CH 7.1

Translator – Xiao He Lian

Chapter 7.1

As soon as he woke up, Wen Chi began to feel uneasy.

Yesterday, Shi Ye didn’t say when to go to him. Maybe it means that he’ll have to wait for his order to come. 

As a result, Wen Chi waited for a whole day without any news.

Seeing that the sky was gradually darkening, Wen Chi, who had been worried for a whole day, finally felt relieved.

In the evening, after dinner, Ruo Tao suddenly came over.

“Young Master Wen.” Ruo Tao said happily, “I’ve prepared everything you want.”

Wen Chi then remembered that he asked Ruo Tao to help prepare some things. He was occupied by Shi Ye for the past two days and had forgotten about what he had ordered Ruo Tao to do.

He hurriedly asked Ruo Tao and Ruo Fang to bring the prepared things and soon the whole table was full of them.

He’s going to make a fruit cream cake.

It is very simple to make fruit cream cake in modern times and it can be easily made with a rice cooker but in ancient times, it was a bit nerve-racking and many tools and raw materials were not available, so Wenchi could only make the simplest one.

He asked Ping An to bring a brush and paper and wrote down the recipes for making cream and making cakes in detail according to his memory.

It’s a pity that he wrote in simplified Chinese characters and Ruo Fang and Ruo Tao puzzled over it for half a day, but still most of the characters were still unintelligible.

In the end, Wen Chi could only dictate what was on the paper and asked Ruo Tao to rewrite it.

At present, making cakes is relatively easy but the hard part is making cream. Wen Chi thought of a lot of methods but discarded them. In the end he had to choose the most primitive method of making cream – let the milk sit for a while and then take the layer that floats on top of it. Put the milk skin into the bag and repeatedly beat and rub it and the milk skin will gradually turn into cream. This method is quite time-consuming and the amount of milk produced from the milk is also less, but it is better than nothing.

Fortunately, Ruo Fang and Ruo Tao are both hard-working girls and they only need to follow the method provided by Wen Chi a few times to figure out some other ways.

Originally, Wen Chi was still helping by the side but after seeing the two little girls proceed in an orderly manner, his intervention seemed redundant, so he had to retreat to the reclining chair to rest in peace.

Ping An, who was also idle, walked over with his waist hooked, knelt on the ground and kneaded his legs.

Wen Chi was not used to others serving him like this, so he waved his hand and let Ping An play by himself.

But Ping An didn’t leave but stood beside the reclining chair obediently and his eyes drifting to Ruo Fang and Ruo Tao from time to time. He held it for a while but still couldn’t hold back and asked curiously, “Young Master Wen, what are they doing?”

“Cake.” Wen Chi said, “Have you heard of it?”

“What is cake?” Ping An scratched his head, “It’s this servant who is ignorant.”

Wen Chi didn’t know how to explain, so he said, “When it is done, you will know.”

Ping An asked again, “Young Master Wen, what do you want the cake for?”

“Eat ah, for me to eat and to give it to others.” At this point, Wen Chi remembered something, “By the way, do you know when I can return home? I miss my father and want to pick a day to go back and see him.”

Ping An said, “You can go back anytime, Young Master Wen. It’s just this servant, Ruo Fang and Ruo Tao are all from the palace and it is not convenient to accompany you back. If you want, this servant will send someone to Wen’s house tomorrow and ask them to send someone to pick you up.”

“No need.” Wen Chi hurriedly refused. He pinched his fingers and counted the days and then said, “I’m not in a hurry right now. Let’s wait for a few days.”

Making cake is not an easy task. Fortunately, Ruo Fang and Ruo Tao are experienced in this area and after a few rounds the cake they made was edible but the taste was relatively ordinary.

Ping An went up to taste a small piece and immediately frowned.

Seeing this, Wen Chi smiled and asked Ping An, “How is it?”

Ping An shrank his neck and answered honestly, “It’s not as good as the mung bean pastry1 that Ruo Tao usually makes.”

Ruo Fang and Ruo Tao also tasted a little bit each and their opinions seemed to be the same as Ping An. The two little girls who were originally elated, showed a bit of a lost look  on their faces.

However, Wen Chi said, “It’s already very good.

Ruo Fang thought that Wen Chi was comforting them and whispered guiltily: “Young Master Wen, please give us some more time, we will be able to make a better one.”

Ruo Tao echoed: “Yes, Young Master Wen.”

Wen Chi smiled, but did not answer. He just let them spread the prepared cream on top of the cake. Although it was unevenly spread, it was very thick, like a pure white hill. 

The cake was cut again and several people tasted a small piece.

Ruo Fang and Ruo Tao both showed surprised expressions. The two little girls looked at each other and couldn’t help but exclaim, “So sweet! So delicious!”

Unfortunately, Ping An on the other side frowned even more and he looked at Wen with a bitter face: “Young Master Wen, this… this cake is too sweet…”

Wen Chi narrowed his eyes and smiled: “It’s sweet but it’s not for us.”

Ping An was puzzled: “Then who is Young Master Wen going to give it to?”

Wen Chi glanced at Ruo Fang and Ruo Tao: “Of course it’s for those who love sweets.”

After that, a few days passed without incident.

Shi Ye’s people didn’t come to find him and Wen Chi also forgot about it. He concentrated on studying fruit cream cake with Ruo Fang and Ruo Tao – the cake is there but it doesn’t take a shape and does not seem to make people want to eat it.

This afternoon, the sun was shining brightly. 

Wen Chi was still in the room watching Ruo Tao spread the cream on the cake and suddenly heard the footsteps of Ping An hurriedly running in.

“Young Master Wen!” Ping An said, “Eunuch Zhu is here!”