"No wonder I haven't heard you cough much lately. Could it be the effect of this soup?"
Tang Huan didn't answer, but her smile deepened. She picked up another piece of crispy fish for her and said, "Try this too. It's good for your appetite and energy. You need to replenish your energy right now."
Mo Xi enjoyed the meal very much.
Adding fragrance to blue sleeves
( ) After the meal, Mo Xi leaned against the rosewood and marble chaise longue, holding a book in her right hand. Feeling hot, she rolled up her sleeves twice, revealing a section of skin that was slightly red and wrinkled from being soaked in medicine for a long time. Seeing this, Tang Huan also picked up a book and started reading.
The first chapter of "Biographies of Assassins"—Cao Mo:
Cao Mo, a general of the State of Lu, suffered three consecutive defeats in battle against the State of Qi. Duke Zhuang of Lu was terrified and wanted to cede the territory of Suiyi to the State of Qi to sue for peace, but he still appointed Cao Mo as his general.
Duke Huan of Qi and Duke Zhuang of Lu were swearing an oath at the Altar of Heaven in Ke when Cao Mo, wielding a dagger, kidnapped Duke Huan. Duke Huan's entourage, hesitant to act, could only ask him his intentions. Cao Mo said, "Qi is strong and Lu is weak, yet your invasion of Lu has gone too far. Now, if the walls of Lu's capital collapse, they will engulf Qi's borders. You should decide what to do." Duke Huan then promised to return all the territories he had seized from Lu. Upon hearing this, Cao Mo threw down the dagger, descended the Altar of Heaven, and stood facing north in the place where the ministers were supposed to stand, as if nothing had happened. Duke Huan was furious and wanted to renege on his promise. Guan Zhong said, "No. You cannot be greedy for short-term gains. Doing so will cause you to lose all prestige among the feudal lords and the trust and support of the people. It is better to return them." Therefore, Duke Huan returned the cities he had seized from Lu, and all the cities Cao Mo had ceded in the three major battles were returned.
Mo Xi couldn't help but rely on him. He endangered the nation for his own selfish gain, committing despicable acts while enjoying great fame. Of all the charlatans and swindlers of history, this man is the worst!
Cao Mo was originally a general of Lu, but he failed in his duties, resulting in three consecutive defeats. A general who neither died on the battlefield nor won battles, instead of focusing on his duties during the peace negotiations, resorted to assassination—a despicable act of greed for fame and survival. This fellow suddenly jumped out during the alliance between the two states, feigning righteousness and seemingly ready to die alongside Duke Huan of Qi, but he knew perfectly well that there was no real danger involved.
Duke Huan of Qi, as the ruler of a state with a thousand chariots, valued his life highly. Would he really risk his life to die with this clown? Therefore, he would most likely agree to Cao Mo's demands. Moreover, Duke Huan was a public figure; he couldn't go back on his word. So, this seemingly dangerous move was actually a sure thing. This fellow used this tactic to gain fame and think he had avenged his previous humiliation, but in reality, it was a disastrous act for the state. What if Duke Huan couldn't tolerate the humiliation and, in a fit of rage, launched a massive army attack? Wouldn't Duke Zhuang of Lu be frantic? At that time, Qi was strong and Lu was weak. The Qi army's act of avenging their ruler was justified, and the soldiers' anger and determination would be unstoppable. Even if Lu didn't perish, it would soon be doomed. Therefore, Cao Mo's move was truly self-serving and reckless. Sima Qian must have received a considerable bribe from him and even wrote a biography to promote him…
This is truly unacceptable, absolutely unacceptable. Finding it uninteresting, Mo Xi tossed the book aside.
He glanced up and saw Tang Huan reading as well. Under the dim light of the lamp, the man was undeniably handsome.
Mo Xi glanced at the book, then at Tang Huan, and couldn't help but recall the poem, "Green-clad maids hold inkstones to urge the writing of scrolls, red sleeves add fragrance to accompany reading." He thought to himself: What a wonderful and sensual thing it would be to have this enchanting beauty by my side.
Only after arriving here did Mo Xi realize that the incense mentioned by the ancients was not the unsightly stick incense that looked like chopsticks stuck in rice, but rather various incense balls, incense cakes, and incense pills made through the "blending of incense" method.
