Chapter Eighty-Six: A Sudden Fit of Madness

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Xu Ruojin no longer had the leisure to bother with whatever madness Zhang Zhongheng was losing himself in over there.

If she had known how furious he was, she would have added fuel to the fire.

She had the maids fetch a bowl of leftover rice from the previous day. Then she had Chun Cao grind it into a paste, add ten times as much water, and place it in a pot to steam gently.

Though the Great Wei prized brewing, it lacked a thing of real importance to wine: yeast starter.

Xu Ruojin had not realized this at first. It was only while learning her lessons from Lady Fang that she mentioned it casually, and Lady Fang had no idea what yeast starter was.

Xu Ruojin was astonished.

In her previous life, such a thing had been discovered long ago.

Though this world also had rice wine, it was merely rice steeped in wine. One drank it when the alcohol fragrance was still faint; once the taste grew too strong, it was simply thrown away and never used again.

In truth, throwing away the best part was the greatest pity of all.

If not for Yuan Huiling making things difficult for her today, forcing her to brew wine on the spot and drink it on the spot, she would never have thought of making yeast starter by hand.

As for letting these people drink the new brewing method she had just devised, Xu Ruojin felt no pressure at all.

After all, Yuan Huiling had already drawn her bow and was clearly prepared to make trouble for her.

None of them were anything good anyway. If they wanted to drink it, let them drink.

What of it?

The cooked rice broth gave off a faint wine fragrance. Xu Ruojin measured out the spices and medicinal ingredients one by one: cedarwood, cassia twig, clove, ginseng, pepper, licorice, mulberry leaf, rehmannia, mung bean, cocklebur, and the like. Jiang Mingshuang had already crushed everything.

The rice broth and the ingredients were mixed together, then put back into the pot to steam again.

The smell of the yeast starter was far from pleasant.

A thick stench of sour rot mixed with the bitter tang of medicine, making everyone cover their mouths.

The novelty of watching Xu Ruojin make wine had vanished in an instant.

Everyone wished they could flee as far away as possible, secretly regretting whatever madness had possessed them earlier to hope she would brew the wine faster.

But the flattering words had already been spoken. If they turned and ran now, would that not be the same as slapping themselves in the face?

Better to endure a little longer.

Zhao Cuiling had already found an excuse to go to the privy and fled; Mo Rong went with her for company.

Yuan Huiling, as the hostess, could not leave even if she wanted to. Pinching her nose, she began to shout, "Xu Ruojin, what on earth are you doing? What is that smell? Are you trying to poison them to death?"

Xu Ruojin had no mood to explain to her. She simply kept busy with her hands and said, "If you don’t like the smell, then step aside and wait. Who told you to insist I brew wine in front of everyone? Do you think this is some easy, comfortable task? Let alone brewing wine—even blending fragrances means mixing all sorts of smells together. If you don’t understand, then shut your mouth!"

Yuan Huiling rolled her eyes so hard they nearly turned over, her fists clenched tight.

As soon as Xu Ruojin said that, countless people glared at Yuan Huiling.

But how could Yuan Huiling blame herself for having made such a reckless suggestion?

She only wished for Xu Ruojin to make a fool of herself, to lose face, to produce something worse than trash.

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The young lords and ladies from the various mansions were all present. There was no need to spread such a thing outside; it would be known throughout the city at once.

Especially Zhang Zhongheng...

Her betrothed’s face was already dark with suppressed fury.

If not for the stench assaulting their noses, Yuan Huiling would have been laughing out loud!

Jiang Mingshuang was beginning to regret it as well.

But more than regret, she felt concern.

The wine Xu Ruojin had just blended had indeed been delicious, but what they were making now smelled so sour and foul.

In a little while, who knew how many people would mock and ridicule her...

Yet why did Xu Ruojin not seem worried at all? On the contrary, she even had a smile on her face?

Could she be doing this deliberately as some kind of prank?

Though Jiang Mingshuang felt uneasy, she had no thought of backing out.

Since she had already reached out to help, she would help to the end.

Xu Ruojin was straightforward and nothing like the rumors said. Jiang Mingshuang could not tell whether she liked Xu Ruojin’s nature or pitied her circumstances; all she could think about was how to help her save face later.

