The moment Qin Lu nodded, the smile on Gu Yanshu's face grew even brighter.
Once Qin Lu had washed his hands, Gu Yanshu pulled him close, placed a dumpling wrapper in his palm, and said:
"Your Highness, let me teach you. First, lay the wrapper flat on your palm, then put in a filling about the size of a coin. Dip your finger in water and moisten the edge of the wrapper…"
Gu Yanshu guided Qin Lu's hands as he worked with the dough, bringing them extremely close.
Qin Lu could even feel the warm breath from Gu Yanshu's words, and with a slight lowering of his eyes, he could see Gu Yanshu's thick, long eyelashes.
Watching Gu Yanshu's slender, skilled fingers swiftly shape the dumpling in his palm, Qin Lu found himself momentarily distracted.
"Now pinch it like this—and one dumpling is done!"
By the time Qin Lu regained focus, Gu Yanshu had already withdrawn his fingers, leaving behind a plump, neatly wrapped dumpling in Qin Lu's hand.
"Did Your Highness learn how?"
Seeing Qin Lu silently staring down at the dumpling, Gu Yanshu couldn't help but ask.
Qin Lu's attention had been entirely on Gu Yanshu; he hadn't paid any attention to the steps. How could he have learned?
Though Qin Lu had always been clever—even if less literary than the Fourth Prince—it was rare for him to be taught something and not grasp it at all.
He felt somewhat at a loss: "It seems… not really."
"That's alright. Even Zhige and the others took quite a while to learn. Let me teach you again."
Gu Yanshu wasn't surprised at all by this answer. He placed another dumpling wrapper in Qin Lu's palm.
Having learned from his earlier embarrassment, Qin Lu focused intently this time, watching Gu Yanshu's movements closely.
In no time, another round, well-shaped dumpling sat finished in Qin Lu's hand.
"Why doesn't Your Highness try wrapping one on your own now?"
"Alright."
Qin Lu nodded slightly and imitated Gu Yanshu's actions: he picked up a wrapper, placed it in his palm, added a coin-sized portion of filling, dipped a chopstick in water to moisten the edges, and began folding the wrapper inward…
He had watched carefully and remembered all the steps, but he never expected that such seemingly simple actions would be harder than they looked.
The initial steps went fine, but when it came to pinching the edges together, Qin Lu felt he hadn't used much force, yet the wrapper tore in his hands.
Looking at the split dumpling, before he could react, he heard Gu Yanshu's light scold:
"Oh no… Your Highness, this is dough—be gentler!"
Gu Yanshu reached over, took the damaged dumpling from Qin Lu's hand, picked up another wrapper, and began repairing it.
Before Qin Lu could even process what was happening, he saw Gu Yanshu's fingers nimbly reshape the torn dumpling—even adding a decorative touch. On closer look, it resembled a sitting… deer?
Noticing this, Qin Lu averted his gaze as if burned.
Gu Yanshu, however, looked pleased at the little deer in his palm and nodded:
Who would have thought a skill learned in his past life would come in handy here!
During ten years in the apocalypse, making dumplings alone every New Year's Eve had eventually felt monotonous.
One year, he'd by chance found a book on decorative dough shaping in his study and decided to learn a few designs.
Usually, he made rabbits or goldfish—this was his first time shaping a deer, and it had turned out rather well.
After admiring it for a moment, he placed the little deer on a plate on the table.
When he looked up, he noticed that the tips of Qin Lu's ears had once again turned faintly pink.
Suppressing a smile, Gu Yanshu pretended not to see and placed another wrapper in Qin Lu's hand:
"Would Your Highness like to try again?"
"Mm."
Qin Lu responded softly and repeated the steps.
As he reached for the filling, his eyes inadvertently brushed over the little deer on the plate, causing his movements to hesitate slightly.
Determined not to tear another wrapper and risk Gu Yanshu crafting another deer, Qin Lu proceeded with extreme care.
The first time, he didn't even fully seal the dumpling. After it came apart in his hand, he tried again and managed to close it.
But once finished, he realized that the dumpling he'd made was somewhat… ugly?
He had followed Gu Yanshu's instructions step by step, yet Gu Yanshu's dumplings were thin-skinned, generously filled, and charmingly plump.
The one he made, although also well-filled, just looked awkward.
Placed next to Gu Yanshu's dumplings, the contrast was instantly clear.
Compared to Gu Yanshu's neat creations, Qin Lu's could only be described as misshapen.
His expression darkened, and he reached to remove his dumpling from the plate.
But just as he moved, Gu Yanshu, sensing his intention, stopped him:
"Your Highness has done very well. The first dumpling I ever made was worse than this."
