After the emperor read her mind, the salted fish concubine effortlessly won the title of empress.

Chapter 441 Extra: The Little Peach Blossom Spirit 1

Shen Shixi felt a pang of heartache; there were still several dried peaches left uneaten in that purse!

The dried peaches were too sweet, and her mother said she was too fat and shouldn't eat too many, so she put them all away. Heaven knows how hard it was for her to get her a few dried peaches each time.

Upon seeing this, Li Yuanke comforted her, saying, "Which brand of dried peaches do you like? I'll have someone buy them for you."

Shen Shixi's eyes widened and shone brightly. "Really?"

Oh dear, how could she forget that she asked the young man to help her smuggle herself across the border?

"I have money, I'll give you some, just help me bring some. Wuyuezhai's dried peaches are the best, please bring me a lot."

Li Yuanke thought to himself, it's unlikely that I'll bring too much; it wouldn't be good if they were too fat.

"Alright!" he laughed. "No need for money. We're classmates, and you're my junior sister. It's no big deal for me to treat you to dried peaches."

"Brother Yuan Ke, you're so kind!" Shen Shixi didn't have much pocket money. After all, the Shen family was quite poor, and she wanted to save it for the future to make money.

Just like yesterday, after school, the little peach blossom spirit said her legs hurt and she didn't want to walk anymore, so she sat for a while before going back.

Li Yuanke was quick to understand and squatted down in front of her again. Shen Shixi didn't hesitate for a second and climbed on top of him.

Li Gui thought the child was quite clever; if he weren't only three years old, he would really worry that His Highness would be tricked.

Li Yuanke carried her to her courtyard, but since he had other things to do that day, he didn't stay long. He just patted her head and said, "From now on, I'll bring you back every day!"

Shen Shixi hugged his arm and shook it, "Brother Yuan Ke is so nice!"

Upon returning to the palace, Li Yuanke instructed Li Gui to request several dishes of pastries from the imperial kitchen. He then packed them into a small box and set off from the palace half an hour earlier the next day, taking a detour to Wuyuezhai to buy dried peaches.

I also bought a small amount of dried apricots and dried pears.

Not knowing whether Shen Shixi would like to eat it, I didn't buy more.

I bought a lot of dried peaches.

Shen Shixi sat on the peach tree branch as usual, waiting. The branch was about the height of a person, with a thick trunk and several thin branches that were covered with peach blossoms.

Upon seeing Li Yuanke, she quickly grabbed the tree branch with both hands and climbed down. Once she was lowered, she let go and landed steadily on the ground. Then she ran over, "Brother Yuanke!"

That's such a sweet voice!

Li Yuanke's heart was filled with joy, and he quickly helped her up, asking, "Are you alright? Be careful when you come down!"

"Don't worry, I climb and jump every day, I'm used to it."

"I brought you something delicious."

As he spoke, Li Yuanke had Li Gui show her a box and a carrying box, saying, "I have some pastries from the palace, as well as some dried peaches, dried apricots, and dried pears that you requested. If you don't like them, you can give them to me."

"I like it! I like anything that Brother Yuan Ke gives me!"

When she arrived at the study, she used several clean purses to pack the dried peaches separately, leaving only the dried apricots, dried pears, and a small amount of dried peaches in the carrying box, so that people would mistakenly believe that Li Yuanke had only bought that many dried peaches.

She called for an old woman to help her bring the storage box and carrying box to her courtyard.

Li Yuanke knew that her favorite food was indeed dried peaches, and he also realized that this little peach blossom spirit had eight hundred tricks up her sleeve.

Just as the peach blossoms had faded, Granny Ju suddenly realized that the clothes the second young lady had just made were no longer wearable; she had gained weight again, and she also had a faint, sweet peach scent about her.

"Oh dear, Second Miss, have you been secretly eating dried peaches all the time? Those things are so sweet, eating too many will not only ruin your teeth, but also make you gain weight. You can't even fit into your clothes anymore after only a few days."

Shen Shixi felt uncomfortable being strangled and was also very sad.

She doesn't eat much, just a little bit every day. Her teeth feel a bit uncomfortable. She's not really three years old, and being too fat isn't good either.

Now we don't even have clothes to wear.

When they arrived at the study, Li Yuanke noticed she seemed unhappy and asked, "What's wrong? Did your older sister bully you again?"

