tallest building

Chapter 211 Skilled

When Princess Zhao saw that her son was out of danger, she remembered her foot injury and gasped in pain.

The crowd quickly carried her back to her room and then summoned the imperial physician.

The noise didn't quiet down until after noon.

Princess Zhao, feeling less pain, thanked Wen Mingqian, saying, "I am truly grateful to you today; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable. How can I possibly thank you enough?"

"Your words make me feel ashamed. The Princess has already shown me enough kindness, and it is my honor to be able to do my part today. Please don't thank me, Princess, otherwise I will feel uneasy," Wen Mingqian said, blushing.

“I know you are sincere, so I won’t say anything more. Why don’t you stay in this mansion for a while and make more sachets in case of emergency?” Princess Zhao thought that since Wen Mingqian’s medicine sachet worked, she would prepare more for her son.

"Then I won't refuse, but I'll need to ask your household to assign two people to help me," Wen Mingqian readily agreed.

"No problem, no problem, even twenty will do," Princess Zhao readily agreed.

That day, Wen Mingqian selected all the raw materials he would use for the sachets.

Then he cooked a soup to soothe the lungs and regulate qi for the young master of the Zhao Prince's mansion.

She learned this skill from Aunt Zhang. Although she can't compare to Aunt Zhang, she still does it better than most people.

Afterwards, she prepared incense for Princess Zhao that had pain-relieving, blood-activating, and calming effects, which could alleviate much of her pain when burned in her bedroom.

Princess Zhao greatly admired Wen Mingqian's thoughtfulness and competence. In particular, she was pleased to hear from the servants that the young master loved the soup Wen Madam cooked, finding it delicious and without any medicinal taste, and that he had even eaten half an extra steamed bun because of it.

This half-eaten steamed bun might not mean much to other children, but for the young master of the Zhao Prince's Mansion, who was a picky eater for years, it was a great thing.

Wen Mingqian stayed at the Prince Zhao's residence for a total of seven days. He not only prepared thirty sachets, but also wrote down the dosage of the medicine inside and handed them over to the Princess Zhao.

"What is this?" Princess Zhao asked, quite surprised as she held the list of ingredients.

Normally, as long as you hold this thing in your hand, you can be guaranteed a lifetime of wealth and prosperity.

Princess Zhao naturally understood this, so she only asked Wen Mingqian to make the sachets, instead of asking her for the recipe directly.

But she didn't expect that Wen Mingqian would actually hand over the recipe, and even noted the amount of each ingredient to be added or subtracted as the child grew older.

"Your Highness, please keep this safe. It will be ready to be used whenever I am not here," Wen Mingqian said. "That way, things won't be delayed."

"If people knew this, they would definitely say you're a fool." Princess Zhao was deeply moved. "You really are someone who doesn't hide anything."

“I suffered some losses in my early years because of my temperament, but I can’t change my nature. Besides, Your Highness has been very kind to me. If I were to harbor any selfish motives towards you, wouldn’t I be too heartless?” Wen Mingqian said with a smile. “I have also written down the dishes that the young master likes to eat these days and given them to the servants.”

“That’s exactly why I have to thank you. These past few days, Song’er’s complexion has been much rosier than usual, and his appetite has also improved,” said Princess Zhao. “No wonder your son is so outstanding; it’s because his mother is extraordinary.”

"To receive a word of praise from the Princess Consort makes my face feel as if it's covered in gold dust," Wen Mingqian said with a smile. "I've been bothering you at your residence for quite some time now, it's time for me to go back."

But no sooner had she finished speaking than a eunuch came from the palace to deliver the Empress's decree.

Firstly, it was to deliver blood-activating medicine used in the palace to Princess Zhao, and secondly, it was to ask her to tell Wen Mingqian to make two more boxes of the face cream that had been sent to the palace last time, but with a reduced fragrance.

Princess Zhao smiled at Wen Mingqian and said, "How about it? I don't need to keep you here; someone else will. You can stay here for now. We'll talk about the face cream for the Empress when you've finished making it."

Then, she said to the eunuch who came to deliver the imperial edict, "Here is some calming and soothing incense that Lady Wen made for me. Take it to the palace and ask Her Majesty's opinion. You can try it, and if you like it, you can make more." The eunuch took the incense, agreed, and left.

Wen Mingqian then consulted with Princess Zhao, saying, "Your Highness dislikes floral scents, so I reduced the amount of orchid oil in the ingredients. But I wonder if Your Highness has any preferred scents?"

"The Empress doesn't like most fragrances, but she loves the scent of fruits. Especially the green tangerines in early winter, which she offers for a long time every year," said Princess Zhao. "But the Empress only likes fresh ones; she doesn't like the smell of dried tangerine peels."

Wen Mingqian listened and thought for a moment and said, "In that case, I can give it a try. I can make one unscented and one with orange scent. We'll see which one Your Majesty prefers."

Wen Mingqian learned from his master how to extract fragrances and how to blend and retain them.

It's not difficult to recreate the flavor of this green tangerine, but the key is to avoid making it look artificial and to make it appear as natural as possible.

Meanwhile, the eunuch returned to the palace and reported back that the Empress had been using the face cream made by Wen Mingqian these days and felt that her skin was much better than before, so she was not so averse to the fragrance.

He said, "I was just about to go for a stroll in the waterside pavilion, so I'll take this incense with me!"

The Empress doesn't burn incense in her own palace, because if she doesn't like the scent, it might be difficult for it to dissipate. It's better to try it outside.

The palace maids carried incense burners and lit incense in the waterside pavilion.

"The fragrance is very faint, almost imperceptible," the crowd remarked as the incense burned.

"If you smell it carefully, it has a sweet aroma, like a newly ripened apricot."

"Smelling this fragrance makes me feel calm, which shows that it can soothe the mind."

The crowd whispered amongst themselves, all the while watching the Empress's expression. The Empress sat there, resting her chin on her hand, and gently closed her eyes.

The Empress had unknowingly fallen asleep, and only woke up suddenly when her body swayed.

The palace maid beside her protected her the whole time and caught her in time.

"Eh, how did I fall asleep?" The Empress was somewhat taken aback. She had always had difficulty falling asleep, and had never fallen asleep so unconsciously before.

"Oh my, Your Majesty, this is wonderful news!" The servants couldn't help but beam with joy.

Heaven knows that the Empress was particularly irritable because she couldn't sleep well, and those who served her were usually very cautious and didn't dare to even breathe loudly.

"It seems this incense is somewhat useful." The Empress glanced at the incense burner on the table. "Take it back to your bedchamber!"

That noon, the Empress fell asleep for the first time ever, and even more surprisingly, she started snoring, which was enough to show that she was sleeping very soundly.

No one dared to disturb them or make a sound.

But then, the sound of cicadas began to play.

"Oh dear, where did this come from?!" The head eunuch broke out in a cold sweat. "It's been stuck here all summer, how come there's still some left?"

The Empress often suffered from insomnia and hated the sound of cicadas. So the people in the palace started catching cicadas with sticky sticks early in the morning. The cicadas hadn't been heard for the past few days, but they started chirping again at this time.

If the cicada were to wake the Queen, it would certainly die a horrible death, but it would also be subject to punishment.