C105
In Ji Yunkai's eyes, Little Doctor Zhuge was different. Forget about the fact that Little Doctor Zhuge only asked her to help him grow plants, even if he wanted her to help him kill someone, Ji Yunkai would not hesitate to do so.
The capital was close to the North, where the air was dry and the humidity was insufficient. According to Little Doctor Zhuge, these plants did not like the sun and needed a humid and muddy environment to grow.
"The place is fine, but the humidity and turbidity aren't enough. I might need to set it up a bit." Ji Yunkai had guessed the growing environment of these seeds from Little Doctor Zhuge's description, so she was not courteous at all and directly ordered Little Doctor Zhuge in how to arrange the medicinal fields.
Secondly, they used bamboo strips to weigh the medicinal field and then wrap it with black cloth to prevent the medicinal field from being exposed to the light. Also, they sprayed enough water on the black cloth every day to maintain the moisture within the medicinal field.
Lastly, Ji Yunkai came to visit them once a day!
Ji Yunkai did not need to do the first two steps to make the seeds germinate and grow. However, if she were to overdo it, it would appear to be too heaven-defying, causing unwanted attention on her.
Ji Yunkai had personally planted the seeds herself. She had especially warmed each seed to ensure that they could germinate and that their growth cycle would be shorter than that of normal plants.
After spending a day's worth of effort to plant all the seeds, Ji Yunkai promised Little Doctor Zhuge that as long as he did as she told him, this batch of seeds would sprout.
"I believe in the Princess." Little Doctor Zhuge wiped away his previous gloom and smiled brightly, returning to his original silly self.
Ji Yunkai laughed, and suddenly felt envious.
To be able to be happy for a small matter, such a person would be more likely to find happiness in his life.
She should learn from him.
Ji Yunkai and Little Doctor Zhuge's actions were monitored by the dark guards the entire time. After the two of them planted the seeds, the dark guards would report to Xiao Jiu'an one by one.
"The Princess Consort has rearranged the medicinal fields. They look very similar to the situation in the Southern Wilderness. Other than that, the Princess Consort has done nothing else." At the very least, the dark guards had been watching the whole process, and they did not find anything out of the ordinary.
Xiao Jiu'an said, "Watch her closely. This King does not wish for any accidents to happen." They had to sacrifice three thousand elite warriors to obtain this batch of seeds. If they could not grow the poisonous plants of the Southern Wilderness, could not find out the habits of the poisonous plants of the Southern Wilderness, and could not come up with a method to control them, then three thousand people would have died in vain.
"Your subordinate receives the command!" The dark guard respectfully replied, bowed, and left.
As soon as the dark guard left, the Steward came to report, "Prince, the Young Master of the Qin family has been released from prison and has been placed in a manor outside the capital by the Wife of Prime Minister Qin. In his place is a poor youth who somewhat resembles the Young Master of the Qin family."
Ever since the Young Master of the Qin family had been ordered to be sent into exile, Xiao Jiu'an had sent people to keep an eye on the Wife of Prime Minister Qin and provided her with some convenience so that she could exchange her son with someone else.
"Watch closely, don't let anyone escape, and don't leak any information." Xiao Jiu'an nodded his head in satisfaction.
So what if Qin Xiang was cautious? If the person that shared his pillow did not cooperate, it would only lead to trouble.
The previous Prince Yanbei was implicated by the Old Princess Consort and died, but his Mother?
That woman was someone who had given birth to him and given him his life. He was not qualified to evaluate her actions. After all, if it were not for her foolish actions, he would not be where he was now.
"This little one understands." The Steward answered with a serious face, then took out a letter from his sleeves and placed it in front of Xiao Jiu'an: "My Lord, this is a letter from the First Princess' Mansion. She invites the Princess Consort to participate in the Chrysanthemum Viewing Feast."
The Grand Princess was the elder sister of the Emperor from the same mother and father. She was very close to the Emperor and was very well-liked. Most princes would be polite in front of her, and the noble ladies of the capital would be very proud to receive her invitation.
"Appreciation of the chrysanthemums?" Xiao Jiu'an coldly snorted.
It was only August. What kind of chrysanthemums would they view?
Presumably, this was the doing of His Majesty, as he wanted to borrow Ji Yunkai's prove something or whatever else . After all, he had barged into the Imperial Palace and injured the palace maids for Ji Yunkai's sake. If one were to say that he did not care about Ji Yunkai, perhaps no one would believe it.
Xiao Jiu'an did not even look at the invitation in the Steward's hand, and directly said, "Arrangements have been made, let her go." No matter what the Emperor wanted to do, or what he wanted to test, Xiao Jiu'an would accompany him.
"Yes, Your Highness!" The Steward took back the invitation, turned around, and left.
A quarter of an hour later, the Steward presented the invitation to Ji Yunkai. "Princess Consort, this is the invitation from the Grand Princess to Princess Consort to attend the Chrysanthemum Viewing Feast. His Highness has already agreed to it." In other words, Ji Yunkai did not have the right to refuse.
"When?" Ji Yunkai did not read the letter, nor was she dissatisfied.
She and Xiao Jiu'an were already in an unfair position, and she was not stupid enough to ask for fairness. Xiao Jiu'an had provided her with temporary protection, and she would do what Prince Yanbei's Wife should do. This was their tacit agreement.
"Three days later." The Steward silently took back the invitation and thought to himself: 'As expected of a husband and wife, their actions and postures are almost the same.'
Ji Yunkai nodded her head and said, "I understand. When the time comes, get someone to help me do my hair and makeup." Madam Ji had prepared enough dowry for her to marry, but not maidservants along with her dowry. It was clear that she wanted her to lose face.
Unfortunately, Madam Ji's calculations were wrong. She simply did not have any status in the Prince Yanbei's Mansion. She could not lose face even if she wanted to; she did not have any.
"Yes, Princess." The Steward respectfully took a step back and walked out of the courtyard. He could not help but take a deep breath as he looked at the garden filled with green plants and red flowers.
After following the Prince, how many years had it been since he had last smelled the fragrance of flowers and plants?
It was nostalgic!
Unfortunately, other than the plants and flowers planted by the Princess herself, there were no other places in the estate that could grow them. Not even those transplanted from the Princess' garden could survive very long.
Infanta Shiqing had moved a few pots of plants from the Princess' garden, but in less than three days, all of them died.
As he walked out of the courtyard, he could not help but look back once more at the exuberant plants and flowers. The Steward could not help but ask, "Could it be that the garden here grows especially well because the Prince has never been to the Princess' courtyard before?"
Sadly, no one was able to answer this question for him...