Chapter 52 Shi Xiangyun

"How interesting. The Rongguo Mansion has recently caught His Majesty's eye, and this woman is also from the Rongguo Mansion." Prince Xian was a slightly plump old man in his fifties, with a sprightly spirit and a white beard.

He ate the coconut, and it tasted alright.

He also tried the jackfruit, and it tasted good.

He personally delivered one of them to the palace and had the imperial chef open the jackfruit and extract the flesh in front of him.

The emperor was indeed attracted by the bright yellow fruit.

After eating it himself, he solemnly bestowed the fruit pulp upon several close ministers.

Yuan Hongqu's caution was correct, because after leaving the palace, Prince Xian sent people to keep an eye on Yuan Hongqu's shop on the small street.

That day, when they went into the shop to ask about coconuts, several of them saw Yuan Hongqu and heard the shop assistant call her "boss".

Therefore, what they are actually targeting is the original red lotus.

I never expected that it would take so long before I saw Yuan Hongqu come to the shop. After Yuan Hongqu left, the shop put up a sign that said it was temporarily closed.

The people from the Prince Xian's Mansion secretly followed Yuan Hongqu all the way to the Rongguo Mansion. Only after seeing her enter the mansion did they return to report.

Yuan Hongqu never expected that she would be targeted. She just thought that since the shop was closed, those who were watching the shop would naturally disperse.

After hearing his subordinate's report, the king waved for the men to leave.

Currently, His Majesty seems to have some appreciation for Jia Lian of the Rongguo Mansion, so it's best not to confront them for now!

Yuan Hongqu returned to the Rongguo Mansion and spent all her free time in her spatial dimension, cultivating seedlings.

Radishes on the first day of the dog days, vegetables on the second.

Yuan Hongqu alone cultivated several types of radishes, including cherry radishes, fruit radishes, white radishes, green radishes, heart-shaped radishes, and red radishes. Once all the radish seedlings had sprouted, Yuan Hongqu gave them to Wu Tian to plant on his farm.

When the radishes grew to a height of more than a foot, the second batch of seedlings arrived.

This time it's broccoli seedlings.

Radishes are grown in open fields, while broccoli is grown in greenhouses.

After visiting the estate several times, Yuan Hongqu noticed that Wu Tian seemed to manage it better than he did as a shop assistant. So she let go of his responsibilities and allowed him to manage it.

In the Rongguo Mansion, because it was now the hottest time of summer, Daiyu and the others couldn't stand the heat, so the girls' school simply put off a long holiday, saying that it would resume when the weather cooled down after the beginning of autumn.

The clan school where Jia Baoyu attended did not offer such good treatment, and he still had to go to school every day with great difficulty.

The first thing they did upon returning was to seek refuge under the bougainvillea vines in Rongyue Courtyard, saying that this was the only cool spot in the entire household.

Of the ginseng plants that Jia Baoyu planted, five are still alive thanks to his persistent efforts.

These five trees are the same five that were planted under the bougainvillea in Rongyueyuan.

Jia Baoyu would come to Rongyue Courtyard three or four times a day, partly to cool off and partly to observe the ginseng seedlings nearby.

Because of the hot weather, Daiyu was too lazy to move around, and spent her days reading, writing, and playing with the cat in her room.

The old lady eventually gave the Persian cat in Rongqing Hall to Daiyu.

As soon as it was delivered, Daiyu pestered Yuan Hongqu to make cat treats, cat trees, and toys for the cat.

Because she had already done it once in Yangzhou, Daiyu was very experienced. This time, Yuan Hongqu only helped her get started, and she, along with Yingchun and the other two, finished it in just two days.

Yuan Hongqu stared at the cat's nest made of soft gauze, her heart bleeding.

That kind of good material is used to make a cat's nest.

Because Daiyu said that the weather was hot now, she was afraid that if she used thick material to make a nest for the cat, it would make the cat too hot.

Since her granddaughter had spoken, Old Madam Shi immediately ordered Wang Xifeng to open the storeroom and take out the lightest and most comfortable fabric for Daiyu to use.

Daiyu immediately chose this soft gauze.

Yuan Hongqu didn't remind Daiyu that even if the coolest fabric was used, the cat still had fur, and she couldn't just shave it off because it was hot.

In the afternoon, ice blocks were placed in the corners of the room, and a maidservant was fanning the ice basins. A cool breeze wafted out through the ice blocks, making the room much cooler.

The jade mat was laid out on the ground. The four girls and Baoyu, a total of five people, each guarded a spot, each with a cat toy in hand. When the cat came to their side, they would tease it and finally compete to see who could get the cat to their side the most times.

The kitten moved with graceful steps, taking a few steps here and a few steps there, but it didn't approach any of them.

The group wasn't in a hurry. They gently waved the cat toy in their hands, keeping quiet so as not to make a sound and startle the cat.

"Hahahaha..." A sudden burst of laughter came from the doorway. The cat seemed to be startled, arched its back, and then jumped into Daiyu's arms. Daiyu threw down the cat toy, hugged the kitten in her arms, and gently stroked and comforted it.

"Brother Ai, I didn't believe it at first, but you're actually here teasing the cat?" A little girl in a bright red dress walked in with a smile.

"Xiangyun is here. It's been a while since I've seen you. How have you been?"

Baoyu stood up, and the others followed suit, all greeting Shi Xiangyun.

Daiyu was the last to stand up because she was holding the cat. Xueyan helped her up, took the cat, and put it in the cat room.

Daiyu straightened her clothes before coming over to meet her new sister.

The two got to know each other. Daiyu saw that Xiangyun had a charming and carefree personality and liked her a little. She could not be so carefree.

But that doesn't stop her from spending more time with Xiangyun; maybe she can pick up a little something from her too!

"Sister Yun, it's been a few months since you last came to our house. Are you angry with us?" Xi Chun was young, so she felt that Xiang Yun hadn't come to play at her house for several months. It must be because her family had offended her that Xiang Yun didn't want to come.

“Sister, that’s not true. I’ve been going back to my hometown with my uncle to pay respects to our ancestors for the past few months. The round trip, plus what I did there, has taken several months,” Shi Xiangyun quickly said.

"Sister Yun, we've done so many interesting things these past few months! When the sun goes down, let Second Brother take us to see the ginseng. We've also planted cherry tomatoes, which are the Linglong fruit that everyone in the capital is after right now. Let's go pick some together later!" Xi Chun said, pulling Shi Xiangyun along like she was showing off a treasure.

Daiyu was somewhat envious of such sisterly affection. Although she got along well with the three sisters, it was only for a short time, and ultimately it couldn't compare to their relationship with Xiangyun.

Yuan Hongqu saw this clearly from the side. Although Xiangyun would become Daiyu's best friend in the future, at this moment they were still just two children who had just met.

"Daiyu, what kind of tea and snacks would you like to serve to our new friends? Would you like to try some milk ice cream?"