Can venison enhance male virility? (referring to a traditional Chinese medicine concept).
The container for calcining the stones was a pre-dug pit. Using an alternating layer-by-layer calcination method, the stones were burned at high temperatures for a full half day. Banban and Yingzheng peeked out and confirmed that the stones had turned light red, so they left them to cool naturally in the pit.
As night fell, the cooled stones were removed and became brittle and easy to break.
Ying Zheng ordered someone to bring a stone mortar and stone mill, and the two of them ground the stone into a fine powder together.
Ying Zheng added water, stirred it evenly, and let it slowly solidify. Surprisingly, it hardened slowly, completely different from clay.
"That's wonderful!" Banban's face flushed with excitement. "Cousin, if we use it to pave the road, we won't need to make ruts, and the carriage won't bounce even at high speeds!"
He was also excited and immediately ordered people to develop a formula. Zhao Meng experimented several times and finally determined to use fine sand and lime powder mixed with water.
With it, there's no longer any need to worry about the frequent floods in the north causing muddy and impassable roads.
"Since water can't dissolve it, we call it cement."
Startled, she realized Ying Zheng had answered first, and she quickly clapped her hands and gave him a sweet smile.
He gently stroked her cheek, "My cousin has the world in her heart; I admire and love her."
The historian faithfully recorded on the side: "Later, pitying the hardships of the people, personally inspected the market to supervise the road repair work. He happened to see silt deposited into chalk, and together with the emperor, they fired it, finally obtaining the formula for cement. The emperor was overjoyed and issued an edict to pave the official roads throughout the country."
After writing for a while, he glanced at the Emperor and Empress over there, then quickly added two strokes: The Emperor said: "My sister cherishes all the people under heaven, and I admire her greatly." The Emperor loved the Empress dearly, often stroking her hair and touching her cheeks.
It's impossible not to remember; you have to remember in detail, word for word.
Last time, Ying Zheng had reviewed what he had recorded and asked him why he did not obey the emperor's order to delete these unnecessary records. He lowered his head and remained silent, like a mute.
But if you ask him to delete it, he will definitely refuse, preferring death to dishonor, even saying that if one of him dies, there will be thousands upon thousands of other historians in the same boat.
Thinking about it, it makes sense. He stubbornly refused to listen when asked to delete Chunyu Yue's sarcastic remarks, let alone his intimate daily life with the Empress.
Ying Zheng had seen all sorts of strange and unusual people, and he valued his duties more than his own life. Fortunately, it didn't matter if he remembered these things, so he waved his hand and chased the people away.
The cement road was being paved in a hurry, and Ying Zheng's second tour officially began, with the destination being Mount Tai for the Fengshan ceremony.
Banban gave an advance warning, saying, "I'll be waiting for you down there."
"That won't do." Ying Zheng refused without even thinking. "How can such a grand occasion be complete without my cousin?"
"What does the emperor's Fengshan ceremony have to do with the empress?!"
"The Empress and I are naturally one; neither can be missing."
If you really want her to say it, she'll say, "I can't climb up!"
Ying Zheng glanced at her slender arms and legs and said, "I'll carry you on my back."
"..." That's not good!
After much persuasion, the route for the tour was finalized: starting from Xianyang, the tour would proceed along the way, reaching Mount Tai for the Fengshan ceremony, making a long detour, and finally returning to Xianyang.
He sat in the carriage next to his son and daughter, speechless as if in deep meditation.
Since it was a grand ceremony to perform the Fengshan ceremony, there was naturally a large procession. All the civil and military officials went together, and just the sound of the carriage wheels on the road was enough to give anyone a headache.
This tour was destined to be less comfortable than the first one; at the very least, she would have to maintain the demeanor of an empress at all times and could not relax for a moment.
On the contrary, Ying Zheng was full of energy and enthusiasm, and insisted on telling her stories.
The story was so grand, it seemed to start from the creation of the world by Pangu. As I listened, I started to feel sleepy, and he would shake my head to wake me up.
