Chapter 73 Chapter 73 Peach Pastry
The weather in early spring is warm but still cold.
Outside the window, there was still a pure white snow, except for a few scattered young buds on the branches.
Sheng Puzhu raised her head and looked at her husband who was so handsome and tall.
Today he wore a round-necked, narrow-sleeved robe in an ice-platform color. The collar was edged with a clear mountain blue material, and the lapels and cuffs were embroidered with exquisite Baoxiang patterns in gold and silver threads.
"Passing by the East Market."
"I don't know if you'll like it."
The apricot-yellow oil-paper bag he held in his hand was particularly eye-catching. The thin hemp rope was tied around his jade-white palm, leaving a prominent light red mark.
Sheng Puzhu was stunned for a moment and even forgot to reach out to take it.
Xie Zhiyan placed the pastry wrapped in oil paper on the rosewood Eight Immortals Table, and slowly untied the knot with his slender fingers, revealing the slightly burnt peach cake inside.
"I see you like to eat it on weekdays. This is a little different from the one we use here at home. Let's try it and see how it tastes."
"Oh, okay." Sheng Puzhu was a little afraid to look at him, her cheeks slightly flushed.
She couldn't imagine that the man, whose walking posture was measured to the letter in the eyes of outsiders, would pass by the East Market to buy peach cakes for her.
Xie Zhiyan narrowed his eyes slightly, obviously it was the first time he did such a thing, and he was caught by a group of girls. Fortunately, he always controlled himself well, and his facial expression did not change at all. He naturally wrapped a piece of peach cake in a handkerchief and handed it over.
The sweet fragrance of peach cakes mixed with the cool scent of cypress from his sleeves filled her face. Sheng Puzhu stared at the clean handkerchief held in his palm.
Her eyes flickered and fell on the man's narrow and powerful waist, which was tied tightly with a black leather belt.
He was so tall, his phoenix eyes looked at her calmly, his lips slightly pursed, with a gentle curve, that subtle curve.
Sheng Puzhu's mind skipped a beat. He was so seduced by the beauty that he even forgot to reach out his hand. Perhaps he had become accustomed to being fed medicine by him during the past ten days when he was sick, so he subconsciously opened his mouth and bit it.
In the room, I didn't know which girl gasped.
"After I turned ten, mother couldn't feed me anymore... Woohoo... Why did you cover my mouth?" Sheng Puyao was struggling.
Princess Changning lowered her voice and said, "Shut up first, shut up first, and tell me later."
Sheng Puzhu held a mouthful of peach cake in his mouth, touched it with the tip of his tongue, and didn't know whether he should swallow it.
She deserves to die.
In front of all the girls, she let the handsome Xie Sanlang feed her snacks.
"Drink some water to moisten your skin." Fortunately, Xie Zhiyan looked normal.
Sheng Puzhu swallowed the peach cake and drank the tea, her mouth full of fragrance. She saw him even wanted to use a handkerchief to wipe her mouth personally.
She was so frightened that she quickly shrank back: "My dear, I can do it myself."
She didn't dare to blaspheme again. If she asked him to do it himself again, he would be in trouble.
Xie Zhiyan's expression remained unchanged, not even his eyebrows moved, as if doing such a thing was natural.
Only when Sheng Puzhu moved away did his fingertips curl up silently, revealing a hint of discomfort.
The girls in the room huddled together like quails, not daring to speak, until the man spoke: "Since the lady is busy, I will not disturb you."
Everyone secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Sister, are the peach cakes delicious?"
"Let me taste it."
After Xie Zhiyan walked away, Sheng Puyao was the first to stand up and act coquettishly to hold Sheng Puzhu's hand.
Peach cakes are just ordinary things, but the unusual thing is that these peach cakes were brought back by Sanlang of the Xie family himself. Sheng Puyao was terrified of this brother-in-law who looked gentle but serious.
But he was timid and still had evil intentions, so he had to taste the saltiness of the peach cake.
