Soft Spring Rain (Part 1)

  In March, there were several spring rains.

  Because the draft is imminent, Yunzhu has been out very little, but also went to Yicun Wangfu and Zhen Guo Gongfu once a month. To Zhen Guo Gongfu was to visit her pregnant sister, while to Yicun Wangfu ostensibly to socialize with her cousin Jinyan, in reality, the true intention was to see Yicun Wang Yunxiang - his knee problem is gradually getting better, after half a year, the joint fluid has decreased, and the purulent discharge has also shown signs of stopping.

  Not only was Princess Yixin's wife, Lady Chaojia, overjoyed, but even Prince Yixin himself, who had been suffering from chronic illness for a year, with occasional bouts of cold and fever, and daily unbearable pain, felt a great sense of hope... His illness was truly incurable, and even his father, the Emperor, who had not been very fond of him, had ordered the imperial physicians to focus on treating him, but after more than a decade, there was still no effective solution, and they could only watch as the symptoms grew more severe. This young girl from the Fuca family was indeed blessed with good fortune; unexpectedly, this illness that had caused so many imperial physicians headaches had gradually improved under her care. Although it was Chen Taishi who actually took his pulse and adjusted his medication every few days, without her, Chen Taishi would not have had so many prescriptions and insights... This he understood.

  It's rare that this little girl is calm and not arrogant at all, thinking of this, Yunxiang also feels that his son has a good eye for people, unfortunately, he was one step slower than the emperor. "The selection of concubines will be next month, will you be nervous?"

  "It's all been learned, and being nervous is useless."

  Yunzhu had a very good impression of this brother who was the closest to Yongzheng, and this impression came from their previous written exchanges and several face-to-face meetings, where she was impressed by his insightful conversations, gentle and generous attitude, which transformed into a real and rich feeling. He was sometimes straightforward and humorous, sometimes kind and warm, and sometimes majestic and cautious. When treating Yunzhu, he was like an elder brother to a younger niece, very amiable and respectable. Just like this, Yunzhu could feel the "positive" masculine charm on him. Of course, as a prince who had gone through the struggle for the throne, Yunzhu believed that he wouldn't be a purely positive character, but thinking about it, even she, as a younger generation, couldn't help but feel close to his charm, let alone his wife or concubine... Hmm, it's no wonder that many modern time-traveling novels would choose him as the male lead.

  Jyun Ya, who was sitting beside her, smiled slyly and covered her mouth. Yun Zhu had always been calm in the face of danger since she was a child. Auntie told them that when they were in Chahar, there was once an incident where she and her two-year-older brother Fu Yu went out riding horses and encountered a group of horse thieves. Not only did the thieves steal their horses, but they also wanted to kidnap Yun Zhu and her brother because of their beautiful appearance, intending to sell them off. However, six-year-old Yun Zhu pretended to be timid and afraid, deceiving the thieves into letting their guard down, and ultimately managed to capture them instead.

  If Yunzhu knew what she was thinking, she would definitely say that thanks to Zhang Wuji from "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber", as well as her survival experience in the post-apocalyptic world, she had learned about many wild vegetables that could cause diarrhea when cooked with mushrooms. More importantly, fortunately, the knowledge of horse thieves in this era was generally not high...

  Yun Xiang smiled: "If your family is ordinary and you want to hang a sign or point out someone who knows the roots, I can help one or two. However, since you've already registered with the imperial brother, I'm not in a good position to intervene now." Even giving a heads up to the people in the palace to take care of her during the selection wouldn't work, if she couldn't make it through the selection on her own abilities, how could she sit in the position of the crown prince's consort?

  Yunzhu sighed slightly: "Let's just see what fate has in store." She herself knew that among this batch of palace maidens, she was one who stood out in terms of both family background and looks. As for her actual abilities, the high-ranking officials in the palace must have a clear understanding, having long given up on any naive notions of relying solely on luck.

