In the hall, only He Qing was left, kneeling motionless on the ground.
No one bothered her, nor did anyone urge her.
She knelt there expressionlessly for a long time, looking like a fossil.
The moon shuttled through the clouds and gradually rose to the zenith.
Suddenly, He Qing stood up, her face calm and composed.
As if nothing had happened, with the arrogance and willfulness that Bai Zheng had first seen on her in the shop that day, she walked out of the Marquis of Dingyuan's Mansion briskly.
In the back courtyard, Feng Linyuan stood alone under a tree. He heard Mo Li report to him that He Qing had left.
There was no trace of surprise on his face. He just nodded slightly and replied, "If she is safe and sound tonight, tell the spy in the Grand Commandant's Mansion to find an opportunity to get in touch with He Qing."
"Yes." Mo Li took the order and left.
The moon was bright and the stars were sparse. The bright and cold moonlight fell into the courtyard like a shower of frost.
Feng Linyuan stood there, looking into the distance. From the back, he seemed as straight and tall as a cypress. The frost fell on his broad shoulders and blended in completely, leaving no trace.
Bai Zheng watched him quietly for a while, then walked up silently. She picked up the outer robe from her arm and put it on Feng Linyuan.
"If you don't go back to the room soon, I'll be caught in the curfew."
The stars twinkled in the sky, reflecting the faint smile on her lips.
Feng Linyuan turned his face slightly in her direction.
The hazy moonlight outlined his delicate and three - dimensional facial features. There was a moment of confusion in his elegant eyes, but soon, when he saw Bai Zheng's thin figure, he pulled up the outer robe and wrapped Bai Zheng in his arms.
"It's cold at night." He said softly.
Bai Zheng let out a soft "hmm" and buried her head in Feng Linyuan's arms.
Her nose was immediately surrounded by the familiar fragrance of sandalwood.
She pressed her face against his chest.
Presumably Feng Linyuan had been standing in the courtyard in the middle of the night for a long time. His clothes were chilled by the night air, and it felt cold to the touch.
Just like Feng Linyuan's state of mind at this moment.
Bai Zheng couldn't help but hug him tighter.
She knew that He Qing's words today had brought back too many terrible memories. Even the usually calm Mo Li was so angry that he kicked He Qing twice.
As the person involved, how could Feng Linyuan be calm?
Bai Zheng's heart ached.
It was always like this.
In the process of revenge, the wounds that the victims had finally scabbed over in their hearts had to be picked open again and again in order to better expose the culprit, and they had to recall every terrible detail carefully.
Bai Zheng didn't know what to say to comfort him.
In fact, at such times, words were the most redundant.
She just tried to hug him tighter and told Feng Linyuan again and again, even though he had heard it countless times, but she still wanted to tell him.
"I'm here."
"Okay."
"It will be over soon."
"Okay."
The gentle breeze blew through the forest, and the swaying tree shadows moved with the wind. They hugged each other like intertwined branches that would never be separated.
As the engagement ceremony of Feng Jingxuan was approaching, Bai Zheng became busier than ever.
Her desserts were already well - made. The tools that were lacking in this era had been made by carpenters and blacksmiths according to her design requirements, and the materials that did not exist in this era had also been successfully replaced with corresponding substitutes.
Of course, to open a dessert shop, one cook like her was far from enough.
Bai Zheng selected a few clever cooks from the marquis's mansion's kitchen and trained them intensively in her small kitchen for a few days.
The whole Marquis of Dingyuan's Mansion was filled with a mouth - watering aroma every day, and Liufeng, the wolf, had grown fat like a balloon in these few days.
A few days later, a dessert shop quietly opened in Anren Alley near the residences of the nobles in Yongding City.
This time, there was no help from the Song family, nor the advertisement when the Bai family's daughter got married and carried the dowry. When the shop opened, there were no customers at the door except a few passers - by who were curious and took a peek.
But soon, a batch of sweet cakes was baked in the big oven behind the main hall of the shop.
The door was immediately crowded with people.
All of them were attracted by the aroma of the sweet cakes.
"What is this? It looks yellow like osmanthus cake, but osmanthus cake doesn't smell like this!"
