Both the aunt and sister-in-law were startled. The sister-in-law asked, "What's wrong, Hui'er? Are you shy because your mother is talking about your marriage?"
The younger sister-in-law smiled and advised, "What's there to be shy about in front of your aunt! Your aunt is just like your mother, she's doing this for your own good."
But Hui'er clung to her mother's arm and cried even harder!
The two women, the aunt and sister-in-law, sensed something was wrong and quickly pressed for answers.
Finally, Hui'er said, "When I went to visit Bao Lei before the New Year, she taught me... to smoke, the kind of pipe that old farmers in the countryside smoke. After smoking it, I felt like an immortal. It was so much fun and so comfortable."
"Later, I couldn't resist going to her to draw a few more times. During the flower viewing party, she took me and a few of my girlfriends to draw again..."
"I kept thinking about smoking last night and couldn't sleep. I still want to take a puff now."
"Mother, am I sick...?"
Before she could finish speaking, a furious roar came from outside the door, "What did you say?!"
The head of the household, dressed in official robes, entered from outside. Looking at his daughter, his expression was full of fear and anger.
He grabbed his daughter's arm and began to interrogate her relentlessly.
"Explain yourself clearly. How many times did you smoke that pipe in total? Did you become addicted? Did Bao Jiarang ask you to do anything shameful?"
Hui'er cried out in pain, but more than that, she was filled with fear. She choked out, "No, Father! Bao Lei didn't ask me to do anything. She just said that this cigarette is expensive and that I should take some silver to buy it next time. A box costs ten taels of silver!"
"It's over, it's over!" The head of the household plopped down on the ground, wishing he could faint.
Just now in the imperial court, although he was scared half to death by the power of the hibiscus ointment, he mostly watched with amusement.
Now that the knife has cut into my own flesh, I realize how desperate it is!
If word gets out that my daughter also used the hibiscus ointment, how will she ever get married?
Even the girls in the entire family will be implicated...
Such incidents continued to occur in many households after the court session ended.
Any girl who was close to the princess and had attended the flower-viewing banquet felt insecure.
If a girl has ingested hibiscus oil, her fears are understandable.
The most wronged one was that he went to the flower viewing party but was not targeted by Bao Lei, nor was he dragged to smoke.
So, things really do have two sides.
Sometimes, being a little poor is actually a good thing.
At least you won't be coveted by others, and you won't be dragged into their schemes...
Inside Kunning Palace, the Empress was pulling at the Third Princess, relentlessly pressing her for answers.
"Tell me, did you smoke that 'Hibiscus Cream' while you were at the Princess's residence? Tell the truth! If you lie, I'll beat you to death!"
The Empress was truly terrified, and for the first time, she spoke of fighting and killing to her daughter.
The third princess, looking impatient, replied, "Mother, I already said, no, no!"
At this moment, the Emperor also arrived.
Even if he dislikes this foolish daughter, she is still his own flesh and blood.
He was so angry when he heard that his daughter had also secretly slipped out of the palace to attend the flower-viewing banquet at the princess's residence that he was furious.
At this moment, with a cold face, he joined the group interrogating his daughter.
"Tell me, why did you go to the princess's residence yesterday? Did you touch that hibiscus cream or not?"
The third princess, facing her father the emperor, dared not be as perfunctory as before, and quickly said, "It's all Bao Lei's fault. She said that wretched girl Li Jiayin..."
In her haste, she let slip what she had said, and quickly corrected herself, "No, no, Bao Lei said that Princess Kangle would also be attending the flower viewing banquet, so I just wanted to join in the fun."
"As it turned out, Princess Kang Le was too quick-witted and didn't suffer any losses at all, which made me furious."
"Bao Lei tried to mediate the fight, saying she had some nice things for us to play with. She took me and Princess Kangle to an attic and got a pipe and a jade box."
"When Bao Lei opened the jade box, Princess Kangle said it smelled bad and then vomited, spraying filth all over me!"
