Seeing Li Ying so confident, the old shopkeeper felt a glimmer of hope. Finally, he thanked her profusely and took his leave.
Li Ying also slowly made her way back to her own residence. From afar, she saw the steward of the Lu Mansion leading several young servants, bustlingly carrying a great deal of high - quality dried fruits and candied fruits into the kitchen.
"A Ying, I wasn't sure what ingredients you'd need for making pastries, so I simply picked some of each kind," Lu Xunguang explained gently. Judging from his actions, it seemed that he had already given his servants urgent instructions to prepare while they were still discussing matters in the restaurant.
Li Ying was touched. Looking at the mountain of candied fruits, she couldn't help but laugh.
"Brother Lu! There's no need to prepare so much! It's just for show and to be sent for the selection!"
She carefully examined all the dried fruits, but in the end, she only chose the most common ones like lotus seeds and Chinese dates.
A Man watched as she skillfully boiled out the snow - white lard, stir - fried the lotus paste, date paste, and red bean paste. She couldn't help but feel extremely puzzled.
"Sister, the barbecued pork pastries, ham pastries, and rose flower cakes you made before all tasted amazing. If you used them for the selection, you'd surely win. But why did you only choose these ordinary fillings?"
Even though her sister was very dexterous, how could she make something extraordinary with date paste and red bean paste?
Grandma Sun and Ruyi also looked at her with full - faced confusion. Li Ying slowly spread the lard evenly over the whole piece of water - oil dough while explaining in a low voice.
"Those noble people in the palace have seen all kinds of rare and delicious dishes. They must be tired of them by now. Instead, these ordinary fillings might bring back the original simplicity."
This was just one of her considerations. The other one was for Lu Xunguang.
Before the private salt case, the Lu family was extremely prominent in the capital. Although there were many doubts in this case, no one had ever raised any objections over the years. Even though the disciples of Yan Lianzhi had been trying to secretly investigate the truth for many years, they still couldn't find a way.
Was it because the officials were incompetent, or was it that the emperor was jealous of the Lu family's influence and deliberately suppressed them?
Once Li Ying had such doubts, she had to be more cautious.
The Lu family had finally made a comeback and shown their strength. They must not arouse the emperor's suspicion again too early.
The pastries she sent for the selection had to be very delicate but not overly luxurious.
As she spoke, she had already made two square layered pastries. Each piece of water - oil dough was folded into four layers repeatedly, like folding a quilt, and this was done three times. Finally, she took a sharp knife and cut the large pastry into long strips as wide as a palm. She brushed a thin layer of egg white on them and stuck them together. There were more than a hundred layers in total.
What she planned to make was the once - famous "Awakened Lion Pastry" before she time - traveled. These two red and yellow layered pastries were the main parts of the pastry.
She took some bamboo charcoal powder for dyeing and carefully rolled up the water - oil dough. The oil - pastry was intertwined. This evenly - made "round pastry" was used to make the big bell - like eyes of the awakened lion.
She wrapped all the pastries in a layer of oil paper and left them outside until the lard solidified and the pastries became hard. Then Li Ying scooped up a handful of cold water with some ice and soaked her hands in it until they felt cold.
Lu Xunguang saw from afar that her fair and slender fingers, as white as scallions, were now red from the cold. He felt even more heart - ache than if he had frostbite himself. Regardless of the taboos between men and women, he grabbed her small hand and wanted to warm it in his bosom.
But Li Ying quickly pulled her hand back.
"Brother Lu, you mustn't! Thank you for your kindness!"
"When shaping the Awakened Lion Pastry, it requires great delicacy. The pastry is cut very thin. If the temperature of the hand is a bit too warm, the patterns on the pastry will no longer be delicate. So, using ice - water to lower the temperature of the palm is an essential step."
As she explained, she wrapped the nose, eyes, horns, and bell of the awakened lion with the stir - fried lotus paste. She also made a round lion's head and carefully pasted the golden mane and facial features together.
Grandma Sun looked at the lifelike lion's head and praised, "A Ying, how did you come up with such ideas! It's really amazing!"
This was no longer just a pastry; it was like a delicate ornament!
Li Ying just smiled softly. She heated up a pot of oil and carefully put the raw Awakened Lion Pastries into the pot.
The boiling oil poured on the lion's head. The water - oil dough and oil - pastry that were originally tightly stuck together were all separated by the heat. The thin dough was fried golden and fluffy, looking furry and extremely vivid!
This small Awakened Lion Pastry was only as big as a baby's fist, but it had all the details. The long mane and even the eyelashes outside the eye sockets were clearly visible. The jet - black pupils were bright and imposing without anger!
Li Ying used different colored powders. Besides the gold - red lion's head, she also made different colors like pink - white and black - red. Placed in the carved brocade box, just one look at them would make people amazed.
"A Ying... This... This..."
Grandma Sun was dumbfounded. She lovingly held the pastry in her palm and looked at it again and again. Li Ying didn't seem to care. After carefully examining it for a moment, she unhesitatingly stuffed it into her mouth.
The pastry was crispy, the filling was sweet and glutinous, melting in the mouth. Although the ingredients were very simple, every step of the process was done to perfection. This Awakened Lion Pastry had a sense of simplicity and returning to the original nature.
A Man couldn't help but clap her hands and shout, "Sister! Sending this Awakened Lion Pastry for the selection will surely win the first place!"
Li Ying smiled slightly. She tied a silk ribbon on the brocade box. Without being mysterious, she called Ruyi and ordered her to send the Awakened Lion Pastry to the Honglu Temple for the selection.
Ruyi was extremely careful, as if walking on thin ice. She didn't even dare to breathe loudly, for fear that she might accidentally damage this ingenious tea - pastry.
But Li Ying just waved her hand indifferently and casually said, "Ruyi, don't worry too much. Just go and send it. If there's any trouble on the way, don't argue with others. It's most important to protect yourself and come back safely."
She repeatedly instructed. Ruyi looked puzzled, but still said seriously, "Sister Ying, you can rest assured. I know what's important. This Awakened Lion Pastry is your painstaking work. I will never let anyone touch it!"
She steadily carried the box and left the door. Li Ying picked up a cup of tea and slowly leaned on the imperial concubine's couch. After much thought, she still couldn't feel at ease. She sent two strong servants to quietly follow Ruyi.
The tea - tax censor had snatched the old shopkeeper's lotus pastries before. Seeing her Awakened Lion Pastry today, he surely wouldn't stand by idly.
Although Ruyi was smart, she could sometimes be stubborn. If she really ran into trouble, she might suffer.