Chapter 69 Ah, It’s So Hot

The bubbling sesame oil in the iron pot emitted soft crackling sounds, the golden-yellow round sugar cakes rising and falling within, a rich aroma permeating the entire courtyard.

Yuan Xi stared intently at the pot, saying to Wu Zhao beside him, "The oil temperature and heat are very important. If it's too early, the sugar inside won't melt. If it's too late, the outside will burn, and the taste will become bitter."

Wu Zhao quickly nodded, but her thoughts were elsewhere. She slightly raised her head, glancing with her eyes towards Zhen Rong in the distance.

Zhen Rong was holding Yuan Xing's hand, smiling and saying, "I won't hide it from you, I rushed here as soon as I heard that the Second Young Master Yuan had returned, to check him out for my younger sister, so I can go back and put her mind at ease."

The half-veiled Zhen Mi gently pursed her lips, thinking, 'Does my sister really have to say it like that?'

Yuan Xing turned around, quietly pointing to Yuan Xi in the distance, whispering, "That's him. Take a good look; he's definitely a match for your sister."

She saw that Zhen Mi's face was half-covered, with some red pockmarks visible, and asked in puzzlement, "What's going on here?"

Zhen Rong pretended to be nonchalant, saying, "She's my maidservant. She fell ill a few days ago and developed many pockmarks on her face, but she's already better. I'm afraid she might scare you, so I had her cover her face. Just ignore her."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Xing nodded, not paying much attention, and led Zhen Rong towards Yuan Xi, saying, "Second Brother, a young lady from the Zhen family has come to see you."

Seeing Zhen Rong approaching, Yuan Xi straightened up and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Milady."

Then, he nervously stared at the pot again, fearing that the sugar cakes inside would burn.

Hearing this, Yuan Xing laughed, saying, "Call her 'Madam'; she's married."

Yuan Xi quickly said, "Forgive me." He then turned back to stare at the pot.

Seeing Yuan Xi's solemn expression and the strange things bubbling in the pot, Zhen Rong couldn't help but ask, "What is this?"

Seeing that the heat was almost right, Yuan Xi took out the sugar cakes one by one, saying, "I came up with this food by chance. It should taste good. Would Madam like to try some?"

While the two were talking, Zhen Mi cautiously hid behind Zhen Rong, observing Yuan Xi's face and expression.

His complexion was healthy, not the pale complexion of someone indulging in wine and women. His eyes were clear, with a hidden gleam, not the empty and frivolous look of someone constantly consuming Wushisan.

He stood straight, his back slightly bent, unlike those aristocratic sons who swayed when they walked, pretending to be romantic. His posture was somewhat similar to that of her brother-in-law.

Moreover, his voice was steady and calm, neither ostentatious nor lacking confidence, clearly indicating that he was a man of discretion.

Could such a person really bring dozens of concubines back to Ye City in broad daylight?

Just as Zhen Mi was staring at Yuan Xi, she suddenly felt a gaze fixed on her. She turned her head slightly and saw a maidservant with mottled marks on her face looking at her with a puzzled expression.

When Zhen Mi saw the marks on the other's face, she was suddenly stunned.

Wasn't that color applied with high-quality cinnabar and pine soot?

How dare she do that!

When Zhen Mi was young, she had used this kind of thing on her hands to see how long it would take to wash off. As a result, it took more than a year for the marks to almost completely disappear, and faint traces remained until several years later.

Zhen Mi didn't understand why that maidservant, who seemed quite beautiful, would smear her face for no reason.

To protect herself?

Did Yuan Xi really have some kind of problem?

While Zhen Mi was wondering, Wu Zhao was also sizing up Zhen Mi.

Those spots that were exposed were not acne scars at all, but clearly a mixture of rouge and powder applied to the face.

When she encountered the Xiongnu looting in Luoyang, she had also considered this method, but this stuff would wash off easily. If the Xiongnu people saw through it, the outcome would still be the same.