Tang Huan felt Mo Xi looking at him, so he raised his head and asked gently, "Are you feeling unwell?"
Mo Xi shook her head. She didn't feel any pain after the acupuncture. It was only the first day, and the internal heat wasn't very noticeable yet.
Seeing Mo Xi staring intently at him, Tang Huan finally couldn't resist and shifted her gaze back to the book. Mo Xi, however, showed no sign of restraint. A moment later, Tang Huan realized that he had read those ten lines four times without understanding them. Sighing inwardly, he reluctantly put down the book and asked, "What is it you wish to do, young lady?" Someone as clever and unpredictable as her must be plotting something again.
“The night is boring. Let’s play a riddle game. Whether you guess it or not, you have to do me a small favor related to the answer, okay?” Mo Xi’s plan was that someone as talented as Tang Huan would most likely be able to guess the answer, but if this guy pretended not to know, wouldn’t that be boring? So he simply threw out a domineering clause first, and would make concessions if Tang Huan did not agree.
Tang Huan chuckled and said, "Since you're so domineering, whether I guess right or wrong, you're in an invincible position." Seeing that Mo Xi looked somewhat dejected, he stopped teasing her and readily said, "Please give me your question, Miss."
"The Red Cliffs lie buried, the waters still; only names remain, carried on empty boats. A single torch roars, a mournful wind blows; countless heroic souls wander within." Mo Xi recited aloud. This is Cao Xueqin's "Remembering the Red Cliffs" from *Dream of the Red Chamber*. Scholars of *Dream of the Red Chamber* offer various answers to this riddle: one says it's an incense burner, another says it's ice, and yet another says it's a pot. Mo Xi naturally chose the incense burner answer and asked the question.
Tang Huan pondered deeply:
The Red Cliffs are buried and the water no longer flows: The Battle of Red Cliffs laid the foundation for the Three Kingdoms period. The incense burners in front of the temple are all "three-legged and two-handled," that is, "three-legged cauldrons." After the burning of paper boats and candles, the walls of the three-legged incense burners would naturally be burned "red," turning into "Red Cliffs." This "Red Cliffs" is "buried" in the ashes of the burner, and is neither the "Red Cliffs" on the riverbank, so there is no flowing water.
"Leaving only names on an empty boat": This idiom uses the image of a three-legged incense burner as a metaphor for an empty boat, naturally unable to carry people or goods. The historical allusion of the "three-legged tripod" is well-known and has been passed down through generations. However, the three-legged incense burner is neither the "Records of the Three Kingdoms" nor the "Battle of Red Cliffs," hence the saying: "Leaving only names on an empty boat."
The clamor of a single torch and the chilling wind: This alludes to Qin Shi Huang's burning of books as a metaphor for worshippers burning paper offerings. Burning paper offerings is mostly for mourning the deceased, hence the phrase "chilly wind."
Countless heroic souls roam within: by burning paper boats and candles, the souls of the deceased can obtain "paper money." The underworld is overflowing with offerings, attracting countless heroic souls to vie for these offerings, a fact unknown to mortals.
Tang Huan replied, "Is it an incense burner?"
Mo Xi nodded, thinking to himself: This guy guessed right after all. Luckily, I used the unfair terms.
Tang Huan felt that Mo Xi's eyes were sparkling with a bright light, incredibly lively, and she already guessed what Mo Xi wanted her to do, so her heart skipped a beat. But she remained calm and said, "Riddles are only fun when there is a back-and-forth exchange. Please try to solve one, whether you solve it or not. I also have a favor to ask of you."
"You tell me first."
"No rush. Would you like me to light incense, young lady?" Knowing her stubborn nature, he didn't press the issue.
Mo Xi nodded vigorously while looking at him with great interest.
"May I ask what kind of incense burner the young lady would like to use, and what kind of incense she would like to burn?"
Mo Xi asked curiously, "Does the Tang Clan have a large collection of incense burners? I don't know about that."
Tang Huan said, "We don't have them in Qinghui Pavilion, but we can find them elsewhere. Please wait a moment, Miss, while I make the arrangements."
A short while later, Luan Su led a line of maids, each carrying a different incense burner, into the room.
