Xinwei suddenly raised her head, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Thank you, Princess!" she said, then kowtowed repeatedly. Over the years, Zhuang Erdan had been extremely good to her—no, extremely good. Everyone envied her, saying that she had a loving husband and a lovely son. But only she knew how much bitterness she had endured. Two years ago, she wanted a divorce, but Zhuang Erdan disagreed. Later, she brought up divorce several more times, but Zhuang Erdan still refused.
Everyone says that if you have a son, you should hurry up and have a daughter to make a perfect family. But all these years, she has never shared a bed with Zhuang Erdan. It's not that Zhuang Erdan is bad, but that she herself is dirty.
All these years, all she could think about was that person dying, dying a hundred times over!
"You'd better think this through," Zhao Shu asked her again.
Xinwei kowtowed with tears in her eyes, "This servant has made up her mind. Please, Your Highness, do me justice. As for Xiaobao, this servant does not want him to know that he has such a biological father. Please, Your Highness, do not blame me."
Zhao Shu nodded, fulfilling her beloved son's wish, "Alright, if that's the case, then you may go down. You can finish off that beast yourself later."
Tears streamed down her face as she kowtowed again before standing up and walking out. Zhao Shu looked at her thin back with a pained expression and said, "Don't let down a man who is willing to sacrifice for you. There aren't many men like that. If you meet one, cherish him."
After saying that, she immediately picked up her pen to write. Upon hearing her words, Xinwei broke down in tears, trying her best not to cry out loud, but her eyes were so wet with tears that she could not see the scenery around her.
After Zhao Shu finished speaking, she picked up her pen and wrote the third character on the paper: Ji Dongxue.
Xiao Zhu and Xiao Guo exchanged a glance. The princess was actually going to deal with Ji Dongxue, the Minister of Personnel.
However, Zhao Shu didn't say anything, and no matter how they tried to guess, they couldn't figure out the mystery behind it.
After writing down the third name, she stopped writing, threw the document over the three names, and wrote, "It's my royal uncle's birthday. Come with me to prepare the gift. Where is my father?"
"Your Highness, the Master has arrived and is playing chess with the Prince," said Xiao Guozi.
Without stopping, Zhao Shu soon arrived at the waterside pavilion of Xinchensong Courtyard. The water flowed gently beneath the pavilion, and on the bank were two rows of newly blooming magnolias, interspersed with a few poppies, scattered like stars, which was quite unique. Closer to the stream were the willows, which swayed in the wind, full of the spirit of spring.
Prince Yong and Luo Hu were playing chess in silence. Fu Bo and Bi Qiao stood beside them. When Zhao Shu came, they bowed slightly but did not say anything.
Zhao Shu approached, and Luo Hu glanced at her before continuing the game. The game was nearing its end. Chess takes less time than Go and is currently very popular. Naturally, chess remains a favorite among scholars.
The game ended with Prince Yong losing. Although he lost, he was not discouraged or angry. Instead, he was happy. Winning or losing was not important to him. "When did A-Jun arrive?" He was so focused that he only noticed Zhao Shu now.
Zhao Shu bowed and greeted them, "Father, Teacher, His Majesty's birthday is coming soon, and I have come to discuss birthday gifts with you."
"Send some gold and silver utensils, antiques and calligraphy and paintings, that will do. Your royal uncle has plenty, he'll be happy with whatever you send." Prince Yong thought simply, why be so particular when they're brothers?
However, Luo Hu didn't think it was necessary to consult them about giving these things. He suspected that this disciple was going to cause some trouble again, so he asked, "What do you want to give?"
"Ah Jun wants to return her fiefdom." She spoke the truth. Now she only had three counties left, and if she could return them before the princes rebelled, she would truly be free of all burdens.
Luo Hu nodded, extremely satisfied with his disciple's spirit. "It can't be given out as a congratulatory gift. The Emperor can't do anything to the powerful families, but he can do something to you. So you have to find a way to get the Emperor to praise you."
They had the same idea as Zhao Shu. Sending it directly as a birthday gift would be unreasonable and would make them easy targets for attack. So the only option was to send a unique birthday gift on the day of Emperor Mingde's birthday to please him and then take advantage of the opportunity to do their thing.
After listening to the words of the master and his disciple, Prince Yong silently went to collect the white jade chess pieces on the table. These were all valuables; making money was not easy at all, and he had to be frugal.
"It's really hard to come up with something clever." Luo Hu began to analyze Emperor Mingde's temperament, but after thinking it over, he realized that Emperor Mingde's temperament was actually quite changeable, and no one knew whether he could laugh heartily.
Zhao Shu thought for a moment, then her eyes suddenly lit up. "I know what to give!"
She spoke loudly, causing Prince Yong's Luo Hu to lean back slightly. Luo Hu asked, "What are you thinking about?"
Zhao Shu shook her head and smiled mysteriously, "Teacher knew about it on the day of the Emperor's birthday."
After saying that, he ran back to his Qionghua Courtyard. Once back in the courtyard, he immediately locked himself in his small study and began to write and draw. When he couldn't draw well with a brush, he asked Xiao Guozi to pluck a goose feather to draw with.
As night fell, Xing'er came to ask, "Princess, would you like to dine with the Prince and the Master, or at Qionghua Courtyard?"
Without even looking up, she said, "Bring it to Qionghua Courtyard."
After saying that, he continued to revise and draw, throwing half a wastebasket of discarded drawings into the trash can.
Xing'er urged her again before she stopped and went out to eat. While drinking the soup, she was still thinking about the birthday gift. After drinking half of the soup, she said, "Please invite Physician Peng first thing tomorrow morning."
After finishing her meal, she returned to her study to write and draw until late at night. Chu Chun and the others couldn't bear to watch any longer and urged her repeatedly before she reluctantly left the study to wash up and rest.
The next day, as dawn broke, she got up early and went to the study. Fortunately, Chu Chun and the others also got up very early and washed and dressed as quickly as possible.
When Physician Peng arrived, Zhao Shu was eating small crystal buns while writing and drawing.
"Princess, what business do you have with me?"
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