Drive to the Tang Dynasty, where supplies are refreshed daily!

Xiao Ran said, "How about we make a little rabbit-shaped qingtuan for Sizi?"

The little princess nodded quickly, "Okay~"

Xiao Ran tried to make a rabbit-shaped qingtuan. Although it was clearly a rabbit, the rabbit's ears were of different lengths, making it quite ugly.

Li Lizhi smiled as she looked at Xiao Ran's rabbit-shaped green rice dumplings.

"I'll do it."

Li Lizhi's hands were indeed much more skillful than Xiao Ran's; in no time, she had made a rabbit-shaped qingtuan.

Xiao Ran's action certainly sparked everyone's imagination.

Princess Yuzhang even shaped the qingtuan into small flower shapes. Although the shapes were not standard, they were quite innovative.

Yan Yao even made a qingtuan that was much larger than a normal qingtuan with the little princess. Of course, the filling inside was also unusually plentiful, and it almost couldn't be contained.

Just as everyone was making qingtuan, Cheng Chumo, Li Ke, and Qin Huaidao returned from outside. Seeing everyone making qingtuan, they couldn't help but join in.

Cheng Chumo picked up a small piece of dough, kneaded it a few times, and then shaped it into a large dumpling. He filled it with sesame filling and said with a smile, "I'll make a big one; this one will be enough for me!"

Qin Huaidao teased him from the side, "If you want one, it will be enough for you. I'm afraid you'll have to make one as big as your head."

Li Ke chuckled softly to the side, saying nothing, and instead followed Xiao Ran to learn how to make qingtuan.

Before they knew it, more than an hour had passed, and everyone had finally made all the dough into green rice dumplings.

The plate was filled with all kinds of green rice dumplings, some round, some flower-shaped, some rabbit-shaped, and some large dumplings. Although they looked different, they were all green and gave off a faint fragrance of mugwort, which looked very appetizing.

"Alright, let's put the qingtuan in the steamer." Xiao Ran instructed the servants to take the qingtuan to the kitchen and put them in the steamer.

The servants immediately sprang into action, arranging the qingtuan one by one and starting to steam them.

The little ones were all gathered around the kitchen doorway, tiptoeing to peek inside. The little princess would ask every now and then, "Little Nang-jun~ Is it okay to go now~"

"Almost there, just a quarter of an hour more." Xiao Ran reassured them with a smile, and handed each child a piece of osmanthus cake.

"Have some pastries to fill your stomachs first." The little ones took the osmanthus cakes and ate them in small bites, but their eyes were still fixed on the direction of the steamer, full of anticipation.

Now, under the little princess's influence, these little ones all have the potential to become foodies.

Before long, a rich aroma of mugwort wafted from the steamer, even stronger than before, mixed with the soft and sticky fragrance of glutinous rice and the sweet aroma of red bean paste and sesame, filling the entire courtyard with fragrance.

A few minutes later, the servants brought the steamer down. The moment the lid was opened, a fragrant aroma wafted out. The steamed green rice dumplings were plump and glossy, looking incredibly tempting.

"It smells so good!" The little princess couldn't help but sniff, her eyes sparkling.

The servants placed the green rice dumplings on plates and brought them to the table under the eaves. They even let them cool for a while so that the little ones wouldn't burn their mouths if they ate them.

Xiao Ran picked up a cooled green rice dumpling and handed it to Empress Zhangsun.

"Madam, try it."

Empress Zhangsun took the bite and nodded.

"It's really good. It's sweet but not cloying, and it has a fresh, herbal aroma."

Several little ones gathered around the plate, picking out the green rice dumplings they had made themselves.

"This little bunny~" The little princess picked up the little bunny-shaped green rice dumpling that Xiao Ran had made, looked at it in her palm, and was reluctant to eat it.

Cheng Chumo also successfully ate the large green rice dumpling he made himself. While other people's green rice dumplings were served in several pieces on one plate, his single one took up an entire plate.

"Hehe, it has to be this big to feel satisfying to eat."

The larger green rice dumpling that the little princess and Yan Yao made was also shared between the two of them.

Because they are so big, after you finish eating the skin, there is still a lot of filling left. It's more like eating red bean paste than eating qingtuan.

Fortunately, neither of the two little ones cared; they only knew that it tasted good.

The Cold Food Festival was just one day away, and Xiao Ran could only wait until after Qingming Festival to make the various kinds of chicken for the little princess, which he had promised to do.

During the Qingming Festival, people pay respects to their ancestors, while during the Hanshi Festival, people begin preparing offerings for these ancestral worship rites.

Since they couldn't cook these past two days, Xiao Ran continued to feed the little ones green rice dumplings.

Fortunately, the qingtuan (a type of glutinous rice dumpling) is sweet, and the little ones like to eat it, but it's different for the children in the village.

