On this day, the cook of Mingxiu Garden went out through the back door to buy the freshest fruits and vegetables.

Fang Mingzhu has been a vegetarian since she started practicing Buddhism. After arriving in Hangzhou, she ate extremely refined food every day, using only the finest parts of fruits and vegetables.

A simple plate of stir-fried bamboo shoots, using only the tenderest part the size of a fingertip, requires dozens of bamboo shoots.

Fang Mingzhu considered herself noble, and she only ate the most exquisite parts of food, while forbidding her servants from sharing the rest and discarding them directly, otherwise it would be considered a defilement of her spiritual practice.

As a result, Mingxiuyuan uses a large quantity of ingredients every day, and they must be selected for their attractive colors.

No matter how delicious the food is, if the color of the food is not appealing, it will not meet Fang Mingzhu's eyes.

The cook's daily shopping became a time-consuming and laborious task for Mingxiu Garden.

Soon, many vendors at the morning market learned that the residents of Mingxiuyuan had a high daily demand, and some even offered to deliver vegetables to their door.

This saved the cook a lot of trouble.

After the cooks had selected many ingredients from the vendor, they suddenly saw a vendor carrying fresh lotus pods walking by.

"These lotus pods are really fresh; we can make lotus pod buns for the Princess!"

"A cook exclaimed in delight."

She immediately bought all the lotus pods in the vendor's bamboo basket and generously gave him a string of cash.

The vendor walked away happily.

Unexpectedly, today, following the instructions of a young lady, he traveled a long way to the back gate of Mingxiu Garden, and sold out all the goods at once, even earning a string of cash.

At noon, Fang Mingzhu got up looking listless and kicked Liu Qiao'er, who was lying under the bed, away: "I told you to serve me personally, and this is how lazy you are?"

After Xiao Yuan brought Liu Qiao'er here yesterday, Fang Mingzhu ordered her to kneel on the floor in front of the bed until this morning. Her whole body felt like it was falling apart. When she was kicked like this, she fell backward and her head hit the ground hard. She grimaced in pain but dared not make a sound.

She finally understood Xiao Yuan's method of punishment for her.

He told Cui that he wouldn't do anything to her, but then he sent her to Princess Fang.

I never imagined that this seemingly sickly princess would be such a vicious person.

Fang Mingzhu got out of bed and said to Liu Qiao'er with a look of disgust, "You still dare to talk back to me? Get out of here and kneel in the courtyard!"

Liu Qiao'er was on the verge of tears and couldn't even get up. She was immediately dragged out of the courtyard by two old women.

The sun was blazing, and she hadn't eaten or drunk anything. Kneeling on the ground, enduring the scorching sun, she soon fainted.

Fang Mingzhu, however, remained unfazed and said, "How can someone so delicate serve me?"

"Granny Liu, then arrange more tasks for her. She must get up at 3 AM and rest only at midnight. She cannot be given any easy work, and she can only eat one meal a day. This will toughen her up and temper her mind. Otherwise, wouldn't it be a waste of the Prince's good intentions?"

Madam Liu shuddered slightly, sighed inwardly, and gave the order.

Liu Qiao'er was woken up by a bucket of well water, and before she could even cry out, she was dragged to work.

Fang Mingzhu felt slightly better.

At that moment, lunch was delivered.

She glanced over and saw a plate of fresh, tender food.

Following her gaze, Madam Liu hurriedly said, "These are lotus pods that the cook just bought today. She specially made lotus pod buns for the Princess. Please try them."

As he spoke, he carefully picked up a piece with his gold chopsticks and handed it to Fang Mingzhu.

The lotus seedpod is hollowed out, filled with tender tofu and various sauces, then steamed until cooked. After cooling, the tofu inside is scooped out and eaten directly.

By this time, the tofu was already infused with the delicate fragrance of lotus pods, and it melted in the mouth.

Fang Mingzhu savored the delicious food in her mouth, and her mood improved considerably, so she ate two more.

She didn't notice the incense burning on one side of the hall, its fragrance mingling with the sweet scent of lotus pods and entering her nostrils.

In the evening, Fang Mingzhu ordered someone to summon Liu Qiao'er and made her kneel in the courtyard for another two hours, with people guarding her until midnight before letting her rest.

Fang Mingzhu got into bed and ordered people to burn benzoin incense on both sides of the bed again.

However, she tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep today, feeling uneasy all over.

Soon after, she noticed that her face was itchy and couldn't help but scratch it a few times.

She scratched herself a few more times after a while, but soon her whole body started to itch, making it hard for her to fall asleep.

"Someone come here—"

Fang Mingzhu's scream instantly roused the Mingxiu Garden from its silence.

"I heard that all the doctors and physicians near Xiuyifang were summoned by the people from Mingxiuyuan in the middle of the night..." Xiuchun rushed over early in the morning to secretly report the good news, her excitement barely concealed in her eyes.

Su Xuerong gently tapped her head and whispered, "This matter must not be made public."

“I know,” Xiuchun said, her eyebrows dancing with excitement. “Although I didn’t see the princess covered in red, swollen, and itchy marks, I heard from those gossiping old ladies that she looked just like a pig!”

She couldn't help but ask, "My lady, how did you manage to make her whole body swollen and red?"

Su Xuerong glanced at her: "Since she is the Princess Consort of Fenyang, her status and position are what they are. The incense she uses on a daily basis must contain the expensive fragrance musk. I just mixed a few other fragrances into the lotus seedpod. Once mixed with musk, it will cause her to develop dampness."

Although musk has become a rare commodity in recent years, it is still kept in the homes of imperial relatives and nobles, and Fang Mingzhu will surely use it.

Otherwise, how could her noble status be demonstrated?

This was what Su Xuerong guessed after hearing Chen Siyi talk about her past words and actions that day.

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