Chapter 41: Old Man Ten's Salted Fish Business
The Imperial Garden is a beautiful place. Although it is already the beginning of winter and the lush ancient trees and abundant flowers of summer are gone, there are still many attractions to enjoy, and delightful surprises can be found everywhere.
Even without going far, once you enter the Imperial Garden, the pebble paintings paved on the paths under your feet are worth stopping to admire and appreciate. It truly is a scene at every step.
Wearing a bell-shaped cloak, looking like a round dumpling from afar, Yinzhen walked around a rectangular, brightly colored pebble painting with his short legs, carefully examining the pattern on the pebble painting.
After a moment, Yinzhen recognized the pattern in the painting and cheered, exclaiming in his childish voice, "It's a little pig!"
Because his zodiac sign was pig, elements related to the pig were indispensable in Yin Tang's daily life after his birth.
The only time Yin'e visited Yikun Palace, the two of them slept soundly, their heads touching, on the pig plush toy, enjoying a long afternoon nap.
He chuckled, his tender, childlike voice filled with joy.
Looking up at Yin'e and the Imperial Concubine not far away, Yin Tang's face lit up with a bright smile, and he waved his hand like a kitten beckoning: "Tenth Brother, come and see, this painting is of a little pig."
With a crisp reply, Yin'e looked at the pebble painting at his feet: "This is a puppy, and the one next to it is a chicken."
Yin'e and Yin'tang were standing very close to each other, looking at two adjacent stone paintings.
Although he hadn't seen all nine paintings yet, Yin'e had already guessed that the pebble paintings paving the passageway were patterns of the twelve zodiac animals.
"Really? Is that a puppy over there?" Yinzhen's eyes lit up, and he rushed over like a little cannonball.
It was the beginning of winter, and Yinzhen was already dressed in thick clothes. With the round cloak covering him on the outside, when he ran, for a moment people had the illusion that they saw a round glutinous rice ball rolling over.
The pebble paintings paving the passageway are carefully inlaid with brightly colored pebbles. The patterns in the pebble paintings are exquisite and realistic, lifelike, and vividly and lively, leaping off the "stones".
Just like opening a blind box, every step on the pebble path in the Imperial Garden reveals a different pattern, with no repetitions and always a surprise ahead.
But in reality, not many people pay attention to the pebble paths in the Imperial Garden; they are usually quiet and deserted.
The palace servants responsible for pruning branches and sweeping fallen leaves in the garden are busy coming and going in the Imperial Garden every day. They have long lost interest in appreciating the scenery and just want to finish their work as soon as possible and go back to rest.
The ladies of the palace certainly have the leisure to indulge in such pleasures. But there are plenty of beautiful and interesting sights in the Imperial Garden; why do they insist on looking at the stones beneath their feet? They're not glued to their phones.
Tall adults might easily overlook the scenery at their feet, but for the short children Yin'e and Yin'tang, the first thing they would notice when they looked down was the brightly colored and lifelike pebble painting.
After all, they were both really too short.
Even though the Imperial Garden is filled with pavilions, towers, and ancient trees, given the height of Yin'e and Yin'tang, they would have to crane their necks and lean back until they were almost falling over to see the entire garden.
Beside the passageway paved with the patterns of the twelve zodiac animals, there is a cobblestone path that can only accommodate one person at a time.
This path is not for people to walk on, but is a health-preserving tool. Its purpose is to massage the soles of the feet, stimulate acupoints, soothe the meridians, and promote health and wellness.
The pebbles used to pave the cobblestone road were specially selected; they were smooth and of the right size.
On a winter morning, the pale golden sunlight poured down, warmly kissing the cobblestone path in the Imperial Garden, baking the pebbles until they felt warm underfoot, not cold at all.
The imperial concubine removed her flowerpot-soled shoes and put on embroidered shoes with thin soles, stepping onto the warm cobblestone path.
Lanzhi and Luyi each supported the Imperial Concubine, preventing her from slipping and falling on the cobblestone path. Moreover, since it was the Imperial Concubine's first time walking on cobblestones, they could stop immediately if she couldn't bear the pain and continue massaging her feet once she recovered.
However, the Imperial Concubine has already planned to build a new cobblestone path in the small garden of Yongshou Palace, and does not intend to come to the Imperial Garden every day.
Winter has begun, and the weather will only get colder. Once it snows, going out will be even more inconvenient. Although the Yongshou Palace's small garden isn't large and its scenery isn't as beautiful as the Imperial Garden, it's still fine to take a stroll around it.
Yin'e and Yin'tang were still young and not yet old enough to walk on cobblestones or receive foot massages.
Aside from supervising the Imperial Concubine's walks, Yin'e, being too short to support her, couldn't offer much help.
He moved around within a circle with the Imperial Concubine as the center and a radius of three meters, occasionally exchanging a few words with her, sharing his first impressions of the Imperial Garden, and also diverting her attention so that she wouldn't focus too much on the pain of foot massage on the pebbles.
Yinzhen didn't go far either, running around in the vicinity wrapped in a small cloak, frolicking everywhere.
He would glance at the pebbles at his feet, then pick flowers and pull weeds, then scare away the birds that flew down to forage. He was causing trouble everywhere in the Imperial Garden, never stopping for a moment, his energy seemingly inexhaustible.
As for Yin'e, although he had come to the Imperial Garden to play for the first time today, he just followed the Consort slowly, still so lazy, without any of the usual vitality of a child.
As the weather grew colder, even though the palace servants in the Imperial Garden took meticulous care of the flowers, extending the blooming period of some autumn flowers into early winter, the remaining blossoms stood trembling on the branches, shivering in the chilly north wind, as if they might fall from the branches at any moment.
