Su Hua was slightly stunned upon hearing this, and then carefully examined the withered flower for a while. "Judging from the flower stem and leaves, it should be a cat's face."
But cat-faced cat figurines are quite easy to care for, so why did they wither? And it seems they've been withered for many years.
"Princess Le'an has a good eye!" Granny Zhao's eyes were slightly red. "This pot is indeed Cat's Face. Not long after Miss left, Cat's Face withered as well."
The prince said that the flower had followed the young lady to her death.
Therefore, it has never been cleaned up, and it has been more than eighteen years and seven months now.
"The flowers go with the people?" Su Hua murmured.
Eighteen years is a long time; even grass and trees can turn to ash several times over, let alone the cat's face placed in the corner of this courtyard.
But if you look closely at the cat's face, although it has lost its vitality, it doesn't show any signs of decay.
Thinking of this, I couldn't help but wonder. Just as I was about to squat down and touch its flowers and leaves to find out what was going on, suddenly there was a gurgling sound!
A small reddish-yellow pebble rolled out from the bottom of the basin.
Su Hua paused, her gaze lingering on the small pebbles for a long while.
Then, I picked up the flowerpot. The bottom of the pot was hollow, and I could see that there were two or three pieces of gravel the size of pigeon eggs at the bottom. The piece of gravel the size of a fingernail in front of me had fallen out from one of them.
"Granny Zhao, may I ask where Aunt Yu obtained this flower?"
Granny Zhao wiped her red eyes, her face looking rather grim. "It was given to Miss by Consort Qu."
While cat-face flowers are common in Dayu, this pot of cat-face flowers is quite special. Each plant has seven different colors, and each of these seven colors has a unique face. Therefore, my daughter fell in love with it at first sight.
Because it was a gift from Consort Qu, and even though the Prince found it distasteful, he couldn't bear to throw it away and simply instructed the old servant to place it far away at the foot of the courtyard wall.
"Qu Feiqing, a gift from the Princess Consort of Zhan?" Su Hua frowned slightly.
Seeing her expression, Xiao Jinhan's eyes darkened.
Then I heard her say, "I've heard that cat-faced mushrooms have beautifying and skin-smoothing effects. I wonder if this pot of cat-faced mushrooms also has the same effect?"
“Yes.” Granny Zhao nodded, her expression softening. “My young lady likes this cat face. Firstly, because of its unique appearance, and secondly, because the balm made from this cat face makes her face as smooth as a peeled egg.”
Therefore, the young lady applied this balm almost every day during that period.
She stopped using it after discovering she was pregnant with the master's child.
Upon hearing this, Su Hua frowned even more deeply.
Xiao Jinhan's gaze remained fixed on the girl, and he asked hesitantly, "Hua'er, is there something wrong?"
"It's just strange that this withered cat face hasn't decayed in eighteen years, and this piece of gravel seems somewhat familiar." Su Hua shook her head, a thoughtful look flashing in her almond-shaped eyes.
She picked up a silk handkerchief, wrapped up the small pebbles, and turned to look at Granny Zhao.
"Does Granny still remember when Qu Feiqing gave this basin of cat-face porridge to your young lady?"
"I remember it was the day before Miss married Xiao Hongyu."
That day, several young ladies, along with the Princess of Yan and Consort Qu, came to the house to add to the young lady's dowry, and all praised her cat-like face as exceptionally beautiful.
Granny Zhao nodded and picked up Cat Face. "Moreover, this old servant has been puzzled all these years. Ordinary flowers and plants rot a few months after they wither, but Cat Face always looks like it has just withered."
Perhaps this cat's face is just unusual...
Before the words were finished, a furious roar suddenly rang out from the east side of the Prince's Mansion, "Tell Xiao Hongyu to get out of here! No member of the Xiao family or his dogs are ever allowed to enter the Prince Gong's Mansion, not even at the gate!"
The roar seemed to carry the wind and rain, shaking the entire palace three times.
Su Hua was stunned. Xiao Hongyu had returned to the capital?
I had heard Zichen mention it before. Xiao Hongyu has been guarding the Western Rong for years and has never returned home for holidays, not even for the Emperor's birthday.
Turning her head, she saw that the man beside her had no expression on his face, but instead raised an eyebrow at the cat-faced girl, "Granny, should I take this basin of cat-faced girl back to the General's Mansion first?"
“Of course, young master, please take whatever you need.” Granny Zhao nodded repeatedly.
The young master was born from the painstaking efforts of his mistress, and he could take away anything the mistress wanted, whether it was her flowers or anything else.
Because Xiao Hongyu suddenly came to the Prince's Mansion, Su Hua and her brother Yu Xiao left after having lunch.
Su Dahu, carrying the gift from Yu Xiao, returned to the county princess's residence first. As for Su Hua, she went to the general's residence with Xiao Jinhan to find Elder Xue.
Xiao Jinhan had his own house in the capital. After Xue Lao came to the capital, they moved into the Zhennan General's Mansion together. When the two of them found him, they found him huddled in the kitchen... stewing chicken.
"Girl, you're here?" The old man immediately tore off a large chicken leg and handed it to Su Hua as soon as he saw her. "Here, this is a freshly stewed chicken. Try it and see if you like it."
"Thank you, Elder Xue. We've already eaten." Su Hua looked at the large chicken leg, waved her hand, and smiled. "I wonder if Elder Xue is free now?"
"Don't even mention having time, I'm so bored I'm practically growing weeds." Old Xue sighed as he chewed on chicken. If it weren't for the fact that all of them, young and old, had come to the capital, he would have liked to stay in Shanghe Village forever.
Nowhere in Beijing is life as comfortable as in Shanghe Village!
When people get old, they just want to stay in a quiet place.
Su Hua smiled and unfolded the pebbles from the handkerchief. "Has Elder Xue ever seen these stones before?"
"Hmm?" Old Xue knew that he was not someone who spoke without reason. Seeing this, he put down the half chicken in his hand and wiped his hands haphazardly on his sleeves.
He picked up the brocade handkerchief and the broken stones and examined them carefully for a long time, even smelling them under his nose. "Some stones can be used in medicine, but I don't think I've ever seen this kind of stone before."
Where did you all come from?
“It’s the cat-shaped flowerpot that my mother loved most when she was alive.” Xiao Jinhan placed the flowerpot in front of him.
After a moment of silence, he added, "It was a gift from Consort Qu."
Old Man Xue, being shrewd and experienced, instantly understood the intricacies of the situation. "You mean there's something wrong with this cat-faced creature?"
Su Hua's almond-shaped eyes were deep. "The cat's face is not poisonous, but it has not decayed for eighteen years after it withers. That is really too strange."
The stones at the bottom of this flowerpot look somewhat like thallium ore.
"Thallium ore? What is that?" Old Xue scratched his messy hair. He knew about mica, gold-bearing stone, talc, and actinolite, but what was thallium?
Xiao Jinhan didn't speak again, but clenched his fists in his wide sleeves.
“I learned about this thallium ore by chance from a book.” Su Hua pursed her lips. “It is relatively rare and often occurs together with cinnabar and realgar. Therefore, when people are stained by these two, their bodies are often stained with a beautiful and colorful red and yellow color.”
Moreover, its toxicity is considerable.
Ingestion or skin contact can cause poisoning. In the early stages, it can cause blurred vision and weakness. Over time, it can seep into the heart and lungs and enter the bloodstream, becoming incurable by medicine.
However, whether it is indeed thallium ore or not, I still need Elder Xue's help to refine it.
"No problem." Old Xue nodded. "I have the bag, but it will take some time."
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