The next day, Lady Zhuwu specifically came to visit Madam Yuan and her daughter.
At first glance, Lady Zhuwu still appeared to be a radiant beauty, her voice soft and delicate like a young girl’s. Feng Xian assessed her appearance and guessed she should be no more than thirty-five years old, but the fine lines at the corners of her eyes when she spoke and laughed indicated that her best years were gradually passing, while her meticulously perfect makeup showed how unwilling she was to accept this.
She sincerely expressed her welcome for Feng Xian’s return, not avoiding her previous persecution of Madam Yuan and her daughter, saying she hated her former immature and hot-tempered self, felt deeply guilty about her past actions, and was willing to make amends.
She brought several pieces of jewelry and fabric materials, and despite Feng Xian’s refusal, directly ordered her servants to place them in the hall. Besides this, she also presented a chicken with an unusual appearance, saying it could nourish Madam Yuan’s health.
This chicken was slightly smaller than ordinary domestic chickens, with a head and cheeks resembling a pheasant. Most of its feathers were black, scattered with white round spots. “This chicken comes from Kui Gorge and is extremely rare. My relative from Sichuan traveled thousands of miles to bring it to me. The round spots on its body are like pearl markings, so the Shu people call it a pearl chicken. Because it feeds its mother when grown, showing great filial piety, it’s also called the filial pheasant,” Lady Zhuwu explained. “This filial pheasant has another miraculous quality: every spring and summer when the weather is warm and pleasant, a ribbon over a foot long appears under its chin, with alternating red and blue-green colors, very vivid. At the same time, a pair of jade-green horns stand up on its head. After displaying for a while, it retracts the ribbon under its crop, covered again by feathers, and both the ribbon and jade horns disappear. Unfortunately, the weather is cold now, so this sight cannot be seen.”
Feng Xian carefully examined the filial pheasant’s neck area but saw no sign of anything unusual, so she asked, “Could that ribbon have retracted inside the neck?”
Lady Zhuwu laughed, “I used to think the same way, but I killed one and carefully examined the neck and chest area, finding no ribbon. So this filial pheasant has some supernatural quality. My relative said that frying it in oil first and then making soup is most nourishing. I originally wanted to stew it properly and bring it to Madam, but I was afraid she would dislike my poor cooking skills. I heard that Miss has learned excellent culinary skills in Pujiang, so stewing a chicken would naturally be no problem for her. Moreover, you mother and daughter are connected in heart, so the food Miss makes would naturally suit Madam’s taste better than that made by outsiders. Therefore, I boldly decided to send a live filial pheasant over.”
Madam Yuan declined, saying the filial pheasant was so precious that she couldn’t accept it, and asked Lady Zhuwu to take it back. But Lady Zhuwu insisted on giving it, saying that Madam Yuan had been ill for a long time and was weak, making this dietary supplement most suitable. Feng Xian watched them exchange courtesies for a long time with cold eyes, finally advising her mother, “Lady Zhuwu shows such sincere intention, mother should accept it.”
Since her daughter had spoken, Madam Yuan no longer declined. Lady Zhuwu was very pleased to see them willing to accept the gift, and gave Feng Xian detailed instructions on the cooking method before taking her leave.
This was the first time Feng Xian had seen such an ingredient as the filial pheasant, and she was quite curious about it. This was also one of the reasons she decided to keep Lady Zhuwu’s gift. After seeing the guest off, Feng Xian killed the filial pheasant, scalded it with hot water to remove the feathers, then examined it carefully. Indeed, no ribbon was found between the neck and chest area, and the filial pheasant’s internal structure was largely similar to that of domestic chickens.
Following the method Lady Zhuwu had taught her, Feng Xian first fried it, then added a few spices and placed it in a copper pot to stew over low heat. Before long, a meaty aroma began to emerge, growing stronger as it cooked. The entire courtyard was filled with this rich and enticing fragrance.
