Chapter 685 - Satisfactory
The vast majority of these noble young maidens were in their teens, so they very quickly forgot the fact that this was a competition and gleefully began to enjoy creating their own desserts. There were dexterous young maidens who chose to decorate delicate little cakes with swirls of frosting and dots of bright jam. Then there were those who knew that they were more clumsy and chose, instead, to make their own chocolates. They added all sorts of nuts to them and some even melted fruit candies to add to the insides, which created a symphony of flavors. Some of them used all sorts of preserved fruits and arranged them together to create a colorful piece of art...
In short, this group of maidens had some that idly chatted with each other, some who put in a lot of effort into making their own desserts, some who happily judged other's works, and there were even some who couldn't resist the temptation to try out their own goods and gleefully sampled them in bliss.
The matrons who were here had also been infected by the liveliness and happiness of the young maidens. They walked out of the shaded pavilion to arrive at the setting where the young maidens were currently having fun. Some of them arrived next to their daughters to help them come up with ideas or give them tips. Some of them sampled a few of the failed products that had occurred so far. There were even some who washed their hands and began to personally experience the novelty of making their own desserts...
Princess Consort Jing had been silently observing the young maiden from the Han Family this entire time. This young maiden, who had been called General Mu, was a bit tanner than the other maidens because she spent most of her time in the southwest, where the sun was much harsher. However, she wasn't super tan as her skin was more like a healthy wheat color.
Her skin condition, on the other hand, was quite good. It had a good texture and seemed to glow with health. Her facial features were pretty and somewhat heroic. Her eyebrows were thick and her eyes looked pure and clear. When she was concentrating on her task at hand, her lips slightly curled up and one could sense a hint of stubbornness and perseverance coming off of her...
Compared to the other noble maidens, she was dressed much differently. She was wearing a set of simple and easy to walk in attire. Her hair had been combed up in a high bun and only a very simple jade hairpin acted as decoration. Her face was bare of cosmetics and she revealed a sort of pure and simple type of beauty.
Princess Consort Jing was very curious as to what type of desserts the Han Family's young maiden had decided to make. She pretended to inadvertently walk over. When she saw the 'masterpiece' in front of the young lady, she almost burst into laughter. The pastry in front of the girl didn't look much different than the ones in front of the children around ten years of age. She had used the molds to make quite a few horse shaped cookies and there were even some that looked a bit crooked on the side as if they had been beaten with a rod. After baking, there were some that became a bit deformed.
Princess Consort Jing remembered what her second son had told her about this maiden. She had grown up without a mother and spent most of her life at the borders with her father, learning most of the things that young men did. Without a maternal presence by her side, there was likely no one at the borders to teach her any of the things that women were supposed to learn, such as cooking or embroidery. Her feminine skills likely ranked at zero.
Han Xiaomu wasn't just fooling around. In fact, she was just really concentrated on making her cookies. She wanted to create a scenery that showed a very powerful army at war, but the little horse cookies she made wouldn't stand up on their own. She was getting pretty flustered by this.
Princess Consort Jing saw how this child had ended up breaking a few cookies in a row without succeeding in letting them stand. She couldn't help but give her some advice, "You could sandwich two cookies together using a filling in between. There are soft candies, cream, and chocolate there. All of those could be used."
