Sixty Below

  Hongli carefully helped Yunzhu down from the carriage and turned back to see Li Rongbao and Guwalgiya standing in front of the mansion gate. Fu Guangcheng, Fu Qing, Fu Wen and more than a dozen sons, daughters-in-law, and grandchildren stood behind them, all staring intently at Hongli and Yunzhu. On this cold day, he felt a bit sweaty on his forehead, just like when he had announced his engagement to Qianlong, the pressure was enormous!

  Li Rongbao looked at his daughter who had just gotten off the carriage with moist eyes, seeing her wearing a winter ceremonial robe of a prince's consort, elegant and calm, without any worries in her eyes, feeling very settled. He also saw that the fourth brother was constantly paying attention to her, knowing that they were harmonious like zither and se, he was very happy. He glanced at his wife who was fidgeting with her handkerchief and said: "Pay respects to the fourth brother."

  "No need for so much courtesy, please get up." Hongli stepped aside to avoid the bow and with both hands clasped together, he slightly bowed his head in a junior's salute to Li Rongbao and his wife. Li Rongbao and his wife smiled and accepted it, while Fu Guangcheng and others turned their heads away.

  "It's cold, let's go into the mansion first." Li Rongbao stroked his beard and said.

  "After you."

  The snow has swept everything clean, the flowers and trees in pots are also trimmed with great spirit. The people coming and going all have joyful expressions on their faces, except for asking about each other's well-being, everything is quiet and orderly.

  As they entered the hall, warm air enveloped them, and Ling Xiu helped Yunzhu remove her large red fox fur cloak with silver trim. Guwalgiya hastily ordered someone to bring hot tea. Hongli smiled as he glanced at Yunzhu, who was surrounded by Guwalgiya, Shu Mu Lu, Ma Jia, and others, and saw that she had quietly replied to something, her face flushing pink, her eyes shining with a soft light, her eyebrows curved in a gentle smile, and he couldn't help but smile along with her until they entered the backyard, when he finally withdrew his gaze.

  This time, he suddenly realized that several of his wife's brothers had strange eyes and a hint of a smile on their faces. Suddenly, his face felt a wave of heat, and it turned out that he had been holding the teacup for half a day without moving...

  "Cough." He let out a light cough, lowered his head and took a sip of tea, the faintly sweet and bitter aroma lingering in the air.

  Li Rongbao's eyes swept over, hinting at his son to be more reserved. Seeing Hongli put down the teacup, he began to converse, asking a few questions about daily arrangements and not wanting to say much more, said: "Yunzhu doesn't understand things, if there's anything improper, you must bear with it."

  Hongli hastily composed himself and said absolutely nothing was wrong, Yunzhu was fine.

  Then Li Rongbao began to intentionally or unintentionally chat about some interesting things from his children's childhood, including Yunzhu's hobbies and interests.

  Li Rongbao is not as good as his second brother Ma Qi, but he is equally shrewd. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to raise his children so well. He noticed that Hongli was listening very attentively and didn't seem to be pretending, so he shared a few interesting stories about Yunzhu's childhood with several of his sons. There were adorable and embarrassing moments, as well as romantic and poetic activities, and innovative ideas... He worked hard to create a warm and interesting family life for the Fuca household. Hongli listened with great interest and felt that the Fuca household was different from other high-ranking families, who were strict and unfeeling, with rigid rules and etiquette, but also had a sense of humanity. He began to feel close to the Fuca household.

  Of course, due to the grand wedding, Fourth Brother has not attended court for several days. Li Rongbao couldn't help but mention a few things that have happened in court recently, such as the Emperor's decree ordering Tian Wenjing to take charge of investigating the grain stores in Shandong, and the dismissal of several officials from Henan and Zhili provinces...

  Hongli found that his father-in-law not only had a set of methods in governing the military, but also had very keen and unique insights in politics. Such a person was willing to hold an idle post, it can be seen that for him, the health and happiness of his family were more important than power and status, he was not ambitious. The family style of the Fuca household was indeed as the emperor said, not bad!

  Once they started talking, they became more and more familiar with each other, slowly getting to know each other and gaining a sense of mutual understanding.

