When Pei Ying and Huo Tingshan emerged, they were instantly met with several pairs of eyes, three sets of gazes fixed upon them.
Although the looks were all perfectly proper, Pei Ying couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt under their scrutiny, momentarily averting her eyes, convinced that the younger generation knew everything.
They had risen late, and not just a little late at that. They had skipped breakfast entirely, and it was nearly time for the midday meal.
She was terribly anxious, but Huo Tingshan remained utterly composed, even spouting nonsense, saying that since it wasn't elders waiting for them, but juniors, then let them wait.
So, already having risen late, with him dawdling and even contemplating further delay, they arrived even later.
"Greetings, Father, greetings, Mother." Huo Mingji was the first to rise from his seat.
Meng Ling'er and Huo Zhizhang followed suit.
The three of them paid their respects to Pei Ying and Huo Tingshan in turn.
In Great Chu, when a new bride meets her husband's parents and elders, she receives a gift. Pei Ying had learned that in the case of a second marriage meeting stepchildren, she should instead give gifts to them.
After all, they were the juniors.
Thus, each of the three juniors received a gift. After accepting the brocade boxes, they bowed again in thanks.
"Rise. We are all one family from now on," Huo Tingshan declared. His gaze swept over his two sons. "As elder brothers, you must protect and care for your younger sister from now on. Though she does not bear the Huo surname, she is as your own flesh and blood."
Meng Ling'er was stunned. She instinctively looked at Pei Ying, her eyes filled with confusion and disbelief.
Pei Ying gave her daughter a reassuring look.
The Huo brothers spoke in unison, "We heed Father's instruction."
There were still four black pigs left. Huo Tingshan was not one to pretend to be something he was not. Yesterday, with guests filling the halls, it would have been perfectly acceptable to slaughter a pig to feast them all.
But if they had done that, all four black pigs would have been completely used up, and the hosts, busy with preparations, would have gotten to eat very little. So, Huo Tingshan had simply not served the pork then.
After all, apart from a few Youzhou generals and soldiers, none of the other guests had tasted it before.
Today's family banquet marked the formal gathering of the household. After discussing it with Pei Ying, Huo Tingshan decided to slaughter a pig.
Once again, they chose the fattest black pig.
When the braised pork and stir-fried pork were served, even the usually composed Huo Mingji couldn't hide a flicker of astonishment in his eyes.
"This is the pig your mother raised. Not only does it grow fast and yield a high amount of meat, but its flavor is also different from ordinary pork," Huo Tingshan explained.
During Pei Huizhou's farewell banquet, Meng Ling'er had also been present. So, among the five people at the table, only the Huo brothers had not yet tasted the pork.
Huo Zhizhang had never forgotten the stunning sensation of his first taste of the stir-fried pork. Now, with the braised pork served, he was salivating.
Unfortunately, the elders had not yet picked up their chopsticks.
Huo Mingji also found the aroma incredibly enticing. Not only was it fragrant, but its appearance was also quite appealing—streaks of fat and lean meat glazed with a thick, dark sauce, looking perfectly appetizing even before tasting.
However, compared to his appetite, Huo Mingji was more concerned with other matters. "Father, you mentioned this pig grows fast and yields more meat. Compared to a regular pig, how much more exactly?"
Huo Zhizhang stared at the meat, swallowing hard.
Meng Ling'er, though she had eaten it before, sometimes having tasted it only made one crave it more. She too was gazing at the plate of meat on the table.
Seeing the two younger ones fixated on the meat, Huo Tingshan said, "After the meal, your mother can take you to see the black pigs. For now, let's eat."
Huo Mingji looked at Pei Ying. "Thank you for the trouble, Mother."
Pei Ying smiled. "It's no trouble."
Finally hearing "let's eat," Huo Zhizhang picked up his chopsticks, his target clear—straight for the braised pork.
As the meat entered his mouth, Huo Zhizhang was greatly astonished. If his mouth weren't full, making speech unclear and impolite, he would have surely exclaimed several times.
Huo Mingji wasn't as hasty as Huo Zhizhang, but his first chopstickful was also braised pork.
