Tang Dynasty: Slacking off in the Imperial Kitchen, exposed by Si Zi

Chapter 218 Su Mu, you have quite a few ideas!

It's melted, pour it out.

The more than two thousand kilograms of ice made from saltpeter melted into water that flowed into the drainage ditch of Taiji Palace, as there was no food to be eaten.

Outside the palace walls, the people of the 108 wards of Chang'an were working under the scorching sun.

Many of those carrying loads, driving carts, and tending stalls suffered from heatstroke.

Last summer, the Censorate reported that hundreds of elderly and infirm people died of heatstroke in Chang'an alone during the hot summer months.

Su Mu glanced back at the hall.

Li Shimin was wiping his mouth with a handkerchief and talking to Li Yuan. Both of them had a relaxed look on their faces, as if they had eaten and drunk their fill.

"His Majesty."

Li Shimin looked up.

There's still quite a bit of ice left in the ice tank.

Su Mu patted the door frame.

"It would be a shame to put it on."

Li Shimin didn't react in time.

"Then have them moved to each palace and distributed." Each camp has its own share; the Imperial Household Department has already sent the ice jars today.

Su Mu tilted his head slightly towards the outside of the hall.

"What's outside the palace walls?"

Li Shimin stopped.

"In Chang'an's 108 wards, on days like this, which household—the laborers running errands, the peddlers, or the soldiers patrolling the city—could afford to keep ice on hand?"

Su Mu's tone was very casual, almost like he was chatting.

"We can't control places that are too far away, but Chang'an is right under our feet. Have the remaining ice broken out and put a few jars next to the well pavilions in each ward. Whoever gets hot can scoop out a bowlful, and once it melts, that's it."

The hall was quiet for a couple of breaths.

Li Yuan put down the handkerchief without saying a word, but tapped his fingers twice on his knee.

Li Shimin stood up.

He walked to the entrance of the hall and stood side by side with Su Mu.

The passageway outside the gate was bleached white by the sun, and the heat waves on the glazed tiles distorted the outline of the distant palace.

Beyond the palace walls, one could faintly hear the clamor of vendors hawking their wares, the clatter of cart axles, and the cries of children from the market.

Li Shimin tapped his finger on the door frame.

"Wang Dequan".

"Your servant is here!"

"By imperial decree, all twelve ice vats in the palace, along with the remaining saltpeter from ice-making, shall be transferred to the Jingzhao Prefecture. The Jingzhao Prefect shall set up ice water stalls in the East and West Markets and along Zhuque Avenue before Shenshi (3-5 PM) today for the people to use."

He paused.

"The method of making ice with saltpeter is also handed over to the Jingzhao Prefecture. They are to follow it. From now on, every summer, all wards in Chang'an City must prepare ice, and the cost will be covered by the national treasury."

Wang Dequan ran away in response.

Su Mu leaned against the door frame, his hands behind his back.

"Your Majesty is very generous."

Li Shimin snorted.

"If I can't even take care of the people under my feet, what kind of emperor am I?"

He turned his head away.

"But you, all you ever talk about is chopping wood. Don't you feel hypocritical saying that?"

Su Mu was taken aback.

"I just mentioned it casually..."

'

"Just saying?"

Li Shimin pursed his lips slightly.

"If you really only wanted to chop wood, you wouldn't have bothered with two thousand catties of saltpeter yesterday."

Su Mu opened his mouth, but couldn't find the words to refute it.

Li Shimin had already turned and walked into the palace.

He took two steps, then turned back.

"Su Mu".

"Um."

"Sometimes I feel that you are much more genuine than those ministers in the court who claim to be concerned about the country and its people."

Su Mu waved his hand.

"Your Majesty, please don't flatter me. I just feel sorry for the ice melting; it was made from two thousand catties of saltpeter."

Li Shimin stared at him for two seconds.

Without saying anything more, he left.

Su Mu leaned against the door frame for a while.

The sun was already setting in the west, and the heat in the passageway had lessened somewhat.

In the distance, the sounds of imperial guards carrying ice vats could be heard; the bronze vats rumbled as they dragged across the stone slabs.

He retrieved the thousand-year-old Xuanmu gourd from the system space.

The fruit, about the size of a fist, has a golden-yellow skin with fine veins, and you can smell a refreshing medicinal fragrance when you get close.

