Dreams of Qing surround the Jade Pool (with Empress Xiaoxian) 98, Choose (above) to soak in books

  98, choose (on)

  In the eighth year of Yongzheng's reign, on March 28th, Wu Zaku, the wife of Fu Kui, gave birth to her first son, Yongying.

  This child's body is a bit weak, probably because Wu Zaku thought too much in the last few months and the child was affected. However, Hongyou and Wu Zaku didn't mind much, aren't all babies like this? Being careful is just fine. One was happy to have an heir, the other finally felt relieved, having a son, no longer afraid of others coming in. There's still more than a year of mourning period left, it's just right for her to take care of herself and try to have another son after the mourning period ends, which would be even safer.

  On April 20, when the selection entered the re-selection stage, Yongzheng ordered Hongli and his twenty-first uncle Yunhe to take Fu Heng and a dozen guards to Shandong and Henan to inspect the river course. Hongxu and his twenty-second uncle Yunqi also took a dozen guards to Jiangnan to inspect the river course and water transportation.

  Yongzheng thought so, anyway staying in the capital couldn't give him a grandson, taking advantage of his youth, going out more often, investigating popular sentiment, inspecting local governance, broadening one's horizons is also good. A canary raised in a cage will never become an eagle, Yongzheng was becoming increasingly aware of this principle, he didn't want Hongli to become a Zhao Kuo who only knew how to talk about military strategy on paper.

  He wasn't originally in the Ministry of Revenue for a long time because he had handled many cases, and only then did he clearly see what was really going on beneath the prosperous surface of the Qing dynasty.

  Upon receiving the news, Qian Xi's second and third branches reacted differently.

  Wu Zha Ku Shi felt a pang of sadness that Hong Dian couldn't stay to attend their son's full moon celebration, but at the same time thought it was good timing for him to go on a business trip so he wouldn't be distracted by the showgirls... Torn with mixed emotions. Hong Dian didn't have any thoughts about the showgirl who was about to enter Dong San Suo, and worried that Hai Kuo Zhen would get anxious while sitting out her month of confinement, so after comforting her for a bit, he still wasn't at ease and ran over to Gan Xi Er Suo in the hopes that Fourth Sister would have time to go keep her company.

  Yunzhu nodded, she didn't have much to do either. This year she wanted to make more dried fruits, fruit wines and flower teas, but that would require the various fresh fruits from the orchard in May or June to be sent to the palace, currently there wasn't much to do.

  Hong Li was trying on the long gown made by Yun Zhu, looking extremely handsome and stealing a kiss from Yun Zhu while admiring himself in the mirror. Seeing Hong Duan hesitantly bring up this request, he couldn't help but scold, "Is your wife's brain not working properly? She's always worrying about this and that, don't let her exhaust you, Fourth Sister."

  Is she afraid of her wild thoughts? Will Yunzhu be better off?! She still has to smile and accept the women who come one after another, courtesy of her mother.

  It was originally difficult to get her heart, and he couldn't really not touch other women, lest the emperor have an opinion about Yunzhu, nor did he want to indulge himself, making her sad and cold towards him. Just then, his mother, who always thought of holding onto her son to maintain their honor and power, kept introducing woman after woman.

  He has to work hard and balance the relationships, and also face various people who come up with all sorts of excuses to compete with him for his wife's attention... Is there anyone more pathetic than him?!

  "...." Fourth sister will be exhausted? Hong Yu's possessiveness towards his fourth brother was speechless, everyone could see that coming to this palace belonged to her being comfortable or not.

  Hongli didn't care what he thought, and continued to say: "What do you think of this long gown? It was made by your fourth sister for me. Hehe, doesn't it make your fourth brother look even more elegant?" His boastful gaze swept over Hongdiao's blue satin long gown.

  Hong Dawei rolled his eyes inwardly, but this Taoist robe made of green wool was indeed very fitting. The dark blue silk embroidery at the collar and cuffs added a touch of understated elegance to the long robe. What caught people's attention was the half-moon shaped lotus pouch tied to the dark blue waistband, which seemed to be part of a set with the waistband and the embroidery on the robe's collar and cuffs.

  "How?"

  "Fourth Sister's taste and needlework are indeed good." It's just that the person wearing it isn't great, always being arrogant. Unable to bear Hongli's smug expression, Hongyou couldn't help but say: "If Hai Kuo hadn't been pregnant, she would have also made clothes for me. This piece on my body wasn't made by her own hands, but was ordered by her to be made by the people around her..."

  Yunzhu listened to the two brothers' increasingly absurd conversation on the side, and couldn't bear it anymore, so she simply walked away and ignored them. It's also good to go and take care of things, if this "filial piety" continues like this, the women in the backyard will change their resentful glances when they come to pay respects into hungry glances, and who knows what kind of joke will be made of it then.

  The life imprint left by the Jade Orchid Tree, including all its experiences since its birth in the primordial chaos. She had already infused her divine consciousness into it and gained enlightenment about the final segment. She had a premonition that her cultivation had reached the point of making choices. The departure of Hong Lie was just in time to divert the attention of those with various intentions, giving her more time to deal with things.

  Things to prepare when going out are already very familiar with Suwen Lingzhu, in addition to clothing, medicine, silver money, there is also a large pile of food, on the way Hongli took it out to share and allowed Xizhi to eat with surprise, the taste is surprisingly good.

