Chapter 377 Cutting Meat to Feed the Eagle
Zhao Hua originally thought that there would be some news coming from Concubine Hui soon.
Unexpectedly, she was surprisingly quiet. She never left the house on weekdays. In order to concentrate on her pregnancy, she even declined the request to pay her respects to Ning Wanshuang in the palace every day.
After a few days, Yunshan asked Zhaohua in confusion,
"Miss, Concubine Hui is avoiding people every day. What is she doing?"
Zhao Hua smiled, "Let her sing whatever she wants, we just need to live our own lives well."
There was a lot of snow in the winter last year, but when the spring came, it was a warm spring with good omen.
After the Lantern Festival, the temperature began to gradually warm up, and many plants in the palace sprouted new buds.
One day, Yunshan and a few young palace maids were working in the courtyard.
These young palace maids were all new faces, and looked to be no more than twelve or thirteen years old, even younger than Yunshan was when she first followed Zhaohua into the palace.
Those who have been in this deep palace for a long time, whether masters or servants, have all become shrewd and cunning.
Compared with the old people, these young buds have not even figured out the palace rules, and they are not experienced in doing things.
Therefore, the serious masters in the six palaces of the East and West do not like to employ such servants.
Logically speaking, they should first gain experience in the four warehouses, the laundry bureau, the flower and bird bureau and other places, and wait until they have mastered the ability to read people's expressions and judge the situation, before they are qualified to serve the young mistress and the empress.
But even so, Zhao Hua was still willing to keep them by his side and serve them.
After all, compared with those palace maids who have been immersed in the big dye vat of the harem for a long time, they are like blank slates and are more reassuring to use.
Although the girls are young, they are not careless at all when doing their work.
But after all, they are still young, and they find everything new and can’t help but make comments when they are busy.
At this moment, several people were weeding the garden together. I don't know who first discovered the rows of small gray worms lying on the grass roots. Three or two people started shouting, and everyone stopped what they were doing and gathered together to watch.
"I heard from my mother that auspicious snow means a good harvest, which means that if the snow falls heavily and thickly in winter, it can freeze the pests in the soil to death, and the crops will have a good harvest next year. Last year, it snowed all winter, but look, why are there so many little bugs in these weeds?"
"Let me take a look. Eh? This is the first time I've seen this bug."
They chatted excitedly, and from time to time they smiled and waved at Yunshan, calling out:
"Aunt Yunshan, come and have a look. There are many small gray bugs in the weeds. Their noses are as long as those of little elephants."
"Yes, you see they are lying there motionless, as if they are dead. But if you startle them while weeding, they will run away very fast~"
Yunshan was not curious when he heard this.
She didn't even look at him, busy with her work, and just responded casually,
"That's the little gray weevil."
"Little Gray Weevil? This is the first time I've heard of this name. Aunt Yunshan is really knowledgeable~"
Yunshan smiled calmly and said, "When you are older, you will eventually learn what you should and shouldn't see in this world. And these are not beneficial insects. If you see them in the future, just pour boiling water on them."
"Yes, we understand." The young palace maids responded sweetly and then began to get busy again.
About a quarter of an hour later, when Yunshan was skillfully trimming the long drooping needles of pine and cypress, he caught a glimpse of a palace servant walking out of the small kitchen, holding Zhaohua's pregnancy-preserving medicine in his hand, and walking towards the inner bedroom.
So he stopped her and said:
"Give me the stuff, and go do something else."
After receiving the pregnancy-preserving medicine from the palace maid, Yunshan first tested it carefully with a silver needle, then used the method Xiao Fuzi taught her to identify the color and smell the taste, and finally took a small spoonful with a silver spoon to taste it. After making sure it was safe, she presented it to Zhaohua.
When she came, she saw Zhaohua staring at a pot of green radish on a small table.
The green radish was raised in the Flower and Bird Department. It did not wither in winter, but instead grew luxuriantly.
Yunshan put the pregnancy-preserving medicine aside, and took a closer look. She found that there were some small green worms and small gray weevils lying on the leaves of the green radish.
Most of them took two bites on the leaves, then crawled away in disgust as if they were picky eaters.
Seeing this, Yunshan joked, "These little green caterpillars and little gray weevils are very picky about what they eat. They only like the leaves and buds of mulberry trees. If you feed them other green plants, they will even dislike them."
Zhao Hua smiled, "It is picky and greedy. It is said that it loves to eat mulberry leaves, but it always bites a leaf and then eats the next one, or eats all the new buds, making the mulberry tree reluctant to sprout. It can be seen that this thing is also a picky eater."
Yunshan looked at the holes bitten by insects on the green ivy and smiled, "Miss, you quickly picked the freshest green ivy from the Flower and Bird Shop. I'm afraid it won't suit their taste. They'll have to go hungry."
Zhao Hua sneered, took out a silver pick and used it to pick at the insects on the leaves.
"Don't worry. You won't be hungry for a few days. Isn't it the time for the mulberry trees to sprout in February?"
After saying this, he put down the silver carrying pole, picked up the pregnancy-maintaining medicine at a suitable temperature, and drank it all in one gulp while enduring the bitter taste.
Yunshan put some drops on her eyes, and immediately brought some Lanzhi mint dew to help Zhaohua rinse her mouth, and then took some candied fruit to moisten her throat.
"Since the young lady received the secret order from Tianji, she had the people from Tianji Office collect many eggs of small green caterpillars and small gray weevils as early as July last year, and secretly raised them in the greenhouse. Generation after generation, they have become a 'prosperous family'."
Zhao Hua nodded calmly, "After the first month of the lunar year is over, it's time to give them a good meal."
Yunshan whispered, "Now these little gray weevils and little green caterpillars have even been found inside the palace. It's clear that they will soon be rampant outside the palace. The young lady is thoughtful and will surely get what she wants this time."
"What can I expect? This little thought is all well-intentioned."
Zhao Hua casually picked up the teacup at hand and suddenly poured the still boiling tea on the green radish leaves.
The small insects crawling densely on it were immediately silenced by the heat.
The smile on Zhao Hua's lips did not fade at all.
"I have recently learned how to worship Buddha like the Queen Mother, and I have learned a lot of truths. Buddha said: All things are born equal, and it is wrong to judge them by their status. In the past, Sakyamuni cut off his flesh to feed the eagle for the sake of righteousness, and now I give up my mulberry tree to feed the insects, which is the same principle."
She clasped her hands together, silently chanted a Buddhist phrase, and then said:
“Don’t let a small act of kindness go unrewarded. Sometimes, if you do a lot of good things, blessings will naturally follow.”
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