Chapter 96: Confusion
As luck would have it, this slip nearly twisted her waist, but it avoided Jade Ink’s eyes.
Fortunately, she didn’t fall and smash the food box. Pear Moon was so frightened that her little face turned pale, clutching the food box as she struggled to stand.
“Sister Jade Ink, the mistress sent me with wine and dishes.”
Jade Ink was already dressed up, wearing a plain gauze jacket and lotus silk skirt, a pink-blue floral vest with an embroidered collar, her hair in a hanging bun adorned with a crabapple pearl hairpin and a pearl headband at the front. Clearly, she was about to go out.
“Slipped on the gravel path, did you? You came just in time—a little later and I’d have been out.”
She remained gentle in demeanor, nothing like the lively and charming girl from earlier, and reached out to take the food box.
Pear Moon snapped out of her daze, patting her chest with a dry laugh: “That scared me so much, I nearly jumped out of my skin.”
She set out the wine and dishes on the table in the main hall, but the Duke didn’t even come out, only sending a string of coins as a reward.
Pear Moon didn’t dare enter the room. After receiving the string of coins, she hurriedly scurried out.
Before she even reached the courtyard gate, she ran into maids rushing in, nearly knocking the coins out of her hand.
“This path is already slippery—are you rushing to be reborn, running like your life depends on it?”
“The Duke is giving us dishes and fruits to eat!”
They couldn’t be bothered to look back, letting Pear Moon mutter and complain under her breath.
The wine, dishes, and fruits sent from Phoenix Ripple Courtyard were almost never eaten by Ning Yuanjun.
He would only glance at them after they were laid out before having Jade Ink distribute them to the maids in the courtyard.
Everyone knew about this but dared not tell Shen Shi, fearing it would upset her deeply.
Returning to the small kitchen in Phoenix Ripple Courtyard, Pear Moon sat dazedly in front of the stove, her mind a tangled mess.
She could understand why the Duke wouldn’t let Jade Ink leave Ningguo Mansion.
But the thought of him secretly passing tokens to Miss Tan was something she couldn’t even bear to imagine.
Miss Tan was the daughter of a respectable family, the younger sister of the fourth-rank Commander of the Imperial Guard, an unmarried young lady of noble status.
If this were exposed, a young lady privately exchanging tokens with a man would be a matter of life and death.
If a young lady’s reputation were ruined, who would she marry in the future?
Could it really be, as the Duke had said, that he intended to marry Miss Tan as his new mistress?
Although in noble households, men often had multiple wives and concubines, there was ultimately only one legitimate wife.
Even if someone brought in later was addressed as “mistress,” she would still only be a concubine.
But in all corners of the land, daughters of official families, even if their fathers or grandfathers held only the lowest eighth-rank positions, would never stoop to becoming concubines.
Miss Tan’s brother was a fourth-rank military official. With so many good marriage prospects in the capital and their hometown, why would they agree to this?
Pear Moon chopped minced chicken on the cutting board, her little head buzzing with confusion.
Miss Tan spoke frankly, rewarded generously, and treated servants kindly.
Especially seeing her gallant and spirited on horseback, Pear Moon admired her from the bottom of her heart.
After much thought, she concluded that this must be the Duke using his power to bully others.
As a first-rank Duke and Minister of War, the highest-ranking military official in the court, who in the capital besides the Emperor could match his power? In court, he didn’t even spare his father-in-law’s face.
Not to mention anything else, just look at how the Duke treated Jade Ink.
Sister Jade Ink wanted to leave Ningguo Mansion to marry, but he blocked her, forcing her to stay with him for life.
If he could be so despicable to Sister Jade Ink, he would likely treat other girls the same way.
The only difference was that Miss Tan had parents and a family, unlike Jade Ink, who was at his mercy.
General Tan was his deputy, relying on him for promotion in the court.
With the Duke wielding such power, what could Miss Tan, a young girl, possibly do?
From this, it could be seen that the young Duke of the Ning family, despite his handsome appearance, was actually no good.
In the mansion, everyone praised him as a dragon among men, and Pear Moon had heard it so often her ears were calloused.
If this was how dragons among men behaved, it seemed there were no decent men in the world.
