Chapter 94 - Give It to Your Daughter as Dowry!

Everyone was in an uproar. When they saw Shen Linghan only offered a few handkerchiefs as gifts, they had thought that this was because the Shen family had fallen and that she had no money. But now, it seemed that this was not the case at all.

Although the glass jade bracelet she wore wasn’t of the best quality, it was still worth several hundred or even a thousand taels of silver. If she really wanted to send Shen Ninghua a gift, she could almost buy any gift if she sold the bracelet, so that she wouldn’t have to come over with a few handkerchiefs. They’ve heard that Shen Linghan had a heart of the snake, and it turned out the rumor was true.

Whichever family had such a daughter would suffer a lot. No wonder the Shen family fell so fast!

Shen Linghan bit her lips and glared at Shen Ninghua with hatred. She abruptly pulled back her arm and ran out. The surrounding discussions were about to drown her. How could she have the face to stay any longer?

The guards at the entrance saw someone rushing out and wanted to stop her, but Shen Ninghua shouted to stop them.

Madam Su looked at Shen Linghan’s back in disgust and stepped forward to check Shen Ninghua’s hand. “Don’t you know what kind of person she is? Is your hand injured?”

Shen Ninghua slightly moved her fingers. The bright red mark on the back of her hand was clearly scratched by Shen Linghan’s fingernails. “I’m fine. After all, we are sisters. Bai Ruo, wrap up the bracelet. Have the kitchen prepare a table of dishes and send them to the suburbs.”

“Yes, Miss.”

“Her Highness is so generous.”

“That’s right. Shen Linghan clearly came here on purpose to cause trouble. But Her Highness didn’t care at all, and she even offered a precious gift in return. She truly deserves His Majesty’s praise.”

“I’ve long heard that the first thing Her Highness did when she came out of the Palace was to take her grandmother back to the mansion to receive special care. What a truly filial girl.”

The emperor had already ordered Shen Ninghua to break away from the Shen family. Shen Ninghua could justifiably ignore the matters of the Shen family, but she still insisted on expressing her filial piety. Such a deed made many ladies of aristocratic families feel exceptionally satisfied.

“Master Chu sends a gift.” The announcement instantly interrupted the discussion in the room. Master Chu? The Peerless Dual Master Chu Junyi?

Everyone looked over curiously. They waited for a moment but didn’t see anyone walking in. What was going on?

Shen Ninghua was also curious. Ever since Chu Junyi said that he wanted to prepare a gift for her that day, he hadn’t show up again. She wondered what he was busy with.

Suddenly, she smelled a faint fragrance. This was the fragrance of peony flowers…

Although it was already February and there were already jasmine and plum blossoms, peony would definitely not bloom at this time of year.

Finally, there was a movement at the door. A row of maids walked in each with a pot of peony in their hands. They quietly placed them on the ground and retreated with light footsteps.

“Those are Wei Zi and Yao Huang, the kings of Peony Flowers…”

Then, another row of maids walked in. They were carrying precious butterfly orchids. They also placed flowers on the ground. Then, cuckoo, brocade orchid, tricolor pansy, begonia…The entire courtyard was filled with flowers. For a moment, the fragrance of flowers overflowed and the color of flowers overwhelmed everyone.

Shen Ninghua walked to the door and stood surrounded by hundreds of flowers. Her usually calm and indifferent eyes were filled with surprise. Although she had never shown it, she liked flowers very much, especially those with bright colors and elegant styles. Chu Junyi’s gift appealed directly to her heart.

Guests followed Shen Ninghua out of the hall to admire the flowers in the surroundings.

A slender figure walked in from the door. He was dressed in black and wore a same-color belt embroidered with gold and silver threads on his waist. His figure was tall and straight, and his face was handsome. He was really a charming man.

Chu Junyi ignored everyone’s astonished expressions and only focused his attentive gaze on Shen Ninghua.

Seeing that tranquil eyes were dyed with smiles, he immediately became happy.

“Greetings, Your Highness. I don’t have any valuable gifts to offer, so I can only collect some flowers as my gift.”

Shen Ninghua looked at his smiling face and replied with a smile. “Thank you, Master Chu. This gift is truly special.” Such an extremely considerate gift could not simply be described as precious.

Chu Junyi curled her eyes and said in a deep voice, “As long as you like it, I’m happy.”

He had a smile on his face, but all sorts of thoughts surged in his heart. When they were in Jiangnan, he discovered that Shen Ninghua really liked flowers. When he knew that her fifteenth birthday ceremony was going to be held, the first thing he thought of was to give her a courtyard of flowers as a gift.

However, the weather was cold now, and there were very few flowers blooming in the north. He sent his men to Yang City in Jiangnan to collect the best flowers and carefully transport them over.

Although he had repeatedly asked them to be careful, something unexpected happened halfway. After all, the weather in the north was too cold. Even if there was a greenhouse, it was not suitable for these delicate flowers to survive. A few boats had an accident while transporting the flowers, so he had no choice but to personally rush over and made tremendous efforts to send all of these delicate guests to the Prefectural Princess Mansion.

Although he was tired, when he saw Shen Ninghua’s sincere smile among the flowers, he suddenly felt that it was worth it. Especially when she looked at him, he was even willing to give all the beautiful things in the world to her, as long as he could make her smile.

Chu Junyi trembled as he silently chanted Amitabha in his heart. Beauty could really make people blind.

Shen Ninghua hurriedly ordered Bai Ruo to send the flowers to the greenhouse. She could imagine how much effort it would take to transport them from Yang City, and she didn’t want them to suffer the slightest bit of damage.

