Naturally, someone would run to the Imperial Kitchen to deliver the message. The chief eunuch would stand at the door, personally serving the Emperor and the Marquis. He really dared not entrust the task to those unreliable eunuchs again!
The Emperor and the Marquis continued their business conversation until dinner was served.
The Marquis finished his meal in a few bites, and when he saw the palace gates closing, he took his leave.
The Emperor thought for a moment and then gestured to the chief eunuch to deliver it.
The chief eunuch understood and smiled as he led the Marquis toward the palace gate.
The Marquis casually chatted with the chief eunuch and asked, "I have been away from Jiangnan for several months. I wonder how things are at Broken Gold Beach?"
"The Jade Melon Garden should be open by now, right? Have you presented any melons to the Emperor?"
The chief eunuch smiled awkwardly and replied, "Don't worry, Your Highness, Broken Gold Beach is doing very well. A few days ago, Lord Li and the Princess brought the village chief to the palace to present melons."
"His Majesty is very fond of the Princess and has given her the birthday gifts he had prepared ahead of time. The Empress has also selected a lot of fabrics and jewelry to send to Suijintan."
"You've already bestowed birthday gifts upon the princess?" The Marquis immediately grasped the key point in the chief eunuch's words and asked, "Why were the gifts given ahead of schedule?"
The chief eunuch chuckled awkwardly, feeling uneasy, but still forced himself to say, "Well, the princess and the third princess played for a while, but it wasn't very pleasant. Her Majesty the Empress was in a hurry and made the princess suffer a little grievance."
"His Majesty was heartbroken and bestowed the princess's birthday gift ahead of schedule. However, the princess was very happy and left the palace wearing new clothes and jewelry."
The Marquis responded calmly and said nothing more.
This made the chief eunuch even more uncertain...
The Emperor waited patiently for the chief eunuch to return, then asked, "Did my cousin ask you?"
The chief eunuch bowed and replied, "Yes, Your Majesty. The Marquis asked if the Li family had presented melons to the palace. This old servant said that the Princess also came, and you bestowed birthday gifts in advance."
"My lord is indeed perceptive. He pressed me on why the reward was given ahead of schedule, and I told him that the princess and the noblewoman did not have a pleasant time together, and the princess suffered a little grievance..."
The Emperor rarely looked distressed, and sighed, "My cousin is the most vengeful. He will definitely remain silent and think of a way to make his move."
"Back then, when I was still an unpopular prince, I was once pushed into a lotus pond. When my cousin found out, he devised a plan to strip the culprit naked and throw him in. It was the dead of winter, and the man almost froze to death. Now, he treats Fu Niu'er like the apple of his eye; I'm afraid this matter won't end well..."
Hearing this, the chief eunuch realized that the emperor not only did not blame one of the Marquis of Xinting, but also showed some indulgence. He mustered his courage and tentatively said, "Your Majesty, do not worry. The Marquis will not hold a grudge against a child like the Third Princess."
The implication is that if the Marquis wants to avenge the princess, he will only target the Empress and the Wu family...
The emperor's eyes lit up, and he laughed.
The third princess was his own daughter; no matter how stupid she was, he couldn't just abandon her.
But his patience with the Empress and the Wu family is about to run out, and it's just right for someone to step in and deal with them!
"Prepare water for a bath!"
The emperor had figured it out and was no longer worried, so he went about his business.
New village, the backyard of the Li family.
Jiayin was also very perceptive. Not wanting to disturb her parents' reunion, she went back to her room early, saying she was going to bed early, but in reality, she started studying hard as soon as she entered her study space.
During this period, she visited Dr. Zhang's small courtyard quite often, but the old man was a good doctor, not a good mentor.
He taught her a lot of things in a haphazard way, but it was all very disorganized.
Fortunately, the old man was probably thinking of some strange prescription again and didn't want her around to cause any harm, so he gave her a medical book, hoping it would calm her down for a while, and also as a test.
Therefore, Jiayin plans to memorize the medical books as soon as possible and learn everything she can on her own, so that the old man will look at her with new eyes and no longer treat her as an ordinary child.
When dealing with the strong, the weak may evoke their sympathy, but it is not easy to get them to share everything they know.
Jiayin plans to use this medical book as a stepping stone to completely unlock the "door" to Dr. Zhang's medical skills!
In addition, Jiayin also needs to take time to read and practice calligraphy, and learn the accounting methods commonly used by Tianwu, so that she can understand the account books.
She even dug out the abacus mental arithmetic textbook she had learned as a child in her previous life and has been studying and practicing it on her own ever since.
Children lack perseverance; after completing the beginner's course in their previous life, they abandoned it.
Fortunately, she bought both the intermediate and advanced textbooks, otherwise she would be regretting it terribly now...
Occasionally, when Jiayin gets tired of studying, she will jump rope to try to improve her physical strength, hoping that her chubby little body will become more agile.
Of course, the hope is there, but whether it can actually be realized is another matter...
Therefore, to outsiders, she appears to be lazy and gluttonous every day, seemingly no different from before.
In fact, she had already deliberately rolled herself up in a secluded courtyard.
What seemed like an ordinary night to outsiders turned out to be incredibly fulfilling for Jiayin. After a good night's sleep, when she went out again, it was already broad daylight.
Li Laosi slept soundly through the night and felt refreshed. After breakfast, he led the soldiers from next door on a stroll around the village.
The village chief happened to run into them and led a group of people to the melon field.
Previously, large quantities of jade melons and golden fruits had already been sold out.
However, in the spring, the village chief deliberately reserved a few plots of land and delayed planting a hundred or so melon seedlings for half a month.
The original plan was to ensure that even if the Marquis and his entourage missed the park's opening, there would still be juicy gossip to be had when they returned.
I never expected it would come in handy today!
Seven or eight round, jade-green melons were picked and chopped open with a machete.
The soldiers each grabbed a piece and ate it heartily, they were all overjoyed.
"This is the Jade Melon! I heard even the Emperor likes to eat it!"
"Wow, this stuff is so sweet and so thirst-quenching... Li Yong always brags about it to us, and I thought he was lying, but I didn't expect it to be true!"
"I heard that a melon can be exchanged for a silver ingot. How much silver have we eaten?!"
"You don't want to eat it? Give it to me, I haven't had enough yet!"
The soldiers ate and joked, occasionally playing around, but they all held the melon pieces tightly in their hands, so that not a single drop of juice leaked out, let alone if they fell to the ground.
Some people even ate the melon rinds!
The village chief puffed on his pipe, watching the men laugh and joke, his wrinkles forming a flower-like pattern, as if he were seeing himself in his youth.
Seeing some soldiers eating melon rinds, he quickly stopped them, saying, "Don't eat them, young men, there are still melons left, I'll pick some for you."
"No, no need, uncle!" Despite their rough appearance, the soldiers were quite thoughtful and waved their hands in refusal.
Someone said, "Uncle, let's just eat what's fresh. Let's save the rest for the Marquis! He should be back around noon."
The village chief then gave up and led the soldiers to play in the orchard.
Li Laosi took the opportunity to go home and found his mother, saying, "Mother, Wei Daniu is coming home to get married, and I want to go with my brothers to join in the fun. Could you please prepare a wedding gift for me?"
"That kid's a simpleton, fearless and loyal. I owe him a lot for saving me this time, otherwise I might have come back injured..."
Served at midnight~~
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