A Busy Life (Part 2)

  "Sister." In the late afternoon, Fu Heng arrived at the Prince Zheng's mansion and after asking for the well-being of Yongzheng's wife, Empress Chunhui, he hastily made his way to Lan Garden.

  When the time came, the thin sunlight shone softly, and a faint red glow dyed Yunzhu's moon-white embroidered cheongsam with silver thread, making her look like a bright pearl surrounded by a halo, and a beautiful jade with a soft luster. The bookish air between her eyebrows was reduced by two points, and the tender and delicate color increased by three points.

  Fu Heng shouted out loud, at this moment crystal clear, his own sister like a beautiful jade tree, has reached the age of marriage. At that time, she will be the one who belongs to her future brother-in-law...

  "Spring is here? How did it come so suddenly?" Yunzhu's eyebrows and eyes curved, with a radiant glow on her small face like rouge, she pulled her hand out of the half-dry jasmine petals, revealing her crystal-like wrist and green jade fingers. She let Su Yu bring over a warm towel to wipe her hands clean. "Put them away," she instructed the little maid beside her, walking towards Fu Heng and pulling him into the hall, "It's not yet dinner time, is it? Let's eat together."

  "Good." Fu Heng licked his lips and waved his still slightly sore elbow, asking: "Sister, have you been staying well these past few days?"

  "Of course."

  It so happened that San A Ge's servant, Xiao Quanzi, and several others, including Fu Cha Shi's nanny, were on their way to the Lan Garden with some food. Fu Heng saw them and furrowed his brow, "What's going on? Isn't the kitchen of the Town National Duke's estate serving meals?"

  "This kid, speaking so sharply! Yunzhu pulled him into the hall, and after asking a few people to bring up the dishes, he cleverly returned to the entrance to keep watch. 'Have you forgotten that Third Brother is living with your sister's husband? Giving gifts to your sister and brother-in-law is just a cover for other people.' He said, speaking in a low voice about running into the Emperor."

  "Isn't that sister suffering a lot?" Fu Heng sat down and started drinking the soup, slowly, only then did he start eating the dishes.

  "But put more thought into the menu, most of the time it's easy to get started with a stir-fry." Yunzhu responded lightly and didn't speak again. Eating requires slow and careful chewing, and elegant posture... She had practiced this skill for nearly ten years before mastering it. When she first arrived, she wanted to stuff everything into her stomach.

  After finishing dinner, the two of them went to the garden for a stroll. When Fu Heng was leaving, Yunzhu handed him a small jar of newly made jasmine tea: "Take it back for your mother to drink; when she drinks it, just add one or two buds to the teacup." After a pause, she reminded him again: "If Hui Zhu wants some, let your mother give her some good tea instead. This jasmine tea is not easy to make, and drinking it regularly can help maintain beauty and dispel wind and cold in autumn and winter...the benefits are not small."

  Fu Heng opened it and a strong fragrance burst out, just like pearl tea. Each petal of the jade orchid flower had been dried and roasted into small round beads, with a light yellow color mixed with a hint of brown, looking extremely beautiful. "Alright, I get it."

  Fu Heng was not very close to his younger sister, Wei Zhu, although she was the only sister and was raised under their mother's name. After all, they were not biological siblings. Because of his closeness to Yunzhu, he understood more clearly than his other brothers that beneath Wei Zhu's lively and lovely appearance lay a competitive attitude towards her sister, such as vying for their father's favor. Whatever her sister had, she also wanted; if she didn't have something, she would think of ways to get it... What was even stranger was that sometimes when Yunzhu gave things to their parents, Wei Zhu would see them and ask for them, treating Yunzhu as if she were not taking care of her younger sister.

  Fu Heng was not very fond of her when she was young, and even complained to Guwalgiya about it. However, Guwalgiya favored her competitiveness and never treated her unfairly on the surface. Sometimes, when she spoke up, Guwalgiya would even allocate more to her from her own share... and allowed her to be close to her own biological mother, Liu Niangniang. After all, she was a young girl, although not born to the first wife, Li Rongbao still doted on her. But in the end, he loved Yunzhu the most, it was clear which of the two daughters was more considerate and excellent.

  Fu Heng gradually understood.

  Gua Lian's struggles and means in the inner courtyard were never hidden from her biological children, and Yunzhu also taught him some unorthodox skills and ways of dealing with people since he was a child.

  These two years, Hui Zhu has been aware of something and changed a lot. However, with Yun Zhu about to participate in next year's selection, new clothes, jewelry, and accessories have been constantly sent to Xin Yi Kuang, making her feel uneasy again. Although she is not yet at the age for selection, her father is old, her birth mother was just a concubine, and her younger brother Pei Qian is still just an adolescent; if she doesn't strive for it herself, who else will think of her?

  It's not that Yunzhu is being unreasonable, but rather the two have different statuses as legitimate and illegitimate children. It's impossible for Huizhu to get fairness from her legitimate mother, let alone with Li Rongbao around. The only person who can get along with Yongzheng is someone who has a loyal and righteous mind. No matter how much he loves his youngest daughter, it's impossible for him to treat her better than the legitimate daughter in terms of treatment. Not to mention that Yunzhu's character and talent are far superior to hers.

