When the Emperor saw that Eunuch Wei hadn't moved, he shot an icy glare at him. Eunuch Wei didn't dare to disobey orders, so he obediently went on his way, despite his troubled expression.
Chu Lian was in the middle of eating her second mini mooncake when she heard Eunuch Sun greeting someone.
Curious, Chu Lian turned around, only to see that there was now another middle-aged eunuch standing behind her, holding a horsetail whisk in his arms.
Eunuch Sun smiled as he introduced the newly arrived eunuch to Chu Lian. "Honoured Lady, this is the chief steward of the imperial palace, Eunuch Wei. He serves by the Emperor's side."
Chu Lian smiled and nodded, greeting him cheerfully with a 'Chief Steward Wei'.
Chief Steward Wei bowed towards Chu Lian respectfully. His eyes swept over the purse she was holding in her hands, and upon seeing its quickly depleting state, he couldn’t help but inwardly beg: 'My dear ancestor, please eat a little slower- the Emperor's still waiting for those snacks!'
"Honoured Lady really knows how to enjoy life. This Mixiang Pavilion is the best place to admire flowers in the entire imperial gardens. Just a few days ago, the Empress Dowager even mentioned that the best thing to do during the middle of autumn is admire the chrysanthemums while enjoying some round cakes."
Chu Lian found this whole meeting rather strange. This Eunuch Wei should be a very busy person, judging from his job title. How could he have the spare time to stand here and make small talk with her?
When she saw that Eunuch Wei seemed to want to continue chatting, Chu Lian could only play along. "Chief Steward Wei, you're overestimating me. I just happened to be passing by and stopped to eat a few snacks since I was feeling hungry." Chu Lian looked down at the snack purse she was holding and continued, "These aren't round cakes, by the way. They're just some snacks I made for myself."
"Oh? This servant has long heard that Honoured Lady's heart is as good and pure as an orchid. This servant didn't think that Honoured Lady would also know how to make her own confections. This servant wonders if there might be a chance to taste Honoured Lady's cooking."
When those words left Eunuch Wei's mouth, even he couldn't hold back the slight, embarrassed flush on his cheeks. But no matter how awkward this was, he couldn't disobey the Emperor's orders!
Chu Lian was stunned. What? A high-ranked eunuch she had never met before- the chief steward of the palace, at that- was asking her for... her snacks?
With Chu Lian's baffled gaze focused on him, Eunuch Wei awkwardly received the snack purse. Following that, he gave her a deep, low bow, and then... he ran off... at lightspeed...
Only Chu Lian was left standing in the pavilion, her hands still outstretched as she said to thin air, "Eunuch Wei... My purse..."
Unfortunately, Eunuch Wei was already long gone by now.
Chu Lian's expression was cloudy. She turned to ask the frozen Eunuch Sun, "Eunuch Sun, is the food in the palace that bad?" Otherwise, why would the chief steward have stolen her snacks and run away?!
The corners of Eunuch Sun's lips twitched. In the end, he could only let Honoured Lady Jinyi continue believing her own conclusions. After all, he worked under Eunuch Wei. How could he dare to cast suspicion on Eunuch Wei's conduct? Though, within the privacy of his mind, he was also severely perplexed by this series of events. Eunuch Wei was one of the Emperor's trusted servants: he could eat the best birds' nest and the best abalone every day if he wanted to. How could he have come to covet a young girl's snacks, and then just steal them away like that? Had the sun risen from the west today?
But Eunuch Wei was already long gone, and it was just one small purse with a couple snacks in it. There was nothing special about it, so Chu Lian didn't pursue the matter further.
She was about to rest for a moment longer before going over to the Empress Dowager's palace to look for Matriarch He, but Royal Princess Duanjia suddenly came striding over from not too far away.
When Royal Princess Duanjia reached Chu Lian's side, she pulled her up without waiting for Chu Lian to give her a bow in greeting. "I heard from the Empress Dowager that you were over here in the imperial gardens when I entered the palace, so I came over to find you. I didn't think I would bump into you at Mixiang Pavilion!"
Chu Lian hadn't seen Royal Princess Duanjia for quite a few days, so it was a pleasant surprise to run into her here.
