Nineteen means one

  Back in the guest room, Liu Ying instructed, "Go to sleep. It's getting late."

  "But I haven't dried my hair yet." Zhang Yan furrowed her brow, untied the knot on her headscarf, and suddenly a head of damp black hair cascaded down.

  "It's still so wet, why did you tie it up?" Liu Ying said helplessly, taking over the hair to wipe it for her. "Ow, ow, ow." Zhang Yan cried out in pain, "My hair is tangled."

  "Your mother's hair wasn't this messy when she was young." Liu Ying raised an eyebrow in surprise.

  "Maybe I'm just like my dad." Zhang Yan didn't mind, slipped back into her own quarters and pulled the door shut.

  A cold and quiet room with moonlight, a small bed placed under the window, she sat on the bed, in the moonlight, using a wooden comb to slowly and carefully brush her hair. Then she wiped it dry. A thin wooden door, better than none, although she couldn't see him, she felt he was just within arm's reach, thus having an infinite sense of security.

  "Uncle."

  "Huh?"

  "Has Mr. Tang agreed to help you?"

  "Probably."

  Liu Ying didn't have much confidence that he could invite the four elderly gentlemen this time. He just wanted to present his true self in front of Dongyuan Gong and let him judge for himself whether this crown prince was worthy of support.

  It is highly likely that Dongyuan Gongyi will move.

  "So that's what it is," Liu Ying suddenly said, "Since you've already secretly followed me out, forget about the sachet then?"

  Zhang Yan looked at him with an unbelievable gaze, and exclaimed in surprise, "Unbelievable! You're the crown prince of a country, yet you're so poor that you even want to pawn my sachet?"

  "You——" Liu Ying's words stuck in her throat.

  "Uncle, who is that Jing Niang to Mr. Tang?"

  "Concubine."

  "What?" Zhang Yan's wooden spoon almost fell down, indignantly saying, "Tang Bing is really a scoundrel."

  Such a young and gentle lady, yet she was won over by an old and decrepit old man. Without any reputation or status, she followed him, what a waste!

  Liu Ying was shocked awake by her and sternly scolded, "A Yan don't talk nonsense."

  After being scolded, Zhang Yan's mouth was pouting in grievance.

  "This kind of thing is very common, Ah Yan, what are you unhappy about?" Perhaps feeling that she had been too harsh, Liu Ying softened her voice to explain, "It's just Father Emperor, isn't there also Concubine Qi?" And aren't there countless other women besides Concubine Qi? Jingniang has a disability, if no one takes care of her, her circumstances will be even more miserable. Moreover, Duke Dongyuan treats her with great kindness, and only keeps her by his side, Jingniang is already very fortunate."

  The quilt was icy cold, and Zhang Yan shivered as she wrapped herself in it. She didn't agree with a single word Liu Ying had just said, but she couldn't help feeling a pang of sadness at the fact that this was the prevailing attitude of people in this era. Zhang Yan knew clearly that if she had grown up in this era, she might never have questioned this way of thinking, but having experienced the peaceful and equal society of her past life, she could never force herself to regress two thousand years and accept this rotten, discriminatory view of women.

  But Zhang Yan also clearly knew that a small self was too insignificant and could never shake the mainstream values of this era.

  Zhang Yan sniffled and said resentfully, "Is Uncle going to find one Jingniang after another in the future?"

  Liu Ying's smile was not genuine, "What does this have to do with anything?"

  "Really?" She burst out laughing unconsciously.

  "Ah Yan," Liu Ying said with a hint of surprise at Zhang Yan's persistence, her expression slightly serious. "Some things aren't just about ideals. Even your father - Father and Mother Qinshe are compatible, but there are still three concubines in the manor. I don't know what the future holds for me, but one thing I can do is to treat every person around me with sincerity."

  This was Liu Ying's greatest kindness, and Zhang Yan felt a slight disappointment.

  Liu Ying is a very good person, who has always been willing to help everyone around her. The Han Dynasty inherited the legacy of the pre-Qin period, with an open and tolerant culture. The restrictive theories and physical constraints on women that emerged in later generations had not yet sprouted at this time. If even someone like Liu Ying could not truly cherish women, it can only be said that the patriarchal ideology of male superiority and polygamy has left a deep imprint on this nation.