  Yi Qin Wang Fu Jin saw them and smiled, saying: "Passing on experience is still possible." She pointed out to Yun Xiang that as the legitimate Fu Jin, she had participated in two selections before, so her experience was a bit more than the other showgirls. At this point, she carefully told Yun Zhu about some things to pay attention to when she was selected for the show. Jun Ya also said a few words, but her selection experience was really nothing special, smooth and unremarkable.

  "Time has passed, and many years have gone by. The rules of the selection process have changed somewhat, but as long as the host is different, the focus of the questions for the women will be different. However, it's still worth listening to as a reference."

  "This is the intention of Fu Jin, Yunzhu is deeply moved. I heard from E Niang, Tang Jie, and now you... The more I hear, the more settled my heart becomes? Although it's not that I have a clear plan in mind, at least there's a rough outline." Actually, what these people said wasn't any fresher than what the invited instructors had to say, but they were all good intentions.

  Yi Qin Wang's consort was amused by her, just about to speak, when suddenly a commotion came from outside the door, followed by an old nanny rushing in, crying and shouting: "Consort... Wang Ye's consort, it's not good! Eighth Brother has fallen into the lake..."

  Yi Qin Wang's consort heard this and her body went soft, Eighth Prince Yun'e was her youngest son, born in the third year of Yongzheng, now only three years old, at the most lovable and pleasing time...

  "What?!" Yunxiang stood up, his face ashen: "The person, how are they?" His body had already begun to rush out. It was only in the middle of this month that he had lost his ninth son, Amu Huolan, who was only two years old; could it be that he would lose another one?

  The old woman knelt on the ground and cried: "I've already called for someone to jump down and rescue him, but it's unclear whether he's dead or alive..."

  "My savior..." The princess of Yi Qin struggled to get up, and without bothering to punish the careless servant, she followed him out.

  Yunzhu and Junya looked at each other, never thinking that such a thing would happen. "We'll go take a look too." Junya stood up, saying somewhat urgently, by reason she couldn't leave Yunzhu who was visiting the Duke of Yi's residence, but emotionally, as the legitimate sister-in-law, she also cared about Xiu En. She and Hong Chun didn't know if they would have their own children in this lifetime, usually Zhao Jia Shi was busy with household chores, so the couple often took Xiu En with them to take care of him, nominally he was a younger uncle, but actually it was more like being a son, and the feelings were deep.

  "Alright, I'm also a bit worried." In Yunzhu's impression, the son of Yi Qin Wang seemed to have not died so early... but he didn't live to grow up either.

  "Hurry up, prepare ginger soup and a quilt—"

  When they arrived at the scene, Hong Zhen and several house guards had already rescued the person and were hurrying to take them to the Shou En Temple, the child's face was purple from the cold, their hands and feet shriveled and pale.

  "Wait!" Yunzhu exclaimed, "Don't carry him away yet, clear out the mud and dirt from his mouth and nose first —"

  Hong Jing was taken aback, but Yun Xiang made a decisive decision: "Do as she says!"

  Hong Jin and the bodyguard immediately put down the person, following Yunzhu's instructions, pulled out Xie En's tongue to keep his airway clear, and then pressed him prone, head down, abdomen up, pressing on his back, expelling water from his lungs and stomach... Xie En indeed spat out a mouthful of dirty water and recovered his breathing without artificial respiration or chest compressions, and his complexion was much better than before.

  Then it's easy, change clothes, feed ginger soup...

  When the imperial physician arrived, he felt the pulse and said with a relaxed expression: "You've had a fright, but your body is fine. I'll prescribe a calming prescription for you to drink for a few days, and after taking good care of yourself for a while, you'll be okay."

  "Thanks for your trouble, Doctor."

  The imperial physician said while writing the prescription, "It's good that you did a good job in emergency rescue. Many drowning people are because they can't clear out the dirt from their nostrils, mouth and abdomen in time, even if they are rescued back, they will be injured and leave behind a hidden disease..."

