Chapter 93 Listening to the chorus of cries

Xie Yunqi was a little embarrassed: "Oh, didn't I taste the delicious radish from Jingyue Pavilion at Yuqing Palace last time? I was quite curious whether this was real or not, so I thought I'd go and take a look on the way."

"Alright, let's hurry up, Brother Pei Ji might not be at Jingyue Pavilion soon."

The two walked around South Lake to Jingyue Pavilion. The weather was getting colder and colder. South Lake was gradually becoming quiet and showed signs of freezing over.

In just over a month, around the New Year period, Nanhu Lake will be completely frozen over.

"Next to Changyin Pavilion is a lotus pavilion, and to the right of the lotus pavilion is Mirror Lake. In previous years, when Mirror Lake froze over, I would always go and play on the ice. Mirror Lake is not as big as South Lake, so it's definitely more comfortable to play on the ice there. I've never played on the ice at South Lake before. When the ice is solid again after the New Year, let's come and play together!"

She laughed and agreed, "Okay."

They arrived at Jingyue Pavilion chatting and laughing, and sure enough, they ran into Pei Ji, who was about to leave.

After Xie Yuxiao's purge of the Imperial Household Department and others a few days ago, the first thing the Shangyi Bureau did after appointing a new head was to make up for all the money that had been withheld from Pei Ji over the years.

The best materials were naturally not available to Pei Ji, but they were all of excellent quality.

Pei Ji was dressed in black today, embroidered with large areas of understated yet noble bamboo patterns, and wore a jade crown. His noble and elegant demeanor was immediately apparent.

In addition, the food has improved during this period, and Pei Ji, who was originally a bit thin, has gained some weight, adding a touch of nobility to his aloof temperament.

Sheng Sheng waved happily to him, "Brother Pei Ji!"

Pei Ji was slightly surprised: "Why has the princess come?"

“Sheng Sheng, come and pick up Brother Pei Ji to go to the Jin Yi Palace together. My royal brother said that this is Brother Pei Ji’s first time attending a palace banquet, and coming with us will save a lot of unnecessary trouble.”

Pei Ji's dark eyes were bright and gentle. He seemed somewhat surprised upon hearing this, but there was not much emotional fluctuation.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

After Pei Ji finished speaking to her, he nodded slightly to Xie Yunqi.

Xie Yunqi was still quite awkward. They hadn't communicated at all for the past few years, and Xie Yunqi had previously harbored a lot of hostility towards Pei Ji because he felt that Pei Ji had stolen his sister.

But now he's come running over here wanting to see the radishes people grow, which seems really strange.

Pei Ji noticed his embarrassment and took the initiative to ask, "Does Your Highness have something to say?"

Sheng Sheng chuckled and said on Xie Yunqi's behalf, "It was when Fifth Brother ate some radishes grown by Jingyue Pavilion at Sheng Sheng's place once that he thought they were especially delicious. Sheng Sheng said that the radishes were from Jingyue Pavilion and were grown by Brother Pei Ji and Afu together. Fifth Brother didn't quite believe it, so he wanted to come to Jingyue Pavilion to see for himself."

Xie Yunqi seemed a little embarrassed: "Don't misunderstand, I didn't mean anything by it. It's just that my sister said that these radish seeds are ours, and the land is no different. I'm very curious why the radishes grown by Jingyuexuan taste so good."

Sheng Sheng nodded in agreement, her bow-tie hair ribbon swaying with her movements: "Yes, Brother Pei Ji, could you take Fifth Prince to the vegetable garden?"

Pei Ji shifted his gaze from the two fluttering hair ribbons and chuckled, "Of course."

Afu led the group to the vegetable garden behind the house, while Zijuan and Xiaoquanzi decided not to follow and waited in the front yard.

This was Xie Yunqi's first time visiting Jingyue Pavilion, and she looked around curiously.

When he saw that there really was a vegetable garden there, Xie Yunqi walked in with great curiosity and looked around for a long time.

"Wow, I never expected Jingyue Pavilion to actually have a vegetable garden. This is the first time I've ever seen a vegetable garden up close. The only time I've ever seen a place like this before was when I was passing by a field of crops from a distance in a carriage."

Xie Yunqi's eyes were full of surprise. Like a child who had never seen the world before, she jumped around, looking at the dishes here and there, and kept asking Afu what they were.

Afu diligently answered his questions from the side. At first, she was a little worried that the young prince would cause trouble, but later she found that the noble young prince was not so difficult to get along with, except for asking why cabbages grow on the ground. So she gradually relaxed and even took the initiative to tell him how long it would take to harvest these vegetables.

Prince Xie Yunqi, a pampered and spoiled prince, was waited on hand and foot. Apart from fish caught from the lake, he had only ever seen ingredients that had been cooked and served on the table. He had never even seen a live chicken or duck, let alone vegetables that were still growing in the ground.

He was genuinely curious.

Xie Yunqi kept exclaiming "Wow!" and for a moment the vegetable garden was filled with the sound of exclamations.

Afu was so impressed by his chest that he proudly told him that he had seen a cabbage as long as an arm when he was in the State of Song.

Xie Yunqi was so shocked her jaw almost dropped, and her voice dropped: "Duo Da? Is this true? There really is such a big cabbage?"

Afu patted his chest and said, "Of course! Would I lie to Your Highness?"

Xie Yunqi: =()

Xie Yunqi nodded repeatedly: "That's amazing!"

Sheng Sheng couldn't help but chuckle: "Fifth Prince, you're so funny."

Pei Ji stood with his hands behind his back, a slight smile on his face, and said softly, "I didn't expect the Fifth Prince to be interested in these things. I was worried..."

Pei Ji didn't continue. Sheng Sheng turned to look at him, puzzled. She stared at him for two seconds, and then seemed to understand what he meant: "Brother Pei Ji, do you think that Fifth Prince would look down on farming?"

Pei Ji remained silent, as if tacitly agreeing.

Sheng Sheng turned back to Xie Yunqi, who was still discussing with Afu how big the cabbages here would grow, and smiled: "Fifth Prince is simple-minded, he wouldn't do that. Besides, didn't Brother Pei Ji say that agriculture is the foundation of a country? Farmers have built their own world. Those who look down on farmers are destined to never achieve great things, right?"

Pei Ji glanced at Xie Yunqi without making a sound, his gaze like a bottomless lake, calm yet concealing a great deal of thought.

Pei Ji lowered his eyes, and in his heart he understood the relationship between Sheng Sheng and Xie Yunqi.

Then he chuckled softly, turned his head to confirm her, and said, "Mm."

The two stood aside and watched for a while, when Sheng Sheng suddenly noticed that the two pits from before had been filled in.

"Brother Pei Ji, have the pears been planted yet?"

“Yes, it’s been planted.” Pei Ji paused. “It’s just that the climate in the capital is different from that in Song. Song has a warm climate, but the capital is much colder. In Song, it would be common to plant in November, but it’s too cold in the capital, so it might not survive.”

After listening to Sheng Sheng, he walked to the two small holes where the pear seeds had been planted, picked up the water ladle from the small bucket in the corner, scooped up some water, and watered the two small holes.

Pei Ji's gaze followed her, his expression softening, the darkness in his eyes unconsciously replaced by tenderness.