Chapter 88 Destiny Mu Xue also smiled: "It's just that I didn't sleep well yesterday...
Mu Xue also smiled: "It's just that I didn't sleep well yesterday. Don't worry, mother. I'm doing fine."
Concubine Yi held her hand tightly and said, "It's good to be here this way."
Although she had a thousand words to say, it was not a convenient place to speak in public, so she could only ask a few questions and then talk to the other concubines and princesses.
To welcome the princess back home, the Queen Mother specially arranged a banquet.
Mu Xue had a meal alone and saw the palace servants bringing out all kinds of delicacies and exquisite snacks, which were palace dishes that she had not eaten for a long time.
They seemed to be talking about other things. Seeing that her task of friendly greeting was completed, Mu Xue buried her head in eating snacks.
There is a dish called Steamed Chestnut Powder Cake with Osmanthus Sugar, which is very delicious. It is an amber-colored, creamy dessert, small and pretty. The osmanthus is in season, and when you put it in your mouth, it is as fragrant as the osmanthus rain. The sweetness is also light and refreshing, not greasy at all. The aroma of chestnuts, the sticky smell of glutinous rice from the south of the Yangtze River, and the fragrance of osmanthus are intertwined, and it is crunchy and especially delicious.
It was just a plate, so for the sake of appearance, there were only two, and Mu Xue ate them in no time. She was thinking that she could ask the cook to learn how to make this sweet-scented osmanthus sugar steamed chestnut flour cake. But she didn't know if the ingredients were easy to get on the grassland, otherwise she could let Dorji have a taste, as he really liked this kind of snack.
While he was thinking about it, suddenly, a palace maid brought a plate of steamed chestnut flour cake with osmanthus sugar and whispered that it was Concubine Yi's order.
Muxue looked up in surprise, only to see Concubine Yi sitting opposite her smiling at her. There was one plate of dessert missing from the table, obviously the one that was sent to Muxue.
She looked at Concubine Yi, then at the plate of desserts in front of her. Her heart softened and she slowly picked up a piece of steamed chestnut flour cake with osmanthus sugar and savored it slowly.
When the meal was almost finished, the Empress Dowager said with a smile: "What a coincidence that you all came back. September and October are a double blessing."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present looked at the Fifth Princess and laughed.
Everyone knew that the fifth princess would be born at the end of September, and the imperial edict had already been issued. The Empress Dowager specially looked at the auspicious time sent by the Imperial Observatory and chose this day.
It was truly a happy event that was welcomed by the whole palace, because there was no shadow of marrying far away. The Fifth Princess was betrothed to Emperor Kangxi's maternal ancestor, the Tonggiya clan, commonly known as "Tong Banchao" among the people. The proposed husband, Shun Anyan, was also a handsome man.
The fifth princess lowered her head and twirled her handkerchief: "Grandmother, your birthday is a great joyous event."
The Queen Mother smiled and said, "Yes, I would be shy to be someone's bride."
Everyone started laughing.
Mu Xue also smiled in a sociable way, but she didn't know what to say in her heart. She was happy for a moment. It was a happy thing that one of these sisters could stay in the capital, stay with her relatives, and not have to go to a completely unfamiliar place. Although she didn't have much contact with the fifth princess, she was happy for this beautiful girl. At the same time, she was a little envious... It's hard to describe, there was a slight bitterness, as if she had eaten a piece of sweet-scented osmanthus sugar steamed chestnut powder cake without sugar.
However, Muxue looked at the fifth princess's lovely little face full of joy, lowered her head and smiled, then ate the last piece of osmanthus sugar steamed chestnut flour cake.
Everyone has their own destiny. She had never pleased the Empress Dowager and Emperor Kangxi like the Fifth Princess, so... it's not surprising.
After the banquet, the Nanfu troupe was called in to perform some lively plays, such as "Mulian Saves His Mother", which brought the whole family together and made everyone happy.
Mu Xue just took the opportunity to get close to Concubine Yi and talk to her, chatting about some trivial matters.
"When you arrived in Guihua City, I thought Dundubdorji was not angry," Concubine Yi asked softly.
"At first, a little bit," Muxue said with a smile, "but thanks to my mother's teaching, I coaxed him and it was fine. He said he would come to see me every winter."
"That's good." Concubine Yi said, "You are also a person with your own ideas. I am afraid that you will lose your temper and cause discord between husband and wife. Although you can't rely on him for anything, it's not a good idea. I feel a little more at ease when there is someone who understands you and is with you."
"How has my mother been doing in the palace?"
"I have nothing wrong. Old Fifth has moved out of the palace, and Little Nine is still the same. I don't know what he is learning recently...some literature, oh, Latin, anyway, there is something to play and have fun with every day. By the way, the Eighth Princess is also being raised in my palace now. She is a very delicate child, and she is as worry-free as you were back then."
Concubine Yi took out a gold pocket watch and looked at it. "It's already this late. I guess it will be dark by the time the show is over. I can't take you to Yikun Palace today. Come early tomorrow and burn some incense for your sister in the small Buddhist temple."
"That's what I was thinking about."
After talking for a long time, Mu Xue felt a little thirsty, so she took the tea and drank it carefully. When she handed the teacup back to the palace maid, she accidentally caught a glimpse of the third princess.
She sat alone in the bustling crowd, smiling along with the crowd. Next to her sat Concubine De. The third princess sighed softly, "good." She turned her head to talk to Concubine De, perhaps to praise the actor's singing.
However, the Fifth Princess happened to be walking over from the Empress Dowager's side. When Concubine De saw her biological daughter, the smile on her face became more genuine and her attention was all there.
