Chapter Twenty-Five
After finishing her breakfast, Gu Leyao went back to her room to continue studying.
The last time we studied the "Huangdi Neijing" (Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic), we had already reached the second half. Right now, Gu Leyao was holding the medical book and asking the doctor in the manor, "What does this sentence in the book, 'The sage does not treat illness that has already manifested, but rather prevents illness before it manifests; he does not quell chaos that has already occurred, but rather prevents chaos before it occurs,' mean? I don't quite understand it."
"There is a saying in the Treatise on Febrile and Miscellaneous Diseases: 'The superior physician treats disease before it manifests.' What does this mean? Treating disease before it manifests means that when a liver disease is observed, it is known that the liver will transmit the disease to the spleen, so the spleen should be strengthened first. This is similar to the saying in the Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic. Both say that the human body is an integrated whole, and to diagnose a disease, one must pay attention to the connections between the five internal organs and six bowels, and not just focus on treating the disease itself." [1]
The old doctor stroked his beard and carefully explained things to Gu Leyao. Logically, he could have explained it to Gu Leyao in less detail.
As a teacher, one would usually only teach without reservation when instructing one's own son. However, Gu Leyao's status was different. She was a first-rank princess consort and wouldn't take away his job. She invited him to teach every day and even gave him extra money and served him good food and drink. Naturally, the old doctor would teach her everything he knew.
Gu Leyao studied for another morning. She planned to start treating patients in the Prince's mansion after a few days. But studying alone wasn't enough.
As the old saying goes, practice makes perfect; only by actually treating patients can one improve one's medical skills.
Before she knew it, it was noon. Gu Leyao had given instructions in the morning to have the cook buy more than ten fresh free-range chickens from the market and dismantle them, classifying them into chicken heads, chicken wings, chicken legs, chicken collarbones, chicken frames, etc.
Soak the prepared chicken legs and wings in water to remove the blood, then drain them. Add pepper, minced scallions, ginger, garlic, and a little sugar to remove the fishy smell and enhance the aroma. Add a little milk to increase the tenderness of the chicken. Finally, marinate in a cool place for an hour.
At noon, Gu Leyao first instructed the cook to prepare the meal, while she directed the cooking from the side.
The cook coated the marinated chicken with a thin layer of flour and five-spice powder, put cold oil in a pot and heated it over high heat. When the oil was hot enough, she put in the marinated chicken.
The moment the chicken leg is placed in the oil, it will turn from white to yellow after being coated with frying powder. Fry for five minutes until the outer shell of the fried chicken turns golden brown, then it can be taken out.
After all the chicken is fried, it needs to be fried again to remove excess oil. The double-fried chicken will also be crispier.
Gu Leyao also asked Chun Tao to fetch some tea leaves. She didn't need the best tea leaves, just some medium-quality green tea. She added some dried jasmine buds, milk, and honey, and boiled them together. Finally, she removed the tea leaves and jasmine buds, leaving only the fragrant and warm jasmine milk tea.
Gu Leyao also had a bowl of French fries made and an extra large pot of tomato sauce cooked.
Ancient tomato sauce certainly can't compare to the taste of modern sauce, but it contains no preservatives, so it's safe to eat.
When it was lunchtime, the young prince and Li Heng both came over.
The young prince must have studied all morning, because he looked dejected and listless.
Gu Leyao, unusually resonant, took a golden-brown, crispy French fry, dipped it in some sweet and sour tomato sauce, and offered it to the little prince's mouth.
The little prince unconsciously took a bite of the fries near his mouth, chewed them, and felt his energy gradually returning.
Li Heng glanced at the young crown prince, then at Gu Leyao, his lips pressed into a straight line.
Gu Leyao took a French fry, dipped it in ketchup, and brought it to his lips. Li Heng ignored everyone else and silently savored the French fry in his mouth.
Gu Leyao took two soft pancakes that the cook had prepared in advance, placed a golden and crispy fried chicken leg in the middle, added two fresh leafy greens, and wrapped the burger in an oil paper bag to prevent her fingers from getting oily.
The little prince ran to Gu Leyao's side with a "ding-dong," saying, "My royal aunt is the best; she loves Chong'er the most."
Gu Leyao handed him the Chinese-style hamburger to try. The little prince took a bite and his eyes widened. How could the crispy, golden fried chicken cutlet with fresh leafy green vegetables be so delicious?
The little prince remembered the tomato sauce from earlier, so he took another spoon, spread some more tomato sauce on it, took another bite, and exclaimed how delicious it was!
This tomato sauce is the best!
The little prince chewed heartily, like a chipmunk stuffing its mouth full. Indeed, babies who eat their food attentively are the cutest!
Gu Leyao couldn't help but smile. While the little prince was enjoying his meal, she also made a hamburger for Li Heng and gave him an extra bowl of milk tea. "Try it."
Li Heng first took a sip of the warm milk tea. The aroma of jasmine and tea combined with fresh milk and honey created a smooth and delicious taste.
Gu Leyao made a lot of fried chicken today, but she only left some for the young prince and Li Heng, and distributed the rest to the servants of the Prince's mansion.
Gu Leyao told them to eat quickly, otherwise the fried chicken wouldn't be crispy.
Chicken will develop a fishy smell when it cools down, unlike the caramelized aroma it has when it's freshly cooked.