She raised her paw and swatted at his face.
Unfortunately, I couldn't touch his face; he grabbed my wrist instead.
"It is not appropriate for my face to have any marks at this time. It would be better for the Empress to be more dignified."
"You're so annoying, so annoying, so annoying!" she muttered, banging her head against his chest, only to be pulled into his embrace and unable to move.
Ying Zhao silently covered his sister's eyes, cradled her face, and pretended to look at the scenery outside.
However, this seemed to be the first time the family of five had traveled far together. During the meal, Ji Changyue brewed some flower tea and had it brought over.
Ying Zhao and Meng Huan had a contest to see who could shoot a rabbit first. After squatting for a long time, no rabbit appeared at all. Instead, Ying Zheng shot a thick snake from somewhere.
He summoned the physician to examine the snake carefully to see if it was venomous. After confirming that it was not, he ordered the snake to be skinned alive and cooked on the spot.
Banban had always been afraid of mollusks without legs, and she was so frightened that she huddled in Ying Zheng's arms and didn't dare to look. It wasn't until a delicate fragrance wafted in the air that she slowly moved closer to them.
The snake meat was cut into chunks, half of which was roasted, and the rest was used to make snake soup.
Banban loves meat soup. After tasting it, he was amazed and said to Ji Changyue, "What a unique flavor, so fresh and fragrant."
The snake was thick and long, so Ying Zheng distributed some to his favorite ministers, including the two prime ministers, Wei Liao, Li Si, Meng Wu, Meng Tian, and several other military generals. His favoritism was very obvious; he gave Meng Tian the biggest and most pieces, and even gave him a dipping sauce.
Ying Zhao personally delivered it to Han Fei and Xiao Heng.
Xing Shu looked at his brother and followed suit, going to Li Si's side.
Li Si was flattered and accepted the favor with utmost respect, kneeling with both hands on his knees.
"It tastes good, but it gets cloying after a while." Ji Changyue stirred the spoon. "The last time I ate this was many years ago. At that time, Zheng'er and I saw a thick snake coiling around a fawn in the grass. He shot the snake in the head with an arrow and saved the fawn."
“There was too much snake meat, and we couldn’t sell it. We ate snake meat every day during those days.” As she spoke, she showed a look of disgust. “Even Zheng’er’s face changed when he heard that the meal was snake meat again.”
Eating three meals a day isn't a good idea either.
Everything was so novel; "My cousin actually helps the weak?"
Ying Zheng glanced at her. "What do you mean by that?"
Ji Changyue teased him, "Tell me, he went out every day to cut grass and pick wild fruit, wanting to feed that fawn himself. But the fawn was not grateful and bit him after only two days. He was so angry that he immediately killed the fawn and roasted it to eat."
Banban tilted her head and tentatively asked, "Could this be the reason why my cousin loves to eat venison?"
Ying Zheng paused for a moment, then asked, "Do I really love eating venison?"
Ying Zhao raised his hand and said, "Father eats this every two days." Roasted venison steak is even served as a staple food.
When this was mentioned, Banban's expression suddenly turned strange. She had heard in her previous life that deer blood could enhance male virility, but she didn't know if it was true or not, or what the benefits of deer meat were.
After lunch, the driver rested for a while, and then asked this question.
Ying Zheng was leaning back on the goose feather cushion, taking a nap with his eyes closed. "Venus meat can replenish qi and blood, boost energy, and refresh the mind. It has many benefits." The taste is even quite good. "In addition, it can indeed nourish kidney yang and replenish essence and blood. However, venison is warm in nature and its effect is not significant. The most effective one is deer antler."
It doesn't have much effect, but you can't stand eating it every day... You really love it!
That's just his nature; he likes what he likes and he'll like it forever. If she hadn't said that there are unseen pests in raw fish that can damage a person's internal organs, he wouldn't have given up on it, as he values his life.
Banban's lips twitched slightly. After thinking back, she realized that it was no wonder he seemed to eat more vegetarian food during the time she was pregnant; he had known all along.