The finished soup also had a clear yellow color just like chicken soup. Aunt Xu, smelling the aroma, was already full of praise and was about to ladle a bowl to take to Madam Yuan when Feng Xian stopped her.
Feng Xian said, “This filial pheasant was sent alive. Lady Zhuwu probably didn’t want us to have any concerns, so she didn’t cook it herself, letting me do it to show it was harmless. However, I’ve never seen this kind of chicken before and don’t know if it’s completely non-toxic. It’s better to be cautious.”
Aunt Xu also felt that Feng Xian was being thorough, but said, “If Lady Zhuwu wanted to harm Madam, she wouldn’t use such a direct method. This chicken is probably not poisonous. If Miss is worried, I can try it first.”
Seeing Feng Xian’s tacit consent, Aunt Xu ladled herself a bowl of soup and slowly drank it. After waiting quietly for a while without any unusual symptoms, she praised with a smile, “Miss’s cooking skills are truly excellent. This soup is more fragrant than any chicken soup I’ve ever had.”
Feng Xian also took a bowl and drank it herself. In this bitterly cold winter, the warmth flowed down from her throat along with the soup, gradually penetrating to all her limbs and bones. That rich and mellow taste seemed to carry a breath of vitality, gently wrapping her dried and cold body. The comfort of this bowl of chicken soup strangely made Feng Xian feel a long-lost sense of worldly peace, reminding her of drinking chicken soup in her mother’s arms when she was young.
It won’t be poisonous. She made this judgment in her heart.
Feng Xian brought the filial pheasant soup to Madam Yuan’s bedside, but Madam Yuan wouldn’t drink it. It wasn’t because she worried about toxicity, but she advised Feng Xian, “Since this chicken is called a filial pheasant, it’s very suitable to offer to one’s parents. I’ve been bedridden for a long time and might be too weak to benefit from supplements, wasting such good ingredients. Why don’t you take it to your father? Since you made it yourself, it can also show your filial devotion.”
Feng Xian didn’t want to see her father. During her time back home, Ling Tao hadn’t even summoned her to meet, and she had no desire to show filial duty to her father. But Madam Yuan insisted repeatedly, and to avoid going against her mother’s wishes, Feng Xian had to take the filial pheasant soup to the main residence to present to her father.
Ling Tao was nearly fifty years old, tall and sturdy, with rugged features, but he wasn’t entirely a crude military man. His high nose and slightly sunken eyes could still faintly capture some traces of his handsome youth. Feng Xian secretly observed him and vaguely felt that she and he were quite similar. His bloodline combined with her mother’s delicate beauty factors, manifesting in Feng Xian as a tall figure and bright appearance, making her countenance appear quite imposing and stand out even among the group of Jiangnan beauties around her since childhood.
Ling Tao remained cold toward Feng Xian. Faced with his daughter’s polite greetings, he only nodded, too lazy to even say a word of small talk. He had no interest in understanding Feng Xian’s experiences over the years, nor any mood to reminisce with his daughter. However, when Feng Xian presented the filial pheasant soup, he was attracted by the rich aroma. After squinting and examining it for a while, he gladly accepted Feng Xian’s suggestion to taste it.
After enjoying a bowl of both chicken and soup, he finally showed Feng Xian a better expression, praising her cooking skills and casually asking about Madam Yuan’s recent condition.
Feng Xian felt quite encouraged. Although she had no good feelings toward this father, she could see that her mother still had considerable affection for her father. If she learned that her father showed some concern, she would surely be delighted. Therefore, Feng Xian described her mother’s condition in detail, secretly hoping her father would show more compassion.
But Ling Tao listened absent-mindedly, his gaze frequently falling on the filial pheasant soup. When Feng Xian finished speaking, the first thing he said wasn’t related to Madam Yuan and her daughter, but an order to his attendants: “Send this soup to Lady Jiu.”
