Yummy Yummy Yummy

While others returned from the lantern festival with various lanterns, her own grandson came back with a packet of glutinous rice dumplings.

Facing her grandmother's teasing gaze, Lin Yan pursed his lips slightly and smiled with lowered eyes. "After strolling around for a while, I got hungry and stopped by Shen's Shop for a bite. Shopkeeper Shen was very kind and insisted I bring some back for Grandma to try."

Grand Madam Jiang lifted the lid of the box curiously. "Sweet ones?"

Seeing his grandmother's childlike expression, Lin Yan chuckled. "Yes, with sesame filling." He then called for a maidservant to prepare some for his grandmother. "Just have a taste in the evening. They might be hard to digest."

Soon after, a maidservant brought over a small bowl of yuanxiao on a tray—just four dumplings. The cook had added a touch of osmanthus honey to the soup, making it fragrant and sweet.

Grand Madam Jiang scooped one up with a spoon, blew on it gently, and took a bite. Thick, dark filling oozed out.

After savoring it slowly, she nodded approvingly. "Sweet, sticky, and aromatic. Only a clever and skillful beauty like Young Lady Shen could make something like this."

Beauty... Lin Yan cleared his throat lightly and nodded with a smile. "Indeed."

"I wonder if your future bride will be adept at the art of balancing flavors. If she could even achieve half of Young Lady Shen's skill, you'd be fortunate."

Lin Yan smiled faintly and lowered his gaze.

But then Grand Madam Jiang added thoughtfully, "Though you don’t have a spirit tongue—you seem to find everything equally palatable. If you marry someone skilled in culinary arts, and she serves you a carefully prepared bowl of shark fin soup, yet you eat it as if it were just vermicelli, and when asked how it tastes, you simply say 'good'... wouldn’t that be rather unfair to her?"

Lin Yan looked up and met his grandmother’s slightly exasperated yet concerned gaze. He couldn’t help but press his lips together, though a helpless smile soon followed.

Grand Madam Jiang laughed, and the attending maidservants joined in.

A Su, who had served Grand Madam Jiang for many years and held considerable favor, chimed in, "How could you tease our young master like this, Grand Madam? He’s just not as glib-tongued as some young men."

Grand Madam Jiang nodded with a smile. "That’s his shortcoming—he’s too much of a silent gourd. Fortunately, he has a handsome face to make up for it and can charm a young lady with that."

The maidservants laughed and tried to console Grand Madam Jiang.

The sound of the night watch drum drifted in from outside. Lin Yan stood up. "It’s getting late, Grandma. You should rest now."

Grand Madam Jiang nodded. "You should sleep early too."

Lin Yan bowed again and withdrew.

Behind him, faint murmurs reached his ears: "Grand Madam worries too much. Our young master is outstanding—talented and handsome. There’s no need to fret over finding a bride."

"...If he could marry someone lively, their temperaments might complement each other nicely..."

Lively... Lin Yan paused mid-step.

"Take care, A Lang," a maidservant keeping watch in the corridor greeted him with a bow.

Lin Yan nodded and continued along the corridor, leaving his grandmother’s courtyard.

Upon reaching his study, he sat at his desk and idly picked up a travelogue from the chest. After flipping through a couple of pages, he set it aside and pulled out a stack of handwritten papers from beneath several other books.

The childish calligraphy transcribed verses from the Book of Songs : "How can you say you have no clothes? I will share my robe with you... The quiet maiden is lovely, waiting for me at the corner of the wall..." The characters for "clothes," "robe," and "lovely" were neatly written and circled.Glancing once more at the varied comments in different handwriting on the back—"A Qi's calligraphy, lying down and sitting up," "Lying down and sitting up, straightforward and free-spirited"—Lin Yan curled his lips and placed the booklet back into the box. After a moment's thought, he tucked it back into the middle and called out to the attendant outside, "Tomorrow, deliver this book box to the young lady at Shen's Shop."

The attendant acknowledged the order.

Not long after breakfast, Shen Shaoguang received the books.

Liu Chang bowed and said, "A Lang instructed me to deliver these to you, young lady."

Shen Shaoguang smiled and thanked him.

Liu Chang clasped his hands again and withdrew.

Yu San emerged from the kitchen and glanced at the book box. Were young men these days so open about sending gifts to young ladies? But—Yu San eyed the plain wooden box—wasn't this a bit too unrefined?

Shen Shaoguang lifted the lid and took out the top book to flip through.

Old books? Yu San understood. They must be rare editions, deliberately packed in such a simple wooden box to stand apart from the flashy and extravagant. This Lord Lin... what a schemer!

Seeing Shen Shaoguang engrossed, Yu San smirked. Young ladies, tsk... He headed straight for the backyard.

It was a collection of Six Dynasties poetry and prose, mostly landscape sketches. The marginal notes looked somewhat familiar, but most were unfamiliar. "Retired at fifty, returning to nature in a carriage," Shen Shaoguang sighed wistfully. In the end, he hadn't fulfilled his wish to resign and retreat into seclusion at fifty. How unpredictable life was.

Shen Shaoguang picked up the book box. A Yuan offered to help, but she shook her head. "You go about your work."

Yu San walked in with a piece of cured meat and smirked at her words. Once young ladies fall in love, they become so affected...

Returning to her quarters, Shen Shaoguang slowly perused the books in the box. The "father" in the pages gradually merged with the one in her memories—the gentle and humorous husband and A Ye, the literatus who loved mountains and gardens, the elegant and dignified scion of a noble family, the Vice Minister of Rites who had many suggestions for the imperial examination system, and—the man who had tearfully pleaded before the throne, as Lord Li had mentioned.

Shen Shaoguang also found the booklet of her own calligraphy.