  Li Rongbao still has some understanding of Yongzheng's personality, loving him to the point of wanting him to live and hating him to the point of wanting him to die. He is strong in his likes and dislikes, and is not stingy with power and favor towards those he trusts. From the mouth of his youngest son, it can also be inferred that the Fourth Prince has a similar personality, where people and things he likes are all good, while those he doesn't like are looked down upon and ignored. For someone like this, if they were just an ordinary person, it would be fine, but they are the masters of the Qing dynasty, the emperor! As a minister or servant, he is not afraid that the Fuca family will not receive favors because he has confidence in the abilities of his sons and nephews. What he fears is the emperor's suspicion and estrangement, so he can only work hard to make the emperor and the Fourth Prince feel like family towards the Fuca family, becoming familiar with each other, in order to eliminate potential future disasters!

  Gua Erjia and others pulled Yunzhu to the backyard, looked her up and down, and then asked about her life in the palace. They knew she was doing well, but when they mentioned that Empress Xi's attitude towards her was a bit strange, they fell silent for a while.

  "Empress Xi should not be a person who can't hold back until today." Guwalgiya frowned, somewhat displeased that she was making things difficult for her own daughter. Who would remind their daughter-in-law to arrange concubines for her son on the eve of the grand wedding?

  "Xi Fei probably fears that the Fourth Prince is too fond of his sister-in-law." Shu Mu Lu and Ma Jia exchanged a glance, softly sighing. Their husbands were not the eldest son, but had been raised by their stepmother since childhood. As birth mothers, Liu Jia and He Yi naturally had to discipline their daughters-in-law behind their backs, on one hand declaring that they were the true mothers of their husbands and also their mothers-in-law, and on the other hand fearing that their sons would forget them.

  "Don't worry, Mother, this isn't a difficult problem for me. Just provide and respect well, that's all," Yunzhu comforted her. What's hard about pleasing someone? She just didn't want to put in the effort. Nian Nu'er would always be an obstacle in her path, she had a premonition."

  "Don't be too careless." Guwalgiya nodded, "In another ten or so days, it will be Xi Fei's birthday. She is the birth mother of the Fourth Prince, you should prepare a gift for her."

  "She had prepared everything before the big wedding." She was not a last-minute person.

  "Speaking of gifts, Auntie's return gift is too generous this time!" Fu Wen's wife, Nian Huru, smiled and changed the subject. Xi Fei was her cousin's aunt, and she found it difficult to face Yun Zhu, who also felt embarrassed.

  Yunzhu An comforted the ground and smiled at her elder sister-in-law, saying: "Most of it was entrusted by the Emperor to the Empress Dowager, saying that the family gave too much dowry to their daughter, so they have to make up for some."

  Guarjia took the gift list handed over by her daughter-in-law, and saw on it coral basin scenery, honey wax screen carving, glass, tortoiseshell, southern pearl, various skins, woolen cloth, python silk, Japanese brocade, three-needle brocade, Shu embroidery, cloud brocade... as well as all kinds of ginseng, Ganoderma lucidum and other medicinal materials, a total of four large carts.

  It's really a bit too much. Guar Jia still remembered the cowpox incident and thought that the Emperor wouldn't be rewarding his own family in disguise, would he?

  Anyway, can't go ask. Just said to Yunzhu: "Your dowry still has a lot at home, wait until you return to the palace and bring it in together." How many carriages are loaded into the palace together, so that the empress and Xi Fei won't think that the emperor's fourth son is too fond of his daughter and feel dissatisfied.

  "Mother-in-law——" came out with several big cars, and went back to pull several more... Just thinking of this scene, Yunzhu's forehead was covered with a row of black lines. At her wedding, not only did her family prepare a lot of dowry, but also the amount of gifts they received was almost as much as the dowry. The relatives from her husband's side, her maternal grandparents' side, and even her cousins who got married... were all not from small families. "Let people see that I always pull things from my mother's house."

  What a headache! So many things, and there are still some in the room of one's own, how many carts would it take to haul them into the imperial palace? And then there are some that have been stored away in space.

