Ancient Foodie Survival Guide Chapter 19
Translated by Serena Love
Edited by Azure and unsaltedfish
Chapter 19: Scallion Pancake
Xie Xun was uncomfortable after worrying about the matter just now, and was absent-mindedly eating dinner.
Jiang Shuyao ignored him, eating happily by herself.
After eating, she put down her chopsticks and raised her head to look at Xie Xun.
Her gaze on Xie Xun's face made him feel itchy and numb, and he lost his appetite.
He sighed silently in his heart. It seemed that Jiang-shi still intended to talk to him about the matter earlier.
He didn't understand why he was nervous. Maybe it was Jiang-shi's peaceful attitude after they got married. She was comfortable and generous with him... Completely different from his imagination in which the two would hatefully look at each other in resentment every day. In this situation, he didn't know what to do.
He heard Jiang Shuyao say, "On your rest day tomorrow, can you take me out of the house?"
Xie Xun was still thinking about other things, and subconsciously responded, "Just now—huh?"
Seeing his brows furrow, Jiang Shuyao narrowed her eyes: "You don't want to?"
Xie Xun looked at her and stopped talking. "This is what you wanted to say?"
"So?" Jiang Shuyao said, "Do you agree or not?"
"I mean... Forget it, if you want to leave the house, it’s natural I will accompany you." Xie Xun wanted to explain, but found that he was overthinking everything.
Jiang Shuyao’s true aim was merely to have him go out with her, just for show so the Old Madam could see it. She had never intended for him to actually accompany her; what fun was there in shopping when a man trailed along?
But since he already agreed, she was too lazy to discuss. So what if he wanted to accompany her? Just accompany her then.
After Xie Xun left, Bai Zhi came over immediately. She smiled and said to Jiang Shuyao, "Miss, it seems that the young master is quite easy to talk to after all.”
Jiang Shuyao thought about the plan she and Bai Zhi had devised. If it was meant to pester Xie Xun every day, he didn’t seem to mind or find it annoying; if it was meant to curry favor, well, bringing him some food along the way hardly counted.
Jiang Shuyao shrugged, "Of course, he ate several meals with me. If he refused this request, wouldn't it be embarrassing?"
Bai Zhi asked suspiciously, "But young lady didn't cook any special meals for young master..." Jiang Shuyao made good food, and several of the maids had a share, so what the young master had was really not special.
"That's also eating my food. One doesn't bite the hand that feeds you—a few meals for a small request is just right."
"Yeah, Miss is right." Bai Zhi didn't care. Anyway, Jiang Shuyao said nothing wrong.
Behind the corridor not far away, Xie Xun stood at the corner and dropped his eyes when he heard the words.
When he turned back, he originally intended to talk to Jiang Shuyao about Xie Pei today, but listened to the words of the master and servant.
His downcast gaze extruded a grave and stern air. Clad in a jet-black jade-brocade round-collar robe, his entire presence exuded extraordinary poise—sharp and heroic, his tall, upright frame seemed like a sword forged in ice.
The maid who was cutting flowers under the porch was so frightened that she didn't dare move. She didn’t know if she should continue to work or slip away quietly.
Xie Xun only paused for a few breaths before turning around and striding away without turning his head.
Seeing that his back disappeared, the little maid said in a low voice, "Third young master looks very angry."
The older maid next to her knocked her head: "You dare to say such nonsense?" But she couldn't hold back, "Third young master has always been cold. I don't think he is angry, but like... like... oh, anyway, it's not angry."
Xie Xun stepped out of the east courtyard and wanted to go back to the study, but he felt unwilling to read.
He really wanted to ask Jiang Shuyao if she pleased him these past few days just to let him accompany her out of the house.
No, she was not flattering him at all. It's not like he never saw what currying favor was like. There were countless women around those princes; the princess consort, the side consort, and the concubines, their behavior was what was called currying favor.
Xie Xun couldn't tell what was wrong, nor could he figure it out.
No, why should he care about her thoughts? Anyway, he didn't want to be a married couple who respected each other like guests, let alone be lovers like the prince and the people in his palace. Regardless of Jiang-shi's plan, he just had to keep her as alienated as before.
As if God wanted to prove his guess, Jiang Shuyao got up early the next morning to cook, excitedly preparing to leave the house while Xie Xun waited in the study. He was definitely not waiting until she asked him to eat.
Across the moon gate, laughter and cheers could be heard, yet over here it was deserted, with only clear porridge and side dishes.
Xie Xun quietly took a few mouthfuls of porridge and then put the bowl down.
He read a lot of books and liked poetry, but he had never read poems about love between men and women. He knew very little about the love between men and women, but intuitively believed that Jiang Shuyao did not seem to be as infatuated as he guessed, and felt quite lost for a while.
Jiang Shuyao and the maids happily ate hand-cooked pancakes. If it weren't for the trip out of the mansion today, no one would remember that Xie Xun would not be going to the palace today.
Bai Zhi, as a dowry maid, had her orders to follow. Both her mother and Mrs. Xiangyang had repeatedly instructed her to help Jiang Shuyao and her husband get along, and to keep watch over her unpredictable young lady.
She naturally understood Mrs. Xiangyang's intentions completely. When a woman gets married, the honor, disgrace, and joy of the rest of her life are all tied to her husband.
So she suggested, "Young master is in the mansion today, why don't the young lady give him breakfast?"
Jiang Shuyao froze for a moment, "No need, he grew up in Duke Xie's Mansion since he was a child and is used to fine food. If I give him a piece of pancake, he might not appreciate it."
