What should one do on a trip to Jiangnan?
Go boating on the lakes, take a spring outing, and admire the plum blossoms.
Or sip tea at a streetside teahouse, leisurely watching spring spread across the river, or sit all day in a little courtyard in the mountains, waiting for new buds to unfurl their green.
Jiao Hongmiao, the Minister of Revenue, gently waved his folding fan, longing in his eyes.
Jiang Yingcheng shook her head and eagerly raised her hand to speak.
Jiang Yanchuan nodded slightly, in an excellent mood as he teased the little girl. "Little Miss Jiang Yingcheng, you have the floor."
"Eat chewy things, eat sweet things, eat round little things!" Excitement brought a faint flush to Jiang Yingcheng's cheeks.
The chewy things were Osmanthus Crystal Cake, the sweet things were Golden Jade Qiongyе Cake, and the round little things were the Little Glutinous Rice Balls so popular in Jiangnan. Their glutinous rice wrappers enclosed thick red bean paste; they were simmered in red bean soup, left to cool, then sprinkled with a pretty layer of tiny flower petals.
Jiang Yingcheng had seen them only once in a picture book, but she had remembered them ever since.
"I want to eat them!"
Her voice rang with conviction, her gaze unwavering.
She, Jiang Niohuru Yingcheng-the been-to-Jiangnan edition-would absolutely get to eat those little treats she had been craving for so long today!
No one present dared object, except-
"In that case, why not combine the two?" Ying Sinan waved his folding fan, finally managing to pose as an elegant gentleman suited to the occasion. "I know an excellent destination where everyone's wishes can be fulfilled."
Jiang Yingcheng was bursting with enthusiasm. "Where?!"
The assembled officials were on their guard. "Where??"
Although they had only spent a few