The sauce was fragrant and thick, the meat tender and savory, with a perfect balance of fat and lean, devoid of any trace of the usual pork smell. With one bite, a burst of delicious meat juices flooded his taste buds.
Huo Mingji was startled and instinctively looked up at Pei Ying at the head of the table.
Pei Ying and Huo Tingshan's tables were placed close together, almost side by side. Today's family banquet was sumptuous, featuring pork, lamb, fish, and shrimp. She had never liked mutton and was currently speaking softly with Huo Tingshan, not noticing Huo Mingji's gaze from below.
Huo Mingji saw that his usually stern father, who at most offered a cold smile, was now with a slight curl to his lips, saying something quietly to the woman beside him. Then he reached over, took the lamb from her table, and placed his own shrimp in its place.
Huo Mingji's hand, holding the chopsticks, paused slightly.
Huo Zhizhang and Meng Ling'er were both engrossed in eating the braised pork. They might have also seen the scene at the head of the table, but they were already accustomed to it.
The family meal was thoroughly enjoyed by all. Everyone had cleared the plate of braised pork from their table, including Pei Ying's.
Actually, Pei Ying's plate had a little left, but in the end, Huo Tingshan had taken it over.
After the meal, Huo Mingji looked towards Pei Ying again, this time coincidentally meeting the beautiful matron's gaze.
"Mingji, let's go. I'll take you there," Pei Ying said, rising from her seat.
Huo Zhizhang also wanted to go. "Mother, may I accompany you as well?"
Meng Ling'er saw Huo Zhizhang turn to look at her after speaking, and she understood. "Mother, I want to go too."
So, leaving the main hall, Pei Ying found herself with three tails following behind.
Huo Tingshan's Governor's residence was actually no smaller than the mansions in the other two provinces, though far less luxurious. Pei Ying noticed some furnishings were new, likely recently added or refurbished.
The estate was large, and naturally, there were many courtyards.
One courtyard in the northwest corner had been renamed "Pig Garden," specifically for raising pigs.
Of the original six black pigs, one had been gifted to Pei Huizhou, one slaughtered for his farewell banquet, and another for today's family feast, leaving three remaining.
But this was only the first batch.
After witnessing the benefits of castration, during the journey from Bingzhou back to Youzhou, Huo Tingshan had assigned Guo Dajiang the task of purchasing piglets, instructing him to seek out local hunters.
Thus, upon arriving at Xuantu Commandery, besides the three large pigs they brought back, there were also over thirty piglets accompanying them.
All these pigs were now kept in the Pig Garden.
Huo Mingji had initially seen Guo Dajiang in the courtyard but hadn't paid him much attention. He followed Pei Ying inside.
Upon seeing the remaining three black pigs, Huo Mingji's eyes widened slightly.
The three black pigs were much more corpulent than ordinary wild boars, their size almost double that of a typical pig.
"Mother, how did these pigs grow so large?" Huo Zhizhang asked, staring in astonishment.
Pei Ying explained to them, "Because these are all castrated pigs. Castrating the pigs when they are young makes them lazy and fond of eating. Eating without moving naturally leads to gaining weight. Furthermore, pigs raised this way also have a much lighter odor."
The two brothers had a sudden realization.
Along with understanding came a sense of novelty and a feeling of enlightenment.
That is indeed the case. Pigs, being neither combative nor active yet having a large appetite, are practically waiting to put on weight.
Huo Mingji thought of Guo Dajiang, whom he had seen earlier.
There were many Youzhou soldiers in the estate, but as luck would have it, Huo Mingji happened to know that Guo Dajiang had once worked as a butcher. Thinking of the figure he had just seen in the yard, he understood.
After carefully examining the three large pigs, Huo Mingji said to Pei Ying, "Mother, I saw Guo Dajiang in the yard earlier. I recall this man was a butcher in his early years. Were all the piglets in the yard castrated by his hand?"
Pei Ying nodded in confirmation.
"Mother is truly brilliant," Huo Mingji said, cupping his hands in a respectful bow.
Pei Ying chuckled lightly. "It's a trivial matter."
