Tled by Serena Love

Edited

Chapter 8: Savory Crepe

While she was thinking, she saw Xie Xun pick up a shrimp and put it in the bowl, and frowned. 

Jiang Shuyao had taken out the shrimp vein, but all the shrimp that Xie Xun had ever eaten were thoroughly processed. When he encountered shrimp with the head and tail still attached, he didn't know how to eat it.

He didn't like having servants standing by his side when he ate, but there was now no one to peel his shrimps.

Jiang Shuyao didn't know what to say, so she picked up a shrimp and said to him, "Watch how I eat it."

"Bite off the head... bite off the tail... the skin is crispy and comes off…" She demonstrated as she spoke. "Look, it’s peeled now."

Xie Xun's eyebrows raised. This gesture was too ungraceful!

Jiang Shuyao didn't care what he thought, and continued to eat enthusiastically. Xie Xun hesitated but eventually decided to follow her example. He had never been too particular when he traveled abroad, even though he was rigid and serious.

After he figured this out, he imitated Jiang Shuyao’s motions to peel shrimp with his teeth. The first one was difficult to peel, the second one was somewhat better, and the third one was done smoothly... He didn't know how many he peeled. The shrimp shells piled up on his plate. 

Jiang Shuyao concentrated on eating. After a while, she noticed something was wrong. How did the shrimps disappear from the pot?!

She looked at Xie Xun, the good fellow. It had all gone into his stomach.

She sped up her eating pace. Xie Xun was influenced by her and also ate faster. The two of them were sweating profusely and immersed in the eating.

Finally, she couldn't eat any more. Jiang Shuyao stopped moving her chopsticks, and when she glanced inside the pot, she only saw the bottom. When she came with the pot, she thought she had cooked too much. She expected that she and Xie Xun could only eat half of it. She didn't expect him to eat so much.

After eating, Jiang Shuyao went to walk around in the yard to help digestion. Xie Xun went back to the study to read, but after Jiang Shuyao left the yard, he sneaked out of the study.

He was more panicked than Jiang Shuyao. He ate a lot during the meal at Lord Xiangyang's mansion today, and he had another big meal in the evening, about two days worth of food.

Xie Xun went out of the yard and to the outer yard. Just when he felt a little better, he met his elder brothers who were watching the moon and playing chess in the pavilion next to the small bamboo forest. After two long chess games, which lasted an hour long, Xie Xun's stomach cramped from sitting still too long. 

He went back to the study to wash up and went to bed, but no matter how much he turned left and right, he still couldn't sleep. He got up and went outside to practice his swordsmanship for a while, and the night breeze made him more refreshed.

After all that, he fell asleep only after four in the morning, and he was on duty the next day but woke up late.

"Master, take a snack to eat on the road," his personal servant, Zhi Yan, shouted as he followed after him.

Xie Xun adjusted his cuffs as he walked and replied, "No need."

"Master, eat something to fill your stomach."

"No need." Xie Xun walked out the door and then returned, almost colliding with Zhi Yan and asked, "Where’s my jade pendant?" 

"It’s here." Zhi Mo came from behind the screen and handed Xie Xun the jade pendant.

Xie Xun put it on and hurried out.

Zhi Yan was still following and whispered, "Then on the way, you can take a detour and buy a sesame pancake."

Xie Xun, impatiently said, "I know." 

The master and servant rushed away, and a curious voice came from not far away, "Huh, did you wake up late too?"

Xie Xun hurriedly stopped and looked back.

Jiang Shuyao held a roll in each hand, and had sauce on the corner of her mouth. Her mouth was still chewing, and her cheeks bulged like a hamster.

Behind her were four maids, each one happily eating.

"I'm not late," Xie Xun weakly explained.

Jiang Shuyao had a look of "I understand" in her eyes, and like an aunt on an early morning walk, said, "Hey, I haven't eaten this yet. Do you want to have some?"

Xie Xun was about to refuse, but Jiang Shuyao had already handed him the crepe from her left hand, "Here." 

