Chunniang boiled three large pots of hot water and used a basketful of plant ash to thoroughly scrub her son clean.
Seeing her son's body all red and tender, she asked worryingly, "Did I scrub too hard and break the skin?"
"No, I'm off to my master's place." Jiang Wu quickly dressed and dashed out of the courtyard.
In the west room, Yingbao was examining a few large transparent leaves before crushing them into a paste using a stone mortar. She mixed in some honey and water from the Pupil Spring, thus creating the Body Strengthening Tea.
After some thought, she added some rose juice to color the concoction red, then poured it into several porcelain bottles.
With the addition of colour, Jiang Wu probably wouldn't mistake it for honey tea anymore.
Finally, she picked up a lotus-shaped bud, sniffed it and was overwhelmed by an indescribable aroma that was even stronger than the leaves.
After some thought, Yingbao popped the bud into her mouth, chewed it, and swallowed.