Episode 9 recap: Hua Zhi's sale of red fruit brought a turning point for the Hua family.
Xia Jin E moved into Lin Wan's room under the pretext of taking care of her, but she constantly expressed doubts about Hua Zhi's sale of red fruit. Lin Wan found her incessant chatter tiresome and decided to go to sleep. Finally, under Fu Dong's skilled hands, the red fruit achieved its perfect texture, and Hua Zhi felt it was ready to be sold on the streets.
As time passed, the red fruit started sticking together. Hua Zhi had a brilliant idea and used bamboo skewers to thread them together. She even had Fu Dong give them a pleasant name, "Honey Bombs." Everything was ready, but the maidservants were reluctant to sell them on the streets. So Hua Zhi came up with another plan and drew a design on a piece of paper for Uncle Zhong to make them into flower lanterns.
Xia Jin E still didn't believe in Hua Zhi's plan and tried to pour cold water on it. Hua Zhi cleverly responded that if they didn't have a shop, they could sell the red fruit on the streets just like they did with the peach talismans. However, because the Hua family was a scholarly family and had just been raided, they couldn't appear too ostentatiously on the streets. So Hua Zhi had the maidservants wear head coverings resembling the flower lanterns to hide their faces.
Following Hua Zhi's arrangement, Fu Dong and Bao Xia went to the entrance of the academy to try selling the red fruit. The result was very successful, as the children welcomed them, and they sold one hundred and seventeen wen in one go. Seeing the money earned by Fu Dong and Bao Xia, everyone became envious and started selling on the streets.
While Bao Xia was selling, she wasn't paying attention, and a thief snatched away her money. Fortunately, Chen Qing happened to be passing by and helped her retrieve it. Gu Yan Xi passed by in a carriage and coincidentally saw Hua Zhi walking alongside wearing a head covering. Gu Yan Xi deliberately reached out and tapped Hua Zhi on the head, and when Hua Zhi turned around, she recognized him as Qi Su Si.
After walking for a while, Bao Xia couldn't bear it any longer and simply took off her head covering. After all, earning money openly and honestly was nothing to be ashamed of.
Gu Yan Xi accompanied Emperor Qing for a meal, and Emperor Qing reminded Gu Yan Xi to be strict in managing Qi Su Si. Some people need to be executed to avoid future troubles.
Chen Qing disguised himself and went to buy Honey Bombs. To his surprise, Gu Yan Xi was also there. Hua Zhi thought Chen Qing would make things difficult for Gu Yan Xi and quickly pulled him aside. Gu Yan Xi was moved when he saw Hua Zhi's concern for the poor, so he made an appointment with Hua Zhi to bring a sweet fruit to his uncle, Gu Chengtang.
Hua Zhi had someone buy a group of chicks and ducks, which brought joy and laughter to everyone. However, Xia Jin E felt very uncomfortable after hearing about it. It was payday, and Fu Dong received a full guan as his monthly allowance. Everyone accepted it, but Xia Jin E was angry when she looked at the half guan in her hand. At night, she secretly went to the kitchen and stole something. Xia Jin E and Qin Yi Niang happened to come across her. Xia Jin E asked Qin Yi Niang not to make a fuss about it, as she had her own plans.
Gu Yan Xi brought the honey cakes made by Hua Zhi's family to Gu Chengtang, who liked them very much. At that moment, Prince Xian, Gu Yan Gong, arrived. He recognized the flower pattern on the packaging and knew that the honey cakes were from the Hua family, but Gu Chengtang didn't say anything. Gu Yan Xi took the pastries Gu Yan Gong bought and gave them to Hua Zhi, asking her to study them. Unfortunately, it started raining heavily. Everyone crowded under the eaves to seek shelter from the rain. Gu Yan Xi protected Hua Zhi until the rain stopped so she wouldn't get squeezed.
When Gu Yan Gong ordered his men to smash the stalls, he noticed that Gu Yan Xi was there and had to spend money to buy out everything Hua Zhi was selling. Gu Yan Gong thought Gu Yan Xi was tarnishing himself to protect himself. Gu Yan Xi revealed his situation to ease Gu Yan Gong's mind. As for the accusation of private minting by Qi Ru Hai, Gu Yan Gong denied being the mastermind. Gu Yan Xi knew it wasn't him and subtly hinted at the mastermind. Gu Yan Gong understood and unexpectedly realized that Gu Yan Xi, whom he had always admired, was living such a miserable life, worse off than an ordinary commoner, despite being born into the royal family.
Chan Lu was a member of the main wife's faction. Every few days, she would secretly steal honey candy. Xia Jin E intentionally caught her in the act and went to Hua Zhi, intending to use it to regain control of the management.
Comments(Episode 9)