The young man straightened up, his expression turning serious. "This is by no means trivial. With sufficient feed for the pigs, the supply of meat will no longer be scarce, and soldiers who eat meat are far stronger than those who subsist on vegetables."
Huo Zhizhang also nodded repeatedly. "Exactly. Recently, the Xiongnu in the north have been constantly making small provocations. I suspect they are planning a major move by autumn."
Autumn is not only the season of harvest but also the season for war.
After the autumn harvest provides ample provisions, soldiers who also farm have less work and can be freed up for battle. Furthermore, the crisp autumn weather is ideal for marching armies.
Last year, when Huo Tingshan led his troops south, he set out in autumn.
"The Xiongnu are stirring?" Pei Ying asked, surprised.
Huo Mingji glanced at his younger brother, who noticed the look but, seeing Pei Ying had engaged, continued, "Yes, over the past month, the Xiongnu have raided southern villages several times, causing great suffering to the border populace. The frontier officers are already tallying the losses. Soon, Father will likely organize unified relief efforts."
Huo Zhizhang saw no reason not to speak of it.
Back in Bingzhou, he sometimes overheard his father and mother discussing affairs of state. His father never forbade it, so he assumed it was permissible to mention.
Pei Ying detected the scent of impending conflict in his words. "How many years has it been since the Xiongnu were last severely defeated?"
"Seven years ago," Huo Zhizhang said with pride. "Father had just turned thirty that year. The Xiongnu army pressed on our borders, and Father led the troops to battle. Not only did he achieve a great victory, but he also took the head of their Left Virtuous King. After that battle, the Xiongnu retreated deep into the grasslands."
Pei Ying pondered this.
Seven years. Seven years is enough time to accomplish many things. For instance, to raise large herds of cattle and sheep, or for a generation of youths to grow into strong, capable men.
"But even if they come again, it's of no consequence. Father defeated them the first two times; he will certainly succeed a third time," Huo Zhizhang stated without a doubt.
The battle seven years ago was merely the most recent instance of a major Xiongnu incursion. Seventeen years ago, when his father had just come of age, he led troops to annihilate fifty thousand Xiongnu elites.
These two great victories against the Xiongnu had maintained a relative peace along the Youzhou border for seventeen years.
Seeing the reverence on both sons' faces, Pei Ying understood that Huo Tingshan was seen as nearly invincible in their eyes.
After they finished looking at the pigs, Pei Ying returned to her quarters.
Huo Zhizhang still had some unfinished schoolwork and needed to complete it.
Meng Ling'er, however, had finished her studies. Having nothing else to do and seeing Huo Mingji staying behind at the pig enclosure to discuss daily pig-rearing with Guo Dajiang, she decided to stay as well.
Pei Ying had a habit of taking an afternoon nap. She went back to rest and woke feeling unusually warm.
Even though the gauze curtains on both sides were hooked onto jade hooks and she had left the windows open before sleeping, a lingering, oppressive heat seemed to cling to the air upon waking.
Pei Ying belatedly realized that summer had truly arrived.
Although there was no greenhouse effect here, ancient times had neither fans nor air conditioning. Perhaps because she was originally from the south, the mere thought of enduring summer relying only on hand fans made Pei Ying feel as if half her world had collapsed.
Voices could be heard outside; it was Huo Tingshan's.
His voice was already deep, and now, deliberately lowered, its content was almost inaudible, with only the faint words "prepare" drifting in.
Pei Ying sat up in bed, hugging the quilt.
A moment later, someone entered.
Huo Tingshan walked around the screen and saw Pei Ying leaning against the headboard. Her dark hair was unbound, the collar of her inner robe slightly open, her gaze unfocused as if not fully awake.
"Did I wake you?" Huo Tingshan walked over, gently laying her back down. "Rest some more. I won't disturb you this time."
"No," Pei Ying murmured, still holding the quilt, and asked listlessly, "Huo Tingshan, are the summers in Xuantu Commandery hot?"
Seeing she was truly not going back to sleep, Huo Tingshan sat on the edge of the bed. "Somewhat warm, but certainly better than in Jiaozhou."
