When Xi Qingyue dragged Xi Weilan to Wang Ji Pastry Shop, the shop's assistants were busy serving customers.
They glanced at the two children entering the store but didn't pay them much mind. One assistant initially wanted to shoo them out, but seeing their fancy clothes, he held his tongue.
Xi Qingyue ignored the assistants entirely. She walked straight to the counter and called out to the shopkeeper, "Shopkeeper, we'll buy all the pastries in your shop."
With that, she slapped a banknote onto the counter.
The shopkeeper, seated behind the counter, heard the voice and looked up—but saw no one, only the banknote on the counter and a small hand resting on top of it.
She was taken aback, then curiously stood up.
Looking more carefully, she saw two children standing before the counter: one whose hand could reach the counter but whose head didn't clear its height, and that girl was holding an even smaller little sprout by the hand.
Xi Qingyue, thinking the shopkeeper hadn't heard her, repeated herself, "Shopkeeper, we'll buy all the pastries in your shop."
This time, not only the shopkeeper was surprised—everyone inside the shop heard her words and turned to look.
Most of the customers were servants sent to buy treats for their masters. Watching two kids so boldly claim to buy everything, they were taken aback, half-wondering if their ears were playing tricks.
A servant boy in the back, unable to see the banknote on the counter, sneered, "Whose kids are these, out playing like this? Buying everything? Do they even have the silver for it?"
But the next moment, the shopkeeper smiled and answered his doubt.
"Very well, two distinguished young guests, please wait a moment. Buying everything is fine, but you don't mind if the other customers here finish their purchases first, do you?"
Xi Qingyue smiled and nodded, "Of course that's fine."
Then the shopkeeper had an assistant lead them to a seat off to the side, and even served them some tea and snacks.
She carefully inspected the banknote—it was a bearer note for two hundred taels, and there was nothing wrong with it. As long as the note was genuine, she was naturally happy to sell more pastries.
The other buyers were all stunned. Whose young ladies were these? Most people bought a few boxes at most per visit, yet these two went and bought everything, outright. Did they have silver to burn?
The shopkeeper had the same question. She urged the staff to start packing pastries quickly, then came over and sat down in front of the two girls.
"Two distinguished guests, these pastries won't stay fresh for more than two days. Are you buying so many just for yourselves?"
She paused, then, worried she might seem nosy, quickly added, "Please don't misunderstand—I'm not prying into your business. It's just that you're still young, and I'm afraid you might buy too much and let them go bad before you can finish them. That would be such a waste."
Xi Qingyue knew many people were straining to listen. A glint of mischief flickered in her eyes, and she pulled out the jade pendant Lu Qianning had given her—but showed only the front side, which bore an engraved phoenix pattern with no characters—and spoke in a deliberately innocent tone.
"Big Sister Lu said your peach blossom crisps are wonderfully delicious. She asked me to buy plenty and bring them back. What, we're not allowed to buy them all?"
The shopkeeper was well-traveled and had seen the jade pendants of nobility before, so she could recognize it at once. When she saw the colorful phoenix pattern on the front, she instantly knew the royal identity of the owner.
Xi Qingyue had also mentioned "Big Sister Lu," which confirmed the shopkeeper's conviction—it must be some princess.
For a noble to gift a jade pendant bearing her identity meaning the two children before her were also someone special, at least close enough to the princess for her to show such trust.
The shopkeeper quickly stood up and became noticeably more respectful, "Then by all means, you may buy everything. Please wait a moment, young guests; the pastries will be ready shortly."
Xi Qingyue gave a calm nod, "Mm, good then."
Meanwhile, Xi Weilan was munching on a peach blossom crisp at the table, thoroughly enjoying it. "Sis, Big Sister Lu wasn't lying—these peach blossom crisps really are delicious."
"Mm, then eat as much as you like." Xi Qingyue said, sliding the plate of snacks in front of her little sister.
As the other customers left after making their purchases, they kept glancing back, wondering which princess had sent out her pendant, and more so, who these two children could be.
In this way, Xi Qingyue borrowed the tiger's might with the fox's skin. After all, no one knew the pendant was a gift from Lu Qianning—if they'd known that right now, they'd probably come to grab both of them immediately.
It was the unknown that inspired fear. By cleaning out the shop, she'd ensure that when the high and mighty sent their servants later and found nothing to buy, they'd grow angry and look for trouble—but once they learned the princess had arranged the purchase, nobody would dare make a fuss.
The shop's staff moved much more quickly, and before long, every pastry in the store had been packed up.
"Two distinguished guests, shall we have these delivered to your residence?" the shopkeeper asked with a beaming smile, secretly hoping to learn which household the girls belonged to.
Xi Qingyue returned a polite smile of her own, "No need, thank you. Our carriage is parked not far away. We'll carry them over ourselves."
Watching the two little figures haul the large bundles out the shop door, the shopkeeper muttered to herself, "I know quite a few nobles in the capital who enjoy our pastries, but I've never even heard of these two."
Before she could puzzle out which princess they were close to, another customer walked in.
"Shopkeeper, two boxes of peach blossom crisps, please."
The shopkeeper shook her head regretfully. "I'm sorry, but we've just sold everything. Please come back tomorrow."
The serving lad's brow furrowed. "Sold out? How is that possible? Our household is Duke Anguo's residence! Our young master insists on having peach blossom crisps today he won't wait another day! Are you lying to me?"
Upon learning it was someone from Duke Anguo's household, the shopkeeper explained once more.
"It's true! All our pastries were bought up by someone sent by a princess. We're not sure exactly which princess, though. Many of the customers here saw her colorful phoenix jade pendant. We're not lying. If you must, perhaps go find the princess and ask her for a box?"
The servant knew she wasn't deceiving him, so he had no choice but to return and report to his master.
Many others throughout the capital had been similarly turned away: fine ladies and young misses from various estates all received the same answer.
Everyone was left guessing which princess was behind this. Surely, this wasn't how things were supposed to go.
After all, everyone knew half the noble households in the capital came here for their pastries. Even if a princess wanted to order a large amount, she'd commission the shop in advance. Nobody just went and cleaned out the whole stock like this.
The colorful phoenix pendant meant the owner wasn't an empress-born princess, but the emperor didn't have any empress-born princesses anyway. With over a dozen princesses born of consorts, how could anyone possibly guess which one it was?
At Duke Anguo's residence:
A little boy, about three years old, was sitting on the floor, wailing at the top of his lungs, "I want peach blossom crisps! I don't want anything else! I want them now!"
As he cried, he kicked his legs back and forth. The maids and nursemaids all hovered around him, trying to calm him.
"Young master, they really are all gone. They were bought by some princess. Lots of people couldn't buy any today. Please wait—tomorrow, we'll go early and get you extra. Okay?"
The maid pleaded gently, but the little boy was not to be appeased. He kept crying and hollering, "No! I want them today!"
