Dominate the ancient academy

“Now the Sixth Prince, the Seventh Prince and the Marquis of Dingbei’s eldest son are all old enough to get married. I heard that the Emperor is planning to arrange marriages for the princes and eldest son. Although our Duke of Weiguo’s Mansion is declining, a lean camel is still bigger than a horse. You still have a chance to compete.” The Duke said with satisfaction as he looked at his two children.

The legitimate daughter Wei Ziyuan is dignified and elegant, and the lady Wei Zixi is outstanding in appearance. No matter whether the two daughters are wives or concubines, there will always be one who can catch the eyes of the princes and sons of the crown princes. Of course, it would be even better if both of them are attracted to her.

Wei Ziyuan and Wei Zixi were excited. These people were all outstanding talents. It would be great to marry any one of them. They would then enjoy endless wealth and glory.

"Dad, of course we are willing to do so, but..." Wei Zixi hesitated. As a girl, especially a concubine's daughter, it would not be easy for her to get close to the princes.

"Don't worry about that. The Hundred Flowers Banquet will begin next month. You two sisters will go together. You should practice more and prepare during this period. Ask your mother to prepare your clothes and jewelry."

"Yes, Daddy! We will definitely prepare well."

The two of them answered meekly, with an air of sisterly affection, but as soon as they left the room, their faces turned cold, and they returned to the yard in silence.

"Master, Zixi is a concubine's daughter, this..." Seeing the two girls leave, the wife of the Duke asked hesitantly. She never had a good impression of her husband's concubines and illegitimate sons and daughters. They were not born from her belly, so it would be better not to drive them all out of the house. Now she had to spend money to prepare jewelry for the concubines. Why?

It was such a good opportunity, so she naturally hoped that her daughter could seize it. One more person would mean more competition, especially since a concubine's daughter was charming and seductive, which was exactly the type men liked. Although her daughter was dignified, she was not as likely to be favored by men as a concubine's daughter.

"What do you know, a woman? They are all daughters of the Wei family, and the ones who married well and powerfully are from our Weiguo Mansion. Don't you think that if they marry well, our sons will have a better future? Think about it carefully. At the Hundred Flowers Banquet in a month, I want to see both of my daughters look beautiful!" After saying that, she slammed the door and walked out.

The Duke's wife was so angry that she wanted to cry. If a concubine married well, the concubine would become even more arrogant. Besides, how could her daughter, the legitimate daughter of the Duke's Mansion, be suppressed by the concubine? If this really happened, she would feel sorry for her daughter.

But she still has her son, and she has to consider him. If he has the support of the prince, his career will definitely be smoother. She has to think about it carefully, think about it carefully...

Yun Qinghan was relieved when he learned that Shu Xiaoxiao was not neglected in the general's mansion and that she did not come over to prepare a gift for him. Thinking that the little one still had some conscience, he prepared to go to bed early and see what gift Ye Xiao would bring him tomorrow.

But he had seen all kinds of good things, and he was not lacking in anything, so it didn't matter if the gift was ordinary. Ye Xiao was so small, it was okay for her to come empty-handed, but she still wanted to make a gift for him personally. It seemed that the food was not in vain. Thinking of this, Yun Qinghan happily fell into a dream, and he should have a good dream.

Shu Xiaoxiao had no idea that someone was waiting for her gift. She made all the flower petals into essential oils before she rested. In addition to the more than sixty bottles that had already been given to her sister-in-law and mother, Shu Xiaoxiao thought about it and sent another portion of essential oils with other scents. She would take the rest to the academy tomorrow and find a way to put them in the ginseng treasure's space.

Because she had to go see Senior Brother Yun, Shu Xiaoxiao got up at dawn the next day and started making soap.

"You see, it's very simple. Pour the lye solution into the melted lard and stir it. It will take about... half an hour."

When he heard that it would take half an hour to stir, the guard next to him immediately took over with a look. Seeing the butler's affirmative look, the guard straightened his chest and stirred even more vigorously.

