Chapter 270: Chapter 252, Longevity Knot Soup_1
“Have Daohua and Wenxiu written back?”
Upon hearing the butler’s report, the Old Madam Yan and Madam Li both showed faces full of surprise and delight.
Old Madam Yan urged impatiently, “Where is the letter? Quick, bring the letter here!”
Butler Sun immediately handed over the letter written by Daohua concerning their safety, “The letters from the eldest master, the third master, and the fourth master are with the master. He said he would personally bring them back after he leaves the office.”
Madam Li took the letter and asked, “Did Wenxiu, Wenkai, and Wentao all write back?”
Butler Sun hurriedly nodded, “Yes, they did.”
Madam Li handed the letter to Old Madam Yan to read first, then clasped her hands together, “Thank heavens, since they could write back, it seems there’s nothing wrong.”
By this time, Old Madam Yan had finished reading the letter, knowing that the four Daohua siblings were all fine in Xingyun Prefecture, she finally let go of the anxiety she had been holding onto, muttering non-stop, “Amitabha, I must fast this month to show my gratitude to the Bodhisattva for blessing the Yan family’s children.”
Madam Li quickly said, “Mother, I will fast as well.”
Old Madam Yan handed the letter to Madam Li, “Go and tell your third brother and his wife. They must have been worried these past few days, probably neither eating nor sleeping well.”
Madam Li nodded in agreement, “Mother, I will send someone to tell them right away.”
The front office.
Yan Zhigao held the letters from Yan Wenxiu and the others, reading them over and over again, still with disbelief on his face.
In the letters, Yan Wenxiu and the others detailed the situation in Jiguang and also mentioned the epidemic treatment prescription that Daohua had produced.
The epidemic in Xingyun Prefecture had been contained, and it was all thanks to the prescription given by his eldest daughter!
At that moment, Yan Zhigao felt as if a pie had fallen from the sky, hitting him and leaving him dazed.
His eldest daughter’s interest in medical books was something he had heard his mother and third brother mention in passing, but he had never taken it seriously. Never would he have expected that in just the blink of an eye, it would bring such immense merit to the Yan family.
Yan Zhigao read the letters once more, each one meticulously, and only after confirming their authenticity did he finally take a long breath.
Just when the Yan family received the homecoming letters sent by the Daohua siblings, the memorial from Xingyun Prefecture had also arrived in Beijing.
The Imperial Palace.
The Emperor, upon seeing the petition presented by the old Imperial Physician Xu, and learning that a prescription for treating the epidemic had been found and that the epidemic in Xingyun Prefecture had been contained, immediately exclaimed ‘good’ three times over.
Beneath him, several Chief of Staffs also secretly breathed sighs of relief.
In recent times, due to the floods and epidemic in Jiguang, the Emperor had often been enraged, the one day scolding one official, the next day punishing another, making each assembly a nerve-wracking experience for them.
Now that the epidemic was under control, it truly was a cause for celebration!
“Yan Zhigao…”
Looking at the name mentioned in the petition, the Emperor’s eyes narrowed slightly, “This name seems somewhat familiar to me!”
The Minister of Personnel promptly stepped forward and replied, “To report to Your Majesty, Yan Zhigao is the Prefectural Governor of Xingzhou who previously developed the high-yield grain varieties.”
The Emperor’s face showed sudden recognition and he nodded, “I remember now, it is this person. By the way, has the grain yield from Fenxi been reported yet this year?”
The Minister of Revenue answered, “It has been reported. The lands that used the new grain variety have nearly increased their yield by one stone per acre.”
“Good!”
The Emperor declared loudly, standing up and pacing back and forth a few times before saying, “Since the yield is genuinely high, we must promptly promote the new grain varieties, especially giving priority to the provinces in the north that have suffered disasters.”
He paused then added,
“This Yan Zhigao is indeed a lucky general, he deserves a considerable reward.”
…
Xingyun Prefecture, Xing Courtyard.