Shen Shixi said, "Brother Yuan Ke, am I too fat? Look, I can't fit into my clothes anymore. These are spring clothes that were just made this year."

She didn't dare to move; it was too taut. What if it tore?

Li Yuanke looked quite pitiful, but he didn't know how to make clothes, so buying ready-made clothes from outside was not a respectable thing for him. His clothes, especially his close-fitting clothes, were arranged by the palace maids, and his outer clothes were prepared by the Bureau of Clothing.

After thinking for a moment, Li Yuanke asked Li Gui to go to the palace to select a few bolts of cloth, and instructed him to make sure they were for young girls. If they were not available, he should ask his mother for some.

When Li Gui returned, there were five bolts of brocade, all in peach or pink, very similar colors, which were also Shen Shixi's favorite colors.

Shen Shixi hugged Li Yuanke's neck again and praised, "Brother Yuanke, you're so good!"

She wasn't against accepting gifts, but she didn't accept gifts from everyone. She accepted gifts from close friends and family without hesitation. Since Li Yuanke was her grandfather's last disciple, they would be in the same boat from now on, sharing life and death, so he was naturally no outsider.

Seeing so many beautiful fabrics, and with her sister not offering her any, Shen Shiyan was extremely jealous and complained to the Grand Madam.

"It's far too valuable. My sister was so naive to accept it."

Shen Shixi heard everything as soon as she came in, but pretended not to hear. She ran to her grandmother and snuggled into her arms. "Grandma, I haven't seen you for so long! I missed you so much!"

"You little rascal, you're trying to make me happy again," the Grand Madam said. "Your elder sister was just mentioning you; how come you accepted the Eighth Prince's palace satin? That's not cheap!"

"No matter how expensive they are, aren't they all just clothes for people to wear? No matter how expensive they are, can they be more precious than your granddaughter? Grandmother, I like them, so I want to wear them."

She nestled in her grandmother's arms and gave Shen Shiyan a sideways glance.

Shen Shiyan was furious. "You've completely disgraced the Shen family! 'The way to manage a household is through frugality and thrift; the way to conduct oneself is through humility and learning.' These are the words our grandfather always taught us. Do you remember them?"

Shen Shixi said, "Thank you for reminding me, elder sister. I don't remember. I hope you will remember me for the rest of your life."

She was self-aware; she couldn't endure hardship, and she didn't flaunt it.

Shen Shiyan pointed at her younger sister and complained to her grandmother, "Grandma, look at her!"

The grandmother pulled her granddaughter closer to her chest and said to Shen Shiyan with some displeasure, "No matter how clever Xi'er is, she's still young. There's no need to be so harsh on her. Alright, Xi'er, go and pay your respects to your mother. Your grandmother and your elder sister have something to say."

Shen Shixi didn't go far. After a while, she secretly circled back and saw from the window that her grandmother was making her eldest sister kneel down to be disciplined.

She was quite satisfied; if her eldest sister continued to act this way, she would surely suffer in the future.

She wasn't close to her elder sister, and her life or death was none of her concern, but she couldn't bring trouble to the Shen family, and if she died, her elders would definitely be heartbroken.

Shen Shixi put on some nice clothes. This time, the clothes the nannies made for her were a little bigger than usual, and they were looser to wear. She felt quite comfortable, but Li Yuanke felt they didn't fit properly.

He didn't know that the nannies were worried that the second young lady's figure was expanding too quickly, and that she wouldn't be able to fit into her clothes, which would also waste fabric. Such good fabric, it would be such a waste if she could only wear it for a couple of days.

"During the Dragon Boat Festival, there will be activities like willow-shooting and dragon boat racing in the palace. Would you like to go see them?"

During the break, Li Yuanke asked her.

Of course I want to!

Shen Shixi immediately smiled and said, "Handsome brother, are you going to take me to see it?"

The palace holds this traditional event every year, but only Old Master Shen is qualified to be invited each year. Shen Shixi is too young to have seen it yet. Her older sister and the others have been to see it, but they only watched the crowds from the outside.

"Well, if you want to go, I'll take you!" Li Yuanke wasn't really interested in participating in these kinds of events every year, but since the little peach blossom spirit wanted to go, he'd reluctantly agree to go.