Muhua said, “Replying to the Nine Princess, to put it nicely, I am multi-talented. Others were afraid of killing the Nine Princess’s flowers, but I was good at it at home, so I volunteered.”
After a moment’s thought, Muhua hid nothing about her mindset.
“To be honest, Chief Eunuch Wei offered too much silver. I couldn’t refuse.”
Even as he was respectfully serving with his head lowered, Liang Jiugong glanced at Fang He.
‘This future Fifteenth Fuqin… why does she seem so much like Consort Zhen?’
Fang He: “…..”
Why does her knee suddenly hurt for no reason?
Kangxi suddenly asked, “Do you wish to marry Yin Hui?”
Muhua, as always, replied honestly, “Replying to Your Majesty, I don’t wish to, and yet I do.”
Yin Hui had been sitting calmly at the side the entire time, smiling gently.
Even hearing Muhua say she was unwilling, his expression never changed.
“How so?” Minbao was especially curious.
Shitara Muhua said calmly, “I don’t wish to because I know I can’t aspire to Prince Rui. My family can’t offer him any help at all.”
“My father is likely to drag me down. If I am not careful, someone might trick him, and I’m afraid I can’t keep him in line.”
“I do wish to… There are no divorced women in the imperial family. As long as I don’t court disaster, being Prince Rui’s Fuqin means a lifetime of glory and wealth—it’s hard to refuse.”
Fang He was so amused that she burst out laughing, clapping her hands and praising Muhua’s honesty.
“Good! Well said! It’s not foolishness that we fear, but lack of self-awareness. You are excellent!”
She even thought Muhua was a bit like those girls raised under the red flag in later generations; the name was fitting, and Fang He immediately accepted her as a daughter-in-law.
As for Jiujiu, since Muhua had taken care of her flower field so well, she had grown fond of her—without even realizing it had been Muhua’s work all along.
Muhua had never taken credit, much like Qiao Anda, which made her even more likable.
Minbao stared at Muhua for a while and, feeling she liked this future sister-in-law, nodded approvingly.
Yin Hui knew that as long as he got his mother and sisters’ approval, his father’s consent was assured.
He smiled, raised his eyebrows at Kangxi, then got up and told Muhua to prepare to serve in the Imperial Tea House.
Muhua hesitated a little but said nothing, quietly retreating.
Fang He asked Yin Hui, “Does she not want to serve by your side?”
Yin Hui explained with a smile, “No, she just wants to ask if she can still go to the flower field. She used to do both the Sewing Workshop and the flower field work and didn’t want to give either up.”
Fang He laughed even harder.
“You really know how to pick them!”
“A true model worker. Won’t she be worked to death for you in the future?”
But as long as Yin Hui gave enough, who could say she wouldn’t enjoy it?
Kangxi had no words to refuse, only sighing after some thought, “Since this is your choice, so be it. But you know the atmosphere in the Court Hall—after the bestowal of marriage, your residence cannot have just her alone.”
Yin Hui nodded, “Your son understands. Other choices are at your discretion, Father.”
Fang He quickly reminded, “Since she’s your personal choice, though there will be others in the future, you must not let concubines bully her because of her humble status. She will need your support as her husband to manage the inner court.”
Thinking of Muhua’s performance in the Sewing Workshop, Yin Hui shook his head with a smile but still agreed respectfully, “Rest assured, Mother. Your son will never favor concubines over the wife.”
In fact, the first time Yin Hui met Muhua wasn’t in Jiujiu’s flower field, but in a narrow lane by Longde Gate, on the way from the Sewing Workshop to the Imperial Kitchen.
She was blocked by two female officials whose fathers held higher ranks.
They mocked her for currying favor with Wei Zhu.
Although they outnumbered her, Muhua showed no fear, only smiling as she spoke two sentences to them.
“If you don’t manage to finish me off today, I can always ask Chief Eunuch Wei and Nainai if your feet stink.”
“Oh right, I learned martial arts from my mother. I can swim, have a loud voice, and I’m not afraid of death. Anything else?”
After the two left with darkened faces, Muhua didn’t come out immediately.
Instead, she let out a long sigh inside, muttering under her breath, “Heavens above, gods and buddhas, please ignore my nonsense about not fearing death…”
Yin Hui had almost burst out laughing on the spot.
But he was busy leaving the palace at the time, and had already arranged for Jixin to be his Fuqin, so he left before Muhua came out.
Later, he saw Muhua in the flower field.
Before Muhua noticed him, he saw her looking around, then, when no one was around, she took off her embroidered shoes and went barefoot into the flowers.
As he walked past from one side, Muhua quickly tucked her feet into the mud, acting as if nothing had happened and performed a perfect bow.
When he deliberately stood out of her line of sight, he saw her swaying and sitting at the edge of the field, quickly putting her shoes back on.
Yin Hui found Muhua interesting; she handled her duties unconventionally and never seemed flustered, which he appreciated.
At the time, Muhua was in old palace maid clothes, so Yin Hui assumed she was a maid and told Zheng Yusheng to look into it, thinking to assign her to Jixin as a watchdog.
