Chapter 197 Old People and Old Place
After bidding farewell to Doctor Lin, Qingyi and Qingqing headed to the Northwest King's Pharmacy. This medicine farm wasn't located within the palace, but rather hidden in a quiet courtyard on the outskirts of Northwest King City.
In the courtyard, a carefully developed medicinal garden is like a paradise, where many rare and precious medicinal materials are planted in an orderly manner.
The main ingredients of the famous Feixia wine of the King of Northwest, which can also be called a unique secret recipe, are two rare and elusive medicinal herbs in this medicinal land.
One of the ingredients, called "Fei Zi," is harvested from the pistil of a special medicinal herb, requiring a meticulous harvesting process. The delicate, alluring blossoms must be carefully cut, and then the pistil removed from the flower. The pistil is then left to dry in the sun, and then finely ground before being used in brewing.
Another raw material is called "Luoxia." It grows in the soil. To avoid damaging its roots and affecting its normal growth next year, it must be picked with a small shovel, digging slowly and bit by bit. The whole process requires patience and is extremely laborious.
It is said that the unique recipe for brewing "Feixia" wine was brought by Princess Qing when she married into the Northwest Palace.
Qingyi and Qingqing walked on for about half an hour before finally arriving at the villa. Qingqing walked forward and knocked on the gate.
After a while, someone answered the door. It was a middle-aged man. Seeing it was Qingqing, he quickly said with a smile on his face, "Miss Qingqing, you're here."
"Well, hello, Uncle Zhang." Qingqing responded with a smile, and walked inside. Judging from his appearance, Qingqing might come here often and be very familiar with the people here.
"Auntie Hua." Qingqing saw a middle-aged woman walking out from inside, stopped, bowed and greeted her.
"Hello, Qingqing! It's been a while since I last saw you." Aunt Hua's voice was gentle and comforting. She was dressed in simple and decent clothes. Judging from her attire, she didn't look like the owner of the villa, nor did she look like a concubine of the King of the Northwest.
Seeing Qingqing being so polite to this person, Qingyi couldn't help but feel curious and secretly wondered who this Aunt Hua was.
"Yes, I went to the capital with the young prince a few days ago and stayed there for a while."
At this moment, the woman Qingqing called Auntie Hua, her eyes fell on Qingyi, who was standing beside Qingqing. Where did this handsome young man come from? Why did Qingqing bring him here? She smiled and asked, "Who is this young man?"
"This is..." Qingqing pondered how to introduce Qingyi. Although most people in the palace knew Qingyi's identity, Aunt Hua had been staying in this villa and was relatively isolated from the news, so she must not be aware. She couldn't just tell her that this was the young prince's sweetheart, could she?
"My name is Qing Yi, and I'm a friend of the young prince." Qing Yi took the initiative to step forward and introduced himself generously.
"Oh, so you are the young prince's friend. I'm so sorry!" Aunt Hua's face was full of warm smiles.
She secretly wondered, if he was the young prince's friend, why didn't he come with him, but instead was Qingqing accompanying him? Besides, why did he come to this villa?
"Aunt Hua, it was the prince who personally ordered us to come and pick the raw materials for making wine." Qingqing saw Aunt Hua's puzzled expression and hurriedly explained.
"..." Aunt Hua was even more puzzled after hearing this. Hadn't Doctor Lin always been responsible for these things in the past? Why would he let an outsider in this time? What's more, this outsider was a friend of the young prince?
"Aunt Hua, could you please help us prepare some tools for picking? I'll go over and teach Master Qingyi how to pick." Qingqing saw Aunt Hua's puzzled look and had to speak again.
"Okay, okay, I'll prepare it right away. You guys go wait in the medicine field first." Aunt Hua came back to her senses and immediately put on a friendly smile on her face.
"Thank you, Aunt Hua." He thanked her softly, then took Qing Yi to the medicinal garden in the backyard.
Qing Yi walked, looking around curiously. While this courtyard couldn't match the grandeur and opulence of the royal palace, it exuded a unique elegance and tranquility. Several rooms were scattered throughout the courtyard, complete with main halls and side halls, and the courtyard was filled with a variety of flowers and plants.
"Who is this person?" Qing Yi looked at the surrounding environment, curious about Aunt Hua's identity, and couldn't help but ask.
"Aunt Hua was originally Princess Qing's personal maid. After the princess passed away, the prince was grateful for Aunt Hua's careful care of the princess, so he decided to marry her to Uncle Zhang and ordered the couple to live here permanently and take care of this villa." He explained gently.
"Oh, this place is quiet and elegant. It's a good place to cultivate one's body and mind." Qing Yi looked around and exclaimed sincerely.
"Well, the prince is usually busy with affairs and doesn't come to this villa often. But the young prince likes to stay here for a few days whenever he has free time." Qingqing said, raising her hand and pointing to the distance, "Look, that's the young prince's bedroom. Let's go take a look when we're done."
"Go and take a look? There won't be maids here like in the palace in the capital, who won't let me, an outsider, in, right?" Qing Yi couldn't help but joked, remembering the time in the palace in the capital when he wanted to go to Xiaoye's bedroom but was stopped by Ruyi.
"Hey, you..." Qingqing rolled her eyes at him. This kid was really rude. However, after he mentioned that, Qingqing thought of Ruyi again. The tragic scene when Ruyi's sister died was like a thorn, deeply piercing her heart, lingering.
Sister Ruyi was not only stunningly beautiful, but also ingenious and skillful, with a gentle and charming personality. She was devoted to her master and meticulously cared for him. What woman wouldn't be drawn to a man as graceful as her master? But Sister Ruyi tragically died when she was closest to her beloved. Now, whenever she thinks of Sister Ruyi, she feels an indescribable sense of suffocation.
"Qingqing, what are you thinking about? You look so engrossed." Qing Yi looked at Qingqing, who had a dazed and lonely look on her face, and couldn't help but stretch out his hand and wave it in front of her eyes.
"Nothing!" Qingqing came back to her senses and looked at Qingyi and said, "There is no maid for the young prince here. Every time the young prince comes, the palace will send a maid to follow and take care of him."
"I see." Qing Yi nodded, his gaze turning to the vast medicinal field. He saw various medicinal herbs growing in an orderly manner in the field, which was quite large. He asked in confusion, "Then how do we get started?"
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