jdhmnovel Chapter 162 Perilla Drink
Chapter 162 Perilla Drink
Upon receiving an affirmative reply, Granny Song quickly bowed and said, "Yes. If Your Majesty has no other important instructions, this old servant will take my leave now and return to report to the Empress Dowager."
Seeing this, Su Nuannuan nodded gently, then turned to her maid Jinse and said, "Jinse, you escort Granny Song back for me."
"Yes."
"Your Highness, this old servant can go back by myself, how could I dare to trouble Miss Jinse?" Granny Song bowed slightly and said humbly.
"Oh dear, Granny Song, what are you saying?" Jinse smiled sweetly, took a few light steps forward, reached out and took Granny Song's arm, and said in a coquettish voice, "Let me take you back, otherwise, my lady will definitely worry." With that, she gently pulled Granny Song away.
"In that case, I'll have to trouble Miss Jinse." Seeing that she couldn't refuse, Granny Song could only nod helplessly and let Jinse help her out of the room.
As soon as the two left, Canglan Jingcheng ran excitedly to Su Nuannuan's side, tilted his head back, blinked his big eyes, and asked eagerly, "Mother, will we be able to see Father tomorrow?"
Su Nuannuan smiled slightly, gently patted Canglan Jingcheng's little head, and softly replied, "You might not see him tomorrow. Your father's summer palace is even farther than here. But don't worry, you'll be able to see your father the day after tomorrow."
"Yay! Yay! We can finally see Father Emperor!" Upon hearing this, Canglan Jingcheng danced with joy, and Canglan Jingyao beside him also jumped around happily, shouting, "We're going to see Father Emperor! We're going to see Father Emperor!"
Looking at the children before her, who were as happy as two little birds, Su Nuannuan couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness. Over the years, she had been trying every possible way to avoid the Emperor's favor.
But for the sake of the children, perhaps we can no longer keep avoiding the Emperor's favor and let him forget about them.
The next day, at dawn, the sky was already bright.
Dressed in a moon-white horse-face skirt, Su Nuannuan gracefully stepped onto the footboard in front of the carriage. She tilted her head slightly, gazing at the azure sky like a jewel, and couldn't help but sigh softly, "What a beautiful day!" A gentle breeze caressed her cheeks, lifting a few strands of hair, adding to her gentle and graceful appearance.
Along the way, the wheels rolled and the sound of horses' hooves echoed on both sides of the road, but the interior of the carriage remained quiet. Only the occasional chirping of birds outside the window broke the tranquility.
Time slipped by unnoticed, and before long it was noon. The blazing sun hung high overhead, illuminating the entire palace with a dazzling glow.
At this moment, the long convoy finally slowly entered the palace gate. Su Nuannuan alighted from the carriage, straightened her skirt, and then walked gracefully towards the Empress Dowager's location.
Soon, Su Nuannuan arrived in front of the Empress Dowager, while Granny Jin and Granny Ru carefully held the two sleeping children and stood to the side.
The Empress Dowager smiled at Su Nuannuan, her eyes full of affection, and said gently, "Consort Zhuang, you should take the children back to the palace and settle them in properly. The Emperor will not be back until tomorrow." After saying that, she turned to Granny Jin and Granny Ru and instructed them, "You two must take good care of the little prince and the little princess, and you must not be negligent in the slightest."
Su Nuannuan quickly curtsied and respectfully replied, "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. However, I would like to escort you back to your palace to rest first. Cheng'er and Yao'er can be taken back and settled by Granny Jin and Granny Ru." As she spoke, she stepped forward, intending to reach out and help the Empress Dowager.
However, the Empress Dowager gently waved her hand, politely declining Su Nuannuan's offer, and said in a gentle voice, "You have traveled a long way, taking care of two young children and enduring the hardships of the journey. It must have been very tiring for you. I have Granny Song to take care of me here, so there is no need to worry." After speaking, the Empress Dowager patted Su Nuannuan's hand affectionately to express her comfort.
Seeing the Empress Dowager's resolute stance, Su Nuannuan no longer insisted. She once again performed a full, standard bow to the Empress Dowager, then respectfully stepped aside. After the Empress Dowager boarded her sedan chair, Su Nuannuan turned and gestured for Granny Jin and Granny Ru to follow her. They each boarded one of the other three sedan chairs and headed towards Cuiwei Palace.
Normally, servants of Jin and Ru's status wouldn't be entitled to ride in sedan chairs. However, the situation was different; the two were tightly embracing their two young mistresses, who were already fast asleep. If they were to carry the two young mistresses all the way back to Cuiwei Palace on foot, those sedan chair-bearing eunuchs would be utterly inconsiderate.
After the group finally arrived at Cuiwei Palace, Su Nuannuan quickly instructed Granny Jin and Granny Ru to take the children back to their chambers and settle them in. Immediately afterward, Jinse, Yaoqin, and Tingxue sprang into action, methodically organizing and arranging various items. Zhixiang, as usual, expertly headed to the kitchen to prepare delicious food. As for Li Quan, he and his servants were busy with other tasks outside the palace.
As Yaoqin tidied up her things, she looked at the uniquely designed climbing frames in the courtyard and couldn't help but ask Su Nuannuan, "Your Highness, did you prepare these things in the courtyard for the two young princes?"
Su Nuannuan smiled and nodded, replying, "That's right. Last month, when Li Quan returned to the palace, he came specifically to handle this matter."
As Yaoqin gently and steadily placed the exquisite backflow incense burner on the antique shelf, she smiled and said, "Your Majesty is truly ingenious, your mind is full of wonderful ideas."
"What ingenious idea? It's just something for kids to play with." Su Nuannuan leaned lazily against the exquisite little couch, her beautiful eyes slightly raised as she looked at Yaoqin, who was busy running around, and said softly with a slight smile.
At this moment, Jinse, with a smile on her face, steadily carried a tray in both hands and slowly walked in. She first bowed to Su Nuannuan, and then said in a sweet voice, "Your Majesty, you are too modest." After saying that, Jinse carefully placed the tray on the small table next to her.
On the tray lay an exquisite porcelain bowl and a teapot, the teapot filled with fragrant perilla tea.
The perilla used to make the perilla drink was planted next to the vegetable garden in Cuiwei Palace. There were only two plants, but they grew extremely lushly. I returned just in time for the perilla to ripen, so I picked them and made this fragrant perilla drink.
Speaking of this perilla drink, Su Nuannuan had already taught her personal maid Zhixiang the detailed method of making it last summer.
The preparation method is very simple. First, you need to pick some fresh perilla leaves. Then, put these perilla leaves into an appropriate amount of salt water and let them soak quietly for about five minutes. The purpose of this step is to effectively remove any dust or small insect eggs that may be attached to the surface of the perilla leaves.
After completing the above steps, place the thoroughly cleaned perilla leaves into a ceramic pot (or a modern health pot). Then add a certain amount of dried tangerine peel and licorice root, and pour in water to start cooking. As time goes on and the heat is just right, the perilla leaves will gradually become soft and mushy. Use a strainer to remove the perilla leaves, licorice root, and dried tangerine peel, and the perilla drink is ready.
If you want the final product to have a more appealing color, you can also consider adding a little lemon juice to change its color.
Unfortunately, lemons could not be found in the Azure Kingdom, which is why the Perilla Drink in Su Nuannuan's hand was only a light pink color.
"Zhixiang, you're always so considerate?" Su Nuannuan smiled and gently picked up a cup of fragrant perilla drink, speaking softly.