Chapter 0311: Ugly Dumplings from Poor Culinary Skills, Guarding the Bed at Midnight to Preserve Chastity!
After the New Year’s banquet concluded, the ministers departed from the palace with their families.
Xie Zimiao was unwilling to return to the residence and insisted on staying overnight at Cheng Huan Palace. Unable to refuse him, Xie Chengze simply invited Xie Shoujun as well, taking the opportunity to present the belated birthday gifts he owed for the past ten years.
As for Shen Yuan, it went without saying—aside from the three days reserved for Xie Jinyu when he couldn’t set foot in Cheng Huan Palace, it was practically like a second home to him, where he came and went freely as he pleased.
The group gathered in Xie Chengze’s bedchamber, just like that previous time. Shen Yuan shoveled coal to heat the kang bed, personally smoothing out the bedding to make it warm and cozy. Xie Jinyu considered ordering the kitchen to prepare several pots of warm wine and side dishes, only to realize that Xie Chengze had already granted the palace servants of Cheng Huan Palace leave for the New Year holiday. Just as he was about to ask Shen Yuan to make the arrangements, he heard Xie Chengze say to Xie Zimiao, “Xiao Miao, come with Second Brother to the kitchen. I’ll make dumplings for you.”
Xie Jinyu quickly tugged at his sleeve. “You’re going to stay in the kitchen to make dumplings?”
“No, we’ll make them back in the room.”
Xie Chengze patted his head, signaling him not to worry, and then recited the classic New Year’s line with great flair: “Let’s all make dumplings together!”
After saying this, he couldn’t help but bend over laughing. Xie Jinyu didn’t understand what was so amusing, but seeing him laugh so heartily, he couldn’t help but soften his expression. “Mm, I’ll join Second Brother.”
He wanted to eat the reunion dumplings made by Second Brother’s own hands.
Before long, Xie Chengze returned carrying a slab of pork, a kitchen knife, and a bunch of scallions. Behind him, Xie Jinyu held a tray filled with various jars and bottles in one hand and a bag of flour in the other, while Xie Zimiao carried the large kneading board, neatly arranging everything on the wooden table in the room.
Neither Xie Jinyu nor Xie Zimiao knew how to cook, so Xie Shoujun took charge of chopping the meat, Shen Yuan kneaded the dough and rolled out the wrappers, and Xie Chengze mixed the filling and wrapped the dumplings.
Xie Chengze also called in Wuhen and Wuji. With one semi-skilled teacher guiding four culinary novices in pleating dumplings, the board was soon covered with their five horrendously shaped creations.
While the dumplings were boiling, Xie Chengze brought out the birthday gifts he owed Xie Shoujun.
Compared to Xie Shoujun, Xie Zimiao appeared even more excited. “Eldest Brother, open it quickly! See what Second Brother got for you!”
Xie Shoujun pressed down his restless hands, saying calmly, “Take it slow.”
But his movements as he unwrapped the gifts were anything but slow.
The first birthday gift was an extremely uniquely designed crossbow, which Xie Chengze called the “Invisible Crossbow.” This crossbow didn’t require the user to exert effort pulling the bowstring; instead, it used a curved hook on the stock to launch arrows. Not only was it very labor-saving, but it also had an exceptionally long range and could be operated with one hand. Xie Shoujun tried it just once and was instantly captivated.
The second birthday gift was a cold weapon called the Lantern Shield, combining an iron gauntlet with a round shield. The shield had a diameter of less than half a meter, with two serrated spikes on the glove and a dagger attached to the shield. Below the inner side was a blade parallel to the arm, making it a weapon integrating both offense and defense.
The original Lantern Shield also had a small hole where an oil lamp could be placed. When opened during a nighttime duel, the sudden burst of bright light would temporarily blind the opponent. Due to the complexity of the design, Xie Chengze and Old Gu hadn’t managed to replicate this feature and had temporarily abandoned this function.
The first two birthday gifts seemed somewhat cold, but at that time, Xie Shoujun had just gone to the battlefield. If Xie Chengze were to give a birthday gift, he would naturally prefer to offer something that could ensure his eldest brother’s safe return.
Starting from the third birthday gift, the presents became warmer. There was a jade pendant Xie Chengze had spent a long time selecting on the street, a bodhi bracelet he had strung himself, and even a mahjong set he had commissioned from a craftsman…
When it came to the last birthday gift, Xie Chengze somewhat sheepishly pressed Xie Shoujun’s hand and reminded him, “This… is still a work in progress, not finished yet.”
This immediately piqued the curiosity of everyone present.
“Could it be a wooden puppet carved by Second Brother?” Xie Zimiao still remembered that Second Brother had quite enjoyed carving wooden puppets as a child, but due to his lack of skill, they always turned out too ugly and ended up being thrown into the woodshed for firewood.