In truth, she had inherited the original owner's skills in calligraphy and painting. But the more she practiced, the fainter the original owner's influence became. Now, comparing the two, they almost seemed like the work of different people.

She also saw the comments in the booklet, especially the two lines about "lying down and sitting up," and couldn't help but smile.

If not for the tragedy, with such parents and the adorable elder brother in her memories, how would "Shen Shaoguang" have lived?

Enjoying snow in winter and flowers in spring, practicing calligraphy and painting, feasting and playing games, raised in luxury, then screened by her father and brothers—perhaps even peeking from behind a screen—to marry a "talented and handsome immortal" with impeccable family background, personal ability, and likely good looks...

Shen Shaoguang almost pitied "herself." Such a fate had been abruptly cut short on that winter night when she was ten.

It took Shen Shaoguang several days to finish going through the books. Because they stirred her emotions too deeply, she packed them away again after airing them out and returned to living the life of the current "Shen Shaoguang."

As soon as February arrived, the weather visibly warmed. The Qujiang River thawed, its ripples spreading in waves. Fish that had been cooped up all winter surfaced for air. The willow trees along the banks sprouted tender buds, and the wind softened, carrying a hint of spring's gentle touch.As luck would have it, another spring rain fell, and within days, patches of fresh green appeared along the Qujiang River, Leyou Plateau, the hillsides and groves outside the city, and even in the gardens and abandoned courtyards within the city walls. While the wild grasses had yet to turn green, wild vegetables had already emerged to join the seasonal charm.

Young gentlemen and fashionable ladies eagerly changed into spring attire to venture outdoors for outings and strolls. Many women and children also carried small bamboo baskets to gather wild vegetables—either for their own consumption or to sell in the city for extra household income.

Shen Shaoguang was fortunate enough to purchase quite a few of these wild greens.

In her previous life, Shen Shaoguang hadn’t recognized many wild vegetables, and in this life, she still didn’t—until A Yuan taught her: this was green fern, that was qingqing vegetable, and over there was green ox vegetable... The largest pile she recognized—shepherd’s purse.

“How do you cook these?” Shen Shaoguang asked A Yuan.

“Miss Xu from the Xu family used to blanch them in boiling water, then mix them with a bit of salt.”

Shen Shaoguang: “...”

When she asked Yu San, he had only prepared one or two types before, so Shen Shaoguang had to experiment on her own.

Blanched in boiling water, mixed with crushed sesame, garlic paste, and vinegar; steamed with rice or wheat flour and dipped in a three-ingredient sauce of seafood paste, ginger juice, and sesame oil; juiced to make glutinous rice green dumplings; chopped into minced chicken and wild vegetable soup; tender shoots stir-fried with eggs or combined with shredded pork belly, tofu, and vermicelli for a mixed dish wrapped in spring pancakes...

Just as Shen Shaoguang had envisioned, the spring plate truly came alive with the addition of wild vegetables—and just as she had imagined, this authentic spring plate was a hit. Many wealthy households placed orders for delivery, such as Lord Li, whose servants regularly came to request a serving.

Someone even composed a poem about it: “Tender green threads on a white jade plate, fragrant minced meat in an emerald pot.” There was no white jade plate, nor an emerald pot, but the vegetables were indeed tender and the meat fragrant.

Shen Shaoguang made full use of the wall outside her shop, setting out ink and brushes for the scholar to inscribe his poem. Writing poetry on walls was an elegant and common practice at the time, and the slightly tipsy scholar happily obliged, wielding his brush with fluid, unrestrained cursive strokes.

Clapping her hands, Shen Shaoguang lavished praise and decided to waive the bill for this advertising creative director today.

Flattered by the pretty young lady’s admiration, the scholar grinned, tempted to compose another hundred or so poems on the spot.

Beyond these preparations, wild vegetables remained most classic as fillings—even in later generations. Shen Ji’s jade tip noodles now featured several wild vegetable fillings, along with exceptionally thin-skinned, generously stuffed wild vegetable dumplings.

Shen Shaoguang’s favorite was shepherd’s purse filling, followed by green ox vegetable. Shepherd’s purse had a mild, fresh flavor and tender texture, perfect paired with pork belly in dumplings or wontons. Once cooked, dipped in vinegar with garlic paste and a drizzle of sesame oil, she could easily devour half a plate herself.

Green ox vegetable had a slightly spicy kick, blending wonderfully with lamb for meat-heavy dumplings—equally delicious.

When Lin Yan visited and ordered side dishes, Shen Shaoguang recommended her two favorite seasonal staples: “The shepherd’s purse has a fresh, spring-like taste, while the green ox vegetable enhances the lamb’s natural aroma. Both are excellent.”

Meeting Shen Shaoguang’s bright, spring-filled gaze, Lin Yan averted his eyes. “The former, then.”Shen Shaoguang smiled, "Alright, please wait a moment, sir." Just as she turned around, she suddenly stopped and looked at Lin Yan with a teasing expression. "Earlier..." Her slightly embarrassed demeanor and the deliberate avoidance of the word "shepherd's purse" made her ask, "Did Sir Lin perhaps peek at my calligraphy practice sheets?"

Lin Yan felt his face grow warm. How could such matters be discussed so openly? Glancing at Young Lady Shen's unrepentant grin, he pursed his lips and said, "The young lady's childhood handwriting was elegant, and your current script is lean yet forceful. Just try not to be too unrestrained."

"'Heaven and earth are the inn for all creatures, and time is the passing guest of a hundred generations.'① In these short few decades, what does it matter whether one is restrained or not?" Shen Shaoguang turned her gaze with a radiant smile, her jade-like features glowing.

Lin Yan held his breath, watching her triumphant expression, and eventually curved his lips into a smile.

Author's note: ①From Li Bai's "Preface to a Spring Night Banquet in the Peach and Plum Garden."