Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 23: Sleepless Night, Shavings Water [Seeking Follow-up Reading]

This night.

It wasn't just Liu Kuan who couldn't sleep.

In a room in the central courtyard, Dongmei and Chunlan slept in the same bed.

Because the bed was not that wide, the petite Dongmei snuggled in Chunlan's arms like a kitten.

"Sister Chunlan, what kind of person do you think the young master is?"

Hearing this, Chunlan couldn't help but recall her experiences today, mainly what happened in the study and the "computer" that she could not understand at all.

She pondered and said, "I don't know... I only know that he wasn't from the Ming Dynasty before, and the Emperor and Empress have given him so many gifts, so they must think highly of him."

Dongmei took the opportunity to ask, "What exactly did you two sisters do in the study today to help the young master?"

Chunlan opened her mouth to speak, but then she became alert and said, "If the Master doesn't allow me to speak, then don't ask."

"Oh." Dongmei was a little disappointed, then yawned, "I'm so sleepy, I'm going to sleep."

"Well, go to sleep. You have to get up early tomorrow to serve the young master."

"The young master doesn't seem to like being served. It's okay if we get up late."

"You are so lazy and greedy, be careful that the master will dislike you and sell you out."

"I think the young master is a good person, he won't do that, hehe."

"Go to sleep quickly. I won't let you sleep in tomorrow."

···
Forbidden City.

Because a lot of memorials had accumulated in the morning, Zhu Yuanzhang was busy until the middle of the night (around 10 o'clock in the evening) before leaving Fengxian Hall.

Zhu Biao originally wanted to accompany him to finish processing all the memorials, but after the hour of Xu (9 o'clock), he was driven away by him.

The reason was to let Zhu Biao start to take care of his health from today, so that he would not end up like the Ming history described by Liu Kuan, where the old man saw his young sons die.

According to Zhu Yuanzhang's previous habit, he would choose to sleep alone in the Qianqing Palace so late.

But when he arrived at the harem, he suddenly wanted to visit Kunning Palace.

Seeing that the lanterns in Kunning Palace were still on, he walked in and said to Empress Ma, who was pulling at the soles of her shoes under the oil lamp, "It's so late, why aren't you asleep yet?"

Queen Ma looked up and smiled, "You haven't slept either?"

Zhu Yuanzhang pulled over a brocade cushion and sat down next to Empress Ma. He said, "We have accumulated too many memorials during the day, and we can't sleep until we finish reviewing them. Sister, you don't have anything important to do, and your health is not very good. You should rest early in the future."

Empress Ma put down her shoe soles and looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and said, "Chongba, first of all, let Dai Yuanli come to check my pulse today, saying that he wants to do some kind of physical examination."

"Now you're telling me to take care of my health so earnestly, but what did Liu Kuan say to you today?"

Queen Ma was a wise woman.

Although she did not know what Liu Kuan said on the Loumanmen Tower today, she knew that Liu Kuan came from six hundred years later and knew the historical events of the next six hundred years.

Therefore, based on some of Zhu Yuanzhang's abnormal behaviors, we can guess something.

Zhu Yuanzhang was silent for a moment, but in the end he couldn't keep the matter in his heart anymore - he and Ma Xiuying had been married for twenty or thirty years, and he knew that some things were better resolved if they were explained clearly.

He then sighed and said, "Since my sister has guessed something, I won't hide it. Since Liu Kuan is from the future, we must ask him about our lifespan."

"I'm a long-lived person, I can live to be seventy, but you, my sister, will get a serious illness next year and leave me..."

At this point, Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes turned red and he could not continue.

Empress Ma was silent for a moment, then smiled and said, "To live past fifty is not considered a short life."

Zhu Yuanzhang stiffened his neck when he heard this, and his voice rose several degrees. "I can live to be seventy, why can't my sister?"

"You want me to see you off to the grave?"

"The girl is four years younger than me, so what if she sends me off?"

After hearing these overbearing yet childish words, it was Empress Ma's turn to sigh, "Chongba, your life span is predetermined by heaven. We must learn to be content."