He had visited Jiaozhou in his youth; that place was a true furnace—not only hot but also rainy, swarming with mosquitoes, and prone to floods.
He thought this comparison would cheer her up, but instead, the lovely lady seemed to wilt completely.
Pei Ying's eyes lost their sparkle.
Jiaozhou. He was actually comparing Youzhou to the Lingnan region.
"My lady?" Huo Tingshan reached out to feel Pei Ying's forehead. It wasn't feverish.
Pei Ying swatted his hand away. "I'm fine physically. I was just thinking about how to get through this summer."
This made Huo Tingshan raise an eyebrow.
How to get through summer?
Recalling her earlier question about the heat, he understood. She was afraid of the heat.
Huo Tingshan said, "I'll assign two more maidservants to fan you."
"The air itself is hot," Pei Ying shook her head.
Huo Tingshan reached to touch the nape of her neck. The smooth skin there was dry, without a trace of sweat. Her entire body was like cool jade, incredibly pleasant to touch.
The large hand at her nape gradually grew restless. Pei Ying shot him a glare and swatted his hand away again. "In broad daylight, have you no shame?"
Huo Tingshan sat by the bed, his presence like a mountain rising from the earth, blocking most of the light from the bed.
The man looked down at the woman on the bed. She lay against the brocade quilt, her dark hair splayed like a lotus, the collar of her inner robe gaping slightly wider than before, revealing a fullness of snowy white that was somewhat dazzling.
His throat moved. Suddenly, he remembered last night, how he had cornered her, wantonly painting colors upon that expanse of snow.
Pei Ying's thoughts had been muddled, but in an instant, an indescribable sense of danger surged over her. The small patch of skin on her nape, just touched by Huo Tingshan, instinctively prickled with goosebumps.
Her scattered focus snapped into sharp clarity almost immediately. She looked up warily, her gaze meeting his narrow, dark eyes that were gradually deepening.
His eyes were like a profound sea, where a great beast roared and churned, clamoring to feed.
Pei Ying's legs twitched reflexively, a wave of weakness spreading from their core. She practically bolted upright, hastily pulling her robe together. "Huo Tingshan, you truly have no shame."
The man gave a low chuckle. "I haven't done anything yet."
As he spoke, he reached out and drew her into his arms. "My lady's words wrong me greatly. Since that's the case, perhaps I should..."
"Don't even think about it." Pei Ying raised her hand to press against his chest. "I'm uncomfortable there."
Hearing her say she was uncomfortable, Huo Tingshan frowned deeply. "That medicine isn't effective?"
He had applied the ointment for her both last night and this morning. It was now early in the Shen hour (around 3 PM), so the medicine should have taken effect by now.
"Could it be that the medicine loses potency after being made? I'll go ask Feng Yuzhu." This was an important matter, not to be delayed. Huo Tingshan made to get up.
Pei Ying quickly pulled him back. "Don't go."
She only caught the corner of his robe, a force negligible to him, but Huo Tingshan stopped. He raised an eyebrow slightly, studying her for a moment until Pei Ying had to look away.
Now he understood perfectly.
She was deceiving him again.
So he sat back down, pulling her close once more. "My lady, you should refrain from using matters of health to trick me in the future."
"You can't always be thinking about... that sort of thing." Speaking of this, Pei Ying couldn't help but bring up the morning. "Making them wait so long this morning—do you not care about your dignity in front of the younger generation?"
Huo Tingshan was unperturbed. "Their own parents were newlyweds once. What's the issue with rising a little late?"
It was always the younger generation who had to be mindful of their elders, not the other way around.
In his view, she was simply too thin-skinned.
To stop her from dwelling on the morning's events, Huo Tingshan changed the subject. "There's an icehouse in the western part of the city. When the weather gets hotter, I'll have someone send some ice over."
Pei Ying was momentarily taken aback.
Right, ancient times had icehouses.
During the coldest part of winter, ice was harvested from frozen waterways and stored deep in icehouses, to be used during the scorching summer heat.
