The weather was fine that day. Wen Ruyan and Ling Ruo sat on either side of the embroidery stand, concentrating on embroidering the "Eight Immortals' Birthday Congratulations" that they were going to present to Concubine De to celebrate her birthday.
Every time the sharp and bright embroidery needle passes through the fine-textured brocade, there will be a slight hissing sound. It is not pleasant, but there is a different kind of tranquility in it.
Because the threads were fine and colorful, it took a lot of effort to embroider. After just two hours of embroidering, Ling Ruo felt a little dazzled. She put down the embroidery needle in her hand and raised her head to Wen Ruyan, who was still sitting opposite, and said, "Sister, take a break.
Go ahead and embroider, don't hurt your eyes."
Wen Ruyan was concentrating on embroidering the flat peach used by the Eight Immortals to celebrate their birthdays. Only that flat peach was embroidered with seven different colors of embroidery thread, from light to dark, gradually transitioning. He stopped after the last thread was collected and cut.
He took a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his palms and said, "I'm used to it a long time ago. It doesn't matter. Besides, it's the birthday of Concubine De in a few days. If you don't hurry up, it will be too late."
"No matter how urgent you are, you still have to rest." Ling Ruo couldn't help but grab the embroidery needle she wanted to pick up and said: "The picture has been embroidered seventy-eight percent, and the remaining days are enough to finish it. There is no need to rush."
At this point, she sighed with some emotion, stroking the embroidery that took so much effort on her and Wen Ruyan's part, and said, "It's a pity that we can't present it to Concubine De in person."
On the birthday of a palace concubine, the prince she raised can bring her direct descendant Fu Jin into the palace to celebrate her birthday. As for those below the imperial concubine, unless there are special exceptions, they will never have the chance to step into the Forbidden City in their lifetime.
"There will be a chance." Wen Ruyan smiled slightly, and the pair of azure tassel earrings under her ears moved with the sound. She had confidence in Ling Ruo and would never stop at one point.
Just as he was talking, Shui Yue walked in, holding a red lacquer plate in his hand, with a plate of pastries that Wen Ruyan had never seen before. After seeing the ceremony, he said softly: "Girl, the rose and lotus root cake is ready."
Already."
Ling Ruo nodded and motioned for her to place the pastries on the mahogany table next to the embroidery stand. There were more than ten diamond-shaped pink translucent pastries neatly stacked on the plate, with melon seeds and red cherries sprinkled on them.
And green plum powder, it looks very delicate, it looks like it has just been taken out of the steamer, it is still steaming, and you can smell the fragrance of roses.
Ling Ruo pushed the plate towards Wen Ruyan and said with a smile, "Sister, try it and see if it suits your mouth."
Wen Ruyan took a sip and nodded as she was told: "It's soft, glutinous, sweet, and extremely delicious. You can't taste the astringency of the lotus root at all. And because it's mixed with the sour taste of cherries and green plums, you won't feel greasy from the sweetness, but instead
It feels appetizing. Rose root silk cake... Not only does the name sound nice, but the food is also delicious, but I didn’t know that the chef in the house would make such a unique snack?"
Shuiyue explained from the side: "How can a cook know how to make this? Our girl came up with it herself. A few days ago, the executive's family sent a bunch of fresh lotus roots, which are either used to stew soup or cut into slices and mixed with honey.
The girl said that it’s easy to get tired of eating the same way, so she taught us how to change it.
Besides this rose and lotus root silk cake, there are also other kinds of sweet-scented osmanthus glutinous rice and lotus root, meat-stuffed lotus root boxes, fried lotus root cakes, lotus root dumplings, there are so many. Even Mr. Beile praised the girl for making delicious and innovative things. I thought those
It will take a long time to eat all the lotus roots, but now half of them are gone."
"Oh, I can't believe that my sister is not only smart but also good at cooking," Wen Ruyan stroked the agate bracelet on her wrist and smiled: "It's not like me, a sister, who has learned a lot after so many years.
I can only cook a few simple dishes, but if you say it, it will make people laugh." After a pause, he talked about lotus roots again, "Sister, do you like eating lotus roots very much? You are willing to put so much thought into it.
