Early the next morning, Manbao and the others bid farewell and left the city. To her surprise, County Magistrate Zhai ca to see them off.
Manbao felt sowhat embarrassed. Considering the trouble she may have caused him with no help in return, she felt guilty and took a letter of introduction from her bundle to give to him. "County Magistrate Zhai, if your family has any dical issues in the future, you can use this letter to find in the capital."
County Magistrate Zhai accepted the letter with a puzzled expression, hesitantly saying, "Thank you?"
Manbao smiled shyly, "No need to thank ."
County Magistrate Zhai: ...
Manbao waved at him enthusiastically to say goodbye, while County Magistrate Zhai looked at the letter in his hand, feeling complicated, and raised his hand to bid them farewell.
Bai Shan and Bai Erlang saw nothing wrong with Manbao’s gift. They felt relieved to finally return to the capital and cheerfully leaned against the window, watching the scenery outside.
The road and trees seed the sa, yet they saw the beauty in them, staying excited along the journey.
Even though Mr. Zhuang’s carriage was a vehicle away, he could still hear their chatter.
This ti heading back to the capital, they found even the palace seed more endearing.
Manbao happily entered the palace with the thought of behaving well to earn leave, and sent many souvenirs to her superiors and colleagues.
They were mostly inexpensive but unique items bought in Shangzhou.
Even the Emperor received one. Looking at the item in his hand, he asked, "What is this?"
Changyu had already taken a sneaky bite using her sleeve as cover, and upon hearing the Emperor’s question, she softly said, "It’s a persimmon cake, Father Emperor, don’t you recognize it?"
She couldn’t recognize it, but how could Father Emperor not?
Emperor: "Of course, I know it’s a persimmon cake, but who gifts the Emperor persimmon cakes?"
It was exactly nine, implying stinginess, wasn’t it?
Changyu had already chewed and swallowed the persimmon cake in her mouth, nodding as the day brightened, "It’s delicious and sweet. Manbao said it was given by a relative, sun-dried at ho, with lots of frost. Others don’t have it, only we do."
The Emperor glanced at his simple-minded daughter and asked, "Who do you an by ’we’?"
"Just , Father Emperor, and the Crown Prince’s family," Changyu calculated. "And then only Lord Tang, Yin Huo, and Liu Huan, plus her good friend, whom she calls Second Sister Fu."
The Emperor said wistfully, "This is still ’just’?"
Changyu thought for a mont, realizing indeed there were quite a few outsiders; their family only had three people receiving it.
The Emperor asked, "Why didn’t Mingda and the Empress get any?"
Seated nearby, Mingda replied, "She said I shouldn’t eat too many persimmon cakes and suggested I take one or two from my sister."
The Emperor thought this wasn’t a reason, saying, "If you can’t finish, you could give them to Changyu. Not giving you any but letting you eat Changyu’s, isn’t that really stingy?"
Changyu had slyly taken several bites, and after glancing at her food box of persimmon cakes and then at her father’s, she asked, "Father Emperor, do you like them or not? If you don’t like them..."
The Emperor had already turned to Gu Zhong, instructing, "Keep them."
Changyu had to swallow her words back down.
Mingda couldn’t help but laugh, and beside her, the Empress also shook her head with a smile. After the al, Mingda and Changyu went back to their respective palaces hand in hand, taking their gifts with them.
When the Emperor was about to rest, he noticed the crystal bead bracelet on the Empress’s wrist. It was made of white crystal, but the black jade in the middle seed familiar.
He couldn’t help but take her hand to look at it, "Isn’t this the one Mingda wore? Did Zhou Man give you this? I rember she prayed to the image of the Taoist sage for forty-nine days."
The Empress laughed, "Mingda asked Zhou Man to find it. She said it’s comfortable to wear and seems to help with her qi ailnts, so she asked for one for too. To be effective, that child quietly paid her respects to the Taoist sage. I only found out when she gave it to today."
The Emperor didn’t think it ant much, finding it hard to believe re items could treat illnesses, assuming it’s mostly a matter of spiritual support.
However, he did not ntion it but rather held her hand and smiled, "Mingda is filial, much better than the other children."
Though the Empress agreed in her heart, she said, "The other children are filial too; they just show it in different ways."
The couple exchanged a few more words before going their separate ways. The Empress didn’t truly believe the bracelet could cure qi ailnts, but because it was a symbol of her daughter’s filial devotion and Mingda asked frequently, she wore it daily. After wearing it for so long, she had gotten used to its presence and rarely took it off.
The Emperor never hesitated to praise his children’s filial piety, especially for Mingda. Using this as an excuse, he rewarded Mingda with many items from his private treasury, many of which had just been collected and hadn’t been given out yet.
He always favored Mingda and Prince Gong, but it wasn’t proper to single them out for rewards all the ti. With this opportunity, he generously rewarded Mingda.
Thus, it wasn’t long before everyone in the court and harem knew of Princess Mingda’s filial actions, even the ailing Empress Dowager heard about it.
She leaned against the headboard, opened her eyes slightly, turned her head a little to avoid the approaching dicine, and asked, "Mingda asked for a bracelet for the Empress. Does it truly work?"
The nurse administering the dicine thought, if a biological daughter gives it, even if it’s useless, it has its use. Isn’t that an obvious question?
However, the nurse dared not say it that way and only replied, "I heard the Princess worshiped at the image of the Taoist sage for forty-nine days, which proved quite effective."
"Hmm? I recall the bracelet Zhou Man gave to Mingda was also dedicated to the Taoist sage?"
The nurse replied, "It is said to be so. Every ten days when entering or leaving the palace, they would carry the image of the Taoist sage, causing quite a stir."
"I noticed Mingda is indeed healthier this year compared to previous years. Fetch her and have Director Xiao co over."
The nurse wasn’t sure of the Empress Dowager’s intentions, could only relay the orders, then tentatively asked, "Does the Empress wish to see the Princess’s bracelet?"
"I want to see which image of the Taoist sage she offered prayers to."
The nurse: ...
When Mingda and Director Xiao arrived, the Empress Dowager pointed to the front of the bed and said, "Director Xiao, please examine Princess Mingda. She’s weak, how is her health recently?"
Since both princesses were close friends with Zhou Man, in fact, most of the palace’s ladies had entrusted their dical welfare to Zhou Man for a long ti.
Upon the Empress Dowager’s ntion of Director Xiao, he instinctively recalled the recent health records they filed, found nothing unusual, and cald down before stepping forward to feel the pulse.
After a mont of pulse-taking, Director Xiao looked at Princess Mingda with surprise. After a while, he inquired about her diet.
There were no visible changes on Director Xiao’s face, yet he was deeply astonished. He congratulated both the Empress Dowager and said, "The Princess’s pulse has beco significantly stronger than before."
The Empress Dowager’s spirits lifted, asking, "Sumr blossoms are abundant. This year she doesn’t seem to have fallen ill much, and her cheeks are rosier. Has she not recovered substantially?"
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