"And then?" The Emperor's eyes lit up as he pressed on, "And then, did you smoke that pipe?"
"Of course I didn't smoke!" The Third Princess pouted, annoyed. "It's all Princess Kangle's fault. She went home to see a doctor after she vomited. I was all dirty, so I didn't feel like playing and came back to the palace too."
"Good!" The Emperor finally smiled and couldn't help but praise, "Fu Niu'er is the smartest. She must have realized something was wrong and deliberately stirred things up like this."
"Luckily, you were lucky enough to have Fu Niu'er, otherwise you would have been covered in hibiscus cream yesterday!"
The third princess didn't believe it, and she was unconvinced. She wanted to say something more, but the emperor interrupted her.
The Emperor instructed the Empress, "Prepare a generous gift and send it to Suijintan. From now on, keep a close eye on the Third Princess. If she dares to leave the palace again, you and your daughter will both be confined to your quarters."
Although the Empress felt that the Emperor was making a mountain out of a molehill, and she also disliked Princess Kangle and the Li family, she did not dare to contradict the Emperor and could only reluctantly agree.
The Emperor, unwilling to look at the foolish mother and daughter duo, got up and left.
On the way, he still instructed Steward Yi, "Go to the inner treasury and select some good things for Fu Niu'er. This child is truly blessed. She saved the princess again this time, so she must be generously rewarded!"
"Yes, Your Majesty." Chief Eunuch Yi joked, "This old servant will choose the solid gold jewelry; I guarantee the princess will like it."
The Emperor laughed heartily upon hearing this, "Yes, Fu Niu'er is a money-grubber, she'll definitely like it."
In the courtyard of the Li family on Broken Gold Beach, taking advantage of the fine weather, Granny Tian and Granny He set up a screen so that Madam Wen and Wenjuan could sit quietly under the eaves for a while, warmly dressed, and breathe in the fresh air.
Burning charcoal braziers indoors during winter can feel rather stuffy.
It's not a big deal for normal people, but they're pregnant, so they need to be more careful.
Jiayin has to hand in her needlework assignment this afternoon, so she's cramming at the last minute. She's asking her aunt and sister-in-law for help to "improve" the quality, but in reality, she's looking for a "ghostwriter" to save her life!
Before the New Year, Jiayin was busy giving and receiving gifts, and after the New Year, she was busy playing with her brothers. She had long forgotten about the "lessons" that Huiniang had assigned her.
Last night, when Huiniang came over for a chat, she suddenly brought it up, and Jiayin was startled like a rabbit caught in a trap!
Madam Wen and Wenjuan didn't want to help the chubby girl cheat, but the chubby girl hugged their arms and kept calling them "good aunt" and "dear second sister-in-law," so they immediately surrendered.
Today, since Tao Hongying was home, Wenjuan said with a smile, "Fourth Aunt, when you were pregnant with Fu Niu'er, did you eat a lot of honey?"
"Fu Niu'er's sweet talk has really made me and my aunt dizzy!"
Tao Hongying laughed and replied, "When I was pregnant with Fu Niu'er, my family was struggling financially and we couldn't even get enough to eat."
"When she was born, we were on a journey to escape famine. It was a miracle that we survived."
"This girl is just naturally good with words. I don't know where she got it from, but everyone in our family is clumsy with words!"
Just then, Grandma Li came out of the house, and Jiayin immediately said, "I take after my grandma. My grandma isn't good with words, but she's very skillful!"
Grandma Li was overjoyed by the praise and quickly replied, "That's right, my granddaughter is just like me, she's perfect in every way!"
Everyone couldn't help but laugh. Just look at their narcissistic attitudes; the grandfather and grandson really are exactly alike.
Just then, a bunch of mischievous boys rushed in like a swarm of bees, shouting, "Madam, people are here! There are so many people!"
Served at midnight~~~
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