Chapter 76: Substitution

Soon, another plate of assorted pastries and a container of sweet green rice balls was presented.

The reason why it was “assorted” was because there were more than one snack on the plate. There was flower shaped pastry with bean paste filling, goldfish pastry with lotus flower filling, shell pastry with sesame filling, and crab roe pastry with yolk filling. Every snack was made into a child-like appearance. In Xi Chun Pavilion, a few young children instantly widened their eyes.

Everyone could not help but exaggerate again. Putting aside the taste for now, Madam Du even took care of the children attending the banquet so well. She was really worthy of being called meticulous.

Yan Ruyu was also very surprised. Having known Madam Du for so long, she naturally knew that she was an extremely boring person. Her craftsmanship was rigorous and exquisite, but she had never been as childish as she was today.

Of course, this was not a bad thing. The more diligent Madam Du was, the happier Old Mrs. Wei would be. If Old Mrs. Wei was happy, the chances of helping her put in a good word in front of the Princess Consort would increase greatly.

“I want shells.”

“I want fish!”

“I want crabs.”

“I want flowers…”

The young guests each chose the snacks they liked. There were still many left, and Old Mrs. Wei and the other women were also able to eat their fill.

However, it was unknown if it was everyone’s imagination, but the crispy skin of these pastries seemed to have fallen off a little. However, it did not affect the taste. The crispy skin was layered, and every layer was as thin as a cicada’s wing. When they bite down, the crisp and soft sound of the layer overlapping made their eardrums feel like they were being massaged.

The sweetness of the filling was just right. If it was a little less, it would be bland. If it was a little more, it would be greasy. It was thick and soft, and it melted in the mouth. Even Old Mrs. Wei, who had bad teeth, found it unbelievably delicious.

Everyone’s favorite dish was the crab roe crisp. Unlike the salted egg yolk they had eaten in the past, the egg yolk inside seemed to be smaller, but the color was better. It was orange-red and still had juices flowing out. The juice tasted very good, and the saltiness was just right. When they ate it, they felt the inherent grit of salted egg yolk. However, after taking a light sip, it all melted in their mouths.

Coupled with the taste of sweet bean paste and milky crispy skin, it was simply… too wonderful. It was just that… the crispy skin was a little… sandy, but the flaws could not hide the jade!

Old Mrs. Wei was old and did not eat as much as young people. She had only taken a bite of the dishes that were served previously, but she had finished two crab roe crisps! If it wasn’t for the children’s expressions, she would have wanted to eat more.

Because of the popularity of the pastries, not many people asked about the sweet green rice ball.

To be honest, today’s sweet green rice ball was the best green rice ball that Old Mrs. Wei had ever eaten in her life.

The green rice ball was a delicacy from Old Mrs. Wei’s hometown. It was an emerald green dough made from mugwort juice and glutinous rice. In winter, there was no fresh mugwort. Madam Du used green beans as a substitute. The color was similar, but the texture was fresher. The stuffing was also made of bean paste and salted egg yolk. However, with the pastries in front, the bean paste in the green rice ball seemed too sweet. The texture of the salted egg yolk was also slightly inferior.

Yan Ruyu whispered, “Aunt Lin, go to the small kitchen and ask Madam Du to make more pastries and send them over.”

“Yes,” Aunt Lin replied.

“Pastries?” Madam Du, who was wiping the knives, paused. “I didn’t do it. I only made the green rice balls.”

“Aiya! Where are our snacks? Why are they gone?” In another kitchen, Yu Song asked, dumbfounded.

The three of them were originally here to make stinky tofu, but Yu Song had smashed a lot of side dishes at the door. After asking the servants in the mansion, they found out that the Wei Manor had their own vegetable garden. After obtaining their permission, they went to the vegetable garden to pick vegetables. Unexpectedly, when they returned, the things on the table were gone!

“See if anything else is missing?” Yu Feng asked.

Yu Song began to check their ingredients. “No, there’s only that box of snacks missing! Who took it?”

“So be it. That box of snacks is dirty. I’ve already taken out those that were not dirty,” Yu Wan said as she took out another box of snacks from the basket.

Yu Song: “Oh.”

On the other hand, Yan Ruyu also knew that those pastries that were better than the green rice balls did not come from Madam Du. Then who could it be?

“I heard… Master Xiao Wu hired a few chefs from outside. Could they have done it?” Aunt Lin lowered her voice.

The truth was just as Aunt Lin had guessed. The servant girl waited for a long time but there was no movement from Yu Wan’s end. She personally went to rush the dishes and entered the kitchen. However, she realized that the servant who was supposed to be on duty was not there. The chef was not there either. When the servant girl saw the snacks on the stove, she thought that the chef had prepared them and placed them on a plate.

Yan Ruyu said calmly, “Don’t disclose this first.”

Aunt Lin was puzzled.

Yan Ruyu whispered a few words in her ear.

Aunt Lin was stunned. Was she trying to bribe that maidservant to lie that the pastry was brought over from Madam Du’s kitchen?

“It’s not like Madam Du can’t do it,” Yan Ruyu said.

This was true. Just now, Aunt Lin had secretly taken a few pastries for Madam Du to try. Madam Du said that although the taste was good, she could make it even better.

Madam Du had never been arrogant. If she said she could do better, then she could definitely do better.

Yan Ruyu instructed without changing her expression, “Go and see what dishes they want to make. Let Madam Du make it before them!”