Seeing that someone had taken over, Shu Xiaoxiao started heating up several other pots. She had made essential oils yesterday, so it didn't interfere with making soap today.

Seeing that the stirring was almost done, Shu Xiaoxiao continued, "Just stir until it becomes this thick. Now add some honey while stirring. Add honey to this pot, add milk to this pot, then add essential oils to the next pot, and add nothing to the other pot. Make these four types."

Seeing that the mixture was almost mixed, Shu Xiaoxiao hurriedly shouted, "Uncle Lin, bring the mold quickly!"

"Master, here is the mold!" Butler Lin handed the mold to Shu Xiaoxiao.

Shu Xiaoxiao took the mold, put the soap into the mold with a spoon, and smoothed it.

One pot costs about ten yuan, and I made five pots in total, which cost more than sixty yuan. The process was quite fast, but it was a pity that I had to wait two or three days to remove it from the mold, so I can’t use it now.

Looking at the remaining lye water, Shu Xiaoxiao asked, "You all know how to make it, right?"

"Master, I will do it."

Several old men nodded. Those who helped in the kitchen yesterday were not allowed to enter the yard. When Shu Xiaoxiao wanted to find someone she could trust, Butler Lin went straight to the guards in the mansion. These guards were retired from the battlefield and could definitely be trusted.

Shu Xiaoxiao was quite satisfied with them. Making soap did not require high technical skills, but it was indeed a strenuous job. As long as these guards were not completely clumsy, they could definitely do the job.

Now that several of us know how to make it, we can just use up the remaining lye water. As for the lard, the rest from making soap can be moved to the kitchen. It will definitely not be wasted.

Seeing that they were all doing it well, Shu Xiaoxiao called Yun Zhen and prepared to go to Dingguo Marquis Mansion with the essential oils and the chicken.

"Master, why don't we raise the chicks in the kitchen so we can eat them when they grow up. Wouldn't it be inappropriate to bring them to the academy..."

Yuan Zhen said hesitantly that she hoped the young lady could withdraw the plan of raising chickens in the academy and take the chickens to Dingbei Marquis to be distributed. She was worried that the chicks would go to heaven prematurely after arriving at Dingbei Marquis’s mansion.

Shu Xiaoxiao was surprised: "The General's Mansion doesn't need these chickens, it's the Academy that is short of chickens. Do you believe that when this chicken grows up, my brother, Shiche, Jinbao, Guanqing and others will drool over it?"

"This... I believe it, but what if Prince Yun doesn't agree to help us take care of the chicks?"

She had seen several young masters shouting for meat, so even if the chicken didn't grow up, the young masters might drool at it. Even asking a figure like the prince to help the young masters take care of the chickens was impossible, no matter how she thought about it.

"How is that possible? With our relationship, I can bring pigs, not to mention chickens. What's more, I brought a gift for my brother."

Shu Xiaoxiao patted the essential oil with a confident look on her face. She only gave five bottles to her mother and sister-in-law, and directly brought ten bottles for Senior Brother Yun. Isn't it a piece of cake to bring a few little chicks?

Hearing the young master's extremely confident tone, Yuan Zhen decided not to persuade him anymore. Maybe Prince Yun was really willing to help the young master. After all, the young master had often eaten at Prince Yun's place. Even if he didn't agree, he could bring them back and keep them in the kitchen, and eat them when the young master wanted to.

Arriving at Dingbei Marquis Mansion, before Shu Xiaoxiao had time to take out the jade pendant, the guard at the gate came over and asked, "But Ye Xiao, Master Ye?"

"Yes."

"Please come in. The prince has already told you to come directly into the mansion."

The guards led the way respectfully in front and did not react at all to the "chi chi chi" sound they heard. This was mainly because Chief Huo had told them that this was an honored guest and they must be polite.

Although he was surprised that the prince had such a young friend, it was not something he had to worry about here.

Shu Xiaoxiao turned around and looked at Yuan Zhen: Just say it’s for our relationship.

Yuanzhen...Yuanzhen clenched his hands holding the chicken coop.