Miao Chu

Chapter 374 (repetition)
Having discussed it with Shen Xingniang, Song Miao decided to take advantage of the pleasant autumn weather and go for a stroll in the garden together at a suitable time before seeing her off.

She went back to her room, fetched a basin of water, and used a cloth to wipe Jinlian and the books clean. Then she slowly began to clean the box and case.

Upon receiving the news, Cheng Erniang specially sent in some wood ash and soapberry.

However, the entire outer surface of the box was covered with marks from flames, which could not be removed by washing with water, even with the presence of ashes.

Cheng Erniang kindly suggested, "Since this is an old item from your family, why don't you find a blacksmith to help clean the dirty parts on the outside? Then it will be a perfectly good box!"

Song Miao shook her head and said softly, "This is good enough."

Since she came here, she has actually taken the opportunity to look through history books. The official history only mentions it briefly and does not mention it in detail, but there are many different versions in the unofficial history.

At that time, the world was in chaos, and heroes were vying for power. The Pingyang army was unstoppable, attacking cities and seizing territories. One day, they finally captured Xiangzhou. After entering the city, they did not harm the people. Just as they were about to reorganize their army and move south again, the situation was truly excellent.

That night, the generals and soldiers held a banquet at the prefectural government office to celebrate their victory. At midnight, a fire suddenly broke out in the city. When the fire was extinguished at dawn, everyone discovered that there was only some scorched earth in the back office, while the rebel leader Lei Jiong and his confidants had all disappeared.

Some people say that the night before, they saw a bolt of lightning strike the back office, killing everyone there.

Some say that the people were burned to death by heavenly fire.

Another version of the story says that Lei Jiong and his men disagreed with their subordinates' looting of the city and plundering of the people, which incurred their wrath. Therefore, they poisoned their drinks and then burned them all to death.

Without its leader, the Pingyang army was divided into many smaller, independent forces, and could no longer amount to anything.

Nearly a century has passed. She asked around and found out that the prefectural government office in Xiangzhou City had been moved several times. The former government office that had burned down is now just an ordinary road, with countless people walking back and forth on it every day.

The truth of what happened back then is hard to find now; all that remains is this box covered in burn marks, placed before me.

Inside the box were the golden lotus for my birthday, which my uncle had promised to make for me by skilled craftsmen before he went down the mountain, and which would announce my birthday on the hour. There was also a riddle book that suddenly reappeared, even though I no longer wanted it.

If there are more in the future, that would be ideal.

But even if there is nothing else, it is still enough to comfort us.

Song Miao flipped through the book again and carefully put everything away.

As they were tidying up, someone came in to report that a eunuch had arrived from the palace.

When Song Miao entered the palace earlier, she hoped to repay Empress Dowager Yang's "borrowed silver" on a monthly basis, and they agreed on the same day and time for repayment.

The first repayment of the silver is today.

Song Miao hurriedly put the documents she had prepared into an envelope and left the front hall with them.

The eunuch had a kind face and was easy to talk to. When he saw Song Miao, he said, "The Empress Dowager summoned me to see how the young lady's house is being renovated. She also asked if you had chosen where to put her tables and chairs. She instructed me to look at the location and go back to learn from it so that someone could choose a suitable style of tables and chairs."

Song Miao hurriedly led the person to the opposite door.

She led the other person around across the street, explained the progress, and then pointed to a side room, saying, "This room is the largest, and the window faces the magnolia tree at the back. If the Empress Dowager really comes, sitting here and looking at the backyard will be a perfect view—it's very suitable for placing those tables and chairs."

She explained her plan, then took out the envelope from her sleeve and unfolded it for Huangmen to see.

The first page described and illustrated the room's layout, size, and the view outside in great detail. The eunuch, who was already very amiable, became even more attentive when he saw that Song Miao had prepared everything so thoroughly, saving him the trouble of doing anything himself.