Naturally, Xu Ruojin had no idea what the others were thinking of her.

Cinnamon, incense, myrrh, cedarwood, Chinese wormwood, Sichuan lovage, Corydalis, redbud bark, eleutherococcus bark, and a host of other medicinal ingredients were all weighed out.

This time, however, they were not ground into powder. Xu Ruojin brought out the yeast wine that had been steamed into a stinking reek.

The rice wine and the medicinal ingredients were added together, one urn blended into one jar.

She sealed the mouth of the jar with wax, then instructed Chun Cao, "Throw the jar straight into the furnace."

"What?"

Chun Cao was startled. Seeing Xu Ruojin look over, she hurriedly lifted the jar and placed it into the furnace.

Xu Ruojin picked up a lid and set it over the mouth of the furnace.

Wiping the sweat from her brow, she ordered, "Come get me after half an incense stick of time."

Chun Cao agreed at once.

Xu Ruojin had Hong Xing come over to wrap her hands in thick cloth.

Soon she would have to stir the wine. The jar would be hot, and the wine even hotter; she did not want to ruin her hands.

She rolled up her sleeves, revealing half a jade-green forearm.

Zhang Zhongheng immediately grew angry, wanting to curse her for lacking modesty.

But Xu Ruojin did not think it was any great matter at all. She only carried on with the work in her hands and ignored everyone else.

The young men were all stunned by the sight. Seeing Zhang Zhongheng so gnashing and tense, they all covered their noses and turned their heads away, no longer looking in Xu Ruojin’s direction.

Jiang Biwu was also astonished by her actions.

Turning his head, he saw Liang Xiao staring at her without blinking. Jiang Biwu tugged at his sleeve and pointed toward her arm.

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Liang Xiao naturally understood what he meant, yet still did not turn his head. He continued to stare.

Jiang Biwu was so provoked by this that he did not know what to do.

This trip had not been wasted after all. He had thought Liang Xiao was the only oddity here, but who would have imagined that the girl from the Xu family was even more peculiar?

The two of them really should have been the ones matched together.

Jiang Biwu glanced at Zhang Zhongheng and saw that Zhang Zhongheng, his face livid, was also glaring at Liang Xiao. He could only sigh that the enmity between the Zhang family and the Liang family was probably beyond repair.

Half an incense stick of time later.

Xu Ruojin took the wine jar out of the fire, splashed it with cold water, opened it, and stirred desperately with a bamboo stick.

She sealed it again, threw it back into the fire, and continued timing another quarter hour.

After repeating this four or five times, the crowd had grown impatient from waiting. Jiang Mingshuang was also tired and somewhat dizzy, so she sat off to the side to rest.

Yuan Huiling had nearly shouted herself hoarse and now closed her mouth, waiting only to see the joke.

When the time was right, Xu Ruojin instructed, "Put out the fire. It is ready!"

At that clear call, everyone turned to look at her.

Whether the wine was good or bad, it had at least produced something.

Xu Ruojin was also impatient now. Beyond showing everyone her skill, she most wanted to see the result of her own work.

A large basin of cold water was poured over the wine jar, and Xu Ruojin removed the cloth wrapped around her hands.

Her fair skin had been steamed red, making it look especially glaring and pitiable.

Chun Cao hurriedly stepped forward, frightened. "Second Miss, let this servant do it instead. Your hands..."

"No need, I will do it."

Xu Ruojin did not hold back at all. Though the heat had made her hands swell, she still dipped them in cold water for a moment and carefully scraped away the sealing wax herself.

She lifted the lid of the wine jar.

A rich fragrance of wine spread out at once, and the earlier stench was gone without a trace.

The maids laid out ten large bowls on the table.

A ladle of the newly brewed wine was poured into each bowl, waiting only for everyone to taste it.

Those who had been eager a moment ago all stepped back, instead pushing Zhang Zhongheng and Liang Xiao to the front.

Better that friends die than that I should suffer—if there was vomiting, diarrhea, or anything else, let those two try it first...

Liang Xiao took no offense. He picked up the bowl of wine and drank it in one gulp.

As the wine touched his tongue, his brow furrowed.

Just as everyone was astonished, he swallowed it, then raised his thumb and praised, "Excellent wine!"