There were truly incense burners of all shapes and materials, leaving Mo Xi overwhelmed with admiration. Some were in the shape of animals: qilin, suanni, lions, cranes, and more. In these animal-shaped burners, incense burned from the belly, and wisps of smoke would escape from the mouths of the birds and beasts, creating a charming scene. There were also exquisitely crafted two-tiered incense burners, resting on a silver-gilt disc. Others were shaped like lotus petals, complete with a precious ornament, used for Buddhist worship. The materials were even more diverse, including porcelain, bronze, jade, cloisonné, and filigree enamel, with blue-and-white porcelain further divided into polychrome and doucai styles.
Seeing that Mo Xi was watching with great interest, Tang Huan introduced: "Incense burners can be roughly divided into four categories: the first type is placed on the table; the second type is held in the hand; the third type is used for meditation, which is called a hook incense burner; and the fourth type is used during initiation, where the recipient steps over an incense burner to purify the body."
Mo Xi first looked at a gilded silver incense burner with a chain connecting the lid and body. The burner had a straight mouth, a bulging belly, and a ring foot. The upper half of the belly was decorated with ruyi patterns, with cloud patterns engraved in the center. The ring foot was adorned with hanging lotus patterns. The incense burner had a pair of handles shaped like stylized honeysuckle. The lid was stepped, with a knob resembling a lotus bud. The lid was openwork, used to release fragrance. The decorations on the body were gilded, giving the entire piece an air of elegance and luxury.
She then picked up a brown-glazed, trayless incense burner and examined it. This incense burner was divided into two parts that could be separated. The upper part consisted of three layers of five-petaled plum blossoms in bud, each petal carved with a clear, intricately detailed stem. A beautiful little bird adorned the top, standing gracefully and gazing into the distance. The lower part was circular and hollow. The overall design was vivid and naturally simple.
The remaining items, in various colors such as cloisonné enamel incense burners with auspicious beast patterns, white jade incense burners with circular handles, gilt bronze incense burners inlaid with gemstones, green-based famille rose incense burners with openwork floral patterns, jade four-tube incense burners, cloisonné enamel incense burners with auspicious patterns and lids, and incense burners with inscriptions of ten thousand leaves and six flowers, totaled more than twenty pieces of various sizes. The sheer variety was astounding, and Mo Xi couldn't help but admire it greatly.
Her gaze swept around the room, and she pointed to a celadon-glazed tripod incense burner with two handles that seemed to connect naturally, saying, "This is it." The porcelain of this burner was exquisite, the glaze was a natural, lustrous blue, and the light was even and clear, like jade, elegant and refined. It was truly "skilled as casting gold and exquisite as carving jade."
Luan Su stood by, holding all the necessary utensils for adding and burning incense: incense shovel, incense pick, incense chopsticks, and incense box. Only then did Mo Xi realize that in addition to the "three essential items for burning incense" written in the book—incense burner, chopsticks holder, and incense box—there were other intricacies involved.
It is clear that "adding fragrance to the red sleeves" is far more than just putting a stick of incense into the incense burner.
Tang Huan took out some incense pills, and Luan Su said, "Fourth Young Master, Luan Su should do it."
Tang Huan said, "It's alright."
He first heated specially made small pieces of charcoal until they were red-hot, then placed them in the incense burner. He then covered the charcoal with fine incense ash, burying it completely. Next, he poked a few holes in the ash to allow oxygen to enter and prevent the fire from going out. Then, he placed various thin, hard "fire dividers" made of fine porcelain, mica, coins, silver leaves, and sand on the ash. Finally, he placed several incense balls on top of the fire dividers, allowing the fragrance to slowly evaporate under the gentle heat of the charcoal beneath the ash.
Mo Xi then realized that "burning incense" did not mean directly burning incense balls or cakes; rather, it meant slowly roasting the incense balls or cakes with the help of charcoal fire to release their aroma.
Tang Huan said, “When burning incense, you should try to minimize the smoke and let the fragrance linger. Therefore, the most important thing is to make the charcoal in the stove burn as slowly as possible, with a small but long-lasting flame. Once the incense is burning, you need to keep observing it, otherwise, ‘if the smoke is too strong, the fragrance will spread and be extinguished in an instant.’”
Mo Xi asked curiously, "But these charcoal ash or incense cakes are buried in the ash and can't be seen, so how can we tell?"
Tang Huan smiled slightly, placed his hand above the gray surface, and said, "You must test the heat level with your own hands."