The peasant girl has a private space, and her husband is handsome.

Princess Zhaohua rushed towards Baozhu's courtyard, her voice already carrying into the courtyard before she even arrived, "Sister Baozhu, did Miss Su really send me some flower tea too?"

His voice was full of excitement.

These days, she comes to Baozhu's place every day, just to have a sip of herbal tea.

Now that Miss Su has also given it to her, she no longer needs to run to the Meng residence every day.

Miss Su is so thoughtful; she knew she wanted flower tea and had someone bring it over.

Baozhu, holding an elmwood box in her hands, responded, "Yes, it's real, this is it."

Princess Zhaohua took the box and counted the packages one by one, which made the maids around her stare in disbelief. Even when the Empress Dowager and the Empress bestowed gifts, the princess had never counted them with such care.

It is evident how important the princess considered this tea.

"Wow, that's a lot!" Princess Zhaohua exclaimed, first marveling at how kind Miss Su was to her, giving her eight small packets—a truly generous gift. Then she lamented that it wasn't enough to go around. "Still too little!"

The maids looked at each other in bewilderment: Princess, do you think it's too much or too little?

Princess Zhaohua counted on her fingers one by one. When she received something good, her elders would always send her a gift to try. She would send gifts to her grandmother and mother, her father and grandfather, and even the Empress Dowager and the Empress.

When giving gifts, it's customary to give in pairs, not odd ones, so each person should give at least two packages.

"Come, come, Baozhu, quickly help me divide the tea into sixteen packets, otherwise it won't be enough."

After the flower tea was packaged, the maids were instructed to go back to the mansion to find pretty little porcelain jars to use as containers for the tea. Each packet of tea was to be placed in a small porcelain jar and given away.

"Little Baozhu, does this tea have a name?"

"I don't know. I only know that the letter Sister Su sent said that her restaurant is called Gu's Restaurant."

Miss Su has opened a restaurant? If the flower tea Miss Su makes is so delicious, the food in the restaurant must taste amazing too!

It's a pity that Qinghe County is too far away, and she can't leave Beijing yet.

Princess Zhaohua felt incredibly regretful. If only Miss Su's restaurant could open in the capital, she would definitely go there every day to support Miss Su.

"Don't worry, Baozhu. It's only polite to reciprocate. I've received such a nice gift from Miss Su, so I'll definitely give her a generous one in return."

Princess Zhaohua was in a hurry to go to the palace to attend a banquet. She was about to leave when Baozhu called her back.

"Is there anything else, Baozhu?"

With red eyes, Baozhu took out a hollowed-out ginkgo leaf to weigh down her skirt. "This was also given to you by Sister Su."

Princess Zhaohua happily accepted the skirt. It looked beautiful. She was sure that wearing it to the banquet in the palace would make her the center of attention.

"These ginkgo leaves are really beautifully made into hollowed-out shapes, and they're even decorated with a few white jade ginkgo fruits. Perfect, they really complement the dress I had copied from you."

She could tell at a glance that Baozhu was jealous and reluctant to part with her things, so she only took them out when she was about to leave.

Princess Zhaohua gently stroked Baozhu's hair and said, "Silly girl, I'm sorry to have wronged you. Don't worry, I'll go to the palace later and get you and your sister Su some good things. I promise you and your sister Su won't suffer any losses."

Princess Zhaohua was also very innovative. A brilliant idea suddenly flashed into her mind.

"Inspired by Miss Su, I came up with a great design for a skirt. I'll have someone make the skirt in the shape of the four-leaf clover on your beautiful skirt. We'll make two identical ones out of gold, based on Miss Su's novel openwork design, and I'll send one to you then."

The palace banquet held that evening was hosted by the Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager is very young. She gave birth to the Emperor at the age of eighteen. Now the Emperor is twenty-two years old, and the Empress Dowager is only forty. It is a pity that the late Emperor has already passed away.

The Empress Dowager felt that Cining Palace was too deserted, so she held a banquet there every month.

Each time, all the concubines in the palace would attend in their finest attire, and several particularly prominent ladies from the capital would also bring their daughters to participate.

Princess Zhaohua was a little late because she had been delayed in getting tea from the Meng residence.

Everyone else who was supposed to be there had arrived, and she was the last one, so she attracted a lot of attention.

Princess Zhaohua entered Fengming Palace and bowed gracefully to the Empress Dowager, saying, "Greetings to the Empress Dowager, Greetings to the Empress..."