Storing ice in icehouses was indeed a good method for staying cool, but it required immense labor and resources. Only the highest nobility or the extremely wealthy could afford it.
And one had to use it sparingly, as ice in summer was a finite resource; once used up, it was gone until next winter.
"Ice... yes, ice..." Pei Ying murmured. "Huo Tingshan, the icehouse method is too wasteful and burdens the people. Let's make ice in the future, during summer."
"Make ice?" Huo Tingshan pondered the words. "My lady, ice only appears with the changing of the seasons. How can it be made?"
Pei Ying played coy. "You'll find out later."
Besides the icehouse method, there was indeed another way to obtain ice.
That was the saltpeter method. By using saltpeter's strong endothermic reaction, water could quickly freeze. Saltpeter, also known as potassium nitrate, appears white and often crystallizes on walls, hence it's also called wall frost.
The saltpeter ice-making method didn't appear until the Tang Dynasty, but Pei Ying couldn't wait that long.
"Let go, I need to go look for saltpeter." Pei Ying tried to move the hand resting on her waist.
Huo Tingshan didn't budge, letting her struggle. He recalled the term "saltpeter"—it sounded familiar. "Is the saltpeter my lady speaks of a type of medicinal ingredient?"
Pei Ying nodded.
There was still some time before the height of summer. If they could figure out the ice-making method now, they could later sell ice to minor wealthy families.
Perhaps even major wealthy families could be customers—anyone who valued ice and had the silver to spare.
Huo Tingshan rose from the couch. "I will accompany you."
The carriage stopped in front of an apothecary in the market. Huo Tingshan alighted first, then helped the beautiful lady inside step down.
Pei Ying wasn't wearing a veil hat today, and after disembarking, many commoners stopped to stare.
The commoners all recognized Huo Tingshan. Seeing Pei Ying standing with him, they instantly understood this must be their Governor's wife.
The two entered the apothecary together.
The commoners outside whispered among themselves.
"Ah, Lady Pei is truly breathtakingly beautiful. But why has Governor Huo brought his wife to an apothecary? Is someone unwell?"
"I don't think so. They both looked quite spirited just now, not like sick people. Perhaps Lady Pei is seeking fertility treatments?"
"You fool, such matters would be done in secret. Besides, wouldn't it be more convenient to consult the physicians within the Governor's mansion? In my opinion, Governor Huo must be bringing his lady to observe the people's livelihood."
The surrounding people had a sudden realization.
"That makes sense."
"Probably so. Governor Huo has often toured the commandery to understand the people's needs before."
...
Pei Ying didn't ask for saltpeter directly. Instead, she included it among several other medicinal ingredients she requested. Later, she and Huo Tingshan visited several large apothecaries, purchasing quite a lot of herbs.
"My lady wishes to dine out?" Huo Tingshan asked, noticing Pei Ying looking at a restaurant.
Pei Ying shook her head. "Not at all. I was just thinking that once we can make ice, we might sell some to restaurants."
Placing ice basins in restaurants, with servants fanning them manually—wouldn't that create a sort of air conditioning? Patrons who feared the heat would surely become loyal patrons of these "air-conditioned" establishments.
Huo Tingshan thought of the three youngsters back at the mansion. "Actually, dining out wouldn't be unacceptable."
"Not today. We just slaughtered a pig at noon," Pei Ying refused.
Huo Tingshan's brow twitched slightly, but he said nothing more.
The two returned to the mansion.
As with the midday banquet, the evening feast was held in the main hall. However, compared to noon, the low tables now held not only an array of delicious dishes but also wine.
The distilled wine could have its potency adjusted, but compared to rice wine, Pei Ying preferred the grape wine imported from the Western Regions.
There was no "Moonlight Cup," but she did have a white jade cup.
Both she and Meng Ling'er had grape wine on their tables, while the father and his three sons drank the stronger rice wine.
When a jug of wine was emptied, Pei Ying suddenly remembered something and quickly stopped Huo Tingshan, who was about to gesture for a maid to refill it. "Huo Tingshan, you can't drink any more."
Hearing her call him by his full name, the Huo brothers below simultaneously turned their heads.
