Early the next morning, Yi Zhici woke up. By her side, Zhong Qing was preparing breakfast.
Yi Zhici sat up. "Zhong Qing, I thought you'd abandoned me. You didn't show up for days."
Zhong Qing feigned a sigh. "Your Highness, how could I ever abandon you? I was just afraid of not being able to handle you when you were drunk."
"How could that be? There's nothing you can't handle, Zhong Qing." Yi Zhici got up to wash her face. "By the way, I want pork dumplings with soup. Do we have them?"
"Yes." Zhong Qing came over to comb her hair. "There are not only dumplings but also sugarcane and cherries. Your Highness loves these fresh fruits. You're in for a treat this time."
Yi Zhici beamed with joy. "Father is so good to me. I always get a share of the tributes. These are usually only for court officials, but I get to taste them. I'm so content."
She was so excited that Zhong Qing could hardly hold her hair still. Zhong Qing gently tapped her on the head, and she finally calmed down.
Zhong Qing shook her head. "Your Highness, this sugarcane and these cherries weren't sent by the Marquis. They were from General Lin."
Yi Zhici was stunned for a moment, then suddenly jumped up.
Zhong Qing wasn't prepared. She was still holding Yi Zhici's hair, and when Yi Zhici jumped up, she winced in pain, covering her head and moaning.
"Your Highness, are you okay?" Zhong Qing was terribly frightened. "Your Highness, don't scare this servant..."
"I'm just too excited. The young general sent me the tribute fruits meant for court officials. It makes me feel like I'm already his wife." Yi Zhici took a while to recover. "And stop calling yourself 'this servant'. You'll be fined half a month's salary."
Zhong Qing: "..."
After breakfast, Yi Zhici squeezed the sugarcane sent by Lin Yuan into juice. It took her a long time to succeed. She sent one portion to Yi Junshi and the other to Lin Qiong.
Yi Zhici thought that since Lin Yuan said he had to do some persuading with his father, it probably meant that General Lin Qiong was dissatisfied with her. She couldn't just let Lin Yuan do all the work. She had to make an effort to change Lin Qiong's impression of her and achieve her dream of marrying Lin Yuan as soon as possible.
After sending the juice, Yi Zhici went to the nearby grove to wait. Lin Yuan had said that if she missed him, she could come here and he would be waiting.
After waiting for a while, she didn't see Lin Yuan but a handsome young page boy.
The page boy bowed deeply to Yi Zhici. "Your Highness, the young general sent me to invite you to his camp. The dew is heavy in the early morning of late autumn. The young general is afraid you'll catch a cold."
"Got it." Yi Zhici didn't think much and followed the page boy.
On the way, she met Zhao Fu, the chief eunuch beside Gu Weifeng. When he saw Yi Zhici, he rushed over quickly. "Your Highness, Your Highness, don't be in a hurry to go."
Zhao Fu was a favorite of Gu Weifeng. Gu Weifeng's daily life was always taken care of by him, so he was highly favored. Yi Zhici didn't dare to be negligent. "What's the matter, Eunuch?"
Zhao Fu pulled Yi Zhici aside and whispered, "It's good that Your Highness is here. His Majesty told this old servant to send this purple clay teapot to the Marquis. But the Marquis is usually in a bad mood in the morning, and this old servant doesn't dare to get close. Since Your Highness is here, could you please send this teapot to him?"
Yi Zhici said, "I understand. Don't worry, Eunuch."
When she arrived at the Lin family's camp, Yi Zhici took a deep breath. She was a bit nervous, but she knew she had to take this step. It's better to face the music earlier.
She lifted the curtain. Lin Qiong was sitting in the main seat, drinking the sugarcane juice from a white porcelain cup. He seemed to be in a good mood. But beside him sat Lian Qingping.
When Lian Qingping saw Yi Zhici standing outside, she curled her lips into a smile. "Uncle Lin, this sugarcane juice tastes great, doesn't it? Qingping got up early and spent a long time making it."
"Indeed. I didn't know there was such a novel way to consume sugarcane."
Yi Zhici was stunned for a moment, then walked in gracefully. "Greetings to General Lin and Princess Qingping."
Lin Qiong quickly invited her to sit down. "Your Highness, why have you come today?"
Yi Zhici couldn't say what she wanted to. She originally came to wait for Lin Yuan. She had planned to ask Lin Qiong how he liked the sugarcane juice and offer to send some more next time if she ran into him.
But now, Lin Qiong was full of praise for the sugarcane juice in the white porcelain cup, which was clearly from Yi Zhici's camp. But Lian Qingping had taken the credit...
Oh no, Yi Zhici suddenly realized that the page boy might not have been sent by Lin Yuan. It was probably Lian Qingping who had calculated the time and sent the page boy to bring her here just to see this scene. This was a provocation!