The little princesses had just finished a class and were resting when a group of children in the classroom started discussing what they would eat for lunch.

One of the children sighed like a little adult.

"Sigh, what else can we eat? It's just hard, dry flatbread. We can't even get hot soup."

This statement was agreed upon by most people.

Zhang Jinnian also sighed. It had nothing to do with whether the family was rich or not. Even if they were rich, the most they could eat was pastries. After all, they couldn't cook, and the pastries were pre-made, so they were dry and hard.

But that's still better than dry biscuits; at least pastries have some sweetness.

A group of children are mourning the loss of their delicious food. After all, conditions are better now, and they eat much better than before, but now they can't eat it anymore.

It is difficult to go from luxury to frugality.

As they talked, the children started asking about the little princess and her friends.

Everyone knew that Xiao Ran's family must be rich, and the children were also curious about whether the food at Xiao Ran's family was any different from what they ate.

So he asked, "Sizi, Third Sister, what do you eat at home?"

The little princess, thinking about the green rice dumplings she had this morning, said, "Seven green rice dumplings~"

Third Sister nodded, "Yes, eating qingtuan is so delicious, it tastes sweet."

The children had never heard of qingtuan before, let alone knew what it was.

The little princess, always very generous, seeing their curious expressions, said, "I'll give you seven ducks~"

With a large family, we didn't make many qingtuan at first. It was after we ate qingtuan at noon that we thought the Cold Food Festival was coming soon, so the servants went to pick mugwort and sage, and then came back and made a lot of qingtuan.

Anyway, this stuff is delicious, so we can eat it as a snack later. It's okay to make more than we need.

Although the children in the village were still young, they were all very sensible. They knew it was unreasonable to ask for food at someone else's house, so they all quickly waved their hands in refusal.

The little princess didn't know why they didn't want to go, and looked at Princess Chengyang with a puzzled expression.

Having grown up in the village, Third Sister naturally knew what was going on, so she didn't say much, only saying, "Class is about to start, let's begin."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Sun Simiao walked in.

Time flies, and it's Qingming Festival, the time to pay respects to our ancestors.

The little princesses and the others naturally don't need to go to school these two days either.

Breakfast was still qingtuan (a type of glutinous rice dumpling). The little princess held one and ate it in small bites. The other children looked at the qingtuan, sighed in unison, and then began to eat. Seeing their gloomy faces, Xiao Ran smiled and said, "What's wrong? Didn't you like eating them before?"

Princess Gaoyang had a bitter face.

"Although qingtuan is delicious, you can't eat it every day."

Let alone these little guys, even Cheng Chumo and the others have lost their appetite for qingtuan now.

Actually, it's because there are so many delicious foods here in Xiao Ran's place. Some things that don't exist in the Tang Dynasty, but Xiao Ran's carriage has them, so he can make even more delicious dishes, like braised pork.

The pork in Xiao Ran's carriage is definitely better than that in the Tang Dynasty. You probably can't make braised pork with pork from the Tang Dynasty, since black pork is tough and has a fishy smell.

So now everyone's suddenly started eating qingtuan (green rice dumplings) every day, and we've been eating them for three days in a row, so we're starting to lose our appetite.

Only the little princess continued to happily eat the green rice dumplings.

Xiao Ran smiled and reassured him, "It'll be over soon, it'll be fine after today."

Seeing that the children weren't very interested, Xiao Ran said, "How about this, I'll tell you a story. Do you know why we can't light fires during the Cold Food Festival?"

The little ones instantly forgot about the green rice dumplings and looked over with curiosity.

Xiao Ran said, "Legend has it that during the Spring and Autumn Period, when Duke Wen of Jin, Chong'er, was in exile, Jie Zitui followed him all the way, even cutting off a piece of his own flesh to serve his lord. After Chong'er ascended the throne, he wanted to reward Jie Zitui, but Jie Zitui took his mother and went into seclusion in Mianshan Mountain."

"Duke Wen of Jin wanted to force him out, so he ordered the mountain to be burned. Unexpectedly, Jie Zitui and his mother died embracing a tree. Duke Wen of Jin was extremely saddened and ordered that fire be forbidden and cold food be eaten on the anniversary of Jie Zitui's death to commemorate him."

The little princess was too young to fully understand the story, but the little princesses from Chengyang and the others did.

"Jie Zitui is so pitiful," said the little princess of Chengyang.

The other children nodded in agreement, while Di Renjie pondered for a moment, looking troubled.

Seeing this, Xiao Ran asked, "What's wrong? What are you thinking about?"

Di Renjie was silent for a while, then said, "Jie Zitui was so good to Duke Wen of Jin. Duke Wen wanted to reward him, but he refused and went to live in seclusion in the mountains. But why did Duke Wen burn the mountain and kill Jie Zitui?"

