Chapter 25 Eating Zongzi on Dragon Boat Festival The fifth day of the fifth lunar month is the Dragon Boat Festival. Before dawn, Cheng Qian…
On the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, the Dragon Boat Festival, Cheng Qianyue got up before dawn and directed Ruoyun and Lin Quan'an to sprinkle water infused with calamus on the house and hang mugwort under the windows and eaves. Dissatisfied with the small number of people, she called over several lowly eunuchs from the back to help. The eunuchs were completely at her beck and call, and chaos reigned in the west wing.
Cheng Qianyue wasn't actually looking for trouble; as she'd said before, she found the place too quiet, a quietness that gave her goosebumps. Looking at the palace maids and eunuchs, they all had deathly pale faces. Well, since they were practically zombies, she figured they might as well get moving; movement would bring a sense of life back!
She stood at the entrance of the side hall, handkerchief in hand, watching them bustle about. She shrugged contentedly, hands on her hips, looking every bit like a landlady. Just as she was admiring their busy figures, she was summoned by the landlord.
Actually, people were also tidying up the main hall and the study on the east side, but compared to the lively scene on the west side, the people here seemed to be performing a pantomime.
As soon as Cheng Qianyue entered the main hall, she heard Yinreng say, "I've been hearing all sorts of noises coming from your side since early this morning."
Cheng Qianyue smiled and bowed before replying, "I asked them to clean the house for the Dragon Boat Festival today." As she stood up, the five-colored tassel hanging from her waist jingled crisply.
It's the Dragon Boat Festival, and hanging five-colored knots is a custom. However, she felt that just weaving knots to wear was too monotonous, so she hung a few small silver bells on them. They would ring whenever she walked with a big movement, and the tinkling sound was particularly cheerful.
Yinreng's gaze immediately fell on her waist. He pulled her over and chuckled, "How old are you? You still like childish things."
Cheng Qianyue was displeased and said in a low voice, "I call it having a childlike heart, and don't you think my voice is very nice?" As she said this, she swayed from side to side, and couldn't help but curl the corners of her mouth when she heard the bells ticking.
Alright, it's rare that the little princess likes it, and it sounds quite interesting, so Yinreng said, "Only one was made up? Wasn't one prepared for me?"
How could that be? Whether he wears it or not is another matter, but if Cheng Qianyue didn't prepare one for him, she would be incredibly foolish. However, before saying that, she flattered him, saying, "That's impossible. You are the most important person in the world. I can forget anyone but you."
Yinreng asked with a half-smile, "The biggest in the world?"
"Uh," Cheng Qianyue quickly corrected herself, "In my eyes, you are the most important." As she said this, she hurriedly took out another tassel from her purse and presented it to him.
Was he the most important person in her eyes? Yinreng let out a long sigh upon hearing her say that, a relieved smile unconsciously appearing on his face. However, upon seeing the knotted ornament, he didn't take it. "Why isn't there a bell on it?"
“Because I think Grandpa doesn’t seem to like bells,” Cheng Qianyue said bluntly.
Yinreng retorted, "Who said I don't like bells?"
"Like my foot," Cheng Qianyue thought to herself. He certainly didn't want her to be all jingling and clanging around. But thinking that this man might be teasing her, she happily put on a pitiful look and drawled out her words like she was singing in an opera: "Oh dear, this little lady is so presumptuous, and now I've displeased my lord, what should I do?"
Seeing her acting so strangely, Yinreng couldn't help but point at her nose and laugh. Cheng Qianyue felt quite pleased with herself for laughing at him. However, after a while, he suddenly stopped laughing, and a deep melancholy settled on his face. He reached out his hand to her and said, "Come on up."
Cheng Qianyue gave him her hand, and he pulled her to sit on the kang (a heated brick bed), then embraced her tightly. She knew that he would definitely be depressed on holidays like today, and what was even more frustrating was that the reason for his depression was not hers and she couldn't solve it. All she could do was try to make him smile like this.
“Sir, I hope you are happy,” she said softly, stroking his forehead.
Holding her in his arms, Yinreng felt at ease. At this moment, it was extremely rare to find someone who could make him smile. He whispered, "I'm happy just to have you with me."
Cheng Qianyue said, "If you're happy, then I'm happy." On a small scale, who wants the people around them to be frowning? On a larger scale, he is the master of Xian'an Palace, and only when he is happy can everyone else have a good life.
At this moment, Eunuch He, the head eunuch of the Princes' Kitchen, personally led a group to Xian'an Palace. Since the Emperor had left the Forbidden City with all the princes and princesses from the Princes' Kitchen, the only one the Princes' Kitchen had to serve was the Prince of Xian'an Palace. Because of the previous rumors circulating in the kitchen, Eunuch He had come to cover them up.
As Chen He walked down the corridor, he saw Eunuch He smiling and said, "Today is the Dragon Boat Festival. The kitchen has made many different kinds of zongzi, and I have specially prepared them for you."
Chen He looked at the overlapping figures at the window and said, "Unfortunately, Second Master is talking to the Princess right now."
Eunuch He said, "We servants can just wait outside; we shouldn't disturb our master."
Seeing that he was somewhat sensible, Chen He pointed to the tea room to the east and said, "I reckon it'll be a while. I'll trouble you and your brothers to rest at the tea room. I'll call you when the master gives the order."
Eunuch He readily agreed, saying, "Thank you, Eunuch Chen." He then led his men into the tea room. He brought four young eunuchs, each carrying a large food box. Seeing this, the tea room attendant, Xiao Liu, quickly invited Eunuch He to sit down, and then cleared out a large table, saying, "Gentlemen, please put down what you're carrying. It won't do for you to keep carrying all that."
