Doctor Sun took a sip of tea before saying, "I ran out of medicinal herbs, so I went for a walk in the mountains. I was lucky enough to find an 'immortality herb.' I just sold it for money, which is just enough for your dowry."
Immortal herb is a specialty herb of Quanzhou. Because it grows on cliffs and is extremely difficult to harvest, its purchase price has always been very high.
Dr. Sun practiced medicine in the military camp, and the medicinal herbs were all prepared by the logistics department, so he didn't need to collect them himself.
Needless to say, the lack of medicinal herbs was just an excuse; the real reason was to specifically seek out the herb of immortality to exchange for silver.
He's so old and physically weak, yet he still takes such a risk!
Coral felt guilty and anxious, but couldn't say anything. In the end, she could only kneel down with red eyes and say, "Thank you for your love, godfather."
"Silly girl, get up quickly!" Doctor Sun quickly helped his daughter up and said with a smile, "We're family, no need to be so polite! Your godfather may not be very capable, but arranging a dowry for you is no problem."
After saying that, he thought for a moment and then said, "At noon, your godfather will have lunch here. Let's talk about what's still missing in the dowry and whether there's anything your godfather can do to help."
“Okay, Sister Mi bought some meat and two pounds of shrimp this morning. I’ll cook a few dishes for my godfather myself.” Shanhu readily agreed and started making arrangements with a smile.
Her already slightly spirited features became even more vibrant now...
Let's not talk about Quanzhou, because a happy event is coming soon, and it's very lively and joyous there.
Speaking of Xindu, the weather gradually warmed up after the first month of the lunar calendar.
The mountains and forests, which were originally dressed in white winter clothes, have begun to shed their coldness little by little and regain their vitality.
Inside the city, thanks to the city walls blocking the cold wind, the houses and pedestrians basked in the warm spring sunshine, and the city became increasingly lively.
In the Shou Kang Palace, the Empress Dowager lay on her side on the chaise longue, her brows furrowed, slowly eating fruit.
In the middle of the room, the old nanny was using the guise of teaching manners to torment the Third Princess and Jiayin.
Unfortunately, the results were still not good.
The Third Princess said she couldn't learn a simple kneeling gesture and asked the old nanny to demonstrate it again and again.
Often, she and Jiayin would kneel once or twice, while the old nanny would have to kneel more than ten times.
The old woman was already quite old, and after kneeling for so long, beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.
The Empress Dowager cursed the old nanny in her heart for being useless, but she was also afraid that she would overwork her and be short of servants in the future.
So the Empress Dowager called a halt in time, suppressing her disgust, and invited Jiayin and the Third Princess to eat fruit.
Jiayin and the Third Princess ate heartily and happily without any hesitation.
In no time at all, he had eaten half a plate.
The old woman felt sorry for her.
Knowing that Shou Kang Palace was in a weak position, those who wanted to climb high and step on low would not let this opportunity pass, and they began to gradually reduce the supply last year.
Such fresh fruit is not easy to obtain these days.
As a result, the master barely ate a few bites before those two wretched girls devoured most of it...
If it were a normal day, her master might be in a good mood and give her a few bites, but he certainly wouldn't today.
Thinking this, she felt even more thirsty.
Perhaps her gaze at the fruit plate was too intense, for Jiayin and the Third Princess noticed it.
They "mischievously" bit into the fruit, making a loud crunching sound, even spilling juice, and occasionally offering a few words of praise.
The third princess said, "Grandmother, you are so kind. You even prepared such delicious fruit for us! Even if I don't learn to behave properly, I will still come to keep you company more often."
Jiayin also laughed and said, "Yes, the Empress Dowager is so kind to us. Knowing that we work hard to learn etiquette, she has prepared such a complete meal for us."
The old nanny rolled her eyes in anger. When it came to hard work, only she deserved to be called hard-working.
The Empress Dowager, also disapproving of the two maids' arrogance, smiled faintly and said, "Now that you're at Shou Kang Palace, I'll naturally take good care of you."
After saying that, she changed the subject and asked, "The big exam is less than half a month away. Kang Le, I heard that your Li family has some candidates taking the exam?"
"Yes, Your Majesty," Jiayin readily admitted, smiling as she replied, "My eldest cousin and sixth cousin are both taking the exam. Tomorrow happens to be the day I leave the palace, and I'm planning to arrange some exam supplies for them."
The Empress Dowager raised an eyebrow, her voice somewhat cold, "Remind them a few more times that the exams are based on real ability, and they shouldn't try any crooked methods, otherwise the Li family will lose face if they are found out."
"Thank you for the reminder, Your Majesty." Jiayin replied with a smile, "Your Majesty, rest assured, my brothers are all truly talented and learned, we have nothing to fear no matter how you investigate them."
"But we can't rule out the possibility that someone dislikes our family and is deliberately framing us."
"However, based on our experience over the past few years, anyone who dares to lay a hand on our family has had their arms chopped off."
"Sometimes, I even find it boring and hope that more people will jump out and give our family a go. After all, you need a whetstone to make a blade sharper, right?"
The Empress Dowager felt stifled and, seeing the smug little girl grinning with her white teeth, became even more displeased.
"I am tired, please take your leave."
Jiayin and the Third Princess immediately put down the fruit, stood up with smiles, and were about to bow.
The old nanny suddenly took out two brocade cushions and placed them in front of them.
“Princess, Your Highness, we just learned the kneeling etiquette today. Please kowtow to the Empress Dowager before you go back.”
Jiayin glanced at the brocade cushion and smiled.
The Third Princess, however, was displeased and scolded the old nanny, "I've been kneeling for most of the day, I'm exhausted. My grandmother hasn't said anything yet, what kind of shameless thing have you done!"
Jiayin tugged at her arm and advised, "Princess, don't be angry. We should kneel down and let the Empress Dowager see how well we've learned."
The Third Princess didn't know what Jia Yin was up to, but she was certain that Jia Yin wouldn't suffer any losses, so she followed Jia Yin and knelt on the brocade cushion, kowtowed once, and then steadily stood up.
The old woman looked very surprised. Although she tried her best to restrain herself, she couldn't help but keep looking at Jiayin's expression.
But Jiayin remained smiling, her face rosy, showing no sign of pain.
Seeing her looking over, she asked instead, "What's wrong, Granny? We've knelt and paid our respects, is there anything else?"
"No...no!" the old woman quickly replied, bending down to take the cushion and preparing to leave.
But whether she was too flustered and stepped on her own skirt or tripped somewhere, she fell forward after only a couple of steps, and the cushion in her hand landed right under her.
A scream instantly echoed throughout the entire Shou Kang Palace!
The third princess was startled and pulled Jiayin's arm a few steps away, asking, "What happened?"
Jiayin chuckled and shrugged, replying softly, "Who knows? Maybe the fall hurt too much?"
The old nanny, her face pale, struggled to her feet and quickly apologized, "This old servant was careless and tripped."
As she spoke, she tried her best to hide half of her arm behind her back.
The Empress Dowager's eyes narrowed, and she scolded, "Useless thing, get out of here!"
The old nanny quickly agreed, lowered her head, and withdrew.
The third princess quickly pulled Jiayin along and followed her out the door.
Only after leaving Shou Kang Palace and rounding the corner of the wall did the Third Princess ask with a face full of curiosity, "Jiayin, tell me quickly, what exactly happened just now? How come that wicked old woman fell and was so badly hurt?"
"She didn't hurt herself from the fall, she was hurt from the needles!" Jiayin sneered. "She tampered with the brocade mat she used; there were some fine needles stuck in the one I was kneeling on. If I had knelt down, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to walk for seven or eight days!"
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