Free Web NovelChapter 319: Chapter 320: Lovesick Pastry
Before the weather turned warm again, Hua Manman and Li Ji took a trip to the peach blossom grove outside the city.
Compared to early spring, many of the peach blossoms had already fallen.
But from a distance, the vast expanse of pink and white, like smoke and mist, was still quite beautiful.
Hua Manman cursed the fact she didn’t have a camera. ’Otherwise, I could’ve taken some pictures to show off on my social media feed.’
To make up for the lack of a camera, Hua Manman picked a full basket of peach blossoms.
She also wove a wreath, adorning it with pink and white peach blossoms.
When Prince Zhao wasn’t looking, she audaciously plopped the wreath onto his head.
Li Ji had never experienced anything like this before. He froze for a moment before he realized what had happened.
He raised a hand, took the wreath off his head, and said to Hua Manman,
"Come here."
’Only a fool would go over there!’
Hua Manman was no fool; she certainly wasn’t going to walk right into a trap.
She lifted her skirts and scurried away.
Li Ji strode after her, wreath in hand.
Taking advantage of his long legs, he quickly caught up to Hua Manman.
He swept Hua Manman into his arms and, using Qinggong, leaped up into a peach tree.
The two of them sat down on a branch.
Li Ji placed the wreath firmly on her head, then kissed her without another word.
Petals fluttered down, landing on the two of them.
From a distance, it was as if they had merged with the peach blossom grove.
The kiss left Hua Manman a little dizzy.
In a daze, she felt something cool and icy land on her neck.
When they parted, Hua Manman reached up to touch her neck and found it was water.
She looked up. A light drizzle had begun to fall from the sky.
Countless threads of rain fell to the earth, adding an ethereal air to the peach grove.
The spring chill was biting, and getting caught in the rain could easily lead to sickness.
Li Ji immediately brought Hua Manman back to the ground. They left the grove and returned to the Prince Mansion by carriage.
After returning home, they changed into clean, comfortable clothes.
Hua Manman had someone take the peach blossoms she brought back to the kitchen to be washed. She planned to make them into peach blossom cakes and peach blossom porridge.
Li Ji had brought back the wreath Hua Manman made.
He found a stand and hung the wreath on it.
Recalling how Hua Manman looked wearing the wreath, Li Ji’s fingers itched to paint.
He ordered someone to prepare a brush and ink, and began to paint.
In just a moment, a young woman in a misty-cyan ruqun leaped to life on the paper.
She wore a wreath of peach blossoms on her head, running through the grove with her skirts in hand, her hems fluttering in the wind. Her eyes were bright and lively, her smile brilliant.
Li Ji was quite satisfied with the painting.
He ordered someone to have it mounted and framed, intending to add it to his collection.
Just then, Chen Wangbei walked in, cupped his fist in his hand, and bowed.
"Reporting to the Prince, we’ve found Hong Hui."
Li Ji calmly and methodically washed his hands. "Where is he?"
Chen Wangbei replied, "We found him in a dilapidated temple outside the city."
He paused, then added,
"He’s already dead."
Li Ji said, "Take me to see him."
"Yes, sir."
...
Hua Manman, busy in the kitchen, heard that Prince Zhao had gone out again but didn’t have much of a reaction.
Prince Zhao had his own business to attend to. He would come back on his own once he was finished; there was no need for her to worry.
Hua Manman soaked the peach blossoms in salt water, washed them clean, and then began to preserve them with sugar.
Later, once they were preserved, she would mix them with red bean paste, wrap them in pastry dough, and place them in her homemade oven to make fragrant peach blossom pastries.
These pastries also had another name: lover’s cakes.
In her maternal grandparents’ hometown, there was a custom: if a woman gave a man lover’s cakes she had made with her own hands, it was a declaration of her love. If the man was also interested in her, he would accept the cakes.
Hua Manman’s grandmother had once given lover’s cakes to her grandfather.
Even after they were married with children, her grandmother would still make lover’s cakes for her grandfather every spring.
The old couple lived a sweet life together, just like the taste of the cakes.
Hua Manman planned to give the lover’s cakes to Prince Zhao to taste once they were ready. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
She hoped she and Prince Zhao could live a long, peaceful, and happy life together, just like her grandparents.
Si Yun was helping the Princess Consort. Noticing Gao Shan peeking into the kitchen, she whispered a reminder.
"Princess Consort, High Housekeeper Gao is here."
Hua Manman turned her head and her eyes met Gao Shan’s at the doorway.
Gao Shan cupped his hands in a salute toward her.
"Princess, someone has come from the Zhong’an Bo Mansion. They said there’s a matter at home and would like to ask you to make a trip back."
Hua Manman frowned. "What’s wrong at home?"
Gao Shan replied, "The messenger didn’t say, so I don’t know either."
Hua Manman had already put all the peach blossom petals into a jar; they wouldn’t be done preserving until tomorrow.
She had nothing else to do at the moment, so she decided to go home and see.
Hua Manman changed her clothes. When she went outside, she saw that the carriage from the Zhong’an Bo Mansion was already waiting at the gate.
She recognized the driver; he was one of the long-term hired hands from the Zhong’an Bo Mansion.
The driver said respectfully,
"The Madam has fallen ill. Mr. Bo specially sent me to escort the Princess Consort back home."
The moment Hua Manman heard Madam He was sick, she immediately turned to go back and find Feihua Zhenren.
The driver quickly stopped her. "The Madam’s illness is not serious. The household doctor has already prescribed her medicine, and she seems to be improving. It’s mainly that the Madam hasn’t seen you for some time and misses you dearly, so Mr. Bo sent me to bring you back."
It was true that Hua Manman hadn’t seen Madam He in quite a while. Without further hesitation, she lifted her skirts and was about to board the carriage.
Suddenly, a familiar voice called out from the side.
"Princess!"
Hua Manman paused. Following the voice, she saw He Qiuwen running toward her, carrying a basket.
Ever since He Qiuwen had offended Prince Zhao and his wife, she had been harshly scolded by her husband’s family upon returning home. She lost all face and dignity, and her mother-in-law had even threatened to have her son divorce her.
In the end, it was only on account of her having borne two sons that her parents-in-law reluctantly forgave her.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
Her parents-in-law demanded she obtain the forgiveness of Prince Zhao and his wife, or she could forget about staying with her husband’s family.
Left with no choice, He Qiuwen could only bring a handmade gift to apologize to Prince Zhao and his wife.
He Qiuwen bowed repeatedly in apology.
"I’m so sorry! It’s all my fault for having such a wretched mouth and spouting nonsense, which made you and the Prince so angry. These are just some snacks I made myself, nothing special. I hope you won’t mind them."
Hua Manman was in a hurry to go see Madam He, so she replied casually,
"Just give your things to the gatekeeper and go home. Don’t come back again."
How could He Qiuwen possibly go back just like that?
If she couldn’t get the Princess Consort’s forgiveness today, she would have no place in her husband’s family.
He Qiuwen noticed the parked carriage and recognized it at a glance as belonging to the Zhong’an Bo Mansion. She quickly asked,
"Is the Princess Consort returning to the Zhong’an Bo Mansion? As it happens, I haven’t seen my sister in a long time either. Could the Princess Consort give me a ride?"
