Chapter 280 The Lin Family Garden is Dazzling
Seeing this, Yuan Hongqu stopped trying to stop it.
Of those who came out of the palace with the Empress, some went back to the palace to deliver a message, while the rest went with her to the Lin family.
Upon arriving at the Lin family's residence, Zhao Huajing and Daiyu went to the garden together.
Some of the people who followed Zhao Huajing went to the garden, while others went to the Lin family's kitchen with Yuan Hongqu.
The Empress not only wanted to tour the Lin family's garden, but also to dine at the Lin family's residence.
When they arrived at the Lin family's kitchen, they began to use silver needles to test each ingredient one by one.
After they had all tried it once, Yuan Hongqu handed over a piece of paper.
"Since everyone has inspected the ingredients and there are no problems with the Lin family kitchen, please sign this! If anything goes wrong in the future, don't use the Lin family as a scapegoat!" Yuan Hongqu's tone was stiff, not at all like she was joking.
The leading female official smiled obsequiously upon seeing this.
“Mr. Yuan, it’s not that we servants want to be so careful, it’s just that we have no choice.”
As she spoke, she took the paper from Yuan Hongqu's hand.
“We naturally trust Mr. Yuan.”
The female official read through the contents of the paper, and what was written there was consistent with what Yuan Hongqu had just said.
Since Mr. Yuan was upright and honest, they didn't hesitate either. The leading lady took a pen and signed her name first, and the rest also wrote their names on the paper.
After they had all signed, Yuan Hongqu took the paper back, carefully folded it, and put it away.
Several people supervised the Lin family's cooks as they prepared dinner, while the female official went out with Yuan Hongqu.
"Mr. Yuan, please don't be angry. This concerns Her Majesty the Empress, so we have to be extremely careful."
"Since you were able to become the chief lady-in-waiting by the Empress's side, you must know why the Empress asked you to do this?"
"I know, but I can't tell you," the female official shook her head.
"Why are you being so mysterious?" Yuan Hongqu asked, puzzled.
“There’s nothing that Mr. Hara can’t say.” A nanny walked in from outside.
This is the Empress's wet nurse, who has taken care of the Empress for many years, following her wherever she goes.
She had known Yuan Hongqu before, when they were at the Yangzhou Women's Academy.
She also knew that if it weren't for Yuan Hongqu, the Empress would probably have been married off to someone else at her father's discretion.
"This matter is related to Her Majesty's family. When Her Majesty returned home for the third day after her wedding, she almost fell into a trap set by her sisters. Since then, testing for poison has become an indispensable part of Her Majesty's life when she goes out."
Yuan Hongqu wondered what Zhao Huajing had encountered at her parents' home that would turn her into the person she was now.
These are students I once cared about, students I painstakingly taught.
A pang of heartache swept through Yuan Hongqu's heart...
The afterglow of the setting sun bathed the Lin family garden in a golden hue.
The koi in the pond leaped out of the water, scrambling to eat the spilled food.
The early spring breeze still carried a chill, and the air was filled with the fragrance of plum blossoms. On the other side of the pond, plum blossom petals fluttered down, creating a sea of fragrant snow.
Zhao Huajing grew up in a family where she lived with relatives and had few opportunities to go out and socialize. She had never even seen a garden.
However, since becoming empress, she has had quite a few gardens of her own. In addition to the imperial garden inside the palace, there are summer resorts and hot spring resorts outside the palace, as well as various royal gardens. As empress, she can visit whichever one she likes.
But she had never seen a garden like the Lin family's before.
It was only early spring, but the Lin family garden was already a riot of colors. The willows along the moat had just turned green again, and the weeping willows of the Lin family were already like smoke, looking as if they were shrouded in a mist from afar.
On the other side of the Lin family's house, the Dragon Plum tree had already finished blooming. A gentle breeze blew, and the petals danced in the air, drifting into the lake and attracting the koi carp to nibble at the plum blossoms, which was quite amusing.
Just looking at this one spot, Zhao Huajing felt unable to move.
Today, Daiyu, as the hostess, is showing her visiting senior sister, the Empress, around her garden, smiling as she introduces the little sights and the thoughtful details she's put into them.
After strolling around for a while, it was getting dark, and the lanterns along the lake started to light up one by one.
The places they had just walked through were enveloped in a soft halo of light, adding to their charm.
“Senior sister, I heard from the nanny that you are from the capital and went to Yangzhou when you were about my age; my ancestral home is Suzhou, I was born in Yangzhou, but now I live in the capital.” The two arrived at a teahouse by the lake and rested and chatted inside.
"Our fate is quite deep. When I was in Yangzhou, you were in Yangzhou too, but we didn't know each other then. We only met when we came to the capital. If you're talking about fate, you might as well say that our horoscopes are very compatible!"
Zhao Huajing chuckled.
Daiyu personally brewed the tea, with water boiling on a small red clay stove. Because she was afraid of disturbing her sleep, she brewed Baihao Yinzhen (Silver Needle White Tea).
"Dragon swimming transforms into golden liquid, crane dancing gives birth to new white jade essence. Daiyu, this white tea is truly excellent. I used to prefer Pu'er, but today I discovered that the taste of this Baihao Yinzhen is also very good." Zhao Huajing took a sip and felt that the taste of this white tea was also very good, complementing the scenery in the courtyard perfectly.
She had seen so many gardens, but none were like the Lin family's. Stepping into one felt like entering a fairyland, and the more she looked, the more it seemed like one.
The least likely one to be identified was actually the junior sister next to me, who kept chattering on and on...
Zhao Huajing glanced at Daiyu. Her appearance and demeanor were clearly those of a celestial being descended to earth, yet somehow she seemed a bit like a chatterbox.
After the two had tea and chatted for a while, a maid came to announce that they were invited to have a meal.
Walk through the garden, stroll along the path.
Today's banquet is being held at Jiaoyun Garden. The dishes are not the ones Daiyu usually eats, but rather specially prepared by the chef in the kitchen who is most skilled at preparing banquets.
Although these dishes, along with the fruits and vegetables produced in the space, were top-notch delicacies, they didn't look like things she ate often, so Daiyu was a little hesitant.
She didn't trust anyone. She thought that Granny Yuan would cook for her personally, but to her surprise, Granny Yuan didn't cook a single dish.
Daiyu was a little disappointed; she had originally wanted to show off to the Empress!
"Where is Mr. Yuan? Please invite her to join us for dinner." Zhao Huajing frowned when she saw that only she and Daiyu were sitting at the table.
"Mr. Yuan has some things to take care of, so he won't be coming," Zijuan quickly replied.
"Senior sister, Granny isn't usually this busy. It's probably because the academy recently started classes that she's been so busy. Granny will be able to relax a bit after about two weeks of classes."
Zhao Huajing nodded, thinking that the teachers in the academy were not sharing enough of Mr. Yuan's burden. It seemed that Mi Ling should be sent to the palace.
Mi Ling, who was being nagged by the Empress, was holding a pile of guarantee letters and an application form. She felt like she was holding a hot potato, unable to throw it away or hold onto it.
"Dean, is it absolutely necessary to recruit Xue Baochai this year?"
Yuan Hongqu looked at the paper in front of her and felt somewhat troubled.
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