Yu Wan’er took a couple of bites of her favorite almond pastries, but found her mouth dry and tasteless. After just two pieces, she stopped eating altogether.
Seeing her slump over the table like a wilted plant and even abandon her favorite snack, Ye Jinyun couldn’t help but ask curiously,
“What’s wrong with you? Why do you look like an eggplant beaten by frost? You’re not even eating the pastries anymore.”
“I don’t have an appetite. These pastries are so dry they’re uncomfortable to eat,” Yu Wan’er replied listlessly.
Lin Qingtang also chimed in from the side, “Mm, the weather’s getting hotter these past few days. I’ve also been losing my appetite and can’t really eat much.”
Hearing this, Ye Jinyun suddenly realized what was going on. She had almost forgotten that these two were ordinary women. When the weather got hot, people often suffered from “summer heat fatigue” and lost their appetite.
Because of her special constitution, she wasn’t very sensitive to heat, so changes in weather didn’t affect her appetite. She still ate the same amount every day. Even Yin Zhu often praised her for having a blessed appetite.
Ye Jinyun thought for a moment—what could be done in this backward ancient era to help people regain their appetite in summer?
After thinking for quite a while with her head propped up, she still couldn’t come up with a good solution. Just then, Xiao Li, the servant beside Lin Qingtang, reported that the ice allocated to Yingquan Palace had arrived and was already placed in the three young ladies’ rooms.
Ye Jinyun slapped her thigh. “Got it!”
The other two looked at her in confusion.
“What do you mean ‘got it’?”
“Come on, let’s make shaved ice,” Ye Jinyun said brightly, standing up and heading toward the small kitchen in Yingquan Palace.
Although the two didn’t understand what she was going to do, they still followed behind to take a look.
Since the beginning of summer, food spoiled easily due to the heat. Apart from meals for the emperor and the empress dowager, the Imperial Kitchen no longer delivered food daily to each consort’s palace.
Instead, palace maids and eunuchs would collect fresh ingredients themselves and cook for their masters in the small kitchens of each palace.
Ye Jinyun ordered a piece of clean ice to be brought over. She had Xiao Quanzi crush it finely in a clean container, while Qing’er and Yin Zhu took the watermelons they had received that day, removed the seeds, and mashed them into juice in a large bowl.
Ye Jinyun thought that one good thing about this era was that the variety of fruits was even more abundant than in the Qing Dynasty of her previous world. They also tasted quite good, though they were expensive and hard to preserve, so ordinary people rarely got to eat them.
But in the imperial palace, there was never a shortage. Every palace received fresh fruit daily. Higher-ranked consorts even received rare tribute fruits.
Watermelons, grapes, apples, lychees… these were all ordinary in the palace. In summer, each palace received two watermelons, two bunches of grapes, and a small basket of lychees every day. In other seasons, they were replaced with seasonal fruits.
When Xiao Quanzi finished crushing the ice and Qing’er had finished juicing the watermelon, Yin Zhu brought over three delicate porcelain bowls. They also prepared some grapes and lychees. Ye Jinyun then began assembling the shaved ice.
Back when she lived in the Ye household, surviving under her stepmother Madam Yang, it was already good enough just to have enough food to eat. She never had the chance to make such delicate treats. This was her first time making it, and even Qing’er had never known that her young lady could do something like this.
She scooped a large spoonful of crushed ice into a porcelain bowl, shaping it into a small peak. Then she poured the watermelon juice over it, stopping about an inch below the rim so it wouldn’t overflow as the ice melted.
Next, she drizzled a bit of honey on top, added a few seedless grapes and lychees, and finally sprinkled crushed almonds from the almond pastries over it. The shaved ice was complete.
Taking the spoon Qing’er handed her, Ye Jinyun placed it in the bowl and eagerly asked the other two to try it.
Yu Wan’er had been practically drooling since she saw the watermelon juice being poured. The moment she was finally allowed to eat, she immediately took a bowl and scooped a spoonful into her mouth.
“Wow! So cold! So cold! So delicious!”
After the first bite, she exclaimed in delight and quickly took another spoonful with almonds and fruit.
“So good! The watermelon ice is sweet, and the almonds are crunchy. With the fruit mixed in, it tastes so amazing!”
Lin Qingtang, seeing her reaction, also took a bowl and tried it. Her eyes lit up as well. This shaved ice was truly delicious.
She had never seen such food before. Eating it made her feel instantly cooled down—perfect for summer heat relief.
Seeing the two enjoying it so much, Ye Jinyun felt very satisfied and also took her own bowl to eat.
It had been a long time since she tasted this flavor. Eating it reminded her of her past life as a student, when she would go to the ice shop near school during summer break, order a bowl of shaved ice, and sit there enjoying free air conditioning for one or two hours.
Speaking of air conditioning, she missed it even more. Thankfully, her special constitution meant she didn’t suffer much from the heat. Otherwise, wearing so many layers in this ancient world would make summer unbearable.
Yu Wan’er quickly finished her bowl and then looked at Ye Jinyun expectantly, wanting more.
Ye Jinyun gently tapped her forehead. “This is cold food—you can’t eat too much. Otherwise you’ll get a stomach ache, and it’s not good for women’s health either. Got it, little glutton?”
Yu Wan’er pouted regretfully but obediently stopped asking after being promised she could have more tomorrow.
The three of them soon finished their bowls and taught Qing’er and Yin Zhu how to make it.
They instructed them to use the remaining ingredients to prepare more shaved ice for all the palace servants to help them cool down. If it wasn’t enough, they could use each of their own portions.
Lin Qingtang and Yu Wan’er also agreed to contribute theirs so every servant in Yingquan Palace could have some.
Ye Jinyun thanked them, touched. Lin Qingtang smiled gently.
“Those who serve in the palace already work hard. As masters, we should take care of them when we can. None of us are cruel people.”
Yu Wan’er nodded in agreement; her parents had taught her the same.
Ye Jinyun felt even more moved. Having lived as an ordinary working-class person in her past life, she deeply empathized with laborers. She didn’t expect these noble-born young ladies to be so considerate of servants.
After receiving the cool dessert, the palace servants of Yingquan Palace were deeply grateful. With such thoughtful masters, they would gladly devote themselves to them. From then on, everyone in Yingquan Palace shared a strong bond of loyalty.