She was about to speak when she noticed Royal Princess Duanjia looking her up and down with a measuring gaze. Finally, the princess’s gaze landed on the remains of the half-eaten mooncake in her left hand. The princess blinked and asked, "Chu Liu, what are you eating?"
The moment she heard that, Chu Lian didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She held up the remaining mooncake in her hand and replied honestly, "This is a type of snack I made earlier; it's called mooncake."
"Mooncake? It sounds really tasty. Chu Liu, how could you bring snacks into the palace? Why didn't you bring some for me, too?!" Royal Princess Duanjia's cheeks puffed up as she questioned her friend.
Chu Lian replied very intelligently with an 'uhhhh'. She really didn't know how to deal with Royal Princess Duanjia.
Suddenly, Royal Princess Duanjia held out an open palm in front of her face.
Chu Lian stared at Princess Duanjia's face in befuddlement before looking at her open palm. "Princess?"
"What are you blanking out for? Hand over all your food!"
Chu Lian: ......
"Princess, you were a little too late. I just finished everything; there's only this half left..."
Chu Lian pressed a hand against her forehead. Why were the people around her such gluttons for food?! It was just a simple snack, so why were there waves of people trying to snatch it away from her? Did they really have to be this way?!
Royal Princess Duanjia thought for a moment before harrumphing in her uniquely tsundere manner. "Well, if you’ve only got that half left, then so be it. I just want a small taste first. You'll make more for me later anyway, right?"
Chu Lian stared at her. This half was only a half because she’d eaten the rest already. Her saliva was already on it...
In the end, Chu Lian didn't have any other choice but to hand it over. "If Royal Princess Duanjia would like more, there's still one more box of it that my maidservants are carrying."
Royal Princess Duanjia tossed the piece of mooncake into her mouth without any hesitation. She chewed it for a bit before her eyes lit up. "Chu Liu, this 'mooncake' is a lot tastier than those round cakes!"
Eunuch Sun's eyes were twitching when he saw the normally calm, cool, and collected Royal Princess Duanjia was acting like a naive, haughty child.
The two girls sat in Mixiang Pavilion for a while longer. However, because Chu Lian was afraid that more strange people would pop out of the bushes, she dragged Royal Princess Duanjia off to the Empress Dowager's Ninghe Palace before long.
At a corner hidden out of sight from Mixiang Pavilion, Eunuch Wei stood before the Emperor. He offered the purse he took from Chu Lian to the Emperor with both hands, and the Emperor, in turn, received it.
The purse itself was light in colour, and there was some oil paper sewn inside of it. On the outside, the embroidery was fairly elaborate, but it wasn’t anything special. It looked just like a simple snack purse that any noble would prepare for their children.
The Emperor opened the little purse and looked inside, only to see the last remaining pastry within. It was about half the size of an egg and circular in shape, and its maker had imprinted the word ‘fortune’ on top of it. Overall, it looked delightful and well-made.
The Emperor took it out and had a taste. His deep eyes squinted. The stuffing inside was actually quite salty!
When he took a closer look, he discovered that the stuffing was made of salty egg yolk.
It seemed that that girl did possess some talent in the culinary arts after all.
Eunuch Wei stood behind the Chengping Emperor, sweating a little. If Honoured Lady Jinyi hadn't already been married off to House Jing'an's third son, he would have thought that their Emperor's heart had been moved by the Honoured Lady.
"This pastry is quite good. Since Jinyi was able to make it, then it's not strange that she could have made better longevity peach buns than Mr Wang."
"It is exactly as the Emperor says. Honoured Lady Jinyi seems a little different from most noble ladies!"
The Chengping Emperor finished the mooncake in just two or three bites. He seemed to have recalled something, as he burst into laughter and said, "She is indeed a little different from most. She's much braver than the average noble lady as well!"
The corners of Eunuch Wei's mouth twitched. Wasn't that just so? If it had been any other lady who had found a disgusting, black, wriggling worm inside of a fresh peach, they would have surely screamed in fright. However, Honoured Lady Jinyi had the guts to pick out that disgusting worm and instead used it to scare the person who had tried to prank her instead.
However, when he thought back to how Imperial Concubine Wei and her handmaid had tried to trick Jinyi into losing composure before the Emperor, Eunuch Wei thought that Honoured Lady Jinyi's actions had really made for quite the satisfying end.
