noffsinger Chapter 223: Brewing Rain Dew Tea
Chapter 223: Brewing Rain Dew Tea
However, this feeling of being touched did not last long, and soon, the complex emotions overwhelmed her again. She could not help but wonder, was this person's care for her genuine, or was it just because of Zhen Huan?
After all, it was because of Zhen Huan that this person sent her the first letter. How she hoped that this kind of care from this noble man was completely hers, and not due to any other factors.
Cui'er stood quietly by the side, and when she saw Huanbi's appearance, she silently handed her a handkerchief.
Huanbi, who had finally calmed down, suddenly burst into tears again when she saw the handkerchief. She excitedly pulled Cui'er's hand and said, "This is a gift from my mother's old friend. Our lives will be better now!"
In her other hand she held up a thin silver note for one thousand taels that came with the letter.
Cui Er was shocked and struggled to break free. She smiled and wiped Huan Bi's tears. "Yes, life is getting better now. You must stop crying. Come and have breakfast, my lady."
Huanbi wanted to eat more politely at first, but as soon as she picked up the chopsticks, she couldn't help feeling aggrieved, so she just stuffed the food into her mouth while speaking incoherently.
Cui Er kept shouting "slow down, slow down" but she couldn't stop Huan Bi's movements. She hesitated for a moment and said cautiously, "My lady, your mother has passed away for so many years. Can you believe what this noble man said?"
Huanbi paused, glancing at her with some displeasure, "How can he be wrong when he can even say a name that my mother hasn't used for years?"
Cui'er lowered her head and said, "You are right."
Huanbi continued to pick up her chopsticks, but her movements became slower and slower. She muttered to herself, "How did he know about my mother... Could it be that Zhen Huan told him? If so, their relationship is too good."
Thinking of this, Huanbi felt jealous again and began to poke the almond juice with a spoon.
"I can't eat anymore, you can go and use it."
"Yes." Cui'er obediently cleaned the table and left with the messy tray.
After returning to her own room, Cui'er tidied up the food simply, pretended to eat a few bites, and then sent it back to the imperial kitchen.
A servant will not be loyal to whoever his master is. Obviously, Huanbi, who has been in the palace for eight years, has not fully understood this sentence.
After Cui'er left, Huanbi closed the door and picked up the letter again to read. When she first read the letter, she just glanced at it quickly and didn't have time to savor the content carefully.
At this moment, he calmed down and unfolded the letter again. When he saw that the letter mentioned that the emperor was still raised by Tong Jia, Tong Jia would always brew a cup of rain and dew tea for him when he was reading by lamplight at night, and recorded the preparation method in detail: take half a pot of the purest dew in the early morning after the rain, add half a pot of carefully brewed second-brew Pu'er tea, and then slowly add salty milk tea until the just right tempting aroma is released.
After reading this, Huanbi's heart began to pound violently. Having served in the Yangxin Palace before, she knew full well that the emperor cherished past ties and valued the past. The contents of this letter, to her, were a golden opportunity to rise to the top and change her destiny.
Huanbi felt a little uneasy on the spot, and kept looking out, her eyes full of anxiety and anticipation. But she knew in her heart that it was winter, so there would be no rain. The only thing hanging on the branches was condensed frost.
I waited anxiously for two days, during which time there was only a light snowfall, with flakes fluttering down, but it stopped in less than an hour.
Huanbi couldn't suppress her inner desire any more, so she called Cui'er, and the two of them, wrapped in their half-new cotton coats, hurried to the Imperial Garden early in the morning.
In the imperial garden, they carefully collected frost and dew from the branches, even though the cold wind cut their faces like a knife and their hands were frozen red and numb.
After finally collecting the tea and returning to the palace, Cui'er hurriedly rubbed her frozen hands and went to the side hall to boil water. Huanbi stood inside, her face flushed with cold, but her red cheeks couldn't hide her deep joy. Her eyes sparkled with excitement, and her mind kept replaying the scene of herself presenting the emperor with rain and dew tea, winning his favor and rising to prominence.
Perhaps because of the money she had given as a bribe before, Cui'er was busy boiling water and delayed for some time, so the people from the imperial kitchen actually delivered lunch personally.
The food box was filled with exquisite dishes, including Zhutouchun, Guangming Shrimp Roast, Vegetarian Three-Fresh Meatballs, Rouge Goose Breast, Bletilla Pork Lung Soup, and a bowl of plump and fragrant green glutinous rice. Next to it was a small bowl of bird's nest covered with a white cap.
Zhen Huan has always loved eating bird's nest, so Huanbi is very familiar with it, but she herself has only eaten it a few times. After a busy morning, it was already lunchtime without her noticing.
Huanbi, who had only had a bowl of porridge and some sweet and sour kelp shreds in the morning, became unable to control herself and her stomach began to growl as soon as she smelled the fragrance of the food.
She swallowed subconsciously, but she didn't forget her business. With a smile on her face, she said to the eunuch who was delivering the reward, "Sir, may I ask if the imperial kitchen has Pu'er and salty milk tea for sale?"
Upon hearing this, the young eunuch was slightly taken aback, then a smile appeared on his face, and he replied respectfully, "My lady, this Pu'er tea is common, and our immediate steward sells it. However, this salty milk tea is not usually made in the imperial kitchen, and I don't know if there is any stock in the warehouse. If you need it urgently, I will go and ask for it for you."
When Huanbi heard this, she quickly took out a small ingot of her own savings from her sleeve pocket. This was her monthly allowance. But when she thought of the banknote, she could no longer care about anything else.
Putting it into the young eunuch's hand, Huanbi said with a smile: "Eunuch, please make a trip. If you can buy it, you will definitely benefit from it."
The young eunuch weighed the silver in his hand, his smile grew even brighter, and he nodded and said, "Don't worry, young lady. I will do my best." After that, he hurried away.
Huanbi paced back and forth in the room, anxiously waiting for news from the young eunuch.
After a long while, the young eunuch came back panting, with a look of regret on his face. He said, "I'm so sorry, there's only a little salty milk tea left in the storeroom. I'm afraid it won't be enough for you."
When Huanbi heard this, the smile on her face disappeared instantly and her brows were tightly furrowed, but after all, it was not easy to ask for help from others.
After thinking for a moment, she smiled again, "Eunuch, please do me another favor and ask the Ministry of Internal Affairs if they can get some salty milk tea from somewhere else. I'm willing to pay for it no matter how much it costs."
The young eunuch looked troubled and hesitated deliberately, saying, "This matter of the Imperial Household Department is not easy to handle, but since you are so sincere, I will give it another try."
Huanbi stuffed some more change into his pocket, and the young eunuch turned and left.