Once Royal Princess Duanjia finished speaking, Princess Wei shot her a glare and took Chu Lian’s hand to reassure her, “Don’t worry, although Tai’er is a little mischievous, he’s not malicious. Marquis Anyuan will be fine.”
Although that was what Princess Wei was saying, she hoped inwardly that her youngest son could teach He Sanlang a lesson and make him understand his role. Even though Chu Lian’s maiden family couldn’t be counted on, she still had Princess Wei to stand up for her!
The topic was glossed over just like that. Royal Princess Duanjia was all smiles as she sidled up to Chu Lian, “Chu Liu, didn’t you say you brought something new to eat? Why haven’t you taken it out yet?”
Chu Lian’s lips unconsciously lifted into a smile and she instructed Xiyan and Wenlan to bring the food in.
A cloth-wrapped package and a food container were soon placed on the table.
Chu Lian opened the package personally and took out two bright red capes.
Princess Wei and Royal Princess Duanjia had discerning eyes and were able to tell that the capes Chu Lian were holding were made of top-quality red fox fur.
Royal Princess Duanjia was startled by the sight, “Chu Liu, where did you get these?”
The two capes had slightly different designs and Chu Lian gave one to each princess.
“I brought these back from the north. I was lucky enough to happen upon these fox pelts, so I had them made into capes for Your Highness and Princess Duanjia.”
Red fox pelts were even more rare than white fox pelts in the Great Wu Dynasty.
The two capes that Chu Lian had brought were sleek and practically perfect, making them almost priceless.
Royal Princess Duanjia immediately draped it over her shoulders and twirled around to show it off, “Mother, look! Isn’t this pretty!”
Princess Wei glared at her before ‘scolding’ Chu Lian, “These furs are too valuable! I’ll accept them this time, but you’re not allowed to spend so much on gifts in the future.”
Chu Lian froze up a little and her face took on a tinge of embarrassment, “Your Highness, I actually didn’t spend that much…”
The way she spoke piqued their curiosity.
“How much is not that much?” Royal Princess Duanjia asked to satisfy the itch in her heart.
Chu Lian displayed one slender finger in response.
Royal Princess Duanjia guessed, “A ten-thousand tael note?”
The corners of Chu Lian’s mouth twitched and she coughed before shaking her head.
Ten thousand taels? She didn’t even have five thousand taels on her while in the north…
Royal Princess Duanjia covered her mouth in shock, “Don’t tell me it was a hundred thousand taels!”
“Not at all,” Chu Lian replied awkwardly.
Princess Wei was also looking on curiously. Finally, she sent a glare to her daughter first before stating, “It can’t be a hundred thousand taels, even our estate doesn’t hold that much in taels. I’m afraid Jinyi must mean a thousand taels.”
“What! A thousand taels?! Isn’t that a steal? Chu Liu, your luck is ridiculously good! A thousand taels for these two fox pelts in such great quality… What a huge bargain!”
Royal Princess Duanjia bit her handkerchief in jealousy, wondering why she didn’t have that sort of luck too. Whenever she played the gambling card game Madiao with her mother, she would lose terribly.
A chuckle escaped from Chu Lian, which she quickly turned into a cough, “Your Highness, it’s not a thousand taels, but a hundred catties of brown rice…”
These red fox furs had been traded for grain and food by a barbarian in the simple market she had opened in the north. One of the workers in the market had reported the furs to Manager Qin, who had then sent them over to her.
When Chu Lian finished speaking, Royal Princess Duanjia wailed and threw herself at Chu Lian.
“Chu Liu, what kind of crazy luck do you have?! Let me have some of it! Aren’t you breaking the laws of heaven with your luck?”
Princess Wei didn’t know how to reply to her daughter’s silly exclamation.
Chu Lian hadn’t even mentioned the new northern trade market to Princess Wei, but the two red fox fur capes alone were enough to make them all jealous.
It was clear how profitable the market was.
Guilin Restaurant’s income was now a paltry sum compared to the sky-high profits that the northern market was bringing in.
No matter how cheap that two red fox fur capes had been, Princess Wei and Royal Princess Duanjia were still touched by the gifts.
This wasn’t due to the value, but due purely to the sentiment behind the gifts.
Chu Lian opened up the box of food and took out an exquisite porcelain plate, “These are some hawthorn balls I made yesterday. Your Highness, Princess, please try them.”
Royal Princess Duanjia loved eating Chu Lian’s novel treats the most. She immediately picked up one of the balls and stuffed it into her mouth.
The sweet, yet mellow sugared ball melted in her mouth. When she bit into it, a burst of sourness came out that complemented the sweetness. There weren’t any cores or seeds inside, so she could swallow it down right after chewing.
Sweet, sour, delicious, and easy to eat. Royal Princess Duanjia wanted to eat another one immediately after finishing the first.
Princess Wei took one to taste as well, and praised Chu Lian.
“What a marvelous taste this little candied fruit has. It’s sour and sweet at the same time and very appetising. But this doesn’t seem to taste like hawthorns?”
Chu Lian hadn’t expected Princess Wei to be able to tell the difference.
She nodded, “Your Highness is right. Although I call this dessert ‘hawthorn balls’, they’re not actually made from hawthorns.”
It wasn’t good for pregnant women to eat too much hawthorn, so Chu Lian had kept that in mind while making this confection. She had swapped out the hawthorns for a special fruit she had found in the north called ‘gooseberries’, which looked and tasted very similar to hawthorns. However, their medicinal uses were entirely different from hawthorns.
After they finished their desserts, the imperial physician that Princess Wei had called for arrived.
She had sent for an imperial physician skilled in treating external wounds. Once Doctor Min had taken Chu Lian’s pulse and declared her to be completely healthy, Princess Wei was finally able to relax and set aside her worries.
The moment Doctor Min left, Royal Princess Duanjia pulled Chu Lian off to cook roast duck.
Princess Wei had no choice but to let them go, with one last glare at Royal Princess Duanjia.