This Lady Jiu must be the Lady Xuejiu that Aunt Xu had mentioned. Seeing Feng Xian’s strange expression and silence, Ling Tao offered a brief explanation: “Lady Jiu has just given birth and hasn’t completed her month of confinement yet. This chicken soup tastes good, so why not send it to nourish her.”
Feng Xian forced a smile and said, “Yes. Father may dispose of it as he wishes.”
It was said that Lady Xuejiu also liked the taste of the filial pheasant very much and ate quite a bit, but during the night she suddenly felt abdominal pain and bleeding that wouldn’t stop, showing signs of hemorrhaging. Lady Xuejiu’s maid Mei brought the remaining filial pheasant soup to report to Ling Tao, saying it was caused by eating the filial pheasant. Ling Tao flew into a rage and ordered Feng Xian to be arrested for personal interrogation.
Feng Xian was shocked and argued that women have much lochia after childbirth, so even if there was bleeding, it wasn’t necessarily caused by food. Mei said, “Lady Jiu gave birth more than twenty days ago. The lochia had stopped showing red, and she had been fine until today when she started bleeding after eating the filial pheasant.”
Feng Xian listed to Ling Tao all the spices used besides the filial pheasant, all of which were common and non-toxic. Feng Xian added, “After the filial pheasant was stewed, Aunt Xu and I both drank it, and only after seeing no abnormalities did I present it to father. Father himself also drank the soup and ate the meat. If it were poisonous, why would the three of us be unharmed? If Lady Jiu’s bleeding was caused by food, the fault doesn’t lie with the filial pheasant.”
Mei retorted, “Lady Jiu had a poor appetite today. Before the filial pheasant, she only drank some sweet soup stewed with walnuts, sesame, and donkey-hide gelatin, and ate some plain boiled mushrooms. These are all foods Lady Jiu normally eats without harm, but she started bleeding after eating the filial pheasant. Isn’t it obviously caused by the filial pheasant?”
Ling Tao pondered, “Could it be that this filial pheasant can be eaten by ordinary people but not by women in confinement?”
At this moment, someone outside the door said loudly, “Women in confinement can eat it.”
Everyone looked toward the voice and saw it was Lady Zhuwu hurrying over.
Lady Zhuwu hurriedly walked to Ling Tao, bowed, then said, “This filial pheasant was originally brought by my nephew from Kui Gorge. The first time I ate filial pheasant was after giving birth to Third Miss, when my relatives from Sichuan specifically had it sent to nourish my body. Filial pheasant is more nourishing than ordinary chicken soup and very suitable for women in confinement. Later, when I gave birth to Fourth Miss and Fifth Miss, I ate it every time during my confinement month, with no bleeding symptoms. This shows that Lady Jiu’s current symptoms are not related to the filial pheasant.”
Hearing this, Ling Tao nodded slightly, probably remembering Lady Zhuwu eating filial pheasant during her confinement periods.
Mei frowned in silence, temporarily not refuting Lady Zhuwu. After a moment, she glanced at Feng Xian and said, “Even if the filial pheasant isn’t poisonous, perhaps someone knew this soup would be sent to Lady Jiu and took the opportunity to add something to it.”
Before Feng Xian could respond, Lady Zhuwu had already turned toward Mei, saying seriously, “The filial pheasant soup was offered by Second Miss to her father. How could she know that her father would pass it on to Lady Jiu? Moreover, I believe in Second Miss’s character. She is kind-hearted and would never do anything to harm others.”
Before she finished speaking, Lady Zhuwu quickly walked to the soup pot that Mei had brought back. Without using chopsticks, she directly used the soup ladle to scoop soup, drinking several spoonfuls in succession, and took a few pieces of meat, quickly chewing and swallowing them. Then, facing everyone, she said, “I’ve also eaten the filial pheasant made by Second Miss. Let’s see if I’ll get sick from it. If I do, I’m willing to be punished together with Second Miss. If not…” She cast a cold glance toward Mei, but said to Ling Tao, “I hope the general will severely punish those who sow discord and frame others, to restore Second Miss’s innocence.”