After passing Zhide Gate, you will reach the East Palace.
Although Tao Ti had just finished touring the East Palace yesterday, she had a good memory and acted like a hostess, introducing various parts of the East Palace to the Sixth Princess along the way.
The Sixth Princess looked around curiously with her bright eyes, and responded obediently from time to time.
As we passed the small garden, we saw double-petaled roses in full bloom. Under the bright sunlight, the purple-red petals blossomed, looking gorgeous and fragrant.
Tao Ti stopped and said to the Sixth Princess in a gentle voice, "Let's go pick some roses and take them back."
The Sixth Princess' eyes twinkled as she asked, "Sister-in-law, are you picking flowers to make perfume?"
Tao Ti smiled and said, "Instead of making perfume, pick some to make snacks."
When she visited the small garden yesterday, she took a special look. These roses are edible roses. If her main purpose yesterday was not to study the map, she would have picked them yesterday. Now she has nothing to do, so she can just pick a basket and take it back.
Seeing this, Linglong immediately asked the eunuch to prepare a basket and scissors.
Tao Ti took the Sixth Princess to visit the garden while selecting flowers of excellent quality.
The "Compendium of Materia Medica" records: "Rose flowers are clear but not turbid, mild but not fierce, soothing the liver and awakening the stomach, relieving qi and activating blood circulation, and clearing stagnation without any of the disadvantages of being pungent, warm, harsh or dry. Among all the qi-regulating medicines, it is the most effective and tame, and there is no other aromatic product that can match it."
After the two girls, one big and one small, picked a basket of flowers, they returned to Yaoguang Palace.
Tao Ti's Yaoguang Hall was decorated very warmly. After getting familiar with the supervisors of the three temples and five bureaus, she asked for a lot of flower seeds and potted plants, and planted the empty space in Yaoguang Hall with flowers and plants. She also planted a patch of fruit trees in the backyard, such as pear trees, peach trees, apricot trees, pomegranate trees, etc. She was happy to think that she could pick the fruits and eat them fresh next year.
Of course, she also thought that maybe Pei Yan had given her a divorce letter before the fruits were full... The divorce letter, from another perspective, was also Pei Yan's death notice.
Tao Ti tried her best not to think about such sad things. She secretly hoped that Pei Yan could live longer, at least to taste the fresh fruits of the four seasons and enjoy more of the little beauties of the world. Then, when he faced death, perhaps he would have fewer regrets.
The Sixth Princess was a little reserved at first, but Tao Tisi did not treat her as an outsider at all. She placed various candied cakes in front of her and said softly, "Fei Fei, sit down and rest for a while. I'll make you some dessert."
"Sister-in-law, don't bother..." She stretched out her little hand and pointed at the cakes and candied fruits on the table, "There are still so many things to eat."
Tao Tilian said it was no trouble and turned around and went into the kitchen.
Seeing the Crown Princess's sister-in-law being so enthusiastic, the Sixth Princess felt warm in her heart. She sat on the couch and waited obediently, not running around or moving around, just picking up a piece of pea cake and eating it in small bites.
She originally thought that the Crown Princess's sister-in-law was just saying "soon", but she didn't expect that when the tea in her cup was still warm, the Crown Princess' sister-in-law came back.
"It smells so good..." The Sixth Princess sniffed the sweet aroma and looked curiously at the tray in the palace maid's hand.
Tao Ti signaled the palace servants to set the desserts, and she sat down opposite the Sixth Princess.
On the rosewood carved kang, two kinds of desserts were served in exquisite white porcelain bowls. They looked no different from ordinary sweet soups, but the rich aroma of milk and flowers filled the entire hall, as if one had fallen into a sweet and beautiful dream.
"Sister-in-law, what kind of snack is this? This is the first time I've seen it."
"This one is peach gum milk dumpling soup. The other one is rose-scented ginger milk... I didn't plan to make ginger milk, but I saw that the roses we picked were particularly fresh, so I made it." Tao Ti handed her a silver spoon and smiled, "Try it."
Children love desserts, and the aroma of the sweet soup in front of them makes them salivate.
The Sixth Princess first tasted the peach gum milk dumpling soup. As soon as she took a bite, her dark eyes like a deer lit up, "Sister-in-law, this sweet soup is so delicious. I have never tasted such a good sweet soup!"
The peach gum is soft and chewy, and the snow-white dumplings are also very elastic. When you bite into them, you will find sour and sweet mulberry filling inside. At this time, take a sip of the sweet milk soup, which is fragrant and refreshing, and full of happiness.
Tao Ti held her chin and looked at her with a smile, "Then try this ginger milk dish again."
The Sixth Princess actually doesn't like pungent ingredients like onions, ginger and garlic, but after trying the peach gum milk dumpling soup, she has a certain trust in Tao Ti's cooking skills. Looking at the white and tender dessert, she can't help but feel a little more expectant.
Just like fresh and tender tofu, she easily scooped a spoonful. The Sixth Princess put the spoon into her mouth, and the next moment, she was stunned.
The tender, smooth and sweet jelly melts in your mouth. The ginger flavor is not too strong, and it is sweet with a hint of spiciness. The charming scent of roses mixed with the fragrance of milk is warm and cozy, as if your heart is also becoming warm and gentle.
"How is it?" Tao Ti asked.
"..." The Sixth Princess said nothing. She just buried her head and ate the ginger milk in front of her mouthful after mouthful.
There was a faint sound of thunder outside the window. Tao Ti looked out and saw that the sky in the distance was dark with a few gray-blue clouds floating quietly.
She murmured softly, "It's going to rain again."
At this moment, there was a sudden slight noise. She thought it was raining, but when she turned around, she found that the sound was made by the Sixth Princess.