Therefore, when Song Miao said that she had something to present to the Empress Dowager and asked him to go back to the restaurant to rest for a while, he did not refuse.

He drank half a cup of tea and ate some snacks, and then Song Miao brought out the food.

A food box containing egg rolls and sesame balls, a packet of almond candy, and two small porcelain bottles.

Song Miao introduced each item one by one, and after she finished, she pointed to the porcelain bottle and said, "This is a recipe for Sichuan fritillary and pear syrup. It's dry in autumn now, and it's easy to get an itchy throat and dry cough, so I specially made some. The recipe is here..."

As she spoke, she handed over another letter, saying, "This is a prescription for a medicinal paste. I wonder if it would suit Your Majesty's taste—you can take it and ask the imperial physician. There is also another prescription, which is also offered to Your Majesty."

The eunuch carefully put away the items and letter, took another sip of his drink, and then left with his men.

He returned to Ciming Palace, laid out his belongings, and reported on the progress of the house's construction that he had seen that day, the size of the room prepared by Song Ji for the Empress Dowager's table and chairs, and handed over Song Miao's letter.

Empress Dowager Yang nodded repeatedly as she listened, and said with a smile to a palace maid beside her, "Choose a good set and send it over—who knows, I might actually go to that restaurant someday if I feel like it."

Seeing that there were two bottles of Sichuan fritillary bulb and pear syrup, she said, "That's very thoughtful."

As she spoke, she couldn't help but look at the prescription for the herbal paste.

The herbal paste was nothing special; it was quite common. However, there was another recipe, which was said to be for women to regulate their bodies, nourish yin and replenish qi. It required steaming chicken pieces with ingredients such as codonopsis, red dates, and shiitake mushrooms. Eat the meat and drink the broth, one small plate a day, about the amount of one chicken leg, until the body was fully nourished.

What does it mean to fix something?
Empress Dowager Yang looked further and saw Song Miao's letter.

It was a very simple letter. After greeting her, she first talked about the progress of the restaurant's construction and the current business. She also mentioned that she had heard some rumors before, but recently the rumors had become more and more intense. She couldn't help much, but she had learned from her mother since she was a child about a way to replenish qi and blood. She said that if women ate more of this, their qi and blood would be abundant.

After saying all that, she mentioned that the Kyoto government had pressured high-ranking officials and powerful figures, and had no choice but to release the steward from the Wu family involved in the case.

Upon learning this news, I was truly nervous. Since I didn't know how to respond and there were no suitable elders in my family to consult, I had no choice but to take the liberty of writing a letter to the palace to ask the Empress Dowager for guidance.

When Empress Dowager Yang read the letter, she initially smiled, but gradually the smile faded and her expression turned ugly.

Just one message was enough to frighten someone into rushing in with this recipe, specifically stating that it was for women to replenish their qi and blood.

She summoned an old eunuch and said, "Go and find out if there's any news in the city lately that involves the royal family."

Having served Empress Dowager Yang for a long time, the eunuch knew her style of doing things. He didn't ask the Imperial City Guard for information, nor did he inquire about anything in the palace. Instead, he waited until dawn the next day and left the palace early in the morning with several junior eunuchs.

He divided the people into several groups: some went to bustling streets, teahouses, and taverns; some went to entertainment districts; and some strolled around the streets, alleys, and riverside docks. He himself, however, made a special trip to the area around the Imperial Academy.

The imperial examinations had just ended these past two days, and everyone had some free time. He randomly found a nearby teahouse, and as soon as he entered, without even looking for a seat, he could hear the noisy, hot atmosphere inside.

"Zhongxu, come and see this! It's so well written!"

"Which one? Huh? This... what's so good about this one? It's so verbose! Actually, 'King Lu plots self-comparison and covets the throne' is enough in just ten characters, but yours went on and on for over eight hundred words, it's driving me crazy! Look at this one I have here!"

(End of this chapter)