A strange smell wafted through the west wing of the Prince's Mansion, like coptis root mixed with sour plum juice, so intoxicating that even passing sparrows flew around. Shen Weiwan squatted on the bluestone slab of the pharmacy, a dozen small white porcelain jars in front of her. She was using a silver hairpin to drip a brownish-yellow liquid onto paper. Keng Keng lay sprawled on a low table nearby, his chubby little hand clutching a piece of osmanthus cake, his eyes fixed on his mother.
"Mom, what is this?" He leaned over and sniffed it, his little nose wrinkled. "It tastes so bitter!"
"This is called 'Lotus Flower Powder'." Chen Weiwan sprinkled ground tangerine peel into the jar without even looking up, "It's specially used to deal with those gossipy women who talk bad about people behind their backs." She heard last week that a noble lady was gossiping, saying that she had corrupted Kenken, and she was so angry that she looked up the prescription overnight.
He nodded, not quite understanding, and grabbed the wooden spoon beside him to scoop up some food: "Mom, let me try it!"
"Wait!" Shen Weiwan held his hand, "This medicine hasn't been tried yet. What if it's poisonous?" She blinked and handed the spoon to Pit Pit, "Son, can you help me try it to see if it's poisonous?"
He looked at the brown liquid in the spoon and hesitated for a moment: "Is there any sugar in it after trying it?"
"Of course!" Shen Weiwan took out a piece of rock candy from her sleeve pocket, "As long as you taste it, this candy will be yours."
He immediately opened his mouth and licked the liquid in the spoon. The next second, he abruptly spat out the spoon, his face wrinkled like a bitter melon: "Pah! Pah! Pah! So bitter! Even more bitter than Father's face!"
"More bitter than my face?" Xiao Yu just stepped into the door and touched his face when he heard it. "Am I that bitter?"
Shen Weiwan laughed so hard that she fell backwards. She wiped Kengkeng's mouth with a handkerchief and said, "Did you hear that, Your Highness? In my son's eyes, your face is a bitter melon." She looked at Kengkeng, whose eyes were filled with tears because of the bitterness, and nodded with satisfaction. "This bitterness is strong enough. Next time, I will use this to deal with the daughter of Minister Liu and let her taste the taste of talking nonsense."
Xiao Yu shuddered, thinking of Liu Qianjin's mean face, and couldn't help but agree: "We should be a little ruthless when dealing with her. But wife, can you please not use our son to test the medicine?"
"This is called practice makes perfect!" Shen Weiwan sealed the medicine jar, "Thinking back to when I was tricked by Liu, who felt sorry for me?" She poked the pitted little chubby face, "Son, in the future, when you meet someone with bad intentions, use the method your mother taught you to deal with them, understand?"
Still savoring the bitter taste, Kengkeng mumbled, "I know, mother. Pour bitter water over them!"
As she was speaking, Chuntao came in with a bowl of honey water. "Young Master, rinse your mouth quickly. Madam, the Queen Mother sent some fresh fruit from the south." She looked at the medicine jar on the table and muttered softly, "What treasure is Madam working on now? The itching powder from last time hasn't been used up yet."
"It's almost there," Chen Weiwan waved her hand, "Once this 'lotus spitting' is successful, all the gossips in the capital will be afraid of us."
Xiao Yu shook his head helplessly, picked up the medicine jar on the table and sniffed it, then immediately frowned: "This smell is even worse than the aged Pu'er tea in my study."
"That's right!" Shen Weiwan raised her eyebrows proudly, "I specially added three times the amount of coptis root to ensure that it would be bitter to the core as soon as it entered their mouths, so that they would never dare to talk nonsense again."
After rinsing his mouth, Kengkeng held up his empty bowl and shouted, "Mom, I want more candy!"
"That's all," Shen Weiwan scratched his nose, "If you eat any more, your teeth will break. Go, go play with your dad, mom is going to research new medicine."
Xiao Yu picked up Kenkeng and deliberately put on a stern face: "Did you hear that? Your mother is trying to trick us again. Let's stay away from her."
But Kengkeng pointed at the medicine jar on the table and said, "Dad, next time we can use this Kenghuang Grandpa, okay? He stole my candied haws last time!"
Xiao Yu almost laughed out loud and quickly covered his son's mouth: "Little Ancestor, don't say such nonsense!"
Shen Weiwan heard it clearly and laughed so hard that she couldn't straighten her waist: "Kengkeng is right! Next time, use this medicine to add something to your royal grandfather's tea, so that he will know the consequences of stealing his grandson's snacks!"
Xiao Yu completely lost his temper and walked out holding Kengkeng in his arms: "I think you two should stop getting together. You're a real scoundrel."
Shen Weiwan looked at their backs, her eyebrows curved with a smile. She picked up the medicine jar, looked at it in the sunlight, and nodded with satisfaction. Thinking back to the past, she was played as a fool by Liu and Shen Ruorou, but now she can train Kengkeng into a little expert in deceiving people. This feeling is simply too good!
At that moment, the old housekeeper hurried in with a letter in his hand: "Madam, the toy shop on West Street has delivered the 'singing cicada' you ordered. They say it's made of a mechanism and makes a sound when you squeeze it."
"Great!" Shen Weiwan's eyes lit up, "It's just right for Pitfall to be a toy, and by the way..." She raised a wicked smile at the corner of her mouth, "You know."
The old butler shook his head helplessly. Ever since the Madam married the Seventh Prince, there had been no peace in the Prince's Mansion. First, he was tricked by the Madam, then by the Young Master, and now even his old bones were tormented from time to time.
"By the way, housekeeper," Shen Weiwan suddenly remembered something, "please prepare a carriage for me. I'm going to Liu Shangshu's mansion tomorrow."
The old housekeeper's heart skipped a beat, knowing that someone else was about to suffer misfortune. He sighed and said, "Yes, ma'am."
The next day, Shen Weiwan took Kengkeng to the Liu Shangshu Mansion. When Liu Qianjin heard that Shen Weiwan had come, she deliberately took a group of noble ladies to chat in the garden. When she saw Shen Weiwan, she said sarcastically: "Oh, isn't this the Seventh Prince's Consort? How come you have time to come to a small place like ours?"
Shen Weiwan pretended not to hear and pulled Kengkeng to sit down: "Miss Liu, long time no see. I heard that your throat was uncomfortable recently? I specially brought you a bottle of the best throat-soothing tea." She winked, and Kengkeng immediately handed over a small porcelain bottle.
Miss Liu looked at the noble ladies around her proudly and took the porcelain bottle: "Thank you very much, Seventh Prince's Consort." She opened the lid, smelled a fragrance, and took a big sip without hesitation.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
