Vol 2 Chapter 35 (1/2)

Gu Fang Bu Zi Shang Vol02 Ch35

The tere secretly upset

Moran said, “Although He Xia promised not to move until the sixth, we must not underestimate hiement of this residence”

Zuiju nodded and watched Moran turn to leave She thought of so and said a soft, “Ah,” but stopped herself fro him leave

Returning to the roo a nap Her thoughts were the most shallow and had been recently subjected toand Moran had safely returned, she realised that the danger had passed and finally slept Hearing the sound of the door curtain, she slowly opened her eyes and realized Zuiju had returned She placed a fingertip to her mouth

“Hush…”She pointed at the inner room, closed her eyes, placed both her hands to one side and tilted her head, i pose

Zuiju gave her a look of understanding and quietly crept into the roo

Pingting was lying on the bed, her long hair scattered around One clu fro

A thick blanket covered her, but the as still opened, allowing cold wind to flow inside

Zuiju whispered, “Such a bad habit ought to be corrected” She quietly tiptoed towards the bedside, carefully reaching out She had yet to touch the hen she heard a soft voice co down from below

“Don’t close it The bloind refreshes my mind”

Zuiju lowered her head to look and saw that Pingting had already opened her eyes How could they be considered sleepy when possessing such brightness?

“It’s better to close it as it won’t be funny if you get a cold” Zuiju stubbornly closed theand turned to sit down by the bed She reached out into the blankets, ru’s slender wrists which she pressed two fingers against to check her pulse She calood”

She returned the hand to its original place before lowering her voice “I’ve already heard from Moran I don’t knohat to say, really”

Pingting revealed a gentle smile and asked a question in return, “Don’t tell me you’re worried that the Duke won’t be back too?”

Zuiju looked at Pingting in the eye

She acco lives and was familiar with nobles and officials She wasfa Lin, perhaps even the concubines of the Royal Residence, yet she had never

Intelligence, joy, and aloofness were soaked into her bones How could the House of Jing-An produce such a casually elegant He Xia of swords and songlooking after a person like Bai Pingting?

Pingting saw that Zuiju was silent and gently returned her stare

The two pairs of bright eyes looked at each other silently, as if trying to measure the other’s intentions

Hongqian happened to co stupidly at one another In a surprised voice, she said, “So Miss Bai wasn’t sleeping? I restricted my movements to very small ones so that I wouldn’t wake you What on earth could you possibly be staring at each other for? A flower can’t be formed from it”

Zuiju shi+fted her gaze and turned to look at Hongqian She half laughed, half scowled, “You’re so noisy, interrupting people when they’re thinking deeply about things”

Pingting also looked at her, asking, “Why’d you come in?”

“Look at the ti that Miss was asleep, I didn’t dare ask before, but aren’t you two hungry?”

Zuiju raised her head to look outside “True, no wonder I felt hungry Thanks to all of the suspense today, I co”

“The food has been qian headed outside

Although the kitchen’s matron had been shocked all day, her workmanshi+p was still excellent

Several layers of the food package were brought over As usual, there were two etable dishes and a few side dishes

Pingting’s appetite had never been too good Since she wasn’t in the mood today, she had even less of an appetite than usual She picked small bits and dropped them with her chopsticks

Zuiju saw her put down her chopsticks and hurriedly said, “At least drink a bowl of soup and finish a bowl of rice”

She quickly put in a few slices ofher a look

Pingting had no appetite at all, but seeing Zuiju’s evil look, she touched her lower abdo the meal in her bon in silence

Only then did Zuiju smile, satisfied

After dinner, Zuiju and Hongqian quickly andthe plates into it

Zuiju then said, “Letand carried the heavy food container across the courtyard when she happened the see the kitchen’stowards her

“Miss Zuiju, it is cold You don’t need to personally return it; I can do it myself” The matron stopped when she saw Zuiju

Zuiju handed the food package to her, and took soive you the menu for toredients for flavour Use the best ingredients and don’t forget to use the right amount”

All of the people in the Zhen-Bei Ducal Residence obeyed her words The ht and said, “Such clear instructions Good work, Miss Zuiju You’re h to even cover diet No wonder Miss Bai’s face seems to be much healthier than before However…” Theserious, “The acutiloba on this recipe has been used by Miss Bai a few days ago, so the kitchen has currently run out The kitchen never had peony petals to begin with, but there’s soed aster”

Zuiju replied, “This mustn’t be delayed Even if I explained, you wouldn’t understand Just quickly collect or buy so to my prescription”

“Geez, Miss ht now? The security of the entrance is even tighter than the capital’s entrance”

Only then did Zuiju reainst her forehead, “Indeed Iof that, does the kitchen have enough resources to last until the sixth?”

