The Proper Use of Martial Arts

“Chunhua Qiuyue, there's something I'd like your help with. Would that be all right?”

Jiang Nuan asked very politely.

Chunhua Qiuyue exchanged a glance, then replied, “Please go ahead, Ninth Princess.”

"If you two are really good at martial arts, your hands must be really fast, right?"

Jiang Nuan gave them a mischievous smile.

Though puzzled, they still answered, "Yes, Princess. What would you like us to do?"

"Hehe~" Jiang Nuan smiled mysteriously. Rather than answering their question, she said, "Just follow me."

Full of questions, the two followed Jiang Nuan to...

The small kitchen!

Then Jiang Nuan took out a few eggs, cracked them into a bowl, and separated the whites from the yolks.

She placed the egg whites in front of Chunhua, brought over a bag of sugar, then instructed a palace maid to fetch a bucket of milk before telling them:

"Now, help me stir these egg whites in one direction. Add a little sugar every so often, and keep stirring until a chopstick can stand upright in them without falling over.

"I'll use this for the cake base. As for this milk, you do this and this... until it looks like this."

That was right—Jiang Nuan wanted to use their martial arts skills to whip cream.

She had spent quite a while that day thinking about what novel treat she could make for her fourth brother. Then inspiration struck: remembering how much Jiang Yehua liked sweets, she decided to make him a little cake.

Chunhua Qiuyue had arrived at just the right time. Their martial arts skills could not have been better suited to whipping cream.

Assigned to whip the cream, Chunhua held the chopsticks, feeling rather at a loss. Her hands had wielded swords and spears and taken lives, but this was her first time cooking.

Still, it was hardly a difficult task. Chunhua adapted readily and resigned herself to whipping the cream.

Meanwhile, Jiang Nuan began searching for whatever fresh fruit was available to use as filling.

Watching Jiang Nuan bustle back and forth through the kitchen gave Qiuyue a headache.

Jiang Nuan seemed to be making something to eat, but she was barely taller than the stove. Would anything she made even be edible?

Qiuyue felt rather troubled. Being assigned to protect a child had already made her uncomfortable, and now that child seemed a little troublesome too, which only soured her mood further.

But she knew that although she had some renown in the martial world, she could never contend with a behemoth like the imperial court. She had no choice but to accept her lot.

"Chunhua, you're pretty good at whipping cream! You finished so quickly."

Looking at the finished cream, Jiang Nuan marveled. That speed almost rivaled an electric mixer!

"Thank you for the praise, Ninth Princess."

Of course. Sometimes, people's heads had already hit the ground before they even caught sight of my sword's shadow.

Chunhua remarked inwardly.

Soon, after Jiang Nuan's busy efforts, a cream cake with a lumpy surface was finished.

Jiang Nuan made three palm-sized cakes and handed two of them to Chunhua Qiuyue.

"Here, try them. They're delicious."

This time, she was simply testing whether she could make them successfully. Of course, the one for her fourth brother would be made fresh tomorrow.

Looking at the white, fluffy thing, Qiuyue hesitated. After some thought, she chose to decline. "Thank you for your kindness, Ninth Princess, but I just had a meal and am not very hungry yet. Please give this thing called cake to Chunhua."

Qiuyue really did not trust Jiang Nuan. In her eyes, whatever Jiang Nuan made was nothing more than a child's nonsense.

Chunhua did not mind. She was quite curious about this cake. Though it had little aroma, judging by how it was made, it could not taste that bad, could it?

Jiang Nuan did not press Qiuyue. Some people simply disliked sweets. She picked up her own cake and began tasting it.

Mmm, very good. It's eighty percent as delicious as the ones I used to eat.

Jiang Nuan was extremely satisfied with her cake. Making something this good under these conditions was already no easy feat.

After seeing Jiang Nuan eat, Chunhua eagerly took a bite herself.

Qiuyue watched Chunhua curiously, hoping to judge the taste from her expression. But Chunhua's face remained perfectly blank, revealing nothing.

Where Jiang Nuan could not see, Qiuyue quietly poked Chunhua and whispered, "Hey, Chunhua, how is it?"

Chunhua gave a slight shake of her head and whispered, "So-so."

That means it tastes bad, Qiuyue thought. Just as she had expected.

Then she looked at Jiang Nuan, only to find that she had already eaten almost half of hers.

Something's wrong! As a princess, she should have a very picky palate. How could she be enjoying it so much?

Good grief! When she looked back at Chunhua, she discovered that Chunhua had already demolished her cake and was now reaching for the one that should have belonged to Qiuyue.

Realizing something was amiss, Qiuyue snatched the cake from Chunhua's hand with the speed of a thunderbolt striking before anyone could cover their ears.

"What's going on? Didn't you say you were too full to eat?"

Chunhua looked at Qiuyue and asked in puzzlement. As she spoke, she tried to take the cake back, but Qiuyue turned away, blocking her.

"Can't I change my mind?"

Qiuyue felt absolutely no guilt about going back on her word.

She picked up a spoon, scooped up a mouthful, and put it in her mouth. In an instant, her sweet tooth was conquered. The cream was sweet without being cloying, the cake base was soft and delicious, and the fruit filling in the middle tasted wonderful too.

"Why, you little—Chunhua, you dared to trick me! If this is only so-so, is there any dessert under heaven better than this?"

Qiuyue began berating Chunhua.

Chunhua merely smiled, her eyes still fixed on Qiuyue's cake, as though pondering the best way to snatch it.

So frightened was Qiuyue that she walked straight away.

After finishing her cake, Qiuyue approached Jiang Nuan, who had only just finished hers because she ate more slowly.

"Your Highness, do you need any more cream whipped? I'm actually much better at it than Chunhua!"

There was no trace now of Qiuyue's earlier relief that Jiang Nuan had chosen Chunhua.

To Qiuyue's disappointment, however, Jiang Nuan shook her head.

"Not for now. I was only trying it out today."

"Oh, all right."

Boohoo, my cake! If I'd known, I would have eaten more slowly and savored it.

Chunhua was also rather disappointed. She could have had two cakes. What a pity she had failed to fool Qiuyue.

Seeing their disappointed faces, Jiang Nuan comforted them. "I'm just not making any more today. I'll make more tomorrow, and I can save one for each of you then."

At those words, both of them immediately brightened.

With that day's cakes successfully completed, Jiang Nuan clapped her hands, prepared the ingredients she would need tomorrow, and only then left.

The next day, Jiang Nuan had intended to get up a little earlier to see her fourth brother first. Unfortunately, she had overestimated herself. By the time she got up and washed, it was already time for court.

It's fine. I can just go see Fourth Brother after court.

Jiang Nuan took it very much in stride.