Tang Dynasty Hidden Guards

The next morning, Xue Wei did not go to court. He went to the sugar shop and bought two catties of old brown sugar, as well as a few pieces of old ginger and a large piece of donkey-hide gelatin. When he came back, he brewed donkey-hide gelatin ginger and brown sugar tea for Yuan Min. He had brewed it for his wife in his previous life and knew that women drink this to replenish blood when they have menstruation.

Yuan Min didn't go out either. Her period had started. Of course, there were menstrual belts in the Tang Dynasty. Common women used three layers of coarse linen to sew them, while wealthy women used silk and fine silk. Wide cloth wings were added on both sides to prevent leakage. The inside was filled with silk floss, cattail fluff, and dried mugwort.

Noblewomen like Yuan Min were even more particular. The palace had a kind of mulberry bark blood-soaked paper, which was mixed with silk floss and pressed together. It was soaked in mugwort water and dried in the sun. The filling was wrapped in beeswax waterproof paper and fragrances such as agarwood, sandalwood, and jasmine powder were added.

Yuan Min took three days off during her period and is resting at home these days.

Xue Wei handed Yuan Min a bowl of strong brown sugar ginger tea, "Drink this."

"What is this?"

"Donkey-hide gelatin, ginger, and brown sugar tea is a recipe that Gao Yuanli taught me. He would make this for his wife when she had her period; it's very good for replenishing blood."

Yuan Min felt as if she had drunk two pounds of honey. She looked at her man with delight, her beautiful eyes curving into crescent moons with laughter.

"Honey, thank you!"

It was unusual for Xue Wei to be a little embarrassed; the tips of his ears turned slightly red, and he turned his face away.

"Don't be so polite. You're my wife, so it's only right that I take care of you. I'll stay home with you these next couple of days and make some little things for you."

Yuan Min looked at his slightly reddened earlobes, her smile widening. She hugged Xue Wei's neck affectionately and asked, "Hmm—you haven't been to court these past two days?"

Xue Wei winked slyly, "I'm the local customs investigator! It's normal for me to be out investigating all the time. I'm going to investigate the prices in Nanshi these next few days and write a report to submit to the Emperor."

"You scoundrel, you only work sporadically, do you think you deserve the salary the court gives you?"

When the topic of salary came up, Xue Wei immediately perked up.

"I forgot to tell you, yesterday was payday. Guess how much my annual salary is?"

"Lots! Lots! They can definitely support me, I'm a fifth-rank official after all!"

Xue Wei gave a self-deprecating sneer, "Old Sun, the owner of the noodle shop I used to eat at, could earn 120 guan a year. As for me, a dignified fifth-rank military officer, I only earn 69 guan a year. With various subsidies, that's an average of 6 guan a month, enough to buy 400 dou of rice, which is enough to support you."

Yuan Min's eyes narrowed into slits with a smile. "Your salary is so high! Then there's no need for me to give you the consultant's fee every month. How about..."

Before she could finish speaking, her bright red lips were silenced by someone's foul mouth.

...........

The next morning, the maid Song'er tiptoed to the washroom and secretly peeked inside through the crack in the door. From yesterday afternoon until now, the young master had been hiding in the washroom doing something. She wondered what he was busy with.

The scene before her eyes stunned her. The house was in a mess, with piles of tumbleweed in the corner. This kind of grass was especially abundant in the saline-alkali land of her hometown. There was a stove on the ground with a ceramic pot on it. She wondered what he was cooking.

There were several large earthenware jars nearby, and a piece of originally white silk had turned black. On the small stool was a large block of white, greasy mutton fat, which she had bought, as well as a large bottle of rose oil, which she had also bought.

The young master was shirtless, his body and face covered in black ash, looking utterly disheveled.

Xue Wei was naturally making the little gadget he mentioned: soap. It wasn't difficult, but it was troublesome, especially dealing with wood ash.

He suddenly sensed something, looked up, and found a pair of eyes peeking at him through the crack in the door.

"Song'er, what's wrong?" he asked irritably.

The door opened, and Song'er said timidly, "Young master, the mistress requests that you come upstairs through the main entrance, not the inner staircase."

Xue Wei was taken aback. "Why?"

"It seems the mistress has guests."

Xue Wei laughed. This woman was so concerned about saving face, afraid that others would know she was living with him, when in fact they were just roommates! Okay! Let's not have any more roommates.

Xue Wei quickly washed up, put on his coat, and went upstairs.

He went up to the fourth floor, knocked on the door, and went inside.

In Yuan Min's spacious office sat four women. Apart from the host, Yuan Min, the other three women were slightly older, ranging from thirty to forty years old. Each of them was dressed neatly and had their hair combed meticulously.

Xue Wei had only met one of them, the female manager of the West Market Tea House, who he had heard had been promoted.

"Amin, you were looking for me?"