  But I don't.

  Zhang Yan stubbornly thought that no matter how slim the chance seemed, she must find a man who would devote himself to her wholeheartedly.

  This is my pride.

  When the first ray of sunlight in the morning pierced through the window and kissed Zhang Yan's eyebrows, Zhang Yan opened her eyes.

  Pushing open the door and coming out, Liu Ying was already gone. While Jing Niang brought in water, holding her hand and shaking it slightly, her eyebrows furrowed.

  Zhang Yan thought for a moment and smiled, "But that jar has a nice flavor."

  “——It's just that it's fermented, to say the least. I'm anxious to make powder, so I added some car wheels and used medicine to accelerate its fermentation. If you want it to be natural, you should bury it for a month or two.” She pinched her nose and opened the jar lid, slowly pouring in fresh well water, stirring with a copper spoon until she couldn't smell any vinegar flavor anymore. Then she took out a clean stone mortar, covered the rinsed rice with it, filling half of the mortar, and ground it with a pestle. After grinding for a while, both her and Jingniang's hands were sore, but the rice in the mortar was still not finely ground to meet the requirements. Zhang Yan then hugged the stone mortar and went to look for Liu Ying.

  At that time, Liu Ying was practicing sword in the front yard. The side door creaked open and three old men entered in a line. The first one had a short beard, his hair was flecked with white, the middle one's hair was all white, and the last one looked younger, with some black still visible on his mustache. They were all dressed in loose clothes and hats, and walked to the side of Dongyuan Gong.

  "Big brother."

  "Hush," said Tang Bing, making a gesture and pointing to the courtyard, "see for yourself."

  In the courtyard, a lovely girl stood in front of the young man and handed him a stone mortar, "Uncle, can you help me grind this rice into powder?"

  Liu Ying looked at the mortar and pestle, and seemed to have figured out the flavor, "Do you want to make powder?"

  "Uh-huh." Zhang Yan nodded.

  "It was my oversight." Liu Ying slightly frowned, "However, if you really want cosmetics, just tell me and I'll naturally send someone to buy them. If not...” He originally wanted to say that he could borrow some of Jingniang's cosmetics, but suddenly remembered Zhang Yan's elder sister's physique and closed his mouth, “Why bother with such trouble.”

  "I'd be happy to." Zhang Yan smiled and said, "Uncle, will you help me grind it?"

  "Why don't you go find those guards outside?"

  "Who wants those stinky men touching them?" Zhang Yan said with a pout. "Hey, you're being too nosy."

  "You're quite skilled at ordering me around." Liu Ying reluctantly took over the stone mortar. The rice in the mortar had been soaked overnight and was already extremely soft, but Zhang's standards were high, and by the time she was satisfied, Liu Ying's hands ached from grinding, and he felt like he'd worked up a sweat - no need to practice swordplay today.

  When Zhang Yan was filtering the rice paste with a silk bag at the well, grinding it repeatedly, Liu Ying wiped the sweat from her forehead, turned around, and stared blankly, seeing four old Confucians standing under the long corridor.

  Dongyuan Gong Tang Bing led the way, four people raised their hands to their foreheads and bowed, stood up afterwards and simultaneously brought their hands together again in front of their eyebrows, both knees knelt down at the same time and knocked their heads on the ground, finally straightened up their upper body, simultaneously brought their hands together in front of their eyebrows, and said in unison

  Your servant Tang Bing

  "Your Majesty's subject Zhou Tzu,"

  Your servant Wu Xi

  "Your subject Cui Guang pays his respects to Your Highness the Crown Prince."

  Liu Ying was taken aback for a moment, then her expression turned serious. She stood up straight with her hands behind her back and said calmly, "There's no need for the four gentlemen to be so polite, please get up."

  As he spoke, the morning sunlight shone from behind him, setting off his steady and dignified demeanor as he stood amidst the light and shadow. At this moment, he was the great Han's crown prince, second only to the emperor, rather than the gentle and courteous young man who had once been so devoted to his brother.

