Shaohua is Junqing

The Queen Mother's birthday soon arrived, and the Emperor held a grand birthday banquet in the Mingguang Hall of Yong'an Palace. Prince Hao, Prince Xian, Princess Hejing, and the Prince Consort, as well as civil and military officials and their relatives, and the concubines in the harem all went to the Mingguang Hall to pay homage and celebrate the birthday. Officials of higher rank presented gifts on the spot, and Concubine Fang, who was the highest-ranking among the concubines, also presented a gift.

The music started and the dancers danced to the music.

"Why don't I see Shaohua?" the Queen Mother asked.

"Replying to the Queen Mother, the princess said she wanted to present a special gift to the Queen Mother. It is being prepared now and I believe it will arrive soon." Eunuch Sun replied.

"Oh? It's a special gift. I'm really looking forward to it."

After Siyu made the birthday cake at Prince Chen's Mansion, she found a large food box, put some ice cubes on the bottom, then put the cake in it, and then took a carriage to the palace.

After a dance, the dancer retreated.

The emperor stood up and raised a glass of wine, "I wish my mother a happy birthday and good health."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Then the Prince of Chen also picked up the wine glass and stood up and said: "I wish the Queen Mother good health and a long life! I offer a toast to the Queen Mother."

"Prince Chen is an important minister of the country. The emperor and I still rely on the assistance of Prince Chen to create a prosperous era for Dahua."

"I will do my utmost to assist the Emperor and the Queen Mother and ensure the prosperity and well-being of our country."

"Okay, cheers."

Prince Hao, Prince Xian, Princess Hejing and her husband successively congratulated the Queen Mother on her birthday.

"Princess Shaohua is here!" the eunuch at the entrance of the hall shouted loudly.

Siyu walked into the hall wearing a dress with a four-happiness cloud pattern. Her hair was piled up high in a lily bun. She was truly radiant and everyone's attention was attracted to her.

"Your humble servant Shaohua pays respects to the Queen Mother and wishes her a happy birthday and good health."

"No need to pay tribute."

"Thank you, Queen Mother."

"I heard from Eunuch Sun that you prepared a special birthday gift for me?"

"Yes, Madam, present it."

As soon as he finished speaking, Caidie and Xiaoma came in carrying a large tray. The things on the tray were covered with a red cloth. Everyone was curious about what it was.

Siyu uncovered the red cloth and opened the lid, revealing a double-layer fruit cream cake. No one had ever seen this before, and they immediately started talking about it. Siyu smiled and said nothing, waiting for everyone to stop talking.

The Queen Mother coughed lightly, and everyone stopped talking. "What is this?"

"Your Majesty, this is called a birthday cake. It is a specialty of my hometown. Your Majesty is having a birthday today, so I made one myself and presented it to you."

"Birthday cake, this is the first time I've heard of it."

"This is a kind of food that is eaten on birthdays. It is very popular in my hometown. Your Majesty, please try it."

"Yes, Eunuch Sun."

"Yes." Eunuch Sun responded and walked down.

Siyu asked Caidie and Xiaoma to put the cake on the table next to her. Sharp blades were not allowed in the palace, so in order to cut the cake, Siyu specially asked someone to make a cake knife, which was bladeless and like a shovel, so that it could be brought into the palace. Siyu cut the cake into sixteen small pieces, took a small plate and put one of the pieces on it, and put a small spoon next to it, and then handed it to Eunuch Sun who was waiting on the side. Siyu then put a few more pieces of cake on the small plate and asked Caidie and Xiaoma to send them to the emperor and Prince Chen.

The Queen Mother took the cake handed to her by Eunuch Sun, took a look at it, but did not eat it immediately. The Emperor did not eat it either. Although he believed that Siyu would not poison him, he was still more or less worried because it was his first time eating something new.

"Your Majesty, Queen Mother, the white outer layer is cream, the inside is cake, and there is fruit in the middle. It is non-toxic and harmless, you can eat it with confidence."

Siyu has watched many TV dramas and read many novels, which mentioned that there were special eunuchs or palace maids in the palace who were responsible for tasting food. The food of the emperor, the empress dowager and others would be tasted by them first to make sure it was not poisoned before the emperor and the empress dowager were allowed to eat it. So Siyu was not annoyed by this.

Beitang Mo Ran had eaten the cake made by Si Yu and it was delicious. Naturally, he didn’t believe that she would poison it. He smiled slightly and started eating.