In other words, Little Sugar Bean was action-oriented and acted before speaking, while Little Yanyan preferred to talk more.
"This saying is good!"
Qin Yi laughed, "I hope the two little ones in your belly, when they co out, can give us so peace of mind."
As he spoke, the joyful expression on his face faded a bit.
These two children...
Although he wouldn’t admit it aloud, deep down he still hoped that they would be princes. That way, he could have successors.
"Co, let’s pick so more petals to take back."
He pointed to the peony bushes.
"Wait."
Su Pan’er stopped him, shaking her head, "The kind of nail staining from these petals will fade slowly as nails grow. You don’t need that much. I was watching from above and saw that the hibiscus and pumpkin flowers below had blossod; why don’t we pick so of those and let the chefs in the Imperial Kitchen make dishes from them, so we can taste our own cooking?"
"The pumpkins we planted earlier have blood?"
Qin Yi was also surprised.
It was rather coincidental about planting those pumpkins. Originally, Su Pan’er’s appetite had been good, but as the months passed and her belly grew, her appetite diminished, and she snacked more.
Snacks were tasty, but her legs swelled, and many foods were off-limits. She also encountered problems with constipation, so Nanny Xiao prepared various non-inflammatory dried fruits and snacks for her, including pumpkin seeds.
The spring weather was perfect, Su Pan’er felt a sudden impulse and dragged Qingwen to a corner of the flower garden, where she personally scattered pumpkin seeds and even fertilized them.
This resulted in her shoes being covered in mud, which Qin Yi saw when he returned to the Imperial Harem’s Palace and it gave him quite a fright! He dared not trouble her further and hurriedly took over the remaining tasks.
"Such a big belly and still fussing around, aren’t you worried about harming the children inside? Stand aside at once!"
"The palace also has the Hall of Silkworm Breeding. I’m just scattering so seeds; it won’t wear out."
Su Pan’er argued.
Since the founding emperor of Great Zhou, to demonstrate frugality and care for the people and emphasize agricultural importance, the Imperial Palace had established a Hall of Cereal Viewing and the Hall of Silkworm Breeding. Being the mother of the nation, the Empress conducted silkworm breeding rituals each spring and completed the entire sericulture process.
To say that the Empress was breeding silkworms was just for show, really.
Su Pan’er would place the prepared silkworm seeds on the mulberry tree, and the rest was managed by specialists until the silkworms ford cocoons and soone was sent to collect them.
Speaking of which, in later generations the practice of climbing trees for spring silkworms decreased, as most people used tools to collect and finely cut mulberry leaves to feed them. As the silkworms grew, entire leaves were fed directly...
Su Pan’er’s thoughts wandered unchecked, while Qin Yi, full of enthusiasm, walked over to the patch of pumpkin plants.
Indeed, that corner of the garden was now covered with a dense and lush growth of pumpkin vines, and the pumpkin flowers had blossod.
"These vines have truly blood! Don’t move, let pick them!"
Excited, Qin Yi lifted the edge of his dragon robe and tucked it into his jade belt before squatting down in a horse stance among the pumpkin vines to pick the flowers.
Su Pan’er stood behind him, continuously gesturing and directing.
"Not right, don’t just pick the flower bud, snip the entire flower from the root. No, not like that! Why don’t you just cut off the entire pumpkin seedling! Tonight we will have stir-fried pumpkin seedlings with at, pumpkin flower soup, and deep-fried hibiscus flowers. Tonight’s nu is sure to be rich!"
Whenever she talked about food, saliva incessantly secreted in her mouth.
This was truly pesticide-free green vegetables.
Plant the pumpkin seeds, and once the pumpkin seedlings grow to about a foot, you can harvest them. Just don’t let them grow too old, for the old ones you can only eat a small tip of them.
Qin Yi, sowhat helplessly, shook his head, "You little glutton, your cravings are really finicky!"
Despite saying so, he obediently bent down and cut a large handful of pumpkin seedlings, "Are you sure this is edible? Back in my hotown, I’ve never seen anyone eat this stuff. How do you eat it?"
"Very simple!"
Su Pan’er happened to know exactly how, "First, soak it in water for a while, then carefully peel off the hairy outer skin of the seedling leaving only the tender flesh; for the leaves, remove the veins and cut them into small pieces. Either stir-fry them with at or put them into chicken soup, both are very delicious. Pumpkin flowers are similar, but you need to remove the pistil. Personally, I prefer pumpkin flowers boiled with eggs, it has a unique taste that warms the heart."
Despite Su Pan’er sounding very knowledgeable, if she were to actually cook, the resulting food could only be described as edible, nowhere near delicious—the gap was as wide as from the east to the west end of the Imperial City.
Qin Yi glanced at the pumpkin seedlings in his hands, silently pondering the feasibility of Su Pan’er’s suggestion, and decisively passed the seedlings to Eunuch An standing behind him.
"Did you hear how Her Highness explained it should be done? Hurry and take it down to the Imperial Kitchen."
Eunuch An, who stared at the pumpkin seedlings in his hand, hastily agreed.
Su Pan’er added from behind him.
"Hold on, when you get to the kitchen, ask if there are any people from Lingnan. I guess they would know better how to prepare it."
"You little glutton, always bossing people around."
Qin Yi laughed out loud, washed his hands with the clean water a Palace Maid had brought over, dried his hands with a handkerchief, and then, arm in arm, continued walking with Su Pan’er.
"And the hibiscus flowers? Do you also know how to prepare those?"
"Of course I know. Who else but , as I do have a craving lately. I want to eat whatever I see."
Su Pan’er wasn’t lying.
Since becoming pregnant, her appetite had undergone too much of a change; she wanted to taste anything edible, and her varied dietary cravings were beyond her own control. Luckily, there were indeed nurous Imperial Chefs in the palace, always able to creatively prepare many delicacies she couldn’t usually taste.
"Do you think, since my appetite has changed so much after becoming pregnant, what about Feng Xiyue? She’s also over seven months pregnant now, does she also crave different foods to enhance her flavor profile?"
His smile vanished from his face at once!
He collected his hand sowhat impatiently, "Why bring her up all of a sudden?"
Su Pan’er paused, standing still and hesitant for a while.
"It’s not that I wanted to ntion her, but a few days ago, Mrs. Jun had soone send so exquisite items into the palace."
Before New Year, Mrs. Hwa, wife of State Duke Hua, and Old Mrs. Xue had entered the palace, using the jade token bestowed by the founding emperor of Great Zhou, in exchange for a reevaluation of Jun Ruochen’s case.
Having the jade token was like having a Gold dal of Exemption from Death!
Both used the jade token to obtain the chance for a retrial, but His Majesty had only agreed to adjudicate the case after the New Year.
After the New Year, the Court beca preoccupied with the Spring Imperial Civil Service Examination, and noticing that the tropolitan Examination was already concluded, Mrs. Jun could no longer stay calm and had soone send so rare treasures to the palace.
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