Because he was ill, he did not invite the noble ladies from the capital to his home to celebrate like in previous years.
Even so, since early in the morning, birthday greetings from ladies from various prefectures have been sent to the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion one after another, along with various birthday gifts that are either exquisite and expensive or based on Xu Mingyi's preferences.
Some of them were sent from the palace.
This is not because Xu Mingyi is so good at communication.
Her temperament is neither gentle nor tactful at all, and she even has a reputation as a somewhat arrogant young lady. The reason why she is so popular is simply because of her status in the Zhenguo Palace.
Not long after the founding of the Qi Dynasty, her grandfather, Xu Qiwei, the current duke of the country, was also the old general Xu who had just returned to the court after winning a battle. He was the founding hero of the country who conquered the world with the late emperor, and he had great prestige in the court.
He is also highly respected by the people.
As the only legitimate daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo, Xu Mingyi's status is naturally extraordinary and comparable to that of an ordinary noblewoman.
On this day, Xu Mingyi rarely woke up early in the morning.
After breakfast, Akui was secretly a little surprised when she saw her daughter carefully looking at the birthday gifts.
In previous years, except for the unsigned items, the girls didn't even bother to take a closer look at them. They would just ask them to sort out the gift list carefully so that they could return gifts in the future.
Xu Mingyi put down the box in his hand, his eyes surging.
Sure enough, they are all the same——
She may have no memory of other birthday gifts, but there are two that she will definitely remember.
What Jiao Jiao sent was a whole box of Nanzhu beads of similar size with excellent brilliance. It was said that they had been saved for a whole year and were given to her for wearing bead curtains.
What Queen Wu sent was a set of gemstone head jewelry and a finely crafted round fan.
Xu Mingyi picked up the silk fan with a peace knot hanging on the handle. On the fan's surface, a picture of a swallow flying was outlined with excellent Su embroidery, and there was a line of small words on the side: end with gentleness and kindness, be gentle and careful about yourself.
A set of gemstones is not unusual for a girl from the Zhenguo Palace, but as the Queen of the Central Palace, such a gift is quite normal.
As for this fan...
In the summer, it was just the right time to use it, so I tied it with a peace knot. For Xu Mingyi, who was ill, it was a reasonable gift.
This is what Xu Mingyi thought before.
But maybe she has experienced too many things since then, and now she always likes to pay too much attention to the clues in everything.
Especially related to the Wu and Xu families.
She was staring at the fan when the maid came to report, "Miss Liu is here."
"Ask her to come in."
Liu Yi walked in.
"I heard that Zhaozhao woke up early today, so I went to the kitchen to cook a bowl of longevity noodles for you." She held the tray in her hand and said with a smile: "There are also a few snacks that you liked to eat in the past.
"
Xu Mingyi nodded slightly: "It's your fault. I just finished breakfast, so I'll leave it for now."
"Then let's have a taste. It's for good luck."
Liu Yi sat down next to her, placed the dishes on the small table between them, and handed the chopsticks to Xu Mingyi.
"I'm really not hungry."
Xu Mingyi shook the fan in his hand and fanned it repeatedly.
Liu Yi nodded with a smile and followed her good-naturedly: "Then don't eat it yet."
Xu Mingyi has always been pampered, saying whatever is on her mind, but she never cares about whether other people's faces are good-looking or not - but who says she is the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo?
"Zhaozhao's fan is very exquisite. It looks like something from the palace." She asked curiously.
Xu Mingyi said lightly "Yeah".
Liu Yi didn't care about her coldness, he just thought it was because she was in a bad mood due to illness.
Her eyes glanced at the fan in Xu Mingyi's hand, and then at the dazzling array of brocade boxes, boxes and posts. She sighed: "Compared to this, the birthday gift I prepared is too shabby."
This is not difficult to say.
With the words "It's all that matters", he dismissed it in a friendly manner, but Xu Mingyi, who was leaning in the chair, said with waning interest: "It doesn't matter if you don't send it as a gift."
Right now she didn't want to waste any time talking nonsense to irrelevant people.
Of course, if the person in front of her was really as kind as she seemed, she wouldn't be like this either.
Liu Yi finally lost his temper.
"I still want to give it to you, I just hope Zhaozhao won't dislike it." After saying this with a forced smile, she stood up and said, "You have a good rest, I'll go to the kitchen to see if there's anything I can do to help.
Yes, Madam said, our family still has to celebrate tonight."
Akui secretly frowned in disgust.
What kind of family member is she? Her surname is not Xu.
If you are so thick-skinned, could it be that your face is opposite to the sole of your foot?
"Ah Kui, send Miss Liu." Xu Mingyi said.
Akui said "yes" and picked up the tray with the medicine bowl on the side.
Liu Yi didn't have time to think about Xu Mingyi's attitude today, before he saw the untouched medicine in the bowl.
"Zhaozhao still refuses to take medicine?"
After leaving the front hall, she asked Ah Kui in a low voice: "How can she let her do whatever she wants... You and Ah Zhu should give her some advice."
"This medicine has no effect at all. If the girl doesn't want to drink it, just stop drinking it."
Liu Yi sighed and said, "How can I get better without taking medicine?"
Akui didn't stop, looked ahead, and said as if to herself: "It may not be an illness..."
"What?" Liu Yi was stunned.
Aoi shook her head and said nothing.
Liu Yi said again: "Zhaozhao's disease cannot be treated carelessly——"
"That's natural. It's just that these doctors and imperial doctors are all useless. I'm just thinking about asking the master after he comes back tonight if I can invite some charlatans to come and have a look." Akui murmured, with a look in his eyes.
Seems to be thinking.
"Charlatans?" Liu Yi said worriedly: "I have often heard people say that some charlatans are very careless in their use of medicine. They seem to have miraculous effects, but in fact they are very harmful to the body... Zhao Zhao's body is precious, how can he ask charlatans to come and see it?
Even if you tell the master, I'm afraid he won't agree."
Aoi seemed to hesitate for a moment.
But he still said: "In case someone can cure a good girl, I must try it."
Liu Yi was about to speak but stopped, but A Kui took a few steps and left her behind.
Inside the house, Xu Mingyi fell asleep again.
Detoxification does not happen in a day. The prescription was changed yesterday, and she slept until the evening.
When I woke up, I still felt like I hadn't slept enough and was still very sleepy.
"Girl, wake up." Azhu opened the gauze curtain.
Then came Aoi's voice.
"Girl, are you awake?"
Compared with Azhu's calmness and indifference, she seemed much more excited. She walked to the bed and said, "Girl, the old man is back!"
Xu Mingyi, whose thoughts were still hazy, suddenly became energetic.
Grandpa is back?!
Yes, she remembered that her grandfather arrived in Beijing on her birthday!
etc--
She seemed to have overlooked something important...