“The stocked rice is enough to last a year It’s unlikely that anyone would die of starvation, but there aren’t enough vegetables Even though there is a sarden at the back and poultry, Miss has to think about how et the women, they don’t eat uards stay away froe bowl of etables will only last a day”

Theher voice, “The pork is sent here every three days and we have already finished all of it in these last two days, so there will be notomorrow We haven’t any fresh fish either, so chicken and duck will have to do General Chu said this wasn’t anything of i you this, but please don’t tell her”

Zuiju nodded “I’ll come with you to the kitchen, to see what else is left I’ll see and write another prescription from them Matron, make sure everyone follows the outside, I only care that the best possible food is delivered to Miss Bai”

“Of course As long as the kitchen has those things in stock, then each will be delivered without error, exact to your prescription”

The two people sloalked in the snow The ht as the previous days Its yellow light was slightly hazy Their feet plodded through the somewhat thinner layer of snow The snow creaked and crunched as they crushed it into pieces under their footsteps

As they arrived at the kitchen, they sighted a sudden movement

“What?”

Zuiju gave a frightened cry as they saw a glowing red light at the gates to the residence It seemed to be the combination of several flames from fiery torches

The sound of the heavy door swinging open in the distance was heard Although it was soft, it brought a dangerous atmosphere

The“Oh God, don’t tell me the attackers are inside?”

Zuiju ree to leave the kitchen building She took a side pathway to reach the entrance of the residence She carefully went towards it, hiding behind the walls Zuiju saw the person holding the flaussed the person had to be one of He Xia’s men

Not long later, the door slowly closed, shutting out the flaht within the residence

Zuiju saw Moran with two other guards push a heavily guarded cart, passing the wall she was standing at

“Who’s there?” Moran suddenly said The swords of the other two guards were immediately unsheathed

“It’s me”

Moran sighed in relief and was a little repri Miss Bai at such a tih chaos out here already?”

The two guardstheir weapons

“I was planning to go to the kitchen, but ca?”

“Sending things”

“Sending things?”

“Fresh meat, fresh fish and various differently coloured fruits I’ve already checked that the cart is not hiding people or weapons” Moran laughed bitterly and pointed at the cart packed full of things “You ca these to the kitchen, use your needle to test if anything’s strange”

Zuiju looked at the full cart and couldn’t help sigh “Knowing He Xia, there is no way he’d use such a tactic, but I will examine them properly”

The two guards helped Zuiju to wheel the cart to the kitchen and unloaded everything In addition to the pork, beef, fresh fish and vegetables, there were a nus

There were a few jars of authentic Gui Le dishes, seasoned dried rare fish, Bei Mo’s delicacies befitting for a queen as well as a plate of both crispy and soft desserts

The otherZuiju exa when the saw that each were exquisitely made by the finest, most talented chefs possible “Just their appearances co that Gui Le’s desserts are superb”

Apart frouilded box wrapped with several layers of silk It had been placed in the innermost section of the cart Zuiju unwrapped one layer after the other and realised the contents were not food but various little items women used

There was a clamshell which contained hand cream of the finest quality, as well as a small

Ay leasy a dozen of small, multicoloured pebbles were placed at the bottom of the box Zuiju looked at the three objects that were inside, her gaze not hed in both praise and envy

By the tihtened Zuiju’s back ached with exhaustion She told the kitchen servants, “These are all fine, eat as ood et changing the prescription, just use the one froht”

“But we still don’t have peony petals”

“Oh well, just don’t add it It doesn’t really matter about the peony petals The acutiloba is theher shoulders She then headed for the silded box

Hongqian was already up and was stretching out on the snow Seeing Zuiju, she asked, “I didn’t see you yesterday evening at all Before Miss went to sleep, she askedyou up at the kitchen”

“Where is she?”

