Her tone was as casual as if she were ordering a maid. Qin Rulian's expression froze for a moment.
Before she could speak, Ye Tinglan's stern voice cut in, "Your hands and feet are fine, can't you get it yourself if you want to eat?"
The confinement order on Lanqing Courtyard had not been lifted. How dare this woman show her face and cause trouble? This was outrageous!
Feng Yinwan raised an eyebrow.
Was he already protecting her?
"Miss Qin just said she wanted everyone present to try these pastries. As a token of my support, what is wrong with that?"
Qin Rulian was an orphan with no official title. Let alone fetching pastries for her, the Prince Consort, even if she wanted to drive her from the main seat, she would be justified.
Her reasoning made Ye Tinglan seem like he was making a fuss over nothing, and he immediately felt a bit embarrassed.
"These matters are for servants to handle. What are the maids by your side good for?"
The implication was that he didn't want her ordering Xiao Bailian around.
Feng Yinwan didn't get angry. She curled her lips and smiled magnanimously, "Very well, since the Prince is so afraid that Miss Qin will be troubled, I will get it myself."
Upon hearing this, Qin Rulian's eyes flickered. She didn't want to appear disrespectful in front of everyone.
Biting her lip, she suppressed the unwillingness in her heart and stood up, "How could that be? The Consort is happy that Rulian is willing to try it, so fetching a pastry for the Consort is Rulian's duty."
With that, she glanced at Ye Tinglan as if to reassure him and gracefully got up to fetch the pastries.
Ignoring Ye Tinglan's menacing glare, Feng Yinwan slowly stopped her steps.
"This Consort knew that Miss Qin was the most sensible."
It wasn't far at all, yet Qin Rulian, carrying the plate of pastries, took half an hour to arrive.
"Please!"
This one word was extremely perfunctory. Feng Yinwan didn't comment and reached out to pick up a pastry, putting it into her mouth.
Seeing her chew slowly and not speak for a long time, Qin Rulian's hand holding the pastries began to ache, and she impatiently urged her.
"How does the Consort find it?"
Unexpectedly, Feng Yinwan looked at her and directly spat out the pastry.
She unhurriedly dabbed her lips with a silk handkerchief, a mocking smile curling her red lips. "Not good."
"In this Consort's opinion, this lotus crisp is too sweet and lacks fragrance. After a few bites, it becomes cloying and is difficult to swallow."
"If you must say something, then this Consort thinks it's not as good as the mung bean cakes from Shifang Zhai, which cost two taels of silver per jin."
She hadn't expected Feng Yinwan to be so impolite, even comparing it to mung bean cakes from a small workshop that cost two taels of silver. Qin Rulian's face immediately fell.
This bitch!
She dared to criticize even the Empress's gift!
Before she could speak, Fei Se, standing beside her, interjected.
"This recipe was specially bestowed by the Empress because Miss likes it. How can things from the palace be bad? The Consort has always eaten simple meals, can you tell good from bad!"
Ignorant ugly woman!
Feng Yinwan heard this and let out an ambiguous scoff, "Fei Se's mouth is indeed sharp."
Fei Se thought this was praise and perfunctorily bowed, her expression becoming even more arrogant.
"Your servant is merely speaking a fair word for Miss. Even if the Consort dislikes Miss, you shouldn't target her like this at her coming-of-age ceremony, deliberately making it difficult for Miss... Ah..."
Before she could finish, a crisp slap landed squarely on her face, instantly drawing everyone's attention.
Fei Se's vision swam from the slap, and she covered her face, her eyes wide with disbelief.
Feng Yinwan, however, slowly flexed her wrists, her eyebrows raised with amusement.
Today was Xiao Bailian's coming-of-age ceremony?
That's great, it just got more interesting.