The more she thought about it, the more she felt... She reached out and poked his thigh.
He suddenly opened his eyes, tugged at his clothes, and said, "Don't touch me."
This is outside, not at home.
"Your Majesty is the most virtuous man of our time." She gave him a sarcastic remark, glanced at his lower abdomen, and lifted the curtain to leave.
Suddenly, her wrist was grabbed forcefully. She struggled, shouting, "This was just a joke! A joke!" What a joke! There are so many people around!
Ying Zheng released his hand and shook his head, saying that she was timid and playful, and easily teased.
After resting for about half an hour, they set off again.
A few days later, they arrived at their first stop, Mount Yi, and set up camp on the mountain. Ying Zheng ordered people to erect a stone tablet to commemorate his achievements, and Banban watched from the side with his children.
Suddenly a group of Confucian scholars approached and advised: "Your Majesty, the Fengshan ceremony is extremely elaborate, and you must handle it properly."
Ying Zheng frowned slightly. Isn't it just a sacrifice to heaven and earth?
"What's the significance of this?"
“Now that we have reached Mount Yi, Mount Tai is not far away,” the Confucian scholar said. “Your Majesty should wrap the wheels with cattails so as not to damage the trees on the mountain. You should also sweep the ground and offer sacrifices, and lay out straw mats to show frugality. In this way, you can reach the ears of the heavens and receive divine protection.”
Banban: "..." So particular.
Ying Zheng looked puzzled. "What?"
The Confucian scholar, thinking he hadn't understood, repeated it again.
Ying Zheng simply said, "I will not do anything strange or outrageous."
The Confucian scholar was about to say something more when he was expelled on the spot.
"How ridiculous! They only wrap cartwheels in cattails for a sacrificial ceremony, never doing it normally. Isn't this just a performance? If there truly are gods in this world, they'll only think I'm a hypocritical emperor. Besides, why harm the cattails if they don't want to harm the trees? Aren't cattails trees?"
Although he is very casual and not particular, he is by no means frugal. Why would he tell such a lie?
The Confucian scholars' particularities seemed strange to Ying Zheng, and he couldn't understand them.
Seeing that Ying Zheng was completely bewildered and couldn't understand anything, Banban wanted to laugh, but when she remembered that they said the harem should not interfere in politics, she couldn't laugh anymore.
Because of this little incident, Ying Zheng did not want to take those Confucian scholars up Mount Tai, and told them to wait at the foot of the mountain. "Since you are so particular, you might as well not climb the mountain, so as not to damage the trees."
The Confucian scholars all wore different expressions, and were indignant.
Chunyu Yue stood to the side, completely at a loss for words, and glared at them.
—He wants to go!
Banban symbolically climbed the mountain for half an hour, then sat down and didn't want to get up. Ying Zheng said he would carry her on his back, and she couldn't stop him, so he carried her.
Fortunately, the group of Confucian scholars did not follow, otherwise they would have said that Ying Zheng's actions were against the rules.
Banban wrapped her arms around her cousin's neck and leaned on his broad shoulder. After walking for a while, she felt sorry for him and said, "I'd better get down."
"My cousin's feet are so delicate, I'm afraid they'll get blisters. Don't move them."
"Are you tired?" She touched his face to check for any beads of sweat. "I feel sorry for my cousin."
"Not tired."
We traveled on and off, and halfway through the journey, a sudden downpour began, something we had never experienced before.
The group hurriedly sought shelter under a tree from the rain. The rain came quickly and went quickly. Banban sat down and rubbed his arms and massaged his body.
He looked up at the dark clouds in the sky and sighed, "If it weren't for these pine trees, we would have been soaked to the bone." Thinking of the group of scholars down the mountain, he uttered a sarcastic remark, "This tree is magnificent; let it be granted the rank of Fifth-Rank Official."
Banban: "?"
Those present: ??
Are you saying you want to appoint a pine tree as an official, or a high-ranking official?
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Author's note: Here we go, as usual, an extra chapter at 11 PM.
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