Chapter 66 Visiting Relatives
Seeing Xu Wangzhi come out, Zhu Yuhuan asked with a smile: "Wangzhi, where are my ginseng and deer antlers? I have to visit my relatives today with some gifts."
Xu Wangzhi quickly turned back to get the oil paper. As she sorted them out, she said disapprovingly, "They're all in there! Miss Huang sent so many at once, it took me a long time to sort them out..." She looked at the pile of unused herbs and couldn't help complaining, "Why don't you help keep an eye on them? The extra herbs are going to be wasted..."
Zhu Yuhuan chuckled and said, "I'll take the extra herbs. Please help me prepare various medicine packs. The best ones are for nourishing the body. I'll go back and give them out to the people in the teahouse and the charity hall."
Xu Yun next to him was completely confused.
Welfare? That doesn't sound like the kind of welfare you often see in books...
Xu Wangzhi understood Zhu Yuhuan's meaning very naturally and just sighed, "Then remember to pay..."
"I know." Zhu Yuhuan waved his hand, signaling the people around him to go in and carry the box.
Xu Yun finally came back to his senses. He was frightened to hear that Xu Wangzhi dared to ask the princess to buy her old medicinal herbs. However, he saw that Zhu Yuhuan had no dignity in front of Xu Wangzhi, as if the conversation between them had never happened.
Before leaving, Zhu Yuhuan smiled at Xu Yun and said, "From now on, we can be considered acquaintances. We can chat more when we have time. I believe that the thirty-third place in the second place of the imperial list must have extraordinary qualities."
When the courtyard became quiet again, Xu Yun finally realized that he had barely passed the test of Princess Shunde. He was qualified to have some brief contact with the princess, but he still needed the princess's careful consideration.
However, gaining the princess's trust and obtaining resources from her was another hurdle. After all, the princess remembered the ranking of even a small editor like him so clearly that she must have known about his tricks for a long time.
Xu Yun was distracted when Xu Wangjian spoke, "Brother Xu, the princess is not someone you can easily mess with. Once you're on the boat, you can never get off. If you force yourself to jump off, you'll only drown."
Xu Yun moved his arm, which was sore from grinding the medicine, and couldn't help but say, "Big sister, if you must say such things, isn't it a little late to say it now?"
Xu Wangzhi looked innocent and said, "You didn't ask me earlier. How could I know that you wanted to curry favor with the princess?"
Xu Yun sighed and said seriously, "How can this be called flattery? A wise bird chooses the right tree to roost in..."
"Choosing a tree to live in is a long-term residence." Xu Wangzhi said seriously: "Brother Xu, you are just trying to climb up by relying on the princess. How can it be the same?"
Xu Yun thought of Zhu Yuhuan's half-smile, which clearly confirmed what Xu Wangzhi had said. His heart sank, but he gritted his teeth and said, "Princess, if you can give me a chance, I will go through fire and water!"
He encountered many obstacles due to his unremarkable appearance. He finally passed the imperial examination and gained fame in the northern part of the country. If he could not rise to the top, wouldn't all his efforts be in vain?
Xu Wangzhi wrapped up the herbs in his hand and said, "Then I will help you convey your aspirations to the princess."
Xu Yun was slightly stunned and said quickly: "Don't say that..."
"The princess is a smart one among smart people. She can distinguish between truth and falsehood, good and bad. She only likes to hear the truth." After Xu Wangzhi finished speaking, he suddenly remembered something and said, "But the princess will definitely take your words seriously. Brother Xu, do you mind?"
Xu Yun couldn't help but hold his forehead and said, "Big sister, you'd better stop talking..."
He knew that Xu Wangzhi was a simple-minded person, but he should not take advantage of her innocence at this time... Even if the princess really asked him to go through fire and water, he would not be able to withstand it!
On the other hand, Zhu Yuhuan left the Xu family and went straight to the Jiaxing Princess Mansion with the specialties he got from the north and the dividends from the teahouse.
Normally, the dividends were delivered to the residences of the princesses by the teahouse manager. Now Zhu Yuhuan was just using this as an excuse to meet Princess Jiaxing.
It happened that the son-in-law of the emperor, Commandant Jing Yuan, was on leave today, so he went through the formalities in advance and went to the princess's residence to ask for an audience with the princess. He never expected to see Zhu Yuhuan running towards him.
Jing Yuan was quite surprised and asked, "Princess Shunde, why...?"
He had not met Princess Jiaxing many times, let alone her niece. Zhu Zhanji had seen her from a distance a few times when he was traveling before, but he was definitely not familiar with her.
Zhu Yuhuan bowed and said, "Shunde greets uncle. Today, when I left the palace for the teahouse, a caravan happened to bring ginseng and deer antlers, so Shunde thought of giving them to aunt." Behind her were a group of servants, carrying two lacquer boxes, one for dividends and the other for various supplements.
But he didn't expect to encounter such an opportunity. Zhu Yuhuan thought to himself that it was not good. The couple finally got to see each other, but it was disrupted by his accident.
Jing Yuan finally understood and sent for Princess Jiaxing to come out. A moment later, Princess Jiaxing appeared, wearing a pale pink dress and a spring green mandarin duck bodice. She glanced between the two men and laughed heartily, saying, "What a coincidence you two have run into each other today. It's quite a coincidence, perhaps Shunde doesn't know about this? Your husband is from Shunde, so you two seem to be connected."
Zhu Yuhuan felt a little embarrassed and said, "I don't deserve this chance. Shunde finally managed to leave the palace, so I wanted to pay my respects to my aunt and bring her some gifts. Besides that... I also wanted to borrow the painting of autumn chrysanthemums from my aunt's dowry..."
"No problem. I'll also borrow the painting of ladies strolling in the garden." Princess Jiaxing ordered tea to be served, then said to her husband, "My niece and I have some intimate conversations to share. Please go sit in the side hall for a while."
Jing Yuan always obeyed the princess in everything, so he immediately got up and left.
When Zhu Yuhuan saw that Jing Yuan respected Princess Jiaxing so much, he secretly sighed in his heart.
Fortunately, the relationship between the monarch and his subjects was still clear at this time. If he were reincarnated in the middle or late period, anyone, whether a bald man, a local tyrant, or a sickly person, could become the prince consort by spending some money.
Seeing her thoughtful expression, Princess Jiaxing couldn't help but chuckle. She first dismissed the palace servants, then said, "It's a little lonely now that the princess has married, but the servants are all dedicated to serving you, and the prince consort is also respectful. It can be considered a small palace, and you can live well on your own." Seeing that Zhu Yuhuan didn't change his expression, she continued, "However, no matter how comfortable the princess's mansion is, it's not as good as living in the palace with your parents by your side. No wonder my sister-in-law sent me things. I guess she couldn't bear to see you leave the palace and suffer like this."
Zhu Yuhuan was slightly startled when she heard her own mother's name. She said, "My mother sent something?" She thought carefully and then vaguely remembered something. "Is it the poetry and prose booklet compiled by the palace earlier?"
Princess Jiaxing nodded slightly and said, "My sister-in-law is frugal by nature. She usually stores away any goodies she has, only taking them out during festivals and holidays. This time, she spent a fortune on you, sending you several of the treasures bestowed by the Emperor on your wedding. They are all fine things."
Zhu Yuhuan then realized that his mother had the same idea as he did, and they both planned to ask Princess Jiaxing for help to smooth things over with Empress Dowager Zhang.
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