The Daily Life of a Down-on-Hard-Life Medicine Girl Supporting Her Family

Chapter 142

The young lady of the General's Mansion, little Panpan, enlivened the atmosphere of the entire banquet.

Some of them were trying to please Madam Xia, while others were simply amusing the children.

Yes, this banquet is just for the bride to do her makeup. After the makeup is done, the women from all the families talk mostly about clothes, jewelry, and the rouge from Qingcheng Pavilion. It's quite boring. It's nice to tease the little cutie and have everyone laugh and play.

Panpan was not shy at all. She was happy to keep the ladies and young ladies company for a while as long as they were good-looking. Sometimes she would even whisper a few words to them, which would immediately change their expressions. They would then hug her tightly and be incredibly affectionate.

Sometimes, Madam Xia would think: This child is really good at socializing. He can make this group of ladies and young ladies so excited. He is much better than her, an old lady.

Indeed, everyone was afraid of Madam Xia and would never dare to deal with her like that.

The main reason is that a second-rank imperial consort who would slap someone at the drop of a hat is truly intimidating.

But Panpan is different; she's smart, cute, and has a little secret.

After playing around for a while, Xia Zhi and Li Xia had so many gifts they couldn't carry them all.

Moreover, these gifts are all very precious.

The jewelry these ladies and young women take off from their hands and heads must be incredibly precious.

Li Xia even thought: This young lady isn't here for a social engagement, she's here to rob us.

No noble lady or young lady who showed her any kindness could escape her plundering—no, no, no one could escape her "secret"—they were practically handing over their gold, silver, and jewelry to her willingly.

After walking around for a while, Panpan let out a big yawn.

"Sister Lixia, Panpan is sleepy and needs to take a nap."

"Okay, let's go to sleep then."

Li Xia chuckled and picked her up, letting her snuggle in her arms to sleep.

In just a moment, her little head was buried in my arms, and she fell asleep instantly.

I feel like if I don't fall asleep after counting to three, it's considered insomnia.

"Is Panpan asleep?"

After chatting with Madam Jiang for a while, the old lady came to her senses and noticed her granddaughter's shadow. She looked up and saw the little one in Li Xia's arms.

"Yes, Madam, Miss says she's sleepy."

“This child got up early this morning and is indeed sleepy. Let her get some sleep.”

Sleep when you're tired, eat when you're hungry, no problem.

“It’s not comfortable for the child to sleep like this. Let’s take him to my inner courtyard to rest,” said Madam Jiang quickly.

"No need, no need. Panpan is not used to sleeping in the same bed as her, so Lixia can hold her."

That's true. This "bed" is the warmest place, and you can find the most comfortable spot there.

Seeing that Panpan had fallen asleep, the ladies and young women shifted their conversation to clothes, jewelry, cosmetics, and face powder.

"I just saw that Miss Jiang has several perfumes from Qingcheng Pavilion."

Some people expressed their envy: "Not only are the perfumes from Qingcheng Pavilion expensive, but they are also very difficult to buy. The waiting list for pre-orders is as long as six months. Miss Jiang is really lucky."

"Good luck is one thing, but good fortune is another," Madam Jiang said with a smile. "My daughter has been spoiled since she was little. She took a liking to the cosmetics and perfumes from Qingcheng Pavilion at first sight. I figured we'd need them anyway, so I might as well buy a lot."

"Those perfumes were also pre-ordered half a year ago. In fact, we were among the first customers of Qingcheng Pavilion."

"No wonder you receive such treatment," Madam Hong said. "I knew it! When we went to buy pre-orders, each person could only have three bottles, but Miss Jiang has six or seven bottles on her dressing table, doesn't she?"

"Eight bottles, eight is the number, for good luck and auspiciousness." Madam Jiang said with a smile, "She has every perfume from Qingcheng Pavilion."

"Miss Jiang is so lucky."

This is the kind of behavior where you spoil your daughter based on your own strength.

You should know that a single bottle of perfume from Qingcheng Pavilion costs tens of taels of silver, and eight bottles would amount to several hundred taels of silver. Not to mention other cosmetics and face powders; a complete set would be worth at least a thousand taels of silver.

In the homes of minor officials, this sum of money was practically a dowry.

In the Jiang family, it was just a small part of the entire dowry.

People are truly incomparable.

"Speaking of which, the business of Qingcheng Pavilion has always been booming. The owner is a shrewd businessman."

"I wonder who the owner is?"

Someone naively asked, "Does anyone know?"

