When Song Xibai received the news and went to the gate of the East Palace to collect the gifts, his eyes widened at the sight of the large cart of fresh vegetables.
"Are you sure this was specially given to me by the Princess of Wu?"
She couldn't help but ask the eunuchs who were carrying the things.
The eunuchs nodded sheepishly.
Song Xibai couldn't help but rub his forehead.
Although she liked the gift, with such a large carload of food, how long would it take her to finish eating it all by herself?
But since the items have already been delivered to the door, it's not really appropriate to ask them to be returned.
Song Xibai shook her head and could only have someone move the things to the small kitchen.
"Tell my father-in-law that I want to have jade cabbage dumplings for lunch."
Wei Hong covered her mouth and went to deliver the message.
Back in the East Side Hall, Song Xibai couldn't help but complain to Dingxiang.
"I'm not a rabbit. Even if I love vegetables, I can't eat that many!"
Dingxiang was laughing so hard she was almost rolling on the floor, clutching her stomach.
"This Princess Wu is truly a remarkable person."
Song Xibai rubbed her head: "Now I don't know how to return the favor... I can't ask the Crown Princess either... Oh well, let the Crown Prince worry about it!"
After a pause, Song Xibai pulled Dingxiang up, who had fallen over laughing.
"When you go home the day after tomorrow, take some back with you. It'll be good to add some dishes to your family's meals for a couple of days."
Dingxiang didn't refuse and agreed with a smile.
“If this were my home, we’d make pickles, sauerkraut, and salted vegetables out of the leftovers. But it doesn’t seem quite right to do that in the palace. Why don’t you share some with the others?”
"How am I supposed to divide this? With my status, I'm not qualified to bestow vegetables upon others! If we're talking about giving gifts, I can't exactly give someone a bunch of greens, can I?"
Song Xibai imagined it for a moment and thought it was too strange.
How did Princess Wu come up with the idea to do this?
Just as Song Xibai was complaining, Wei Hong returned, bringing a young eunuch with her.
"Master, this is Eunuch Lai's young apprentice."
Song Xibai glanced at him and recognized him; it was the kind and honest young apprentice that the eunuch had mentioned.
After the young eunuch entered, he knelt down and kowtowed before relaying his father's words in a serious and methodical manner.
"Master sent me to ask you, how are these jade cabbage dumplings made? Is the filling made of cabbage?"
Song Xibai was stunned for a moment before she came to her senses.
"It involves making two kinds of dough: a regular white dough and a green dough made with spinach juice. Then, you take a portion of each, overlap them, and roll them out flat, making the green one a little bigger..."
Song Xibai explained in detail, and after the young eunuch listened, he repeated it to confirm that it was correct before bowing again and leaving.
"Making dumplings is so complicated!"
Dingxiang sighed from the side.
Song Xibai thought to herself, "That's because you haven't seen the wide variety of dumplings available today."
My father-in-law was very efficient; at lunchtime, he brought over a plate of lifelike jade cabbage dumplings.
Of course, to live up to its name, the dumpling filling is also made of cabbage and meat.
Just as Song Xibai sat down to eat, a familiar voice called out from outside the door.
"His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived!"
Song Xibai had no choice but to put down his chopsticks and go out to greet them.
The prince strode in, his hands tucked into his sleeves, and immediately noticed the plates on the round table, which piqued his curiosity.
"Huh? What's this?"
This was the first time the prince had ever seen such a lifelike miniature cabbage.
Song Xibai returned to the table and said politely.
"Is Your Highness ready for your meal? Would you like to eat with us?"
The crown prince sat down without hesitation: "Alright."
Song Xibai's expression froze.
I was just being polite!
This plate of dumplings only has twenty small ones, just enough for Song Xibai to eat by himself.
If this were given to the Crown Prince, it wouldn't be enough for me.
Song Xibai pouted and reluctantly sat down opposite the Crown Prince.
Fortunately, Eunuch Feng, who knew the Crown Prince best, had sent someone to the kitchen to remind him in advance, so not long after, the kitchen sent someone over.
The small round table was suddenly filled to the brim with the prince's special dishes.
Seeing the extra plate of dumplings, Song Xibai secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Without saying a word, she moved the plate in front of her, picked up a dumpling, and put it in her mouth to eat.
The prince couldn't help but laugh when he saw her chubby cheeks, which resembled those of a squirrel he had seen during a winter hunt.
"It's so delicious! I'll have a taste too."
As he spoke, the Crown Prince stretched out his chopsticks and picked one up directly from the plate in front of Song Xibai.
The eunuch who was about to serve the prince food and test for poison was dumbfounded.
Your Highness, you said I would eat first!
The prince had long forgotten about the food tasting. He picked up a dumpling, put it in his mouth, took a few bites, and commented.
"The taste is acceptable, but the presentation is more impressive."
Song Xibai looked down at her own plate, then at the plate in front of the Crown Prince, her brows furrowing.
You have your own, why are you eating mine?!
Perhaps because her expression was too shocked, the Crown Prince laughed loudly and took another one from her plate.
Song Xibai finally understood.
The Crown Prince did it on purpose.
They're not children, do they really think the food in other people's bowls tastes better?
Song Xibai snorted twice and rolled her eyes.
Is it really necessary to be so childish?
The prince clearly found it very interesting, and he ate one dumpling after another, finishing both plates of dumplings in no time.
Finally, he added something.
"Tell the kitchen to make it bigger next time. This one bite isn't even enough to fill a tooth gap."
Song Xibai glared at him.
"This was originally made by the kitchen just for me, not for Your Highness. If you want some, just tell the kitchen yourself!"
Why are you stealing mine?
Song Xibai wasn't full, so she took the food Wei Hong handed her and silently started eating.
The Crown Prince finally realized that he had gone too far. A hint of unease flashed across his face. He glanced at the table, picked up a piece of braised beef, and put it into Song Xibai's bowl.
"I remember you like to eat beef. So, from today onwards, I will have someone set aside a portion of beef from your rations for you. Is that alright?"
His apologetic tone and attempts to make amends prevented Song Xibai from getting angry.
"No need to bother, I'm already..."
Song Xibai stopped mid-sentence.
The prince paused for a moment, then immediately understood her unspoken meaning.
Since we're leaving anyway, why make things so complicated?
The prince's initially high spirits immediately plummeted.
Afterwards, the two ate lunch in silence and rinsed their mouths, but the crown prince remained seated.
Song Xibai thought he had something to say, so she waved for the others to leave and then asked.
"Does Your Highness have any instructions?"
The crown prince opened his mouth and uttered a single sentence.
"Can you please not leave?"
The moment the words left their mouths, both of them froze.
The crown prince was somewhat annoyed.
I originally intended to talk about the King of Wu, so why did I say such a thing?
As for Song Xibai, his heart skipped a beat when he heard these words.
She was a little unsure and asked tentatively.
"What does Your Highness mean by that?"
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