“Still sleeping” Hongqian beckoned towards the door with a lift of her chin “I slept in the sa, unable to sleep Ah, I heard the guards saying that we’re still surrounded by soldiers? Hadn’t they retreated already when Miss Bai and General Chu returned yesterday? And what’s this about a promise on the sixth? What are we to do if the Duke does not return by the sixth?”

Zuiju lowered her voice, “Even if you wanted to control it, you can’t, so it’s better not to ask”

Hongqiang had thought that the guard she always joked with her was just trying to scare her With that, her face paled, understanding the current danger

Zuiju knew that the current situation was even worse than what Hongqian was thinking but refused to say any more She patted her on the shoulder and strode up the steps, entering Pingting’s room

Pingting had awoken long ago and had kicked the blankets to one side A lilac coat hung from her shoulders as she lazily knelt on the bed She tilted her head to one side, her hand stroking down her hair When seeing Zuiju enter with the gilded box, she looked at it, asking, “What’s that?”

Zuiju knew that she was feeling restless and wanted to tease her She placed the gilded box at the head of the bed, ht, then you have my admiration”

Pingting looked at the box, her light gaze ain…”

She sighed, not bothering with Zuiju and opened it herself

She lightly glanced at the three objects in the gilded box and picked up the coed out, “I used to use this a lot at the Jing-An Ducal Residence back then”

She placed the corabbed a handful of the pebbles and carefully counted thehed bitterly, “I used fifteen years of friendshi+p to bargain with him and he uses fifteen years of friendshi+p to trap me” She slammed the box shut and slipped off the bed

After washi+ng with hot water, Zuiju approached her to comb her hair Zuiju held onto the silky black strands and twisted them into a peony bun She saw that the reflected face was drained of both happiness and worry She had no clue what she was thinking, just like a thin layer of fog developing on the mirror surface

“Miss! Why aren’t you saying anything?”

Pingting was silent for a long ti, “I am very tired”

Zuiju replied, “Since you’re so tired, you should sleep since nothing is happening anyway I’ll get the kitchen to e and boil it That way, it can immediately be served when you wake up”

Pingting shook her head

When Zuiju had just put down the co looked into the bronze o outside Zuiju hurriedly followed her outside Pingting entered the side room and took out the pot of plum blossom petals out

“Let me carry it”

Pingting turned sideways so Zuiju would take it with her hands but then shook her head She carried the pot down the steps and walked towards the corner where Hongqian had swept the snoay the day before Although there wasn’t ht had passed with a thin layer of frost

Pingting placed the pot down, picked up a broo a shovel

Zuiju didn’t say a word She actually felt a little afraid She stood helpless at one side, saying, “Be careful not to strain your back”

Pingting didn’t hurry She used the shovel to dig little by little The upperradually softer and h

Several an to for’s forehead Her cheeks were several shades redder than before

She still did not hurry Pingting placed the shovel down, quietly resting for a while to allow her breath to calm She then picked up the pot beside her and placed it neatly into the hole She adjusted left and right until she was satisfied, Pingting did not think it was dirty as she reburied the pot using her oo hands

After this final use of effort, Pingting breathed out deeply and raised head, s one side “All that’s left is the cooking fire on top”

Her black eyes brightened, a sentle splash

Zuiju did not quite understand why her heart seemed to stop for a while A sour taste stayed in her nose as if preparing to cry She hurriedly wiped her eyes and pasted on a cheerful face, “Sure, I’ll bring the firewood”

She got the firewood froqian, who then brought the later, the dry firewood began to crackle Its fiery red glow flickered in the snow It coloured the three people’s cheeks, nice and warm

Pingting sweated a lot, but she seeazed at the fla, “Never just stand around a fireplace Ask the kitchen for some meat and salt Let’s eat some roasted meat”

Although Hongqian orried about the surrounding troops, she understood the concept that pleasure can also exist in pain She replied, “I’ll get it”

She soon returned, crunching the snoith her footsteps while carrying a heavy basket in her hands

“Pork loin, chicken wings, cleaned duck legs and two fishes with removed intestines and head I don’t knohat Miss would like to roast, so I just got the kitchen qian settled the basket down, spreaded out a blue blanket in the snow and took out the iteot the salt and allspice Theroast alone was too dry and will bring some premade soup shortly”

Pingting clapped her hands, “Well done Hongqian, very thoughtful If I were a general, I’d appoint you as at least a back up advisor no matter what”

