When Emperor Chengping saw that the person beside him wasn't moving, he swept a cold glance at him. Eunuch Wei didn't dare to act rashly and obediently left with a bitter expression.

Chu Lian was eating her second mini mooncake when she heard Eunuch Sun greet her.

Chu Lian turned her head in confusion and saw a middle-aged eunuch with a horsetail whisk in his hand.

Eunuch Sun smiled and introduced him to Chu Lian, "Country Ruler, this is Eunuch Wei, the Head Eunuch of the Imperial Household. He works at His Majesty's side."

Chu Lian nodded with a smile and calmly called out, "Eunuch Wei."

Head Steward Wei respectfully bowed to Chu Lian. His gaze swept over the little embroidered pouch in her slender hands as he muttered in his heart: My great aunt ah, eat slowly, His Majesty is still waiting!

"Country Ruler, you really know how to enjoy life. In this Imperial Garden, only this Alluring Fragrance Pavilion is good for admiring flowers. A few days ago, the Empress Dowager said that admiring chrysanthemums and eating dumplings during the Mid-Autumn Festival is truly a joyous occasion."

Chu Lian felt strange. Eunuch Wei was supposed to be a very busy person, so why did he have the time to chat with her in this pavilion?

Seeing that Eunuch Wei still had the desire to continue chatting, Chu Lian could only comply. "Eunuch Wei must be joking. I just happened to walk here and was hungry, so I stopped to eat a few snacks."

Chu Lian looked down at the little embroidered pouch in her hand and said, "What I'm eating isn't dumplings either, but some homemade snacks."

"Oh?

I've long heard that Country Ruler is intelligent, but I didn't expect that you would personally make snacks. I wonder if this servant will have the chance to taste Country Ruler's cooking? "

When Eunuch Wei said this, he couldn't help but blush. However, 'the Emperor's decree cannot be disobeyed'!

Chu Lian was dumbfounded. What?

A Head Eunuch of the Imperial Household that she'd never seen before was asking her for snacks?

Under Chu Lian's strange gaze, Eunuch Wei embarrassedly took the little embroidered pouch of snacks from Chu Lian's hands. Then, she watched as Eunuch Wei bowed deeply towards Chu Lian and … ran away …

In the end, only Chu Lian was left standing in the pavilion. She stretched out her hand and mumbled, "Eunuch Wei, my embroidered pouch …"

Unfortunately, Eunuch Wei had long since disappeared.

Chu Lian's expression was a bit dark. She asked Eunuch Sun, who had already stiffened, "Eunuch Sun, is the food in the palace that bad for eunuchs?" Otherwise, the head eunuch wouldn't have been reduced to snatching her bag of snacks and running away!

The corners of Eunuch Sun's mouth twitched stiffly. He could only take the blame.

He still had to work under Eunuch Wei, so how could he dare to question Eunuch Wei's words and actions? However, he was also very puzzled in his heart. Eunuch Wei was a favored person in front of the emperor. He even had to eat the best quality bird's nest and abalone every day. How could he be so immoral and greedy for a little girl's snack? Did the sun rise from the west?

However, he had already slipped away. It was just a pouch containing snacks. There was nothing special about it, so Chu Lian didn't want to pursue it.

Just as he was about to rest for a while more before heading to the Empress Dowager's residence to look for Matriarch He, he saw Princess Ruanjia walking quickly towards him.

Princess Ruanjia arrived in front of Chu Lian. She didn't wait for Chu Lian to bow before pulling her up. "I just entered the palace and was at the Empress Dowager's residence. I heard that you were in the Imperial Garden, so I came looking for you. I didn't expect to see you in the Alluring Fragrance Pavilion."

Chu Lian hadn't seen Princess Ruanjia in a long time. She was very happy to see her so early in the palace today.

Just as she was about to speak, she saw Princess Ruanjia's large, lively eyes looking her up and down. Finally, her gaze landed on her left hand, which was still holding a piece of mooncake. She blinked. "Chu Liu, what are you eating?"

As soon as she asked this, Chu Lian didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She raised the remaining mooncake in her hand and answered truthfully, "I made my own snacks. They're called mooncakes."

"Mooncakes, they look delicious. Chu Liu, you actually brought snacks into the palace. Why didn't you prepare some for me?" Princess Ruanjia puffed up her cheeks and glared at her.

Chu Lian made a sound. She really didn't know how to deal with Princess Ruanjia.

She saw Princess Ruanjia spread out her slender white palm in front of her.

Chu Lian looked at Princess Ruanjia's face in confusion. She then looked at Princess Ruanjia's open palm. "Princess?"

"What are you calling me for? Hurry and hand over the food!"

Chu Lian: …

"Princess, you really came at the wrong time. I just happened to finish it. There's only this half left …"

Chu Lian rubbed her forehead. Why were all the people around her so gluttonous?

Even when she was eating snacks, there were several waves of people fighting over them!

Did it have to be like this?

Princess Ruanjia thought about it and then snorted coldly. "So be it. I'm just trying it. You'll make it for me in the future anyway, won't you?"

But that half of the mooncake was already stained with her saliva …

In the end, Chu Lian really had no choice but to hand over the remaining half of the egg yolk mooncake. "If Princess would like to eat it, the maidservant I brought has another box with her."

Princess Ruanjia threw the half of the mooncake into her mouth without any hesitation. After chewing a few times, her eyes lit up. "Chu Liu, this mooncake is much more delicious than dumpling cakes!"

Princess Ruanjia, who was usually cold and indifferent, had such a naive and arrogant side to her. Eunuch Sun's eyelids twitched when he saw this.

