Chapter 300
Chapter 300
After experiencing the joys of mushroom picking, they began discussing what delicious dishes to make today.
With so many fresh, fragrant mushrooms, anything they cooked was bound to taste wonderful.
“This can actually be eaten raw?”
Following Jiang Yunsui’s advice, Old Madam Ji carefully took a bite of a Beauty Mushroom.
“Why, it tastes like fruit!”
Jiang Yunsui said, “It makes you prettier and keeps you looking young too.”
“Yes, yes. I’ve lived to such an old age, yet I’ve truly never heard of a mushroom like this.”
The Ji Family’s other women immediately became interested and began trying them one by one.
Something that enhanced beauty and preserved youth was simply irresistible to women.
Ji Yan’an’s eldest sister-in-law, Liu Huan, crouched halfway down and pinched Jiang Yunsui’s plump, exceptionally fair and tender cheek.
“Little Yunsui’s skin is so soft and pale. It feels wonderful to pinch. Is this the effect of Beauty Mushrooms too?”
She asked with anticipation.
Jiang Yunsui truly had the finest skin she had ever seen.
It was dewy and tender.
Jiang Yunsui smacked her lips. “A little, but my skin has always been this good.”
She was a fresh, juicy big mushroom. Every day, she absorbed so much Imperial Flowing Essence and Power of the Stars that every aspect of her body was healthier than usual.
Her skin was lovely. Though eating had made her slightly chubby, it was only the natural plumpness of a child her age, never excessive.
Her hair was also thick and glossy black.
Everyone smiled at her. A child’s proud little expression was simply adorable.
“Yangyang, eat more with your aunt. You’re much too thin.”
Old Madam Ji stroked Ji Yang’s head with concern.
Ji Yang answered crisply that she would.
Second Aunt had not come today. The moment she heard they were going to pick mushrooms and look at animals, she refused.
She was still quite afraid of the two large dogs.
In truth, she had not wanted Ji Yang to come either. She wanted to continue teaching the girl noble etiquette and the like, but Old Madam Ji overruled her.
Once they finished picking mushrooms, they had the guards deliver the medicinal ones to Shen Qingzhu. The rest were sent to the kitchen.
“What an enormous beehive.”
As they passed beneath a large tree, a loud buzzing drew everyone’s gaze upward. Countless bees were flying back and forth overhead.
After the bees settled here, the food must have been so abundant that they worked tirelessly at producing offspring. Their numbers had steadily increased, and the hive had expanded tremendously.
“Once the flowering season ends, we’ll be able to eat honey.”
Jiang Yunsui had secretly climbed the tree to look. The combs inside were nearly full, every section brimming with rich golden honey.
It smelled heavenly.
Huohuo and Milk Tea had both been dying for a taste. Only Jiang Yunsui’s repeated warnings kept them from stealing any.
When they reached the rear courtyard and saw the magnificent horse whose white coat practically glowed in the spring sunlight, the Ji Family’s women gasped in unison, their eyes filled with wonder.
“That… that horse…”
“It’s beautiful!”
As members of the Ji Family, even the women had seen many horses.
Quite a few of them could ride as well.
But none had ever seen a horse this beautiful.
Old Madam Ji gazed at it in amazement.
“During Emperor Mingde’s reign, I once saw grassland envoys present him with a Ferghana horse, though that one was black. It was a magnificent animal, and Emperor Mingde adored it. He even had a private stable built solely for that horse.”
Emperor Mingde was the current Emperor’s grandfather.
He had been a wise ruler. Unfortunately, he fathered too many children, each capable in their own right.
Ordinarily, that would have been a blessing.
But during a struggle for the throne, the last thing anyone wanted was for every prince to be excessively capable.
Each believed he could claim the seat and treated all his brothers as enemies to be destroyed.
Their struggle became so brutal that the princes favored by Emperor Mingde ended up dead, imprisoned, or crippled.
In the end, the inconspicuous Tenth Prince, who had excelled at nothing in particular, unexpectedly reaped the benefit.
“This horse looks even better cared for than Emperor Mingde’s.”
Nanny Zhou playfully asked, “Old Madam, guess how much silver this horse cost.”
Old Madam Ji considered it. “A horse of this quality is a once-in-a-lifetime find. I doubt it could be bought for less than a thousand taels.”
Jiang Yunsui beamed. “I bought it for ten taels~”
Old Madam Ji’s eyes widened.
The other women reacted with identical shock, their eyes widening instantly.
Ten taels would hardly buy an ordinary sturdy horse!
Nanny Zhou’s eyes shone with laughter. “Little Yunsui truly isn’t lying. The horse looked nothing like this when she bought it. No one knows where that woodcutter obtained it, but he completely failed to recognize its worth and let such a pearl gather dust.
“It never ate enough from the time it was young, yet was forced to pull carts and haul cargo. Its pure-white coat became so filthy that it looked gray and almost black. When Little Yunsui bought it, it was sick, appeared unlikely to live much longer, and had one lame leg. Only after her devoted care did it transform into this dazzling creature.”
Old Madam Ji gazed at the gentle horse before her, its white coat carrying an almost sacred radiance, and sighed.
“Then it truly was a pearl buried in dust. Fortunately, this horse finally met someone who recognized its worth.”
Little White’s eyes were gentle. It rubbed its long face against her hand, then lowered its head to nuzzle Jiang Yunsui.
The story of Little White’s past filled the Ji Family’s women with emotion, but its beauty and docile temperament only made them adore it more.
Ji Yan’an’s youngest aunt asked eagerly, “Can this horse be ridden?”
Jiang Yunsui said, “Of course.”
Thus, aside from Second Aunt, who had not come, every Ji woman took a turn on Little White’s back.
Little White did not lose its temper once. It carried each of them steadily around the courtyard in a wide circle.
Even Ji Yang tried riding. A brilliant smile lit her face, and she looked delighted.
Watching the scene, Old Madam Ji smiled with complete relaxation.
The Ji Family’s women had not been this happy since the men of the family met with disaster.
They did not reluctantly leave Jiang Yunsui’s courtyard until it was time to eat.
The place was not large, but it contained a remarkable number of beautiful and entertaining things.
That was especially true for Ji Yang, a naturally playful child who was still very young.
For years, her nature had been suppressed by her grandmother. At an age when she should have been playing, she was forced to study etiquette, music, chess, calligraphy, painting, embroidery…
“Let’s go. It’s time to eat!”
Jiang Yunsui took Ji Yang’s small hand and skipped toward the neighboring courtyard.
Under her influence, Ji Yang had already grown noticeably livelier.
Behind them, Old Madam Ji walked slowly with a daughter-in-law and granddaughter-in-law supporting her, a smile on her face.
Eldest Aunt said, “Yangyang finally looks a little as lively as a young girl ought to be.”
She thought of her married daughter, as well as her grandsons and granddaughters through that daughter.
“I wonder how Shu and the others are doing.”
At her words, worry appeared on the faces of the others.
After the Ji Family’s downfall, some of the daughters who had married out had also been implicated.
Two were divorced and sent directly back. They had come to Mobei too, but the shock had been too great. After arriving, they withdrew to their rooms and had yet to emerge from their grief.
As for those who had not been divorced, if their husbands did not protect them and their mothers-in-law disliked them, their future lives would likely be very difficult.