  However, Shang Shan Si Hao did not feel offended, on the contrary, he felt relieved. The four of them stood up, put down their hands and smiled, "Thank you, Your Highness."

  Zhang Yan used a stick to tap the rice paste out of the cloth bag, and then Jing Niang took over, raising her head with clear and distinct eyes quietly looking at her, obviously asking what to do next.

  She took a clean ceramic pot, poured the fine powder into it, added water, and used a clean wooden stick to stir in the same direction for over a hundred times before stopping. After waiting for the rice flour to settle and the water to clear, she slowly scooped out the clear water with a ladle and placed three layers of cloth on top of the flour. On top of the cloth, she pressed a thick layer of bran, and then sprinkled a thin layer of ash on top of the bran. She signaled to Jingniang to go under the stove and light a small fire.

  Soon, the firepower drove the water vapor to evaporate, and the bran ash was damp. After changing several times of ash, until finally, the ash was only slightly wet, and then the fire went out.

  Zhang Yan lifted layer after layer of cloth, revealing the delicate fragrance powder underneath. She used her fingernail to scoop up a bit and examine it in her palm, nodding her head in satisfaction. Turning around, she saw that Jingniang's eyes had already lit up.

  After removing the dull and lusterless parts, what's left is a smooth and delicate fragrant powder. Zhang Yan dabbed some on her palm, patted it evenly onto her face, and smiled, "It's still a bit rushed, this fragrant powder has a hint of heat, making it slightly drier than usual. If it were naturally dry and refreshing, it would be even better." She said to Jingniang, "Sister, you try some too."

  Jingniang nodded, and also patted some on her palm. Under the sunlight, it was indeed smooth and even, with a fine and delicate texture. Even the best white powder from Qidi couldn't compare to seven-tenths of its quality. When applied to the face, it was also smooth and even, and looked natural without any visible marks.

  "If it's to match the scene, add some peach blossom juice and plum blossom juice, and the fragrance will be even more overwhelming." Zhang Yan smiled and said, "Actually, this perfume is not the best, there is another kind of jade hairpin powder, applied on the face, it is light, white, fragrant and beautiful, all four are good, but it's just more troublesome."

  Jingniang's eyes sparkled, and she wrote a line of words on the ground beside the well with a twig. Zhang Yan tilted her head to look, smiled and said, "Of course it can be done. Actually, these formulas were also found in ancient books, and I'm doing them for the first time too. Without Sister Jingniang's help, I wouldn't have been able to do it. Does sister have a box?

  Jingniang nodded, turned around and went back to her room. Before long, she came out again with a small wooden box in her hand. Zhang Yan's eyes lit up as soon as she saw it and praised, "This is great." The powder container was just the right size, fitting snugly in the palm of one's hand, about half the length of the palm and one-third the width. It was exquisitely crafted with a sliding lid, on which a plum blossom was carved. Although the carving seemed a bit clumsy, it showed great care and had an interesting antique flavor.

  Push the remaining fragrant powder in the censer to Jingniang, and smile: "Jingniang, keep this for now. When you follow Dongyuan Gong to Chang'an, Ayan will find you again to make peach blossom powder, plum blossom powder, and bring it with purple jasmine powder. How about that?"

  Jingniang hugged her gently and responded softly, with a smile flashing in her eyes.

  Vote-gathering theater YY version A2:

  After a long time, the Golden Reporter X Jiang of Da Han Entertainment Group interviewed Emperor Hui: According to the persistent digging by the paparazzi team of the entertainment group, it was revealed that many years ago when Emperor Hui was still the crown prince, he had slept in the same room with his niece during the invitation of the Four Elders of Mount Shang.

  Emperor Hui was so angry: There is still a wall in between, damn it, I don't have pedophilia.

  Yes, yes, yes, Your Majesty is right. X Jiang's explanation was just an excuse. However, I heard that Your Majesty had seen Zhang Xiaonv's bare feet before, I wonder what you felt?

  The Emperor of Hui revealed a nostalgic expression: pink and pink, that kind of pink, just like the appearance of piles of pink tickets stacked together.

  On the PK list being forced to abdicate, a certain Jiang cried bitterly and begged for pink votes.