Yinzhen's land is now thriving; the seedlings planted earlier are starting to grow slowly.

Looking at the crops he had worked so hard to plant, he felt a special sense of pride. Even Hongzhao now looked forward to a harvest every day.

Changning simply gave him a notebook and asked him to write an observation diary, recording the growth of these crops at all times. He also told him that this was related to his father's official duties, as his father was currently researching agriculture at the Ministry of Revenue.

Upon hearing that he could be of such great help to his father, and that his mother had entrusted him with such an important matter, Hongzhao immediately felt a heavy burden on his shoulders. He absolutely could not let his father and mother down!

So now he runs to the vegetable garden at least ten or eight times a day, more often than Yinzhen, which surprised Yinzhen. He kept praising Hongzhao for being filial and down-to-earth, and for being capable of great things.

Hongzhao became more and more excited when he heard about it.

Yinzhen and Changning chuckled to themselves. Encouraging education was indeed effective. Hongzhao was impulsive, so cultivating his focus and observation skills was essential.

Therefore, when the autumn air was crisp and the harvest was plentiful in various places, Hongzhao was the first to discover that the grains were ripe.

At this time, the Emperor also returned from Changchun Garden. The Thirteenth Prince escorted Princess Dunke to her wedding. This time, Yinzhen did not go with her, but he subtly hinted to the Thirteenth Prince to inquire about the news of Ujumqin when they arrived at the grassland.

Thirteen indicated that he understood.

The beans on the estate grew well, each one plump and full. These were all carefully cultivated by Yinzhen, who put in a lot of effort. He even wrote a book on his own insights called "Agricultural Notes" because of this, but he felt it was not professional enough and thought he would polish it further.

Their evening meal consisted of potatoes they had harvested, which they used to stew with chicken, and beans that they ground into tofu, which they made into eight-treasure tofu.

There were also some fresh bok choy, all stir-fried with just a little salt, crisp and sweet.

Even Hongzhao, who always loved meat, picked up a few more pieces of vegetables.

"Mother, these green vegetables are so delicious! They're so sweet! It's a pity we can't eat them in winter."

Changning added an extra chopstick to his plate. Thank goodness, the boy finally started to like vegetables. Otherwise, given his picky eating habits and his love for meat, she was worried that Hongzhao would have trouble with his bowel movements.

However, as for the issue of eating vegetables in winter, Changning thinks it's easy to solve.

"Don't we have a hot spring in our village? We can divert the hot spring water, build a vegetable greenhouse, and keep the temperature so we can eat vegetables even in winter."

Yinzhen was startled and turned to look at Changning: "What did you say?"

“I suggested building a greenhouse, using hot spring water to maintain the temperature, and the vegetables could still grow.”

Seeing Yinzhen's surprised expression, Changning was a little uncertain: "You don't know?"

"Nowadays, many vegetables are stored in cellars, specifically ice cellars. Greenhouses also exist, but they are simply made of sorghum stalks as ventilation tents and insulated with horse manure, resulting in relatively low yields. The variety of other leafy greens that can be grown in winter is also limited."

That's true. In winter, we eat all kinds of dried seafood and fresh vegetables like bean sprouts and leeks.

Changning thought for a moment and added, "What if we use a heated kang? It's the kind of kang used for heating and sleeping in Northeast China. You can dig a kang in the cellar where you grow vegetables and light a fire to keep the temperature up."

"This is a good idea," Yinzhen thought, his eyes lighting up. The more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. The heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed) was made of earth or stone, so it wasn't expensive and ordinary people could afford it. There shouldn't be any problem in promoting it.

If this method succeeds, there will be no need to worry about the supply of vegetables in winter.

The more Yinzhen thought about it, the better it seemed. He quickly ate a couple of bites and then ran to his study to get busy. He needed to write down a general outline as soon as possible and instruct his subordinates to carry it out.

Hongzhao's worshipful gaze shifted from his father to his mother.

"Mom, you're amazing! Even more amazing than Dad!"

In Hongzhao's worldview, his father was a prince, the highest-ranking person in the entire mansion, and the man who did the right thing for the Qing Dynasty.

But to his surprise, his mother was also capable of doing "real work," something his father hadn't expected, which greatly astonished him.

Changning glanced at Hongzhao and took the opportunity to educate him: "There are golden houses in books. If you envy your father and mother, why don't you find the answers in books yourself?"

"Me too?"

"Of course you can. Didn't Hongzhao make a seedling growth observation diary? You can also write down your own thoughts, and look for relevant agricultural books. Maybe it can help Father too."

Hongzhao immediately quickened his pace of eating, thinking that he should hurry up and look for his father's study later.

Hutuli and Yierha weren't interested in farming or growing vegetables; they were more eager to try out the chrysanthemum appreciation banquet in two days.

To be honest, the eldest princess of the Zhijun Prince was truly living a glamorous life.

Last time she organized a spring banquet, and now she's organizing a chrysanthemum appreciation banquet. She truly commands a large following and has the style of a princess in the capital.

However, this glory won't last long.

His Majesty has issued an edict, bestowing the title of Princess upon the eldest daughter of the Prince of Zhijun and betrothing her to Dorji Sereng, a Taiji of the Khorchin.

The Prince of Zhi's anxiety finally died.

He originally wanted to run to the palace and cry in his father's arms, but somehow, the Third Prince entered the gate of the Prince Zhi's residence.

It's unclear what the two brothers discussed, but when Prince Zhi came out again, he happily accepted the imperial decree. However, his smile seemed rather forced.

To enhance the princess's status, Prince Zhi invited noble ladies from prominent families to host this chrysanthemum appreciation banquet, hoping to gain favor with the Mongols and make his daughter's future life easier.

Yinzhen and his entourage had been staying on the estate for more than half a year. Now that the Emperor's birthday was approaching, he wanted to present the grain he had personally cultivated to his father, so he naturally had to return to the capital.

Moreover, both of their daughters were going to attend the chrysanthemum appreciation banquet, so Yinzhen and Changning decided to head back home.

The day he returned to the manor was naturally lively, but Changning was too lazy to socialize with the Fujin (wife) and unwilling to engage in pretense with the women in the inner courtyard. He went straight back to Qingzhi Courtyard, which he had not visited for a long time.

The children dispersed, exhausted from a day's carriage ride.

The princess had originally prepared a welcoming banquet, but seeing this, she couldn't insist and had to let the princesses eat while she went back to collect the rice.

Princess Tang loved attending these banquets, as they allowed her to eat many delicious dishes that she couldn't get in the regular meals.

She was actually hoping that none of her masters would have time to come, so she could eat more freely and comfortably.

Seeing her eating with great relish, the other princesses were also tempted and ate quite a bit. Princess Geng was even bolder and had two cups of Autumn Dew White wine poured for her.

Liu Gege also advised her, "Sister, drink less wine, the masters are back."