Meanwhile, Chu Lian finally arrived at the Empress Dowager's Ninghe Palace, together with Royal Princess Duanjia.
At this time, Ninghe Palace was in a flurry. Most of the female imperial relatives had already arrived. Since she had been delayed for quite some time in the imperial gardens, Chu Lian didn't have the chance to meet the Empress Dowager personally. Instead, it was Princess Wei who pulled her to one side and helped her, giving her instructions on the necessary etiquette for today’s event.
Chu Lian had come into the palace today dressed as an Honoured Lady, so her maidservants had not given her a married noble madam's hairstyle as usual. When Princess Wei had seen her daughter Duanjia standing together with Chu Lian, their similar figures made them look like a pretty pair of sisters from behind.
Princess Wei smiled and patted Chu Lian's fair, tender hand. "Matriarch He and Old Duchess Zheng have gone to accompany the Empress Dowager. In a few moments, just follow behind me with Duanjia. After the meal, all the titled noble madams will be allowed to enter the palace for the banquet."
It was clear that Princess Wei was being kind to Chu Lian. Of course, Chu Lian had sensed it for herself. She immediately gave a genuine smile and agreed.
After having her afternoon meal with the various female members of the imperial family, Chu Lian and Duanjia sat in the corner of a side hall and sipped some honey water to help with digestion. They also watched as some palace servants led a few noble madams in to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager.
This was the first time Chu Lian had seen such a grand event, so she couldn't resist observing everything.
"Royal Princess, why are all the madams carrying a container of food?" Chu Lian asked curiously.
Royal Princess Duanjia set down the teacup in her hands and cast a strange look at her. She was clearly surprised as she exclaimed, "You don't know?"
Chu Lian shook her head, puzzled. She really didn't know anything about that at all. In the original novel, or at least the part she had read, Chu Lian had never attended any event as grand as this in the palace.
Royal Princess Duanjia rolled her eyes at Chu Lian, speechless with her. "Your mind must be completely used up for thinking about food! How could you not know about something this simple?! Those madams are carrying round cakes in those boxes."
After Royal Princess Duanjia's explanation, it was only then that Chu Lian found out that there was traditionally a round cake competition held inside the palace during the Mid-Autumn Banquet, ever since the time of the Emperor's great-grandfather.
Every noble madam who came to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager or the Empress would bring some round cakes prepared in their own estates, representing their house. The palace servants would place each set of round cakes on an offering table. When the banquet ended, everyone would choose the most delicious round cake, and there would be a prize for the winning house.
This was also the current Empress Dowager's favourite part of the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Chu Lian found it a little funny. She hadn't expected that there would be such an interesting event during the palace's Mid-Autumn Banquet.
"Which house won the competition last year?" Chu Lian asked.
Royal Princess Duanjia sipped some tea before throwing a sideways glance at her. "The Pan Estate."
The Pan Estate? Pan Gelao's estate?
A trace of suspicion showed up on Chu Lian's face.
Royal Princess Duanjia had been watching her expression. She chuckled once and said, "Chu Liu, you're pretty sharp! Let me tell you, it wasn't just last year, two years ago, or even the year before that. The Pan Estate has always been the champion of the Mid-Autumn Banquet!"
Chu Lian's eyes widened a little. The inklings of something were coming together in her mind.
Royal Princess Duanjia didn't try to disrupt her thoughts. She continued on to explain, "Last year, Madam Pan presented a plate of hazelnut-flavoured round cakes."
The princess then reached out to point at a distance away. "There, see that person dressed in a purple overcoat? That's Madam Pan."
Following the direction that Royal Princess Duanjia was pointing in, Chu Lian saw a round-faced middle-aged madam with slender brows. Her face was fair and her lips a little thick. When she smiled, she revealed eight pearly-white teeth, and when she was speaking with others, she always carried a slight smile on her lips, giving everyone a good impression of her.
Chu Lian couldn't help but remember the day she had gone to Guilin Restaurant and chanced upon the sight of her father in front of the Pan Estate's entrance.
Just as Chu Lian was about to sink into her thoughts, she suddenly heard a voice filled with mockery call out in their direction.