"do not know."

Even if she knew, she could still say it. This lady really doesn't think before she speaks.

The business of Qingcheng Pavilion has always been booming. No one in the capital dares to mess with it. Can you guess who the owner is?
"Qingcheng Pavilion releases a new product every month, and it never disappoints."

"Yes, what disappoints me most is having money but not being able to buy anything."

"Same here, it's hard for us to buy them either."

Therefore, comparing yourself to others will only make you miserable, and comparing goods will only make you want to throw them away.

Compared to Miss Jiang's treatment, they could only envy her.

Madam Xia had no interest in what these people were talking about, after all, she was long past the age of being enthusiastic about jewelry and cosmetics.

However, since everyone agrees, I'll go take a look myself and buy some for my daughter-in-law later.

"Summer Solstice, remember to remind me to visit Qingcheng Pavilion when I return to the manor."

"Yes, old lady."

Xia Zhi readily agreed.

The old lady glanced at the gift in Xia Zhi's hand.

"Are you robbing me?" Old Madam Xia picked up a gold hairpin: "If I remember correctly, this is the hairpin that Madam Chen wore?"

"Your memory is excellent, Madam. It was indeed from Madam Chen's head, but she has already given it to our young lady."

Madam Xia was taken aback.

What did Panpan do?

This child is really unexpected! She just brought her out to broaden her horizons and have some fun, but she had so much fun that she "tricked" all the ladies and young women out of their jewelry.

"The young lady chatted and laughed with them, and then told them a secret. They were so fond of her that they all gave her gifts."

Xia Zhi thought that the young lady, at such a young age, had an amazing ability to predict the future. She could get a lot of money just by whispering a word in someone's ear. If she set up a stall on the street, what kind of wealth wouldn't she have?
"This child..."

Madam Xia knew very well that this child was a blessed and fortunate one.

I like it very much.

When Miss Jiang from the Jiang family got married, it wasn't Miss Jiang herself who stole the show, but rather the adorable two-year-old child of the eldest daughter of General Huaiyuan's mansion.

To everyone's surprise, the little girl's secret message kept changing. "Madam, are the little bumps on your chest really gone?"

"Yes, really, there aren't any left." Madam Chen touched the smooth skin on her chest and wept with joy.

You see, because of this little problem, she was afraid her husband would dislike her, so she generously allowed him not to come to her backyard for half a year, and when he did come, she would push him to the other concubines' rooms.

No woman is truly magnanimous; so-called magnanimity is always out of necessity.

"Dongxiang, have the kitchen prepare a few of the master's favorite dishes tonight. After he finishes court, please invite him to the backyard."

"Yes, ma'am."

Dongxiang understood that the lady had finally come back to life and dared to invite the master back to the backyard.

God knows what kind of life she's been living for the past six months.
The repeated pushing of the husband away caused a rift to develop between the couple, who had initially enjoyed a harmonious relationship.

The master was angry at first, but then he simply stopped coming to the backyard altogether.

In the master's eyes, if you don't want me to come, I don't care to come either; the lady has become a dispensable shadow.

The lady was originally a sentimental person, and after encountering such a thing, she became quite depressed.

His temper also became increasingly worse.

Now everything is fine; the lady's little grudge is gone, and she can invite the master back again.

"Madam, the ointment from Miss Xia's family is truly effective."

"That's right, don't you see? That's Physician Xiao's granddaughter, and it's a family heirloom prescription."

Mrs. Chen was very glad that she had listened to her child's advice and given it a try. Indeed, the cost of trial and error was very low, but the unexpected surprise was huge.

The illness that had plagued her for half a year is finally cured!
"I don't know what Miss Panpan said to Madam Lin, but I saw that Madam Lin also gave her a gift."

“That child is both capable and blessed,” Madam Chen said. “Have the kitchen prepare some pastries tomorrow, and then take that pure white fur from my storeroom to the General’s Mansion. Tell them that I’m treating Miss Xia to this, and that I’m also giving her the fur to make a coat.”

"Yes, ma'am."

Dongxiang understood that this was a gesture of gratitude towards Panpan.

That night, Madam Chen received Madam Chen's affection, and the couple lived happily ever after.

The next day, Madam Chen's thank-you gift was also delivered to the General's Mansion.

"What did you say?"

Xiao Chunyu's daughter went out to a banquet and brought back a huge pile of gold and silver jewelry. After cleaning it up, she found that it was all very valuable.

Upon inquiry, it turned out that she had obtained it through threats.

