At 5:45 AM, morning mist still clung to the brass door knockers of the General's Mansion. Old Zhou was rubbing flour off his apron as he pulled open the heavy doors, only to gasp in surprise. Neatly arranged on the bluestone path were twenty-seven bamboo baskets. The baskets in the front row were topped with cucumbers still beaded with morning dew, which dripped down onto the characters "General's Mansion," catching the shimmering morning light. A small wooden sign was stuck into the center basket of jujube rice cakes; the ink, blurred by the dew, was scrawled with the words: "For the General and the Princess—eat while hot."
"They're at it again?" Jiang Wan leaned against the doorframe and chuckled. As her moon-white dress brushed against the threshold, it stirred a faint, elusive scent of osmanthus. Lu Jingyuan was already squatting by the baskets. He brushed a crumb of jujube from a cake with his fingertip, then suddenly pinched a piece and fed it to her. "Taste this. There’s more crushed walnut than yesterday."
She nibbled the cake and raised an eyebrow. "You’ve become quite accustomed to this, haven't you?"
Chapter 284