When the beginning morning rays of sunlight began to s.h.i.+ne in from the window of the kitchen, a plate of steaming red bean cakes rested in front of Yujia"s eyes.A total of six bean cakes were the result of all her hard work through last night. Although she did finish earlier with another batch, when she tested it, the taste was a little too sweet because she seemed to add in too much sugar. That was why she had to restart and remake them, the two batches combined taking up so much time that it was already almost morning when she finished.
While Hui"er aided Yujia in placing the cakes on a clean plate, Yujia took one and sampled it for herself. Five should be enough of a number to give Yang Qingxia.
The freshly made red bean cake crumbled under her bite and dissolved on her tongue. This time, unlike before, the cake was not overly sweet or too bland, and although the cake was moist, it was dense as well. Yujia could proudly say that she enjoyed the taste despite the burning sensation of her tongue from being burnt by the dessert that just came out of the casket.
Quickly, Yujia finished the small pastry and stretched, her mouth opening up into a yawn. She turned her head towards Hui"er, informing, "I"m going to go back now… and get some sleep. Can you take care of sending the cakes?"
Hui"er nodded. "Yes, I can do that."
"Alright then." Yujia nodded as well and began to head out of the kitchen. She trusted that Hui"er would deliver the cakes to the right person.
For now, all Yujia really had to worry about was getting to her bed and taking a quick nap before the sun fully rose up.
…
Hui"er stood alone in the empty kitchen, packing the cakes into a box that she would carry and deliver to the First Miss as her Fourth Miss asked her to.
When she placed the plate into the box and carefully closed the lid on them, Hui"er hesitated to lift the box and exit the kitchen.
Was really it a good decision to send the cakes to the First Miss?
Based on Hui"er"s calculations, the First Miss was not a person to be easily won over like that. A few simple pastries would not contribute much to her impression of the Fourth Miss. Perhaps it would even cause the First Miss to be a little suspicious of what the intentions of the Fourth Miss were. Even though Hui"er knew that the Fourth Miss was truly trying to be a kind individual, that didn"t necessarily mean that the First Miss would think the same.
Besides, Hui"er preferred to avoid the First Miss as much as possible, considering what had happened between the two of them in the past.
Hui"er"s eyes drifted over in the direction of the fire pit that the two of them steamed the cakes over. In the pit, the fire was crackling, parts of the vibrant orange flames snapping upwards and twisting around.
It would be easy to toss the plate of cakes in the fire. It would be easy to let the flames consume the five little desserts and to transform them into nothing but ashes. All it took was a quick toss, and then the cakes would be gone.
Hui"er blinked, reaching forward to the flames, but then, she remembered.
Her mind went back to the entire night of teaching the Fourth Miss how to make the red bean cakes. She recalled the moment where the Fourth Miss added too much sugar. She recalled the moment where a blissful, joyous look appeared on the Fourth Miss"s face when she realized that the second batch was perfectly made. She recalled how much the Fourth Miss wanted to improve her relations.h.i.+p with the First Miss.
Hui"er froze in her movements and set the box of cakes down. She reached over the table for a bucket of fresh water, dumped the water on the fire, and began to clean the kitchen.
It would be good to make the kitchen spotless before the first servant entered to begin the process of their work this morning. And as for the red bean cakes… Hui"er supposed that she would just have to send them over to the First Miss when she was finished with what she was doing.