Chapter 509: Secret Recipe (2)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
At this point, Yu Youyao changed the topic. “After figuring out the Myrrh and
Frankincense, I started to worry. This is a foreign medicinal ingredient. I don’t think it’s common in the Great Zhou Dynasty, and its uses are not widespread. Otherwise, I would have heard of it before. The problem now is how to get these two medicinal ingredients and where to get them?”
Not only had she never heard of it, but even the knowledgeable Nanny Xu hadn’t either.
She had just made some progress, but there was an even bigger problem in front of her.
Yu Youyao finally understood the difficulty of improving the incense recipe.
“I originally wanted to write a letter to the Xie family to ask for help, but later on, I thought of something. There are a lot of incense materials piled up in my herbal warehouse. Some were gathered by the Xie family, some were gifts sent by the Zhenguo Marquis Residence a while ago, and some were brought to me by my cousin when he returned from Shandong. Because there were too many of them, I didn’t take a closer look. After I handed them to Liu’er to register and make a book, I placed them in the warehouse. I also only ask Liu i er to retrieve whatever incense materials I need for me.”
Seeing her expression light up, Zhou Linghuai couldn’t help but laugh.
“I checked the booklet in the herbal warehouse and found a type of antidote on it. At first, I thought that the Myrha and Myrrh were two different things. Later, when I flipped through the Essential Herbs, I knew that this was actually the Myrrh I wanted. There were the antidote and Frankincense in the warehouse, and there were quite a lot of them.”
The Xie family and her cousin couldn’t wait to gather all the best things in the world and give them to her.
Previously, the Zhenguo Marquis Residence had sent gifts of gratitude because they were afraid of neglecting them. They had chosen the most precious and rare medicinal materials.
Being transported from other countries, they were all precious and rare items in the Great Zhou Dynasty. Even if they did not know their specific uses, they had to keep them. There was no lack of them.
Every word showed her painstaking efforts. Zhou Linghuai’s heart trembled slightly. “Nanny Xu is proficient in pharmacology and probably knows about the Myrha. It’s just that she’s in the palace and is cautious and wary of foreign things. Naturally, she won’t pay attention to research and only knows about the Myrha, not the Myrrh. As a result, you ended up taking lots of detours.”
The Myrha and Myrrh, they could be worlds apart with just a difference in one letter.
Nanny Xu had always been wary of foreign things, so she did not understand them. Naturally, she did not think of this.
She probably did not help much with the ointment formula. Everything depended on the young lady, who had worked hard to figure it out.
Yu Youyao nodded. “Nanny Xu said the same thing. Later on, in order to understand more about the medicinal properties of Myrrh, I checked all the medical books and found that there were detailed records of the use of Myrrh in the Tang Dynasty. Later on, because of the war, the sea ban, and many other reasons, Myrrh gradually became unknown. It was also after the Great Zhou Dynasty reopened the sea ban that Myrrh was used by foreign countries as an incense ingredient to exchange supplies and appeared in the Great Zhou Dynasty again.”
Foreign medicinal ingredients were very precious. They were rare in the Great Zhou Dynasty, and their uses were not widespread. They were directly used for incense, and many nobles would directly burn them.
The palace was more interested in the rare and unique objects offered as tributes from foreign countries. Things like food were basically taboo.
After all, it was not something from the dynasty. It had always been covered in a mysterious veil.
No matter how interested they were in the unknown, they would not risk their lives.
Zhou Linghuai opened the porcelain box. The red ointment has a slight yellow tint and is condensed into lard. It didn’t smell like ointment, but a faint bitter fragrance and the smell of milkwood. It smelled very good.
His throat was slightly dry as he said hoarsely, “This is really an ointment!”
Yu Youyao nodded. “Because the recipe is incomplete, I could only improve on the original recipe. I tested it many times before making it. It’s similar to the ointment recorded in the incomplete recipe.”
In the improved formula, there were more than ten incense ingredients, such as agarwood, fragrant cinnamon, cardamom, and cassia. All the incense ingredients had been prepared with spiritual dewdrop, so the effect would definitely be better than before.
Zhou Linghuai didn’t know what to say for a moment. “Thank you, Cousin!”
Yu Youyao did not know about his complicated feelings. She shook her head and said, “Actually, it’s not that difficult. Although it’s just a remnant recipe, with a clear study direction, I’m also familiar with the effects of various incense materials. As long as I strictly follow the regulations in accordance with the palace and make it achieve the effects of medicine, incense, and healing, I’ll be fine after testing it a few more times.”
What she didn’t say was that in order to make better ointment, she had experimented with the combination of more than 200 kinds of medicinal ingredients in the past month.
Fortunately, she had trained a few girls who knew about incense in her room and had helped a lot.
Otherwise, the ointment wouldn’t have been made so quickly.
Just because she didn’t say it didn’t mean that Zhou Linghuai couldn’t guess.
“It’s not easy to test the medicinal properties either.”
Yu Youyao quickly changed the topic. “Actually, the ointment was done three days ago. It’s just that Cousin’s body is a little weak, so I didn’t dare to give it to him.”
After Nanny Xu examined the ointment and confirmed that it was not poisonous, she could give it to her cousin. However, although she was not afraid of foreign things, she was still cautious.
“Liu’er’s godmother, Old Madam Ma, broke her leg a few years ago and didn’t recover. She’s still ill. Every time the weather is wet and cold, her leg hurts. I brought the ointment for her to try. After Old Madam Ma used it, her pain eased a lot. I originally planned to observe for a few more days before giving it to Cousin.”
The ointment for Old Madam Ma was not added with spiritual dewdrop so the effect was a little unexpected.
However, considering that Old Madam Ma’s leg could not compare directly to her cousin’s leg, she planned to see the situation again.
It was also because she had received her cousin’s gift today that she realized that she had not prepared a gift for him. After thinking about it, she decided to give the ointment to her cousin.
How could Zhou Linghuai not understand Yu Youyao’s good intentions? “I’ll have to trouble you to help me use it!”
Yu Youyao’s eyes lit up. How could he not accept? She quickly called out to Chang An, “Go to The Green House and get the medicine bag for Cousin’s foot bath.”
It would be more effective to use it after soaking.
Chang An immediately went.
Yu Youyao smiled proudly as she held the ointment. “The ointment can be used as medicinal oil. It can also be added to water and placed on an incense burner to burn. It’s fragrant and moist. It’s much better than the cold-repelling incense. ”
The essence of incense was to use both incense and medicine to nourish and heal.
Zhou Linghuai smiled. “Cousin, you’re amazing.”
Yu Youyao asked Chun Xiao to bring over the incense steamer. She added charcoal to the incense burner and added some warm water. She picked a small spoonful of ointment and condensed it into a high oil that melted in hot water.
After a while, the fragrance of the mist spread out. There was a faint milkwood fragrance that was slightly bitter, like the fragrance of resin.
Zhou Linghuai leaned closer and smelled it. He immediately felt comfortable. “It smells good.”
Yu Youyao tilted her head and smiled. “I like this smell too. It’s as if I’m in a forest in spring and there’s a fragrance of trees.”
Zhou Linghuai nodded. This was the smell of vitality..
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