Eagerly, Anji hurried back to her room.
"Hurry, Lizi! Close the door behind you and light the candles. I’ll eat something light for lunch. There’s no time to waste. Also, could you bring some charcoal pencils and writing paper? There are not many hours until tomorrow!" Official source is novèlfire.net
There are not many hours until tomorrow? Lizi chuckled and shook her head helplessly. Today had exactly the same number of hours until tomorrow as yesterday. She knew her young mistress took studying seriously. Anji worked diligently without cutting corners. However, there were very few occasions when she was this enthusiastic. The three-year-old child had forgotten all her etiquette after getting swept away by a wave of passion. It was adorable.
Eagerly, Anji removed her shoes and clambered onto her bed as Lizi put the books beside her.
Anji pulled out the worn-out handwritten notes and unfolded them. She tried to straighten them out to the best of her abilities, but they’d need to be pressed down on with a heavy weight overnight to become wrinkle-free.
Lizi brought over the custom-made low table and placed it on the bed for Anji. As the youngest princess was always sick, the gardener’s son made it for her so Anji could sit up and eat her meals comfortably in bed. She disliked being spoon-fed.
Now, that table serves a different purpose. Anji was very comfortable with her bedtable, and on chilly days , she would snuggle under her quilt to read. Compared to stroking the fire continuously to heat the room, Anji preferred this method. There was less smoke, and Anji could even open the windows to get fresh air without catching a chill from beneath the blanket. The papers on her table were well shielded from strong breezes, reducing the need for cluttering paperweights.
"I’ll get the writing materials now," Lizi informed after ensuring Anji was comfortable. "What would you prefer for lunch? We should have congee, but the cook can make some oil pancakes if you want."
Thick and warm congee on a cold late-autumn afternoon was good. However, Anji had been eating that for the past few days due to her fainting episode in the bathtub. She wanted a change in taste, but oiled pancakes usually made her sleepy in the afternoon. She’d ask for steamed buns, but she already had that for breakfast. Eating cold dishes was also not good when the weather was chilly.
"How about steamed dumplings or rice balls?" she wondered. "Otherwise, a bowl of mung bean soup would do, too."
Mung bean soup for lunch? Lizi frowned. The lady would not approve of Anji eating dessert for lunch. Although Doctor He claimed there were many benefits to drinking mung bean soup, many cultivators believed that meat and rice were necessary for building strength at the lower cultivation stages. Only masters like the sect founder could eat a vegetarian diet without compromising nutrition.
"The Madam would not agree to that," Lizi frowned. "I’ll tell the cook to make you some steamed soup dumplings with ginger. If you need anything else, please let the junior maids know. I’ll be back."
Waving to Lizi, Anji smiled. The charcoal pencil was something her father personally created after she brought up the matter of smaller brushes a few days ago. She had no idea what her father thought of such a wonderful idea.
Charcoal was usually brittle and broke easily with even the slightest pressure, making it difficult to use as a writing tool. However, the sect’s blacksmithing master spent the last few days researching how they could create the perfect writing tool for Anji. Although Lizi did not know the exact formula, she claimed the charcoal pencil was created by mixing powdered charcoal with pine resin, then strengthened with qi and wrapped in beautiful wax paper to prevent Anji from staining her hands while using it.
Anji had only gotten comfortable under her covers when the junior maids entered the room with her lunch and a wash basin. The chef must have put in extra effort with her food. Anji appreciated the extra effort he put in whenever he cooked her food. The soup dumplings weren’t the traditional crescent shape. It must have taken the cook a long time to knead them into little animals. Even if some of the sesame seed eyes had slid off the slippery steamed dough, Anji felt their affection clearly as she readjusted the seed’s position so the little piggy dumpling did not look deformed.
Cooing at their young mistress picking up the piggy pork dumpling with her child-sized chopsticks, the junior maids held their breaths and watched as she took a bite.
The juicy soup filling spilt from the tear in the dumpling skin, but Anji was prepared. She caught every drop on a spoon and munched carefully. Apart from minced pork and mushrooms, Anji tasted a different type of sweetness to the filling.
"It’s sweet," she noted. "What did uncle cook add this time?"
The chef added water chestnuts and bamboo shoots the last time he made it. Anji loved the refreshing taste that countered the savoury meat. Today’s soup dumplings were less savoury, but they warmed her up quickly from the inside, invigorating her mind instead of making her sleepy.
"Miss Lizi told him you wanted a light lunch because you wanted to focus on studying today, so the cook added ginkgo and winter melon in the meat filling."
Oh! So, the sweet taste was from the winter melon, and the invigorating effect was from ginkgo. How thoughtful! Although ginkgo was used in medicine, it was also sometimes used in cooking. Doctor He recommended a change in her diet from time to time because the food affected her health. Today, she would finally understand the fundamentals of medicine. Contrary to many people’s beliefs, Anji did not drink bitter tonics daily. Doctor He was very skilful at hiding medicine in the meals she ate. These special piggy pork dumplings were a fantastic example.
After finishing her food, Anji washed up quickly, just in time for Lizi to return with her special writing set.
"Here you go, miss. Would you like me to burn the agarwood incense?"
Ever since Anji started studying seriously, the number of incense woods has increased. Each incense wood had a different effect, and Agarwood was the best for improving her focus while studying. It also has some medicinal properties that help with her digestive system and reduce inflammation. It was also commonly used to treat respiratory issues and reduce anxiety.
"Yes, please!" Anji grinned. "I’ll be studying until dinner."
Lighting the agarwood incense coil, Lizi bowed and stepped outside the room on standby, dismissing the junior maids so Anji could focus better. The incense coil would expire in four hours, just in time for dinner. However, Lizi was in charge of bringing jasmine tea every hour to remind her studious lady to hydrate lest she worked herself into sickness.
Straightening the handwritten notes, Anji started reading seriously.