When the three women saw him, they all stood up, smiled, and bowed, saying, "Greetings, young master!"

Yuan Min sat at her large desk and frowned when she saw that Xue Wei had a black mark on his forehead and on the back of his hand. This guy had been staying at home since yesterday and wouldn't let her see him. What was he up to? She had just asked Song'er to find out, but she hadn't come back to report.

Yuan Min was feeling unwell and didn't dare to get up. She smiled and introduced them to Xue Wei, "These are my three head housekeepers: Aunt Wen, Aunt Qin, and Zhang San Niangzi."

The head steward of internal affairs is in charge of accounting and coordination. Yuan Min doesn't have much contact with male stewards, so she has three very shrewd and capable female stewards who liaise with her, coordinate with her, and report to her.

Their offices were actually very close, right next door in the Canxing Building. The Canxing Building was also the location of Wenwei Trading Company, which Yuan Min had just established. Wenwei is, of course, a homonym for Minwei, meaning a beautiful jade with patterns.

The female manager rarely comes here; it's usually Yuan Min who goes. These past few days, Yuan Min has been on her menstrual leave, so they've come to report.

Yuan Min then introduced Xue Wei to the three female stewards, saying, "This is my... fiancé."

In fact, everyone in the entire Yuan family business empire, from the top manager to the lowest clerk, knew about her and Xue Wei's affair—the newlyweds who had reconciled.

"I know! I know! I've heard so much about you!"

The three female stewards looked at Xue Wei with their eyes narrowed into slits with smiles, just like mothers-in-law looking at their sons-in-law.

Xue Wei smiled and returned the greeting, "The three stewards are all on our side, no need to be so polite."

Yuan Min waved her hand, "Old Xue, sit down! I have something to tell you."

Xue Wei sat down, and the oldest woman, Aunt Wen, smiled and said, "This morning we received news from the municipal government that our shop's transfer application has been approved. Manager Ma is processing the transfer. The owner said that this is thanks to the young master, and we didn't spend a single penny. Otherwise, given Prime Minister Wu's habit of making things difficult for people, it would have been very difficult for us to get it done."

Xue Wei then remembered that he had promised Wu Sansi the day before yesterday that Wu Chongxun had another secret, and Wu Sansi was probably getting impatient.

"It's no big deal. I'm Amin's advisor, after all! It's only right that I help her out."

"Alright, Advisor Xue, stop being so modest!"

Yuan Min interrupted him with a smile, "Also, Wu Sansi sent a message that he wants to see you, so please make sure you go see him tomorrow morning."

"I know, I made an appointment with him. I almost forgot. If there's nothing else, I'll be going now."

Yuan Min glanced at him hesitantly, then smiled and nodded. "Go ahead!"

Xue Wei stood up, smiled at the three of them, and then turned and left.

As the three women watched Xue Wei leave, they immediately flattered him, saying, "Young Master Xue is tall and handsome, and so capable. He and our master are a match made in heaven!"

Yuan Min felt a sweet warmth in her heart, but said aloud, "He's just not very ambitious. He doesn't do his job as an official properly. When I get my period, he insists on staying home with me. It's driving me crazy."

Upon hearing this, the three women immediately erupted in anger.

…………..

In the afternoon, Xue Wei handed Yuan Min a wooden box, saying, "This is for you!"

"What is this?"

Yuan Min opened the box and was somewhat stunned. There was a square, dark red, oily-looking object inside. She sniffed it and smelled a rich rose fragrance.

"This is... bath powder?"

Bath beans were the prototype of soap, and were widely used by the aristocratic class during the Tang Dynasty.

Yuan Min suddenly noticed something was different. "Wait, this is better than bath beans, much smoother. Did you spend the whole morning making this?"

Xue Wei smiled and nodded. "This is called soap. It's better and more delicate than bath beans. Bath beans are made with bean powder and pig pancreas, while this one is made by slowly boiling wood ash water and mutton fat together. I started making it last night, and it took me all morning just to purify the wood ash water into a clear liquid."

Yuan Min immediately ran to the washroom to wash her hands and try it out. After a while, she ran out and hugged Xue Wei tightly, her face beaming with excitement. "Tell me how it was made! Now I can monopolize all the bath beans in the world! This will earn me tens of thousands of coins a year!"

Xue Wei smiled and said, "So, are you still going to deduct my monthly consultant pay?"

Yuan Min smiled radiantly, "I won't deduct any more! I won't deduct any more! Get me a few more nice things, and I'll give you extra money."

"And perfume. Perfume requires alcohol that has been repeatedly purified from shochu. The secret to making the Xizhou grape shochu you gave me last time has been cracked. Give me a month, and I'll make perfume for you, and at the same time, I'll make the shochu. You'll make a fortune just from the shochu business."

Yuan Min touched Xue Wei's forehead, her face full of worry. "Old Xue, are you sick?"

..........