Chapter 16

Chapter 16

◎Duel of Wits◎

Half an hour later, the doctor arrived. After examining her pulse, he diagnosed it as wind evil affecting her body, which required rest and careful nourishment. Huiyin, however, added, "My cousin made the long journey from Jianye alone recently, which must have been exhausting for her. Doctor, could you also prescribe some medicine to protect her heart and calm her spirit? We’ll cover any cost."

The doctor hesitated but agreed. Fugui quickly escorted him out, adding, "Our young princess has been incredibly kind to Miss Xun. She’s arranged a new courtyard, selected all the furnishings from the storeroom, and assigned several servants. If Miss Xun needs anything, even expensive medicines like deer antler or ginseng, our young princess will provide it without hesitation."

Manager Qiao, standing guard at the second gate, overheard Fugui and the doctor. She couldn’t help but admire the young princess’s generosity. Despite Miss Xun clearly being there to become a secondary consort, she was treated with great kindness instead of being ostracized.

Fugui also told Manager Zhong, "Miss Xun’s maid mentioned that the southeast courtyard had too many mosquitoes, so the princess suggested moving her to the northern embroidery tower, which has fewer trees. When Miss Xun said the landscape screen you chose wasn’t suitable, our princess, concerned about any inconvenience, offered to use a screen from her dowry instead."

Nearby, He Niangzi observed this and remarked to Yun Hui, "Our new princess is quite the performer. Miss Xun’s plan has backfired. But if Miss Xun complains to the Little Prince, who knows which side he’ll take?"

Yun Hui, expressionless, replied, "We should focus on our duties as servants. It’s not our place to get involved."

He Niangzi, realizing she wasn’t getting anywhere, left in frustration.

When Xun Rou woke up, she found herself in the embroidery tower, still disoriented. Meixiang explained everything that had happened after she fainted.

"The young princess said you were too frail to stay there, so she had the maids carry you here..."

"What?!"

Xun Rou slammed her hand on the bed. "Princess Zheng is impossible!" She had already asked the Empress Dowager to spread a rumor that she had come to Xuzhou to marry someone outside the royal household, hoping to make Princess Zheng let her guard down.

Unexpectedly, Princess Zheng was highly vigilant. Xun Rou had planned to use her fainting to expose the princess’s mistreatment, but instead, it only enhanced Princess Zheng’s reputation.

Meixiang worriedly asked, "Miss, what should we do next?"

Xun Rou took a deep breath. "We’ll act when the time is right."

For now, Xun Rou kept a low profile, but Nanny Fan was originally planning to depart at the start of the eighth month but stayed a few extra days because of Xun Rou. Once Nanny Fan left, Xun Rou became more reclusive, and Huiyin didn’t relax her surveillance.

As the Mid-Autumn Festival approached, Huiyin wrote to Li Cheng, expressing her longing and asking whether they should prepare festival gifts for his subordinates’ families and where the funds should come from.

Unexpectedly, Li Cheng only replied with two words: “Wait until I return.”

This man! Who asked him when he’s coming back? Huiyin had no choice but to refer to last year’s example, though Li Cheng had only been in Xuzhou for a short time, so no festival gifts had been prepared.

Le Yun couldn’t help but ask, "Should we prepare something anyway?"

Huiyin rubbed her head. "This unreliable Li Cheng!"

"Young princess, you shouldn’t say that," Nanny Nan quickly interjected.

Thinking it over, she came up with an idea. She called for He Guanshi and asked, "Are you good at making mooncakes?"

He Guanshi nodded. "I’m skilled in both pastry and main dishes. Here in Xuzhou, we mostly eat flaky skin mooncakes. Would you like the kitchen to make them?"

"Yes, I’ve already sent people to buy some delicious local mooncakes in Xuzhou. Once I’ve tasted them, if any are good, I want you to make two boxes and send them to the Little Prince."

In reality, her cook could also make a type of milk skin mooncake, which would be prepared in her private kitchen.

He Guanshi thought to himself that she wasn’t choosing based on the Little Prince’s preferences but her own.

Huiyin quickly selected three types of mooncakes—milk skin, flaky walnut, and black sesame—each packed into two boxes to be sent. These were her favorites, and she wanted him to try them. In her letter, she mentioned that whichever type he preferred, they would prepare more at home. If he didn’t like any, they would simply give them away as rewards.

After the letter and mooncakes were sent out, Consort He quietly went to Lady Xun Rong and said, "Rest assured, from beginning to end, we never disclosed that the young prince doesn't like mooncakes."

Lady Xun Rong smiled and said, "This is the consequence of her own cleverness. My cousin has never liked eating mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival."

No matter how smart she thinks she is, it can't match the bond they grew up with.

However, what she didn't expect was that when Li Cheng received the mooncakes sent by Huinyin, he found some milk skin mooncakes. Having never tasted this flavor before, he bit into one and found the outer layer to be crispy while the inside was like milk tofu. Surprisingly, it was quite delicious. Even the walnut mooncakes, which he usually detested for their overly sweet and greasy taste, now only had the rich aroma of walnuts.

But he still didn't particularly enjoy these sweet and greasy treats. He kept half a box for himself and gave the rest as rewards.