  "It was originally yours, and it's only a matter of time before you take it away. Who cares what others say?" Madam Ma said disapprovingly, also reminding them that according to custom, it's not allowed to bring things from the maternal home on the day of returning to one's natal family after marriage! Her sisters-in-law looked at her with envy but didn't feel jealous. Firstly, Yunzhu was a legitimate daughter and had married into the imperial family, so it was only right that she had more dowry; secondly, Yunzhu wasn't petty-minded - in the past, she had always been filial to her parents, loving to her brothers, and caring for her nephews. In the future, there would be many opportunities to rely on her, so there was no need to create discord over small gains.

  "What a temper you have!" Lady Gwak said with a smile and a shake of her head.

  ……

  The evening meal was a formal affair at the Fu residence, where a banquet was held to entertain the two newlyweds. It was rare for the whole family to dine together, and even rarer for them to leave the palace to visit their relatives. Yunzhu personally went into the kitchen to cook several dishes, while others were made under her direction. Hongli ate with mixed emotions, both joyful and heartbroken.

  It's not that Yunzhu's culinary skills are bad, but the most she can make with her own hands is porridge, and at most one or two dishes. On the ninth day of their grand wedding, she hasn't made such a big fuss to cook so many dishes all at once. Indeed, she is filial to her parents, in her heart, her husband still doesn't have a place.

  He didn't know that he could eat porridge thanks to the blessing of Emperor Yongzheng. If it wasn't for adjusting Yongzheng's body, she wouldn't have done it anyway. However, the porridge he ate was fragrant, but different from what Yunzhu presented to Yongzheng, with different ingredients. The historical Qianlong had lived long enough, and she didn't want him to become an old monster.

  After finishing dinner, Yunzhu took him to visit her own Xinyi Wu, thinking that since there were already a lot of things to pack and bring back to the palace, she had people carry the potted orchids she had cultivated before, one by one, onto the horse carriage to be transported into the palace together.

  Hongli shook his head: "If you like it, let the eunuchs in the palace's Ling Plant Garden cultivate some for you."

  "You know what," Yunzhu smiled and glanced at him, pulling his hand to a pot of tender Yulan sprouts, "This is my newly cultivated Yutang Spring. Its flowers and fruits have an excellent beauty effect on women, but there's one condition - it must be personally cultivated by me. If someone else cultivates the Yulan flower, forget about it, the fruit is probably inedible."

  Hongli's expression changed slightly, and a look of shock slowly appeared in his eyes, "Really?"

  It's been a long time since their grand wedding, and everything else can be ignored. Yunzhu's perfect figure is really lovable, and he thinks he understands her very well. Every time they are in the mood, the faint scent of jasmine on her body will change with her emotions - elegant, fragrant, sweet, mellow... sometimes clear, sometimes elusive, changing endlessly, which is quite interesting to look at. He thought it was just natural beauty, a gift from heaven, but could she really have some mysterious connection with jasmine?!

  For a moment, his face looked somewhat strange.

  Yunzhu snorted: "Can I still deceive you?!" The only truly effective ones were the Yulan fruits in her space, these outside... were just for show, but because the seeds came from her space, they wouldn't kill anyone, and there was some benefit to them, but it would take a large quantity.

  "Then move back, what's difficult about this little thing, if you like it, plant a large piece of yulan in the palace."

  "Planting flowers requires attention, and they know if you treat them well or not. I don't have that much energy to take care of a large area." She smiled slightly, instructing the servants to be careful not to trample the flowers, to keep them warm, and not let them freeze.

  The women in the palace liked flowers and plants, not a few. The Empress Dowager liked peonies, the former Dunsu Huang Guifei liked narcissus, the Empress liked plum blossoms, and Mother Qi was not very particular about flowers, if she had to say one thing she liked, it would be chrysanthemum... But they just threw them at the servants to plant, asked a few questions at most, and when the time came, let people move a few pots into their own rooms for display.

  Nowhere is like Yunzhu, who treats the things she likes with such dedication and meticulous care... Hongli suddenly felt a little envious of her carefully tended orchid, when would she be able to put herself first?