"Yes, this aroma is neither the fragrance of flowers nor the smell of vegetables. It's a bit like... like milk fragrance! It smells very special."
"When did this shop open? I've never seen it before... I wonder if the things here are delicious. What? You can have a free taste? Then I have to queue up quickly to have a try."
Probably because they were used to queuing up in the three shops in the east of the city. This time, although the people at the door were crowded, they queued up in an orderly manner.
A woman with a pair of curved eyebrows was holding a whole plate of sweet cakes and standing at the door, arranging to distribute them to the people.
She was wearing a white dress.
The dress was very strange. The white cloth was like a skirt, covering her chest and waist. The fabric didn't seem to be cotton. It was much thicker than cotton.
There was also a thick piece of cloth of the same material covering her face, hiding the part below her eyes.
For some reason, looking at this strange dress always made people feel that the pastries sold in this shop were very clean.
Her voice was clear and her laughter was hearty. She greeted everyone familiarly without affecting her nimble movements. Soon, everyone in the queue got a piece of sweet cake.
It was okay if they didn't eat it. Once they took a bite, almost everyone let out an exclamation.
At first taste, a strong milk fragrance spread between the lips and teeth, and then a refreshing and slightly sweet taste bloomed on the tip of the tongue.
It was a sweetness that no one had ever tasted before.
It was clearly very sweet, making people feel happy immediately, but there was not the slightest bit of cloying taste.
In this hot and stuffy season, people usually didn't have an appetite for this kind of sweet pastries. But this sweet cake made people feel refreshed, as if it was just the right food for this season.
"If you like it, sir and madam, our shop has many new products. Welcome to come in and choose."
The woman quickly distributed all the sweet cakes in her hand and said to the crowd with a smile.
The shop door was wide open, and one could clearly see the rows of cabinets inside. The cabinets had wooden bottoms, and the other three sides were covered with transparent glass. There were all kinds of strange pastries inside, which they had never seen before.
There were corresponding labels under the pastries, with the names and prices written on them.
Looking closely, the prices were naturally not cheap. But Anren Alley was close to the residences of the nobles in Yongding City, and the people passing by were all of high status.
These prices didn't require any hesitation for them.
Suddenly, the people crowded at the door rushed in one by one.
Bai Zheng was hiding behind the curtain. She watched the bustling scene in the front hall with a smile and then went back to the kitchen contentedly to get busy.
The girl Zhuling really didn't let her down.
She wasn't the least bit timid in front of so many people. She was smart and enthusiastic, and she distributed the butter cookies neatly and quickly, not making the people behind wait too long.
Seeing that the plate of cookies in her hand was almost gone, she was quite observant and knew to inform the people who wanted to join the queue later to go directly into the shop to choose.
The shop wasn't small, but when it was filled with people, it seemed a bit crowded.
There were people in front of every counter.
Of course, the best - selling item was the butter cookies that Zhuling had distributed to everyone at the door.
Although Bai Zheng had considered in advance that the butter cookies would be snapped up, so she limited the number each person could buy.
Moreover, this kind of food was easier to store than cakes and bread. Before the opening, Bai Zheng had already baked more than a dozen batches with the cooks and packed them into boxes.
But there were too many people placing orders. Almost every person who came in didn't buy anything else, but rushed to buy the maximum number of butter cookies that everyone had tasted and said were good.
If it weren't for Zhuling shouting at the top of her voice, emphasizing again and again that the fresher the butter cookies were, the more delicious they were, and that it was better to buy less and finish them earlier, and come back to the shop for something fresh tomorrow.
They could barely control the crazy increase in the sales of butter cookies.
When one thing declined, another would rise. Those who felt they didn't buy enough started to buy other desserts in the shop.
Although these things looked strange in shape, they always gave people a feeling that they must be delicious.
There were egg yolk pastries that were round like balls, with a crispy outer layer and red bean paste and egg yolk inside. There were pull - apart breads that looked like rolls, with a golden outer layer and a strong milk fragrance. There were also cylindrical cream cakes with colorful pictures on them...
Especially some greedy women couldn't resist the fragrance. They paid the silver and couldn't wait to open and eat them on the spot.
This was another wave of excellent on - site advertisements.
Almost everyone was dizzy with these suddenly appeared delicious desserts. Especially the young women who were attracted into the shop would scream happily every time they ate something.
