004
Shen Qi is at the perfect age and is already pretty. Shen Jin is young but also very cute, with a rosy face and wet eyes. Although her color is not as good as that of her other daughters, her pair of almond-shaped eyes make her look innocent and pretty.
Princess Rui was also very beautiful, but she usually looked dignified and lacked a bit of gentleness. But at this moment she was stunning.
"What's going on?" Prince Rui walked in and asked.
In fact, Princess Rui already knew the time when Prince Rui usually came. Shen Qi and Shen Jin quickly separated, and she seemed a little embarrassed to call out, "Father."
"Haha." Prince Rui was not angry. He sat down next to Princess Rui and said, "You guys sit down too."
Shen Qi and Shen Jin sat down. Seeing that his two daughters were a little nervous, King Rui asked with a smile, "What happened just now?"
"Jin girl embroidered a handkerchief for me." Princess Rui took the initiative to hand over the handkerchief, and then pointed at the lotus leaves and red carp to show Prince Rui, "Your Highness, what do you see?"
Prince Rui had seen countless treasures. Shen Jinxiu's things were naturally not as good as those of the embroiderers who made a living from this, or even as good as those of ordinary people. However, Shen Jin was less than ten years old and had such a status, so it was considered good. Even the oldest Shen Qi was not as good as her. "Well... I think the lotus leaves and fish are a little fat?"
"See, father said so too." Shen Qi poked Shen Jin and said with a smile, "Just now I said that my sister is not willing to do so."
King Rui smiled and said, "It's well embroidered, but don't get tired."
Shen Jin was used to being ignored by King Rui. When she heard this, she blushed and said, "Father, I will make something for you too."
King Rui was stunned for a moment. His daughter had never made anything for him before. Seeing Shen Jin's face full of anticipation and nervousness, he smiled and said, "Okay."
Princess Rui smiled and said, "Jin girl is still considerate."
Shen Qi said, "Sister, don't forget me."
"I won't forget it." Shen Jin moved closer to Shen Qi and assured her, "Sister is the best."
"Very well-behaved." Shen Qi looked at Prince Rui with some pride. This made Prince Rui like her even more. After all, he only had this one legitimate daughter.
Princess Rui's two sons are usually in the palace, and even when they come back on vacation, they live in the front yard. So there are only four of them at mealtime, and there are no servants to serve them. Instead, Shen Qi has been taking care of Shen Jin. Shen Jin is very cute when she eats. She eats in small bites with proper posture, but it makes people feel comfortable watching her and it also whets their appetite. Even Prince Rui had an extra bowl of porridge.
After breakfast, Shen Qi took Shen Jin to class. King Rui specially invited a teacher for them. He didn't require all of them to be talented, but they had to have basic understanding.
Because he didn't have to attend court, Prince Rui was still thinking about the scene he saw when he entered the room, and he couldn't help but grab the hand of Princess Rui. Princess Rui blushed and lowered her head slightly, with a charm that she didn't usually have.
The servants in the room also went out quietly with great tact. The prince was satisfied and couldn't help but pull the princess to be intimate with her. The princess didn't refuse...
Shen Zi did not come today, but Shen Jing came with her sister Shen Rong. Shen Rong is the youngest, but the teacher said that she is very talented in playing the piano, so she focuses more on these two aspects in her studies.
When Shen Jing saw Shen Qi and Shen Jin coming together, her eyes darkened, but she immediately smiled and took the initiative to call out, "Big sister, third sister."
Shen Rong followed Shen Jing in shouting, and then sat aside to look at the music score. Although she was young, she had the noble air of a talented lady.
Several people studied different things, and the worst ones were Shen Jin and Shen Zi. However, Shen Zi was pretty, so Shen Jin was the only one who was useless. Although the teachers in the past would not deliberately make things difficult for Shen Jin, they were somewhat indifferent. But today, when they saw Shen Qi personally leading her over, they were a little surprised, but soon returned to normal.
At noon, Shen Jin did not follow Shen Qi to the main courtyard. Concubine Chen was waiting for her in the courtyard. When she saw her daughter, a smile appeared on her face. She said softly, "Why are you in such a hurry? You're sweating." Then she took a handkerchief to help Shen Jin wipe her forehead.
"Mother." Shen Jin's eyes were bright and her face was rosy, making her look especially cute.
Concubine Chen wanted to ask a few more questions, but when she saw her daughter like this, she understood. She pulled her daughter into the house and asked someone to bring warm water to wash Shen Jin.
"Mother..." After Shen Jin finished cleaning, he moved closer to Concubine Chen.
Concubine Chen brought water to her mouth like she did when they were little. Although Shen Jin finished drinking it, she still said, "Why is it warm?"
"How can you drink cold water when you just got back?" Concubine Chen loved Shen Jin, but she also paid special attention to Shen Jin's health. "Okay, let's eat."
"Yes." Shen Jin agreed. The food here was naturally not as sumptuous as that in the main courtyard, but it was not bad either. Shen Jin felt that there were fish, meat, vegetables and soup, and they all tasted good. Even if Concubine Chen was not favored, she had given birth to a daughter for Prince Rui and was a concubine, so the kitchen did not dare to neglect her.
But I don’t know if it’s an illusion, Shen Jin feels that today’s food is a little different from the past, and the taste seems to be more to her taste.
Shen Jin knew in her heart that it might be related to the things Princess Rui and Prince Rui sent yesterday, but she felt that it was nothing. The kitchen had never deducted anything from them before, and they always followed the quota. However, if they really wanted to eat something, they could just tell the kitchen and they would make it for them. They were just more attentive now.