Xie Xun was forced to accept the crepe roll. The oiled paper was cut and wrapped around a roll, which fit into his sleeve.

He didn’t have time, so he thanked her and left in a hurry.

Jiang Shuyao looked at his leaving back, and sighed, "It's nice not having to go to work."

She took a bite of the crepe, and um... it was almost perfect. It would be better to wrap it with spicy strips.

She thought of the crepe stands at the entrance of her school in her previous life. She would smell the scent from a long distance away. The crust was spread thin and soft, an egg was added, and it smelled fragrant. It was brushed with sauce, sprinkled with chopped green onion, and filled with spicy strips, ham, lettuce and crisp. After one bite, her mouth would feel hot and while breathing hard, she would rush to school. She would think that next time, she would ask for more crisps.

"How is it?" She turned to ask the maids.

"Well, it's delicious. It tastes really fresh."

"The sauce tastes good. It would be better if you put a little more sauce."

"I like the crisp inside. It’s crunchy when you bite it."

Jiang Shuyao was amused, "If it's delicious, we can make a few more when you're done."

...

Xie Xun saw that it was still early, and sighed in relief. He slowed his horse down, and turned at the end of the street.

He loosened the reins, let the horse find its way to the imperial city, and then took out the hot crepe in his sleeve.

Someone behind him called, "Bo Yuan!"

After eating, the man rode over on his horse, saw that Xie Xun was holding food in his hand, and smiled, "You didn’t have breakfast either?"

This person was the prime minister's grandson and they were both on duty at Teacher Zhan's Mansion. The two of them had played together since childhood and could be counted as cousins.

"Me too. I just bought the mutton sesame seed cake at the end of the lane." He shook the sesame seed cake in his hand and took a bite. "What did you buy?"

Xie Xun shook his head, "I didn't buy this. I brought it from home."

Lin Cheng envied him, "Ah, I'm also tired of those cakes at the end of the lane. It would be nice if the kitchen at my home also made pancakes for me. Unfortunately, my mother always tells me to get up early and eat at home rather than buy food outside."

Xie Xun knew that he misunderstood, and couldn't explain that Jiang Shuyao had forced him to take it, so he just laughed awkwardly.

Lin Cheng didn't ask much, closed his mouth and began to eat the pancake.

Xie Xun also started eating with him, and took a bite of the crepe. It tasted strange, especially the crispy fried outer layer, which made a crispy sound when he bit it.

The sauce was rich, and the outer layer of the meat that was wrapped in the innermost layer was grilled until it was brown. The inside of the meat was fresh and tender. After a bite, the fragrant gravy burst in the mouth, making the tip of his tongue feel slightly tingly.

He seemed to understand why Lin Cheng liked to eat breakfast while riding a horse.

The imperial city in the early morning wasn’t very lively. There were only a few pedestrians on the road. The sound of small conversations drowned in the sound of shouts and birds. The smoke from cooking mixed together, but couldn’t hide the green forest in the distance. The horse under him moved leisurely. He took a bite of the steaming crepe, and felt like a human firework.

Lin Cheng ate the last bite of the sesame cake, crushed the wrapper and complained, "They put in less and less mutton." After he finished speaking, he looked at the crepe in Xie Xun's hand, "Bo Yuan, you... this pancake... What's in it?"

Xie Xun replied, "Eggs, meat, vegetable leaves."

"I heard you bite something crunchy. What is that?"

"It must be fried dough or something."

"Oh~ Will you have it at your house tomorrow? Can you give me some?"

Xie Xun hesitated, "I don't know, probably not."

"Well, if you do, give me some."

The two chatted and rode side by side towards the imperial city.

Sure enough, Jiang Shuyao didn't wake up early the next day, and Xie Xun felt inexplicably relieved. If she did make crepes, he wouldn't know how to ask for two.

Jiang Shuyao lived in the Bamboo Courtyard. She ate, drank and slept every day. Her life was extremely comfortable. Apart from visiting her dowry shop, her life was boring.

