The concubine was charming and alluring, and the ruthless prince coaxed her day and night.

Chapter 70 Cultivating Oneself

Since King Kong and Dali came to Yuhua Courtyard, there have been six servants and a cat in Yuhua Courtyard.

The privilege of having six servants was reserved for a concubine, and Prince Chen's extraordinary act aroused jealousy among many women in the harem towards Xu Jiaojiao.

Because of Prince Chen's favor, these women in the inner quarters did not dare to do anything to Xu Jiaojiao. At most, they would say a few sarcastic remarks like barking dogs, but they could not harm Xu Jiaojiao in any way.

Xu Jiaojiao has always been averse to idle gossip. For her, silence is worse than words. Rather than arguing about pointless matters, she prefers to cultivate herself and think about how to seek greater benefits.

To be honest, although Xu Jiaojiao couldn't bring herself to complain about the names Jin Gang and Dali, she genuinely liked the two girls.

These two girls don't talk much, but they are really reliable in their work.

For example, at this moment, Dali, all alone, easily lifted the huge water vat that was half a person tall and moved it lightly to the well to draw water. This scene left Lianye and Granny Wang, who were carrying buckets to fetch water, dumbfounded.

"Goodness, it has to be Dali!"

Granny Wang was dumbfounded and didn't recover for a long time.

Lianye calmly put down the bucket: "That's right, Daliren lives up to his name, he's born with superhuman strength!"

It's time to relax. Now that there are Jin Gang and Da Li in Yu Hua Courtyard, they'll handle the physical labor, so Lian Ye can relax and enjoy her leisure time.

She took a bunch of grapes from the vine, scooped up a spoonful of well water to wash them, and popped one into Dali's mouth: "Don't just keep your head down and do your work, come and taste if these grapes are sweet."

Dali's cheeks flushed slightly. She hurriedly chewed a few bites and swallowed the fruit, peel and pit together: "Thank you, Sister Lotus Leaf. The flesh is sweet."

Lianye paused slightly, then couldn't help but tease with a smile, "Why don't you spit out the skin? You swallow it so fast, how can you taste the sweetness?"

Under the grape trellis, Xu Jiaojiao quietly curled up in the hanging basket, listening to the servants' chatter, and a sense of peaceful beauty welled up in her heart.

Dali and Jingang have been at Yuhua Courtyard for several days, but she still hasn't gotten used to their unique and abstract names, and Prince Chen happens to be particularly fond of them.

For a moment, Xu Jiaojiao was very worried about what kind of earth-shattering name Prince Chen would give to the child if she had a child with him in the future.

Xu Jiaojiao shook her head, trying to dispel the jumbled thoughts in her mind.

Tomorrow is the Qixi Festival, and Xu Jiaojiao is already looking forward to the event she has been planning for half a month.

Whether the tea shop can turn its fortunes around depends on this one move!

Of course, besides the tea shop, she had other important things to do.

Qixi Festival is a great time to enhance the relationship between lovers, and she certainly wouldn't miss such a good opportunity to increase her intimacy with Prince Chen.

Xu Jiaojiao raised her hand and looked at the bandage in her hand.

Her injury has been treated with expensive ointments during this time, but I don't know how well it's healing.

Prince Chen had said a few days ago that he would take her out on Qixi Festival. She wanted to appear in front of him in her best condition, but she couldn't do it with bandages like this. They couldn't even hold hands like this, so how could they deepen their feelings...

Thinking of this, Xu Jiaojiao sat up from the hanging basket: "Lianye, come inside with me."

Lianye quickly put down the grapes: "Alright!"

Back inside, Xu Jiaojiao sat down in front of the dressing mirror: "Help me remove these bandages."

Lianye hesitated slightly: "It's not time to change the dressing yet, Master. Why do you want to remove the bandages?"

It was indeed a top-quality imperial medicine, and the wound healed very quickly.

In the past few days, Xu Jiaojiao has felt that her hand no longer hurts, and she no longer feels stiff when moving her joints. Although the imperial physician said that it is best to apply the medicine for a full month, she will only remove it for one day tomorrow, so there should be no major problem.

"Tomorrow is Qixi Festival, and the prince is going to take me out in the street. It looks really bad to be tied up like this."

Xu Jiaojiao reached out her hand, letting Lianye remove the bandages for her.

The latter frowned as he removed the bandages: "The imperial physician said your injury requires at least two months of treatment, but you've only been here half a month, and you've already taken it upon yourself to remove the bandages..."

Upon hearing Lianye's nagging, which sounded like an old woman's nagging, Xu Jiaojiao felt her head throbbing.

With a hint of helplessness, she pleaded, "Good lotus leaf, please grant me one more day. After tomorrow, I will definitely apply the medicine on time and will never break my promise."

Lianye pouted, looking unwilling, but her hands moved very carefully.

As the bandages were unwrapped, newly grown, tender flesh on the fingers was revealed.

After Lianye gently wiped the ointment off her fingers, Xu Jiaojiao frowned.

The newly grown, tender flesh is pink and looks out of place compared to the surrounding skin. At first glance, it looks like it has a skin disease, which is quite ugly.

This won't do when you go out with Prince Chen...

Xu Jiaojiao thought for a moment and said, "Lianye, I remember that the prince gave me a bolt of silk. Go to the storeroom and find it. Please make me a pair of gloves overnight. I will wear them to the street tomorrow."

Making a pair of gloves wasn't difficult, and Lianye didn't find it too hard. She was just worried that her master's hands would be scarred.

Lianye frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and then said, "You will have to wear gloves eventually. How about I reduce your medication dosage a little tomorrow and wrap the bandages around it a few times? As long as it doesn't look too bulky, it won't be too noticeable and won't affect your sightseeing."

Xu Jiaojiao chuckled and said, "Alright, I'll listen to you."

Compared to Chengchong, Lianye always cared more about whether she was safe and healthy.

It is Xu Jiaojiao's good fortune to have such a simple and loyal servant.

Lianye was very skillful. The next morning, when Xu Jiaojiao woke up, she saw the silk gloves on the dressing table.

Although it was still early, Xu Jiaojiao could already hear bursts of laughter coming from the Prince's mansion.

In the Yan Dynasty, Qixi Festival was probably the only day of the year when women could enjoy freedom, and the court also decreed that unmarried women of marriageable age should be given a holiday on Qixi Festival.

Xu Jiaojiao had told Lianye, Tonghua, Dali, and Jingang on the first day that they could play freely today, and that Wang Mama and Lu Hai were in the courtyard, so there was nothing to worry about.

However, as soon as he got up, Lianye and Tonghua came in to serve him, while Dali and Jingang were busy in the yard outside.

Xu Jiaojiao was taken aback: "Why aren't you all going out to play?"

Lianye smiled and said, "The streets are the same every year, it's really boring. Rather than going out to play, we servants would like to see how you and the Prince will spend Qixi Festival~"

Xu Jiaojiao blushed at Lianye's words and laughed in annoyance.

Having been framed and even secretly beaten up, Xu Jiaojiao knew that Lianye and the others were worried about her, which was why they hadn't gone out to play. Xu Jiaojiao felt a surge of warmth in her heart and was deeply moved.

Sitting in front of the dressing table, Xu Jiaojiao let Lianye carefully style her hair while she silently planned out her schedule for the day.

In the morning, a ceremony to worship the Weaver Girl is held in the square outside Zhengyangmen, and in the afternoon, a needle-threading competition is held in front of the statue of the Weaver Girl.

The evening is the highlight of the Qixi Festival—

Qixi Lantern Festival!