  The author has something to say: The following is the main body of the text:

  Hongli carefully helped Yunzhu down from the carriage, turned around and saw Li Rongbao and Guwalgiya standing in front of the mansion gate, Fu Guangcheng, Fu Qing, Fu Wen and more than a dozen sons, daughters-in-law, and grandchildren standing behind them, all staring intently at him and Yunzhu. On this cold day, he felt a bit sweaty on his forehead, just like when he had announced his engagement to Qianlong, the pressure was huge!

  Li Rongbao looked at his daughter, who had just gotten off the carriage with moist eyes, wearing a winter ceremonial robe of a prince's consort, looking elegant and calm, with no worry in her eyes. He saw that the fourth prince was frequently glancing at her, and knew that they were harmonious, which made him very happy. He glanced at his wife, who was fidgeting with her handkerchief, and said: "Pay respects to the fourth prince."

  "No need for such politeness, please get up." Hongli stepped aside to avoid the courtesy and with both hands clasped together, he slightly bowed his head in a junior's salute to Li Rongbao and his wife. Li Rongbao and his wife smiled and accepted it, while Fu Guangcheng and others turned their heads away.

  "It's cold, let's go into the mansion first." Li Rongbao said, stroking his beard.

  "After you."

  The snow has swept everything clean, the flowers and trees in pots are also trimmed with great spirit. The people coming and going all have joyful expressions on their faces, except for asking about each other's well-being, everything is quiet and orderly.

  As they entered the hall, warm air enveloped them, and Ling Xiu helped Yunzhu remove her large red fox fur cloak with silver trim. Guwalgiya hastily ordered someone to bring hot tea. Hongli smiled as he glanced at Yunzhu, who was surrounded by Guwalgiya, Shu Mu Lu, Ma Jia, and others, and saw that she had quietly replied to something, her face flushing pink, her eyes shining with a soft light, her eyebrows curved in a gentle smile, and he couldn't help but smile along with her until they entered the backyard, when he finally withdrew his gaze.

  This time, he suddenly realized that several of his wife's brothers had strange eyes and a hint of a smile on their faces. Suddenly, his face felt a wave of heat, and it turned out that he had been holding the teacup for half a day without moving...

  "Cough." He let out a light cough, lowered his head and took a sip of tea, the faintly sweet and bitter aroma lingering in the air.

  Li Rongbao's eyes swept over, hinting at his son to be more reserved. Seeing Hongli put down the teacup, he began to talk, asking a few questions about daily arrangements and not wanting to say much, said: "Yunzhu doesn't understand things, if there's anything improper, you should bear with it."

  Hongli hastily composed himself and said absolutely nothing was wrong, Yunzhu was fine.

  Then Li Rongbao began to intentionally or unintentionally chat about some interesting things from his children's childhood, including Yunzhu's hobbies and interests.

  Li Rongbao is not as good as his second brother Ma Zhi, but he is equally shrewd. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to raise his children so well. Li Rongbao gives people a more dignified impression on the surface. He saw that Hongli was listening very attentively and didn't seem to be pretending, so he told several of his sons about some interesting things from Yunzhu's childhood, including lovely embarrassing stories and romantic poetic activities... He worked hard to create a warm and interesting family life for the Fuca family. Hongli listened with great interest and felt that the Fuca family was not like other high-ranking families, who were strict and unfeeling, with rigid rules and etiquette, but also had a sense of humanity.

  Of course, due to the grand wedding, Fourth Brother has not attended court for several days. Li Rongbao couldn't help but mention a few things that have happened in court recently, such as the Emperor's decree ordering Tian Wenjing to take charge of investigating the grain stores in Shandong, and the dismissal of several officials from Henan and Zhili provinces...

  Hongli found that his father-in-law not only had a set of methods in governing the military, but also had very keen and unique insights in politics. Such a person was willing to hold an idle post, it can be seen that for him, the health and happiness of his family were more important than power and status, he was not ambitious. The family style of the Fuca household was indeed as the emperor said, not bad!

  Once they started talking, they became more and more familiar with each other, slowly getting to know each other and gaining a sense of mutual understanding.

