Chapter 573: Chapter 573 - 573 Dowry

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

“That’s true. Would the other vegetables be ready by the new year?”

“Tough to say. If there’s a possibility of early maturity, we can harvest them. However, they’ll definitely be ready on the 15th of the first lunar month.”

“The 15th is fine; it’s an important festival. If you manage it well, it’ll be a great achievement.”

“This is my honor.

“If you have no other instructions, I will take my leave.” Gu Chengrui said.

“Go. If there’s anything, report it in time.” The Emperor nodded.

After Gu Chengrui left, the Emperor ordered Eunuch Li to bring all the vegetables to the imperial kitchen. At dinner, he wanted to taste the quality of the vegetables and see if they differed from those grown near the hot springs.

On the other end, Zhou Ying had just returned home when the little beggar Gou’zi—renamed Qi Tong—ran out to welcome her, saying, “Madam, you’re back! This servant will help you carry your luggage.”

“Alright, send the clothes to the main courtyard for Shizhu.” Zhou Ying smiled as she handed him the cloth bag she used to wrap her clothes.

She later handed the remaining vegetables to Zhou Dasheng and the others.

As she walked in, Zhou Dasheng whispered, “Qi Tong is quite smart and lively. If he’s properly nurtured, he’ll definitely be someone successful in the future.”

Zhou Ying smiled and nodded. If it weren’t for his intelligence, she wouldn’t have chosen him to spread the news in the first place.

Thinking of this, Zhou Ying solemnly instructed Zhou Dasheng, “All the more you should teach him. Let him learn as much as possible. Also, you should teach the young ones how to read too. They might be useful in the future.”

“Understood.” Zhou Dasheng nodded in agreement.

After dinner, Zhou Ying asked, “Rui, what wedding gift do you think you’re giving the First Prince?”

“He’s marrying a consort, so we can’t give him a gift according to King Rui’s standards. I think it’s better to give him a purple sand tea set; it’s not expensive but it’s practical.”

“Let’s go with that.” Zhou Ying nodded in agreement.

If it weren’t for making peace on the surface, she wouldn’t even bother to go to the First Prince’s wedding, let alone give a congratulatory gift.

After entering the interspace at night, Gu Chengrui returned to the villa to read some medical books after working on the grassland.

Meanwhile, Zhou Ying continued to deal with matters within the various Mother God Temples.

They soon realized that the previous batch of fish, including the small fish in the river, had almost been fished out. It was clear how much meat the people lacked.

As the fish in her interspace bred to their previous population, she left the eggs behind and distributed the remainder to severely malnourished areas via the Mother God Temple. She also released many wild ducks and even some wild duck eggs.

After she was done, she checked on Yang Wanyu’s dowry. Although it was enough for 66 sets, the items inside were of terrible quality. The total cost was definitely not more than 30,000 taels of silver.

To be honest, this dowry was not bad for most women.

But as a concubine’s dowry, it was not presentable.

When she saw this, she suddenly understood why Yang Wanyu had been staring at Mrs. Gu’s dowry.

Zhou Ying then looked at the First Prince’s residence, but no joy was present.

There was only a small courtyard with new furniture with the word ‘Congratulations” pasted on it.

Zhou Ying did not know the rules of marrying a secondary consort here, so she did not think too much about it.

Before she left, she heard Consort Hui and the servants talking about Zhou Jiaying giving birth to a daughter. She immediately looked at the Fourth Prince’s Mansion.

At this moment, the Fourth Prince was planning something with Seventh Su, and Zhou Ying overheard it.

She learned that they were searching for evidence of Yang Shicheng’s corruption.

But so far, they had only learned a little information from Xiao Heng’s actions and had not found any useful evidence.

After a moment, Seventh Su suggested, “Your Highness, what do you say we take advantage of Yang Wanyu’s marriage and send people to sneak into the Yang Residence to investigate?”