Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 1010 - 1081

Chapter 1010: 1081

The dark night is an excellent breeding ground for sinister deeds.

In an inconspicuous residence in the Imperial City, two individuals are having a conversation.

"You didn’t get the blood?" A man dressed in a black garment, emblazoned with red runes, asked.

His voice is raspy, echoing a scream from hell.

"No, I was kicked away before I could get close to her!" Another man in black replied, quite frustrated.

Obtaining the blood of the Princess Rui from Minze Country is easier said than done! She is a formidable martial artist constantly guarded by elite warriors. They can’t act rashly, as it would alert her. Using brains over brawn seemed to be the only way, but it was not an easy feat!

He had racked his brains just to come up with this plan!

"Seek help from the Crown Princess! Otherwise, how much longer do we have to wait before we can exact revenge for the crown prince and reclaim Nangong Country?!" The hoarse voice rang out again, this time expressing suppressed impatience.

"But the Crown Princess may not agree!" The other man expressed his hesitation.

The Princess Rui of Minze Country once saved the Crown Princess, and she herself is from Minze Country! What if the Crown Princess informed the Princess Rui about their need for her blood, alerting her in the process? They would probably never get the chance to avenge the crown prince and reclaim Nangong Country in this lifetime!

"Foolish, test the attitude of the Crown Princess first, see how she reacts. Then tell her we only need a few drops of the blood. It won’t kill anyone!

If she adamantly refuses, we can reconsider it then.

All the women in this world can’t escape two things, affection and greed! The Crown Princess is still in love with the crown prince, and she harbors deep hatred toward Gong Qinghua. We can arrange for someone to assassinate the young crown prince to deepen her hatred. She will then agree. Figuring out a way to make her agree is all on you guys!"

Hatred is the perfect tool to blind someone. Those filled with hatred are the easiest to manipulate!

"Let me think... Are there really no other methods? Prince Rui of Minze Country is not an easy target!"

"Yes, slowly gather forces and resources. Maybe in a hundred years, we could amass serving staff and troops to reclaim Nangong Country in one swift move!"

Hearing this, the man in black fell silent. A hundred years, he would have turned to loess by then, how could he still talk about avenging the crown prince?

...

With Jingrui getting married and starting on his official duties, Xiao’er’s life resumed its relative tranquility.

Every day is now filled with Fu Ranhui visiting her to learn cooking, or Shangguan Wanru visiting her to learn flute playing. Sometimes, both would come together to learn both cooking and flute playing.

Shangguan Wanru must have sought help from someone else recently as she had grasped the basics of flute playing.

Xiao’er would listen to her practice and correct her mistakes on the spot.

When the three of them are together, they enjoy their days by fussing over food and flute play, leading quite a carefree life.

As usual, Shangguan Wanru came to Prince Rui’s mansion to take flute lessons, and Fu Ranhui also came, this time to learn how to make rice dumplings.

"Zhuan’er, come to auntie! I have something for you!" Xiao’er reached out and picked up Zhuan’er from Shangguan Wanping’s arms.

Then she took out an adorable tiger-shaped scent sachet she made herself and secured it onto Zhuan’er.

The scent sachet is really small, just the right size for a child who is only a few months old.

With the Dragon Boat Festival approaching, a shipwreck on the Huai River during this period resulted in a few people lost at sea. Even though the festival was still a few days away, the streets were already filled with people selling scented sachets and multicolored silk threads.

Everyone here believes that letting children wear sachets on Dragon Boat Festival can ward off evil and disease.

Typically, ingredients such as cinnabar, realgar, and aromatic herbs are packed into the sachet, filling the air with a pleasant aroma.

Xiao’er made a sachet for each of the children of her friends, including Ming Jingya, Ruan Weizhen, and Shangguan Wanru.

These sachets were shaped like cute little animals and were incredibly beautiful and adorable.

The toy stores also took the opportunity to launch many sachets in the shape of small animals. Every toy store across the country sold out in no time.

Gazing at the delicate and realistic, yet undeniably adorable tiger’s head, Shangguan Wanru couldn’t help but exclaim, "Xiao’er, you’re truly talented. You managed to make an adorable sachet like this. It must have taken a lot of time to make this, right?"

Shangguan Wanru understood that the smaller the object, the more difficult it was to recreate it in great detail.

Yet, Xiao’er’s sachet was exquisitely detailed beyond belief.

Xiao’er just laughed nonchalantly, saying "It didn’t take much time, it’s quite easy to make."

Fu Ranhui was also attracted by these small sachets and sighed, "It feels good to be a child. They get to wear such adorable sachets!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao’er couldn’t help but tease, "Princess, you can’t turn back into a child, but you can always have one! That way, you can let your child wear a sachet."

"Indeed! Look how cute Zhuan’er looks with the sachet." Shangguan Wanru joined in on the teasing.

"That’s enough from both of you! All you do is make fun of me!" Fu Ranhui turned red with embarrassment at their words, instinctively placing her hand on her abdomen.

Since Zhao Youwei left for Zhan’er Island she doesn’t know when he will come back, and she certainly hopes she’s expecting by now!

Her mother-in-law has been subtly hinting that it’d be great if she’s already pregnant, else she’d need to wait even longer to welcome her first grandchild.

Seeing Fu Ranhui’s reaction, Xiao’er realized that women in this era longed to have children as soon as they got married. It helps them secure their standing in their husband’s family. But still, those who get pregnant within the first month are few. Xiao’er was unsure how to comfort Fu Ranhui, so she changed the subject, "I am planning to make rice dumplings today, do you want to help?"

"Yes please! I love rice dumplings." Fu Ranhui agreed eagerly.

Upon hearing that Zhao Youwei loved rice dumplings, she decided to learn how to make them, so she could cook some for him later.

Xiao’er remembered that in some parts of the South, there was a custom of giving family members rice dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival. Inspired by this tradition, she decided to personally make some and give them away to her friends.

She had her staff prepare multiple fillings for the rice dumplings, planning to make ten dumplings per string and each would have a different flavor, and she would give two strings to each family.

In total, she had to make hundreds of dumplings, which is why Yang Mei and Yang Liu were also helping out.

With everyone’s help, they worked throughout the afternoon to finally finish making the three hundred dumplings.

"I can’t wait to eat!" Both Fu Ranhui and Shangguan Wanru struggled with their initial attempts at making the dumplings, but that only made them more eager for their creation to be cooked and ready to eat.

"Dumplings need to be boiled overnight. Only then can the insides become soft and chewy. I will have them delivered to you tomorrow morning," Xiao’er said, amused at their impatient expressions.

"Remember to send mine as soon as they’re ready! I want the ones that I made!"

"Alright," Xiao’er promised laughingly.