"Bullshit!" Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help cursing, and then said: "Liu Kuan said that life span is not decided by God, it depends on ourselves."

"Biao'er and I have already made plans. Following Liu Kuan's suggestion, we will establish a medical school in the capital and invite famous doctors from all over the world to come to Beijing for a medical exchange conference."

"If my sister doesn't get sick next year, that's fine. But if she does, we'll get all the famous doctors in the world to treat her. I don't believe they can't be cured!"

Empress Ma looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and said, "You have summoned all the famous doctors in the world to the capital. What will happen to the people in the countryside? Are you going to make them travel thousands of miles to the capital for medical treatment?"

"Don't worry about this, sister. Biao'er, Liu Kuan and I have already agreed on a comprehensive plan..."

Then, Zhu Yuanzhang repeated what Liu Kuan had said at Loujiang Gate about the medical school and the medical skills exchange conference.

Empress Ma nodded after hearing this and said, "If we follow Liu Kuan's plan, the impact on the local people will indeed be less significant. However, Chongba, you've made such a fuss over me alone, and I really can't rest easy."

"Sister, you're wrong." Zhu Yuanzhang held Empress Ma's hand. "We're not doing this just for you, but also for Xiongying, Biaoer, and the people of the world!"

Empress Ma immediately grasped the key point and asked, "For Xiongying and Biao'er? Are they also going to suffer from a serious illness?"

Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Liu Kuan said that according to historical records, Xiongying died young in May of the following year. Although the historical records do not record the cause of his death, it is most likely due to illness."

"As for Biao'er, alas, it was us who harmed him..."

Having said that, Zhu Yuanzhang simply told Liu Kuan everything he had heard today.

After hearing this, Empress Ma held Zhu Yuanzhang's hand and said, "Zhongba, I know that if Biao'er and I were gone, you would be the most miserable."

"You weren't sincere about Biao'er's matter. Although Biao'er was well-raised, he was actually injured in the womb. His health is far inferior to yours."

"But now I think what Liu Kuan said makes sense. Life span is not determined by fate, it depends on ourselves."

"Now that we know about Biao'er and Xiongying, we will definitely not let them die of illness as recorded in later history. I will also accompany you for a few more years, even more than ten years."

Queen Ma spoke these words slowly, but her tone was extremely firm.

Knowing that the Zhu family still has so many hardships ahead of them, even if the disease strikes next year, she will fight it out.

Being able to become an intimate couple with Zhu Yuanzhang, the two of them have some similarities in nature - neither of them admits defeat and neither of them is willing to accept their fate!
Zhu Yuanzhang was very happy to see that Empress Ma had changed her mind and even had a strong fighting spirit.

He struck while the iron was hot and said, "Then sister must promise me that from tonight on, she will take good care of herself - with you around, our family can live well." "I know." Empress Ma smiled and patted Zhu Yuanzhang's guard, then said, "Then let's not stay up late and get some rest quickly. We still have a lot to do tomorrow."

"I have a lot of things to do every day. What are you going to do tomorrow?"

"Have you forgotten? Didn't you ask me to talk to Liu Kuan about Huilan and Xuanle? We have to decide on such a good son-in-law as soon as possible, so that no one can snatch him away."

"Don't worry about this, sister. No one in the Ming Dynasty dares to snatch our son-in-law!"

···
"Master, Master, please get up quickly. Someone from the palace is here to deliver the imperial decree."

Liu Kuan tossed and turned last night and didn't know when he finally fell asleep.

He was drowsy and heard someone calling him, then pushing his body, and then he woke up.

Then he saw a tall and pretty girl standing beside the bed. It was the maid Xia He.

Looking around the antique bedroom again, Liu Kuan couldn't help but think: It seems that what happened yesterday was not a dream.

He sat up.

Then he realized that he was only wearing underwear, so he said to Xia He, "You go out first, I will put on my clothes myself."

"Zhao Zhongguan is waiting, sir, hurry up."

Xia He gave a reminder and then left the inner room.

Because the weather was not too cold, Liu Kuan quickly put on his trousers and coat and left the bedroom.