Especially today, with that little devil Yinzhen running wild in the Imperial Garden, the already scarce exotic flowers and plants in the garden have suffered even more under his ruthless hand. Broken branches and leaves are scattered all over the ground, making the palace servants who sweep the Imperial Garden work even harder.
The Imperial Garden is cleaned daily by palace servants. Fallen petals, leaves, and branches are quickly cleaned up, leaving nothing to spoil the tidy environment or offend the masters.
Those withered leaves and dry branches are one thing, but those fresh flowers are a real pity. After falling from the branches, they will only be swept away as garbage, without even having the chance to be crushed into mud to protect the flowers. Those are all famous flowers that can enter the Imperial Garden!
Looking at those flowers that were nearing their end but still remained beautiful and vibrant, Yin E felt a sharp pain in his heart, like the pain of seeing money on the ground but being unable to pick it up.
It hurts, it hurts so much!
So, can those flowers that are about to wither be reused?
What can flower petals be used for again? Scratching his head, Yin'e rested his chubby chin on his little hand and pondered deeply.
A moment later, several dishes made with flower petals came to mind: flower cakes, flower and fruit tea, and flower jam.
Um... why is it all food? There are so many flowers, we can't possibly eat them all.
Shaking his head, Yin'e decided to think about it again.
After racking his brains for a long time, Yin'e finally remembered several other uses for flower petals: sachets, floral mud masks, essential oils, flower petal bookmarks—well, if they weren't used as the main ingredient but just as an additive, there would be many more things that could be made from them.
Flower petals can be added to rouge, face powder, perfumed balm, soap, and even winter skincare products like face cream and hand cream.
Adding flower petals doesn't affect the final product's effectiveness; it just adds a pleasant fragrance and makes it look more upscale. If it were to be sold, the petal-filled version might fetch a higher price.
Forget about cosmetics; Yin'e isn't interested in them for the time being. But face cream and hand cream for winter skincare are exactly what he needs right now.
As the saying goes, "the coldest days are during the third nine-day period of winter," and we are only in the first nine-day period after the winter solstice. The first snow of the year has not yet fallen, but the temperature in Beijing is already very low.
Don't be fooled by today's bright, sunny day. The howling winds outside a few nights ago were terrifying, and it's hard to imagine how cold the coming coldest days will be.
Moreover, Beijing is located in the north, where the air is very dry. The howling north wind in winter not only carries away the moisture in the air, but also makes people's faces chapped and their hands cracked and broken.
He glanced left at the Imperial Concubine walking on the cobblestone path, then right at Yinzhen, who was playing with cats and dogs everywhere. Yin'e realized that among them, Yinzhen was the one who went out the most and spent the most time outdoors.
Needless to say, if he didn't have to attend the banquet, he wouldn't go to Cining Palace to see the Fifth Prince. Instead, he would stay in the warm pavilion of Yongshou Palace with its burning silver charcoal all day long and would never go out.
The Imperial Concubine had no reason to go out. She did not vie for the Emperor's favor—Kangxi was not in the palace during his southern tour; she also had no palace affairs to attend to—the Imperial Concubine Tong was not bedridden this year, so she handled all the palace affairs without assigning them to the Imperial Concubine or the four Consorts Hui, Rong, Yi, and De.
On the contrary, Yinzhen went out twice a day without fail, traveling between Yikun Palace and Yongshou Palace once in the morning and once in the evening.
He ran towards Yin Tang with a clattering sound. Yin E grabbed Yin Tang's little hand and examined it carefully, but saw no signs of chapped skin. He then cupped Yin Tang's delicate and handsome face and examined it again, but found no signs of wind chapped skin on his tender face.
"Tenth Brother, what are you doing?" Suddenly, Yinzhen's face was cupped in his hands, and he froze on the spot, not daring to move. He looked completely bewildered, his little expression extremely blank.
Yin'e lowered his hand thoughtfully, realizing he had approached the wrong person.
Although Yinzhen went out more often than him and the Imperial Concubine, he actually didn't spend much time outdoors.
When he came to Yongshou Palace and returned to Yikun Palace, he always wore a hood and a cloak. When he was held in his wet nurse's arms, he could bury his face in her arms and not feel any wind at all, so there was no question of his face getting chapped.
However, this does not mean that face cream and hand cream are useless.
Then, until the first snow of winter fell, Yin'e would accompany the Consort for a walk in the Imperial Garden. Only after it snowed and became inconvenient to go out would they settle for strolling around the small garden of Yongshou Palace.
Since we'll be going out more often and spending more time outdoors in the future, it's essential to make some preparations in advance.
Yin'e had seen the Imperial Concubine use oatmeal, the same kind of fragrant honey that Baoyu used to apply to his face in Dream of the Red Chamber. However, the main function of oatmeal is to make the skin white and smooth, and it probably doesn't have much of a skincare effect.
Since he remembered face cream and hand cream, let's give it a try. We can also try making rouge, face powder, perfumed balms, and soaps; not only can we use them ourselves, but we can also sell them.
Looking at the bewildered Yinzhen, Yin'e chuckled: Look, here's a tender leek with great potential.
Yinzhen is the future cash cow for the Eighth Prince's faction. Now that he's delivered himself to their doorstep, what reason does he have not to try and undermine the Eighth Prince?
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Author's note: Yin E: The best way to make money is to find someone who knows how to do business to do business for me.
Yin Tang: ? Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2023-03-02 23:47:17 and 2023-03-03 10:32:08!
Thank you to the little angel who watered the nutrient solution: Fish Hugs Cat (5 bottles);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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