When she was free, she liked to make fun and delicious food. After the milk and butter that Bai Zhi had bought were delivered, she started thinking about making pastries.

Although there was a lack of tools in ancient times, there was sufficient human resources. The four maids took turns, and two hours later, they had finally finished whipping a large pot of egg whites. The bread kiln built earlier came in handy. The cake batter was put in the kiln and baked, and after a while, the whole yard was filled with a sweet aroma.

Everyone in the yard smelled greedily, and after the cake came out, Jiang Shuyao divided a small piece for each of them and also had someone send some to her two little nephews from the first branch.

Xu-shi's life had been quite comfortable recently. After the twins were brought back from Jiang Shuyao’s place, the two obediently agreed not to look for her again. Jiang Shuyao also stayed quietly in her yard and didn’t make a fuss. A few days had passed in the house, as if there wasn’t this person.

To say that she hated Jiang Shuyao was too much. She didn’t hate her. But now, the entire capital city was waiting to see the jokes of Duke Xie's mansion, speculating about when Xie Xun would divorce his wife. Her eldest son had also reached the age of talking about marriage, but because of the laughingstock Jiang Shuyao, whenever people mentioned her eldest son, the first thing they thought of was not his talent and demeanor, but "Xie Ye is the nephew of Xie Xun who married Jiang Shuyao?"

When she thought about it, she became angry again, and beckoned to the maid, "Has anything happened over there recently?" 

The maid hadn't answered yet. Someone ran in from outside to report, "Madam, there is someone in the yard, from the Third Madam, saying that they’re bringing some snacks to the two young masters."

"Snacks?" Xu-shi sneered in her heart. They, the first branch, didn’t really need snacks. Xie Ye loved his two younger brothers, and always brought back some new snacks for them every time he went out. She also liked sweet snacks. There were different pastries on the table every day, but the two children didn’t like to eat them very much.

"Yes, Madam, look..."

Xu-shi waved her hand and didn't care, "Send it over, you can't return it to her. But don't say too much. If Ah Zhao and Ah Yao don't want to taste it, don't force them."

So the maid led the Bamboo Courtyard's maid to Xie Zhao and Xie Yao's room, where they were practicing calligraphy. They put the cake on the tea table and withdrew.

Xu-shi heard about this and continued to work on the accounts. After two sticks of incense, Xie Zhao ran over and jumped into her arms.

Xu-shi pushed him away and said with a straight face, "Why have you forgotten to behave and forgotten your manners? You have been enlightened and are no longer a child."

Xie Zhao was still smiling. He approached her again, raised his hand, and said coquettishly, "Mother, eat this snack."

Xu-shi's face was still strict, but her heart had melted into a pool of water. Without seeing what he brought to her mouth, she took a bite and realized that the taste wasn’t right. What kind of snack was it?

Different from the thick and dense texture of pastries that she had eaten before, this pastry was extremely fluffy and soft, delicate and pleasant, with a slight milky fragrance.

She looked down at the pastry in Xie Zhao's hand, which she had never seen before. The color was light yellow, the bottom was brown, and it looked very fluffy.

"Is it delicious?" 

There was still a faint sweet fragrance in her mouth, and the cake had a fine taste. It didn’t need to be swallowed like the usual solid cakes.

Xu-shi replied, "It's delicious."

Xie Zhao's eyes were like crescents, and his smiled, "Mother, take another bite." 

The maids were all amused by his appearance, and cheered, "The young master is really filial. When there’s delicious food, he thinks about Madam."

Xu-shi liked hearing these words. She smiled and took another bite, tasting the pastry. The presentation was unique and the taste was special. Is it a new cake from Babaofang? No, maybe it's Zhenguolou...

Xu-shi was thinking and heard Xie Zhao say, "This is just sent by my Third Aunt. I just took a bite and brought it to mother."

Wait.

Third aunt?

"Cough!" Xu-shi coughed suddenly, and her face was flushed red, "Cough… water...cough...water..."

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