Su Mu held the papaya in his hand and weighed it in his hand.

heavy.

There are still 26 days left in the treatment of Yun Gao. With this medicinal guide, the progress of repairing the lung meridians can be twice as fast.

Fifty-two days.

Fifty-two days left!

He put the papaya back into his spatial storage, patted the remaining coolness off his hands, and headed towards the kitchen.

The sound of Xiao Sizi's drowsy voice came from the hall behind them.

"Guoguo—I dreamt of an iceberg—a huge, huge iceberg duck—"

Su Mu did not turn around.

The corners of her mouth curved slightly.

child time.

Su Mu was awakened by a system alarm.

It wasn't a gentle notification like a flashing panel; instead, his entire field of vision turned blood red, so intense it made him jump off the bed!

【Urgent Warning!】

[The target of this desperate attempt to defy fate—Empress Zhangsun—is experiencing a rapid decline in vital signs!]

[Lung vascular repair progress: 31%]

[Current Status: Qi stagnation complicated by heart failure, pulmonary congestion, and a chain reaction of organ dysfunction]

[Expected]

Su Mu didn't finish reading it.

They weren't even wearing shoes; they rushed out barefoot onto the bluestone slabs.

Before the courtyard gate was even opened, hurried footsteps could already be heard from the other end of the passageway.

It wasn't one person, it was a group.

The light of torches flickered out from around the corner of the palace wall, illuminating half of the passageway in a crimson glow.

Wang Dequan ran in the lead, stumbling and tumbling as he crawled to the gate.

"Mr. Su—!"

His voice was hoarse; all he could hear was a breathy sound.

"Your Majesty the Empress—she's dying!"

Su Mu grabbed his shoulder.

"When was it posted?"

"At three-quarters past 9 PM! The Empress suddenly couldn't breathe while she was sleeping. The female physician on night duty heard the commotion and rushed in, but she was already—"

His lips were completely purple, his fingernails were purple, and his throat felt like it was being strained by a bellows.

'

Wang Dequan couldn't continue speaking; he squatted on the ground, trembling.

Su Mu released him and turned to go into the kitchen.

Three seconds.

He took four items out of the system space.

Millennial Xuan Papaya.

All remaining fermented liquid from the Yun Gao treatment.

A packet of freshly ground Poria cocos and lotus seed powder, and half a jar of throat-soothing honey that wasn't used up last time.

There wasn't enough time to make the clay pot.

Su Mu pulled a celadon stewing pot down from the shelf and arranged the thinly sliced ​​papaya inside. The knife moved so fast that the back of the blade flashed a series of white lights under the lamp.

Papaya slices are placed at the bottom, fermented liquid is poured on top, a layer of poria cocos and lotus seed powder is sprinkled on top, and honey is used as a seal.

Cover the bowl with the lid and tuck it under your arm.

He went back into the inner room and pulled out an oil paper package from under his pillow.

open.

Inside was a red, strip-shaped object, about the length of chopsticks, coated with chili powder and cumin powder.

Spicy strips.

I made this in the last few days. I originally planned to feed it to Sizi to comfort the little guy.

Su Mu stuffed the spicy strips into his sleeve, picked up the stew pot, and went out of the courtyard.

"Walk!"

In the direction of the Lizheng Hall, torches formed a line.

The main hall of Lizheng Palace.

When Su Mu pushed open the palace door, it was already packed with people.

Imperial Physician Chen Yao, along with six other imperial physicians, knelt on the ground, their arms covered in silver needles. Three medicine stoves were set up, and the bitter smell of medicine was so strong that it made it hard to open their eyes.

Li Shimin knelt before the bed.

His dragon robe trailed on the ground, his knees pressed against the cold brick surface, and one of his trouser legs was soaked with sweat. His hands gripped Empress Zhangsun's fingers so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

Empress Zhangsun, lying on the couch, looked pale.

It's not the grayish-white of last time, it's bluish-gray.

His lips were purple, his eyes were sunken, and the rise and fall of his chest was so faint that it was almost invisible.

Every ten or so breaths, a hoarse wheezing sound would squeeze out of his throat, sharp and short, and then it would stop halfway through.

Chen Yao's forehead was pressed against the floor tiles.

"Your Majesty—we are incompetent—the Empress's internal organs are failing, and her vital energy is about to be depleted. We—we beg Your Majesty—"

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