Chapter 4

The next morning, Ye Ying, having learned from her experience, saw Yu Lu still dawdling and simply announced she was heading to the kitchen.

It was early, so she prepared dough, steaming a tray of vegetable buns. She also steamed a batch of "jade-stuffed lungs," where pine nuts and walnuts were stir-fried until fragrant, then ground together with crispy fried dough twists into a fine powder. The rich, nutty aroma was so potent it even overpowered the shrimp and noodle soup bubbling on the stove.

As soon as it was ready, Chongyun arrived to collect the meal, startled by the sheer fragrance. The noodle soup was dotted with minced shrimp, giving it a delicate pink hue, while ginger bits, cilantro, and scallions floated on top, creating a vibrant, appetizing display.

The two steaming baskets held a dish of plump, snowy-white buns, shaped to be perfectly bite-sized, their pleated seals hinting at a filling of at least four or five ingredients. Next to them was a plate of the golden-brown "jade-stuffed lungs," served with a vivid red spicy sauce to cut through the richness. There were also three side dishes served in palm-sized square plates: chicken cubes stir-fried with preserved pickles, stir-fried yellow cabbage strips, and pan-fried eggs. The pickles had been soaked in salt and vinegar overnight, turning them tart and crisp, pairing perfectly with the tender diced chicken. The yellow cabbage was refreshing, and the eggs were fried to a golden finish, their centers still slightly runny.

Having grown familiar with Ye Ying the day before, Chongyun asked, "Sister Ying, what are we having later?"

Ye Ying enjoyed teasing him. "I have some leftover noodle dough; how about I make you all some stir-fried noodles? We can use the leftover lotus root and mushroom bits from the vegetable buns, chop up some meat for a topping, and toss a plate of water celery with oil and salt. How does that sound?"

Just hearing the description made Chongyun drool. He quickly said, "The stir-fried noodles must be eaten while piping hot! Don't make them yet, Sister; wait until I’ve delivered the young master's meal and returned!" Before he finished his sentence, he had already grabbed the food box and dashed off. Ye Ying chuckled.

In the distance, a slender figure appeared at the end of the bluestone path. Looking closely, it was Yu Lu, once again arriving late.

"I’m starving! Quick, Ying, what’s there to eat?"

After a few days together, Yu Lu had realized that Ying was easygoing, highly skilled, and honest to a fault. She decided to manipulate her into taking on the tedious tasks so she could have more leisure time.

Ye Ying frowned and handed her a piping hot bun. "Don't forget, you’re supposed to be on duty in the kitchen today."

"I know, I know," Yu Lu said, acting as if she had turned over a new leaf, suddenly eager about her shift. "Ying, you go get some rest. With me here, I won’t let us get scolded."

After finishing the servants' meals, Ye Ying went back for a nap. Just as she was in the deepest part of her sleep, she felt someone shaking her vigorously. Opening her eyes, she found Yu Lu back again.

Ye Ying was dazed for a moment before coming to her senses. "What is it?" After splashing her face with water at the basin to wake up, she heard Yu Lu say in a tone of annoyance, "Sister Baishu is asking if there’s any of yesterday’s dessert left."

Pea cakes? "Making those is simple. It’s just peeled peas, steamed, mashed, and lightly sweetened. You can make them yourself." Was this really worth coming all the way back to fetch her?

Yu Lu was even more annoyed. "Do you think I want to bother you? The young master didn't like the ones I made, so Baishu came to ask again." She had spent her time in that sweltering kitchen specifically to deliver food to the young master, hoping he would notice there was a pretty new maid in the courtyard. But after delivering the snacks, wearing her brightest hair ornaments and even some lip tint, she hadn't even caught a glimpse of him, and she had been lectured by Baishu to boot. Even the dessert she made wasn't to his liking—he had barely touched it. She had tried the ones Ying made yesterday, and while they were good, hers weren't bad either!

"Pfft," Ye Ying laughed. "Come here, help me shell the peas, and I'll teach you."

Yu Lu was about to pout, but then Ye Ying added, "If you don't learn, what will you do if the young master wants to eat this again when you're alone?"

She successfully coaxed Yu Lu over. She had a knack for reading people.

Back in the kitchen, Ye Ying picked up a pea from the basket, pressed it between her fingers, and realized why. "Today’s peas aren't good; they’re dry." She rolled up her sleeves and set the peas to steam until they were thoroughly soft.

"This isn't much different from what I did," Yu Lu muttered while reaching for the powdered sugar. Ye Ying stopped her. "We don't use sugar for this; use honey instead—it's smoother on the palate. There’s a jar of wildflower honey in the cupboard; go get it."

After mixing in the honey and stir-frying the mixture until dry, Ye Ying brought out the wooden molds and a basin of icy well water. "Normally, we would use ice to help it set, but the young master is frail, so we'll take a shortcut and just chill the wooden molds so the cakes don't lose their shape."

