Chapter 489 - Shining Hope (2/2)
“Human nature.” Yu Xiaocao had a perfect smile on her face and her eyes shone with sincere emotion towards the heir and his wife.
In actuality, when the inner courtyard had guests, as a man, He Junpeng shouldn’t be around as it was considered extremely impolite to the female guests. However, the circ.u.mstances today were different and he was very concerned. When he heard that they had invited over the G.o.dly doctor who had helped General Fang and his wife treat their bodies, he couldn’t restrain himself. This was the first time he did something outside the societal norms but he had to come back to hear the news.
However, he didn't expect that, as soon as he entered the inner courtyard, he found out that the reason why they weren’t able to have children was related to the foods he commonly liked to eat. Regret immediately bloomed within him. If he had known earlier that the food he consumed was the cause of their infertility, he wouldn’t have eaten one bite no matter how much he liked them.
He Junpeng looked at Yu Xiaocao and noticed that she didn’t seem upset or angry, so he felt his heart settle a bit. However, he still seriously apologized to her, “Miss Yu, I was rude today, please forgive me!”
Yu Xiaocao calmly smiled as she shook her head, “Milord is being polite. Older Sister He and I are like sisters and you are her older brother, so there’s no need to consider each other as outsiders, right?”
“Miss Yu is very generous and kind….do you know if, with my current situation, I still have a chance to father children?” He Junpeng jumped straight into the awkward conversation without any qualms and asked with a bit of urgency in his voice.
Yu Xiaocao nodded her head and suggestions flowed out of her mouth, “Since we know the root cause, it is easier to proceed from here! First, Milord and Milady need to change your eating habits. Try to cut down or completely eliminate bean products and celery. Eating too many barbecued or deep fried foods is also not good for the body so do your best to not have any. Try to eat more garlic chives, Chinese yam, onions and other vegetables. You should soak wolfberries in water or brew them into a tisane to drink. Try eating more nuts like cashews and walnuts. I advise you to roast black sesame seeds and walnuts together before grinding them into a powder that you can mix with water. You should have a bowl of that every day. You can also eat more abalone, loaches, and other seafood. You can also buy some dried mussels from the dried food stores and use them to make congee or stir fried dishes…”
“Miss Yu...can you speak a little slower, please? I’m afraid I’m a bit slow and I can’t remember everything. May I go get a brush, ink and paper so I can write this all down?” The wife of the heir appeared as if she had a new lease on life and her entire body was filled with liveliness and energy. He Junpeng noticed this and felt like his wife had reverted back to how she was nine years ago, when she first married him. She was so charming and lively then…
The lady looked at Yu Xiaocao and clearly wanted to say something. After hesitating for a while, she finally asked in an uneasy manner, “I heard that Miss Yu is quite talented at creating medicinal cuisine. I heard that Princess Consort Jing’s body recovered because you made her food. Would you perhaps know any good medicinal cuisine recipes that are helpful for promoting fertility…”
Since the heir had been eating foods for a long time that suppressed his fertility, it made it hard for him to get his wife or his concubines pregnant. Even when his women did get pregnant, the children from that union would end up sickly and weak, just like that concubine-born daughter he had.
She did know of a few foods and recipes that could increase his yang energy. If she just gave them the recipes, it was likely the effect would not be as good as the dishes she made. After all, she could add mystic-stone water when she made the food, increasing the efficacy.
Since He Wanning was a good friend of hers, she decided to take on the task. Furthermore, the grand princess royal was the grand-aunt of Zhu Junyang. She was willing to do all she could to help the grand princess royal have a descendant.
“It’s all set then! I’m going to go back to my residence to first prepare some useful medicinal cuisine for you. Once I’m done, I’ll have the servants bring it over. I will also give you the recipes to make these foods once I’m done writing them down.” Yu Xiaocao didn’t seem the least bit upset by the request, which allowed the heir and his wife let out a sigh of relief.
As soon as the lady opened her mouth to ask, she knew that her request was a bit presumptuous. After all, the recipes were the private property of Yu Xiaocao and she may not want to give them out. Although her younger sister-in-law had a decent relations.h.i.+p with Miss Yu, they couldn’t capitalize on this too much. If they ended up ruining the relations.h.i.+p between the two, she would feel incredibly guilty!
Fortunately, Miss Yu wasn’t a stingy or petty person. She not only didn’t take offense but also personally offered to make some medicinal cuisine for them. Marquis Anning’s estate would remember this good will from her. In the future, if the Yu Family or Fang Family came across any troubles, they would definitely do their utmost out of friends.h.i.+p and duty to help them.
The grand princess royal invited Xiaocao over to have lunch with them. Marchioness Anning, He Wanning, the heir and his wife were also there. The couple finally had an answer for their troubles and hope for the future. Thus, they were naturally very solicitous and warm towards Xiaocao throughout the meal. From the way the two of them treated the guest, both the grand princess royal and Marchioness Anning could tell something was different and accordingly viewed Xiaocao with a higher evaluation.
The grand princess royal soon found out from her grandson what had happened earlier. That evening, when Xiaocao was about to leave, the grand princess royal pulled on her hand to say something, “This old woman is being presumptuous, but I must call you ‘Xiaocao’ right now. Xiaocao, this old woman will always remember the kindness you have shown Marquis Anning’s estate. In the future, our residence and the grand princess royal’s estate will always be open to you. You’re always welcome to come over as a guest.”
“Grand Princess Royal, you are being too polite. As a doctor, I have a benevolent heart. As long as I can help someone, I will do my best to help them.” Yu Xiaocao thoughtfully replied in a courteous manner.
After the grand princess royal said her farewells to Xiaocao, she turned to her son and daughter-in-law to state, “Everyone always mentions that Yu Xiaocao was born and bred in the wild countryside, but she has a generous and kind heart. In my eyes, that makes her much better than the vast majority of n.o.ble maidens in the capital! Although Wanning has a more hasty personality, she has a good eye when making friends. The Yuan Family’s la.s.s and this Xiaocao are both quite outstanding and worthy of friends.h.i.+p!”