As night was driven away by dawn, and the first rays of light appeared, a new day began.
Just after breakfast was finished at Zhilan Palace, Eunuch Feng arrived with a young eunuch to deliver a food box.
The Third Princess and Jiayin were curious, but they still welcomed Eunuch Feng in for tea.
Being here, Eunuch Feng felt much more relaxed than when he was elsewhere. He even dared to sit properly on the brocade stool and then said with a smile.
"Your Highness, His Majesty was concerned that you were frightened the other day, so he specially had a nourishing soup made for you, which is best for calming the nerves and beautifying the complexion."
As he spoke, he gestured for the little eunuch to open the food box and personally brought out a bowl of dark, murky medicinal soup.
The third princess immediately frowned, covered her nose, and exclaimed, "What kind of tonic is this? I won't drink it!"
Eunuch Feng continued to persuade her patiently, "Your Highness, you mustn't refuse to drink this. It's a gift from the Emperor to show his love for you. It's a prescription personally written by Chief Physician Liu, and it's the most nourishing medicine for women."
"Starting today, for the next two weeks, this old servant will bring it over twice a day, morning and evening. Your Highness must drink it on time."
The Third Princess was going crazy. One bowl of it was enough to kill her, and she still wanted to drink it for half a month.
Before she could refuse, Eunuch Feng took out a bowl of bird's nest soup from the food box and handed it to Jiayin with a smile.
"Princess, this was specially ordered by the Emperor to be prepared for you. You are in good health. Chief Physician Liu said that you don't need to drink tonic soup. A bowl of bird's nest every day is the most suitable, and it can also beautify your skin."
Jiayin quickly accepted it and replied with a smile, "Thank you for your trouble, Father-in-law. Please be sure to thank my Imperial Uncle for me when you get back."
She took a spoon, ate a bite, and praised, "This bird's nest is cooked so well, the sugar crystals are just the right amount, and the sweetness is just right."
After saying that, she instructed Shui Ling to take two purses, one for Eunuch Feng to drink tea, and the other to be given to the chef in the kitchen who was making bird's nest.
Eunuch Feng was flattered and beamed with joy, then looked at the Third Princess with eager eyes.
The third princess was about to throw a tantrum, but then suddenly remembered something, picked up the tonic, and drank it all in one gulp.
Jiayin took a mint from her purse and quickly popped it into her mouth, successfully smoothing out her scrunched-up face...
Eunuch Feng dared not stay to ask for a reward. Seeing that the task was completed, he quickly took his leave.
After a long while, the third princess simply lay down on Jiayin's lap and started to act spoiled.
"It's so bitter! If I weren't afraid of ruining Father's plans, I would never drink it!"
"Oh!" Jiayin feigned surprise, teasing the Third Princess, "You actually know the real reason why your Imperial Uncle sent you the tonic soup?"
The third princess tickled her in anger, and said irritably, "I'm not stupid, don't judge people by their appearance!"
The two of them started arguing, and all their previous worries completely disappeared.
The third princess hugged Jiayin and complained softly, "I thought Father would react immediately, but it seems like it will drag on for another ten days or half a month."
Jiayin nodded, "It must be that my royal uncle needs to brew medicine to regulate his body, and he doesn't want outsiders to know, so he's using you to cover it up."
"But he won't harm you. This tonic soup should indeed be good for your health. There's nothing else we can do to help, so we can only cooperate obediently now."
The Third Princess felt like rolling on the ground in despair at the thought of having to drink bitter medicine for another half month.
In the end, Jiayin had to take her to cook together and make a lot of mints, pine nut candies, and the like before things calmed down...
Every day, a faint smell of medicine could be detected in the Imperial Study. At first, the court officials were puzzled, but later, when they saw Eunuch Feng sending tonics to Zhilan Palace in a grand manner, they understood.
This is because the Emperor had previously neglected the Third Princess, causing her to suffer injustice, so he is trying to make amends.
Of course, the Emperor's compensation was not limited to sending tonic soup every day. Various silks, jewelry, small ornaments made of gold and jade, fans, incense, and so on were also sent to Zhilan Palace in a continuous stream.
Some people were envious and secretly regretted not having planned ahead and married the third princess.
Even though the third princess was a bit unruly, with the emperor's favor, her family always benefited a lot...
Unfortunately, it's too late to say anything now.
This is a real boon for Lu Zong, that "all show and no substance"!
Before he was even engaged to the Third Princess, he had already become a third-ranked scholar by borrowing Guang'er's help!
If he really becomes the prince consort, who knows how many benefits await him!
There are no secrets in the palace, and the court officials have no secrets either; these words quickly spread throughout the streets.
There's never a shortage of people in this world who say the grapes are sour because they can't have them.
Those who failed the exams, in particular, never felt that they lacked talent; instead, they were full of resentment.
Lu Zong, who was "incompetent" yet held a high position due to his status as a prince consort, naturally made them even more disgusted.
As a result, one could hear people spouting nonsense in teahouses, literary gatherings, and banquets at any time.
That day, Cat Brother took Zheng Qi for a stroll on the street, intending to find a calligraphy and painting shop to choose a birthday gift for the teacher at the academy who was celebrating his birthday.
Although he rarely returns to the academy these days, he still maintains proper etiquette.
As a result, the sun was too strong, so the master and servant went into their own cloud-covered area.
Sitting in a private room on the second floor, with a bowl of chilled ice cream, all the summer heat instantly vanishes.
"That's great!" Cat Bro said, taking a big bite of ice cream and exhaling white breath, not forgetting to praise it.
Since there were no outsiders around, Zheng Qi sat opposite him and happily ate along with him.
"Young master, the weather is so hot this year. I wonder how big the melons in Suijin Beach have grown. They're sure to fetch a good price!"
These words reminded Cat Bro, who looked out the window and frowned slightly.
Since the beginning of spring, there has only been one light rain. Most of the farmland was planted by farmers carrying water. If it doesn't rain again, this year's harvest will definitely be reduced.
He was just about to say that he would go back to Suijintan in a few days.
As a result, another group of students came to the second floor and went directly into the private room next door.
One wanted iced juice, another wanted ice cream, and they made a racket for a while before finally calming down.
Cat Bro felt bored, so he decided to finish his ice cream in a few bites and hurry up to go shopping.
But the people next door kept eating and talking, making more and more noise.
A shrill voice asked, "Brother Liu, was that the man we met on the street just now Prince Lu?"
"Yes, what, you know him too?" The person who responded was full of disdain and laughed, "That's right, who in the whole of Xindu doesn't know him? The future prince consort, he got the third-highest rank in the imperial examination just because of his face!"
"If we had known this would happen, why did we spend ten years studying so hard? Even if we were full of knowledge, we wouldn't be as good as someone with a pretty face."
"Hahaha, that's right, that's right!" Everyone around burst into laughter and echoed.
Cat Brother grew increasingly furious as he listened, muttering under his breath, "These bastards have wasted their time reading sage books! They don't even understand the principles of 'sitting quietly and reflecting on one's own faults,' or 'not gossiping about others in idle talk.'"
Zheng Qi, mindful that this was his family's business, advised, "Young Master, everyone's talking about this now. Even if you stop him once, you can't stop him a second time. We've been out for half a day, let's hurry up and buy something."
Before Cat Bro could respond, someone suddenly slipped in through the door.
Zheng Qi instinctively shielded his master, but when he saw who it was, he exclaimed with delight, "Brother Mu, what are you doing here!"
Two updates today!
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