Qin Yuan sighed.

The prescriptions on the soft silk were mostly for difficult and complicated diseases, and there was indeed a detoxifying incense prescription among them.

If it were her previous life, she would have learned it anyway, since the Chen family bloodline is nowhere to be found and she is the only one left.

But now...

Qin Yuan looked at the family genealogy displayed on the table.

The delicate, small seal script, clearly written by the mother, was marked with tiny characters next to each person's name.

The Chen family originated from Suzhou. The imperial court had a policy of sending southerners to the north and northerners to the south, so they were exiled to Ningguta, a harsh and cold place.

She had three maternal uncles, and her mother was the youngest. Because she was young and frail, she was often sent to a nunnery to eat vegetarian food. The old nun in the nunnery was an old friend of her maternal grandmother, so she escaped exile and grew up in the nunnery.

After growing up, my mother wanted to become a nun and pray for her parents and brothers in front of the Buddha so that they could return home soon. Later, she listened to the abbot's advice and married into the Qin family as a concubine, taking with her the valuables and medical books left by the Chen family.

The uncles must have sent messages to the capital.

My mother poured her longing into the family genealogy, carefully recording the birth and death dates of my eldest uncle. There was little record of my second uncle. My youngest uncle should have had a son, who was born in Ningguta. I wonder if he survived.

My grandfather died on the way to Ningguta, in the desolate wilderness.

Grandmother might still be alive.

Qin Yuan's fingers trembled slightly as she stroked the family tree. Now that she had seen the family tree, these incense recipes should, in principle, be left to her uncle's descendants.

But Yelü Xianyong was also saved.

After thinking for a while, she grabbed a few spices, placed them on the table, and began to grind and steam them.

Although she couldn't learn it, she had a photographic memory and had memorized all the incense recipes. Unconsciously, she also realized the difference in the way the two incense recipes were used.

Both are Chen family incense recipes.

One method is to subtly combine fragrance with medicinal properties, with fragrance acting as the principal ingredient and medicine as the secondary ingredient.

One of them, however, combines medicinal fragrances, blurring the lines between the principal and secondary ingredients to unleash the greatest medicinal properties.

Although it is not advisable to use the incense recipe on the soft silk, if you can make another incense recipe according to its method, it will not be as effective as the original recipe, but you can still get seven-tenths of the effect.

Once she figured it out, things moved quickly. By lunchtime, Qin Yuan had already prepared two kinds of spices, made them into incense balls, and put them into boxes. She then ordered someone to send them to Renhe Hall for Dr. Li to examine before she went to have lunch.

Lord Gu went to the camp and did not return, so Qin Yuan ordered Hongye and Cuiming to keep him company. The three of them ate and chatted.

Hongye said, "On Mid-Autumn Festival night, the city gates are usually opened wide so that the emperor can celebrate with the people without a curfew. Shall we go and touch the city gate nails?"

During folk festivals, touching the city gate nails is believed to grant all wishes.

Women pray for sons, and unmarried girls pray for ideal husbands.

Hongye didn't know what she was going to ask for, and Cuiming couldn't help but smile before saying, "Why don't we go admire the lanterns first? Shen Changle has set up a lot of novelties on the street of Ranxiangju, we should go and support him first. In case he has any questions, we can help him."

Hongye was easy to talk to: "It's alright. Everyone will be watching the lanterns, parading through the streets, touching the city gate nails, and crossing the long bridge until dawn before they disperse. Let's go to Ranxiangju to see the lanterns first. Didn't Shen Changle say that he and Manager Leng would work together to suppress Shuxiangge? I want to see how they plan to do it."

Qin Yuan said, "This year's lantern festival will definitely be more beautiful than in previous years. It's the Empress Dowager's birthday, and the Jingzhao Prefecture is trying to find ways to get merchants to decorate. The Five Cities Garrison has been busy with this for a long time. Sister Cheng has complained countless times that Deputy Commander Gu is so busy that his home has become like an inn. He leaves before the rooster crows and the dog is already snoring before he comes back."

The Emperor ordered the Privy Council to assign generals to patrol and guard the city to prevent any unforeseen events. Furthermore, given the dry weather and the presence of lanterns everywhere, it was even more important to prevent fires and thefts.

With the Mid-Autumn Festival drawing ever closer, the troops from the Five Cities Garrison, the Patrol Battalion, the Imperial Guards, and the Suburban Camps were all busy with drills, fearing that they might make a mistake on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival and be remembered by the Empress Dowager and the Emperor.

Even Lord Gu has been busy these past two days.

Dai's complaints were so funny that Hongye couldn't help but giggle.

Cuiming asked, "I wonder if Sister-in-law Cheng is used to staying in the guest room. It's not convenient for the two families to have the Mid-Autumn Festival family banquet together, and it might be too lonely if they just take care of everything in the guest room."

Hongye said, "There's nothing we can do about it. There's no reason to spend the Mid-Autumn Festival family banquet with others. Even Mr. Songshan will have to stay alone. Actually, it doesn't make much difference. On the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Master Cheng will definitely be on duty, and Mr. Songshan is in charge of receiving and sending messages for Feiyun Pavilion. He won't have any free time."

Qin Yuan put down her chopsticks and smiled, "Even on that day, I couldn't find the time. I had other plans and could only go through the motions. The old lady also said that the palace is holding a banquet, and the clan's ancestral worship and our own family's festival should be held on different days. We should just do what we have to do. As long as the sentiment is there, it doesn't matter if it's a day or two. Since neither of them are the actual days, it's not a bad idea to celebrate them together for good luck."

Hongye said, "If we want to live together, we can't avoid those twins."

Qin Yuan smiled but didn't say anything.

As for the twins, we'll just have to follow the Marquis's instructions.

The maidservant came in to clear away the dishes and cups. Hearing how happy they were talking, she smiled and said, "I remember someone said before that they would invite everyone to a feast for the Mid-Autumn Festival. I don't know if it still counts. We even discussed it in secret yesterday."

Hongye slapped her forehead, "I had forgotten about this if you hadn't mentioned it," and then pulled Cuiming aside to make a plan.

“Hongmian made a bet with that old woman to use her monthly allowance to treat us to a feast. It just so happens that we don’t have to go to the palace with the young lady that day, and all the young ladies in Wutong Garden will surely gather together to eat, drink, and have a good time. After we’re done eating and drinking, we can go see the lanterns and play all night before coming back. It’s worth it to have such a blast for one night a year.”

The young maid listened with great interest and couldn't help but interject, "Sisters, can we go out and play for one night too?"

Hongye said, "Of course not. We'll take turns. When you're all grown up, it will be your turn."

At least there was something to look forward to, so the little maid said, "Alright then, could you bring back some rare and interesting things when you go out to play?"

Cuiming smiled and said, "Whether it's food or toys, you should bring something back. Hurry up and pack your things and go downstairs, Madam is going to take a nap."

The young maid shrank her neck and quickly quickened her pace.

Qin Yuan asked Hongye, "You're still thinking about attending Hongmian's banquet. Could it be that you're planning to turn hostility into friendship?"

Hongye said seriously, "I'm afraid the grudge between her and me can't be resolved, otherwise anyone would dare to bully me. But this feast was promised to everyone, and I contributed to it, so why shouldn't I eat? If I can't eat because of her, won't all the girls and old women call me stingy? If she complains behind my back and stirs up trouble, or even takes someone else and leaves me to eat, then I have even less reason to do so. From now on, we'll each rely on our own abilities."

The implication is that they will still eat, but they will still remember the grudge, but they will not let it interfere with their master's important business.