Chapter 849 Only Sweet Pastries!
“Fifth Miss, our mansion did not make these pastries before. But Minister Zhao’s mansion sent the modes and ways to make them. The Third Madam asked us to try to make them and found that they were really delicious. So she asked us to make them today and invite the Madams and Misses who came to the mansion today to have a try!” The Nanny in charge explained with a smile.
Shao Wanru picked up a piece of pastry with chopsticks, took a bite, and then nodded, “They are really tasty and beautiful.”
“Fifth Miss, I heard that this recipe was made by First Miss Zhao herself. Zhao’s Mansion has never given it to others. This time they gave it to us because First Miss Zhao is going to marry into our mansion!” The nanny in charge smiled happily. It was a good thing to be praised by her master.
The Fifth Miss was no longer the one before. They had to try their best to flatter her.
Shao Wanru nodded. After tasting a piece of pastry, she stood up and looked at the wing room. At this time, a few female guests had come, but Shao Wanru did not go out. She just sat in the courtyard where tea was prepared. Shao Cailing and Old Madam would accompany the guests. It was not her turn.
She could totally take a break and just sit here.
However, she failed to take a break in the end. After sitting in the yard for a while, she saw an old maid running over quickly. When the old maid saw Shao Wanru sitting in the yard, she hurriedly came over and bowed, “Fifth Miss, Old Madam asks you to take some tea of good quality and some pastries to the room. You don’t need to add more sugar. It’s not good for Madam Dowager to eat too much sweet food.”
“Go and prepare some pastries that are not so sweet and send them to Old Madam!” Shao Wanru nodded and ordered the Nanny in charge who had been standing beside her.
“Fifth Miss…” The Nanny in charge said bitterly and perplexedly.
“What’s wrong?” Shao Wanru raised her eyebrows, put down the teacup in her hands leisurely, and asked.
“Fifth Miss, the pastries are all sweet, and the recipe sent by Zhao’s Mansion is for sweet food…” The nanny in charge said in embarrassment.
“That is to say, you didn’t prepare any pastries that were not so sweet?” Shao Wanru narrowed her eyes and said with a cold expression.
In a banquet, it was natural to prepare food with various flavors. One flavor could only gain the favor of some people while the others would not like it.
Tastes differed so they should prepare more flavors.
“The pastries sent by Minister Zhao’s Manor were delicious. We all thought that they were fresh and could be made, so almost everyone would like them. But we didn’t think that…” The nanny in charge was entangled with what she said and said hesitantly.
“Fifth Miss, hurry up. Old Madam is still waiting for the pastries!” The old maid sent by Old Madam said impatiently and turned to leave after saying this.
“Fifth Miss… what should we do?” The Nanny in charge was dumbfounded and stammered.
Shao Wanru took a deep breath to calm herself down. She stood up and walked to the largest room in the middle, in which people could make pastries.
It was steaming hot inside, and the air was filled with white steam. When she came in, she felt dizzy and couldn’t see anything clearly.
The sweet smell overflowed from it. It smelled very good, but when people were immersed in it, it was indeed too sweet!
The elderly should indeed not eat too many pastries like them.
“Are there any old models to make pastries in our mansion?” Looking at the situation in the room, Shao Wanru asked.
“There are some old ones, but it is too late now!” The Nanny in charge said with her hands trembling.
It would take some time for a pastry to be made, let alone dough kneading, steaming, and other processes. In this case, the Old Madam could not eat the pastries before noon.
Old Madam asked in urgency. If they didn’t hurry up, she might send people to urge them later.
“What’s that?” Shao Wanru glanced at some small flour wrappings by the stove and asked.
“We will use them to make spring rolls. The people in the kitchen asked us to make them. There’s also a big pot of bean paste. They say that when the dishes are served later, we are free here. So we should help them prepare this pastry, which is also sweet!”
The Nanny in charge spread her hands helplessly.
“There should be some minced meat in the kitchen. Go get a pot, wrap some meat in the wrappings, and make it like the traditional spring roll!” Shao Wanru ordered.
“Fifth… Fifth Miss, is this edible?” The Nanny in charge opened her eyes wide and said in astonishment. Spring rolls had always been made of sweet bean paste. She had never heard of it being made of minced meat.
“Go and ask someone to get the minced meat here. Hurry up,” Shao Wanru said lightly and calmly.
This pastry had always been sweet in the capital city, but in fact, in Jiangzhou, other things could be wrapped in it and it could be made into a salty one.
Seeing that Shao Wanru was so decisive, the Nanny in charge could only listen to her. She instructed someone to fetch some minced meat and asked some free people to come here. Under the leadership of Yujie, they made the spring rolls with salty flavor. In fact, it was very simple and fast to make them. After wrapping them, they just needed to put them in the oil pan and fry them. Then they were nearly done.
There were very little minced meat wrapped in the flour wrappings, which was functioned just as the seasoning. After turning them over a few times, people could eat them when they floated up.
The first plate of fried spring rolls with salty flavor was ready very quickly. The Nanny in charge put down the chopsticks in her hands and heaved a sigh of relief.