  After the imperial physician left, Prince Yi led Hong Zhen to the study to talk. Princess Yi held Yunzhu's hand and thanked her repeatedly. Yunzhu smiled slightly: "Princess, if you're so polite, I won't dare come again in the future. It's nothing, just that the people in the mansion were worried and didn't think it through for a moment."

  Can't think of it for a moment? Then her Shu En will suffer for the rest of her life! One Hong Tun has already made her heart bitter for over a decade, and another Shu En she can't take. "Alright, I won't say more." She wiped away her tears, looking at Yun Zhu with a smile, thinking to herself that this Yun Zhu is truly their family's lucky star, unfortunately, she can't be her own daughter-in-law.

  As a mother, she naturally didn't miss the gaze of Hong Zhen looking at Yun Zhu, it was a kind of heartfelt and sincere joy... Even if she and his Ama repeatedly explained to him, he couldn't let go of that thought, alas.

  Yi Qin Wang's wife didn't have a bad impression of Yunzhu just because her son liked her. Firstly, Yunzhu was indeed kind and gentle, which made her likable. Secondly, she had done favors for the Yi Qin Wang household, even if they couldn't be openly acknowledged. Having received kindness is having received kindness; it can't be repaid with enmity. Moreover, although she understood that Hong Zhen was a sensitive and persistent person, she didn't think he could forever maintain this pure liking. In her opinion, in the future, her son wouldn't lack women he liked, whether they were his legitimate wife or concubines. What's most important for men is to serve the country and provide for their families.

  Although Xiu En was no longer a problem, the fact that he had fallen into the lake still needed to be investigated. The kind and gentle Princess Yi Qin would not let someone harm her children without punishment, even if she was lenient with the concubines in the mansion. Yun Zhu knew it would be inconvenient for her to stay any longer, so she took the opportunity to bid farewell.

  "It's all thanks to you, who would have thought that something like this would happen..." The King's wife held her hand with a face full of apology. Originally, it was already impolite for the household to invite others over when there was a funeral, and now they had come and encountered such an event, she didn't even have the face to speak. When they wanted to invite her to come to the house again, the flower viewing party was imminent, and Cloud Pearl probably wouldn't have time to come again either.

  "It's just my intention, what's there to thank for." Yunzhu smiled casually and said: "Fu Jin, let Junya sister send me off, that's enough."

  Yi Qin Wang Fu Jin nodded and said to Yu Ya: "You see off Yun Zhu."

  "Yes."

  "It's rare for you to come over, yet something like this happens." Junya wasn't in a good mood either. Although the Fu family was dominant in the Yi Qin Wangfu, the grudges and conflicts within were not simple at all. When Yi Qin Wang Yunxiang was young, he didn't pay much attention to the women and concubines in the mansion, and after ascending to the throne, he devoted most of his energy to politics, neglecting the harem struggles even more. The several concubines in the Yi Qin Wangfu were not easy-going either. "My mother-in-law can only take care of one thing but not another, it's not easy." Husband, son, concubine...

  "Every family has its own unspeakable troubles." Yunzhu comforted her, "What you gain must be balanced by what you lose. Like Fugui, having earned the respect of Prince Yi, she can't avoid being envied and hated by others... like you, not having to worry about household matters is a blessing in itself..."

  Mingming, an unmarried girl, seemed like someone who had experienced the vicissitudes of life. Junya asked back: "Then where is your good fortune?"

  "Me?" Yunzhu slightly nodded her head, a smile spreading across her face, "My good fortune is in my own hands." Her good fortune cannot be given by men, nor does she want it to be.

  Jingya heard this and was slightly stunned, as if she had realized something. After sending her to the horse carriage, he said: "I'll go see you again in a few days."

  Yunzhu frowned and wrinkled her nose: "I'm afraid I won't have time to entertain you anymore." Through the lifted curtain, she saw a figure wearing a moon-white embroidered silver cloud dragon pattern standing alone in the distance, silently gazing this way, and her heart skipped a beat, Hong Jin?

  "There are people who entertain me." Yu Ya laughed and scolded herself for being too charming.

  Smiling, Yunzhu lowered the curtain, "Let's go."