Yang Zixuan left with a flourish after a free meal,
clutching a bunch of green jade grapes gifted by Yang Hong.
These were Grade 1 low-tier spiritual plant grapes.
Initially, Yang Hong had planned to juice them like watermelons,
allowing Yang Zixuan to drink them slowly,
but plans changed, and he had to alter his approach.
Because they were spiritual plants, Yang Hong dared not give too many,
fearing unnecessary trouble.
He also informed Yang Zixuan that these were good things.
With just a mention of "good things," Yang Zixuan knew the grapes were extraordinary
and carefully stowed them away.
"This little girl, she seems muddled but is actually sharp,"
Yang Hong mused. He wasn't worried about Yang Zixuan exposing the secret of the green jade grapes;
given her possessive nature, no one would get any of her grapes.
However, the grapes in his small courtyard might be exposed.
Besides the six spies from the former emperor, the former emperor himself would also appear
at irregular intervals. If these grapes were noticed, anyone would realize something was amiss.
Even when ripe, green jade grapes remained greenish, unlike common red grapes,
appearing as if they were still immature.
But after washing off the white frost from the surface, these grapes would reveal
themselves to be as crystal clear as jade,
exceedingly dazzling and extraordinary.
A single glance would be enough for anyone to recognize the unusual nature of the green jade grapes.
Furthermore, green jade grapes were not only sweet and slightly sour, making them delicious,
but more importantly, after consuming even one grape, a faint, warm, and nourishing current would flow out.
Anyone who had cultivated would notice this.
Therefore, to avoid detection, these green jade grapes had to be dealt with quickly.
As October arrived, these once unremarkable green jade grapes began to emit a faint fruity fragrance,
which would undoubtedly become more pronounced in the coming days.
"These grapes should be close to ripening but not fully mature. It's a shame to pick them now,
but I can continue planting and harvesting, so I don't fear waste."
No sooner said than done.
Yang Hong asked the eunuchs to fetch a ladder and personally began harvesting.
After evolving into spiritual plants, the grape yield had plummeted.
Each of the eight Grade 1 low-tier green jade grapevines produced only six bunches,
with each bunch containing just over forty grapes.
Moreover, each grape was only the size of a little finger's tip, appearing malnourished.
It was precisely because of this that the green jade grapes had gone unnoticed for so long.
Even Concubine Zhou, who resided in the adjacent courtyard of the former "Wang Wen Pavilion,"
had not discovered anything unusual.
"Old Li, go find me some large wine jars;
Old Liu, bring me some yeast;
Old Wang, find me a barrel of the finest spring water;
And the three wet nurses, bring me three jars of strong liquor."
After harvesting, Yang Hong deliberately did not wash off the white frost from the green jade grapes,
displaying them openly.
Only after several elderly eunuchs and palace maids had seen and recognized them
did he send them to prepare the winemaking tools.
He intended to lay everything out in the open, without concealment,
yet no one would be able to discover the trick.
Once the six spies had departed, Yang Hong, at his fastest speed,
picked the grapes one by one and crushed them.
"Hiss— I miscalculated slightly. The crushed grapes are emitting a special spiritual energy."
A faint fruit aroma carrying a spiritually invigorating essence that soothed the mind and body,
slowly diffused. The spiritual energy was not dense but remarkably clear and distinct.
"Can my true qi seal it?"
Yang Hong tentatively released his qi, covering the plate of grapes.
"Hmm— it actually has some effect."
The spiritual energy emanating from the grapes, enveloped by true qi, was indeed contained.
Although a small amount still seeped out, it was negligible.
He maintained his true qi with one hand while quickly crushing all the grapes with the other,
and when the old eunuchs returned, he took the yeast and wine jars, pouring the crushed grapes into them.
"Old Li, quickly prepare the mud seal for me; I need it."
"Yes!"
Eunuch Old Li glanced at the grape residue being poured into the wine jar,
a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes.
He had been helping Yang Hong construct the winery and had also delved into winemaking knowledge.
In his opinion, Yang Hong's current actions resembled making vinegar, not wine.
Winemaking wasn't done this way.
Nevertheless, he scurried off to fashion the mud seal.
Originally, Yang Hong intended to use the methods of artisanal wine-making from his past life,
as recipes for homemade wine were abundant online.
However, with the current circumstances, he had to resort to sealing and fermenting directly,
and then use his true qi to agitate the fermentation.
The mud seal was soon ready.
After sealing it, Yang Hong carefully sensed and confirmed that no spiritual energy was leaking,
and nodded with satisfaction.
At this moment, the three wet nurses arrived with guards, carrying three large jars of wine.
These were three massive wine vats, each holding 200 jin, not the smaller ten-jin jars Yang Hong had envisioned.
Looking at the three huge wine vats, Yang Hong was stunned.
"Wet Nurse— is this wine... a bit too much?"
"Reporting to Your Highness the Sixth Prince, this is the former emperor's instruction.
He said to send more wine over, lest it cause trouble later."
The head wet nurse, Madam Zhang, replied, looking somewhat bewildered herself.
"Alas— then let's move them into the winery. Also, Old Wang and the others,
bring all the medicinal herbs purchased earlier into the winery."
Seeing this situation, Yang Hong understood that Yang Zhong wanted Yang Hong to get the winery operational.
He placed the sealed jar of green jade grapes in his room,
and then, accompanied by Xiao Cao, brought a pile of vegetables to the winery.
"Sixth Prince, are you starting to make wine?"
Seeing the eunuchs and wet nurses coming and going, Concubine Zhou also entered the winery curiously.
"Yes— you've come at just the right time. Aren't you a first-class master?
Mash these radishes and carrots into pulp, then press out the juice."
Seeing Concubine Zhou enter, Yang Hong's eyes lit up.
He had just been thinking of finding some guards; since Concubine Zhou was here,
she could be the laborer.
"I... I..."
"Here, the tools are all ready."
Yang Hong unceremoniously pushed a set of tools towards Concubine Zhou
and then busied himself with other tasks.
"Old Li, don't chop the ginseng; break it by hand, just crack it."
"Old Liu, grind the Polygonum multiflorum into powder, slice the Radix Polygoni Multiflori."
"Old Wang, if the spring water isn't enough, fetch more, a lot more."
"Wet Nurses, find some more wine jars. Fifty 20-jin large jars, fifty 10-jin medium jars,
and a hundred 2-jin small jars."
Yang Hong recalled wine recipes from agricultural books and some from his past life,
deciding to brew them all at once.
The constant arrival of wine jars of various sizes naturally alerted the former emperor, Yang Zhong.
"Little Six, what are you doing? I see you've brought back a lot of wine, and many medicinal herbs."
"Imperial Grandfather, I saw many wine recipes in the books, and I plan to brew them."
Yang Hong did not conceal anything.
"You call this brewing wine? This is infusing liquor!"
Seeing Yang Hong pouring various ingredients into the wine jars one after another,
Yang Zhong was full of questions.
This world also had infused liquors, but none like what Yang Hong was doing.
"Imperial Grandfather, this is brewing wine, not infusing liquor.
Although I'm using ready-made strong liquor as a base, I can truly brew new wines."
"Well then~ be careful, don't waste all those vegetables."
Yang Zhong's only concern was the vegetables. He wasn't concerned about the wine.
With Yang Hong's vegetables, his injuries had stabilized further, and he had hopes of a full recovery.
Naturally, he didn't want Yang Hong to waste them.
"Imperial Grandfather, rest assured, these wines will have unexpected effects. Just you wait and see."
Yang Hong said confidently.