The aroma of zongzi fills the kitchen. The fragrance of mugwort permeates the entire house. Peach branches adorn the gate, and beyond, the wheat fields are golden.
The Dragon Boat Festival has arrived, and the Fourth Prince, having a half-day of leisure, went to the palace early in the morning and was busy for half a day. At noon, he was granted permission by Emperor Kangxi to return home.
He's been busy for about ten days now, and hasn't even set foot in the backyard. He's only sent a few messages to Lanqin and the Fujin.
When Consort Li learned that Lanqin had also caught the Fourth Prince's eye, she was extremely upset and angrily smashed a teacup in her own courtyard. However, since the Fourth Prince didn't come to her, there was nothing she could do, no matter how upset she was.
"Master, judging from the noise at the gatehouse, the master has returned. Today is the Dragon Boat Festival. Will there be a family banquet at the Fujin's place as in previous years?" Xiangqiao ordered the maid to clean up the teacups that had fallen on the ground and helped Li Shi sit down.
"Even if I saw Fourth Master, what difference would it make? That vixen isn't here. He's only thinking about her now." Since Fourth Master returned from the estate, Madam Li hasn't seen him. Only Third Prince comes back to stay with her every five days for one night, and goes to the front yard early the next morning.
“Now that Lady Niu is clearly favored, even her mother has come in twice. Your Highness, why don’t we take advantage of this Dragon Boat Festival to visit the Fujin and the other princesses and express our feelings? In this inner quarters, it’s not just you who’s unhappy with her, do you think everyone else is happy?” Xiangqiao held up the Imperial Concubine’s fragrant fan and slowly waved it behind Li Shi.
When their master was favored, these maids held considerable influence in the household, always trying to curry favor. Now, when she went to ask for today's ice, that damned eunuch Fei Yong turned her away, saying that the master hadn't used it yet, and the princess hadn't given any instructions; the ice was still stored and would only be distributed after those two gave their orders. In the past, the master's ice would arrive well in advance for the Dragon Boat Festival. Even if the princess was unhappy, no one dared to gossip as long as the master didn't speak.
"Hmph, I'm not going to fawn over her! Niu Shi is the only favored concubine; she's probably more worried than I am. That girl is only thirteen or fourteen; if she gives birth to several more, she won't be able to sit still." Li Shi had long been at odds with the Fujin (the wife of the second prince), maintaining only basic courtesy in public, but privately considering her a mortal enemy. Moreover, the young death of her second prince was definitely related to that woman. Although Li Shi hadn't found any conclusive evidence yet, her woman's intuition told her that the second prince's death was definitely caused. A child less than a year old is extremely delicate; if the window wasn't closed properly, he would catch a cold, get sick, and have a fever—and his little life would be gone just like that.
Just then, a eunuch from the Fujin's quarters relayed a message: "Tonight, the master and the Fujin are hosting a Dragon Boat Festival family banquet in the main courtyard. All the masters and princesses, as well as the princes and princesses, are invited to attend."
When the news reached the South Courtyard, Lanqin and Nianxue were inserting mugwort leaves into the doorknobs of various parts of the courtyard, while Granny Wang was preparing the ingredients for making zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) that Lanqin had instructed her to do earlier that morning.
“Princess, the kitchen will prepare these zongzi, why bother with all this trouble?” Huanbi couldn’t help but say.
“You don’t understand. The princess was just trying to show her affection. Didn’t we just say that the princess is going to hold a family banquet for the Dragon Boat Festival? Our princess cooked her own zongzi and sent them over, which is a way of helping out. Besides, it’s also a way for the princess to show goodwill to the other ladies and mistresses. Didn’t the old lady just come by?” Xicha said while inserting mugwort leaves.
"You're getting smarter and smarter," Lanqin said with a smile, glancing at Xicha. Actually, Lanqin was just craving some and, since she had nothing else to do, she thought she might as well make some zongzi to celebrate the occasion. She also knew that Xicha was right, and if it really worked, she wouldn't mind.
Okay, is this sister vying for favor? Anyway, the Fourth Prince has been so busy these days that he probably isn't eating well in the palace. I'll make some zongzi and send them to him so that even if he comes back in the evening, he can have something to eat first.
"You guys wrap them with me later, and I'll teach you what a 'one-bite zongzi' is!" Lanqin came to the doghouse, opened the door, and Fubao immediately jumped into her arms, licking her face and mouth with his tongue.
"What is a 'one-bite zongzi'?" Zi Ran asked.
"They're just bite-sized, nothing fancy, just little rice dumplings. Let's prepare more fillings, make them as varied as possible, with a wide range of flavors." Lanqin noticed that Fourth Master preferred sweet flavors, but also liked the bitter taste of preserved eggs and didn't particularly like greasy or meaty flavors, so she asked Granny Wang to have Niu Baoquan prepare more than ten kinds of fillings.
"In my hometown, we have both savory and sweet rice dumplings, but they're all this big," Huanbi gestured, noting that they were about the size of a steamed bun.
"Is your hometown in Jiangsu or Zhejiang?" Lanqin sat on the swing, spread her legs, and let Fubao crawl between them.
"This servant is from Xiuzhou. What is 'Jiangzhe'?" Huanbi naturally did not know what "Jiangzhe" was.
"I guess it's from that area too." Lanqin bent down, picked up Fubao, and started swinging him on the swing.
"Princess, everything is ready. Shall we start wrapping now?" Granny Wang came out of the room and said to Lanqin.
"Open the wrapping!" Lanqin gave the order, and several people in the courtyard took out small stools and sat around in the courtyard to start wrapping zongzi.
In an instant, the small courtyard was filled with the lively atmosphere of the Dragon Boat Festival. Lanqin sat with them and started making dumplings. She remembered the times her mother took her to her maternal grandmother's house when she was little. Her grandmother was from Jiaxing and was especially good at making zongzi (sticky rice dumplings). To accommodate Lin Mengyao, she specially made the zongzi small so that she could hold them in her hand to eat. There were all kinds: sweet dates, red beans, red bean paste, mung beans, egg yolk, lotus seed paste, eight-treasure filling, candied fruit, fresh meat, and even durian. Every time, Lin Mengyao would happily eat her fill.
"Wow, so many bamboo leaves and glutinous rice, how many are we going to wrap?" Huanbi said with a smile.
“You won’t mind eating more when the time comes, Princess. Why don’t you go inside and rest for a while? We’ll wrap them up. I’ll go and call Old Niu and his apprentice over as well,” Nianxue said, glancing at Huanbi.
“It’s alright, I like cooking with everyone. We’re not calling for Old Niu anymore. He’s getting old, and he still has to cook for so many people in this courtyard every day. Let them rest.” Lanqin has grown fond of this fifty-something-year-old man because Niu Baoquan can now cook her meals three times better than she wants.
It was already late afternoon, and the zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) were all wrapped. Granny Wang and Uncle Li had already carried a large bucket of zongzi to the kitchen to cook them. The kitchen in this south courtyard was specially renovated by the Fourth Master and was located next to the storeroom at the corner of the gatehouse.
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