Yu Lu thought to herself that Ying was truly simple-minded. Did she not know the value of keeping her skills to herself? Did she really intend to teach her? She had no idea that Ye Ying was so skilled that she didn't consider these simple desserts worth guarding. Having grown up around kind-hearted villagers—from Aunt Zhang who ran the banquets to Old Man Liu who practiced medicine—everyone had treated her like a granddaughter. Though this body had no biological family, she had a whole group of people who were better than kin.

She really missed them.

Seeing that Yu Lu loved to be at the forefront, Ye Ying let her deliver the finished dessert. Yu Lu said happily, "Ying, you're the best! When I make it big, I'll definitely remember you!"

Ye Ying smiled. She’d rather she didn't.

A little later, Yu Lu returned, her face, which had been sunny just moments ago, now sullen. She took fifty coins from a box and placed them in front of Ye Ying. "Here, your reward."

Baishu managed Cui Yuan's accounts, so she had the authority to handle small rewards for the staff. Because Ye Ying’s cooking had improved, Cui Yuan had been eating more over the past two days, much to the joy of everyone in Bamboo Garden. Baishu’s reward was a sign for her to keep up the good work.

Seeing that Ye Ying received a reward while she got nothing, and having just been met with Baishu's cold remarks—not to mention running back and forth under the hot sun without even catching a glimpse of the young master—Yu Lu was fuming.

Ye Ying didn't keep it all to herself; she counted out ten coins and gave them to her.

This made Yu Lu feel too embarrassed to keep sulking. "Ying..."

Ye Ying raised a hand to stop her. "If you really want to thank me, come in earlier to start your shift tomorrow."

Yu Lu said nothing, but she quietly hid the ten coins along with the seven she had secretly kept earlier.

***

In the Clarity Studio, Baishu took the box. Earlier, Yu Lu couldn't stop sneaking glances into the room, for which Baishu had scolded her; this time, she was well-behaved and left immediately after delivering it.

Baishu went into the tea room first, took out the snacks, and arranged them in a tray before serving them to the young master. She watched as he lifted his eyelids and glanced at them. "Why are there more snacks?"

She certainly couldn't admit that she felt he hadn't eaten enough. Baishu explained, "The cook learned that you didn't care for today’s snacks, so she prepared some fresh ones."

Cui Yuan nodded. He turned a page of his book before picking up a piece and placing it in his mouth. He ate with great elegance, and after his first bite, he didn't move again, making Baishu think these weren't good either; she felt a bit awkward.

After a while, Cui Yuan sipped his tea and said, "This isn't it."

Baishu startled. "What?"

Cui Yuan was certain. "This was not made by the same person as the previous snack."

Under Baishu's bewildered gaze, he picked up another piece and tasted it slowly. The first batch of snacks had been dry, crumbly, and cloyingly sweet. With just one bite, he knew they weren't made by the cook from yesterday. They were nowhere near as good as this.

The snack tray had two layers, with three compartments each, holding six types of sweets. Other than the honey pea cakes, the others had been bought from the Xiao family shop outside; Cui Yuan had only touched one water chestnut cake and hadn't touched the rest.

After clearing the snacks, Baishu tasted one of the leftovers. Her mind was made up. She went to her room, took a string of coins from her chest, thought for a moment, and added a white satin handkerchief embroidered with begonia flowers and butterflies. She hurried to the kitchen to find Ye Ying. Learning from Yu Lu that Ye Ying had gone to her room, she found the servant quarters in the outer courtyard.

"Sister Baishu?" Ye Ying was surprised and nervous to see her. "Is there something wrong with the snacks?" She was busy washing the clothes she had changed out of that morning. It was hot, and she would sweat through her back after half a day in the kitchen, but the clothes dried quickly, so changing twice a day was no problem.

The young girl was beautiful; even with her bangs covering her eyebrows, her charm was evident. The young master disliked pretense and affectation, and Baishu had developed a sharp eye while serving him. She could tell that Ying’s delicate, refined air was natural, not something done to curry favor.

Baishu found her very pleasing and spoke much more warmly. "Don't be afraid. The snacks were excellent. I just came to ask if you know how to make anything else?"

Ye Ying breathed a sigh of relief and said shyly, "I know how to make everything commonly sold in dessert shops." In truth, she knew how to make things they didn't sell, too.

Baishu had originally just wanted her to learn a few more things to rotate, so the young master wouldn't get tired of the food, but she hadn't expected her to know so much. Baishu was pleasantly surprised, though she kept her composure. "That’s good. From now on, Yu Lu will no longer handle the young master's meals. You prepare them according to the times the young master takes his medicine, and I’ll have someone come to collect them."

As she spoke, she handed her the money and the brand-new handkerchief. "It’s been hard work in this heat. Take this and buy yourself some rouge or powder."

"Sister, this..." Ye Ying tried to decline, but the items were thrust into her hands.