Qin Lu paused, his lips pressing together slightly as if doubtful:
"Really?"
"Of course. Have I ever lied to you?"
Gu Yanshu nodded earnestly, his expression completely sincere.
Only then did Qin Lu relax. Though still unsatisfied with his lopsided dumpling, he no longer felt the urge to destroy the evidence.
Seizing the moment, Gu Yanshu placed another wrapper in his hand:
"With a bit more practice, Your Highness will make much prettier dumplings."
This time, Qin Lu didn't reply, silently picking up more filling—clearly determined to practice until he could make dumplings as lovely as his Consort's.
Watching the serious, focused expression on Prince Li's face as he wrapped dumplings, Gu Yanshu smiled to himself:
Some things—like the fact that he first made dumplings when he was just six years old—were better kept from his husband.
It had to be said that clever people learn everything faster than others.
After just three or four dumplings, Qin Lu's creations began to look quite presentable.
Though still not as perfect as Gu Yanshu's, they were noticeably better than those made by Baizhu and the others.
Seeing that Qin Lu had gotten the hang of it, Gu Yanshu picked up another dumpling wrapper and continued wrapping.
Soon enough, even Baizhu and the other two began to produce decent-looking dumplings.
At one point, while Qin Lu wasn't paying attention, Gu Yanshu sneakily shaped several more little deer dumplings.
It was only when he had made quite a few that Qin Lu finally noticed, fixing him with a stunned look that made Gu Yanshu stop this "risky operation."
With five people working together, efficiency improved greatly. In about the time it takes an incense stick to burn, only one dumpling wrapper remained on the table.
Just as Qin Lu reached for it, Gu Yanshu stopped him:
"Your Highness, let me handle this one."
As Qin Lu watched curiously, Gu Yanshu placed the filling in the center of the wrapper but didn't seal it. Instead, he turned to Baizhu:
"Where's that copper coin I asked you to clean earlier?"
"Right here, Consort."
Baizhu quickly brought over a small dish holding a single copper coin.
Gu Yanshu took the coin and pressed it into the filling of the dumpling:
"The coin inside this dumpling is called a 'cai tou'—a token of luck. It's said that whoever eats it will have a prosperous and smooth year ahead."
Qin Lu now understood, but another question arose:
"If that's the case, why only put one?"
Wouldn't it be better to make more such dumplings if they symbolize good fortune?
"Naturally, because one shouldn't be too greedy," Gu Yanshu replied with a slight smile, placing the coin-filled dumpling on the plate.
"Besides, rarity adds value. If there were too many, the coin wouldn't be special anymore. How else would we highlight the luck of the person who finds it?"
"My Consort speaks wisely," Qin Lu nodded, then glanced meaningfully at Xingren.
If eating the coin promised wealth and smooth sailing in the coming year, then it rightly belonged in his Consort's bowl.
Understanding the look, Xingren wasn't surprised at all by the order:
After all, since the wedding, the Prince had increasingly become the kind of person he once called "softened by love and shortened in ambition."
He often bent rules for his Consort—swapping a dumpling was hardly out of character.
As it was almost time for the evening meal, Xingren took the dumplings to the kitchen.
The servants wouldn't dare touch the dumplings made by Gu Yanshu and Qin Lu themselves, so those were carefully returned to their table.
Dumplings on New Year's Eve are more about symbolism than quantity, so each bowl contained only seven or eight.
Unlike Qin Lu's bowl, which was filled only with regular dumplings, Gu Yanshu's bowl held just two ordinary ones—the rest were all little deer he had shaped.
Qin Lu looked up just in time to see Gu Yanshu placing one of the deer dumplings into his mouth.
The sight made Qin Lu's brow twitch. He quickly picked up a dumpling and took a bite.
But as soon as he broke the skin, he noticed an unusual hardness between his teeth.
Spitting it out, he found the copper coin Gu Yanshu had hidden inside.
Qin Lu was slightly surprised:
Wasn't this dumpling supposed to be in his Consort's bowl?
Before he could figure it out, he heard his Consort's cheerful blessing:
"It seems Your Highness is the luckiest in our household. Since you found the coin, you're sure to have a smooth and peaceful year ahead."
Meeting Gu Yanshu's smiling eyes, Qin Lu recalled seeing him subtly switching dumplings between their bowls earlier. Suddenly, he understood.
Without hesitation, he held the remaining half of the dumpling to Gu Yanshu's lips:
"My Consort will also have a smooth and peaceful year ahead."
Gu Yanshu was momentarily startled, then opened his mouth and ate the half-dumpling:
"Whatever Your Highness says is right."