So, Wu Zhao gritted her teeth and used the most difficult color to wash off to smear her face, and sure enough, she deceived the Xiongnu people.

She and Zhen Mi exchanged glances, and seeing the look in each other's eyes, they both panicked at the same time, as if they had been exposed!

This was bad!

If the other party spoke out, it would be terrible!

In an instant, Wu Zhao and Zhen Mi exchanged several glances and instantly reached a consensus. They both turned their heads at the same time, pretending that nothing had happened.

Zhen Rong saw the steaming, slightly bulging, fragrant golden sugar cakes in the wooden plate and asked curiously, "I've never seen this food before. Did Young Master really come up with it?"

Yuan Xing laughed from the side, saying, "You came at the right time. He originally made it for me to eat, and I haven't even tasted it yet."

The two women took the wooden chopsticks handed over by the maidservant and gently picked up a piece of sugar cake. Yuan Xi said upon seeing this, "It should still be very hot inside. Be careful after you bite into it."

The two women stuck out their tongues and gently licked it, finding that it was still acceptable, and then took a bite.

The white, hot sugar juice seeped out, scalding the tongues of the two women. They both exclaimed 'Ouch!' and hissed, their small, fragrant tongues darting about like nimble little beasts in a flurry.

Seeing Yuan Xing staring at him with puffed cheeks, Yuan Xi said innocently, "I told you just now."

Yuan Xing hummed a few times, blew on the sugar cake for a while, and then carefully took a small bite.

A piece of sugar cake fell into her mouth, the crispness of the skin, the aroma of sesame oil, and the sweetness of the sugar juice mixed together, triggering a fusion of flavors on the tip of her tongue. Yuan Xing's eyes lit up, and she took a few more bites.

Seeing this, Zhen Rong followed suit, and upon tasting the sugar cake, she also exclaimed in admiration.

Yuan Xi smiled slightly. As expected, from ancient times to the present, people cannot resist the temptation of sugar and oil combined.

He picked up a piece of sugar cake and placed it in front of Wu Zhao, saying, "You try it."

Zhen Rong also picked up a piece and naturally handed it to Zhen Mi, saying, "It's really delicious, Little…."

Realizing her mistake, she quickly said, "Be careful, it's hot."

Before long, the five people present had divided up more than a dozen sugar cakes, still feeling unsatisfied.

This carbon-water bomb, which would be quite terrifying for later generations of women, was a very suitable and delicious food for people in this era who were generally deficient in nutrition.

In this era, even for aristocratic sons, food was often very monotonous, and there was no concept of nutritional balance. Most people got sick simply because they lacked certain nutrients.

Zhen Rong said with some regret, "It would be great if we could eat this every day."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Xi explained the method and said with a smile, "The method is very simple; it just uses a lot of oil."

Zhen Rong blinked her eyes and asked, "Did Young Master come up with this in Beixin City?"

"Was life good over there?"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Xi shook his head and said, "The products are quite abundant, but to say that life is good, that's not necessarily true."

"In You Province, the main grain is wheat, but wars are frequent, and there are many Hu bandits plundering and destroying, so the harvest has never been very good."

"There are quite a few fish in the rivers and wild game in the mountains, but they are not easy to hunt."

"However, if we can eliminate Gongsun Zan and pacify You Province, the people will be able to produce with peace of mind. If we manage it carefully, after ten years, it should not be too much worse than Ji Province."

Hearing this, Zhen Rong smiled and said, "Second Young Master Yuan has great ambitions and will surely succeed."

"Speaking of which, Second Young Master Yuan returned to Ye City, but my husband followed First Young Master Yuan to help defend Beixin City. I'm afraid he will have to stay there for a while longer."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Xi felt a bad feeling in his heart. "Who is Madam's husband?"

Zhen Rong smiled and said, "Second Young Master Yuan should have met him."

"Gao Lan."