Early in the morning, Song Shi entered the dining hall with five maids and servants. Each of them carried a three-tiered food box.
Princess Consort Li raised an eyebrow in surprise. Quite a production today. She glanced out of the corner of her eye at Guanyue, who stood to one side.
Guanyue lowered her head and said nothing.
The moment Qi Chuyao saw Song Shi, she broke into a sweet smile. “Sister Song, I dreamed about you last night!”
“Really? You didn’t dream about the food I made?”
“I dreamed about both!” Qi Chuyao shyly lowered her head. Her little legs swung back and forth as her eyes kept darting between the six food boxes. She looked so eager she could hardly wait to eat.
Princess Consort Li chuckled. “This little glutton came looking for you before dawn, crying and wailing that she was hungry and wanted you, Song Shi!”
“Y-Yaoyao didn’t cry!” Qi Chuyao protested softly.
Song Shi smiled faintly, then began setting out the breakfast she had spent half the night preparing, finishing only in the morning.
There were delicate, bite-sized soup dumplings[1]Chinese dumplings containing savory broth as well as filling; the soup is enclosed within the wrapper during cooking. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3717369_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3717369_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });; steamed buns with vegetable and taro fillings; sweet red bean tofu pudding[2]Also called douhua, a very soft tofu dish that can be served with sweet or savory toppings depending on regional tradition. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3717369_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3717369_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); and savory tofu pudding with shredded chicken and shiitake mushrooms; red date cake[3]‘Red dates’ here refers to jujubes, a fruit widely used in Chinese sweets and traditional food preparations, not ordinary date-palm fruit. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3717369_1_3').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3717369_1_3', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });; flower pastries; rice noodle rolls, made by wrapping various fillings in steamed rice sheets, cutting them into small pieces, and drizzling them with sauce; peach blossom pastries; and eight other dishes, fifteen in all.
There was plenty of variety, but only small portions. Even so, the three people at the table couldn’t possibly finish everything. But this was the Prince’s Residence; there was no wasteful extravagance here.
As a person from Huaxia, Song Shi had a deeply ingrained habit of not wasting food and trying to clean her plate. That was why the five meals she had cooked yesterday were all portioned according to Princess Consort Li and Qi Jinrui’s appetites. Today, she had no choice but to make extra to secure her place as head cook. It wouldn’t really go to waste, though; the leftovers were usually given to the servants.
Qi Chuyao’s eyes went round as saucers. A suspicious trickle of drool at the corner of her mouth had barely been wiped away by a maid before it appeared again. The maid wiped it away, only for it to return—over and over, until the sight was almost too funny.
Princess Consort Li smiled as she looked over the dishes. Every one of them looked appealing. If they pleased Jinrui, what harm was there in delaying the trip to the palace by a few days?
The whole room was fragrant with food, but it still wasn’t enough to wake Qi Jinrui, who was half-reclined in his chair. Was he asleep?
Song Shi studied Qi Jinrui discreetly. His brows were tightly furrowed, and his face was pale with a faint bluish tinge. He had eaten five meals of spirit spring cuisine yesterday. How could there have been no effect at all?
That didn’t make sense…
As soon as Qi Jinrui opened his eyes, he found Song Shi staring at him strangely.
“?”
Why was she looking at him like that?
“Uncle Rui’s awake! Come have breakfast! Sister Song made so many, many delicious things!” Qi Chuyao hopped down from her chair and clung to his arm. “Yaoyao will help Uncle Rui.”
Help him? She was practically hanging off him.
Song Shi nearly laughed at the sight, but managed to hold it in.
With a servant supporting him, Qi Jinrui struggled over. It was only a few steps, yet they seemed to exhaust every bit of his strength. Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, his face grew even paler, and his breathing grew heavier. Song Shi felt tired just watching him.
Qi Jinrui gripped the armrest and was about to sit down when his vision suddenly went black. He pitched forward, unable to stop himself.
Song Shi reacted before she could think. She stepped in and caught him as he fell, but had underestimated his weight. He brought her down with him, and they crashed to the floor together.
“Commandery Prince Rui’an!”
“Jinrui!”
“Imperial Physician[4]A physician associated with the imperial medical establishment who could attend members of the royal or noble household; the exact appointment is not specified. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3717369_1_4').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3717369_1_4', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });!”
“Uncle Rui!”
The servant hurried over and carefully lifted Qi Jinrui, who was unconscious on top of Song Shi.
At last, the human-shaped boulder on her chest was moved off her, and Song Shi could breathe again. The impact had felt as if all her internal organs had been knocked out of place.
The imperial physician came hurrying in, nearly stumbling as he ran, his medicine chest in hand. While he took Qi Jinrui’s pulse, no one present dared breathe too loudly.
Qi Chuyao clutched Princess Consort Li’s hand. Tears pattered down her cheeks, but she didn’t dare cry aloud.
Sitting on the floor, Song Shi rubbed her aching lower back and kept her eyes fixed on the imperial physician. His brows furrowed, then relaxed; then his expression turned grave. The sight made everyone’s heart leap into their throats.
“Did the Young Commandery Prince not take his medicine today?” The imperial physician’s question brought Song Shi back to herself.
The servant who personally attended Qi Jinrui dropped to his knees with a thud. Pressing his forehead to the floor, he trembled as he said, “Commandery Prince Rui’an did take it, but then he threw it up, and ordered this servant not to make him any more medicine, and not to…”
“Someone drag him away and give him a thorough beating!” Princess Consort Li pointed furiously at the servant. How dare he conceal something so serious from her?