Xie Chengze shook his head.
Xie Jinyu pondered for a moment and guessed, “Then it must be a letter written by Second Brother? A handwritten letter spanning ten full years?”
Xie Chengze, who had no such thoughts nor such a delicate heart: “…No, that’s not it either.”
Wuhen and Wuji also joined the guessing game. “An ice sculpture lamp? Or perhaps a portrait of Prince Gong?”
Seeing Xie Chengze still shaking his head, everyone couldn’t help but turn their gaze to Shen Yuan.
Shen Yuan stared at the box containing the birthday gift, then looked at Xie Chengze’s expression of “you’ll never guess,” and after a long while, he cautiously said, “…Could it be… undergarments personally sewn by Your Highness?The room fell into a subtle silence.
The next moment, Xie Chengze flushed red and roared, “Of course not! What kind of decent person would give something like that as a birthday gift!”
Xie Zimiao clicked his tongue twice, showing a slightly disdainful look. “I never expected you to be such a person, Lord Shen.”
Shen Yuan: …It was only because Xie Chengze never followed conventional logic that he would—
Finally, Xie Shoujun opened the box.
Inside lay… an orange.
A moldy orange covered in green fuzz.
Xie Zimiao leaned in, looking confused. “Second Brother, did you take the wrong one?”
Why was the birthday gift a spoiled, moldy orange?
“I didn’t take the wrong one.” Xie Chengze patted the box proudly. “This is Second Brother’s current research project—penicillin.”
He explained to the group, “This is an anti-infection medicine. When soldiers are injured on the battlefield, many suffer from festering wounds and may even die as a result. This penicillin can reduce such infections and help soldiers recover their combat strength more quickly.”
Xie Zimiao’s eyes widened instantly. He knew that most soldiers died because their wounds became inflamed and festered, with no effective treatment available.
Although gunpowder explosions could effectively intimidate enemy troops at the border, there would always be those unafraid of death, and times when close combat between armies was unavoidable. Soldiers would still get injured.
But if Second Brother’s penicillin was truly that effective, one could imagine how many wounded soldiers could be saved, and how many families would not lose their loved ones!
“Second Brother!” Xie Zimiao’s eyes sparkled with admiration. “You’re truly amazing! How did you come to know about such things?”
How could an ordinary person possibly think that a moldy orange could be used to create anti-inflammatory medicine for wounds!
“Because Second Brother is a lucky star.” Xie Chengze couldn’t help but laugh and ruffle his head. “The heavens sent me a dream!”
Xie Jinyu, standing nearby, furrowed his brow slightly at the words and gazed at the birthday gifts before downing the hot wine in his cup in one gulp.
“It seems Second Brother has expended quite some effort preparing these birthday gifts lately,” he remarked with a hint of sarcasm. “All the energy replenished from Shen Yuan must have been spent on this, hasn’t it?”
Xie Chengze immediately lowered his head guiltily and poured him more hot wine. “Just this once,” he mumbled.
Indeed, under the guise of preparing gifts for Xie Shoujun, he had secretly been researching some public welfare projects.
Xie Zimiao glanced at Xie Jinyu in confusion, assuming his sarcastic tone stemmed from jealousy over their elder brother receiving so many gifts, and didn’t pay it much mind.
By then, the dumplings were cooked. As they began eating, they also started trying out the mahjong set Xie Chengze had made. Soon addicted to the game, they forgot about the dumplings, taking turns at the table and playing with great enthusiasm.
Xie Chengze, unable to stay up late, went to bed early on the kang. The others continued playing mahjong quietly. Xie Shoujun and the others maintained more decorum and composure, unlike Xie Zimiao and Wuji, who waved their arms while silently mouthing their tiles as if performing an exquisite mime.
Time passed unnoticed.
Xie Chengze woke up groggily, sensing movement by his bed. He cracked his eyes open to see Shen Yuan standing before him, holding what appeared to be a massive object.
“Shen Yuan?” The young man’s voice was hoarse, his throat dry from the heated kang.
Hearing the sound, Shen Yuan turned. The candles in the room had long gone out, and in the darkness, his eyes met Xie Chengze’s confused, drowsy gaze. His tone softened considerably. “Your servant is here.”
“What are you doing?” Xie Chengze patted the pillow, inviting him. “Come to bed.”
Shen Yuan paused, released the massive object in his hand, and pushed it away with a warning glare until it grumbled and retreated. Only then did he sit by the bed, grasping the young man’s hand. “Your Highness, sleep first.”
This time, he would guard by the bedside—let’s see which shameless creature would dare take liberties with Xie Chengze while he slept!