However, Meixiang was feeling a little apprehensive. Could she receive the approval from her future master even though she was originally Princess Consort Jing’s servant? Besides, it wasn’t like there weren't any capable servants serving Miss Yu. Wutong had become more and more steady and capable recently and, in addition to that, she was solely devoted to Miss Yu. She was one of Miss Yu’s most trusted aides. Wutong was in her early twenties now and she still hadn't gotten married yet.
Based on her observation, Wutong would definitely become the head maidservant to the future princess consort… at that time, it was uncertain whether it would be her or Wutong who would end up receiving the role!
“The third young master is back! The third young master is back!” There was a burst of footstep sounds outside. A young girl’s excited voice could be heard by Princess Consort Jing.
Meixiang curbed the emotions from her face. She raised the curtain, headed outside, and scolded the maidservant, “Why are you making such a big ruckus? Don’t you know the rules? If you accidentally frightened Princess Consort Jing, then you will be skinned alive!”
“Forget it! Today is Yang’er’s big day, so don’t fuss over minor matters. You can teach the maidservants in the future on how to properly behave.” Princess Consort Jing was in a good mood today, so she waved her hand at Meixiang to stop.
While they were talking, a tall figure clad in silver armor walked in, bent his waist, and greeted the princess consort. Princess Consort Jing looked at her third son and noticed that his skin was darker, and he became thinner. Even so, he appeared much sturdier and more reliable.
Recalling how her most beloved son must’ve suffered a lot of hardships at the border after being stationed there for more than a year, the rims of her eyes started to sting. She was choking with emotions as she said, “It’s good that you’re back! It’s good that you’re back! Look at your tanned skin! You should hurry and ask your wife to produce some skin whitening products for you and nurse your skin back to how it originally looked!”
“Lady Mother, why would a man be afraid of being a little tanned? Don’t you think that your son looks very masculine now with the tan?” Zhu Junyang posed like how a bodybuilder would with his arm, showing off his muscles.
Princess Consort Jing smiled slightly and slapped his arm. She said, “I would never dislike you for being ugly! No matter how tanned or ugly you are, you’re still my son. However, my future daughter-in-law has skin as fair as snow and if you stand next to her, there will be a drastic comparison between your complexions!! Aren’t you afraid that she will dislike you for being tanned and ugly? Aren’t you afraid that she will change her mind and break off the engagement?”
Princess Consort Jing was merely amused and was deliberately teasing her son. However, Zhu Junyang took his mother’s word to heart. He naturally knew his little lass’s character; she was very superficial. She could never resist a handsome man.
He remembered when his little lass was still young, she was extremely shocked by his handsome appearance. Before the engagement, she would drool over his handsome face from time to time! He reckoned that the little lass only agreed to marry him largely due to his handsome appearance and because he was destined to have a prosperous future.
Zhu Junyang subconsciously touched his cheek. Hmm… it seemed like his skin had become rougher. He looked at his skin that wasn’t covered by the armor; he noticed that his skin tone was also several shades darker. Although he rarely looked in a mirror for more than a year, he didn’t even need to use one to check to know that his face had definitely become less attractive!
The little lass told him that she was going to make “Buddha Jumps Over the Wall” for him tomorrow. Not only did she invite him, but she also invited the father and son duo from the Zhao Family as well as Su Ran! It was fine if she only invited the father and son from the Zhao Family. They were stationed in the northwest all year round, so their skin was in no better condition than his. However, he didn’t know how, but Su Ran’s complexion and skin tone remained the same; he didn’t become tanned at all. He still had that annoyingly handsome face.
The little lass kept telling him that Su Ran looked like ‘an immortal that had been banished from heaven’, and that he had a refined and clean temperament. She even said that although Su Ran appeared to be cruel and heartless on the surface, he was actually a warm and kindhearted guy deep inside. Humph, the little lass was cheated by that guy’s outer appearance. That guy killed people like cutting grass. His methods of dealing with people were cruel and merciless. He just never showed his true colors in front of Xiaocao!
No! Compared to that guy, his skin was tanned and rough, and he was definitely going to lose to him in terms of appearance! Although he believed that his current appearance made him look more manly, his current looks didn’t match his little lass’s taste. Her taste was different from ordinary people’s. Well, he believed that his lady mother was correct. He needed to ask his little lass to make some skin whitening cream and moisturizing cream for him to use. Otherwise, he would really be in danger of being abandoned!
Seeing how her stupid son actually took her words seriously, Princess Consort Jing couldn’t help but smile and said, “You should ask her to give you some whitening, anti-wrinkling, and moisturizing cream!”
Zhu Junyang was startled and immediately touched the corners of his eyes. He asked in an impatient manner, “Lady Mother, does my face have wrinkles? It must be because I’ve been pondering over how to end the war earlier, so I lost a lot of sleep during the past year! I’m doomed. The little lass looks tender and lovely, like a budding flower. If I stand next to her, won’t I look like her father?”
Princess Consort Jing had never seen her son care about his appearance so much. Before he met Xiaocao, he would become unhappy if someone complimented him for being handsome. Now, he was actually concerned about whether his skin was fair or not and whether or not he had wrinkles.
She was amused by this, but she didn’t forget to comfort her son, “No, you don’t look like her father. At most… you look like her uncle. Pfft——let me laugh a little bit! To tell you the truth, you are older than her by seven to eight years. In many families, uncles and nieces are around the same age, so there’s nothing for you to worry about!”
How could he stop worrying? His little lass would definitely dislike his old and ugly appearance. Hmm… he needed the skin care products soon, so he should hasten his little lass to make it for him. He should take the break he was given to nurse his skin back to its original condition.