The novel design of her waist skirt attracted the attention of all the concubines, who all wished they could stick their eyes to Princess Zhaohua.

The concubines didn't have to do any work; they were so idle that they were bored out of their minds. Their favorite thing to do was to figure out how to dress themselves up.

The emperor was only twenty-two years old, in the prime of his life, and every concubine wanted to be the one who dressed the most beautifully and could attract the emperor the most.

When Princess Zhaohua entered the palace last time wearing a gorgeous dress embroidered with ginkgo leaves, she attracted the attention of the concubines.

Princess Zhaohua can be said to have set a trend in the palace.

The Empress Dowager smiled and said to the Empress beside her, "A few days ago, when Zhaohua entered the palace, the concubines saw her and copied the style of her skirt. Look tonight, all the girls in the hall are wearing similar skirts."

The Empress Dowager also noticed the openwork ginkgo leaf skirt Zhaohua was wearing. "I see that all eyes are on Zhaohua's skirt now. I guess everyone will follow suit and wear it at the next palace banquet. Zhaohua has quite a few clever ideas. She has made her skirt and jewelry so beautiful."

Princess Zhaohua took two small, bright purple tea canisters from her maid and handed them to the nanny beside the Empress Dowager.

"Your Majesty, I have recently acquired some top-quality flower tea, and I have specially prepared it for you to enjoy."

Everyone saw the small tea canister that Princess Zhaohua had given them. It was smaller than the palm of their hand, so tiny. They had never seen anyone give tea so stingily before, and the amount was far too small.

Although the tea was a meager gift, it did not stop them from continuing to admire the new style of skirt that Zhaohua's mistress was wearing today.

Everyone is eager to copy it.

Consort Cui and Consort Hui secretly instructed their maids to be clever and harmonious, and to pay attention to what new styles of clothes or accessories Princess Zhaohua would wear when she entered the palace next time.

A lively banquet began with singing and dancing.

The young Emperor Qi Jing came over, ate a little something, and then took his leave. He still had a pile of memorials to deal with in his study.

Princess Zhaohua noticed that before the emperor left, he only greeted the Empress Dowager and Consort Xian, but didn't speak to her sister, the Empress. Her sister looked quite forlorn.

Although my sister is the empress who sits firmly in the six palaces, she must be suffering a lot in her heart because she has to compete with so many women for one man every day.

She planned to give her sister a few more jars of tea later, as this flower tea could make people feel happy.

Before the palace banquet was over, the Empress Dowager, sitting in a high position, frowned slightly and looked listless.

Although the Empress Dowager was only forty years old, she would feel sleepy every time she ate, and when she did, she would also suffer from headaches. The imperial physicians had been treating her for years, but they could only provide slight relief.

Seeing that the Empress Dowager yawned twice, Princess Zhaohua suggested, "Your Majesty, I have already tasted this flower tea and found it quite refreshing. You may also try it."

The Empress Dowager then instructed her attendant, Granny An, to prepare tea.

After brewing the tea and testing it for poison with a silver needle, Granny An served it to the Empress Dowager.

The entire hall was filled with the aroma of tea.

The Empress Dowager smiled and said, "This smells much better than the tribute tea."

After drinking a cup of herbal tea, she immediately stopped feeling sleepy, and her headache also disappeared. Even the medicine prescribed by the imperial physician didn't work so quickly.

The key is that it tastes absolutely amazing; even the tribute tea in the imperial palace isn't this delicious.

What kind of magical flower tea is this?!

Before the Empress Dowager knew it, she had finished the entire pot of tea.

"Zhaohua is so thoughtful to have found such fine tea for me. Granny An, go and bring me my ruby ​​headdress for Zhaohua to wear."

The Empress Dowager felt incredibly refreshed after drinking the flower tea, and even her voice became stronger and more resonant.

"Young girls should dress up beautifully every day. Don't wait until you're my age and don't even dare to wear bright red jewelry anymore, for fear of being laughed at for trying to look pretty in old age."

The concubines present were all shocked. Princess Zhaohua had given away such a small amount of tea, yet she had received a priceless ruby ​​headdress from the Empress Dowager in return. This was such a bargain!

Princess Zhaohua quickly expressed her gratitude: "Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager. You don't look old at all. You look like sisters with the Empress."

Not to be outdone, a large group of concubines vied to praise the Empress Dowager for her youth, making the entire hall noisy and more lively than any previous palace banquet.