The Virtuous Concubine

When the prince heard that the twins were making a fuss about going to Jiangnan, he also came to Yonghe Palace in person.

When Malu heard the announcement, he knew that the prince had arrived, so he waited for him in the main hall. But unexpectedly, two cups of tea had passed and the prince had not come in.

Malu was curious and went outside to check, only to see that the prince was surrounded by two dogs, Snowball and Snow Fox.

The prince squatted down, scratched the snow fox's chin with one hand and touched Snowball's belly with the other, feeling very happy.

Snow Fox and Snowball seem to have been given the wrong names. Snow Fox is the most stupid and the roundest of the three dogs. They all eat the same food, but Snow Fox is the one that grows the most hair and meat. His hair is not trimmed very often and is round. When he walks, he looks like a big snowball floating on the road.

Snowball was the strongest of the three dogs, as agile as the wind, and the most clever.

Xueying, who was raised by the Fourth Prince in the Prince's Residence, was the most well-behaved and humane dog because of the Fourth Prince's strict supervision.

But without exception, these three dogs are very close to the prince. Today, when Xueqiu and Xueying saw the prince coming, they rushed over immediately and came to greet the prince on behalf of the entire Yonghe Palace.

The prince also particularly liked these three dogs, especially Snowball and Snowshadow. Every time he came to Yonghe Palace, he would play with them for a while.

Malu stood at the entrance of the main hall and looked at the prince with a smile, neither of his hands was idle.

The prince noticed Malu's gaze and was about to stand up when the two dogs began barking - Go on, Your Highness.

Malu smiled and shook his head gently, saying, "Your Highness, you are too doting on Snowball and Snow Shadow. If you just let them act like this, Your Highness will be really unable to accomplish anything today."

The prince also laughed heartily, with a rare childish look on his face: "Madam Defei is right. I can't let them pester me all the time."

As he spoke, the prince played with the two dogs for a while before he gently patted Snowball and Snowshadow on the head and stood up.

Just by standing up, everyone in the Yonghe Palace couldn't help laughing.

The prince was handsome and elegant, but now his clothes were wrinkled and covered with the dog hair of Xueying and Xuehu.

Malu walked forward with a smile and said in a gentle voice, "Your Highness, I will have someone prepare some clean clothes for you to change into."

The prince waved his hand and said, "Don't bother me. I'll change it when I get back."

Then, he turned his gaze to the two dogs that were still wagging their tails, his eyes full of doting, "Dogs understand human nature. I'm afraid they know that I'm going to Jiangnan and they don't want to leave me."

After that, the prince and Malu walked into the main hall together. The prince looked at Malu's seven-month-old belly and didn't know what to say for a moment.

Seeing that Malu's face was ruddy and her complexion was also very good, the prince's eyes flashed with concern and he said softly: "De'er Niang, you... you are pregnant now, you must pay extra attention to yourself and take good care of yourself."

Seeing the Crown Prince's expression, Malu guessed that he was thinking of his mother whom he had never met. He did not think it was unlucky, but instead took his hand, nodded, and responded with a smile: "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I will be careful and cautious."

The prince was a little dazed. He only felt that Malu's hands were dry and warm. Was this his mother's hand?

He pondered for a moment, then continued, "Don't worry about Wen Xian and Yin Zuo going to Jiangnan. I will take good care of them."

His words were quite brotherly, as if he had forgotten that the Fourth Prince, Wen Xian and Yin Zuo's biological brothers would also be there.

Malu was really relieved to hear the prince's words. She felt that the prince was very considerate and came all the way here just to comfort her heart that was worried about the children.

With a smile on her face, she said slowly, "I feel much more at ease knowing that His Royal Highness has such a thoughtful attitude. The Fourth Prince will also come with us, and we will entrust all of them to the Crown Prince when the time comes."

As she said that, she asked Bai Xia to take out something. This thing was originally prepared for the Fourth Prince, Yinzuo and Wen Xian. Unexpectedly, the Crown Prince came today, so she had to take out Yinzhen's thing first as a favor to the Crown Prince, and then get another one later.

When the prince saw the package and a pair of shoes in front of him, his face twitched: "Mother De, what are these...?"

Ma Lu smiled and explained them to him one by one: "This is the 'Xie Gong clogs' invented by Xie Lingyun. The teeth of the shoe are movable. When going up the mountain, you remove the front teeth, and when going down the mountain, you remove the back teeth. It is convenient for going up and down the mountain and maintaining balance. You will need this when you go to Jiangnan to see the beautiful mountains and rivers."

The prince took the pair of antique shoes and looked at them several times. He noticed something similar to shoes and couldn't help but pick it up and asked Malu, "What is this?"

Ma Lu demonstrated to him with a smile: "This is a hemp shoe cover, made of fine hemp rope, soft and not afraid of wetness and slipperiness, and can penetrate the soil. The red soil in the south of the Yangtze River is wet and sticky. This can be put on Xie Gong's clogs or boots to make it easier to walk."

Next to these two things, there was a small, flat brocade box, which was very light. The prince opened it and saw that it was full of stationery?

There are all kinds of writing brushes, inkstones, and paper, and each one is a miniature version, which is easy to carry and very cute. There is also some spare space inside for some other small utensils.

Malu took out all the items with a smile, and twisted the box until it became a small table!

The prince praised: "It is a masterpiece of ingenuity and ingenuity."

Malu smiled and pursed his lips: "When the time comes, the prince will be in a poetic mood, there is no need to delay, he can just take it out and write a poem."

As he spoke, he took out a silver sachet with grape, flower and bird patterns. Although it was called a sachet, it was actually a small incense burner that could be used to burn incense.

The outer wall of the sachet is a silver hollow sphere with a semicircular golden bowl inside to hold the spices. It also has a "gyroscope" device. No matter how it rotates, the golden bowl will keep its center of gravity downward to prevent the spices from scattering.

This spice was also specially formulated by Rong Ji. Wearing it on a daily basis can repel mosquitoes, rats and ants, and burning it can drive away poisonous snakes, bees and scorpions. It is truly a must-have item for traveling.

The prince felt warm in his heart after seeing these. The people in the East Palace would definitely prepare these things for him, or simply not let him go to these dangerous places.

But the things that De'niang prepared were personal items that allowed him to explore and experience things without worry and could ensure his safety.

Seeing that he was still wearing the refreshing sachet that she had given to the Fourth Prince before, Malu personally tied the silver sachet with grape, flower and bird patterns next to the menthol sachet.

After tying it, Malu looked at it again and again and was extremely satisfied.

She smiled and said to the prince, "That's even better. These things will bring you a lot of convenience when you travel. I hope you are safe in Jiangnan. I am worried about you in the capital."