“Fifth Miss, Old Madam urged you to hurry up!” At the door, the old maid sent by Old Madam came back again. It was too foggy inside. So she could not find Shao Wanru for a while. She stood at the door and shouted to Shao Wanru.
Shao Wanru was actually standing by the door. Hearing her voice, she turned around and walked out of the pastry room in the center. The old maid didn’t expect that Shao Wanru would stand so close to her. After being stunned for a moment, she hurriedly followed Shao Wanru out and said, “Fifth Miss…”
Yujie came out from inside, handed the plate in her hand to the old maid, and said, “Send it to Old Madam quickly!”
“Aren’t…aren’t they sweet? Old Madam meant that even the pastries can’t be too sweet, not to mention spring rolls with bean paste inside!”
The old maid glared at Yujie unhappily and questioned.
“Just send this plate to her. I’ll take responsibility if anything happens!” Shao Wanru said, as she walked to the courtyard and sat back in her position before.
Seeing that Shao Wanru behaved like this and the spring rolls in her hands, the old maid stamped her feet helplessly, turned around and left. Since the Fifth Miss said that she would take the responsibility, a servant like her could not really argue with the Fifth Miss. If the Old Madam got angry later, the Fifth Miss would wait to be rebuked by Old Madam!
In the flower hall, Old Madam was talking and laughing with several Old Grandmas and Old Madams. They were chatting happily.
Seeing that the old maid had sent a plate of spring rolls, Old Madam became unhappy on her expression. She had told her before that they could not eat sweet food. It seemed that these spring rolls would be even sweeter.
“Old Madam, Fifth Miss specially asked me to send this to you. She said that you would like it!” The old maid did not dare to complain explicitly, so she secretly pointed out that it was Shao Wanru’s idea.
Old Madam’s expression became more and more gloomy, and she could hardly keep the smile on her face. When she gave instructions just now, she said it in front of all the Old Madams. But now, Shao Wanru sent this to her as if she was slapping Old Madam’s face.
“It smells good. Let me have a taste!” Another Old Madam sniffed it, and said with a smile.
An old maid behind her hurriedly took a small plate and put a spring roll in front of her. The Old Madam picked it up and took a bite. At first, she was stunned, and then she was surprised and delighted. Finally, she nodded repeatedly and said, “Good, it’s really delicious. I like it so much!”
As she spoke, she finished the spring roll in front of her in a few bites.
“Is it really delicious? Not sweet?” Another Old Madam asked in doubt.
“It’s not hard but a little crispy and salty. It tastes very good!” The Old Madam said with smile on her face. She motioned the old maid beside her to take another one and then ate it with relish. She nodded as she ate.
Seeing that she was so satisfied with the food, the other Old Madams couldn’t help picking it up one by one. After tasting it, they all nodded. They were used to the sweet taste of spring rolls. This kind of salty ones was unique. Moreover, it had just been made and was extremely fresh and delicious. Being crispy because of frying, it could be eaten by the old people.
The anger on Old Madam’s face faded away slowly. She asked Nanny Yu to pick one up and bit it gently. It smelled and tasted very good and attractive to her. She nodded calmly at the moment, indicating that she was satisfied with what Shao Wanru had done.
“Old Madam, your granddaughter is so capable that she could make such good spring rolls. After I go back, I will ask my mansion to have a try. I’m old and tired of eating sweet things!” The Old Madam, who had been the first to eat, put down the chopsticks in her hands and said with a smile, feeling very satisfied.
“She is indeed capable!”
“How can she not be good as she was picked by the Empress Dowager as the Princess Chen!” Another two old madams joked.
Although Old Madam disliked Shao Wanru, she was still very happy to hear Shao Wanru being praised by others like this. She smiled delightfully and said modestly, “She is just a child and doesn’t know much. So I let her take charge of some things. She can’t be ignorant of everything in the future. She has to learn slowly.”
Shao Wanru would be the future Princess Chen. When she married into Prince Chen’s Mansion, she would definitely be in charge of the inner courtyard. So she should learn some managing methods of the inner courtyard. However, neither Old Madam nor Shao Jing seemed to have thought of this matter, nor did anyone tended to teach her. Now that Old Madam mentioned it, it seemed that they had taught her.
“The Misses in your mansion are all smart, and even the youngest Fifth Miss Shao is so clever, which makes people like her so much.”
“They are all pretty with good character.”
“None of my granddaughters have come up with such a good solution!” Old Madams flattered the Old Madam one after another, and the Old Madam could not stop smiling. She said repeatedly, “All the Misses in your mansion are also as beautiful as flowers…”
This matter was over. It was rare for Old Madam to ask the old maid to express her praise to Shao Wanru.
Since they liked it, Shao Wanru asked the tea room to make more and send them to the other female guests.
The two plates of different pastries were sent out at the same time. However, according to the servant girl who came back, everyone’s favorite was not the previous plate of sweet pastries, but the spring rolls newly made by Shao Wanru. Even the servant girls from other mansions asked the servant girls from the tea room how they could make it, what they should prepare, and what they should pay attention to.
Shao Wanru, who was sitting in the courtyard, heard these words and sneered. Someone had predicted that she would be in charge of this matter and deliberately let her ruin things today so that she would lose face and be punished…