Pear Moon couldn’t help shaking her head, focusing even more intently on chopping vegetables.
Fortunately, she was still young and had years ahead to learn culinary skills, and could save money to buy her freedom and leave the mansion.
Though making a living by her craft would be difficult, it was still better than relying on marriage for survival, with no dignity to speak of.
Just as Pear Moon was feeling fortunate that she still had a way out, a small head peeked in at the doorway.
Huan Huan suddenly popped her head in, smiling as she asked for some pastries: “Are there any of the peony flower pastries made this morning?”
Pear Moon quickly gathered her thoughts, opened the cupboard, and took out a plate of peony pastries.
The peony pastries were shaped like flowers, each one fading from white to yellow to red, resembling a vibrant peony.
Made by mixing dough with three-colored oil, layering it, adding filling to form balls, and cutting them into six petals with a knife.
Simply put, they were fried dough pastries; as long as the knife work and oil temperature were well controlled, they would come out looking like peonies.
Usually, Shen Shi found them too greasy and never ate them.
This morning, because she was having breakfast with Ning Yuanjun, she had ordered two plates made for the sake of presentation.
Pear Moon prepared two types of sweet fillings: lotus seed paste with white sugar and jujube paste with red beans.
They were taken to the main room for the meal, glanced at twice, and then taken away. The maids shared one plate, and the rest were sent back.
“Why did you think of asking for these? I thought you didn’t eat them, so I saved them for Autumn Abundance.”
Pear Moon hadn’t seen Autumn Abundance all morning and had stored them in the cupboard for her.
“The mistress ordered a tea table to be set up. I’ve been working on it for half a day but can’t make a nice-looking platter. I’ll use these to decorate the table—the mistress won’t eat them anyway.”
Now that Xiangyun was in charge of the tea room, with Huan Huan assisting, the quality of tea snacks had declined significantly compared to before.
The two of them could only make a limited variety of pastries, especially lacking in shape and color, and Granny Zhao had scolded them several times.
In truth, Granny Zhao knew Pear Moon did better work, but she simply refused to use her.
Pear Moon’s cleverness and talent were secondary; what Granny Zhao disliked most was her good looks, wishing she would stay far away.
Any pretty and clever maid, regardless of age, was something the old lady couldn’t stand.
Pear Moon understood this somewhat, so she rarely went to the main courtyard.
“Is the mistress inviting guests? Fried dough pastries don’t taste good when cold. How dare you serve her leftovers—you’re asking for trouble!”
It was a wonder Huan Huan could make do like this; she must not have been scolded enough, daring to cut corners with everything.
Even though the tea table platter was just for show, one had to be prepared in case someone took a bite.
Leftover pastries would taste cold and greasy, and Shen Shi had a picky palate, so it was better to be cautious.
“The tea room only has chicken oil rolls and water chestnut flour cakes!” Huan Huan stomped her foot anxiously.
Pear Moon had no choice but to untie her apron and follow her to the tea room.
There were still some juicy red plums in the crystal jar, perfect for steaming some danai cakes.
The red plums were cored and pitted, filled with pine nuts, olive kernels, and honey, resulting in a bright red color and a sweet-and-sour taste.
They were just the thing for decorating a summer tea table.
Huan Huan, Xiangyun, and a young maid gathered around to watch her make them, each taking one to taste.
“Sister Xiao Yue makes them beautifully. We usually eat danai cakes, but they’re never this refreshing.”
This little maid knew her stuff, immediately pointing out the secret.
The water Pear Moon used for the sweet filling was boiled with licorice and green plums, and honey was added to make it sweet but not cloying.
Otherwise, the sweetness would be overwhelming and turn bitter when steamed with the plums.
After preparing the tea snacks and sending them to the main room, Pear Moon recognized the young maid as Xing’er from Second Miss Ning’s quarters.
“Has Second Young Miss arrived?” Pear Moon smiled at her.
Xing’er licked her fingers, nodding absentmindedly.
“For the birthday of the Old Madam of the Marquis of Dingnan, Madam Ning took Eldest Young Miss to offer birthday greetings. Our Second Young Miss had nothing to do, so she specially came to see the First Mistress!”