She sat on the stone bench with an additional thick shawl on her shoulders Zuiju was afraid that she was cold and had gone back to the room to retrieve it

Hongqian saw Pingting’s shed, “That’s not it Thebut use so to skewer them instead, so I have a few thin iron bars here”

She lowered her head and took out a few thin iron bars from the basket It had been properly washed while the accouaze was new

With all preparations complete, the three people sat around the fire ready to enjoy this winter barbeque

They picked up a thin bar and threaded slices ofon top of the fire The red fla Theit seemed

“My father has a hunter’s stove When I used to accoqian appeared to have a lot of experience as she rotated the bar in her hand She sighed, “After getting into the Zhen-Bei Ducal Residence, such times were no more”

“How’d you enter the Ducal Residence? The Duke bought you?”

Hongqian hurriedly shook her head “The Zhen-Bei Ducal Residence has no need to buy people People would do anything to be ado around here, less beating and the Master is our Duke When , I’d be half full, but when he doesn’t, I’d be without a h to squeeze in here Occasionally I’d take a few things to my father”

This was the first tiqian She didn’t hesitate to ask, “Don’t youto such a remote place?”

“How could I know? My father was sadly not blessed He died just three years after my entry in the Ducal Residence The Duke noted family relationshi+ps when he left the capital He knew I had nowhere to go, so he took ”

Zuiju then understood why the nu reat number of the older matrons All of them were old and had no place to return to

She was roasting duck leg The meat was thick, so she had to wait patiently until it was fully cooked Her gaze rested on Pingting, and she gasped, “This fiery red is harsh to the eyes Roasted food will raise your teood to your body at all”

The fish in Pingting’s hands happened to be cooked Despite her first tihts in the distance, it was still roasted to a golden crisp Hearing Zuiju’s words, she carefully slid the fish off the bar and put it on the plate She handed it to them, “Since it’s like that, I won’t have any then You two may have it”

Hongqian stared enviously at the fish She cheered loudly and handed her oire to Zuiju, “Hold this for me”

She then took the dish filled with tasty roasted fish

Zuiju saw that she was thinking the best for her unborn child and sly at her She offered a feords of coh you say you won’t have any, there are still other delicious food I’ve asked the matrons to prepare steamed pork trotters with acutiloba and red dates”

Just as she said this, a e She saw everypne was happily playing about and s poked by the wire of the gauze mat and tip of the bars is very sore I tried it in the kitchen several times before this”

She opened the food package on the blue cloth and served a bowl to each of the three people Pingting was indeed served with steamed pork trotters with acutiloba and red dates

Pingting held onto the spoon She watched the two people roast their food while steadily eating the contents in her bowl She smiled

The activity continued for nearly and hour Both the food had been depleted, and the fireas in its final flickers The three stood up and threater to extinguish the file

“Should we reqian asked

“No need It’s better for it to soak up the taste of ”

Like that, the first half of the day passed The following half was ting went to take a nap She slept for almost three hours By the time she had woken, it was already dark

She hazily got up and pushed theopen The evening as not strong, but the cloud layer was much too thick She couldn’t see the moon at all

“Zuiju? Zuiju?” She anxiously called

Zuiju walked inside, asking, “You’re awake?”

“What time is it? Has the moon passed a half? Is it already the sixth?”

Zuiju paused for a moment She sloalked over and sat on the bed “Miss Bai, the sky has not been dark for long It is still the fifth,” she replied

Hearing her words, the anxiety fro the sky’s colour lifted She faintly replied, “Oh,” before her body relaxed, and she fell back onto the bed

Zuiju then asked, “The kitchen brought dinner over but I rarely see you sleeping so soundly so I told Hongqian not to bother you It’s currently si on the stovetop in the side rooht as well have some”

Pingting see At first, she shook her head at Zuiju’s words, but then thought about it and nodded instead “Bring it over, I’ll have some”

Hongqian served up the hot meal

Pingting , “I just can’t eat any more” She placed her chopsticks down

Zuiju saw Pingting really couldn’t eat any more based froed She softened her voice, “That’s fine”

Hongqian packed away the dishes and went out of the roo, “She was all happy-go-lucky this otten over a nap and becoood They have very bizarre emotions”

Zuiju hurriedly silenced her, lowering her voice as she chattered back, “You knohat? If you were her, you’d probably have long gone crazy”

Hongqian poked out her tongue and entered the side room