  Li Rongbao still has some understanding of Yongzheng's personality, loving him to the point of wanting him to live and hating him to the point of wanting him to die. He is strong in his likes and dislikes, and is not stingy with power and favor towards those he trusts. From the mouth of his youngest son, it can also be inferred that the Fourth Prince has a similar personality, where people and things he likes are all good, while those he doesn't like are looked down upon and ignored. For someone like this, if they were just an ordinary person, it would be fine, but they are the masters of the Qing dynasty, the emperor! As a minister or servant, he is not afraid that the Fuca family will not receive favors because he has confidence in the abilities of his sons and nephews. What he fears is the emperor's suspicion and estrangement, so he can only work hard to make the emperor and the Fourth Prince feel like family towards the Fuca family, becoming familiar with each other, in order to eliminate any potential future disasters!

  Gua Erjia and others pulled Yunzhu to the backyard, looked her up and down for a while, before asking about her life in the palace. They knew she was doing well, but Empress Xi's attitude was somewhat strange, and they fell silent for a moment.

  "Empress Xi should not be a person who can't hold back until today." Guwalgiya frowned, somewhat displeased that she was making things difficult for her own daughter. Who would remind their daughter-in-law to arrange concubines for her son on the eve of the grand wedding?

  "Xi Fei probably fears that the Fourth Prince is too fond of his sister-in-law." Shu Mu Lu and Ma Jia exchanged a glance, softly sighing. Their husbands were not the eldest son, but had been raised by their stepmother since childhood. As birth mothers, Liu Jia and He Yi naturally had to discipline their daughters-in-law behind their backs, on one hand declaring that they were the true mothers of their husbands and also their mothers-in-law, and on the other hand fearing that their sons would forget them.

  "Don't worry, Mother, this isn't a difficult problem for me. Just provide and respect well, that's all." Yunzhu comforted her. What's hard about pleasing someone? She just didn't want to put in the effort. Nian Nu Lu Shi would sooner or later become an obstacle in her path, she had a premonition about this.

  "Don't be too careless." Guwalgiya nodded, "In another ten or so days, it will be Xi Fei's birthday. She is the birth mother of the Fourth Prince, you should prepare a gift for her."

  "She had long been prepared for her big wedding day." She was not a last-minute person.

  "Speaking of gifts, Auntie's preparations for this return visit are too generous!" Fu Wen's wife, Nian Huru, smiled and changed the subject. Xi Fei was her cousin's aunt, and she found it difficult to face Yun Zhu, who also felt embarrassed.

  Yunzhu An comforted the ground and smiled at her elder sister-in-law, saying: "Most of it was entrusted by the Emperor to the Empress Dowager, saying that the family gave too much dowry to their daughter, so they had to make up for some."

  Guarjia took the gift list handed over by her daughter-in-law, and saw on it coral basin scenery, honey wax screen carving, glass, tortoiseshell, southern pearl, various skins, woolen cloth, python silk, Japanese brocade, three-rod brocade, Shu embroidery, cloud brocade... as well as all kinds of ginseng, Ganoderma lucidum and other medicinal materials, a total of four large carts.

  It's really a bit too much. Guar Jia still remembers the cowpox incident and thinks that the emperor won't be rewarding his own family in disguise?

  Anyway, can't go ask. Just said to Yunzhu: "Your dowry still has a lot left at home, let's bring it together when we return to the palace." How many carriages are loaded into the palace together, so that the empress and Xi Fei won't think that the emperor values his daughter too much, with dissatisfaction in their hearts.

  "Mother-in-law——" came out with several big cars, and went back to pull several more... Just thinking of this scene, Yunzhu's forehead was covered with a row of black lines. At her wedding, not only were the dowries prepared in large quantities at home, but also the gifts received were almost as many as the dowry. The relatives from the clan, the maternal grandparents' family, and even the cousins who married out... were all not small households. "Let people see that I always pull things from my mother's house."

  What a headache! So many things, and there are still some in the room of one's own, how many carts would it take to haul them into the imperial palace? And then there are some that have been stored away in space.

