noffsinger Chapter 41: All the words you used were mine, your sixth brother's, lines!
Chapter 41: All the words you used were mine, your sixth brother's, lines!
Since it was a birthday gift from all the princes to the Empress Dowager, it was only right to include the eldest prince and the crown prince. After preparing the ingredients for the cake, Yinzhu sent someone to invite the eldest prince, Yinti, and the crown prince, Yinreng, from the eldest prince's residence and Yuqing Palace outside the palace.
"Brothers, now comes the most exciting part: making the cake. Actually, this cake is quite simple to make. First..."
The gift was fresh and thoughtful, and Yinzhuo believed that the best way to express his feelings was to do it himself. Having experience making birthday cakes for Yinzhen before, and with the cake bases sent by the imperial chefs being more than enough, and plenty of cream prepared, he simply demonstrated every step of making the cake to Yinti and the others. To prevent them from seeing how to make the cake but not being able to do it themselves, which would affect the final product's appearance, Yinzhuo simply gave each of them a set of materials and let them practice on their own.
No wonder they were able to become the nine princes vying for the throne. Their learning abilities were all top-notch. Even the seemingly most unreliable Tenth Prince, Yinzhen, showed surprisingly good results in his practice. Now that everything was ready, the next step was naturally to put it into practice.
"Brother, you truly live up to your reputation as someone skilled with a knife. Look how perfectly round and evenly sliced this cake base is..."
“Ninth and tenth brothers are also good. Look at how the fruit is cut into almost the same size. Come here, seventh and eighth brothers. You two are responsible for layering the fruit and cake base one layer at a time. You are so smart, this is a piece of cake for you.”
"Third Brother. Fourth Brother is indeed the most steady. He's steady in both body and hands. Look at how smoothly he spreads this cream..."
"Second brother, your handwriting is excellent, and your drawing is also very good. It's obvious you didn't slack off during your practice just now..."
"Fifth Brother..."
Although Yinzhuo stood aside without lifting a finger, he was still highly valued emotionally. No matter what his brothers did or how well they did it, he only had one word for them: praise.
The brothers worked together, and the final cake looked quite impressive. However, there were still two days until the Empress Dowager's birthday. The cake would definitely affect its taste if left out for too long. So, they all decided to share the cake first, as if to let the Empress Dowager taste it. After all, the cake was not difficult to make, and they could just make a new one the day before the Empress Dowager's birthday.
As the saying goes, practice makes perfect. The second batch of cakes looked even better than the first one. Yinzhuo had Dexi take the cakes away and personally supervised them while he went to his study. He had almost forgotten about the Empress Dowager's birthday, and he still hadn't finished copying the Buddhist scriptures.
"Dexi, today is Grandma's birthday, so we should dress festively. Go find the outfit I wore last year for Chinese New Year; I've decided to wear that today..."
Emperor Kangxi always prided himself on his benevolence and filial piety, and naturally attached great importance to the Empress Dowager's birthday. Although Yinzhuo was usually lazy, he dared not slack off on such an important day as the Empress Dowager's birthday. So today, he not only got up very early, but also tidied himself up from head to toe to ensure that he looked both festive and formal.
The Shou Kang Palace was also bustling with activity. Although there was still some time before the birthday banquet started when Yinzhuo and his brothers arrived, many of the concubines from the harem had already arrived before them. They were sitting around the old lady, chatting and joking with her, making it a very lively scene.
Regardless of who said what, the Empress Dowager always wore a smiling expression, occasionally nodding in agreement, as if she agreed with what they said. However, Yinzhuo thought that the old lady probably didn't understand what they were saying. After all, compared to him, the Empress Dowager was a true couch potato. Having lived in the palace for decades, she hadn't even learned a few words of Manchu, let alone Mandarin. Anyone who wanted to communicate with her could speak her native dialect.
Yinzhuo and the other princes stepped forward to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager. After being called to rise, they retreated outside the hall with their brothers to wait for the birthday banquet to begin.
Before long, Emperor Kangxi arrived at Shou Kang Palace. Everyone greeted him again. Kangxi's arrival meant that the birthday banquet was about to begin. He first looked around at everyone in the hall to make sure that everyone had arrived before walking to the Empress Dowager and personally helping her to her seat at the head of the banquet hall outside. Only then did he announce the start of the birthday banquet.
If you ask what the most important part of this birthday banquet was, it would naturally be the birthday greetings. Following the usual practice, Yinzhuo and the others, led by Kangxi, respectfully stepped forward to present the Buddhist scriptures they had personally copied to the Empress Dowager and offer their birthday greetings. Afterwards, they didn't rush to bring out the cake they had made, but waited until the birthday banquet was almost over before having Yinqi go out and bring over the cake they had prepared.
"What is this? It looks quite novel."
The Empress Dowager was naturally quite intrigued by this uniquely shaped cake, as it was the first time she had seen it.
Yinqi had been raised by the Empress Dowager's side since childhood and was always lively in her presence. Upon hearing this, he presented the cake to the Empress Dowager and replied in a clear and cheerful voice.
"Grandma, this is a birthday cake. It was made by my grandson and all my brothers and sisters. We wish you a long and happy life."
Upon hearing that the cake was made by her grandsons, the Empress Dowager smiled even more broadly and immediately expressed her desire to taste it. As soon as she said she wanted to eat it, a palace servant stepped forward to take the cake away to inspect it. After confirming that it was in good condition, the cake was quickly divided into several equal portions and placed on exquisite porcelain plates before being served.
"Hmm, it tastes good, sweet but not cloying, and very soft, which is perfect for us old folks."
Because it was for the Empress Dowager, Yinzhuo instructed the imperial chefs to use less sugar when making the cake base. He also adjusted the sugar ratio when whipping the cream, so that the cream would taste mainly milky with a secondary sweetness. The Empress Dowager had lived on the grasslands since childhood, so a cake with a rich milky flavor would naturally suit her taste.
Emperor Kangxi was naturally delighted upon seeing this, saying, "You are all so filial, that's wonderful."
Not long after the Empress Dowager's birthday was the New Year. The New Year celebrations in the palace were pretty much the same every year, and this year was no exception. As usual, they first went to the Qianqing Palace to attend the family banquet hosted by Emperor Kangxi. After the banquet, everyone went back to their own homes. So, after leaving the Qianqing Palace and saying goodbye to his brothers, Yinzhuo went to Consort De's place to stay up all night, just like in previous years.
"Fourth Brother, Sixth Brother, Happy New Year! Wishing you prosperity and good fortune! Give me a red envelope..."
Before the brothers Yinzuo and Yinzhen even entered Yonghe Palace, they were stopped by the chubby little boy, the Fourteenth Prince, who ran out from inside. Clearly, the little fellow had been waiting there for a while. He casually folded his two chubby hands together, grinned, and gave the two brothers a rather awkward cupped-hand salute. After saying a few auspicious words, he couldn't wait to reach out his little hands to ask his two elder brothers for a reward.
These words were casually uttered by Yinzhuo when he asked Yinzhen for a red envelope during the New Year last year. Unexpectedly, the fourteenth brother has a good memory. It's amazing that he still remembers them even after a year. Not only does he remember them, but he has also learned to apply them. Now he is using his sixth brother's words to ask his sixth brother for money.
What could Yinzhuo and Yinzhen do when they saw the Fourteenth Prince's adorable appearance? They could only take out the purse that Kangxi had just given them in the Qianqing Palace and hand it to the Fourteenth Prince's little hand.
"Fourteenth brother, you're using words that are exactly what your sixth brother used."