The Lucky Farmgirl-Chapter 1903 - 1878: Sparring
Junior Ms. Qian sealed the jar tightly, "In this kind of weather, sealing it for about ten days should be enough. If it’s hot, you can shorten it by a couple of days."
Remembering that the plum wine she made before had residues, she said, "If the princesses are eager to drink it, you can strain it through a cloth sieve when drinking. If it’s not sweet enough, you can adjust it with some sugar. If you’re not in a hurry to drink, you can store it in a cool cellar for a long time. When you want to drink it, take it out, don’t shake it, and after opening, the residue should have settled at the bottom, so just drink the clear wine from the top."
Just listening made Changyu involuntarily swallow her saliva.
She instructed the palace maid to carry the wine, and the maid asked how much to carry.
Changyu looked at the three of Manbao and then at the five jars on the ground, painfully saying, "Let’s take two, one jar for each person."
The three of Manbao didn’t decline, and each carried a jar to put it in their room.
Junior Ms. Qian quickly stopped them, smiling, "No need to put it in the room. Since it’s for the family, just leave it in the kitchen."
Leaving it in the kitchen, where the temperature is higher, the wine will ferment faster.
Changyu hesitated, "Should we also put our two jars in the kitchen?"
Junior Ms. Qian hesitated, "You can put it anywhere, but I think the fermentation is quicker in the kitchen because it’s always near the fire."
Changyu immediately said, "Then let’s also leave ours in the kitchen."
She turned to the palace maids holding the wine and said, "Remember to put it in the kitchen when we get to the summer palace, and don’t forget to bring it when we return to the palace."
The palace maids acknowledged.
After taking the wine, Mingda looked up at the sun’s position and said a little wistfully, "We need to head to the summer palace, or else it’ll be too late and the Crown Prince will worry."
Manbao escorted them out and asked, "Do you want me to come to the summer palace to play with you tomorrow?"
Mingda smiled and said, "If you have time to come, that would be great, but I guess you don’t need to go to the summer palace. You can go straight to Baiyun Temple. I’ll tell the Crown Prince to have the guards let you up the mountain."
Baiyun Temple is not far from their summer palace, in the same mountain area, but they’re actually closer to Baiyun Temple here.
Manbao and the others had never been to Baiyun Temple, so the three discussed it and agreed. The five of them arranged to meet at Baiyun Temple tomorrow.
Seeing them off onto the carriage, watching as the imperial guards escorted them on their journey, Manbao waved and returned without waiting for them to go far.
They’ll see each other tomorrow, so they weren’t reluctant at all.
Baiyun Temple is much larger than Xuandu Temple, situated in the majestic mountains, but horses can reach halfway up the mountain along the path. The mountain gate is located there. From that point, the temple extends up the mountain, lined with the main and side halls of Baiyun Temple.
And when you reach the top, looking north, on a peak even higher than this is the Yongzhou Summer Palace.
However, the royal family only enclosed that mountain and didn’t build the palace at the peak; the current Yongzhou Summer Palace was constructed by the last emperor of the previous dynasty.
Although it was built by the last emperor of the previous dynasty, the palace is still well-preserved and well-maintained. The mountain not only has hot springs but also cold springs on the other side, making it a prime spot for summer retreats or winter stays.
Unfortunately, the emperor rarely visits the Yongzhou Summer Palace. Instead, the princes and princesses often come to stay for a summer retreat.
The emperor is too busy; if he were to leave the capital for a summer retreat, the entire administrative office would have to move here, increasing administrative costs despite the short half-day distance from the capital. Thus, since his accession, the emperor’s visits to Yongzhou Summer Palace haven’t even reached five times.
However, the Crown Prince and Prince Gong often come, as familiar as they are with the imperial palace in the capital, and once at the place, they each scatter to do their own thing.
But when Manbao saw Prince Gong in Baiyun Temple the next day, she noticed his posture seemed off, as if he had injured his waist.
As an imperial physician, especially since Prince Gong was her patient, Manbao couldn’t help but pay a bit more attention.
Mingda saw this and sighed, "We only found out when we got back to the summer palace yesterday that the Crown Prince challenged Third Brother to a sparring match, and Third Brother, unable to decline, ended up in the wrestling arena and got quite a beating."
Manbao: "... Didn’t the Eastern Palace officials stop him?"
"The Eastern Palace officials went to arrange accommodation as soon as they reached the summer palace and left for just a short while. By the time they heard about it and rushed over, less than fifteen minutes had passed, and the Crown Prince had already sparred with Third Brother eight times."
Manbao: "... It’s embarrassing. Prince Gong’s practice over the past year seems pointless."
In just fifteen minutes, he lost eight times, suggesting the Crown Prince could throw him with a single move.
After all, it’s her own brother, and Mingda still felt bad for him, so she said, "Why don’t you look at him for a bit later?"
Manbao didn’t refuse. If not today, she would have to check when they returned to the palace. She might as well treat it earlier.
Manbao asked, "If he’s injured, why did he come?"
"We came to Yongzhou to pray for blessings for the imperial grandmother, so we must come."
Otherwise, if the capital found out that Prince Gong didn’t go to Baiyun Temple to pray, not only would Prince Gong be in trouble, but the accompanying Crown Prince, Mingda, and Changyu would also be condemned. They couldn’t escape the charge of being only interested in play and lacking any sense of filial piety.
Among them, Prince Gong would bear the greatest blame, followed by the Crown Prince, who dragged him into sparring, and then Mingda and Changyu as the leaders of the group.
Manbao hadn’t realized there was such complexity to it and was stunned for a moment before saying, "Okay, I’ll go check on Prince Gong’s injury later."
The Crown Prince already met with the temple master and donated money for oil and candles for the empress dowager’s blessing.
The blessing activities include but are not limited to chanting, conducting rituals for the people near Yongzhou City, distributing blessing rice, summer medicine, and blessing bags for free...
The Crown Prince, representing the emperor, gave a large sum of money and praised Baiyun Temple for its contributions to the stability of the realm, then went to chant scriptures until noon. After lunch, he would return to the summer palace to hunt.
As for Mingda and the others, naturally, after the group activities, they each did their own thing.
Mingda and Changyu discussed briefly and said, "Do you want to take a look at the summer palace? We can go play at the cold spring, which is very cool now. Tomorrow we can explore Yongzhou City. Tonight, you can stay at the summer palace."
Manbao discussed with Bai Shan and Bai Erlang and then agreed, letting Daji select a guard to go home first to deliver the message.
As for Prince Gong, he gritted his teeth and said, "I will pray for blessings for the imperial grandmother in Baiyun Temple."
The Crown Prince thought he was posturing and sneered but didn’t stop him.
Manbao examined Prince Gong’s injury in the guest room behind Baiyun Temple. These kinds of external injuries can’t be diagnosed by taking the pulse, so Manbao told him to remove his clothes so she could see.
Prince Gong had almost undone his belt but turned his head and noticed Manbao had grown almost to his ear level, and suddenly he couldn’t bring himself to move.
How did this person grow so tall all of a sudden?
Manbao lifted her gaze to him, puzzled, and asked, "What’s wrong?"
