Time passed quickly and it was the tenth day of September, the birthday of Queen Xiao Lu.
The birthday gifts from the Zhenbei Palace were still delivered to the palace by a special person, but Yu Zizhen, who needed to attend the banquet, had a very unique idea. He gave Xiao Lu two large baskets of fruits and vegetables that she had grown herself.
The baskets for fruits and vegetables were specially made by an experienced craftsman. Although they are large in size, they are very exquisite. The fruits and vegetables in the baskets were also selected by her personally, and she even arranged them into beautiful shapes.
However, no matter how beautiful the vegetable basket and fruit basket is, it is still a vegetable basket and fruit basket, right?
Because of this, Yu Zizhen received strange looks along the way. When she arrived at Jiaxiang Palace where the palace banquet was held, the officials, nobles and their families who had already taken their seats in the palace almost popped their eyes out because of the two baskets of fruits and vegetables.
Fang Huaiying, who came in with Yu Zizhen, felt uncomfortable all over. Yu Zizhen, who was being stared at, seemed to be unaware of those scorching gazes.
She brought the two baskets of fruits and vegetables to Empress Lu and said, "Your Majesty, these are fruits and vegetables that I personally planted. I'm sending some for you to try."
The corners of little Lu's mouth twitched, and she almost couldn't maintain her graceful demeanor as the mother of the country.
After repeating to herself several times, "This is the Prince of Zhenbei," little Lu finally managed a smile.
"I accept your kindness."
Yu Zizhen heard the reluctance and perfunctoriness in her tone. She picked up a big watermelon and gestured to little Lu to look at the faint auspicious cloud pattern on it.
Then, in the astonished eyes of little Mrs. Lu, she picked up a large gourd with the vague words "Shou" and "Xi" on it.
"This is my first attempt. I've put in a lot of effort, but I can only achieve this level. Please don't despise me, Your Majesty."
Little Madam Lu no longer remembered her earlier dissatisfaction with the two baskets of fruits and vegetables. She touched the gourd with a smile on her face, then pointed at the large watermelon and asked Yu Zizhen, "What is this? How come I've never seen it before?"
"It's watermelon. By chance, I bought some seeds from a merchant from the Western Regions, and then I tried to plant some in the palace."
As soon as she said this, all the nobles and court officials who had previously mocked Yu Zizhen for not doing his job properly and for the fact that the prince of a royal palace was actually farming in the palace, suddenly felt guilty.
They are not doing their job properly at all. They have already grown crops that were not available in Da Qi before!
To put it in a broader sense, this is a great achievement that will benefit the present and future generations!
And how did the faint auspicious cloud pattern on it, and the characters "Shou" and "Xi" on the big gourd come about?
Those who are politically savvy immediately thought of using this to create auspicious signs or as a warning from heaven.
Those with business acumen thought of using this to make a lot of money.
For a moment, everyone's eyes turned fiery when they looked at Yu Zizhen.
Even Empress Lu, half-jokingly and half-seriously, asked Yu Zizhen, "Your Highness is very ingenious, but I wonder how the patterns and words on it were created?"
Although she is not short of money, who would complain about having too much money?
Especially her maternal family, the Lu family, is wealthy and powerful, but has a shallow foundation. Except for the main branch, which has lived a very comfortable life in recent years because of the relationship with the big Lu family, the side branches are also living frugally.
As for its political use, Mrs. Lu really doesn't have the brains for it. If no one reminds her, she won't think of it that way.
"This is my little secret, I can't tell anyone else." Yu Zizhen smiled and stuffed the things she took out back into the basket. "I was hoping to make some private money from it."
Little Mrs. Lu secretly curled her lips, thinking that Yu Zizhen was still as unpleasant as ever.
Yu Zizhen didn't care what she thought. The gift she gave was unique and presentable. Even the most picky person couldn't criticize the inappropriateness of her gift. This was enough for her.
After presenting the gift, Yu Zizhen stepped aside as usual and sat down in his seat.
Xiao Yuanjin, who was very impressed with Yu Zizhen's performance, raised his glass to her. The second prince and the eldest princess looked at Yu Zizhen with envy.
Although they were young, their long life in the palace had made them familiar with the ways of the world early on. Therefore, they also carefully prepared a birthday gift for Xiao Lu. However, not only were they young, but they were also extremely short of money. No matter how attentive they were, the gifts they prepared were still bound to be disliked by Xiao Lu.
Mrs. Lu didn't care whether they were living in poverty or whether they had done their best to prepare her birthday gift. She only cared whether the gift was what she liked and needed.
The two children were once again openly despised by Xiao Lu. Before Yu Zizhen came in, they were sitting in their seats, with their heads lowered, silently digesting the mental harm that Xiao Lu had just inflicted on them.
Seeing Yu Zizhen go from being despised to being highly praised, the two children couldn't help but feel a strong desire of "I wish I could be like that."
Noticing their glances that were both inferior and admiring, Yu Zizhen couldn't help but sigh inwardly that little Lu was really committing a sin.
She smiled at the two of them friendly, then took her cup and moved closer to Xiao Yuanjin.
Xiao Yuanjin smiled and poured her a cup of hot tea. "Why did you come just now?"
When Yu Zizhen arrived, the only people who hadn't come were her, Fang Huaiying who helped her carry the basket, and the Emperor, whose status was apparently higher than that of Xiao Lu.
As for the Empress Dowager, Mrs. Lu, she will not attend Mrs. Lu's birthday party.
Yu Zizhen smiled as Fang Huaiying delivered the gift, then waved for him to sit at Xiao Yuanjin's table.
The gift Fang Huaiying gave was very conventional. It was a seven-stringed zither that he personally selected. Although it was not a famous instrument handed down from generation to generation, it was also a masterpiece made by a famous contemporary zither maker, which took a long time to make.
"Thank you for your hard work." Yu Zizhen took the initiative to hold the kettle and pour a cup of tea for Fang Huaiying. This honest child was carrying a seven-stringed harp on his back, but he still insisted on helping her share a large basket. He was so tired that some sweat appeared on his forehead.
Fang Huaiying smiled shyly, "No problem."
He is different from Fan Zhongming and Chen Hushan. Whoever he has a good relationship with, it is a real good relationship. Normally, he can get together with the eldest prince and Yu Zizhen without any reservations. Now, seeing Yu Zizhen holding a big basket in each hand outside the palace, of course he has to help his little friend share some of the burden.
Yu Zizhen liked his honesty. You know, apart from Yang Shixian, a staunch royalist, the only person she interacted with more often was Fang Huaiying, who was willing to interact with the eldest prince Xiao Yuanjin as frequently as she did.
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