The early summer breeze, wrapped in the heavy fragrance of locust flowers, slipped along the corridor into the west wing of the general's mansion, knocking the celadon wind chimes hanging under the eaves, making a series of clear sounds. Chen Weiwan was lying on the soft couch by the window, her fingertips pinching a piece of freshly delivered lotus cake. The pink and white cake was dotted with candied osmanthus flowers. The sunlight shone through the diamond-shaped window lattice and fell on the cake, making the bright white almost transparent. Chuntao squatted by the footstool, carefully picking out the pits of candied plums with a silver hairpin. A small pile of bright red flesh was already piled on the ebony tray. She looked at her young lady's bulging cheeks and couldn't help muttering:

"Miss, do you think His Highness the Seventh Prince treats you well? He sent someone to deliver some iced mung bean cakes yesterday, and today he asked the servants to bring a whole box of lotus cakes. He also specifically asked the kitchen to prepare candied plums with the pits removed." She handed a piece of fruit to Shen Weiwan's lips, and a smile formed in the corners of her eyes. "From what I see, he is even better at coaxing people than Master Wang, the best sugar figurine maker in the West Market."

Chen Weiwan opened her mouth and bit the plum. The sweet and sour juice exploded on the tip of her tongue. She hummed indistinctly and reached for the lotus cake on the table: "Sweet as hell!" The pink cake was bitten into a crescent mark. She suddenly remembered something and widened her eyes exaggeratedly. "The last time he asked someone to send you the osmanthus cake, it looked like a pile of snow, didn't it look beautiful? When you bite it open, it's all red chili powder! And they called it a 'surprise'. It was so spicy that I drank three pots of sour plum soup, and my tongue was still burning in the middle of the night!"

Chuntao burst out laughing, and the plum pit tumbled into the celadon bowl, startling the napping white cat on the windowsill and making it raise its tail. She covered her mouth with a handkerchief, her shoulders shaking. "Your Highness was just teasing you! But seriously, ever since Your Highness started bringing food to our courtyard, the threshold of the General's Mansion has been practically lowered three inches by the pastry boys. Yesterday, the old housekeeper was even complaining that Your Highness had snatched up all the new honey in the storeroom..."

Before she could finish her words, a servant's voice suddenly rang out from outside the courtyard gate, his voice ending in a jogging breath: "Miss—the Seventh Prince is here! He's carrying the new lotus seed paste cakes from the Taifu Mansion!"

"Puff—" Shen Weiwan nearly spat out the lotus cake she had just swallowed. She hurriedly sat up, her skirt rubbing against the dessert plate beside the soft couch, and a few pieces of lotus cake rolled onto the brocade cushion. She grumbled, "What are you doing here again?" but her eyes had already peeked out through the window slit, seeing the moon-white figure passing through the hanging flower gate, the jade belt around her waist gleaming in the sunlight.

As Xiao Yu entered the courtyard, he was indeed carrying a gilded food box, the aroma of freshly baked pastry emanating from the cracks in the lid. The servant behind him was also holding a bamboo basket. The unique, sweet aroma of roasted chestnuts wafted through the blue cloth covering, drawing the white cat perched in the corner to meow and rub against it.

"Oh, Your Highness has brought the imperial kitchen here?" Shen Weiwan jumped down from the couch with her legs swinging. She deliberately put on a stern face, but secretly poked the food box with her fingertips. "Let me tell you first, if you hide chili peppers in your snacks again today, I will feed all your 'surprises' to the big yellow dog at the gate!"

Xiao Yu handed the food box to Chun Tao and ruffled the ends of Shen Weiwan's hair, rubbing his fingertips through the loose hair at her temples. "Don't worry," he raised his eyebrows, a mischievous smile in his eyes, "Today's lotus seed paste cakes were 'borrowed' by me from the Taifu Mansion. They are so hot that they can burn your mouth."

"Borrow?" Chen Weiwan took the lotus seed paste pastry from Chuntao. As soon as her fingertips touched the golden pastry, she shrank back in pain. She breathed on the pastry, her eyelashes casting a trembling shadow under her eyelids. "Can you just 'borrow' the pastries from the Taifu Mansion?"

"Of course I can." Xiao Yu sat down on the pearwood chair across from her, watching her frantically blowing cool snacks, his eyes as soft as a spring lake. "It's the Taifu family's young master who was so rude and called you a 'fool who cheated his way to the top' in the teahouse. I had no choice but to 'borrow' the lotus seed paste cakes I just bought for him to teach him a lesson."

"Bah!" Chen Weiwan almost spit the pastry into Xiao Yu's face. The delicate lotus seed paste was sweet but not greasy, but the angry words ruined the taste. "I think he is the idiot! Who was it that splashed cinnabar ink on the Taifu's wife's new gold-embroidered skirt at the last Spring Festival banquet? I heard that the Taifu beat him with a ruler for three days when he got home, and his butt is still swollen!"

Chuntao, whose face flushed from stifling laughter, whispered, "Yes, Miss. I heard the sweeping boy say yesterday that the young master of the Taifu family now trembles when he sees someone wearing a red dress."

Xiao Yu chuckled softly, took out an oil-paper bag from his sleeve, and handed it to Shen Weiwan: "Here, sugar-roasted chestnuts. I specially asked the chef to add more osmanthus honey."

Shen Weiwan's eyes lit up as she took the oil-paper package and began to peel the chestnuts. She spun the hot shells around her fingertips, revealing the golden, shiny flesh. She stuffed the whole thing into her mouth, the sweet, sticky taste mixed with the aroma of osmanthus honey making her squint.

Seeing her eat contentedly, Xiao Yu suddenly leaned closer. The aroma of cedar mixed with the faint scent of ink enveloped her. He lowered his voice, his whisper brushing against her ear: "Weiwan, the royal hunting grounds will open in a few days. Would you like to go with me?"

"Hunting ground?" Shen Weiwan licked the frosting on her fingertips, the sweet aroma of chestnut flesh still lingering on her tongue. "What are we going there for? To watch you ride a horse and shoot deer?"

"Of course it's not to see the deer." Xiao Yu raised an eyebrow and tapped the table lightly with his knuckles. "I heard that Lin Wanrou also asked the Queen Mother for grace to go along and join in the fun. She even threatened to prepare a 'big gift' for you."

Chen Weiwan's hand, peeling chestnuts, paused mid-air, her fingertips rubbing against the warm shells. A wicked smile slowly curled up the corners of her mouth: "Oh? Is she trying to stuff itchy grass into my sleeves again, or is she planning to play pitiful in front of the emperor and say that I stole her prey?"

"Who knows?" Xiao Yu shrugged, reaching out to brush the chestnut crumbs off her collar. "But I've already prepared a 'return gift' for you. I guarantee she'll be overjoyed when she sees it."

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