She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 648 - 646: For Their Respective Children

Chapter 648: Chapter 646: For Their Respective Children

Lady Qin swallowed half of the shrimp ball in her mouth and looked at Jiang Yifan in surprise, saying, "How come this tastes different from what I tried before? Isn’t it quite delicious?"

Jiang Yifan was waiting for his mother’s reaction, and seeing her looking over, he couldn’t help but smile and say, "This thing is naturally like this, at first it really isn’t something you’re used to, but after eating it a few more times you’ll be able to appreciate its flavor. Didn’t Ah Yan also say that the taste of deep-fried cheese balls is easier for people to accept?"

Lady Qin nodded and looked at the various other pastries and fruits on the table.

Although she had just been looking through the menu with Ye Xinyan, she noticed that most of the names of the food were bizarre and unheard of. But at that time, she thought to herself, at the end of the day it’s still the food from our Great Xia Dynasty, limited by the ingredients, how different could it be? At most, the names are just a bit novel.

To her surprise, the pastries and the like in this Pastry House were indeed like nothing she had seen before. And each pastry and snack looked delicious, truly whetting one’s appetite. Just like the small pot of snow pear and winter melon soup in front of her, the soup was crystal clear and glistening, and the few grains of golden orange peel sprinkled on top were very pleasing to the eyes.

Lady Qin picked up the soup spoon, took a sip, and the sweet taste was refreshing. The winter melon and snow pear had been stewed just right, retaining their original slice shape while also being soft and melting in the mouth, with a fragrant orange flavor.

Ye Xinyan watched Lady Qin taste the sweet soup and asked, "Madam, what do you think, does it suit your palate?"

Lady Qin nodded and praised, "The flavor is excellent, the sweetness is just right, refreshing to the palate. What’s even more precious is that hint of fresh orange scent, which is quite rare in the winter days."

Jiang Yifan, sitting nearby, laughed and said, "The pastries in Eldest Madam Ye’s Pastry House are mostly rare, mother, you should come more often and try everything, then you’ll know, there are even better ones. Especially the pastries, there are so many varieties, we just don’t have them back in Cloud Central Province."

Lady Qin glanced at the dizzying array of dishes on the table and laughed, "What need is there to come several times, with just this one time, there are already plenty of varieties on the table."

Ye Xinyan continued talking with Lady Qin, picking out pastries with novel methods and ingredients, recommending them for Lady Qin to try, and explaining what the pastries were called, what the main ingredients were, and how they were made.

Lady Qin had a taste of the various snacks Ye Xinyan picked out for her, with the maids breaking some of them into pieces behind a mat to share with Ye Xinyan. There were also some delicate ones she ate alone. All of them were delicious, with two in particular being unimaginably exquisite.

Seeing Jiang Yifan adding more snacks to the small dish in front of her, Lady Qin couldn’t help but laugh and say, "You young people have good appetites, go ahead and eat up, I’ll slowly savor here. This whole table of rich food are all delicious. Just looking at them, I am envious, how can I even eat this much?"

Ye Xinyan also laughed and said, "What madam said is quite right. One should only taste these things lightly, eating too much can cause indigestion. If you find something delicious or there are snacks you haven’t tried, I’ll have someone pack them and send them to you. We’ll send them several times to make sure you have tried all the food here."

After the conversation just now, Lady Qin had already accepted this daughter-in-law, and hearing her speak this way, she felt even more joy.

"Oh no, that wouldn’t do, we are doing business here. It’s stuffy always sitting at home too, it’s good to get out and about. Me, if I feel like eating, I’ll just come over and order a couple items. Those crispy cakes and soups should be eaten fresh."

The three of them took their time tasting pastries and fruit, chatting away, with Nanny Huang and Nanny Jin throwing in a few words here and there to help out. The atmosphere was exceptionally warm and cordial, completely devoid of the awkwardness that usually marks the relationship between a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law before the wedding.

During this time, a servant woman came in twice to add charcoal to the brazier. The second time, not long after she had replenished the charcoal and left, they heard the attendant young maid at the door say, "Eldest Lady, greetings to you. This servant pays respect to the Eldest Lady."

The voice of the young maid came into the room, and Lady Qin, upon hearing it, immediately understood who was coming. She quickly wiped her hands with a handkerchief, stood up, and said to Jiang Yifan, "It must be Eldest Madam Ye. Hurry, let’s go out to meet her."

At that moment, Ye Xinyan naturally wouldn’t stop them. It was only reasonable for her own mother to come over and greet Lady Qin, so she stepped forward to follow them.

The two women, who had been in-laws in the past and were to be in-laws again in the future, met at the doorway.

Despite many years without seeing each other and various disagreements, for the sake of their children, the two greeted each other with unexpected warmth and familiarity when they met.

Surrounded by maids and servant women, they exchanged a basketful of pleasantries, taking their respective seats as host and guest. They also lavished praise upon each other’s children, to their mutual satisfaction.

Lady Qin went on to genuinely praise the assortment of pastries from Shengyu Snack House, extolling Madam Yin’s management, and how she was able to establish such a large Pastry House in such a short time.

Madam Yin laughed modestly, saying through innuendos that it was all her daughter’s doing. She praised her daughter who would soon be Lady Qin’s daughter-in-law, creating no conflict, and Lady Qin kept nodding and agreeing.

Ye Xinyan forced a smile and thought to herself, "Although these two grew up in different places, they both are familiar with the way female relatives in large families interact. Will they continue to praise each other tirelessly until they’ve had dinner here and each returned to their own home?"

As she thought this, Cui Zhu, the attendant from outside, came in to inquire, "Eldest Lady, Brother Jia has arrived. He says he wants to ask Lord Jiang if he has had the pastries yet?"

"What child would ask such a question?" Madam Yin couldn’t help but laugh upon hearing this, then explained to Lady Qin, "This is Ah Yan’s younger brother from the Qi family. He’s still young and particularly fond of Yuanfan. He must mention him ten times a day, if not seven or eight, knowing Yuanfan is at the Pastry House, he must have endured quite the struggle. He couldn’t hold back any longer."

Lady Qin, having heard Jiang Yifan speak of Ye Xinyan’s past, was familiar with Qi Jiaer. Upon hearing that the child was also here, she quickly said, "Please have the child come in right away. Yuanfan also likes him. I have only been here for one day, and Yuanfan has mentioned him many times. Every time he speaks of Brother Jia, he says how well-behaved and sensible he is."

Upon hearing this, Nanny Jin promptly went out to bring Qi Jiaer in.

Qi Jia followed Madam Yin’s etiquette and not as rushed as she had suggested; upon entering, he first looked around at everyone in the room, then his gaze settled on Lady Qin. He walked up to her in a proper manner and greeted her, "Young Qi Jia pays respects to Lady Jiang, I hope Lady Jiang is well."

Lady Qin, seeing such a young child behaving so properly, couldn’t help but be charmed. She quickly reached out her hand, "Oh, little Brother Jia, please rise. No wonder Yuanfan keeps praising you, indeed, you are a good child."

After Qi Jia stood up, he looked at Lady Qin with a smiling face and said, "Aunt Jiang, have you had enough pastries? If not, maybe Aunt should eat less, and I can take you to the City God Temple. There are lots of delicious things over there."

Madam Yin couldn’t help but laugh and scold gently, "Look at you; it has not been easy for your aunt to come to our shop to enjoy the pastries, and here you are, suggesting she should not eat here. What kind of hospitality is that? If your father finds out, he will scold you."