"Do a good job," Baishu said with a smile. "What does this amount to? The young master is simply clear about rewards and punishments; he is not a stingy man." When she said this, she exuded a convincing sense of authority and charisma. In Ye Ying's eyes, she was practically glowing.

That’s how it should be! No matter how many empty promises people make, nothing beats real gold and silver!

Ye Ying’s eyes curved into crescents. "Yes!"

Baishu was about to say something else when her expression suddenly changed. "Ying, do you... do you have any clean menstrual pads?"

Her cycle was very irregular. Usually, it was fine; her room wasn't far from the Clarity Studio, and she could ask Sangye or someone else to cover for her. If she felt really unwell, she would rest in her room for a few days, and the young master wouldn't say anything. But today she had left in a hurry, and just now, she felt a wave of heat and a dull, pulling pain in her lower abdomen.

Seeing that Baishu had turned pale, Ye Ying quickly said, "Sister, go sit in my room for a while, I’ll find you one."

Ye Ying brought over a cushion and a bolster, made the couch soft, and placed one behind her waist. She took a new menstrual pad from her trunk and then closed the door for her. Baishu checked her clothes first; luckily, she had arrived just in time, and there were no stains on her skirt. After changing, she sat for a while to recover. Then she heard Ye Ying knock on the door. "Sister Baishu, I’ve boiled some hot brown sugar water on the tea stove. Shall I bring it in?"

A head maid like Baishu would have been a career woman in the modern world. She was capable and efficient, often preferring to push through the pain. She was especially worried about leaving the young master in the care of others. The Bamboo Garden had once had more people, but after a series of incidents—including a night-duty maid who had been distracted and failed to notice the young master’s fever, nearly delaying his treatment—Baishu had become furious. She dismissed the useless ones to do chores in other courtyards. The current staff in the Bamboo Garden was smaller, but they had all been with the young master since childhood, so she felt at ease with them.

Even a child like Chongyun had to serve in the study, boil medicine, and carry food; she had more than enough to worry about. As a result, she had worn down her own health.

After drinking the sugar water Ye Ying had made, her hands and feet began to warm up. She thanked her and hurried back to her duties.

After Baishu left, Ye Ying took advantage of the privacy to empty her purse. Upon counting, there were two strings of coins. She couldn't bear to use the brand-new satin handkerchief with its exquisite embroidery, so she tucked it carefully under her pillow. When the time came to have one of the older women take it out to sell for her, it would surely fetch at least a tael of silver.

If she had started making desserts out of a sense of shared hardship and empathy, after receiving this money, she was now even more willing to make sure the golden young master ate well.

Before the afternoon meal, Yu Lu couldn't help but ask what Baishu had wanted with her earlier. They shared a room, so some things couldn't be hidden, but Ye Ying didn't tell her everything. "She just asked what other desserts I could make, as I’ll be making them every day now."

After today, Yu Lu knew that using the dessert delivery as an excuse didn't work to see the young master, so she couldn't help but complain, "I told you that you were being meddlesome. Why make those desserts in the first place? Now you have even more work!"

Ye Ying comforted her, "I'll do it; you won't have to worry about it."

Only then did the other girl stop grumbling. Ye Ying had said this intentionally. If she had told her the truth—that Baishu had specifically requested only her—Yu Lu might have felt unbalanced. This was the art of conversation. Yu Lu, a young girl, just thought of her as a simple, good-natured person who would surely be bullied to death if she weren't there to partner with her.

At night, after everyone else had fallen asleep, Ye Ying put on a crossbody bag she had sewn with rope and slipped out under the cover of darkness. Without a lantern, she could only hold a candle, feeling her way by the fragrance until she reached the west wall of the Bamboo Garden.

There, a cluster of night-blooming jasmine grew. This wasn't the common variety, but a small white flower that bloomed at night with a clear, distant scent. It could be used in medicine or soups and was very effective for regulating a woman’s cycle. Regardless of the reward money, Ye Ying genuinely liked and admired someone with Baishu's character. She was only two years older than her, the age of a high school graduate in the modern world, yet she could manage a whole group of people so capably.

She planned to make "Night-Blooming Jasmine Stewed with Eggs" for Baishu's breakfast tomorrow, which was why she was out so late.

Ye Ying found a smooth stone, dripped some candle wax onto the surface to fix the candle in place. The tiny flame, no bigger than a bean, flickered, looking particularly prominent in the thick darkness.

Ye Ying searched only for the tender flower buds, and it took quite some effort to fill half her pouch. Although it was night, the summer temperature wasn't low, and Ye Ying had broken into a light sweat from the busy work. However, she was so immersed in picking the flowers that she didn't notice the sound of footsteps behind her.

It wasn't until the person was close that a tall shadow loomed over her, blocking most of the candlelight. She froze in place, realizing too late.

That was definitely not a woman's silhouette... And there were no adult manservants in the Bamboo Garden.

Could it be that the candle had attracted something unclean? In that instant, countless horror scenes she had watched flashed through Ye Ying’s mind, and she broke out in goosebumps.