After dinner, Concubine Chen took Shen Jin for a few laps in the small courtyard before letting her go back to the room to rest. Because Prince Rui had not been to this courtyard for a long time, Shen Jin sometimes pulled her mother to sleep together, and Concubine Chen indulged her. Today, the mother and daughter lay in bed together, and Shen Jin whispered to Concubine Chen about what happened in the main courtyard.
Concubine Chen touched Shen Jin's head and said, "Since the princess is so kind to you, you should respect her well, understand?"
"I know." Shen Jin said, "I want to make a headband for my mother."
"Then do it." Concubine Chen said softly, "Mother will teach you slowly."
"And my sister's purse." Shen Jin muttered with his eyes closed.
"Okay." Concubine Chen smiled, "Mother has a very beautiful piece of material, I'll bring it to you when the time comes."
"And my father's..." Shen Jin was a little dazed and almost fell asleep.
"Okay." Concubine Chen leaned over and patted her daughter gently, saying, "Go to sleep, we'll talk when you wake up."
"Yes." Shen Jin then went to sleep with peace of mind.
Cui Xi took the opportunity to tell Concubine Chen what happened in the courtyard while Princess Rui was taking a bath. Princess Rui was satisfied. She didn't want to raise an ungrateful person. "No need to comb your hair. Just put it up a little."
“Yes.” After Cui Xi served Princess Rui, she helped her out.
Prince Rui had also finished washing up. When he saw Princess Rui, he took the initiative to step forward and helped her to sit at the table. The maid then brought the food up, and Prince Rui personally served a bowl of soup to Princess Rui.
Princess Rui also picked up some dishes that Prince Rui liked and gave them to him. For a moment, the two of them became even closer than when they were first married.
After using the food, Prince Rui took a nap at Princess Rui's place. Lying on the bed, Princess Rui said, "Your Highness, I plan to take Jin to the Yongle Marquis' Mansion in a few days."
"It's up to you." Men are most easy to talk to when they are full and satisfied.
"The second girl is outstanding in appearance, the fourth girl is also famous, and the fifth girl is still young, so there is no rush, but Jin girl...she is the most well-behaved and sensible. It's not good for us to tell others openly. We must take her out to meet more people so that we can choose a marriage in the future." Princess Rui said gently, "You also know that I am not in good spirits every summer. Jin girl is sensible and can take care of me. If I take a few more girls, I am afraid I can't take care of them all."
"I know you." King Rui said, "We have been married for so many years, and you have taken good care of the backyard. Don't worry."
Prince Rui knew that Princess Rui said so much because she was afraid that he would think she was biased, but Prince Rui had never thought so. He also felt that the three daughters born to Xu would have no trouble finding a husband, but the third daughter... was really not outstanding enough, and it was right for the princess to plan more for her.
"Also, Your Majesty, how much money should the public treasury give to buy a dowry for my daughter's marriage?" Princess Rui asked. "Qi'er is a legitimate daughter, so she should give more."
Prince Rui not only did not think it was wrong, but also agreed in his heart. Besides, the family his eldest daughter married into was not ordinary, and if the dowry was too little, she would be laughed at. After thinking for a while, he said, "The palace will give us a lot of rewards by then, but my daughters are all princesses, so too little will not look good. Qi'er is the legitimate daughter, so she will get 50,000 taels, and the remaining four girls will get 30,000 taels each."
"Yes." Princess Rui was satisfied. "Qier doesn't need to worry. It would be better if Eryatou and Jinyatou started preparing early."
"It's up to you." Prince Rui said with a smile.
Princess Rui stopped talking. Although both were 30,000 taels, the things that could be bought with these 30,000 taels were different. There was a huge difference between 30,000 taels of antique fabric and 30,000 taels of Liangtian Shop. Princess Rui didn't want the three daughters born to Xu to act cute in front of the prince all day after her daughter got married, so she brought Shen Jin out. Presumably Concubine Chen knew about it, but she didn't tell Shen Jin. Instead, she asked Shen Jin to be filial to her. This was a truly smart person.
And Xu? She's jumping around happily now, but she'll cry later.
So no matter how Concubine Xu showed off or how she caged Prince Rui, Princess Rui never got angry, because she didn't take Concubine Xu seriously at all. It was also a melancholy thing that the opponent was not on the same level.
Prince Rui had been staying at Princess Rui's place these days. Xu couldn't sit still any longer, but it was not appropriate for her to go there openly, so she just sent her three daughters to pay their respects to Princess Rui in the morning.
Before he saw them, Prince Rui didn't think anything of it, but when he saw them suddenly, he suddenly remembered that except for the eldest daughter and the third daughter who came to pay their respects to Princess Rui every day, it was the first time for Xu's three daughters to come. Thinking of this, he frowned, thinking that Xu was too ignorant.
Princess Rui didn't care at all and even ordered people to prepare the food that Shen Zi and the others liked. When Prince Rui heard that Princess Rui remembered everything exactly, he sighed that it was a good idea to marry a virtuous wife. "Don't you usually come to pay respects to the princess?"
As soon as these words came out, before Shen Zi and the others could speak, Princess Rui said, "I didn't let them come. They are growing up, so they should get more sleep." After saying that, she glared at Prince Rui and said, "Don't scare the children."
When Prince Rui saw Princess Rui like this, his dissatisfaction deepened. Shen Jin lowered his head and huddled aside, thinking that Princess Rui was indeed the most powerful person in the palace. Just like his mother said, as long as Princess Rui liked her, it didn't matter even if Prince Rui didn't like her. Moreover, although Xu was glorious, she was still suppressed by Princess Rui. This was not only a problem of status, but also of talent.
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