Chapter 119: Baking Skills Are Not as Good as Cooking Skills

"Every dish surpassed my expectations, Lord Wei. I truly envy you!" Lu Yuhong exclaimed.

Chu Lan added, "It was indeed quite excellent."

Wei Mingting, being complimented, did not quite know how to respond. In truth, he had only learned today that one of the maids in his residence possessed such remarkable culinary skills.

There were four guests, served four cold dishes and twelve hot ones. Each course elicited exclamations of delight from the three guests. By the time the sixteenth dish was cleared, everyone was thoroughly full.

Just then, the serving maid brought out two more plates of refreshments—osmanthus cake and almond crisps.

Lu Yuhong was already stuffed, but remembering that these were prepared by Wei Ruo and her maid, Xiumei, he forced himself to pick up a piece of osmanthus cake and put it in his mouth. After a small bite, he set it back down, remarking, "This girl's skill with pastries is not as good as her cooking; she could stand to improve."

With Lu Yuhong having said as much, Chu Lan and Magistrate Qian, both already sated, had no interest in touching the pastries.

Wei Mingting looked at the two plates with some surprise. Firstly, Wei Ruo had informed him of the menu beforehand, and there were no pastries listed. Secondly, these two pastries were very familiar—they were the very ones Wei Qingwan made most often and excelled at.

Wei Mingting did not speak of this in front of the guests.

After the meal, Chu Lan and Lu Yuhong departed from the Wei residence.

Magistrate Qian pulled Wei Mingting aside and teased, "Lord Wei, I truly envy you for raising such a fine daughter! Look at this—the affair in the south of the city earned the appreciation of a nobleman, and today he even came to your residence for a meal. Look at how long Master Chu has been in Taizhou Prefecture; whose home has he ever dined at? Not only is there no such precedent in Xingshan County, but even the high-ranking officials in the prefecture capital haven't been afforded such an honor!"

"It isn't much of a matter, just a simple meal. Perhaps it wasn't even Master Chu's intention; most likely, Master Lu just had a craving," Wei Mingting replied, his expression devoid of much joy.

He had no intention of curry favor with the powerful, especially not with an imperial prince. With the throne of the crown prince currently unsettled, drawing too close to a contender was hardly a good thing.

"Lord Wei, don't be so modest. The good days for the Wei residence are still ahead!" Magistrate Qian smiled meaningfully.

Wei Mingting said nothing. He neither agreed with nor looked forward to such things, but it was not his place to contradict the magistrate to his face. After seeing Magistrate Qian off, he summoned the servants who had served the meal.

He pointed to the nearly untouched osmanthus cake and almond crisps on the table and asked, "Were these two pastries also made by the eldest young lady and her maid?"

Wei Mingting’s voice carried an intimidating authority. The maid trembled and quickly replied, "This servant does not know. They were given to me by Cook Yu; I do not know who made them!"

Wei Mingting’s expression turned cold: "The dishes were not brought out from the main kitchen?"

The maid’s voice trembled with fear: "No... they were not from the main kitchen..."

Having received his answer, Wei Mingting rose and returned to Cangyun Garden.

Seeing her husband’s grim expression, Lady Yun assumed something had gone wrong with the lunch. Worried and troubled, she asked, "What is it? Did something go wrong with the meal? Did it displease the Seventh Prince?"

She then added with regret, "I should have just let the main cook handle the meal."

Wei Mingting shook his head: "There was nothing wrong with the meal. The Seventh Prince and Master Lu were both very satisfied."

"Really?" Hearing this, Lady Yun felt a weight lift from her heart. Before her husband had returned, she had been anxious, terrified that some mishap might displease the Seventh Prince. For a family like the Weis, which was already on the brink of collapse, offending the Seventh Prince could lead to complete ruin.

She then asked, "If the meal was fine, why is my husband so troubled?"

Wei Mingting replied, "Wasn't Wanwan confined to the residence by you?"

Lady Yun nodded: "I told you the ins and outs of the matter. Although it wasn't a grave error, she was in the wrong. Since I punished her with confinement, she shouldn't have been allowed to wander about."

"After the sixteen dishes were served, the kitchen brought out two more pastries—osmanthus cake and almond crisps—identical to what Wanwan usually makes. I asked the staff, and it is certain that these were not made by Ruo’er’s maid."

Lady Yun was startled, then immediately grasped the likely situation: "It seems Wanwan just wanted to show her sincerity. There is no need to dwell on this; Wanwan’s cooking is quite good, it is no harm."

Wei Mingting did not consider it a trivial matter: "Wanwan is a young lady of good standing. Without a command from her parents, why would she take the initiative to send pastries made by her own hands to a man from outside? I fear she has developed some improper thoughts."

He continued, "The Seventh Prince is of noble status. Wanwan must not harbor such notions. I informed you of his identity so that you would not act incorrectly, not so that the women of this house would develop foolish ideas."

Who was the Seventh Prince? Was he someone their small Wei family could ever hope to reach? Although the Wei family held an inherited title, anyone with eyes could see the current state of their household.

Under Wei Mingting's stern tone, Lady Yun frowned. She pondered for a moment before defending Wei Qingwan: "Husband, you need not worry. Perhaps we are overthinking it. Wanwan only wanted to contribute her small share, with no other intentions. Besides us, no one knows she sent the pastries to the front courtyard. Even if the Seventh Prince thought them delicious, he would only praise our cook; he would never suspect they had anything to do with Wanwan."

"I hope I am just overthinking it," Wei Mingting said. "Wanwan is a daughter we watched grow up. Even without blood ties, our parental hearts remain the same. I hope she can live a life of peace and joy; if she harbors improper thoughts, it will be of no benefit to her."

"Rest assured, Husband. Wanwan has been sensible since she was small and knows her boundaries. She will not have thoughts she shouldn't," Lady Yun said, still trusting the nature of the daughter she had raised. She added, "To be safe, I will go to Wangmei Garden later and ask her about it in detail."

Wei Mingting nodded and said no more.

After resting briefly, he returned to the military camp. Although he was not as busy as before, he dared not slacken, leading his troops on patrols daily and drilling them whenever he had spare time.

After he left, Lady Yun went to Wangmei Garden.

In Wangmei Garden, Wei Qingwan was waiting for news from the front courtyard. Because everyone except the serving staff was forbidden from moving about during Chu Lan’s visit, she still did not know how the meal had gone.

When Lady Yun arrived, Wei Qingwan greeted her with a sense of trepidation.

"Mother, why have you come?" Wei Qingwan asked.

"Did you make two plates of pastries and send them to the front courtyard earlier?" Lady Yun asked.