These were given to his personal guards, who, despite not being particularly valuable items, were very pleased to receive them. Li Cheng turned to find the letter Huinyin had written, realizing that she had previously asked whether he wanted to give rewards and how to proceed with the formalities. But because he truly disliked eating mooncakes and didn't want to dampen his wife's spirits, he simply said he would return home.

It's not always about rewarding with gold and silver; sometimes a touch of human warmth is enough.

He instructed the kitchen to add extra meals on the Mid-Autumn Festival and to give each soldier a mooncake. As for his personal guards and officers, he quickly wrote to Huinyin to ask for advice.

Seeing this, Huinyin couldn't help but smile and said, "Let Manager Qiao handle this. Have him order top-tier mooncake boxes from Dingxing Tower; two hundred taels should suffice."

Li Cheng had occupied Xuzhou not long ago. Due to his prolonged training in Huai and Si, or being out practicing with his troops, most of the gifts from the household managers were sent to Jianye. She had seen the gift list, and local prominent families like the Lius, Xues, and Mius had all sent generous gifts, but there were almost no returns.

One cannot merely be a passerby here. If he truly intends to establish a foothold, he must build good relations with the local gentry. In times of shortage of provisions or troops, he could recruit locally.

Avoiding risks without avoiding suspicions, occupying a territory now means having strength.

All the prominent families in the region received Mid-Autumn Festival gifts from the Huaiyin Prince's residence: a box of milk skin mooncakes, a box of Dingxing Tower mooncakes, a basket of seasonal fruits, ten bolts each of silk, satin, and brocade, and two jars of premium osmanthus wine.

Huinyin also gradually received lavish return gifts from these families, including many treasures such as jade flower platters, white glass plates, glass vases, prayer beads, ancient artifacts, paintings, and Ru kiln vases.

Even the Mius sent twenty bolts of golden brocade, one hundred bolts of patterned silk, and one hundred bolts of plain silk.

Huiyin meticulously recorded and cataloged everything, looking quite pleased with herself.

Xun Rou felt frustrated seeing that Huiyin wasn’t embarrassed by the situation and instead acted like a model of virtue. She wanted to go out for a walk and visit some of the Empress Dowager’s old friends, but the gatekeeper at the second gate refused to let her leave.

Meixiang snapped, “What gives you the right to stop our young miss from going out? Do you have a death wish?”

The gatekeeper replied apologetically, “Miss Xun, it’s not that we don’t want to let you out, but the Princess has ordered that anyone leaving the estate must have a pass. If I let you out without one and she finds out, I’ll be in big trouble.”

With no other option, Xun Rou went to see Huiyin, who was busy at the moment. She was discussing with Yun Hui, “Once the Little Prince’s fief is delivered, I’ll inspect it first. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, it’s time to harvest the grain. This year, we’ll use the old rice from previous years and save the new rice. With the changing seasons, we need to clean both the inner and outer courtyards thoroughly and make everything look fresh and new.”

Yun Hui reassured her, “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure they’re informed.”

“Thank you for your hard work.” Yun Hui was indeed a dedicated and tireless worker.

As she looked up, she saw Xun Rou approaching. Huiyin greeted her, “Is there something you need, Cousin Xun?”

Xun Rou replied, “Cousin-in-law, I have a few close friends from when I stayed with the Xu family before. I’d like to go out and visit them, but I need a pass to leave.”

“Cousin Xun, I’m afraid I can’t give you the pass. If you want to invite people over, I can have Zhong Guanshi or He Guanshi handle the arrangements. But with the Mid-Autumn Festival coming up, the streets are crowded, and your health isn’t great. As a young lady, I can’t take the risk if something happens to you,” Huiyin explained calmly.

Xun Rou frowned, “Cousin-in-law, I traveled all the way from Jianye to Xuzhou on my own. What’s there to worry about?”

Huiyin smiled, “That’s different. You came from Jianye to Xuzhou at the Empress Dowager’s request, so any issues wouldn’t be my responsibility. But now, with both your cousin and the Empress Dowager away, I can’t take the risk. Once the Mid-Autumn Festival is over, your cousin will return. If he agrees, I won’t object.”

Xun Rou glanced at Meixiang, who smiled and said, “No wonder people say the young princess is kind. You’re just looking out for our young miss. She did come here to help manage the household, and Nanny Fan mentioned that she’s feeling a bit bored now that she’s settled in.”

It seemed they were angling for control of the household. Huiyin chuckled, “You’re quite the smooth talker, but as long as I’m here, there’s no need for the young miss to manage the household. Besides, with her wedding approaching, she hardly has time for such tasks.”

Xun Rou’s heart sank. She had come under the pretense of discussing marriage, but she had no intention of actually getting married. From Huiyin’s words, it seemed like someone was trying to arrange a match for her.

No, this couldn’t be her cousin’s doing. He was training troops in Huai and Si, so how could he have arranged anything so quickly? Could it be Princess Zheng trying to marry her off?

But this was overstepping. Only the Empress Dowager had the authority to decide her marriage.

Xun Rou left with a troubled mind. Nanny Nan asked Huiyin, puzzled, “Princess, did the Little Prince already arrange a marriage for Miss Xun?”

“No, I was just bluffing. Otherwise, she keeps trying to rush out. If she wants to go out in Jianye, that’s her business, but here, if something happens after she leaves without permission, I can’t take the responsibility.” Huiyin smiled faintly.