The young prince ate his hamburger with gusto, drinking milk tea when he was thirsty, and said to Li Heng, "Uncle, Uncle, you are so lucky. You must have accumulated eight lifetimes of good fortune to find your wife, Aunt."
The reason the young prince said this was because the empress was always angered by the emperor and him. When the empress was angry, she would say things like, "I must have had eight lifetimes of bad luck to marry you," or "I must have had eight lifetimes of bad luck to give birth to such a scoundrel as you."
When the young prince used this phrase himself, he made a slight modification.
Li Heng showed no outward reaction, and even told the young prince not to say such useless things.
The young prince was a little disappointed. When he used sweet words in the palace, his father would be lenient with him. Why didn't this trick work on his uncle?
But on the way back, Li Heng told the young prince, "You only need to study for two hours this afternoon."
The little prince narrowed his eyes. They had to study for three hours straight that afternoon! It really was useful to praise people. He was going to become a praise maniac from now on.
The young prince silently made a big decision in his heart!
Chun Tao was absolutely blown away by the fried chicken.
She was only thirteen years old, which in modern terms would be a middle school girl, so of course she liked to eat fried food.
Chun Tao specially reserved four pieces of fried chicken: a fried chicken leg, a fried chicken wing, a serving of fried chicken strips, and a hamburger.
Chuntao wrapped it in oiled paper and secretly gave the oiled paper package to the butler.
The butler was so moved that he burst into tears, repeatedly saying, "It's so delicious, so delicious!"
In the afternoon, Li Chong studied with Li Heng. Li Heng had received a strict education as a prince in the palace, and teaching a five-year-old like Li Chong was more than enough. But Li Chong, whether from eating too much or something else, was so sleepy that he kept shaking his head all afternoon.
Li Heng was angry and made him stand against the wall as punishment.
Meanwhile, in Gu Leyao's courtyard, the steward brought in a batch of new fur fabrics and said to Gu Leyao, "This year, the manor has acquired a new batch of rabbit fur. Your Highness, take a look, it's all smooth and glossy white fur."
Rabbit fur is rarely pure white; it's usually a mix of gray and brown. This year, we were exceptionally lucky to have collected a batch of pure white rabbit fur.
Gu Leyao gently stroked it, feeling the warm, soft, and adorable rabbit fur.
Gu Leyao thought that the young prince might stay at the palace for a while, and since the weather had been noticeably cold lately, she might as well make him a rabbit fur hat.
However, since we're talking about making hats, we'll probably need to measure the child's head circumference.
There's clearly a lot of rabbit fur here. Since we're making hats for the young prince, we should also make some for the prince. Gu Leyao herself wants to make one too.
Having made a rough plan in mind, Gu Leyao took Chun Tao and the embroiderers from the manor to Li Heng's courtyard.
When she arrived, the young prince was standing against the wall as punishment, holding a book.
Li Heng, meanwhile, was holding a book, leaning against a heater, and sipping hot milk tea, thoroughly enjoying himself.
The young prince was originally just standing listlessly with his book as punishment, but as soon as he saw Gu Leyao arrive, he ran over to her and complained like a pitiful little dog, "Auntie, Uncle bullied me."
Li Heng didn't even look up. He picked up a hazelnut from the coffee table, flicked his fingers, and launched it precisely.
A hazelnut hit the little prince on the head, and he immediately let out a howl.
"Who hit me? Who hit me? Waaaaaah!"
The young prince looked around, trying to find the person who had hit him.
"Qingxi, Qingxi, who hit me?"
Qingxi forced a smile, a few beads of sweat glistening on his chubby face. "Your Highness, I really don't know!"
Another hazelnut hit the young prince on the head.
"Wow, it's you, Imperial Uncle!"
Li Heng finally looked up from his book, his face cold and stern. "You didn't study properly all afternoon. One minute you were thinking about teasing cats and dogs, the next you were thinking about eating, drinking, and having fun. I think you're something else!"
The little prince didn't care about what he said, and just tugged at Gu Leyao's clothes and acted coquettishly, "Auntie, Auntie, Uncle hit me in front of you!"
Gu Leyao knew that children shouldn't be spoiled too much. Five- or six-year-old children can be naughty like kittens at times, and cute and affectionate like puppies at others. They can be like cats or dogs in different ways.
"Your studies are your uncle's responsibility; I won't interfere. But you can rest for a while now. I'm planning to have a rabbit fur hat made for you; we need to have someone take your measurements today."
The embroiderer from the manor stepped forward and carefully measured the little prince's head circumference and hand size with a cloth ruler. The little prince was like a little wooden puppet, being manipulated by the embroiderer.
Gu Leyao said to Li Heng, "I'll make you a rabbit fur hat and a rabbit fur knee pad, and a rabbit fur hat and a rabbit fur glove for Chong'er. As for myself, I plan to have the embroiderer make me a rabbit fur scarf. Hmm... if there's any fabric left, I'll also make a rabbit fur scarf for Chun Tao. What do you think?"
Li Heng had nothing else to say, only gently telling Gu Leyao, "If you don't have enough fur, I'll have someone search for more to buy. Just use it."
While the embroiderer was taking the young prince's measurements and no one was paying attention to them, Gu Leyao quietly whispered in Li Heng's ear, "I still think you look better when you have a cold face."
Li Heng's cold and stern expression froze for a moment, but a faint blush crept onto the tips of his ears.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