But after checking, Zheng Yusheng discovered she was a female official—and the same one he had overheard calmly arguing in the narrow lane.
He hadn’t married yet, so he had no thought of taking concubines.
He regretted it for a moment, then dismissed her from his mind.
He never imagined that Jixin would act so rashly, causing him to recall Muhua.
He specially invited Wei Zhu, said to care for Muhua, to Danningju and asked in detail about Muhua.
The more he learned, the more suitable he found her as Fuqin.
Wei Zhu didn’t overly praise Muhua, only stated the facts, “She grew up in the city, without the pride of a typical noble lady. She studied the rules diligently.”
“As for her duties, she was neither outstanding nor lacking at first, but as long as the rewards were right, she was diligent and extremely capable. She never coveted what wasn’t hers.”
Yin Hui thought that was enough.
Whatever rewards Wei Zhu could give, he could give more.
Diligent, capable, not greedy—she was clear-headed and wouldn’t easily be led astray by emotions.
That was all he required of a Fuqin.
Yin Hui specially asked Wei Zhu not to spread the news, only saying he still needed to observe whether Muhua was suitable.
Finally, when Muhua was completely unprepared, he brought her to the Qianqing Palace.
Her conduct before Kangxi and Fang He dispelled his last doubt.
He wasn’t afraid of a foolish Fuqin, only one who was too clever for her own good.
Her honesty before the emperor and the Imperial Noble Consort, and the calmness that women liked, made Yin Hui especially satisfied.
After the imperial edict of marriage, it was only a few days before Kangxi also bestowed the main branch cousin of the Tong Family, as well as a daughter from the Fuca Clan related to the Ma Qi and Ma Wu brothers, as Side Consorts.
Yin Hui had Zheng Yusheng select the finest Hetian jade to make a set of mandarin duck jewelry for Muhua and delivered it himself to the Imperial Tea House to give her face.
Muhua’s eyes lit up at the jewelry even more than at seeing Yin Hui.
She had originally greeted him with a polite and respectful smile, but as soon as the box was opened, she beamed with four little white teeth showing.
“Thank you for your grace, Prince Rui. I am truly overwhelmed. I will cherish your gift and serve the Imperial Noble Consort and the Nine Princess and Tenth Princess well!”
When she was young, Muhua’s father was too easily deceived, and their family was so poor they could barely keep up appearances.
They dressed in fine Eight Banners attire, but at home everyone was hungry and anxious, so she valued money greatly.
Fortunately, after her mother could bear it no longer, she shed her gentle facade, took a firm hand, and, with support from the Grandfather and Mammy, seized control of the household finances.
Her mother sold her only dowry shop and used her sharp eye to buy land, planted Golden Grain promoted by the imperial house, and hired experienced farmhands to tend the fields, finally easing their poverty.
Muhua’s mother told her: if you want to gain something, you must be prepared to lose something.
In the past, though her father treated her mother with respect and fidelity, once her mother grew strong and could keep the money in the family, they ended up with two concubines.
Muhua was fine with Prince Rui welcoming Side Consorts first.
As long as she could live well, she wasn’t afraid of challenges—her life would only get better.
So she was happy to accept the jewelry from Yin Hui, though she felt a bit undeserving.
After thinking it over, she returned to the Sewing Workshop during her rest.
She spent over half a year making a set of phoenix-patterned cloud brocade palace attire for each of Fang He, Jiujiu, and Minbao—using her own saved silver to buy cloud brocade from Wei Zhu.
When Fang He, Jiujiu, and Minbao received the clothes, they were all astonished.
Muhua had embroidered the phoenix pattern in gold thread as a hidden design, blending perfectly with the shimmering brocade—so when walking, it looked as if a phoenix was flying.
Her embroidery skills were worth a thousand taels a set, with noble ladies lining up with silver to buy them.
Not to mention the crimson cloud brocade, which cost five hundred taels per chi, and that was already a favor from Wei Zhu.
The three sets of clothing cost at least two thousand taels.
Combined… goodness, even if the jewelry was worth three thousand taels at most, considering the pearl buttons, Muhua actually lost money.
Fang He wanted to give Muhua silver, but Muhua quickly refused, explaining, “Silver in my hand is only silver, but this jewelry increases in value over time.”
“And since Prince Rui didn’t use the official seal, if my family ever needs it and they know it came from Prince Rui himself… even if sold for double, it’s worth it. I’ve already gained.”
She figured she might as well take her Fuqin’s share in advance, and after calculating, she smiled especially sincerely.
It happened that Yin Hui entered the palace to greet his mother and overheard all of Muhua’s words at the door.
He looked at her back for a long while, speechless.
His future Fuqin… already thinking of selling his gifts?
Fang He had to stifle her laughter, her belly hurting with suppressed mirth, itching to shell some melon seeds.
She, Jiujiu, Minbao, and the expert gossipers Sanbao and Fourbao investigated repeatedly and found that the two were always polite to each other in public and private—nothing like a couple about to be married in half a year.
But Fang He had a hunch that once they married, the stories would only multiply.
Should she openly plant a gossip-lover in her son’s household, or… openly plant a gossip-lover?