“Spare me, Princess Consort! Spare me!”
The servant cried and screamed as he was dragged away, tears and snot streaming down his face. The sight sent a chill through Song Shi and only strengthened her resolve to escape her slave status and leave as soon as possible.
But for now, her position as head cook was hanging by a thread. If she really became a personal maid, how was she supposed to use spirit spring cuisine to nurse Qi Jinrui back to health?
Becoming Qi Jinrui’s “lifesaver” was the quickest way Song Shi could think of to escape her slave status and leave the residence.
“Mother, cough, cough… let him go.”
Qi Jinrui’s voice was weak, but everyone present heard him clearly.
“All right, all right. Mother will do as you say.” Princess Consort Li clutched Qi Jinrui’s hand, tears streaming uncontrollably down her face. “Jinrui, don’t scare Mother like that again.”
The imperial physician opened his medicine chest and prepared the medicine on the spot, then handed it to Song Shi, who was nearest.
“Take this and decoct it. Boil the first dose for two quarters of an hour, then the second for half a tea’s time[5]An informal traditional expression for the approximate time it takes to drink tea, rather than a fixed number of minutes. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3717369_1_5').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3717369_1_5', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });.”
Song Shi took the packet and hurried off.
Qi Jinrui’s illness was more serious than she had imagined. Spirit spring cuisine alone was working far too slowly. Perhaps if she used spirit spring water to decoct his medicine and paired it with spirit spring cuisine, the treatment would work faster?
Medicinal herbs counted as a kind of ingredient too, didn’t they?
Never mind. She’d try it first.
Qi Jinrui gazed toward the doorway, where Song Shi had disappeared.
He hadn’t been completely unconscious. He knew Song Shi had thrown herself in front of him in time. He had clearly heard the sound of them hitting the floor, as well as her cry of pain.
Song Shi had only just put the medicine on to boil when Qi Jinrui’s personal servant brought her a box of ointment for bruises and pain.
Well, the fellow was thoughtful. He knew she’d taken quite a hit. Her back and waist were still aching faintly.
By the time Song Shi returned to the dining hall with the decocted medicine, more than half of the fifteen breakfast dishes on the table were gone. Qi Jinrui, Princess Consort Li, and Qi Chuyao had stopped eating. Only the imperial physician was still at it, apparently intent on finishing everything left on the table.
“Sister Song, breakfast was so good! Yaoyao’s so, so full, and she still wants more, but she can’t eat another bite.” Qi Chuyao patted her round belly and looked regretfully at the food that remained.
“Uncle Rui ate nicely too. Yaoyao didn’t even have to coax him today!”
“Oh? You usually coax Commandery Prince Rui’an into eating, Master Yao? How impressive.”
The little one who had been praised lifted her chin proudly. “That’s right! Whenever Uncle Rui doesn’t eat, Yaoyao…”
Qi Jinrui gave a light cough. “Yaoyao, didn’t you say you wanted to take some pastries to Mother?”
“Oh, right! Yaoyao saved a portion for Mother. I’ll take it to her, then come back to see Uncle Rui!” After saying that, Qi Chuyao left with a maid carrying a food box.
Her small figure radiated happiness.
“Commandery Prince Rui’an, time for your medicine?” Song Shi asked, though she was already holding out the bowl of bitter-smelling brown liquid.
Qi Jinrui furrowed his brows and turned his head away in refusal. “I’m not taking it.”
“Jinrui, don’t be stubborn. You’ll recover faster if you take your medicine,” Princess Consort Li urged.
Recover?
These concoctions only kept him alive. He knew his own body; he wouldn’t live much longer.
“Commandery Prince Rui’an, I made these especially for you.” Song Shi opened the little jar she had brought, revealing hard candies in five colors.
Did Song Shi think she could coax him the way she did Yaoyao?
He wasn’t refusing the medicine because he was afraid of its bitterness. He simply felt it could no longer do much for him. If so, why make himself suffer?
He might as well spend what time he had left eating delicious food.
Qi Jinrui remained unmoved.
“Commandery Prince Rui’an, it’s just the right temperature. Drink it all in one go, and you won’t taste the bitterness.” Song Shi didn’t want to persuade him at all. She wanted to pour the medicine straight into his mouth.
They had to coax him to eat, coax him to take his medicine—he was worse than Qi Chuyao!
“I made them in grapefruit, milk, pear, pomegranate, and tangerine flavors. Which one would you like to try first after you finish your medicine?”
Qi Jinrui glanced at the five-colored hard candies she had tipped into an empty bowl: amber-red, pure white, pale yellow, deep pink, and orange. He found himself thinking about the choices. He had eaten sweets with milk and grapefruit flavors yesterday; what about tangerine…?
Song Shi picked up a tangerine-flavored candy. “Your Highness, open your mouth.”
Qi Jinrui opened his mouth, but instead of candy, bitter medicine poured in!
How dare she trick him!
After swallowing the medicine, Qi Jinrui opened his mouth to berate her, but Song Shi quickly popped the tangerine candy into his mouth. Its sweet, fragrant flavor dispelled the bitterness, and the urge to vomit subsided too.
“Hmph!”
If she tricked him into taking medicine again, he’d replace her sooner or later!
Song Shi caught the warning in Qi Jinrui’s eyes and fobbed him off with a silly grin. She was the one who ought to be huffing—every one of them was harder to deal with than the last.
Still, since Princess Consort Li didn’t seem to be planning a trip to the palace, Song Shi’s position as head cook was probably safe for now?
References[+]