Chapter 649 - Being Promoted Forcefully
Yu Xiaocao watched as the two faces, which quite resembled each other, revealed simultaneously an expression of longing and thirst. She felt quite tickled by it. If they were in any other place, who would have believed that these two, who were regarding her quite pathetically, were actually the two most important personages of the Great Ming Empire?
"This subject was idle at home, so I came out with a few new mousse-type cakes. I thought that they tasted quite good, so I brought some over to show my respect to Your Imperial Majesty! Children all love to eat mousse cakes, so I hope that Your Highness, the crown prince, would like to try some too." Yu Xiaocao stood up and placed the box of cakes onto the study table. She lightly lifted the lid to the box, revealing the tiny adorable pieces of cake within to the father and son pair in front of her.
Zhu Hanwen originally wanted to protest, "This prince isn't a child anymore..." However, once he saw the beautiful and delicate cakes in front of him, he immediately forgot the rest of his words. He only had eyes for the pastries.
As soon as the Yu's Dessert Shop's western-style pastries came out, it caused a huge sensation within the capital and instantly became famous. The cakes were soft and bouncy, sweet without being overwhelming, so they obtained everyone's approval. However, these pastries could not even compare to the legendary chocolate mousse cake, Black Forest gateau, and tiramisu that had been made by Royal Princess Jinan.
Unfortunately, the western-style pastries made by Royal Princess Jinan weren't something that could be eaten whenever one had the desire to. Those legendary pastries weren't for sale anywhere. Only the people closest to her were lucky enough to eat them on occasion. Last time, the matrons and noble maidens who had been invited to participate at Imperial Prince Jing's Estate for a banquet were all given the opportunity to try her hand-made desserts. When they left, the rumors spread throughout the capital about how amazing her cakes were. Thus, the chocolate flavored desserts had reached another level of fame within these noble circles.
The imperial palace naturally was given desserts made by Yu Xiaocao. Once, when Zhu Hanwen was at his imperial mother's palace, he had the chance to try some. He immediately fell in love with these chocolate flavored desserts. However, his imperial father told him that as the heir the empire he needed to learn how to endure hardships before pleasure, have a backbone as strong as steel, control his appetites, and strive for enlightenment...so how could he indulge in gluttonous pleasures? Then, all of the pastries that were later sent into the palace had mostly gone into his imperial father's stomach. Zhu Hanwen secretly wondered if his father's teachings were merely an excuse for him to stop fighting for sweets with him!
There wasn't a second person within the Great Ming Empire who could make pastries that could compare with Official Yu's. Unfortunately, she was way too busy. She had to manage the tasks that the court tasked her as well as keep her own businesses afloat. Thus, she very rarely had the time to bake pastries. Zhu Hanwen could never forget the memory of those unique flavored desserts. When he saw the box full of a variety of mousse cakes, it immediately brought to his mind the taste that his memory savored.
"Imperial Majesty, please wait a bit. This subject will first taste these pastries for poison..." Under the usual state of things, in order to keep the palace safe, it was forbidden for outsiders to bring food into the palace. All of the food served to the emperor first had to undergo tasting by his eunuchs for poison. This was the usual custom, so Eunuch Su Chi's reminder wasn't out of the ordinary.
However, the emperor kicked his butt forcefully and growled in a laughing matter, "Screw off! You're such a sly servant, coming over when you smell delicious food. We haven't even had the chance to try Lass Yu's food before you butt in to have a taste. Go stand where it is cool. There are only a few cakes in the box, so there's definitely not enough for you to get a share. So dream on!"