Now, Mrs. Chen has also brought gifts to thank Panpan.

When asked what they wanted to thank, the visitor couldn't explain it clearly.

"Thank you for your trouble, Granny." Chunyu instructed Molan to go to the storeroom and fetch a gift of equal value for the nanny who delivered the gift to take back.

"Madam, if you do this, this old servant will have no way to explain himself to my lady."

There are rules to giving gifts. If you give her a gift and she reciprocates with something of the same price range, it means she doesn't want to take advantage of you and doesn't want to develop a closer relationship.

This put the nanny who was giving the gift in a very difficult position.

"My child is young and doesn't understand things, please forgive him if he has offended anyone."

Xiao Chunyu was thinking of returning all the gifts she had "robbed" to the people one by one, but unexpectedly, gifts were delivered to her door.

Following the gifts from the Chen family, the Lin family, the Wang family, the Hong family, and others sent gifts one after another.

This completely baffled Xiao Chunyu.

She was a virtuous wife who knew very well that some gifts could not be accepted, as they concerned the general's position in the court, and she absolutely could not hold him back.

However, this time, every single gift was specifically addressed to Panpan.

The gifts weren't particularly valuable, but they were clearly the kind of gifts the little girl would like, meaning they put thought into choosing gifts for Panpan.

One is a coincidence, two or three are luck, but four, five, or six...

Looking at the gifts piled up in the hall, Xiao Chunyu was completely numb.

"Mother..." Upon seeing the old lady arrive, Xiao Chunyu quickly presented her with the gift list: "Mother, this is the first time I've encountered such a situation. What should we do?"

"Accept the gifts for the children, but return anything valuable; do not accept it."

To be honest, when Madam Xia heard that Madam was receiving guests in the front hall, and that the guests kept coming and going, Madam Xia felt very uneasy. She was afraid that Xiao Chunyu's lack of knowledge would hold her son back.

Now that she sees these gifts as just toys for children, she feels much more at ease.

"But Mother, Panpan is just a child, how could she have such a deep friendship with these ladies and young misses?"

I only went out for a walk, and it's already impressive that I could remember her name, let alone send her a gift. What kind of relationship do you think that is?
“Speaking of this, I have to have a good talk with you,” the old lady said. “Let’s go back to the inner courtyard, and we can have a good chat.”

"Yes, mother."

In the old lady's backyard, she sent all the servants away, leaving not even the old woman she knew and trusted the most.

"Yu'er, have you noticed that Panpan is different from others?"

"Mother, which aspect are you referring to?"

There are many things that make her different from other children.

This made Chunyu herself feel that something was wrong.

"Well..." The old lady never believed in ghosts or gods, but she couldn't help but say, "Don't you think our Panpan seems to have the ability to foresee things before they're even told?"

Xiao Chunyu then remembered the time when Panpan saved the Crown Prince's life in the palace.

It is said that Panpan was playing with the eldest prince when a nanny offered him something to eat. Panpan refused and shouted, "Bad person! Bad person!" The eldest prince escaped a disaster.

Xiao Chunyu didn't plan to tell anyone about this. She would just keep it to herself. After all, her daughter was different and would be treated like a monster. What if she was put on the spot?
"Mother, this child is just talking nonsense, don't believe her." Xiao Chunyu had already decided that she would give Panpan a good talking-to before going out in the future, so that she wouldn't tell anyone everything.

Honestly, the more we say, the more hidden the implications become. What if it turns out to be detrimental to her?
Who wouldn't want a figurine of someone who can foresee the future?

“Yu’er, I’ve thought about this for a long time. I think Panpan’s safety is the most important thing. We must protect her.” The old lady said, “Xia Zhi and Li Xia are both capable maids by Guang Cheng’s side. Wherever you go, take these two maids with you and Panpan.”

"Yes, mother."

Xiao Chunyu understood that this meant the two of them could protect Panpan's safety.

It has to be said that Panpan's status in the General's Mansion has risen dramatically. Even her position as the General's wife is the youngest, and everyone has great respect for Panpan.

Everyone, from the old lady to the little maid who sweeps and cleans, liked her very much.

Within the manor, affection is genuine, but outside, envy, jealousy, and hatred are all possible. Especially since Panpan is also of benefit to the First Prince, if those with ulterior motives find out, they will certainly not let her go, so Xiao Chunyu is very worried.

When Panpan wakes up, I must give her a proper explanation.

This child is such a worry at such a young age.

(End of this chapter)