  It's nothing more than beef jerky, pork jerky and various dried fruits. Of course, on the first day, there were also exquisitely made savory rice balls that only needed to be steamed or roasted to eat. These things Hongli knew about, he was of a similar age to Yongxi, and they got along well when studying in the imperial study room, so he simply talked to him about how these things were made.

  Yu Xun didn't think he even understood this, and admired him for a few sentences.

  Hongli was somewhat pleased, but when his eyes swept to the side of his smiling and speechless younger brother-in-law, he felt a bit down. These things Fu Heng had been enjoying since childhood, Yunzhu was married to himself, but every time he went out, he still prepared clothes and medicine for Fu Heng...

  After sending away the "troublemaker", Yunzhu's days became more leisurely.

  Every day, she enters the space and skillfully uses her spiritual power to harvest mature vegetables, fruits, flowers, and tea, categorizing them into storage spaces made of stone. Then, she walks to the Yulan tree and meditates.

  With her current cultivation, she can only vaguely sense the imprint left by the Jade Orchid Tree, but it has already brought her considerable benefits. Some minor techniques can be performed effortlessly with the abundant spiritual energy in the space. Of course, when trying to perform them outside of the space, she could only draw upon the spiritual energy within the space and couldn't circulate it for reuse - something she wouldn't do. Although the spiritual energy inside the space is constantly growing...she still wants to save some to expand the space, but who knows what the limit is?

  On that day, she completed her first insight into the life imprint of Yulan Tree. In real time, it had been more than a year, and in space-time, it was immeasurable. Standing in front of the Yulan Tree, she stared blankly at the two purple Yulan fruits emitting golden light on top. As her spiritual consciousness continued to expand, the Yulan Tree in the space accelerated its transformation and circulation of Qi even faster. Last time, it took almost a year for one Longqi fruit to ripen, but this time, two had ripened in less than half a year.

  Dragon's aura.

  Her physical body in this life has been nourished by spiritual energy to the limit, and if she only cultivates her divine consciousness without cultivating her body, then after more than a hundred years, her bodily functions will slowly decline, unable to hold her divine soul, and she will naturally die. Her divine soul will be reborn with the help of space and the Yulan tree, either by reincarnation or by seizing another body; if she cultivates both, then in the future, she will have to live on in the world with the bloodline of Fu Cha Yunzhu's body, watching as her loved ones slowly disappear from the world, walking alone towards the Heavenly Path... But what is the end point of the Heavenly Path? The Primordial Chaos? It has already been shattered. The Immortal Realm? What does it look like? Is it similar to the Heavenly Court with some human-like hierarchy? She hasn't explored that yet.

  After much consideration, Yunzhu decided to choose the first option and only cultivate her primordial spirit. As long as her divine soul was not extinguished, the Yulan Tree and space would not disappear. Although the spiritual energy in the space grew slowly, it was still growing. Living for a hundred and eighty years, she could collect more things with spiritual energy, which would be enough to sustain herself when she transmigrated and reincarnated.

  She would rather face the unknown future than live a lonely life. Moreover, with the increasingly thin spiritual energy in this world, how many years and months would it take to cultivate immortality? It's better to focus on cultivating one's divine soul instead. Reincarnation may consume spatial spiritual energy but won't damage the divine soul. As long as one continues to cultivate, they will eventually reach a level of indestructibility.

  "Hmph." She was indeed still a worldly person, indulging in all the things of the mortal world. Having loving parents and children, relatives and friends by her side, having delicious food, beautiful clothes, and leisure entertainment was the life she wanted to live... A lonely immortal life was not for her after all.

  Went to the east wing three times to see Wu Zaku, and found that Yu Fei was not only in charge of selecting the imperial concubines but also very concerned about this daughter-in-law who was still in confinement after childbirth and the newborn Yongying. Yunzhu felt at ease then.

  Every time she went to Chengqian Palace to pay her respects, Xi Guifei was busy with palace affairs, presiding over the selection of concubines, and preparing dowries for Princesses He and Duanrou. Without Yongzheng's instructions, she didn't ask Yunzhu for help. On the surface, Yunzhu lived a carefree life, but secretly strengthened the influence of the Fuca family in the palace. Familiar with the people who would shape future history, she took an early step to plant her informants around them, watching as her subordinates slowly approached their targets and became their trusted aides, making her more confident about her future life.

  Actually, as the legitimate wife and manager of household affairs, although it's tiring, the cunning tricks from the inner courtyard rarely truly land on her. After all, the status and rights between wives and concubines in ancient times were vastly different; one was the main mistress while the other was only slightly higher than a slave. Buying people off is rare when there's absolute guarantee of status and power. Few slaves in large households would be tempted by short-term gains. If they threaten to harm their loved ones, it makes a big commotion and requires great effort, but still can't guarantee that person will submit.

  But vying for favor is different, it depends on each person's charm and the man's heart. Those with high skills can rely on the man's favor towards them, combining their own power to achieve their goals... As for whether they succeed or not, half of it depends on luck, and the other half depends on how foolish their opponent is.

  Yunzhu didn't want to lose the power in her hands, nor did she want to threaten her own safety. She also didn't want to work too hard and lose the joy of life. So, she cultivated trusted assistants early on. Now, with a strong mental strength, she occasionally supervises them, and her days are spent very comfortably. In the eyes of outsiders, they think she can control people, manage the household well, and is not greedy for power or status, so they all like her very much.

  Li Xianggui, the imperial concubine of the Nara clan, although tightly grasping power, also acknowledged this point. This daughter-in-law is quite sensible! As a result, her vigilance towards Yunzhu decreased somewhat.