  "It was originally yours, and it's only a matter of time before you take it away. Who cares what others say?" Madam Ma said disapprovingly, also reminding them that according to custom, it's not allowed to bring things from the maternal home on the day of returning to one's natal family after marriage! Her sisters-in-law looked at her with envy but didn't feel jealous. Firstly, Yunzhu was a legitimate daughter and had married into the imperial family, so it was only right that she had more dowry. Secondly, Yunzhu wasn't petty-minded. In the past, she had always been filial to her parents, loving to her brothers, and caring for her nephews. In the future, there would be many opportunities to rely on her, so there was no need to create discord over small gains."

  "What a temper you have!" Lady Gwak said with a smile and a shake of her head.

  ……

  The evening meal was a formal affair at the Fu residence, where a banquet was held to entertain the two newlyweds. It was rare for the whole family to dine together, and it would be even rarer for them to leave the palace to visit their relatives in the future. Yunzhu personally went into the kitchen to cook several dishes, and many other dishes were also made under her direction. Hongli ate with a mix of joy and sadness.

  It's not that Yunzhu's culinary skills are bad, but the most she can make with her own hands is porridge, and at most one or two dishes. On the ninth day of their grand wedding, she hasn't made such a big fuss to cook so many dishes all at once. Indeed, she is filial to her parents, in her heart, her husband still doesn't have a place.

  He didn't know that he could eat porridge thanks to the blessing of Emperor Yongzheng. If it wasn't for adjusting Yongzheng's body, she wouldn't have done it anyway. However, the porridge he ate was fragrant, but different from what Yunzhu presented to Yongzheng, with different ingredients. The historical Qianlong had lived long enough, and she didn't want him to become an old monster.

  After finishing dinner, Yunzhu took him to visit her own Xinyi Wu, thinking that since there were already a lot of things to pack and bring back to the palace, she had people carry the potted orchids she had cultivated before, one by one, onto the horse carriage to be transported into the palace together.

  Hongli shook his head: "If you like it, let the eunuchs in the palace's Ling Plant Garden cultivate some for you."

  "You know what," Yunzhu smiled and glanced at him, pulling his hand to a pot of tender Yulan sprouts, "This is my newly cultivated Yutang Spring. Its flowers and fruits have an excellent beauty effect on women, but there's one condition - it must be personally cultivated by me. If someone else cultivates the Yulan flower, forget about it, the fruit is probably inedible."

  Hongli's expression changed slightly, and a look of shock slowly appeared in his eyes, "Really?"

  After so many days of marriage, let alone other things, Yunzhu's perfect and delicate body really made him love her to distraction. He thought he understood her very well, and every time they were intimate, the faint scent of jasmine on her body would change with her emotions - sometimes clear and refreshing, sometimes rich and sweet, sometimes light and airy... Sometimes it was distinct, sometimes elusive, and the changes were endless and fascinating. He thought it was just her natural beauty, a gift from heaven, but could she really have some mysterious connection to jasmine?!

  For a moment, his face looked somewhat strange.

  Yunzhu snorted: "Can I still deceive you?!" The only truly effective ones were the Yulan fruits in her space, these outside... were just for show, but because the seeds came from her space, they wouldn't kill anyone, and there was some benefit to them, but it would take a large quantity.

  "Then move back, what's difficult about this little thing, if you like it, you can plant a large piece of yulan in the palace."

  "Planting flowers requires attention, and they know if you treat them well or not. I don't have that much energy to take care of a large area." She smiled slightly, instructing the servants to be careful not to trample the flowers, to keep warm and not let them freeze.

  The women in the palace liked flowers and plants, not a few. The Empress Dowager liked peonies, the former Dunsu Huang Guifei liked narcissus, the Empress liked plum blossoms, and Mother Qi was not very fond of flowers, if she had to say one thing she liked, it would be chrysanthemum... But they just threw them at the servants to plant, asked a few questions at most, and when the time came, let people move a few pots into their own room to display and appreciate.

  Nowhere is like Yunzhu, who treats the things she likes with such dedication and meticulous care... Hongli suddenly felt a pang of envy towards her delicate orchid in its jade pot. When would she be able to put herself first?