The cruel little princess

Shen Youyou first gave Madam Zuo a gift, and then walked around the garden with Zuo Qingqing. Zuo Qingqing had never been able to go out since she was little, so she just walked around the garden a little. So she dragged Shen Youyou around the garden while they looked around, and from time to time she would talk about interesting things from her childhood.

Madam Zuo was also happy to see this happen. She had to entertain the ladies and young ladies of various families anyway, and it would be pointless to keep Qingqing by her side. It would be better to let her go around with the county lady to cultivate the relationship between the aunt and the sister-in-law.

Since it wasn't dinner time yet, Zuo Qingqing happily shared the snacks from the mansion with Shen Youyou. She picked up a plate of plum blossom cakes and handed them to Shen Youyou, "Youyou, try this! My mother ordered someone to make this cake with freshly picked plum blossoms and honey. It's fragrant and incredibly sweet!"

Shen Youyou readily took a piece of plum blossom cake and took a small bite. It was okay, too sweet for her liking. However, it was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and with the plum blossom shape, it would have been even better if the sweetness was reduced. However, this wasn't her home after all, and Shen Youyou knew that it was difficult to satisfy everyone. She nodded, "Hmm, not bad!"

Suddenly, a woman's voice rang out from the side: "Oh! It's Qingqing! I was wondering who else it was! If I hadn't heard your voice, I wouldn't have realized who this pretty girl was! I haven't seen you for over half a year, I almost didn't recognize you!"

Shen Youyou looked in the direction of the voice and saw a woman in her forties approaching with a smile. Her hair was styled in a flying bun, and she wore a gold filigree, gemstone-encrusted, sapphire-embellished, double-phoenix-shaped peony hairpin and a red gold, kingfisher-embellished phoenix-shaped hairpin. She also wore a pair of red gold twisted-wire lantern earrings and a pair of jade bracelets on her wrists. She was dressed in a dark purple, double-collared jacket embroidered with large peony patterns, an indigo-colored long skirt with a hood, and a pair of slightly loose, pearl-embroidered shoes. Her attire made her look elegant and regal, evidently the wife of a wealthy family.

"Haha! What's wrong, Qingqing? Don't you even recognize your aunt?" Seeing that Zuo Qingqing didn't answer, the woman took the initiative to ask.

"Qingqing! This is my mother's cousin, your aunt Zheng! It's been a while since we last met, so you might feel unfamiliar!" Mrs. Zuo came over to smooth things over.

"Qingqing meets auntie! It's not that Qingqing doesn't recognize auntie, but Qingqing feels that auntie has changed a lot since we last met at the palace banquet before the New Year! Auntie has lost a lot of weight! She has become younger!" Zuo Qingqing quickly tried to make amends with a sweet smile.

"Oh! Qingqing is still good at talking. I have indeed lost weight very quickly recently, and I don't know what's going on. I eat a lot, but I still lose weight! But it's good, I have an excuse to make new clothes! Haha!" said the aunt from the Zheng family with a smile.

"Cousin, it's been a long time since we last met. Let's talk here, sisters, and let the children play by themselves!" Madam Zuo signaled Zuo Qingqing to take the county lady to play somewhere else.

"Who is this lady? She looks unfamiliar to me!" Mrs. Zheng squinted her eyes and looked at Shen Youyou.

"Oh, you see, I forgot to introduce them! Cousin, this is Miss Shen Youyou, the daughter of General Zheng, the Princess of Rui'an, who was personally appointed by our emperor some time ago!" Madam Zuo deliberately introduced the two, "Princess, this is Madam Zheng from the family of Doctor Zheng, one of our Three Dukes!"

"The Princess of Rui'an is such a young girl?!" Madam Zheng was a little surprised, "And such a beautiful girl!"

Shen Youyou smiled and nodded, "Greetings, Madam Zheng!" Madam Zheng was a royal decree holder, and Shen Youyou was also of the Second Rank, so a simple greeting was sufficient, no formalities were necessary. After the greetings, Zuo Qingqing took Shen Youyou somewhere else.

"Youyou, you don't know, my Aunt Zheng was still very fat when I saw her at the palace banquet years ago. She was about twice as fat as she is now!" Zuo Qingqing gestured exaggeratedly a few times, "Anyway, she was very fat. At that time, my aunt's eyes were small. I didn't expect that she lost so much weight in less than a year! I really didn't recognize her just now..." Zuo Qingqing stuck out her tongue, indicating that the difference was indeed too big and that's why she didn't recognize her.

