After leaving the palace, He Zhuo had Xiao Qianzi take the things back, and then she took the two children out for a stroll. The mother and children planned to eat outside. On the way, Xiao Zhenbao and Hongyu were very excited and kept chattering with He Zhuo.

"Mommy, can you buy me a candied hawthorn?" Little Zhenbao loves candied hawthorn. Her father bought some for her when they went out before. It's sweet and sour and tastes delicious.

He Zhuo looked at Big Head Son: "Ping An, your sister wants to eat candied hawthorns, do you want some?"

Hongyu looked at his sister, then at the candied hawthorn, and nodded: "Mm."

He Zhuo doesn't like to spoil his children. He usually trains them to be independent. He touches the two children's pockets and finds they have no money. Both of them have some refreshing mint in their pockets.

He Zhuo took out a tael of silver from his purse, was about to hand it to them but then took it back, asking mischievously, "Who is Mother giving it to?"

"I'm the older sister, give it to me."

Hongyu was not to be outdone: "I am Father's eldest son, give it to me."

The siblings glared at each other, which amused He Zhuo, so he let them play rock-paper-scissors to decide the winner. In the end, Hongyu won, and he held his head high like a proud little peacock, leading his sister, who was pouting, away.

"Boss, give us two candied hawthorns."

The man selling candied hawthorns was just a commoner in the capital, but he was discerning. He could tell that the two little figures looked like they had stepped out of a painting and must be rich and noble. He bowed and scraped and said, "Here you are, young master and young lady, candied hawthorns, 3 coins each, 6 coins in total."

Hongyu gave him the silver.

The man selling candied hawthorns saw that the price was one tael of silver and quickly waved his hand, saying, "I can't give you change, young master. Go ask your master if he has any copper coins."

Hongyu pinned his sister down and ran back, saying, "Mother, the owner of the candied hawthorn shop said he can't make change. One candied hawthorn costs 3 coins, two cost 6 coins. My sister is over there." He pointed to his sister, then opened his hand and gave the money to his mother.

He Zhuo had anticipated this situation. He had some copper coins in his purse, took back the one tael of silver from his son's hand, counted out six copper coins and gave them to him: "Go, be careful."

Hongyu and Xiaofangzi bought some candied hawthorns and came back. Both of them knew that eating candied hawthorns on the street was impolite, but they just held them in their hands. Hezhuo led them to "Yunke Lai", which was the restaurant he had opened with the Ninth Prince before.

The shopkeeper and waiter at the entrance did not recognize He Zhuo, but seeing that he was a nobleman, they led him to a private room.

Once inside the private room, the two little ones started eating candied hawthorns. Hongyu found them rather ordinary, ate one, and then gave the rest to Xiaofangzi.

Little Treasure loved to eat them, but He Zhuo reminded her, "Candied hawthorns get too sour if you eat too many. Give them to the maid. Let's order some side dishes. I heard that the dishes here are from the Jiangnan region. Let's try them."

Little Treasure's eyes darted around for a moment before she handed the candied hawthorn to Qiufen.

The waiter was very perceptive; seeing that the distinguished guests had finished their business, he asked if they wanted to order.

When He Zhuo asked to order, the waiter began to recite the names of the dishes in a rhythmic and melodic way. After reciting a string of dishes, Xiao Zhenbao and Hongyu both laughed. They had never seen such an interesting way of reciting dishes before. The waiter had a round face, which made it even more amusing.

"I'd like clear broth lion's head meatballs, braised old duck, Suzhou-style steamed buns, Yangzhou fried rice, braised shredded vegetables in broth, and three cups of milk."

"Alright, esteemed guest, please wait a moment," the waiter said, flicking his handkerchief as he pushed open the door and left.

"Mother, this waiter is so interesting, so fun!" Little Treasure said sweetly.

Hongyu wasn't to be outdone: "Mother, did you just order all Jiangnan dishes? There are quite a few that I've never tried before. I like going out to play. Can we go out more often in the future?"

He Zhuo looked at the two pairs of bright eyes in front of him: "Mother estimates that we will be able to establish our own residence next year after we leave the palace. That will be fine."

The two little ones looked dejected, their shoulders drooping: "We'll have to wait until next year."

He Zhuo tapped each of them on the head: "Next year is still slow, it will be very fast."