“Oh right, can you ask Xiaocao to also make some skin care products for your father? It’s time for him to start taking care of his aging face! You have to believe me when I tell you that the gap between those who take care of their skin and those who don’t, will only become more drastic with time. Look at me, I don’t look like a person who is about to reach fifty, right?” Princess Consort Jing happily showed off her delicate and dewy skin to her son. The other married women asked her what skin care products she used, but these skin care products were something specially made for her by her future daughter-in-law to show her filial piety. It wasn’t something that can be bought publicly!
Zhu Junyang recalled the age gap between his father and mother, and he noticed that his lady mother seemed to grow younger each year. It was a bit of an exaggeration to say that she was growing younger each year, but she indeed looked much younger than before. It seemed like the thousand-year-old ginseng that his little lass found in the northeast was quite useful!
His lord father and lady mother were only two years apart in age. However, based on appearance, it seemed like his lord father was over ten years older than his lady mother. He was seven to eight years older than the little lass. If he didn’t pay attention to the future maintenance of his skin, then he will have an ashy and wrinkly face. If he went out with his little lass, other people might have mistaken him to be her grandfather. No! Although it was a little effeminate for a man to use skin care products, he was only going to be using it at home. Who would know besides him?
“Your son will be heading to the Yu Estate now. I think the little lass might have some finished skin care products that I can use!” Zhu Junyang could no longer sit still and immediately got up to leave.
Princess Consort Jing didn’t forget to remind him, “Remember to ask for some skin care products for your father… also, aren’t you tired? Why are you still wearing the heavy armor? Why don’t you change first before leaving? It’s not going to take much time…”
Before she even managed to finish speaking, Zhu Junyang’s figure disappeared in the courtyard. Princess Consort Jing couldn’t help but smile, “That stinky little boy! Whenever it’s something concerning Xiaocao, he would panic and try to calculate his gains and losses. He is simply a mirror image of his father when his father was younger!” After she finished speaking, the corners of her mouth were curved upward into a joyous smile. Her gaze became unfocused like she had returned to the time when she was still a young girl…
Zhu Junyang listened to Princess Consort Jing’s words and returned to his courtyard. He took off his heavy armor and changed into a fresh black embroidered robe. He combed his hair until there wasn’t a strand that was out of place. He pondered for a few seconds before he went to wash his face and asked the servants to shave his beard. He peeked at his reflection in the mirror and saw a man with charming features but a tanned skin tone. He was still very handsome! However, his current appearance didn’t necessarily conform to the little lass’s taste!
When Zhu Junyang arrived at the Yu Estate, Xiaocao had just taken off her court robes. At this moment, she was reclining happily on a rocking chair that was located under the grapevines in the courtyard while tasting the sweet grapes!
The orchard planted on the mountain located at the back of the Imperial Plantation had expanded to more than three hundred mu of land in the past two years. With all of the various kinds of fruit trees added up, there were about five to six thousand fruit trees. This year, there was a bumper harvest on most of the fruit trees.
The rumors of the fruits from the Yu Family’s orchard had spread far and wide. She didn’t need to worry about not being able to sell all the fruits! Almost the entire northern capital would come to the Yu Family’s orchard to purchase fresh fruits from them, even if they lived thousands of miles away. However, some of the people lived far away from the capital, so it was inevitable for some of the fruits to turn bad from the long trip.
As a result, Yu Xiaocao established a transportation team that specialized in transporting fruits door to door. However, the price of the fruits would increase around ten to twenty percent based on the distance. But this meant that none of the fruits would turn bad. This way, people didn’t have to spend as much time and effort to buy fruits. It was much more cost-effective than personally going there to buy it themselves. Over time, except for those that lived in the nearby prefectural city, most people would rather pay a higher price to have the Yu’s deliver the goods to them.
The Yu transportation team now had more than eighty carriages and more than two hundred employees. These employees were recruited by Zhu Junyang’s former attendant, Dong Dali, who was now Commander Dong. He received a lot of injuries from the battlefields. Although he was wounded and sick, it never affected or delayed his work. His valiant temperament as a soldier was still there and he was not afraid of fighting against the enemies even if he was outnumbered three to one.
Many of the people that were part of the transportation team were formerly soldiers that worked under Royal Prince Yang, so they naturally respected his future wife. In addition to that, the people working in the transportation team received great benefits. The medicines that they needed were pricey and rare, but Xiaocao gave them bottles after bottles of the medicines they needed.
Before they joined the transportation team, their leader’s future wife even invited doctors from Tongren Medicine Hall over to treat their illnesses and injuries. Their old diseases and injuries that had hindered them for a while now were treated and they quickly recovered.
For example, the captain of the transportation team had his arm broken on the battlefield before. The treatment he received before wasn’t done correctly, so his left arm was not properly reconnected together. As a result, he couldn’t fully extend his left arm, nor could he apply too much force on it. When he returned to his hometown, he couldn’t farm, and no one wanted to hire him for a job because of his arm. He was twenty-seven to twenty-eight years old and yet he still didn’t have a wife.
When Commander Dong found him, he was poor, dejected, and barely hanging onto his life. After he was diagnosed, Miss Yu sought his permission before she helped him reconnect the bones that weren’t properly connected before. Although the medical procedure was quite painful, his bones grew quickly, and he made a full recovery after using a high-quality bone replenishment ointment. After two months of rest, he was no different from an ordinary person. Now, he had no problem carrying a basket containing one hundred catties of fruit with one hand!
