As for the students who had just been gathered around Ming Lingyi's small stall, they could only watch helplessly as their usually stoic Crown Prince brazenly bought the last two plum blossom cakes. A chorus of wails immediately erupted.
There were also repeat customers who had initially bought only one to try, but after a single bite, couldn't help but gobble it down and get back in line for more. Seeing the empty display rack, they too began to wail.
"How are they gone already? Were those the last two?!"
"I haven't even gotten to buy one yet!"
"They're just so delicious! Even better than the ones my father brings back from the restaurant!"
"The filling is amazing too—delicate, fragrant, and sweet, but not cloying at all. When my mother gives me pastries from home, I feel like I need a swig of tea just to rinse my mouth out."
"It's all because the owner made too few!"
"Exactly! Ma'am, you should make more in the future! I'll pre-order tomorrow's batch right now! I want five!"
"I want ten!"
"I'll take three!"
The students around Ming Lingyi's stall once again grew boisterous.
Xiao Chun watched this scene in astonishment, but then she felt it was only natural.
'My lady's cooking is just that delicious, and my lady is just that amazing. This is how it should be!'
Of course, Ming Lingyi didn't accept any "pre-orders." Since the plum blossom cakes were so sought-after, wouldn't taking pre-orders be redundant? First come, first served was the proper way.
"Please don't worry, young masters. We'll be sure to prepare enough Jade Plum Snow Cakes for tomorrow. We hope to see you all then." Ming Lingyi's smile was so wide it crinkled her eyes shut.
It had been a bountiful day, so of course, she was thrilled.
Although restaurants and other entertainment venues had been ordered to close for this period, she was still secretly firing up her stove at home to make some hot food.
Ming Lingyi bought some mutton to take home. In winter, one naturally had to eat mutton and drink mutton soup. Previously, when money was tight, she hadn't dared to spend on expensive ingredients.
Now that she had a tael of silver, even with some "outstanding debts," the thought of a single sip of piping-hot mutton soup warming her to the bone was simply too hard to resist.
When Xiao Chun heard Ming Lingyi say they were stewing mutton tonight, she immediately grew anxious.
"My Lady!" Xiao Chun grabbed Ming Lingyi's arm and lowered her voice. "The smell of mutton soup is also very strong. This isn't a good idea, is it?"
Perhaps because back when they ran the restaurant, her old master had always been law-abiding, unlike Ming Lingyi, who was now "reckless" and "feared nothing" as the head of the household. Xiao Chun's heart pounded in her chest.
"What's not good about it?" Ming Lingyi retorted.
Xiao Chun said, "Five years ago, the Emperor issued a decree..."
For these ten days, everyone was supposed to eat cold food.
It was in remembrance of Empress Hui Ming.
Ming Lingyi scoffed. She thought Li Yun was sick in the head.
"Don't you think there's something very wrong with that decree?"
Before Ming Lingyi could finish her sentence, the plump girl beside her swiftly clamped a hand over her mouth.
Ming Lingyi: "..."
Xiao Chun had a nervous expression on her face, even glancing around in fear that someone had overheard her lady's words.
"My Lady, have you lost your mind?!" Xiao Chun broke out in a cold sweat from the fright Ming Lingyi gave her. "You were the one who used to tell me not to speak carelessly about the Emperor!"
Ming Lingyi: "..."
'I have no interest in discussing Li Yun, but when he issues a ridiculous decree that prevents me from having a single hot meal in the middle of winter, of course I'm going to complain.'
But seeing Xiao Chun's face turn pale with fear, Ming Lingyi decided it was best not to "speak so outrageously" for now.
"So, do you want to eat it or not? A creamy white mutton soup, simmered all night long... Waking up to that aroma the next day... Tsk." Just imagining it made Ming Lingyi feel warm and happy.
Listening to the description, Xiao Chun couldn't help but swallow.
"My Lady, please stop..." She was not a person with strong willpower.
Ming Lingyi chuckled. "Then that settles it. We're eating!"
'Li Yun must have something wrong with his brain,' she thought. 'On one hand, he forbids the common people from discussing my death and insists on creating the illusion that I'm still alive. On the other, he makes them eat cold food to mourn me. Isn't that a huge contradiction?'
Ming Lingyi rolled her eyes inwardly.
'I'm not about to follow Li Yun's rules. In my last life, it was because I was too obedient to the rules that I lived like a caged bird, without a shred of freedom.'
By the time Li Yan reached his carriage, he had already devoured one of the plum blossom cakes.
He hadn't expected a pastry bought randomly from a street stall to taste no worse than the creations from the palace's Imperial Kitchen.
As usual, Jianzhen was waiting for his master at the entrance of the alley. The Imperial College was very close to Fuxing Square, only a tea-time's journey by carriage. On normal days, when returning to the Crown Prince Mansion, His Highness usually rode his horse.
Upon seeing his master emerge, Jianzhen stepped forward, took Li Yan's book bag, and then helped his young master into the carriage.
Recently, His Highness had been returning directly to the palace.
After they were in the carriage, Jianzhen's sharp eyes noticed something lingering at the corner of his young master's mouth. It looked like pastry flakes.
But Jianzhen remembered that Aunt Yanxia hadn't prepared any pastries of this sort for the Crown Prince today. He couldn't help but point it out to his master. "Your Highness, on your lip..."
Li Yan reacted quickly, touching the corner of his mouth.
But clearly, it was too late.
"Don't mention what happened today to anyone," Li Yan said, lifting his small chin.
Jianzhen was the little eunuch who personally served the Crown Prince, so naturally, Li Yan's wishes were his command.
"This servant will be tight-lipped, but..." Jianzhen was about to say that His Highness shouldn't eat food from outside sources when he saw his young master casually take out a plum blossom cake wrapped in oil paper.
When Li Yan had kept the plum blossom cake hidden, the carriage hadn't been filled with such a rich, pastry aroma. Now that it was out, Jianzhen couldn't help but sniff the air.
He served the Crown Prince and was his primary attendant. Being only three years older than Li Yan, he hadn't yet reached an age where he was completely immune to temptation.
At the very least, his gaze was now captivated by the intensely fragrant pastry in his master's hand.
Just as he was about to again advise His Highness not to eat food from outside, he saw his young master, seated in the place of honor, wolf down nearly half of the pastry in one bite.
Li Yan hadn't actually intended to eat another one. But thinking about how Jianzhen had already discovered his little secret, and with the fragrance of the plum blossom cake still lingering on his lips and teeth, he decided to stop hiding. Right in front of Jianzhen, he polished off the last one in just a few bites.
When Li Yan looked up and met Jianzhen's gaze, his chubby little cheeks were still puffed out. "They're all gone," Li Yan said. "If you want to try one, I'll bring two back for you tomorrow."
Jianzhen knew he should be admonishing his young master right now, but for some reason, the words that came out of his mouth were, "This servant thanks Your Highness."
Jianzhen: "..."
'I really didn't mean to say that!'