She was still eating the bowl of ginger milk, but her head was buried very low, and her other hand was wiping her eyes from time to time.
Tao Ti felt something was wrong and asked concernedly, "Fei Fei, what's wrong with you?"
The little girl didn't raise her head. Her voice was soft and a little tearful. "No, nothing."
Crying?!
Tao Ti's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly walked to her side, staring at the Sixth Princess' childish face, "What's wrong? Don't cry first, tell your sister-in-law if you have any problems, and your sister-in-law will work with you to find a solution, okay?"
Her gentle question was like a small key that gently opened the Sixth Princess's closed heart.
In the dim light, the Sixth Princess slowly raised her head. Her dark eyes were like grapes covered in mist, and two lines of tears slid down her cheeks, with reddening at the corners of her eyes.
Not to mention Tao Ti, even the palace maids beside her were shocked: Wasn’t she eating happily just now? Why did she suddenly start crying?
The Sixth Princess's wet nurse was feeling uneasy, but because of her status as the Crown Princess, she did not dare to step forward and ask.
Tao Ti coaxed at a loss, "What's wrong with you... Stop crying first..."
Seeing that she was worried, the Sixth Princess wiped away her tears and sniffed, "Don't worry, sister-in-law, I'm fine. It's just that the taste of this ginger milk reminds me of my mother..."
Tao Ti said: Huh???
As far as she knows, this ginger milk recipe has not yet been invented in this dynasty... So how did this dessert evoke the Sixth Princess's longing for her mother? Could it be that the Sixth Princess's biological mother was also a time traveler?
The more she thought about it, the more she felt it was possible. After all, the broken system of the underworld was always drawn. Maybe another time traveler had been drawn to this dynasty.
Thinking that there might be a modern fellow countryman in the harem, Tao Ti reached out and patted the Sixth Princess on the shoulder, comforting her, "Okay, don't cry for now. I'll take you back later. Let's go find your mother together?"
In an instant, the air around seemed to freeze.
The Sixth Princess' tears fell like beads from a broken string.
Tao Ti was very panicked when she asked, “……?”
Did I say something wrong?
She didn't know how to comfort the child, so she just followed her instinct and held the Sixth Princess in her arms, patting her back gently, "Don't cry, don't cry..."
When Pei Yan stepped into Yaoguang Palace, he happened to see the Sixth Princess crying in Tao Ti's arms.
Fu Xirui, who followed in, gasped: What's going on... The Crown Princess bullied the Sixth Princess and made her cry?
Pei Yan's black eyes were filled with a deep cold light. He slowly tightened his drooping hands and strode forward.
"Your Highness..." Tao Ti looked at the newcomer in surprise.
Pei Yan pursed his pale lips and looked at everything in front of him calmly, and said in a low voice, "What happened?"
Tao Ti's eyes were filled with helplessness, "Fei Fei misses her mother."
When the Sixth Princess heard that the Crown Prince was coming, she quickly wiped away her tears, suppressed her discomfort, and left Tao Ti's arms. With her big red eyes, she softly called out "Crown Brother".
The coldness in Pei Yan's eyes gradually faded away, and was replaced by his usual tolerance and gentleness.
He asked gently, "Xiao Liu is not a crybaby, why are you crying like a kitten now?" As he spoke, he used a handkerchief to wipe her tears.
The light dimmed and the sound of rain could be heard outside the window. Tao Ti looked at the heartwarming scene of the friendly brother and respectful sister in front of her and thought: He is so gentle.
The Sixth Princess gradually calmed down and explained sheepishly, "My mother once made this dessert for me. I thought I would never get to taste it again in my lifetime... When I suddenly tasted this familiar flavor just now, I couldn't help but think of my mother..."
She lowered her eyebrows, full of apology, "Sister-in-law, I'm sorry, I made you worry just now."
"It's okay, it's okay." Tao Ti waved her hands, vaguely hearing that something was wrong with the Sixth Princess' words. What did she mean by "I'll never get to taste it again in this lifetime"? Could it be that the fellow countryman who traveled through time would not cook for the little princess?
Even though Tao Ti had doubts, she didn't speak out, for fear of accidentally touching the girl's sensitive spots and making her cry.
It was raining and Pei Yan and the Sixth Princess stayed in Yaoguang Palace.
Lunch was delivered by the kitchen. It included cherry meat, shrimps with various fruits, fried fish fillets, vegetarian meatballs, crispy quail, two vegetable dishes, a soup, a sweet soup, and several pastries. The table was filled with the most delicious food.
Tao Ti also heated up three salted duck eggs, one for each person.
As soon as the chopsticks were stuck, red oil came out from inside. She first poured the red oil on the rice, then peeled the shell and ate the egg white, leaving only the oily and bright red yolk in the bowl, which she poked with chopsticks and ate with the rice.
The Sixth Princess watched her eat this way and found it novel. "Sister-in-law, does it taste better this way?"
Tao Ti said, "You will know if you try it."
After the Sixth Princess cried in her arms, the distance between them became closer invisibly.
Seeing her say this, the Sixth Princess followed suit. After eating a mouthful of rice mixed with salted egg yolk, her little face was filled with joy as if she had opened the door to a new world. "Wow, it tastes so good this way. I don't even need to eat vegetables."
Tao Ti thought to herself, that's right. Nowadays, all kinds of rice sauces are selling very well, such as salty egg yolk sauce and crab roe sauce, and the prices are not cheap.
Pei Yan unconsciously recalled the bowl of salty egg yolk fried rice from last night, and started eating it the same way they did.
It tastes really good, but...last night's fried rice is still more fragrant.
When this thought came to him, Pei Yan himself found it funny. As the crown prince of a country, he must have tasted all kinds of delicacies. He never thought that one day he would miss a simple bowl of fried rice.