Chapter 59

“Well, I gathered them… but what are we going to do with pine needles?”

Lan Xin held up a pine needle, as though unable to imagine what could possibly be done with it.

First, Fei Ling washed the pine needles and soaked them in a jar with sugar and water. She then left the mixture to ferment in the sunlight. While waiting for it to finish fermenting, she simmered cardamom, cloves, cinnamon sticks, star anise, alisma, poria, polyporus, and atractylodes in a pot.

“This feels like real traditional Chinese medicine!”

“Among the herbs we’re simmering, alisma, poria, polyporus, and atractylodes are ingredients in Wuling San, a formula in Chinese medicine that is effective for relieving shuitai (fluid retention). Shuitai corresponds to zuitai (alcohol-related fluid retention). Taking Wuling San can detoxify the source of intoxication. However, since it only addresses alcohol-related inebriation, I’ve combined it with other herbs.”

“Polyporus and poria are mushrooms, right? They sound incredibly bitter…”

“Surprisingly, they create a refreshing flavor.”

The medicine being prepared was originally developed in a distant foreign land. It used to include the seeds of a type of parasol tree, but due to their narcotic properties, they were intentionally excluded in the Bai Ze’s Guide.

After some time, fermentation progressed, and small bubbles began to form on the pine needles. Fei Ling removed the needles at just the right moment and combined them with the decoction she had prepared earlier.

The resulting liquid was a drink with the color of melted amber.

“It’s ready.”

“Wow, it’s fizzing!”

Lan Xin curiously peered into the jar.

“Now, all that’s left is to deliver the medicine,” Fei Ling said.

Sensing Fei Ling’s hesitation, Lan Xin spoke reluctantly.

“Actually… I can’t handle that feng shui master.”

“Can’t handle him? What do you mean?”

Lan Xin’s eyes widened dramatically.

“It’s like… this overwhelming, creepy feeling! Like centipedes or house centipedes crawling all over my back—ugh! It’s unbearable! I don’t even know why!”

“Uh… my condolences,” Fei Ling offered awkwardly.

She couldn’t find the right words. Could Lan Xin somehow sense the swarm of insects hidden by the Zhen instinctively? Despite her carefree demeanor, she had a surprisingly sharp intuition.

(She did faint at the sight of a cicada shell, after all.)

If she ever saw the venomous insects the Zhen kept, she’d surely be haunted by nightmares for weeks. Even if it wasn’t about the Zhen, Fei Ling felt uneasy about repeatedly bringing Lan Xin to places full of toxins.

“I understand. I’ll deliver the medicine myself.”

Dusk was approaching, and sleet had begun to fall.

The night promised to be cold, and there was a real risk of the intoxicated consorts freezing to death. She needed to hurry.

Still, carrying the heavy jar to the Winter Palace and climbing 200 steps was an unimaginably grueling task. Panting heavily, Fei Ling finally made it to the top and began distributing the medicine to the consorts and eunuchs.

The drunken consorts, their minds clouded, happily drank from the cups handed to them.

“…Oh.”

One consort blinked as she regained her senses.

“What… what was I…? Aaaaahhh!”

The sober consorts all screamed in unison.

Perhaps horrified by the irreparable disgrace they had displayed while drunk or mistakenly believing they’d been assaulted, some even began striking the eunuchs nearby.

“You! You’re the girl from Huntun, aren’t you?”

The consorts turned on Fei Ling with fierce glares.

“Don’t think you can get away with this! We won’t let you ruin us!”
“If you tell anyone about this, we’ll have you executed! Remember that!”

Their words were harsh—practically threats.

(Wow… talk about misplaced resentment.)

Though she cursed them in her heart, Fei Ling lowered her head obediently.

“Rest assured, I won’t speak of this to anyone.”

The consorts hastily gathered their skirts and fled down the stairs, the battered eunuchs trailing after them.

Once the place was completely empty, Fei Ling let out a heavy sigh. She had yet to hear a single word of appreciation for the medicine. As she moved to clean up, a cascade of cherry blossom petals fell like a torrent.

It wasn’t the gentle scattering of blossoms but an avalanche of petals, as if the boundless desires of the women themselves were falling with the flowers.

“It’s over,” Fei Ling murmured.

Emerging from the blizzard of petals, the Zhen descended from the rafters of the bell tower.

The cherry tree trunk stood at the center, with ropes forming a pentagram pattern around the pillars of the bell tower. The pentagram encompassed and circulated the cycle of all elements. Though Zhen claimed feng shui wasn’t his primary occupation, he was clearly well-versed in it.

“Hey, that drink…”

Brushing crimson petals from his hair, Zhen smirked.

“Won’t you give me some?”

Though momentarily disarmed, Fei Ling quickly poured the medicine into a cup and handed it to him.

“No alcohol in it?”

“They call it cola in foreign lands.”

The dark amber liquid, like concentrated resin, sparkled with fine, transparent bubbles rising to the surface. After inhaling its aroma, Zhen drank.

“This is unique. I’ve never had a drink that fizzes in your throat. Did you ferment pine needles?”

“Pine is the ultimate yang tree. During the Double Ninth Festival, you use chrysanthemums, a yang flower, to counterbalance the intense yang energy of the day. Similarly, the different types of yang neutralize each other. That’s why I used pine.”

Fermented pine drinks weren’t the only remedy; dried pine needles brewed into tea were also excellent for hangovers.

“It’s slightly bitter, but hmm, it’s good.”

He smiled faintly.

His amethyst-like eyes shimmered, and his smile was serene, devoid of malice or hostility. Though she had spent a fair amount of time with him, Fei Ling had never seen this expression before. Her heartbeat quickened.

(Why do you smile like you’re looking at something precious?)

It was unmistakably different from the polite smiles he showed to the consorts. For once, Fei Ling found herself flustered, averting her gaze. Her cheeks felt inexplicably warm.

(It’s not like I’ve been poisoned or anything…)