Xiao Ran said, "Duke Wen of Jin wanted to force Jie Zi to step forward so that he could reward him."

To be honest, Xiao Ran also thought Duke Wen of Jin was quite crazy. If someone has done you a favor, you should repay them. If they don't accept it, then you should just give them some money or something else to ensure their livelihood.

In the end, even though the person had already gone into seclusion, they still set fire to the mountain to force him down, and in the end burned him to death, saying they wanted to commemorate him. What's the point of that?
Xiao Ran even seriously suspected that Duke Wen of Jin originally wanted to kill Jie Zitui, perhaps because he was afraid that Jie Zitui would repay the favor later.

However, there was no need to tell the little ones about these things. After all, Xiao Ran was just speculating and trying to make the matter more reasonable. After all, the actions of Duke Wen of Jin were something that ordinary people couldn't have imagined.

After telling this little story, the little ones ate two green rice dumplings to fill their stomachs.

Just then, the crisp sound of a wooden clapper came from down the mountain, mixed with the shouts of village children: "Ancestor worship time—every household prepares cold food—"

The sound was so loud that Xiao Ran and the others could hear it even in the courtyard.

The little princess looked curiously toward the doorway.

"Little Princess~ Let's go out and see what's going on~" The little princess wanted to go out and see what was happening.

The other kids also looked at Xiao Ran with curiosity.

Xiao Ran said, "Today is Qingming Festival, and the village should be holding a ceremony to pay respects to their ancestors."

Actually, Di Renjie should have gone back to pay respects to his ancestors. Cheng Chumo and Qin Huaidao went back last night, but no one came to pick up Di Renjie. Nobody knows what's going on.

As for Yan Yao, she is a girl and does not need to go back to worship her ancestors.

The noise outside was getting louder and louder, and the little ones were getting restless.

“Little Nangjun~ let’s go check it out~” the little princess said.

Xiao Ran really didn't know if this was a good idea, since the other party was paying respects to their ancestors, so what was the point of them going along?

However, it's definitely not allowed for people with different surnames to enter the ancestral hall, but it should be fine to look around the surrounding area.

After thinking it over, Xiao Ran took the little ones down the mountain, along with Li Lizhi and the others.

Of course, they certainly wouldn't go forward; ancestor worship is a big event, so they'd just take a look from afar.

Moreover, given their status, it's impossible for the little princess and her companions to visit someone else's ancestral hall to pay respects to their ancestors.

After Xiao Ran and the others descended the mountain, they saw a large crowd gathering in the distance. The little princess was curious and wanted to walk forward, but Xiao Ran quickly pulled her back.

“Listen to me, Sizi. We’ll just stay here and look around. We mustn’t go any further in.”

Seeing that Xiao Ran was serious, the little princess nodded obediently and stood still.

Inside the ancestral hall, the ancestral worship ceremony officially began, and Xiao Ran and the others could hear their great-grandfather reciting the sacrificial text from afar.

After the eulogy was read, the clansmen offered incense and knelt in worship according to their seniority.

After the kneeling and worshiping were finished, the cold food was distributed.

These were all offered to our ancestors, who said that eating them would bring good health and peace.

The serious part was over, and the atmosphere relaxed considerably afterwards.

Zhang Mingde had good eyesight; he saw Xiao Ran and the others approaching before even entering the ancestral hall.

But of course he couldn't interrupt this important ancestral worship ceremony.

But now that it was over, Zhang Mingde walked towards Xiao Ran.

"Xiao Langjun."

Xiao Ran nodded, "Muramasa."

Then, Xiao Ran smiled somewhat embarrassedly, "Sizi and the others were curious about what was happening down the mountain, so I brought them here to take a look. I don't think I've broken any taboos, have I?"

Zhang Mingde shook his head. "There's no need for such formalities. Don't worry, young master. The ancestral worship ceremony is over now, and the ancestral hall is closed. You can take them there to play as you please."

The ancestral hall is filled with offerings, including not only various pastries and staple foods, but also fruits.

Fruit is not common, so almost all the children in the village are here now, waiting to get their share of the fruit.

The little princess also saw her friends in the village and wanted to go over and play, but remembering that Xiao Ran had stopped her earlier, she didn't dare to move.

Seeing this, Xiao Ran smiled and said, "Go have some fun."

The little princess and her friends then ran away.

Li Lizhi also went to see Zhang Jinhe.

Zhang Jinhe didn't go into the ancestral hall during the ancestral worship ceremony, but he came out now.

"Jinniang." Li Lizhi greeted Zhang Jinhe, and only then did Zhang Jinhe notice Li Lizhi.

She smiled and waved to Li Lizhi, "Fifth Sister, come quickly, I'll help you plant willow branches." (End of Chapter)