Chapter 2636 - 2569: Sweet and Creamy Fermented Milk

The memorial was presented by Bai Shan. They arrived at the palace a day earlier, not only to check where they would be working for the next two months, but also to sort the incoming memorials, mark them, and then submit them to the Emperor.

The Emperor put down his teacup, casually picked up the memorial at the top, and upon opening it, saw Yin Li reporting the drought and summer heat situation in the capital region.

The Emperor felt thirsty again, set down the memorial, picked up the teacup, took a sip, and looked outside, "How is everyone doing with tidying up?"

Seeing the Emperor unable to sit still, Gu Zhong smiled and said, "There’s quite a commotion. Would Your Majesty like to take a look?"

The Emperor hesitated, fiddled with the memorial for a while, and realized he couldn’t calm down. So he threw down the memorial and said, "Let’s go, see how everyone is tidying up. Today’s heat is intense, and my dear ministers are moving under the hot sun; let’s not tire them out."

Gu Zhong smiled and assisted the Emperor in getting up and stepping out.

The Yongzhou Palace is not located within Yongzhou City but outside of it, among a series of connected mountains. The palace is built among dense forests, ascending along the mountains.

The Emperor’s Longevity Palace is near the top, further up from halfway up the mountain, making it quite cool.

As soon as he stepped outside, a cool breeze hit the Emperor, making him squint his eyes comfortably—a rare treat indeed.

In Taiji Palace, whether indoors or outdoors, staying still makes one sweat, and any movement causes sweat to pour down like rain.

It’s both stuffy and hot, terribly uncomfortable.

Feeling refreshed, the Emperor leisurely strolled towards the back, looking for the Empress. Reaching the entrance of the bedroom, he poked his head in and saw a constant stream of inner officials and palace maids coming and going. After thinking for a bit, he decided it might be a hassle and said, "Let’s not disturb the Empress; let’s go elsewhere and take a look."

Thus, he wandered away.

The Emperor wandered half a circle around his Longevity Palace and saw the path down the mountain. It was near dusk, the clouds in the sky were brilliant, the sun had dipped halfway down, and there was an orange-red cloud seemingly nestled in the treetops below.

He pointed below and asked, "Is Courtier Wei living down there?"

Gu Zhong bent down and said, "Yes, the ministers stay below, further down the palace is where the Six Ministries are located, and at the very bottom is where the Imperial Guard camps."

The Emperor nodded his head, then stepped downwards, "Let’s go, visit Courtier Wei and the others."

Lord Wei wasn’t there; he was busily handling the memorials from yesterday.

Having completed his task, Bai Shan quickened his pace down to a lower palace after leaving the Longevity Palace...

Minister Han felt the hustle in the courtyard, having ridden his horse for a day, his back and waist were sore. Annoyed, he turned to walk out, only to see Bai Shan, robes fluttering, swiftly pass by him.

Minister Han opened his mouth but Bai Shan, lifting his robe, ran forward, ran past two courtyards, and joyfully pushed open a door and jumped in, "Manbao—"

Minister Han, surprised to see Bai Shan, who usually keeps a stern face beside the Emperor, in such a playful demeanor, couldn’t help but twitch his face.

Manbao, already having been served by Xi Bing to wash her face with cold water and wipe her neck and hands, hadn’t had time to change out of her official attire yet. Hearing Bai Shan’s voice, she joyfully peeked out the window, delightedly exclaiming, "You’re back?"

Manbao dropped her towel and ran outside, reaching Bai Shan’s side, unable to resist complaining slightly, "It’s so hot today."

Bai Shan held her hand and smiled, "I expected this. The Astronomical Bureau mentioned early on that these days would have intense sunlight and heavy heat, advising people to avoid going out. Following with so many carriages, you must have traveled slowly."

He continued, "Yesterday, I asked someone to make cheesecake and bought a bucket of iced treats; now is the best time to eat them. Let me take you to eat."

Manbao’s eyes lit up, immediately dropping the household chores in the courtyard, pulling him and saying, "Let’s go, where to eat?"

"I’ll take you to retrieve them."

Daji was about to put down his broom and follow, but Bai Shan waved him off, saying, "Daji, no need to follow. We’re in the palace; there won’t be any danger."

Daji halted, watching the two hand in hand running out.

Minister Han was stretching at the entrance of the courtyard, halfway through twisting when he saw Bai Shan and Zhou Man swiftly exiting together. He stiffened, plastering a smile ready to greet them, but they didn’t head in this direction; instead, they walked right away, naturally not noticing him.

Minister Han: ...

He squinted at the pair walking shoulder to shoulder into the distance. The courtyard gate was opened behind him, and a young man walked out asking, "Father, may I go find Lu Yue and the others?"

Minister Han turned back, glaring, "What for? You’re not young anymore. Shouldn’t you know better? Even younger folks have become competent, holding fourth or fifth rank positions. Look at what you’ve accomplished."

Bai Shan led Manbao around a corner into a narrow path, following it upwards.

Manbao couldn’t help but stop to take a look back, noticing their courtyard down below, just cleverly hidden by the mountain rocks, entirely blocking the view.

She was filled with wonder, "So, there’s a hidden path here? Isn’t the Emperor’s Longevity Palace up ahead?"

"No," Bai Shan replied, "Turning around, you’ll find yourself right at the side rear of the Longevity Palace. When I came up yesterday, I checked it out. This place is very discreet, but the road is well made, with quite a nice view."

He stepped onto the first step, reaching out to help her up, laughing, "There’s a cold spring up ahead, where I’ve stored the ice bucket."

No choice, in these times, to slow down the ice’s melting, either a cold spring or a cellar is needed.

But Bai Shan disliked the idea of storing it in a cellar due to potential odor, so he avoided it.

The mountain hosting the Yongzhou Palace has several cold springs; the one Bai Shan found wasn’t very large, as people usually didn’t fetch water from there, hence few would come.

Bai Shan pulled Manbao along, finally reaching the top as the sunset fully disappeared.

A wooden bucket was submerged in the cold spring, secured with a rope tied to a tree on the side.

Bai Shan took the bucket out, opened the lid, revealing a sealed large bamboo tube inside.

He opened the bamboo tube, took down a basket from the tree, and sat beside Manbao on a stone. Opening the basket’s lid, he revealed, not only bowls and spoons, but also prepared dried plums and osmanthus honey.

Bai Shan scooped out half a bowl of cheesecake, sprinkled some dried plums and osmanthus honey, his eyes gleaming like stars as he handed it to her, "Try it."

Manbao looked, puzzled and dazed, accepting it, "How did you prepare everything so thoroughly?"

Bai Shan grinned, "Didn’t you mention being busy with official matters these past couple of years, dreaming of a moment of leisure? I thought this might count as leisure."

Manbao held the cheesecake, eyes glistening, nodding, "It counts, it definitely does."

Bai Shan added, "Summer requires moderation in cooling down. You should only eat half a bowl. I’ll save the rest for you, in the cold spring here; you can eat it tomorrow."

Manbao stirred the cheesecake, mixed it evenly, first feeding him a spoonful. Bai Shan watched her, smiling, took a bite, nodding, "Indeed, it’s quite good. You should try it."