  Even her own brother Fu Qian had a softer spot for Yunzhu in his heart, and although he had to take care of her more because she was his sister.

  "Sister, you say, the Emperor letting you secretly help Third Brother with his health won't be because of some ulterior motive, will it?" Fu Heng still had some worries, this Emperor wouldn't be thinking of making sister a concubine for Third Brother, would he?

  "What can you think of, don't be fanciful, it's impossible to see Second Uncle's face." Yunzhu knew what he was thinking as soon as she heard it.

  Also, with the family background and influence in the court of his own household, it was impossible for the emperor to marry his sister to a prince who had been expelled from the imperial clan. Fu Heng nodded, relieved.

  "Sister, I'll leave first and come visit you another day." The fourth brother's birthday is approaching, he still needs to think about what gift to give him...headache.

  "Let's go." Yunzhu saw him off and went straight to the main courtyard to deliver flower tea to Fucha.

  Yu Yun heard that this flower tea has the effect of dispelling wind and cold, clearing orifices, treating headaches... and asked for a can. "The emperor will definitely like it..." He smiled.

  Yunzhu was puzzled, why did he have to like the emperor so much? Could he not just let him give her to his profligate son?

  Forget it, the disaster can't be avoided. This time's big gift was originally intended to target the Emperor and Prince Yi. Apart from this, she really couldn't think of any other way to apply the magical effects of her Jade Orchid Flower and Fruit Juice to their bodies.

  "Right, I was just thinking of letting Autumn Moon inform you, Princess Yi's consort has sent an invitation for us to visit the Princess Yi's residence tomorrow. You should prepare well." Fu Cha said, implying that she didn't want her younger sister-in-law to have too much contact with her sisters-in-law before the selection of imperial concubines. It was not only unpleasant but also uncertain whether it would be beneficial. Alas, since Yunzhu had already left an impression on the Emperor's heart, he probably had a plan in mind as well.

  "Got it."

  The next day, Yun Yu entered the palace, and Fu Cha brought Yunzhu to the Yi Qin Wangfu.

  "Twelfth Aunt is well." As the eldest daughter-in-law and Cloud Pearl's cousin, Yu Ya had been arranged by Princess Yi to sit with her. "Good." They were all relatives, and the Fuca family also had a good impression of Yu Ya, although they rarely interacted.

  "Pay respects to the princess." Yunzhu gave a curtsy to her own Princess Yi, who was smiling at her. "No need for too much courtesy, you are Yunzhu, right? I've heard Zhuang Princess mention you before, saying that your chrysanthemum poem is well-written." Princess Yi looked at Yunzhu's youthful appearance, slender figure, and elegant rose-purple cloud-patterned cheongsam with a cyan-gold embroidered auspicious silver-threaded horse jacket, which made her skin look even whiter and more radiant. Not only did she not give off an aloof feeling, but also seemed more approachable when speaking and laughing. After exchanging greetings with Fucha, she kindly pulled Yunzhu to sit down and offered her fruit and pastries to eat. "I really like the recipe you sent over, I copied it from Juan Ya, don't be unhappy about it."

  "How could that be? Those recipes were also taught by others, I liked them so much and hoped everyone would like them too, otherwise I wouldn't have shared them with sister Yu Ya."

  Yi Qin Wang's wife knew that she was avoiding talking about her husband and son's health, and felt that this girl was not only humble and polite but also considerate of others.

  "By the way, this is my homemade flower tea. When brewing tea, add one and it's very fragrant. Drinking regularly is very beneficial for the body, especially for dispelling wind and cold... Hmm, it can also detoxify and beautify the skin." The ceramic jar containing the flower tea was specially found by her mother-in-law from the Fuca family, with a white background and blue flowers, extremely elegant.

  "Really?" Dispelling wind and cold? Detoxifying? Madame Gui was somewhat surprised, because of the medicinal diet plan she had some confidence in Yunzhu, knowing that she wasn't talking nonsense. This flower tea really had this effect, wouldn't it be great for her husband?! Her husband's illness was caused by wind and cold entering his body, wasn't it? Chen Taifu also said that with both medicine and food working together, her husband's body might improve... at least it wouldn't get any worse.

  "Yes, it's made from Yulan flowers, which have medicinal value... It can also be stir-fried with noodles or eaten with honey."

  "You're really clever..."

  "You shouldn't praise her so much, you haven't been to the 'Golden Swallow Society' and don't know that her elder sister is actually more clever and can make many novel pastries and flower teas with chrysanthemum."

  "What I'm saying is that what's precious is your intention, Mother, am I right?" Yu Ya said.

  "That's right." Princess Yi smiled and said to Fu Cha: "Sister, having such a younger sister by your side is also a blessing."

  "Yes." Fucha replied, Yünzhū was no different from her own daughter. On the other hand, her thirteenth younger brother and sister were born as legitimate daughters at a young age and were taken to the palace, it's hard to see them often, and when they grew up, they had to be sent far away to Mongolia... few of the girls in the palace could live happily.

  ……