PDLP Chapter 168 Making Cake
Chapter 168 Making Cake
Chapter 168 Making Cake
At the end of the day, Bull and the Queen Mother successfully made an ancient version of cream cake, but it was bland and not very sweet. Of course, the Queen Mother's minor health problems also disappeared without a trace with a few jars of pear soup.
Time soon arrived on the day Kejing was due to return to the capital. Palace Master Buerhe of Yuqing Palace took out two large food boxes and handed them to He Zhu, who was standing behind Yinreng. "These are snacks and tea that the kitchen has prepared long ago, as well as some small treats. If Kejing and the others are bored on their way, just have He Zhu deliver them."
Yinreng nodded and said, "Don't worry. Word has spread that we're almost at the Ten-Li Pavilion. I'm leaving. You can just wait at the Imperial Madam's place. My first stop will definitely be Ciren Palace."
Buerhe: "Okay, it's very dusty along the way, so you should wear a handkerchief. It may not look good, but at least it will keep out the dust. The environment outside the city is not as good as inside."
Yinreng had already started walking towards the door. After hearing what was said, he nodded to Buerhe to indicate that he understood, and then set off in a hurry with He Zhu.
Yinreng had already set out to welcome Kejing and his son-in-law. Buerhe did not waste any time. She had already made an appointment with the empress dowager to go there early to make the cake. She did not hesitate any longer and took Qi'er out of Yuqing Palace.
The Empress Dowager had been waiting in the small kitchen of Ciren Palace long ago. All the ingredients were already prepared, and this time, a lot of fruit had been added. Because the imperial physician advised people to eat less sugar as they aged, the sugar control in Ciren Palace had been stricter recently. It had been a long time since the Empress Dowager had enjoyed a sweet treat.
This time, it just so happened that Ke Jing returned to the palace, so she could indulge herself in making a cake, so the empress dowager had already ordered the preparation of many sweet fruits.
Buerhe did not stop her this time. Firstly, she had consulted the imperial physician about this matter, and it was okay to indulge herself occasionally. Secondly, she couldn't always control her blood sugar so strictly. The empress dowager's current mood was more like that of a child. If she controlled it too harshly, the rebound would be serious.
I once had the experience of baking a cake. Several palace maids in the small kitchen of Ciren Palace have now taken turns beating the egg whites. This is the downside of the ancient times: there were no electrical appliances, not even a whisk for making cream; it was all done by hand. These servants had no human rights, and they did whatever they were told. In modern society, if you were to manually beat the egg whites, they'd be stunned.
Buerhe mixed the egg yolks and flour together, then placed the small basin in front of the empress dowager: "Madam Huang, this cake base needs to be mixed evenly. I'll leave this job to you. What do you think?"
To be honest, although the Empress Dowager had a hard life when she first entered the palace, with the late Emperor disliking her and Consort Dong E also eyeing her covetously, she had no experience in cooking by herself. Even when it was said that Bu Erhe and the Empress Dowager made the cake together, they only did the last step and asked the Empress Dowager to garnish it with cream.
After receiving Burhe's request, the Queen Mother was very excited. She took the small basin handed to her by Burhe, picked up the chopsticks, and imitated Burhe's initial behavior. The Queen Mother stabilized the small basin with one hand and stirred it clockwise with the chopsticks in the other hand.
At first, the Queen Mother's movements were a little cautious, but slowly, her movements became more skillful, and the stirring speed began to increase, and in the end it was even comparable to Bullhe's movements at the beginning.
After seeing the egg yolk and flour in the small basin completely blended, Buerhe called a halt. Then, she took a plate from the maid and handed the Queen Mother a small brush. "Madam, use this small brush to dip it in oil and brush the entire bottom of the plate with oil."
The Queen Mother followed Buerhe's instructions and slowly began to move. However, she still had some questions about this step: "Why do we need to rinse with oil?"
Buerhe had asked Liuli this question before, so she was fully prepared for the Queen Mother's question: "Because it will be easier to remove the cakes from the plate once they're cooked."
The Queen Mother: "Oh, so that's how it is. The Crown Princess knows a lot. So what should we do next?"
Buerhe saw that the Queen Mother had already brushed the dishes with oil. Although there was a bit too much oil, making the dishes look greasy, since this was the Queen Mother's first time, Buerhe pretended not to see it and closed his eyes and praised: "The Royal Mother did a great job on this step, much better than my granddaughter-in-law's first time. Now just slowly pour in the small bowl of egg liquid you just stirred."
The small basin was a bit heavy, so Buerhe hurried to help stabilize the bottom of the basin and assisted in pouring the egg liquid into the plate. After everything was poured in, the palace maids took the plate away and placed it in the earthen oven prepared in advance to bake.
After doing all this, the cream needs to be steamed in a pot and the cake base needs to be baked. Basically, the work of the two people is almost done, and the rest is up to time.
By this time, figuring Ke Jing and the others should have entered the city, Buerhe helped the Queen Mother back to dress. They had just been in the morning to make the cake, so now that they were almost done, it was time to prepare their attire.
In the main hall, the four concubines and a dozen or so wives were all gathered, but because Nanny Naren said that the empress dowager was busy, they just stayed in the front hall and did not enter the inner room to disturb her.
The maids were very clever and quick, and soon the Queen Mother and Burhe, freshly dressed, entered the main hall. Seeing this, everyone hurriedly bowed and greeted: "Greetings to the Queen Mother, and to the Crown Princess."
The Queen Mother said: "Alright, everyone, stand up and sit down. Burhe will sit next to me."
Buerhe heard that he sat obediently on the left hand of the empress dowager, opposite her was Concubine Hui, and below her was Concubine Yi. Then came Concubine Rong, Concubine Tong, the first wife... the tenth wife.
The Empress Dowager spoke only after everyone was seated. "The Emperor has already said that this time, Kejing will stay in Yikun Palace for the first two days of her visit. She will then move back to the Princess Residence after the banquet is over on the first three days. Concubine Yi, I'll leave this matter to you. After all, Kejing grew up by your side, and you're familiar with her preferences."
Concubine Yi quickly stood up and said, "Yes, I will follow the Empress Dowager's instructions and handle this matter seriously."
The Queen Mother said, "Well, I'm relieved that you can handle the matter. Kejing has been away from Beijing for ten years. The environment in Mobei is harsh, and I think she has suffered a lot. Now that she has finally returned, I hope she can be happy."
The Empress Dowager's meaning was basically the Emperor's. For a moment, the concubines below had mixed feelings when they heard the Empress Dowager's order. Concubine Yi was not the only one who had a daughter. The third princess born to Concubine Rong was even older than Kejing. After so many years of marriage, she had never seen the Emperor welcome her so warmly to visit his parents.
Even Concubine Tong was feeling rather uncomfortable. She didn't have any children, but she still had Concubine Tong's Sixth Princess living in her palace. She was already 22 years old, and still hadn't found a husband. Although Yinzhen had said some time ago that the Emperor was already selecting one, the Fourth Princess had been married for ten years, her child was already nine, and the Sixth Princess was still unmarried.
The empress dowager doesn't care about all this. She is already the empress dowager in this life, and the rest of her life depends on the emperor. Now that the emperor has spoken, she just has to do as he says. She will give face to whoever the emperor likes.