Princess Changning smiled and patted Sheng Puyao's chubby little hand, saying, "This is a gift from Mr. Xie to Madam Sheng. We can't eat it."
No matter how generous Sheng Puzhu was, her pretty face could not help but blush slightly when she was teased by her younger sisters.
She asked Naidong to put the peach cakes on a porcelain plate and said, "Try them all. I don't like eating alone."
Sheng Puyao cheered.
Princess Changning wanted to make a scene, but Sheng Mingya, who was trying to hold back her laughter, pinched her secretly.
Sheng Puju felt that even the tips of her ears were burning. She tried to remain calm and cover it up by drinking tea, but she almost knocked over the teacup.
"Is my cousin-in-law shy?" asked Princess Changning.
Even the most reserved and gentle Wei Yuanning couldn't help but cover her lips with a handkerchief and laugh quietly.
Sheng Puzhu shook his head without saying anything, and pointed at the peach pastry. His meaning was very clear: please block your mouth with food.
At first, Sheng Puzhu felt embarrassed, but after drinking a cup of tea, she came to her senses.
Anyway, in the eyes of others, she and Xie Zhiyan are a loving couple, which is of course a good thing, and as a wife, she should cooperate.
Everyone was talking and making a fuss, and no one knew who brought up the idea of Wei Yuanning's marriage to the prince.
Princess Changning winked at Sheng Puzhu and said, "Let's not talk about Mr. Xie's feelings for his cousin's wife. I see that the Crown Prince has the same feelings for Ms. Wei."
"Yue Shu, don't talk nonsense." Wei Yuanning was about to cover Princess Changning's mouth.
Xiao Yueshu wasn't afraid at all. She smiled and hid in Sheng Puzhu's arms: "I'm not talking nonsense."
"A few days ago, I went to the palace to pay my respects to the Empress Dowager. I heard Aunt Cui, the chef of the Eastern Palace, say that the Crown Princess's ceremonial headdress would not be prepared by the Eastern Palace because Madam Wei San loves the jewelry from Linlang Pavilion."
"So, Prince Brother plans to use the money from his personal vault to go to Linglang Pavilion and have it specially made for Yuanning."
Linlang Pavilion?
Sheng Puzhu was stunned. She had been ill for more than ten days. Nanny Du and Naidong were all taking care of her. She had not been to Linlang Pavilion for a long time. Unless it was an emergency, they would not easily contact her with news from there.
Sheng Puyao and Mingya knew that Linglang Pavilion was the shop of the eldest sister in the family. They blinked their eyes in surprise, not daring to show it too obviously.
No matter how good the customs in Dayan were, no married noble lady would run her own business. Even the shops, fields and farms that came with her dowry were all managed by special managers.
Wei Yuanning's cheeks flushed and she was a little afraid to look at everyone.
She called out to the handkerchief in her palm and whispered, "Mrs. Pearl, the shopkeeper of Linglang Pavilion, is too mysterious, but I heard she has already accepted an order from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
At this point, she paused, "His Highness said that the wedding might not be too extravagant. He has already suggested to His Majesty that everything should be kept simple, so the ceremonial crown doesn't need to be paid for by the Ministry of Rites and the Eastern Palace's catering department."
"Just to keep things simple?" Xiao Yueshu obviously didn't believe it.
If the ceremonial hat is made by the Ministry of Rites, it will only follow the ancestral system. If the prince asks someone to customize it himself, then as long as there are no mistakes in the ritual system, the rest of the style and shape can all be according to the prince's wishes.
The prince is taking so much trouble, isn't he just hoping that Wei Yuanning will like him?
"Yeah." Wei Yuanning's cheeks were so red that blood seemed to be dripping out, and he blinked his wet eyes guiltily.
Sheng Puzhu stared at the water in the teacup and couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
Linlang Pavilion was doing good business, with most of the customers coming in and out being girls. Princess Duanyang was in charge of the jewelry for external wear, so naturally the noble ladies of Chang'an followed suit.
