Chapter 140 Identifying "Auspicious Omens"
First, put a bowl of fresh blueberries into a clean ceramic pot and crush them with a grinder.
Next, put Siamese tea leaves and sugar into a pot and simmer over low heat. Then pour in milk and bring to a boil. Finally, filter out the tea leaves with a fine gauze.
A pot of fragrant and smooth blueberry milk tea is ready in just fifteen minutes.
"Sister Xiangtao truly lives up to her reputation as the eldest disciple of Granny Yuan in the culinary tradition. This cup of milk tea is a true testament to Granny Yuan's skills!" Daiyu praised. "Susu, please try some too."
Daiyu handed a cup of blueberry milk tea to Lansu.
Lan Su had only been there a short time, and during that period, Yuan Hongqu had not brewed any milk tea for Daiyu, so this was Lan Su's first time drinking milk tea.
"Sister Xiangtao, could you open a shop that specializes in selling milk tea? I'd like to buy some every day from now on," Lan Su said earnestly, putting down her teacup.
She's grown up and seen a lot, traveling to many places all over the country. She's even had milk tea before, but the kind she used to drink was sour and astringent, nothing like this sweet and smooth milk tea!
Lan Su immediately fell in love with the taste.
“Even Granny Yuan doesn’t run a shop, and my skills are not even one ten-thousandth of Granny Yuan’s. How dare I go out and embarrass myself? If you like it, as long as I have enough ingredients, I can make it for you. Or I can ask Granny Yuan for the recipe and teach it to you. Then you can just make it yourself whenever you want to drink it. Wouldn’t that be more convenient?”
“Yes, my nanny is the most generous person ever. Susu, just talk to her. She said she’s most willing to teach anyone who is willing to learn. As long as you humbly ask for her guidance, she will teach you everything she knows.” Daiyu also encouraged Lansu to ask Yuan Hongqu for advice.
Lan Su was deeply moved by their words and couldn't wait to go to the manor to seek advice from Yuan Hongqu.
The red lotus on Zhuangzi's land, however, seemed somewhat melancholy.
I just received the dishes bestowed upon me by the palace yesterday, and today I have to pay back the debt.
Yuan Hongqu was feeling very frustrated, but she had no choice but to cooperate with Eunuch Chen to inspect the greenhouse.
Last night, fueled by alcohol, she went on a rampage in her private space—scattering ginseng seeds in every nook and cranny of the yard.
She had planned to rest today, but unexpectedly, not long after she got up this morning, a letter arrived from the estate.
Yuan Hongqu hurriedly told Daiyu what was going on and rushed off to the estate.
No sooner had they arrived than Li, the Chief Secretary of the Prince Zhongshun's Mansion, arrived at the estate with Eunuch Chen, who had delivered the imperial dishes to the Lin family the previous night.
“Mr. Yuan, officials from the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Works, and the Imperial Observatory will be here shortly.” Chen Li said somewhat apologetically, “I didn’t want to trouble you, but they don’t believe that grapes growing in this heavy snow is an auspicious sign from heaven. They insist on seeing it with their own eyes before they’ll believe it. If they do, the Emperor won’t have to issue an edict of self-reproach…”
"Didn't they already believe it?" Yuan Hongqu asked in confusion. Last night, Eunuch Chen clearly said that because of the auspicious omen of these grapes, the Emperor wouldn't need to issue any edict of self-reproach.
Chen Li looked very unpleasant. He had only delivered some things to the Lin family last night, but someone was making things difficult for him, accusing him of colluding with the Lin family to fabricate "auspicious omens" in an attempt to deceive the public.
Chen Li couldn't bear this. He was a senior eunuch who had risen through the ranks with the emperor, and this was the first time he had suffered such an injustice.
Therefore, I have come to Yuan Hongqu's estate today to prove my innocence.
The officials from the three departments arrived shortly afterward.
Yuan Hongqu first took Chen Li to the greenhouse where grapes were grown.
This was Yuan Hongqu's first time visiting this greenhouse. Wu Tian reminded her that the greenhouse was quite far away, but he didn't say exactly how far.
Yuan Hongqu led Chen Li and the others for two or three miles along a country dirt road, and then a short stretch of mountain road, before finally arriving at the greenhouse where the grapes were grown.
Yuan Hongqu also found the location to be rare.
This place is sunny, and there's a hill not far away. The hill isn't very high, but it's just enough to block the biting cold wind, creating a unique microclimate that makes the temperature here a bit warmer than elsewhere.
Although there had been such a heavy snowfall before, and the snow piled up elsewhere had not yet melted, the ground outside the greenhouse here was already starting to dry out.
Because of the bumper grape harvest in the greenhouse, Wu Tian had a stone path built here for easy access, leading directly from the roadside to the entrance of the greenhouse.
The greenhouse door was now open, and Yuan Hongqu led the group inside.
"This..." Upon seeing the scene before him, Chen Li hesitated and turned back to look outside again.
Outside, the land was still barren and desolate. In the distance, a few trees with all their leaves gone shivered in the cold wind, and there was not a trace of green in sight.
Looking into the greenhouse, one sees lush greenery everywhere. The grapevines have large, vibrant green leaves, and bunches of huge Shine Muscat grapes hang from the branches, bending the branches to their limit.
This place and the outside world are completely different.
To make this auspicious omen more realistic, as if it were natural rather than man-made, Yuan Hongqu has decided to sacrifice these grapevines.
As soon as she arrived at the village, she told Wu Tian to go to the greenhouse as soon as possible, turn off the heating channels, and then uncover all the straw curtains covering the greenhouse.
The temperature difference between the greenhouse and the outside is not that great, so it's barely acceptable. These grapes bear fruit in winter, which is beyond human control.
Otherwise, any official could easily find a pretext to pin the charge of "deceiving the emperor" on her.
However, this meant that the grapevines in the shed were frozen and were working hard to bear fruit. The sudden cold would inevitably cause the grapevines to die, but there was no time to worry about that now.
Chen Li went in through the door and walked to the end of the greenhouse. He felt slightly sweaty, but didn't feel that it was much warmer inside than outside.
"The weather has been cold this year, and the evergreen trees in the palace have all lost their leaves because they couldn't withstand the weather. I never expected that there would be a group of fruit trees here that, despite the weather, have borne a full load of fruit even in a season when they shouldn't be bearing fruit. What is this if not an auspicious sign? If it weren't for Heaven's blessing on His Majesty, how could such a thing have happened!"
Chen Li was extremely excited; he truly believed that this was created by the power of heaven.
Yuan Hongqu watched Chen Li, who seemed to be going crazy, with some confusion.
The officials who arrived later went completely mad after entering the greenhouse, constantly chanting, "Heaven has shown mercy, Heaven blesses our Emperor. This is truly an auspicious omen..."
These northern officials had never seen lush green grapevines laden with fruit in winter.
They could find no explanation other than that it was a gift from God.
They are now even afraid that their questioning might displease the heavens and bring them misfortune.
Yuan Hongqu couldn't understand.
She felt that she had completed her task for the day and could go home to be with Daiyu.
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