Chapter 23.2

Hi guys~ Sorry if it took a long time for me to update.

I got free time now and I will try my best to resume the update of Ying Chong. Hope you all are still interested in reading my translation.

This is not a professional translation; you have been warned. ʘ‿ʘ

Looking at the cloth piled into a hill on the table, the west chamber was very happy.

This was rewarded by the prince and this carries a different meaning. In particular, Xiao Dezi said that Crown Prince rarely rewards people and it’s even rarer to reward a lot.

People are in high spirits when involved in happy events. After the Crown Prince’s rewards, rewards from Jide Hall also followed. Later, when Xiang Pu went to the dining room to get dinner, they got several dishes that were not even in Pan Er’s copy. They also give some pastries and fruits without asking for silver.

Now the two boxes brought by Xiang Pu and Xiao Dezi were full and they even have to take extra boxes back. The royal kitchen were considerate to let two more eunuchs to deliver the food.

Seeing these fruits, Pan Er has a headache.

Summer is the season when fruits are abundant. The royal kitchen not only sent fresh peaches, plums, crab apples, watermelon, but also lychee and strawberries that are not easy to see at ordinary times.

Although lychee is not often seen in the capital, the Grand Canal in the great Zhou Dynasty is very developed so it’s not unusual for this thing to be transported to the capital as long as it’s in season. However, the strawberry was introduced from the West and it was not easy to grow it. In the past, Pan Er was very fond of this kind of fruit. These were tribute fruits. She can have some before for her Xian Fu palace was close to the House of Internal Affairs. When she became Empress Dowager her Ci Ning Palace also got a share of it.

I don’t know where the royal kitchen got such fruit. It’s estimated that there aren’t many of this fruit in the East Palace, but now it’s sent to her. And the watermelon, the dining room was also considerate to have it all sliced and with a silver fork on it.

No matter how much Pan Er likes to eat fruits, she can’t eat so much. It’s a pity if the fruits will be spoiled. Xiao Dezi expressed an idea, he said that he would go to the warehouse and come back. After a while, he was followed by two eunuchs and that carried a huge cauldron with ice.

This ice cauldron is different from the ordinary ice cauldron. It’s more exquisite in style, needless to say and besides putting ice to cool the summer, there’s a small box like structure in the middle. In this way, it can not only relieve the summer heat, but also be used to store the fruits that can’t be eaten for a while killing two birds with one stone.

Pan Er also thought of this thing but according to her copy she doesn’t have a share of it.

Xiang Pu had never seen such a rare thing. She went around it for several times while Qing Dai was telling people to put it on the table. She took money to reward the two eunuchs and sent them away. Xiang Pu asked Xiao Dezi how he got it.

Xiao Dezi copied the attitude of some big eunuchs, dusted his clothes and robes, and said in an amusing way, “Our master is a low-key person, and she doesn’t want to embarrass the people below. In fact, this thing is easy to handle. I just went to to the storehouse and say that there are some fruits in Fengyi’s house that can’t be eaten for a while. It’s a pity for it to be broken. They took the initiative to say about this ice cauldron and they specially asked someone to carry it for me.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it!”

Xiang Pu didn’t believe it and said, “Don’t lie to me, tell me what’s going on.”

Aunt Qing glanced at them along the curtain and said to Pan Er, “These two are really ^[1] living treasures.”

Pan Er couldn’t help laughing.

Aunt Qing touched the ice cauldron, looked at it carefully, took off the cover in the middle, looked at fruits inside it, and touched the cold copper wall and said: “This thing is indeed really good.”

“As long as the ice is continuous, it’s okay to keep the fruits for two or three days, and the frozen fruits can also relieve the summer heat.” Pan Er said.

“Using just ice before would cost much and now with this ice cauldron it will cost more”

In Fengyi’s copy, there is no ice. The ice used was all bought by silver. If you use this ice cauldron, you will spend money to get more ice in the future. Aunt Qing is not an ignorant person but these days she’s worried about the speed of Pan Er’s spending money on ice.

“Spending money on ice will only be for a few months anyway .”

While the conversation inside was ongoing, someone reported that few people came to the west chamber. Seeing that they were old acquaintances, Xiao Dezi went out.

“Why are the brothers here now?”

Xiao Dezi was talking nonsense with his eyes open, didn’t he see someone carrying something in their hands?

The leading eunuch is about twenty years old, with long eyebrows and delicate eyes. Seeing Xiao Dezi greeted him, he hurriedly laughed, and walked close to him and said, “Isn’t it not that I didn’t see you my brother to get the ice today. I thought that you where busy with something so I just went here instead. I know that you are busy waiting beside the master so no need to get the ice personally everyday. If I have time, I will send it to you personally. If I am not free, I will send it to the eunuch below.”

With that, he turned his head and said, “Move the things quickly. Don’t disturb the master.”

Look at this, the tone is still in tune, like a big play.

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* According to the author: Yáng méi [洋莓 translation: berry] is Cǎo méi [草莓translation: strawberry].

• [1] huó bǎo <活宝> – Translation: clown, live treasure. Meaning: a ridiculous person or a funny person.
• [2] zhēng yǎn shuō xiā huà <睁眼说瞎话> – Translation: Open your eyes and talk nonsense. Meaning: to speak blindly with eyes open, which was extended to lie unscrupulously.