The two women sat in the Alluring Fragrance Pavilion for a while. Chu Lian was afraid that they would run into some strange people again, so she dragged Princess Ruanjia to the Empress Dowager's Peace Palace.

Not far away, in a blind spot of the Alluring Fragrance Pavilion, Emperor Chengping was receiving the small pouch that Eunuch Wei handed over with both hands.

It was a light color scheme with a layer of kraft paper inside. The workmanship was exquisite, but there was nothing special about it. It was just a bag of snacks that rich families usually prepared for their children.

When he opened the pouch, he saw a round, exquisite snack the size of half an egg inside. The words "Longevity" were printed on the front of the snack, and it was very delicately made.

He took out the pastry and took a small bite. Emperor Chengping's eyes narrowed when he tasted it. The stuffing was actually salty!

Upon closer inspection, Emperor Chengping realized that the filling was actually salty egg yolk.

This girl had a pair of clever hands.

Eunuch Wei stood behind Emperor Chengping with cold sweat dripping down his forehead. If he didn't know that Jinyi Village Lord had long since married Count Jing 'an's San Lang, he would definitely think that their emperor had fallen in love with her.

"This snack is not bad.

If Jinyi can make this kind of snack, then it's not strange that she has such a unique longevity peach. "

"Your Majesty is right. Jinyi Village Lord is truly different from other girls in the boudoir!"

Emperor Chengping finished the mooncake in two or three bites. He seemed to have thought of something and laughed loudly. "She is indeed different. Her courage is much greater than that of the other noble girls!"

The corner of Eunuch Wei's forehead twitched. That's right. If it was any other noble lady who saw the disgusting wriggling black worms in the fresh peach, which noble lady wouldn't scream out in fright? Only she would dare to casually pick out the worms and scare others instead.

However, when he thought of how Noble Consort Wei and her maids had purposely used the worms in the peach to harm others, Eunuch Wei felt that Jinyi Village Lord's behavior was truly delightful.

Chu Lian followed Duanjia Junzhu to the Empress Dowager's Ninghe Palace.

At this time, the Empress Dowager's Ninghe Palace was bustling. Almost all of the female members of the imperial family had arrived. Because they had been delayed in the Imperial Garden, Chu Lian didn't have the chance to personally see the Empress Dowager. Instead, it was Wei Wang Fei who pulled her to the side and warned her.

Wei Wang Fei looked at her daughter Duanjia Junzhu standing together with Chu Lian. Because Chu Lian was dressed like a village lord today, she didn't comb her hair into a woman's bun. Standing together with Duanjia Junzhu, the two had similar figures. Especially from their backs, it was clear they were a pair of sisters.

Wei Wang Fei smiled and patted Chu Lian's white hand, "Old Matriarch He and Old Furen of Duke Zheng Fu have gone to accompany the Empress Dowager. In a while, you and Duanjia will follow behind ben fei. After the meal, the furens of each fu with rank will enter the palace for a banquet."

It was clear that Wei Wang Fei had a good impression of Chu Lian. How could Chu Lian not feel it? She immediately smiled and agreed.

After having lunch with the noble ladies of the imperial family, Chu Lian and Duanjia Junzhu sat in a corner of the side hall to drink honey water to aid digestion. They also watched the palace maids lead the noble ladies into the palace to greet the Empress Dowager.

It was the first time Chu Lian had seen such a grand scene. She couldn't help but observe carefully.

"Junzhu, why do those furens all carry a food box?" Chu Lian asked curiously.

Duanjia Junzhu put down the teacup in her hand and glanced at her strangely. She was a bit surprised, "You don't know?"

Chu Lian shook her head in confusion. She really didn't know much. In the original text, Chu Lian had never been to the palace to attend such a large banquet.

Princess Ruijia rolled her eyes, speechless. "I think you're using your brain to think about food!

You don't even know this!

The food boxes in the hands of those furens are all filled with dumplings. "

With Duanjia Junzhu Junzhu's explanation, Chu Lian learned that the Mid-Autumn banquet had a custom since the time of Emperor Gaozu.

When the furens came to greet the Empress Dowager or the Empress, they would bring a plate of dumplings prepared by their families. At that time, palace maids would place the dumplings on the tables. At the end of the banquet, everyone would vote for the best dumplings. The mansion that won first place would naturally be rewarded.

The current Empress Dowager loved this segment of the Mid-Autumn Festival the most.

Chu Lian found it a bit funny. She hadn't expected the Mid-Autumn banquet to have such an interesting event.

"Which family won first place last year?" Chu Lian asked casually.

Duanjia Junzhu Junzhu took a sip of tea and glanced at her, "Pan Estate."

Pan Estate?

Grand Elder Pan Estate?

Chu Lian's face showed a trace of suspicion.

Duanjia Junzhu Junzhu Junzhu stared at her expression and laughed, "Sixth Chu, you're quite sharp. Let me tell you, it wasn't just last year. The year before and the year before that, it was also this Pan Estate that won first place!"

Chu Lian's eyes widened slightly. She already had a plan in her mind.

Princess Duanjia didn't interrupt her thoughts and continued, "Last year, Lady Pan presented a plate of hazelnut-flavored dumplings."

Princess Duanjia pointed into the distance. "Nah, the one in the purple dress over there is Madam Pan."

Looking in the direction of Royal Princess Duanjia's finger, he saw a middle-aged lady with a round face and willowy eyebrows. Her face was pale, and her lips were slightly thick. When she smiled, eight snow-white teeth were revealed. When she spoke to others, she always had a slight smile on her face, giving others a good impression.

Chu Lian couldn't help but think back to that day when she had gone to Guilin Residence and encountered her father blocking the entrance to the Pan Estate.

Just as Chu Lian was lost in her own thoughts, she suddenly heard a mocking shout.