Chapter 85: Tangyuan

Chapter 85

Tangyuan

Nie Shuang had prepared a new dessert to welcome her guests: tangyuan mixed with matcha. Each bowl contained two white and two green glutinous rice balls, their contrasting colors looking beautiful in the white porcelain bowls. The smooth, soft dough looked delicious. Kang Wang, Mu Rongying, and Chunmei each received a bowl. As soon as they opened the lids, the fragrant scent of ginger wafted into the air. Having just braved the cold wind to reach the mansion, the warm dish immediately made them feel better.

"This is a new Mo Cha Tangyuan that I came up with. Please try it and tell me what you think,"

Nie Shuang invited her three guests to taste it. Kang Wang smiled, silently admiring the Lady Boss. She was always coming up with new products to offer. No wonder Xiangyun Tea House was so popular.

Mu Rongying raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"What is Mo Cha?"

"It’s ground Lü Cui tea leaves. You can use it for cooking or as a drink,"

Nie Shuang explained. In the time that Mu Rongying had been in hiding, she hadn’t heard of Lü Cui tea or the Xiangyun Tea House. She only knew that the tea served at Nie Mansion and in Kang Wang’s palace was of the finest quality—unlike anything she had ever tasted.

"Lü Cui tea is exclusively produced by Xiangyun Tea House. The tea you’ve been drinking at the Wang’s palace is Lü Cui,"

Kang Wang clarified. Hearing this, Mu Rongying smiled in appreciation.

"That explains it. Since I’ve tased the tea here, I’ve been wondering where this fine tea came from. Turns out, it’s Young Furen’s creation."

Kang Wang scooped a white tangyuan filled with black sesame into his mouth. He hadn’t expected it to have a filling. As he bit into it, he tasted the roasted, slightly sweet black sesame paste. The fragrant, warm ginger syrup enhanced the flavor. He took another spoonful of the ginger syrup, its slight spiciness balancing the sweetness perfectly. Once he swallowed, he looked up with admiration and said,

"This tastes wonderful, Shuang Shuang. I’ve never had tangyuan like this before."

Song Qilin frowned. That Wuqian! When would he stop addressing his wife so casually? Mu Rongying, observing them quietly, found their interaction amusing. She happened to turn to look at Nie Shuang, and they exchanged a knowing smile. The two men were behaving like children.

Mu Rongying and Chunmei each took a bite of their tangyuan, pleasantly surprised to discover the filling. The two girls focused intently on their bowls, eating every last bit—even finishing the ginger syrup! It was absolutely delicious. The white tangyuan was fragrant with the aroma of its dough and filling, while the green tangyuan had the lovely scent of tea. Before they knew it, they had finished the entire bowl.

After placing his empty bowl down, Kang Wang looked up and asked with a warm smile,

"When will the product launch be?"

Nie Shuang laughed, teasing him playfully.

"Would Your Highness honor us by attending the event?"

Kang Wang nodded slightly, his expression warm and gentle. In truth, Xiangyun Tea House had become so famous that it no longer needed to rely on his name for promotion. However, since Kang Wang was willing to attend, Nie Shuang graciously accepted.

"In three days, Your Highness. I’ll have someone send an invitation to the palace."

She then turned to speak to the two young women.

"Young Miss Mu and Chunmei, please come as well. You can enter through the back and sit in my private room. I imagine staying in the Wang’s palace must get a little boring."

Mu Rongying glanced at Kang Wang, and when he nodded slightly, she agreed.

"Thank you very much, Young Furen."

After finishing his meal, Kang Wang moved to sit next to his goddaughter. Xiao Hua Hua was playing with her rattle happily. When she noticed someone sitting beside her, she turned and smiled, melting Kang Wang’s heart. His goddaughter was so adorable. He picked her up onto his lap, gently caressing her chubby cheeks.

"It’s been so many days since we last saw each other. Did my daughter miss her father?"

Kang Wang omitted the word ‘god,’ acting as if Xiao Hua Hua were his own child. Upon hearing Kang Wang’s words, Song Qilin’s expression turned sour. First, with his wife, and now, this Wuqian was trying to steal his daughter too? The General leaned over and nudged his son.

"Bao Bao..." he whispered, gesturing toward Kang Wang holding his youngest daughter on his lap. "He’s going to take Xiao Hua Hua from us. You’ve got to do something, Da Ge."

The shameless father was trying to incite his infant son to use his secret weapon against the rival. Bao Bao glanced at his sister, who was sitting happily on Kang Wang’s lap, then cast a dismissive look at his father as if to say, that’s nonsense. He promptly returned to playing, stacking wooden blocks that his mother had specially ordered for him. Bei Bei was busy putting a piece of wood on a box with wheels and pushing it around the floor.

"Bei Bei, you don’t care about your sister either...?"

Song Qilin muttered to his second son, but the boy didn’t even bother to turn around. In the end, the father had to take matters into his own hands.

"Xiao Hua Hua, come to me. I will take you for a walk."

He reached out towards his daughter, making it clear that he was ready to carry her away. Xiao Hua Hua, upon seeing her father, seemed about to leap into his arms.

"Xiao Hua Hua, your godfather has something for you,"

Kang Wang said, pulling out a white jade pendant from his waist and holding it up before the child as if it were of no value. Xiao Hua Hua immediately liked the white tassel on the jade and abandoned her rattle, reaching out to grab it.

Oh my! That’s royal jade. How could he just give something like that to a child so casually? Nie Shuang exclaimed inwardly, marveling at how generous Kang Wang was.

"Xiao Hua Hua, return that to His Highness. If you like such things, I can buy you one later. Don’t take other people’s belongings,"

Song Qilin wasn’t speaking out of mere courtesy, but because he feared being overshadowed—worried that his daughter might come to love Kang Wang more. After finishing his words, he made a move to take the jade from Xiao Hua Hua’s hand, causing the little girl to pout and look as if she was about to cry, which made her seem even more pitiful.

"She’s my goddaughter. If I wish to give her something, what’s that got to do with you?"

Kang Wang said to his friend, then bent down to comfort Xiao Hua Hua.

"Your godfather is giving this to you. Keep it, Xiao Hua Hua."

In the end, it was Nie Shuang who intervened.

"Your Highness, this item is too precious. Please keep it. If you favor her, a small toy would suffice."Hearing Nie Shuang’s words, Kang Wang didn’t argue. At that moment, the butler entered to report that Wang Dongpo was waiting in the next room. Nie Shuang then instructed the butler to escort Chunmei to meet him.