So the third princess swallowed the words that were about to come out of her mouth, and was very tactful not to interrupt. As if she was afraid of embarrassment, she covered her mouth slightly with a handkerchief, then put it down, and continued to sit there as if nothing had happened, watching the show quietly.
She watched the play and Mu Xue watched her.
After hesitating for a moment, Mu Xue said hello to Concubine Yi and slowly walked towards the Third Princess.
Concubine Yi was eating melon seeds, looking at Muxue's back, and smiled with satisfaction.
This child has really made great progress in the past few years and has really come out of it. When people are in pain, they have no time to care for others and it is difficult to have the energy to devote to the people around them. Concubine Yi herself was also like this in her early years. Because she lost her sister and two years later she lost her youngest son. She also had to serve the emperor and could not take care of this niece. Later, she gradually recovered and was willing to take care of her.
Just like how the fourth princess treats the third princess now.
The third princess's gentle eyes were still quietly looking at the stage. It was very lively, but it didn't seem to have much to do with her. After leaving the palace for many years, she finally returned to the palace. The joy faded, and what remained was more confusion.
Although the people sitting around her are all her relatives, there seem to be very few who can truly interact with her or who are looking forward to her return.
"Today's opera is really lively, isn't it?"
Suddenly, a voice rang in her ears. The third princess turned her head and found that it was her fourth sister who had walked up to her side without her knowing.
The third princess smiled shyly: "Yes, the liveliness in the palace is indeed not as good as outside. I had forgotten a little. There is no such troupe performing on the grassland. You should also understand?"
Mu Xue nodded, "I understand. Although sometimes the grassland is extremely lively, it is quiet most of the time. People like us are considered to have status, and we have servants around us, so we can always talk. Some herdsmen, especially those who live far away, may be the only family within a radius of ten miles. It's really like living in Guanghan Palace. Third sister, are you used to eating milk tofu now? When I first started eating it, I felt something was wrong."
"Yes, I did feel it was strange at first, but then I followed the locals' method and cut it into thin slices, fried it over low heat, and ate it with honey. Gradually, I actually began to appreciate its flavor..."
They? The two of them had similar situations in the palace, and both of them had lived on the grassland for a period of time, so they had a lot to talk about once they started talking.
They still felt a sense of mutual admiration for each other until the troupe had finished their performance.
Mu Xue looked at the sky and said, "If Third Sister doesn't mind, why don't you stay at my place today? I have some fun and delicious food that you can give to Sister to try."
"Is this... not a good thing?"
"What's wrong with that? It's rare to have such an opportunity for a sisterly chat."
After being persuaded like this, the third princess was somewhat tempted. If she went back, she might have to endure the anger of her husband again. It would be better for her to follow her fourth sister, which would make her feel better.
So the two of them left the palace together.
Inviting sisters to stay overnight at home was the first time since the time travel. Mu Xue was very excited and took out some fun and delicious food as if she was presenting treasures.
She even specifically asked the kitchen to make fried chicken, coating chicken legs and wings with flour and frying them in wide oil. Coke was hard to make, so she used sweet-scented osmanthus rice wine instead. Unfortunately, the potatoes planted in Guihuacheng had not yet had a good harvest, so they could not be made into French fries. They had to be left for next time.
Many candles were lit in the inner hall, and on the dining table there was a plate of fragrant, golden fried chicken and two pots of glutinous rice wine.
The two sisters drank wine, ate fried chicken, and chatted about everything.
Perhaps because he knew that after celebrating the Empress Dowager's birthday, the two of them would be separated again, and he didn't know when they would meet again, so he dared to speak out some of his true feelings, which seemed to be a bit like talking about deep things with a brief acquaintance.
The third princess drank a cup of osmanthus wine and her face turned slightly red: "Fourth sister, I think I am very bad."
"How can you say that? You are obviously very nice and gentle."
"But - I'll tell you in secret, when everyone was congratulating the Fifth Princess in the Empress Dowager's palace, I actually felt very jealous."
The third princess murmured, "Rather than congratulating, the thought that immediately occurred to me was - why doesn't she have to go to Fu Meng? I just realized that princesses don't have to go to Fu Meng."
"The Imperial Grandmother and Khan Ama carefully selected the Tong family for her. Ha, it's a close relationship, the King's uncle's family will definitely not treat her badly. In the future, the Imperial Grandmother will definitely invite her to the palace to accompany her, just like when she was not married. Why is she so lucky!"
The third princess put down her wine glass and shed a tear: "Tell me, am I really bad to be jealous of my own sister? I shouldn't be like this, right?"
Mu Xue filled her glass with wine: "If you say so, then I am a bit bad too."
The two looked at each other for a moment, and suddenly, they both burst out laughing, laughing with tears in their eyes.
"cheers."
Muxue clinked her glass with hers and drank it all.
"The fifth princess is just exceptionally lucky. Like you said, she has a good life." Mu Xue said with her hand on her chin.
She is really lucky. Now she is favored by the Empress Dowager, and Emperor Kangxi treats this daughter very well. She is also born to Concubine De, and has the same mother as the Fourth Prince. Just think about it and you will know that when the new emperor ascends the throne, she will still enjoy endless wealth and glory. There are always such lucky people.
"But in fact, whether we are Fu Meng or not has nothing to do with whether she is Fu Meng or stays in Beijing." Mu Xue said, "The reason why I am a little jealous is that we are both pushed to the grassland by fate."
The third princess said bitterly, "Yes, we? This is our fate. Well, I'd better do more Buddhist work and cultivate a next life with a good fate like the fifth princess."
"But I don't want to wait any longer."
Mu Xue raised her head, her clear eyes dancing with the light of the candlelight.
"I don't care about his fate. I accept everything that God has imposed on me, but I control the future."
So what if she was thrown into a remote borderland? She would definitely build her own prosperous city in the desert.
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