"But has Master had this pancake?" Bai Zhi said, "I've never seen this kind of fresh method, and besides, Master doesn't look like a picky person. When he puts the bowl down, not a single piece of food is left."
Uh... Xie Xun would definitely blush if he heard this.
However, as a cook, Jiang Shuyao still liked to see if the other person appreciated her craft. Amused by Bai Zhi's words, she said, "Then go and tell him. He'll come if he wants to, if he doesn't then forget it."
Bai Zhi was happy to go and ran to Xie Xun to pass the message.
When Xie Xun’s personal servant saw her approaching, pastry in hand, he almost scolded her on the spot. Not even the cleaning maids from the outer courtyard behaved so shamelessly; this maid was truly brazen.
He laughed inwardly, waiting for the Third Master to scold her, but he heard the Third Master, who always emphasized the importance of rules, flatly say "Okay".
Bai Zhi bowed and withdrew, leaving the young man dumbfounded.
Even though Bai Zhi covered her hand with her cuff, Xie Xun still saw the wax paper she tried to hide.
His heart was panicked, as if a mess of ink accidentally scattered on a piece of paper, making him feel unreasonably dry and uneasy.
Before Jiang Shuyao married, Duke Xie's Mansion inquired about her personality. People said that she was mean and domineering and liked to vent her anger. Even if it was someone else's maid, she would beat and scold them as soon as she was angry, and would act ostentatiously.
But now he saw that she treated her maidservants well, and had already awarded the maid before he got his turn...
It seemed that the rumors were not credible. Although she was criticized and stigmatized when dealing with men, the way she treated her servants was indeed very generous.
Xie Xun didn't realize that he was looking for a reason to comfort himself. After thinking about it this way, he was a little relieved. Maybe the previous rumors about her molesting talents and peeping on beautiful men were also false.
He stood up refreshed and walked briskly to the east wing.
After stepping into the small courtyard, he found that Jiang Shuyao was not in the east wing, so Xie Xun went to the small kitchen. He had become accustomed to Jiang Shuyao's habit of going to the kitchen when she had nothing to do.
The little maid servants were chatting and laughing, and when they saw Xie Xun coming in, they quickly closed their mouths and bowed.
Seeing Xie Xun, Jiang Shuyao didn't react much and just naturally asked, "Have you eaten breakfast yet?"
Thinking of the few bites of the porridge and side dishes, Xie Xun didn't want to lie, and bluntly said, "What are you making?"
"Scallion pancake." Jiang Shuyao was taken away, "Do you want it?"
Xie Xun coughed uncomfortably and nodded obediently.
Jiang Shuyao picked one pancake out of the stack of pastry crusts that had been brushed with oil, put it in an iron pan, and let the heat slow down.
Xie Xun rarely saw people cook, and asked curiously, "Is it troublesome to do this?"
"Fortunately, I made it last night and brushed it with oil so that it's all ready to go." The ancient people had too little entertainment and there were several hours between dinner and going to bed. She wasn't interested in reading at all, so she went to the kitchen to cook and grind time.
Xie Xun stood by, looked at her pancakes, and suddenly thought of the crepe she stuffed him that morning. It would be nice if he could still eat it when he was on duty.
Thinking of Lin Cheng, who bought sesame cakes at the alley corner every day, Xie Xun knew that if he saw him carrying freshly made hot cakes from home every day, Lin Cheng would surely be envious.
Lost in his own thoughts, the crust on the iron pan was already cooked. Jiang Shuyao brushed a layer of sauce over it, added lettuce and slices of tenderloin, then wrapped it in wax paper. The hand-held pancake was freshly made and ready to eat.
It was fast and easy to make, but the result was gratifying. This was the fun of making breakfast.
Xie Xun took it and didn't think of how improper it was to eat pancakes in the kitchen. His appetite was inexplicably aroused when the heat was passed to his fingertips through wax paper.
When he got closer, the fragrant pastry scent of the pancake became stronger.
He took a bite. The outer layer of the pancake was crispy, yet the inner layer was soft. Layered on top of each other, it was fluffy and tough.
The oily aroma of the outer layer and the gluten aroma of the inner layer were well combined. The sauce was slightly salty and appetizing.
In his first bite, he only bit into the crust, not eating the meat and lettuce wrapped inside. After swallowing, he took another big bite.
The meat was well marinated, the bite tasted crispy on the outside and the meat was delicious and juicy on the inside; the lettuce was fresh, making the meat and oily aroma more prominent, and there was a refreshing sweetness under the delicious taste.
He ate happily, but it was only when he heard his own chewing that he realized that he had just taken a big bite in a gaffe.
Without chewing it, he swallowed the food in his mouth hastily as a cover. But when he was looking up, Jiang Shuyao was also like him. She took a big bite, her cheeks were bulging, and she seemed to be exhausted.
Jiang Shuyao casually chewed and swallowed the mouthful, but suddenly she choked and drank some soy milk.
The soy milk with sugar was mellow and fragrant, and full of bean flavor. It was very satisfying to drink.
"Ah~" She let out a contented sigh. Breakfast just had to be eaten like this to feel satisfying.
Seeing Xie Xun staring at her, Jiang Shuyao also served him a bowl.
Xie Xun took it and ate the pancake in his hand with soy milk. Seeing that there were two pancakes left on the wooden board, Jiang Shuyao cooked them all for him and asked him to drink up the soy milk.
Xie Xun stood in the kitchen, full from breakfast for the first time.
Jiang Shuyao was happily fed. The extra pancakes and soy milk were completely wiped out by Xie Xun, and nothing was wasted. Regardless of Xie Xun's support, this breakfast was considered to be a very complete meal.
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