Eunuch He gestured with his chin towards the group, then pulled Xiao Liu aside and said, "Young man, you work in the tea room, right?" Xiao Liu responded with a "Yes," and Eunuch He continued, "Which princess is serving the Prince right now?"
Xiao Liu rolled his eyes, chuckled, but didn't answer. He only said, "You'll see when you go to pay your respects to the master later."
Eunuch He didn't show any displeasure at being brushed off by a young boy; he just remarked that after what had happened at Xian'an Palace, the servants had all become much more discreet. After a while, another young eunuch came over and said, "Chief Eunuch He, this way please."
Inside the main hall, Cheng Qianyue heard Eunuch He announcing the names of the zongzi (sticky rice dumplings). It started when she heard that the kitchen staff were sending zongzi and asked what kinds of fillings they had.
Eunuch He said fluently, "There are two kinds of zongzi: savory and sweet. Savory ones include those with duck egg yolk, cured meat, fresh meat, and chestnut pork; sweet ones include those with red dates, candied dates, red bean paste, lotus seed paste, and various dried fruits. They are not all made with glutinous rice; there are also those with yellow millet, black rice, and those mixed with various grains."
He directed the young eunuchs to place the zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) on the table. Each plate contained six small zongzi arranged in a pagoda shape. Although the plate itself didn't look like much, the sheer number of plates made up for it. The four men brought out a total of sixteen plates, explaining with smiles what kind of rice and filling were used for each plate. Eventually, even one table couldn't hold all the zongzi, so they had to bring out another table to accommodate them.
"These are zongzi from the imperial palace!" Cheng Qianyue said to Yinreng. "Just hearing about them makes me think they're delicious. In previous years, I've only ever had glutinous rice wrapped around dates." Although the Cheng family was well-off, they couldn't come up with such elaborate dishes for festivals.
Yinreng had never taken the people in the kitchen seriously, but seeing that Cheng Qianyue was in high spirits, he didn't want to discourage her, so he said, "Keep whatever filling you like, and give the rest away."
"That's great!" Cheng Qianyue said happily. "Then I'll have a plate of yellow rice and red bean paste zongzi, and a plate of black rice and lotus seed paste zongzi." She was used to eating sweet zongzi, and she didn't like the savory kind.
Yinreng nodded, and a young eunuch beside him took her words. He looked at Eunuch He and said, unusually, "Not bad, reward him."
Eunuch He stood bowing, hands at his sides, hurriedly expressing his gratitude. After receiving the reward and leaving Xian'an Palace, he clicked his tongue in amazement. He had never heard of anyone so direct in front of the Second Prince; this must be the legendary Consort Cheng. However, some people's reputations often don't live up to their claims, but after his visit today, he didn't think the rumors were exaggerated; on the contrary, he felt this consort truly lived up to her reputation. The Prince would normally distribute the zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) to his wife and other consorts, but to let Consort Cheng choose first—good heavens, what a great favor!
Even if two plates were left specifically for Cheng Qianyue, there would still be fourteen plates of zongzi. Yinreng casually pointed to a few plates from both the sweet and savory flavors and said, "Send these to the Fujin (wife)." Then he pointed to a few more plates and said, "These two plates are for Li Jia Shi, and the other two plates are for Lin Jia Shi." With this distribution, the number of zongzi on the table decreased, but there were still six plates left.
After he finished admiring the people, Cheng Qianyue asked, "What kind of filling would you like to eat, Master? Have someone cook it for you to try."
Yinreng shook his head and said, "It's the same every year, it's all the same." He simply ordered someone to cook the zongzi she liked.
Cheng Qianyue smiled and whispered to him, "How about I make you some fish filling?" This man really loves fish.
Yinreng grabbed her waist and lifted her up, lightly slapping her bottom twice. "It'll be too fishy if you put fish meat in there. You're just teasing your master." After slapping her, he looked at the zongzi on the table and casually picked up two. He said to Chen He, "Cook two zongzi with cured meat and two with fresh meat. The rest are yours."
After a while, the raw rice dumplings were removed, and steaming hot, cooked, and peeled rice dumplings were placed on the table. Cheng Qianyue picked up her chopsticks and headed for the dumplings. The glutinous rice mixed with yellow and black rice emitted a rich aroma, like the scent left by the sun. Taking a bite, the red bean paste or lotus seed paste mixed with honey was sweet and hot, as if the whole room was filled with a sweet fragrance.
Cheng Qianyue thought to herself, "No wonder he's a royal chef; even his zongzi taste so good." She ate them one by one, and soon she had four in total.
Yinreng originally didn't have much of an appetite, but seeing how much she enjoyed eating, he unconsciously ate two himself. Finally, seeing that she still wanted more, he quickly pressed her hand down and said, "Alright, eating too much will cause indigestion."
Cheng Qianyue reluctantly put down her chopsticks and said softly, "But it's such a waste if we cook them all and can't finish them." It's hot now; cooked zongzi can only be kept for a day at most, and definitely won't be edible the next day. She thought for a moment and said, "I'll reward Ruoyun and Lin Quan'an. If they can't finish them, they can give them to the eunuchs who do the menial tasks." Thinking about it this way, it didn't seem like anything would be wasted. Besides, whether it was money, jewelry, or food and drink, anything she bestowed was a favor. If they did something wrong in the future, she could punish them with a clear conscience.
Yinreng couldn't help but chuckle as he listened to her scheming. This little fool, she still held a grudge against the rough eunuchs who had tricked her earlier. Oh well, he'd better keep a closer eye on her.
"Let's go for a walk after eating the zongzi," he said. A walk would help digest her food; she'd just eaten so much, and it would prevent her from getting stuck in a daze and not being able to sleep tonight.
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