After half a month of treatment, Xiao Yeyang’s health had mostly recovered, and Yan Wenkai could also run and jump around again. Only Dong Yuanxuan’s constitution was still weak and he needed more rest.
One evening, just as Daohua finished her tasks, she was pulled into the kitchen by Xiao Yeyang.
“Here!”
Gazing at the steaming bowl of dumpling soup on the table, Daohua was stunned and looked somewhat bewilderedly at Xiao Yeyang.
Seeing Daohua’s perplexed expression, Xiao Yeyang had no choice but to remind her, “Today is the first day of August, have you forgotten what day it is?”
Daohua’s eyes lit up, “Today is my birthday!” Saying this, she looked down at the dumpling soup on the table, then back up at Xiao Yeyang whose expression was slightly awkward. A thought flashed through her mind, and she ventured, “Is this the longevity noodles you made for me?”
Xiao Yeyang kept a straight face and nodded, saying somewhat awkwardly, “I was just idle and took a fancy to it. It’s my first time making it and it didn’t turn out too well.”
Upon hearing this remark, Defu couldn’t help but look up to the sky once more.
For that bowl of dumpling soup on the table, the master had stayed in the kitchen all afternoon, indeed quite idle.
The corners of Daohua’s mouth twitched, “Xiao Yeyang, I think you might not have a clear understanding of yourself; you should be more confident. You see, what you made isn’t just not too good; it’s really bad.”
With that said, she sat down at the table.
Hearing Daohua’s comment, Xiao Yeyang thought she despised his cooking skills, but in a blink, that person actually picked up the chopsticks and began to eat.
Xiao Yeyang’s heart tightened, and he quickly asked, “Does it taste good? Oh, no, is it edible?”
Having just taken a mouthful of dumplings, Daohua fell silent for a moment. After swallowing what was in her mouth, she looked at Xiao Yeyang despondently, “Since you weren’t sure whether these dumplings were edible, why did you still give them to me to eat?”
Xiao Yeyang: “…I thought, for a birthday, one should eat longevity noodles.”
Daohua glanced at the dumpling soup in the bowl, which was far from resembling any sort of noodles: “…Regardless of whether the longevity noodles were edible or not?”
Xiao Yeyang’s face stiffened as he looked at the lumpy dumplings in the bowl, “To ensure they were edible, I boiled them for a long time. I think they should be edible.”
Daohua looked at the sticky mess of the soup, sighed and said, “You’ve practically cooked them into a porridge, they’re definitely edible.” At least they were surely cooked.
Seeing Daohua bury her head to eat again, Xiao Yeyang became somewhat embarrassed, “How about, you stop eating?”
Daohua shook her head, “Why not eat? You made this, and it’s your first time, too. I should at least honor it by finishing the bowl.”
Seeing Xiao Yeyang feeling a bit sheepish, she laughed again.
“Actually, it’s not as bad as I imagined, it’s just… did you confuse sugar with salt? Dumpling soup is supposed to be savory, but you made it sweet.”
“However, I’m not picky. If it’s sweet, it’s sweet. Let’s consider it a change of taste.”
Watching Daohua eat with relish, not sparing his feelings, Xiao Yeyang’s lips slowly curled up, feeling that the bustle of the afternoon had become meaningful.
“Take your time eating; don’t rush. If you think it tastes good, I’ll make you more right away. The fire hasn’t gone out yet.”
“Cough cough~”
Daohua choked accidentally and then started coughing.
Seeing this, Xiao Yeyang immediately stood up, went over to Daohua, and started patting her back.
After coughing for a bit, Daohua felt much better and quickly told Xiao Yeyang, “No need, I’ll be full after finishing this bowl.”
Sweet dumpling soup… Although edible, eating too much of it was cloying!
Xiao Yeyang looked at Daohua and fell silent for a while, “Alright, this time I was indeed a bit rusty. It’ll be better next year.”
Daohua suddenly shivered.
Next year, too?
Oh heavens, please have mercy!