The second prince wants to see it, so Chao Sheng naturally cannot refuse.

  "What is this?"

  Huh?

  As an imperial prince, you don't even recognize this?

  Cough, maybe it's because men in this era are far away from the kitchen?

  "This is a dim sum mold."

  "Oh," the second prince turned it over and looked at it again: "So this is what it looks like!"

  He really hadn't seen it before.

  "This is quite exquisite. Where did you get it from?"

  "It was Autumn Ink sister who sent me to find Song Cui sister to take, it will be used in a few days."

  The second prince nodded: "Got it." He handed the thing back, and Chao Sheng bent down with his hands outstretched to receive it.

  Originally thought it was over, but the second prince turned to the palace maid beside him and said: "Is there still some of that grape from yesterday?"

  The palace maid replied respectfully: "Yes."

  "Take two strings back for her to eat."

  Huh?

  The palace maid went into the house and soon brought out two clusters of grapes. The purple grapes were plump and juicy, just like large agate beads - to be honest, since arriving in this place, I had never seen such good-looking fruit. Even when I was with Empress Chen, I hadn't seen such fine-looking grapes.

  "Take it away, temporarily relieving hunger." The second prince said with a suppressed smile: "Go."

  Why is he smiling? Why is he smiling?

  The implication of that smile is obviously that she's a glutton!

  The grapes in the backyard are not planted for eating, so they have just begun to bear fruit now, and it will take a large area to mature, probably by Mid-Autumn Festival.

  The second prince still remembers the grape arbor incident on that day vividly!

  Chao Sheng still thought he had long forgotten which onion he was.

  When she returned to Huaye Residence, she ran into Chunmo right away.

  "What's this..."

  Chao Sheng said: "Autumn sent me to fetch a mold."

  "I know, but where did you get this grape from? This is a tribute, even our lord only got this much."

  So these grapes were tribute goods?

  Chao Sheng suddenly felt that the two grapes in his hand had become at least twice as heavy.

  "This is... the Second Prince's reward."

  Her eyebrows shot up in surprise.

  In her opinion, if it was the Second Prince who had let Chao Sheng bring it back for his own palace, that would be normal. The Second Prince has always been generous with his gifts and is close to Huaye Manor, with a good relationship. Although two princes live in Huaye Manor, due to some oversight or other reason, the Eighth Prince's share often falls short, sometimes even being forgotten. So things and personnel are all allocated according to the Fourth Prince's instructions.

  So Chun Mo just saw the grapes for the first time and thought that the second prince was considerate of this side having many monks but little porridge, so he specially sent them over to make up for it.

  That's it, just send it.

  And speaking of rewarding characters, it's giving birth to trends.

  "For no reason at all, how did Your Highness come to reward you with this? This is a precious thing—"

  The last sentence was dragged out a bit, and the meaning of the words became clear, no more than feeling that she wasn't qualified to enjoy this grape.

  And why did the second prince give her grapes? Chun Mo was puzzled.

  Tides can be explained.

  The second prince gave her grapes, but it was just for fun.

  But... is it suitable to say this here?

  Even if no one is coming and going, it's still not good to look at near the door.

  Luckily, help arrived just in time.

  The fourth prince has arrived.

  "What are you doing standing at the door?"

  The two of them were too busy to speak and bowed together.

  "What's this? Let me take a look."

  Um, should the second prince and fourth prince be considered brothers?

  Everyone is so curious about the mold of pastries.

  "What is this?"

  With Chun Mo present, it's naturally not Tidesheng's turn to speak.

  "Your Highness, this is a cookie mold for the kitchen."

  "Oh." The fourth prince picked one up to take a look: "Normally, is this used to make pastries?"

  "Some molds are not very useful. The ones used in the kitchen every day are wooden, and the shapes they produce are just ordinary ones like 'Fu Lu Xǐ Cái' (good fortune, prosperity, happiness, wealth), mostly squares, circles, and diamonds. Although they're not as exquisite as this one, they're convenient. This one is for special occasions..."

  The fourth prince understood and covered the box. Chun Mo stretched out her hand to take it over. Before the fourth prince could ask, she had already said: "This purple jade grape was given by the second prince to Chao Sheng."

  "Hmm." The Fourth Prince seemed to have completely ignored the grapes and turned around to head inside, with Chun Mo hastily following after him.

  Only Chao Sheng is left here holding grapes...

  Of course, this grape harvest can't be enjoyed alone. Eating alone is a taboo everywhere. After distributing some and giving some away, she didn't have much left for herself.

  But these grapes are really delicious, the skin is thin and breaks with a touch, the juice inside is as thick as honey. Although the skin is purple, the flesh is slightly golden in color, and the sweet aroma is as rich as wine.

  It's indeed a tribute!

  At night, Chao Sheng explained to Chun Mo. In just a few words, she made it clear that she had once smiled at the grapes, and the Second Prince thought she was greedy, so he would give her grapes today...

  Chun Mo also smiled, seemingly having cast aside his daytime apprehensions. Chao Sheng took the opportunity to ask: "I saw that Second Prince last time walked in from the back..."

  "Oh, originally there was a bamboo fence at the back, but it got damaged and wasn't repaired. Probably the second prince came from that way."

  Chun Mo also picked a purple grape, carefully peeled the skin and put it in his mouth. His expression was one of genuine enjoyment: "The prince's previous year's batch can still be savored for its flavor. This year's entire batch was given to the eighth imperial son, but thanks to you, I get to taste this."

  Chao Sheng smiled and lowered his head.

  "However, you have indeed thrown in your lot with the Second Prince, which is quite rare." Chun Mo sat a bit closer: "By the way, that Yu Jia who came with you, I heard she was punished within three days."

  "What's going on?"

  "She must have made a mistake." Qingmo, as the top palace maid of Huayeju, naturally had her sources: "She broke the rules, was punished with kneeling, and hasn't been able to get out of bed for several days. How she is now isn't clear, but presumably she's been demoted to do miscellaneous chores. Anyway, I haven't seen her in Yiqiu Palace again."

  Chao Sheng had never seen it either - but she still thought it was because they were both busy and strict, so they hadn't met yet.

  Kneeling down sounds better than being beaten, but it's a unique taste, who knows who kneels. In winter, kneeling for a long time can cause people's legs to freeze, and in summer, kneeling under the scorching sun can lead to severe dehydration and heatstroke, even death.

  I really didn't expect this.

  Although he wasn't familiar with it, Chao Sheng was also worried about Yu Jia.

  And how is Xiangxun doing in Songtao Pavilion?

  These days have been busy, haven't seen her at all... also no news from Zhai Zhu...

  And what about Man'er? I wonder if she has adapted to life in the palace. Will she also make mistakes and be punished?

  "Huh? Why didn't you spit out the grape seeds when you ate grapes?"

  Chao Sheng was stunned for a moment, just now she had walked out of her trance and swallowed it.

  She smiled and said: "I heard that grape seeds are also good for your body, what a pity I threw them up."

  Chun Mo burst out laughing: "No wonder the Second Prince said that about you... You're really quite arrogant."

  ————————————

  Why did I suddenly think of the Great Sage Equaling Heaven beating the grape in Journey to the West?