There were also some noble sons who were used to eating delicacies from mountains and seas and had very picky taste buds.
But any dessert here was far better than the crystal osmanthus cake in Xingxiangfang in Ningcheng or the lotus root flower cake in Chunmanlou in Yongding.
No one could walk out of this shop empty - handed.
Soon, the fame of the shop spread from one to ten, and from ten to a hundred. In less than half a day, it became famous in Yongding City.
When Song Yiqing rushed to the shop angrily, Bai Zheng had been working non - stop for four hours without a break.
Although she had expected this result, in order to have enough supplies, Bai Zheng had specially built several big ovens in the backyard, and all kinds of materials were piled up in rooms. All the cooks and helpers were busy, and no one dared to slow down their movements.
But the business in the front was still in short supply.
After all, there were only a few cooks trained by Bai Zheng, and making desserts required patience and meticulousness.
So Bai Zheng had to be trapped in the kitchen, busy from morning till night.
"Bai Zheng, you heartless thing!"
Seeing that it was Song Yiqing, Mo Li didn't stop him, and let him barge in smoothly.
Compared with the noisy front hall, although there were many helpers in the kitchen, everyone was busy at their own posts, and it was quite quiet.
When Song Yiqing's voice suddenly rang out outside the door, Bai Zheng heard it.
At that time, she was just standing in front of the oven, watching the newly baked cheesecake.
Hearing the voice, Bai Zheng didn't turn around.
Song Yiqing walked up to her angrily and roared with all his might: "You heartless woman who crosses the river and kicks away the bridge. Do you deserve all the silver I've earned for you these days..."
Before he could finish his words, he saw Bai Zheng suddenly turn around and stuff a big piece of cheesecake into his mouth.
"Um..." Song Yiqing was blocked and couldn't say a single word. He wanted to spit it out bravely, but as soon as the tip of his tongue touched the soft thing in his mouth, a large amount of saliva secreted.
This was... so delicious...
He couldn't help but chew it carefully.
Seeing his dazed expression, Bai Zheng couldn't help but smile.
"Don't get in the way in the kitchen. If you have something to say, go outside."
As she said, she pulled him out of the kitchen.
Song Yiqing swallowed the last bite of the cake and felt that it was still not enough. Now he didn't want to quarrel with Bai Zheng at all. There was only one question in his mind.
"Do you have any more?"
"Here." Bai Zheng stuffed the remaining half of the cheesecake that she had just taken out into his hand. "This is the only half left. If you want to eat, send a few smart cooks over. They should be dexterous and careful, and it's better if they can knead dough."
She didn't expect that opening a dessert shop would require so many people.
Song Yiqing gobbled up the cake and soon finished it.
Hearing this, he nodded repeatedly: "Okay. I'll go and find some for you right away."
Then he turned around and left.
Just as he took two steps, he suddenly remembered something. He turned back, stared at her with wide eyes, and raised his voice: "I said Bai Zheng, what do you take me for! Can you buy me with a piece of pastry and make me work for you like a beast of burden?"
Seeing his furious look, Bai Zheng immediately smiled awkwardly: "How could I..."
"You only think of me when you need someone to take the blame for you. Now that someone has distracted all the attention for you, and you can secretly open a small shop without worry, you just throw me aside. You're really a good friend!"
Song Yiqing pointed directly at Bai Zheng with his hand. His indignation made his saliva fly everywhere.
When he first tasted the delicious cake, Song Yiqing was a bit addicted to it. But when he sobered up, his anger became even stronger.
Such delicious things, it was imaginable how good the business was!
Was Bai Zheng like a money - making pot? How could she always come up with so many ways to make money.
He had clearly told her that she couldn't leave him out of the money - making business. But with just a little inattention, she still opened a money - making shop behind his back.
Thinking of all the jealousy and various dirty things that the Song family had suffered from other merchants in Yongding because of her five shops these days, there were countless.
He was busy cleaning up the mess in the shops every day, while she, on the contrary, started her own business and made a fortune.
The more Song Yiqing thought about it, the angrier he became. He fanned his fan vigorously, but he couldn't fan out the anger in his heart.
Bai Zheng could only smile flatteringly.