Xiao Ziyue seemed to have obtained her beloved candy and caught it with her basket with a smile.
With Yu Wan’s help, Xiao Ziyue’s basket quickly became heavy.
“Sister Yu, help me, help me!” A girl surnamed Zhang also handed over the basket.
Xiao Ziyue called Yu Wan sister-in-law, but it was not good for the sisters to call her sister-in-law. They changed to calling her Sister Yu. This seemed more intimate than calling her Princely Heir Consort.
“Okay.” Yu Wan cut a bunch and handed it to her.
“Me, me, me, me… I want it too!” Another friend walked over.
“For you!” Without waiting for Yu Wan to pluck it for her, Princess Consort Cheng whipped it and a bunch of grapes landed steadily in her basket.
“Princess Consort Cheng, Princess Consort Cheng!” This little sister ran towards Princess Consort Cheng.
With Yu Wan and Princess Consort Cheng’s help, everyone’s baskets were quickly filled with fresh grapes. Although they did not pick them themselves, they received them personally! It was much more interesting than throwing arrows in a pot!
“Let’s go make wine!” Xiao Ziyue said happily.
Everyone nodded in unison.
The wine chef who was invited this time was the daughter of the owner of a winery in the Capital. She was a few years older than them and was said to be looking for a son-in-law, and she had inherited her father’s business now. Eldest Mrs. Xiao made an exception and allowed Xiao Ziyue to invite her into the manor because she’s a woman. However, the place to make wine could not be in Xiao Ziyue’s Rose Courtyard.
In Eldest Mrs. Xiao’s words, that was her daughter’s courtyard. Not everyone was qualified to enter.
“At Bluecloud Pavilion,” Xiao Ziyue said with a smile.
Bluecloud Pavilion was on the west side of the Xiao Manor, not far from the main kitchen of the central area. They would pass by a vegetable garden. The vegetable garden in the Xiao Manor was planted by the servants when they had nothing to do. Shangguan Yan did not care about this.
“What’s that?” a little sister asked.
She was referring to a kitten shuttling through the vegetable garden, but Yu Wan treated it as a vine that had been pierced by the kitten. Yu Wan said, “It’s a sweet potato leaf. It can be used to cook.”
“Huh?” Xiao Ziyue was surprised. “You can cook that?”
Yu Wan nodded. It was the season to eat sweet potato leaves. If they were stir-fried with vegetable oil and garlic cloves, the taste would be better than other vegetables. She remembered that when she was young, her aunt’s family had a large sweet potato field. In summer, her aunt would pick sweet potato leaves and stir-fry them for her to eat. She could even feed the pigs with the endless sweet potato leaves. It was killing two birds with one stone.
Xiao Ziyue had never eaten it before, but since her sister-in-law said that it could be eaten, then it must be edible.
Xiao Ziyue called Lingzhi over. “Get the kitchen to fry a sweet potato leaf.”
“Huh?” Lingzhi was stunned. Wasn’t that thing used to feed pigs? But since Second Miss wanted to eat it, she would let the kitchen make it. She didn’t understand the world of a young lady…
Lingzhi went to the kitchen and instructed, and the kitchen immediately did as she was told.
On the other side, the maidservant that Concubine Meng had sent out to keep an eye on returned and reported the whereabouts of that group of people for the entire morning.
Xiao Zilin was also there. When she heard that her sister was picking grapes and brewing wine with them, she was so jealous that she was about to go crazy. Her second sister actually didn’t call her for such a fun gathering!
Concubine Meng, on the other hand, was calculating in her heart. A country bumpkin was a country bumpkin. She actually wanted to stir-fry something that was used to feed pigs for a group of rich young ladies. Alright, she would let this group of people have a stomach ache and see how she would end up!
This group of people deserved this outcome for distancing themselves from her daughter!
Some time ago, Concubine Meng was heaty, and her stomach was swollen. The doctor prescribed a bottle of croton powder for her to eat once a day, and not more than half a spoonful at a time. Aunt Meng gave the croton powder to her trusted maidservant and asked her to put it all in the dishes.
The taste of croton was similar to moldy spicy peanuts. The processed croton powder did not have the moldy smell, and there was only some spice. It was not easy to notice when it was mixed evenly in the vegetables.
However, it was almost time for dinner. The maidservant used the excuse of going to add more food to mix all the croton powder into the sweet potato leaves that were about to be plated.
She could not let her daughter know about this kind of dirty matter. Concubine Meng had instructed her trusted maidservant outside the courtyard, so she stood outside waving her fan while waiting for her trusted maidservant to return. Unexpectedly, this “expectant” appearance was seen by Eldest Master Xiao, who was passing by.
It was because of that face that Concubine Meng could catch Eldest Master Xiao’s eye back then. So many years had passed, and Eldest Mrs. Xiao had long turned old, but Concubine Meng was still charming. In order to punish Xiao Zilin for framing his legitimate sister, Eldest Master Xiao had not stepped into Concubine Meng’s courtyard for a few days. How could he hold back when he suddenly saw Concubine Meng’s flirtatious look? He immediately walked towards her.