One Lifetime Is Never Enough

1.11 Preparing a Gift

For a residence as big as the Ji clan, the kitchen was built separately from the main building. It was roughly four minutes brisk walk from the bamboo groves, passing a fish pond that looked quite empty. Most of the fish inside hide behind mosses, lotus leaves, or rocks inside the pond, dormant in the icy cold water.

At the moment, Ji SongLi followed the voices, and sure enough, YuLan and his friends were there. There were no other workers or servants around, it was not yet the time to prepare food for dinner.

However the scene he saw was quite astonishing.

Zhen BuFeng was holding a bamboo device in one of his hands, and a big pewter bowl with the other. He seemed to be concentrating hard, strirring whatever he was stirring inside the bowl using the device.

Ji SongLi recognized the device to be the bamboo item YuLan was tinkering on, earlier at the groves.

However rather than 'stirring', with sweat trickling down BuFeng's forehead and his rapid hand's movement, it looked like he was trying to beat the crap out of the bowl's content.

"Stop!" YuLan commanded. She took the bowl from BuFeng and looked inside the bowl before sighing disappointedly, "Overbeaten, Young Master Zhen."

Her eyes showed slight ire, not bothering to hide it at all when she looked at Zhen BuFeng accusingly, "This servant told you that once you reached snow like consistency and white in color, you should stop."

In fact, she was afraid Zhen BuFeng would break the bamboo whisk if he continued on.

Zhen BuFeng scratched his head and grumbled to himself. The three Princes sat by the side, fanning themselves with their hands, their breaths a bit rapid. It seemed that they had also done the strange exercise as Zhen BuFeng had done, before Ji SongLi arrived.

"Miss Bai... uh... YuLan," Prince Zhang JunLi hesitatingly said. He had started to call YuLan politely ever since the Ji family started showing her their favours – despite the latter's self addressing still as a servant, "I think what you want to do is not possible."

Prince KongJing nodded, "Un. I initially thought it would be interesting. But the four of us have done precisely what you asked us to do. It can't be we have all done it wrong?"

YuLan shifted her gaze at him, "Yes, Your Highnesses have done it wrong. Your movements were too slow and thus it's impossible for the egg whites to reach the intended state of stiffness."

"They put too much importance in their own elegance," YuLan thought, still annoyed.

Zhen BuFeng snorted, "What stiffness...," then quickly shut his mouth upon seeing YuLan quickly looked at him again, sharpness in her limpid eyes.

"Young Master Zhen, on the other hand, was truly too vigorous, so the egg-whites had been overbeaten and lost its stiffness consistency."

Prince Zhang GuoFu chimed in, "Then, can you show us how it's done?"

"This servant would do it herself if I could," YuLan sighed. Her current body was small and weak, her arms looked like twigs. She did not have the energy or strength to whisk the egg whites to stiff peak herself.

Perhaps she should choose another cake to make? But she was very skilled in making sponge cakes in her previous life... .

"Ah, SongLi, you've come!" Zhang GuoFu waved, noticing Ji SongLi's arrival.

"What have Your Highnesses and Zhen BuFeng been doing?" He blinked his eyes in confusion. Four distinguished people being nervous around a little maid was definitely something he had not seen before.