"There is a folk proverb: lotus root is a treasure, and autumn lotus root is the most nourishing. Raw lotus root is cold in nature, and has the effect of clearing away heat and troubles, cooling blood, stopping bleeding and dispersing blood stasis; while cooked lotus root is warm in nature, nourishing the heart, producing blood, nourishing and strengthening the spleen.
effect." said
At this point, she touched Wen Ruyan's hand and said, "It's not really cold yet. Sister's hand is already so cold. It shows that my sister's constitution is weak and her spleen and stomach are weak. It's good to eat more cooked lotus roots. Besides, others are watching."
It seems complicated, but in fact it is not difficult to make. For example, this rose and lotus root cake is made by peeling and shredding the fresh lotus root, grinding glutinous rice powder and adding the juice squeezed out of the fresh roses, mix well, and then sprinkle with green plum powder and melon seeds.
Put the kernels and cherries in the steamer and steam them over high heat for more than a quarter of an hour. Once cool, cut them into diamond shapes and sprinkle some marshmallows on them. But if sister finds it troublesome, I will have them cooked and delivered to your room.
.”
"Then it's my fault, sister." The two of them are very good friends, and Wen Ruyan will never pretend to be polite. If he can't accept this calmly, then there will be no hope of helping each other and sharing weal and woe in the future.
After eating a few more snacks to fill their stomachs, the two of them cleaned their hands and prepared to start sewing again, when Mo Yu suddenly ran in panting.
"Gu...Gu...Gu..." Mo Yu ran so fast that she couldn't catch her breath. She wanted to call the girl, but instead she kept talking, and it seemed like she was calling her aunt.
"Hey, don't scream, I'm not a niece as old as you." Ling Ruobi compared the color of the silk thread in her hand and joked. Li Wei was also teasing her, pretending to be surprised and said to Xiao Luzi: "What's wrong with Mo Yu?"
Just like you, are you related?"
Xiao Luzi was rubbing his head and grinning silly. Although he didn't answer, Mo Yu was already so angry that he gave them a big eye roll. He stroked his chest and waited for his breath to calm down before saying angrily: "Girl, even you are too angry."
You're making fun of me, I'm not running away in such a hurry because I have something important to report to you."
Ling Ruo was always kind to her servants and never punished or scolded her. Therefore, her servants spoke more casually, especially Mo Yu, who had been by her side since she entered the house, and she relied heavily on her.
Ling Ruo glanced at her and said to Wen Ruyan: "Sister, did you hear that? She is blaming me."
Mo Yu immediately became anxious when he heard this. For fear of Ling Ruo misunderstanding, he quickly shook his head and waved his hands and said: "I don't mean that, I mean..."
"Okay, your girl is joking with you." Wen Ruyan comforted her and said, "Just tell me what is going on."
Mo Yu nodded, composed himself, and said rather mysteriously: "Yes, when I went to deliver clothes to the laundry department just now, I heard someone say that Ye Fujin was reprimanded by Lord Beile today."
"Ye Fujin?" Wen Ruyan looked at Mo Yu and said hesitantly: "She is now pregnant with Lord Beile's flesh and blood. Lord Beile has taken great care of her since she was pregnant. It can be said that the wind is as good as the rain.
Yu, you are not even willing to say harsh words, so how can you be willing to reprimand her? Did you hear wrongly?"
"My servant heard it true. The people from Liuyun Pavilion accidentally let it slip when they came to deliver clothes. I heard that Ye Fujin disliked the fact that Liuyun Pavilion was located in the west courtyard and was not spacious enough, so he wanted to change to the Bilin Pavilion in the east courtyard.
As a result, Mr. Beile was unhappy and received a lot of reprimands. I heard that he even made Ye Fujin cry.
Mr. Beile also said that Ye Fujin should have peace of mind to raise the baby and wait for the birth, and not go out of Liuyung Pavilion unless there is nothing." Mo Yu said everything she knew in one breath. She had never liked Ye, and Ye was always in trouble.
For Ling Ruo, when he heard that Ye had suffered a loss, he was secretly happy and ran back all the way.
"Is this the important thing you said?" Mo Yu thought that the girl would be surprised when she heard the news, but she didn't even raise her eyes and steadily threaded an embroidery thread as thin as hair in her hand.