If the future Crown Princess's ceremonial crown is made by Linlang Pavilion, it is conceivable that in the future, when a husband marries a wife, in order to make his wife happy, he will have to learn from the Crown Prince and customize some jewelry from Linlang Pavilion.
Thinking of this, Sheng Puzhu couldn't help but curl her rosy lips.
Smiling, she took Wei Yuanning's hand and asked her what kind of jewelry she liked. She also asked about her daily preferences, clothing colors, and various patterns, which made Wei Yuanning dizzy.
"Why is my cousin asking these questions?" Princess Changning couldn't help but feel curious.
Sheng Puzhu smiled at her gently: "The girl is about to get married, so it's natural to ask about her preferences so that I can add some makeup to Yuanning."
"When you get married in the future, I will also ask you about your preferences and add some makeup for you."
In one sentence, Xiao Yueshu, who was fearless, was embarrassed.
"It's too early for me to get married. I don't want to get married yet. If I marry a man as philandering as my father, I will be pissed to death."
"Don't talk nonsense." Sheng Puzhu tapped her forehead.
As the sky grew darker, the girls had a great time today and stood up to say goodbye together.
Sheng Puzhu escorted the people out of Yunyu Hall, turned around and went to the old lady's Yishou Hall.
"It's cold, why are you here?"
"Are you feeling better?"
The old lady leaned on the couch, looking not very well and her lips were pale.
Sheng Puzhu walked forward quickly and said, "It's alright, your granddaughter-in-law is here to have dinner with you."
"Where is Sanlang?" asked the old lady.
"My dear husband is in the study, busy with official business."
The old lady smiled slightly and patted Sheng Puzhu's hand.
"I see that Sanlang has been paying attention to you lately."
"What does Puzhu think?"
Sheng Puzhu smiled gently, without revealing any flaws: "My husband has always been very good to his grandson's wife."
Upon hearing this, the old lady smiled without saying anything, squinting her eyes as she looked at the beautiful girl under the lamp.
She sat upright on an embroidered cushion. Although she had just recovered from an illness, she showed a bit of fragility that was rarely seen in other days, adding a touch of charm to her appearance.
The flowing light poured down from the glass cup and diffused on her soft profile, dark eyebrows, red lips, slightly curved almond eyes, and eyes as clear and bright as the autumn moon.
Such a beautiful girl should have looked charming, but her skin was snow-white, as white as thin porcelain, which suppressed her beauty and made her look both light and dark, which made people unable to take their eyes off her.
Such a girl, not to mention a man, even a man of her age would feel happy every time he saw her.
"You and Sanlang are rarely together, so you don't have to accompany me every day." The old lady said kindly.
Sheng Puzhu shook his head firmly: "You caught a cold the other day and your appetite is poor. Sanlang is strong and healthy, so he doesn't need me to coax him to eat."
The old lady laughed out loud: "Do I really need you to coax me into eating?"
Sheng Puzhu smiled slightly: "Madame Jiang said that if I accompany you, you can always eat half a piece of dessert more than usual. I can't be lazy."
Of course, these were not all Sheng Puju's excuses. One of the reasons was that she wanted to avoid Xie Zhiyan because of some unclear emotions. The remaining reason was that the old lady's health had not been good since the New Year.
The imperial physician said it was a cold, but in her opinion, it might be a heart disease.
"Okay."
"Then you will have dinner with me and ignore Sanlang?" asked the old lady.
Sheng Puzhu nodded: "The kitchen has prepared dinner, so you won't go hungry, my dear."
The old lady smiled and shook her head. Just as she was about to say something, she heard a clear male voice: "Grandma, it's unavoidably cold to eat in the study. Your grandson is here to keep you company."
Sheng Puzhu turned his head with a stiff neck, and saw a tall man walking into the room. He walked slowly, with a smile on his face, and his eyes fell neither lightly nor heavily.
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