Chapter Thirty-Seven: Sweet and Delicate Bean Cake

Everyone was certain that Bai Feijun would leave.

Now that his identity as an imperial prince had been exposed, remaining here would only invite further assassination attempts and unforeseen dangers. However, because Bai Feijun was injured, no one dared to urge him to depart, let alone drive him away. The journey to Quzhou, which should have been completed by the following day, was thus delayed.

With time on her hands and nothing to do, Jiang Zhuo turned and slipped into the kitchen. She took the beans that had been soaking since the previous night and placed them into a large pot, simmering them until they were tender and soft. She then strained them through a fine silk cloth to remove the skins, creating a smooth bean paste. After roasting the paste, she mixed in dried osmanthus flowers and bits of tangerine peel, then coated the mixture with a flour made from glutinous and japonica rice, letting it rest before steaming.

Bean cakes without sugar—these were the pastries Su Yanqing would enjoy.

When Jiang Zhuo was first sent to the Su household, she had no idea how to interact with Su Yanqing. It was the Su family’s maid who had kindly tipped her off, telling her that Su Yanqing preferred sugarless pastries. That was when Jiang Zhuo began to learn, little by little, how to prepare light Jiangnan cuisine and these unsweetened bean cakes.

As the flames in the stove licked the firewood, burning fiercely, Jiang Zhuo gradually became lost in thought.

In truth, Jiang Zhuo did not really understand Su Yanqing.

It was much like how she couldn't understand why anyone would enjoy such bland refreshments. After all, in her previous life, she had never seen him draw a bow or shoot an arrow, nor had she ever seen him argue with anyone so intensely. A brilliant top scholar, a graceful scion of a noble family, and a master who always wore a gentle smile—that was the impression Su Yanqing had left upon her.

Living in the inner chambers, with an unquestionable master overhead, even though the Su Yanqing of her past life had only treated her as a distant younger sister with formal courtesy, Jiang Zhuo’s vision had remained trapped within that small, square world. She had unconsciously sought to please him to gain a sense of security in her life.

But how had she ended up in Xie Guanlan’s hands back then?

Jiang Zhuo pondered. It seemed Su Yanqing was meant to visit a family surnamed Pang in Yangzhou, but he was tied up with trivial matters, so he asked Jiang Zhuo to go ahead. Who could have known that they would encounter refugees on the road, and then Xie Guanlan? Jiang Zhuo remembered telling Xie Guanlan her destination at the time, yet he had still taken her back to Shu.

In her past life, her first meeting with Xie Guanlan at the Buddhist temple had been quite unpleasant. She assumed his actions back then were merely intended to humiliate her.

Etiquette and words were minor matters; thinking back now, how could she have let such trivial things become such a burden?

Jiang Zhuo sighed.

"Why the sigh, when all is well?"

A voice suddenly asked from behind her. Jiang Zhuo turned to look.

Though he was not much older than her, Su Yanqing stood tall as bamboo, already half a head taller than Jiang Zhuo.

"It is so late, Brother Yanqing, why have you come here?" Jiang Zhuo asked in surprise.

A gentleman should stay away from the kitchen. In Jiang Zhuo’s memory, Su Yanqing was not the type of person who enjoyed working in the kitchen.

"I was passing by and noticed the light from the stove. I wanted to see which greedy cat was sneaking a snack, only to find a fairy of the kitchen instead."

Su Yanqing smiled faintly, though it seemed much more sincere than before.

"Do you like eating bean cakes, A-Zhuo?"

She couldn't exactly say, "I knew you liked them," could she?

Jiang Zhuo twitched the corners of her mouth, offering a strained explanation: "I just suddenly felt like having some. It has been a long time since I made them, though, and I forgot to add sugar to half of them."

That was not a lie. She couldn't very well make a whole pot of bean cakes for Su Yanqing alone. Jiang Zhuo had harbored a selfish thought, putting sugar in half and leaving the other half plain.

Su Yanqing’s smile remained.

"As it happens, my father often taught me that the way of a gentleman lies in upholding one's own integrity and adhering to one's original intentions. Rich and sweet foods, while tempting, easily lead one to lose their self-discipline. It seems the bean cakes you made are quite in line with my father’s expectations."

Jiang Zhuo had been busy for the better part of the day, and it was now just about time for them to be ready. After Su Yanqing helped lift the lid of the steamer, Jiang Zhuo carefully picked up a steaming hot bean cake, blew on it a few times, and handed it to him.

"How is the taste?" Jiang Zhuo asked, feeling somewhat nervous.

"…It is very much in keeping with a gentleman’s path of self-restraint."

Although Su Yanqing was still smiling, it seemed less natural than before. The piece Jiang Zhuo had given him was one of the sugarless ones.

Come to think of it, in her past life, had she ever seen him eat the pastries she made in person?

Jiang Zhuo paused, then quickly realized her mistake.

"I gave you the wrong one!" Jiang Zhuo hurriedly picked up a piece with sugar and held it to Su Yanqing’s lips. "Try this one instead?"

Su Yanqing hesitated for a moment. Looking at the sincerity on Jiang Zhuo’s face, he swallowed the refusal that was on the tip of his tongue.

Jiang Zhuo stared fixedly at Su Yanqing, carefully observing his expression. Although he wasn't smiling, the furrow between his brows relaxed slightly. His expression while eating the second cake seemed slightly better than when he ate the first, unsugared one.

"Compared to the bland path of a gentleman, Brother Yanqing, do you actually prefer something sweet?" Jiang Zhuo asked, carefully probing.

"No…" Su Yanqing subconsciously tried to deny it, but seeing Jiang Zhuo’s honest face, he stopped, looking somewhat troubled. He seemed to be struggling with himself.

Jiang Zhuo said nothing, waiting quietly for his reply.

Su Yanqing was far more complex than she had imagined. He was not merely the humble and orderly son of the Su family, nor the jade-like scholar and chief minister, nor the cold-blooded gentleman who stood idly by. Beyond benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trust, Su Yanqing had his own preferences.

"Yes, I do prefer sweet things."

After hesitating for a long time, Su Yanqing finally spoke the truth.

Jiang Zhuo smiled. Su Yanqing also smiled, appearing somewhat embarrassed.

"I know how to make many sweet treats from the capital. This journey is long; I can make them for you to taste slowly, Brother Su," Jiang Zhuo promised, full of confidence.

"Is the capital so fond of sweets as well?" Su Yanqing asked with a helpless smile. "After my father was demoted from the capital, he forbade anyone in the household from eating sweets, saying that only Southerners were so undisciplined in their craving for sugar."

"We do! Of course we do!" Jiang Zhuo’s eyes widened in disbelief. "Lychee paste, honey crisps, amber syrup, delicate pastries, milk-sugar snow… The capital is populous, and there are many high-ranking officials; there are even more social gatherings filled with schemes and power struggles, so everyone is happy to have something sweet to brighten their mood."

Since the year his father was demoted when he was nine, Su Yanqing had never returned to the capital. In truth, it must have been the same before he was nine, must it not?

Su Yanqing smiled and shook his head. The Su family had always been strict, not allowing the children to eat too many sweets.

"With your talent, Brother Yanqing, wouldn't taking the top spot in the imperial examinations and becoming a high official be an easy task?" The stove fire made Jiang Zhuo’s smiling face appear even more bright and radiant. "When you enter the capital, I shall gather all the sweets in the city, fill a table to the brim, and let you eat until your teeth ache!"

What nonsense. Who would host a banquet and serve only sweets?

Su Yanqing thought this, yet he found himself quietly looking forward to entering the capital for the imperial examinations the following year.