Then Chunlan, Qiuyue and Dongmei were seen waiting in the side hall, each holding one or two toiletries.

When Liu Kuan walked over, Xia He handed him a porcelain cup and something similar to a toothbrush covered with a paste.

"Please brush your teeth, sir."

Liu Kuan originally wanted to use the set of toiletries in his bag, but when he saw that the "toothbrush" and "toothpaste" handed over by Xia He were not much different from those in later generations, he took them.

"Since there are some that are usable, I'll keep the toiletries in my bag as a souvenir."

When Liu Kuan was thinking this, he saw Xia He coming to him with a copper basin - she was going to get him some mouthwash again.

Liu Kuan felt that this made people very uncomfortable, so he said, "I'll go to the yard to wash up, so you don't need to take the mouthwash."

Then he came to the yard, found a flower bed with exposed soil, and rinsed his mouth and brushed his teeth.

Xia He did not insist on following the mouthwash process, but followed behind with Chunlan and the other two.

By the time Liu Kuan finished brushing his teeth, she had already wrung out the hot towel and handed it to him.

Liu Kuan nodded, thinking that this service was very considerate and worth having.

After washing her face, Xia He took out a wooden comb and Qiuyue brought a bronze mirror.

"Let me comb your hair for you?" Xia He looked at Liu Kuan's short hair that was slightly like a chicken coop and was eager to try.

Liu Kuan's hair is not long, but not particularly short either.

I washed my hair last night, but I didn’t sleep well, so my hair became a mess.

Liu Kuan said, "Let me do it myself. You don't know how to comb short hair."

Dongmei couldn't help but say, "Sister Xia He is really good at combing hair. She can create many beautiful hairstyles."

Liu Kuan laughed and said, "But she has definitely never combed my hair short like this."

Xia He handed over a crane-beaked ebony comb and said with a smile, "It's true that I've never combed short hair before, but I'm sure it won't be harder than combing long hair."

At the same time, I plan to remember how Liu Kuan combed his hair today, and then practice privately, so that I can perform my duties and comb Liu Kuan's hair tomorrow.

Liu Kuan combed his hair a few times in front of the bronze mirror and found that his messy hair was very stubborn and did not want to be changed in shape.

He was about to ask the maid to bring some water when Chunlan brought in an oval porcelain jar with a lid.

When Chunlan opened the lid, Liu Kuan smelled a pleasant fragrance of flowers and trees.

"what is this?"

Chunlan said, "Sir, this is the wood shavings water used for styling hair."

"Sawdust water?" Liu Kuan wondered about the origin of the name, and at the same time thought, there was even jelly water in the early Ming Dynasty?

Then he asked, "What is this wood shavings water made of? Why is it called this?"

I don’t know about Chunlan.

Xia He said, "I heard that shavings water is mainly made from fresh elm shavings, and some other ingredients are added, so it is called that."

"Not only does it set your hair, it also moisturizes and darkens it. This jar of wood shavings water was also given by the Empress yesterday. It's a palace secret recipe, so it should be even more effective."

Natural gel water.

Liu Kuan sighed in his heart, dipped a comb in sawdust water, and combed his hair in front of the bronze mirror.

Finding that the styling effect of sawdust water was not much worse than that of gel water in later generations, he combed his hair into two slightly slanted 3:7 parts.

Suddenly I felt refreshed.

It's a pity that he was wearing autumn casual clothes, not a Zhongshan suit, Tang suit or Western suit, otherwise he would look more energetic.

After washing up, Liu Kuan brought Xia He to the hall in the second courtyard, which was also the reception room.

Zhao Cheng, accompanied by Zhao You, has been waiting here for a long time.

When Liu Kuan came in, he bowed to Zhao Cheng and said, "I had trouble sleeping last night and overslept this morning. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for so long."

Zhao Cheng stood up and bowed in return, saying, "No problem. I'm just here to pass on the Emperor's message. The Emperor says: Please come into the palace after breakfast, Master Liu, to discuss matters in the Fengxian Hall."

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(End of this chapter)