chief eunuch, round and smiling like the Maitreya Buddha, hurried over. Dressed in the neat uniform of a chief palace attendant, he beamed when he saw mistress and servant at the door.
“Oh my, this must be Lady Shen? This servant greets Lady Shen and pays his respects.”
Shen Yanshui smiled and replied politely, “Chief Steward Tang, there is no need for such ceremony. Please rise. I’ll be troubling you today.”
Chief Steward Tang’s face split into an even broader smile. “Lady Shen wishes to make some pastries for His Highness the Crown Prince. All you needed to do was send word and instruct us. Why come personally to a grimy place like the kitchen? What if your clothes or shoes should be soiled?”
Smiling, Shen Yanshui said, “From what I can see, the kitchen is managed by Chief Steward Tang in excellent order. It is very clean and tidy indeed. I only wonder whether I might hold up the kitchen’s work?”
Her words pleased Chief Steward Tang greatly. With a genial smile, he waved a broad hand. “What are you saying, Lady Shen? It’s only a matter of freeing up one stove. I’ll send two people to assist you and follow your instructions. Would that be acceptable?”
Shen Yanshui thanked him with genuine warmth. “That will be more than enough. Thank you for your trouble, Chief Steward Tang.”
Chief Steward Tang chuckled. “Lady Shen is far too polite.” With that, he immediately ordered two of his apprentices to go and help her.
Shen Yanshui had deliberately worn a short-sleeved, close-fitting top today, making it convenient to work in.
She planned to make egg tarts and milk tea.
In her previous life, she had loved milk tea, egg tarts, and all kinds of small cakes. She had even watched many online tutorials and learned to make them herself.
She had not had any in a very long time. Once the kitchen staff learned how to make them, she would be able to enjoy milk tea and egg tarts whenever she wished!
The most important parts of an egg tart were the custard filling and the flaky puff-pastry shell. The Eastern Palace kitchen had everything needed for both.
Anything they lacked could be made by hand. For molds, she used flower-shaped ones supplied by the kitchen. They were only half the size of modern egg tarts, and looked quite lovely.
As for the final baking, she had previously eaten the baked pastries from the kitchens and asked Dongyi about them. Learning that the Eastern Palace kitchens had an oven capable of baking egg tarts, she had decided to make these.
Otherwise, she could hardly ask the Eastern Palace kitchens to build a usable oven in a single day just so she could bake a few egg tarts, could she?
She began working in the kitchen with calm, orderly efficiency.
At first, the other kitchen staff had been rather restrained, but seeing that Lady Shen seemed even more at ease than they were, they gradually relaxed as well.
This was a relatively quiet time in the Eastern Palace kitchens. Most of the staff had been temporarily sent to the Imperial Kitchen to wrap rice dumplings, and over the past two days, the Eastern Palace kitchens had become much less crowded.
Quite a few people watched in secret, curious.
Chief Steward Tang was curious too. Early that morning, Quanfu from Lotus Heart Court had come to tell him that Lady Shen wished to borrow the kitchen’s oven. Naturally, he had no reason to refuse.
After all, Lady Shen currently held a certain degree of favor with His Highness the Crown Prince.
Had no one noticed that when Lady Shen’s allotted meals proved insufficient, the extra portions were taken from the Crown Prince’s own allowance? Though the Crown Prince had not permitted the matter to be publicized, and few people knew of it.
That fact alone was enough for him to wait upon this young mistress with the utmost care.
Still, he did not hold much hope that Lady Shen could make pastries that were truly delicious. He had even secretly instructed someone to prepare a portion of pastries that the Crown Prince particularly liked. Should they be needed later, it would make for a useful favor, would it not?
Shen Yanshui had no idea that someone had quietly arranged such a safeguard for her. Seeing that the two young eunuchs assigned to assist her neither watched closely to see how she worked nor did anything beyond what she instructed, she quickly understood why.
In these times, every household guarded its recipes and secret techniques closely. They likely thought she was making a Shen family specialty and thus did not dare watch too openly, lest she accuse them of trying to steal her craft.
Shen Yanshui turned and instructed them, “Remember how this is made. That way, you can make it for me in the future.”
The two young eunuchs froze.
Though they were nominally apprentices to the kitchen masters, those masters had many apprentices, and the two of them had not yet earned the qualifications to prepare food or pastries for noble masters. But now Lady Shen was going to teach them how to make pastries?
Their expressions shifted between shock and delight, though they could not help wondering whether they had misheard.
Yet in the next moment, Lady Shen began explaining the process to them, holding nothing back...
The pair immediately perked up and listened with rapt attention.
Seeing this, the others could not help pricking up their ears as well.
After Shen Yanshui finished explaining how to make egg tarts, she continued, “This is the tea I brought. Steep it in boiling water, then strain out the leaves, keeping only the rich, concentrated tea. Start another pot and pour in fresh milk. Simmer it slowly over low heat—do not let it boil over. Once tiny bubbles begin to form around the edges, remove it from the heat. Slowly pour the brewed tea into the milk, stirring as you pour, so that the tea and milk blend together.”
“...Add a little honey or condensed milk to adjust the sweetness, allowing it to balance the fragrance of the milk and tea... Once it is done, strain it once more through fine gauze...”
“Next, take the finest tapioca flour and scald it with boiling water. Knead it into a firm, smooth dough, then pinch it into tiny pearls no bigger than a fingertip.”
“Boil them until they turn translucent throughout and have a pleasing chew. Scoop them out and rinse them once in cool water, then toss lightly with honey to keep them from sticking together. They must be chewy yet tender—neither undercooked nor overboiled.”
“...Choose taro with a soft, floury texture. Peel it and cut it into thick slices, then steam them until they collapse at the slightest poke. Take them out and let them cool slightly before pressing them into a fine, smooth paste with the back of a spoon. There must not be the slightest impurity. Mix in a little milk and honey, stirring until it is dense and velvety, melting on the tongue without a single lump...”
Some listened with rapt attention, but others were unimpressed and found Lady Shen’s ostentatious behavior rather hard to stomach.
Fan Chuan was one of those who looked down on Lady Shen most of all.
He was one of the Crown Princess’s people. His position alone set him apart from the lesser ladies who lived in the rear quarters, and he held himself in high regard. In the kitchens of the Eastern Palace, apart from Tang Hai—that damned fat man—who could faintly overshadow him, he feared no one.
Fan Chuan frowned and curled his lip disdainfully, deeply displeased by Lady Shen’s actions.
Was she not merely relying on the few favors the Crown Prince had bestowed upon her to behave this way?
If every woman who gained a measure of the Crown Prince’s favor acted like her—using the excuse of preparing food for His Highness to come and go from the Eastern Palace kitchens whenever she pleased—would that not utterly ruin the rules?
And if something were to happen to the food intended for the Crown Prince or the Crown Princess, who would bear the responsibility?
That damned fat man Tang Hai was so eager to bow and scrape, yet he could not even tell whom he ought to curry favor with. How laughable.
But then... his eyes shifted, and an idea came to him. He untied the apron at his waist, gave his apprentice a few quiet instructions, and, while no one was paying attention, slipped out of the Eastern Palace kitchens and headed in the direction of Xiefang Hall.
