The autumn sun shone on the grape trellis. Qingyan leaned back in her deck chair, looking up at the grapes that had already accumulated quite a few. In a while, they should be able to make some wine.
"Sulan, get the ladder ready, we're about to pick grapes!" Qingyan glanced at the grapes and decided to pick them directly.
“Your Majesty, this belongs to the royal family, we certainly can’t cut it all off.” Su Lan was somewhat worried. After all, the villa was Kangxi’s real estate, and if Yin made any moves, there might be some trouble.
Qingyan remained silent. Sulan's concerns were valid. If they mishandled the situation, it could directly cause trouble for Yin, as Yinzhi had always wanted to find something to hold against Yin.
"Wait until Si Si comes back!" Qing Yan was so comfortable in the villa that she forgot that this courtyard was just a temporary residence and not Yin's property.
Seeing that Qingyan had given up on picking grapes, Sulan felt relieved.
After dinner, Qingyan approached Yin with a teacup in hand, a fawning smile on her face. He was a little puzzled; why would a girl have such a smile?
"Sweetie, what do you want now?" Yin knew Qingyan's preferences to some extent; she was sensible, so he would try his best to satisfy her requests.
Upon hearing this, Qingyan's smile deepened.
"Fourth Brother, I'd like to pick some grapes to make wine and grape juice. I see there are quite a few grapes on the vine. If it won't cause you any trouble, I'll pick some tomorrow," Qingyan replied with a laugh.
As she spoke, her eyes remained fixed on him, and those bright, expressive eyes put Yin in a very good mood.
"Well, these grapes are fine. However, they're not very tasty. They'll rot and become fertilizer in the fall." Yin nodded in agreement.
He remembered that his elder brother, Consort Hui, had lived here, and they had also used some grapes. In the end, because the grapes tasted very bad, Emperor Kangxi ordered that the grapes should no longer be picked.
real?!
Qingyan didn't believe that the grapes, which looked good and even looked very juicy, were not necessarily the raw materials for wine.
"Sisi, will it be okay if I use some of these unwanted things?" Qingyan asked again and again, knowing she had plenty of options if any problems arose.
"Yes!" Yin nodded.
Early in the morning, Qingyan, unusually early, had breakfast with Yin. He then sat lazily in a rattan chair, holding a copy of the Four Books in his hand, glancing at it occasionally.
His attention was entirely focused on Qingyan. After the maid finished her breakfast, she directed Sulan and Suzhu to move the wooden ladder. She herself climbed the ladder and started picking grapes.
"Good girl, come down first, let the servants do it!" Yin was worried that Qingyan would get hurt, but he couldn't stop her. The wine and grape juice made by the maid were not for her to enjoy alone.
"Master, I appreciate it!" Qingyan didn't mind; after all, she would feel more at ease if she picked the fruit herself.
Su Lan and Su Zhu stood at the bottom of the ladder with baskets in their hands, and bunches of grapes were thrown into the baskets. Qing Yan was surprised to find that the grapes did not spoil even though they were thrown into the baskets like that.
"Su Peisheng, go get a few blue and white porcelain basins." Qingyan planned to make them in front of Yin, as the princes certainly wouldn't trust anything made in private.
Qingyan's clear voice brought a smile to Yin's face, and he joined in her antics.
"Take it easy. Today, I'll do it with you!" Yin didn't mind.
In the eyes of the servants, Yin was troubled by his indulgence of Qingyan; in other residences, no woman dared to lay a hand on her.
"Master, really?" Qingyan asked in surprise.
Yin was very busy every day, and Qingyan rarely spent time with him. Today, his unusual behavior aroused her curiosity.
"We can't keep the brewed stuff to ourselves; we have to share some!" Yin explained to Qingyan.
"Master, this is my first time making this. What if it doesn't taste good?" Qingyan hesitated. If it were to be given to someone else, it would definitely have to be of the highest quality.
Yin didn't care, but he sent a portion to Kangxi as a sign of filial piety.
Whether the food they sent was delicious or not was not a consideration.
Every year, the Western Regions would send some wine and grape juice, but the palace had plenty of these things and didn't need them at all, so Yin didn't care.
"They're almost done. Wash them clean and bring them over!" Qingyan decided to divide all the grapes into two parts: one part to make grape juice and the other part to make wine.
Both of these recipes were carefully prepared by Qingyan and have been made countless times in modern times.
During the day, Qingyan mobilized many servants to help turn nearly thirty catties of grapes into wine and grape juice, placing sealed jars at the foot of the wall.
The commotion in the courtyard was quite significant, prompting many people to inquire about what had happened.
The next morning, Yin was summoned by Kangxi early and asked what he had done the day before. Yin did not hide anything and said directly that he had seen that the grapes were ripe and wanted to make some wine and grape juice.
However, they couldn't guarantee the taste.
Upon hearing this, Kangxi waved his hand dismissively, signaling Yinzhi to leave first.
To the censors, Yin's big move was clearly a scheme.
When Yin returned, Qingyan listened to his words and merely smiled.
"If we make any big moves, these people will start causing trouble!" Qingyan was furious. Outsiders had no idea that they were preparing all sorts of trouble to deal with Yin.
"It's alright, let's do our own thing, what does it have to do with them?" Yinzhi replied to Kangxi. What else could Kangxi say?
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