Sudden weight loss? ... Shen Youyou's natural professional acumen allowed her to grasp the key words. So much weight loss in less than a year? That was unusual! The way she squinted her eyes and wore slightly loose shoes clearly indicated that something might be amiss with Madam Zheng. However, she hadn't taken her pulse and didn't know the truth. Besides, she was a guest, not looking for trouble, so she decided to wait and see. But Shen Youyou hadn't expected the opportunity to come so soon!

At noon, the ladies of each household were dining in the backyard reception room when they suddenly heard several screams from one of the tables, "Hurry! Madam Zheng has fainted! Call the palace doctor!" Then, the stronger maids half-carried and half-supported the unconscious Madam Zheng to the adjacent wing. The male guests who had heard the shouting also came to the hanging flower corridor.

"Madam! What happened in the backyard?" Minister of Works Zuo, without caring about anything else, walked over quickly and asked.

"My cousin, Madam Zheng suddenly fainted while having a meal! I'm worried that the court doctor can't see anything. Master, please send someone to invite the imperial physician as soon as possible!" Madam Zuo was so anxious that she clapped her hands.

"Madam, don't panic. I'll send someone to ask the Imperial Hospital which doctor usually checks the Censor's wife's pulse. Let's get him in right away!" Lord Zuo, a man who had experienced many ups and downs in the court, wouldn't easily lose his composure. He quickly ordered someone to fetch the doctor.

Shen Youyou stood quietly in the crowd without saying a word, just watching quietly. Little did she know that her expression fell into the eyes of a man over at the hanging flower corridor, and he was immediately shocked by her beauty! This man was the Fifth Prince, His Royal Highness Prince Rui, who had an "unspeakable secret"! The Fifth Prince did not expect to meet the "young master" he had been thinking about for so long here! He said, it must be her disguised as a man! No little girl can escape his discerning eyes! And she is so beautiful in women's clothes! It's like a fairy descending to the earth! I just don't know which family she is from. I will go to the palace to ask my father for a marriage! God knows, he is going crazy thinking about her during this period! As soon as he closed his eyes, he saw the scene of her in the Peony Room trying to prove her innocence and looking for evidence to speak for herself. There is no girl more beautiful and kind-hearted than her! While the Fifth Prince was still secretly pondering Shen Youyou's identity, Madam Zuo was also anxiously waiting for the court doctor or the imperial physician to rush over.

It was such a short distance, but the court doctor hadn't arrived yet. Madam Zuo was getting anxious waiting. She paced back and forth, and suddenly saw Shen Youyou watching the excitement from the side. Like a drowning person suddenly grabbing a lifeline, she said, "County Lady! Ruian County Lady! Please help Madam Zheng with her treatment first! Please!" Madam Zuo was also very afraid that her cousin would have an accident in her house. Otherwise, how would the two families interact in the future?

Shen Youyou was also considering whether to recommend herself, after all, this was a matter of life and death. Since Madam Zuo had mentioned it, she decided to go downhill and help her with the treatment! And at the same time, she could also promote her herbal medicine shop.

Little did he know, the Fifth Prince in the crowd was beaming with joy. It turned out that this beautiful girl was actually the Princess of Rui'an County, who had been personally appointed by his father some time ago! That was even better. Her father had just been promoted to the rank of First Rank General, so she was more than qualified to be given the position of principal consort!

Shen Youyou stepped out of the crowd. "Then I'd better obey your command! I'll check on Madam Zheng first." She hurried to the next room and saw Madam Zheng lying on the bed. She quickly reached out to take Madam Zheng's pulse and carefully examined her pulse. She glanced at her eyes and ordered the maid to remove Madam Zheng's shoes and socks. She saw that her legs were indeed swollen. As she had expected, Madam Zheng had diabetes and now it had caused complications. She quickly went over the herbs she needed in her mind. Great, the Dendrobium officinale she brought back from the border earlier would come in handy!

Shen Youyou walked out of the room and said to Madam Zuo, "Madam Zheng has diabetes, and she fainted today because of complications caused by diabetes..."

"Don't talk nonsense, you ignorant child!" Before she could finish her words, an old man walked in quickly carrying a medicine box on his back.