“Ladies, please take your seat. When the banquet is over, if you like flowers, you can go to the greenhouse and pick a pot of flower to take away.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

“This is really great.”

Shen Ninghua’s banquet was extremely well-arranged. However picky a guest might be, it was still difficult to find fault with the banquet. Only then did everyone feel convinced and accept this Prefectural Princess from the bottom of their hearts.

At the end of the banquet, many people went to the greenhouse and chose their favorite flowers. They left in a happy mood and praised Shen Ninghua endlessly before leaving.

After seeing off the last guest, Shen Ninghua turned around to support Madam Su and said, “Aunt, thank you so much for today.”

Madam Su helped her tidy up her clothes and said with warmth in her eyes, “When your mother was still alive, she was always good to me. Now that she wasn’t here, I must help her take care of you. This is what I should do. Don’t be so polite to your aunt. When your younger brother Xuanhua holds his coming-of-age ceremony, I am going to invite you. Don’t say no at that time.”

“Of course.” Knowing that Madam Su was sincerely helping her, Shen Ninghua no longer insisted on the polite formula and only remembered this act of kindness in her heart.

After Madam Su left, she instructed the servants to clean up the hall. Then she returned to Ruixi Courtyard to have a rest.

Bi Zhu brought in a thick ledger and said, “Miss, this booklet contains the gifts you received today. Please take a look.”

“Just leave it here. You guys are tired too. Go back and rest.”

“Yes, Miss.”

Shen Ninghua opened the ledger. The records on it were very detailed, and all kinds of precious treasures almost dazzled her eyes. “As expected of these big families, their wealth is truly amazing.”

Chu Junyi jumped in from the window, patted his clothes and walked to the front of her. “Ninghua, do you prefer these mundane things or the flowers I gave you?”

Looking at his smiling face, Shen Ninghua didn’t want him to be happy. “Although the flowers are beautiful, they can’t be eaten as food. These gifts are all real money worthy of more than 100,000 taels of silver.”

Chu Junyi’s complacent smile stiffened on his face. “The gifts conferred by the Imperial Palace can’t be sold at all, and the gifts given by the ladies are also in the style of official manufacture and can’t be casually exchanged for money. If you want money, you might as well wait for our Huajun Pharmacy to make some.”

Shen Ninghua chuckled, and her beautiful face appeared more stunning. “Of course I know.”

“Then why do you still like these mundane things? When you have money, whatever beautiful things you like…Hmm? You were just teasing me?” Chu Junyi narrowed his eyes and pretended to look at her with threat.

Shen Ninghua laughed even more happily.

Chu Junyi snorted slightly and sat down on a chair to drink tea. Shen Ninghua rarely smiled so happily. Looks like he hadn’t wasted his efforts pretending to be stupid.

After a long time, Shen Ninghua stopped laughing. She felt relieved, and all her worries disappeared. “Did you pay a special trip to Jiangnan these days?”

“Yes, there were some problems when those flowers were being transported. I went to deal with them and supervised the development of the Huajun Pharmacy by the way.”

“Is the business of Huajun Pharmacy going smoothly?”

“With the reputation of helping relieve the plague in Jiangnan and the title of Imperial Merchant personally bestowed by His Majesty, it runs very smoothly.”

Shen Ninghua nodded. “Then I’ll just wait for money to flow into my pocket.”

“You are so obsessed with money! Don’t you see? Which family’s young lady is richer than you in the capital now?” Today’s gifts alone were worth money that was sufficient to support the life of several generations of a common household.

“Who hates too much money?”

Chu Junyi suddenly chuckled. “That’s right. When you get married, all of this can be used as dowry.”

Shen Ninghua raised her eyebrows. “Dowry?”

“Yes. It can be used as your dowry when you marry into your husband’s family, and you can leave it to your daughter as her dowry.”

Shen Ninghua sneered but she somehow continued this topic. “Then what if I give birth to a son instead?”

Chu Junyi was stunned for a moment and then he coughed. “Then you can have another baby after two years, until it is a daughter, so that you can give these things to your daughter as dowry.”

Shen Ninghua was so angry that she burst into a laugh. “I don’t know how to comment on you. If I have to prepare my daughter’s dowry by myself, what’s the point of marrying someone? It’s better to live my own life with these gold and silver and be free.”

Chu Junyi choked and secretly sighed in his heart. “Looks like I have to work harder to earn money.”

Shen Ninghua glared at him. “What does it have to do with you?”

“I’m on my own. I can’t compare with other people who have parents to support them. I have to earn money to buy betrothal gifts for my bride, and to prepare dowry for my future daughter. If I don’t work hard, I won’t even be able to get a wife.”

Shen Ninghua’s ears turned red with embarrassment but she instantly suppressed the emotion. “Hurry up and go back. Don’t talk nonsense here. If you want to marry a wife, there will be plenty of girls who are willing to deliver themselves to your door, like that sister of yours who cherishes you very much.”

“Sister, Xiao Huanxi?” Chu Junyi hurriedly explained, “Ninghua, I can assure you that I am very innocent. Sister is only sister and will not become anything else.”

Shen Ninghua frowned and twisted a handful of powder at her fingertips with a move of her sleeve. “Looks you won’t leave by yourself. Do you want me to give you something before leaving?”

Chu Junyi hurriedly stood up and said, “No, no, you’re tired. You should rest early. I am leaving now.” It seemed that not only should he work hard to earn money, he should also work hard to learn medical skills!