Three days later, the emperor's royal entourage arrived. Besides Su Buchi, the eldest princess, and a few other close ministers, the imperial concubine Li also accompanied the emperor.
Li Ying pondered for a moment but was not surprised. After all, the musk cat that the imperial concubine Li loved so much was killed by her the other day. She must have come today with an ulterior motive.
It was just a matter of meeting force with force and water with earth. Li Ying remained calm. She accompanied Lu Xunguang to pay homage to the emperor and then led the emperor straight to the salt cave.
The salt - cave therapy had been widely spread and highly praised in the capital for several days, and the emperor had also heard about it.
The humid salt mist filled the salt cave, fine and dense. When it landed on the face, it felt like a gentle spring breeze. In this slightly hot early summer, it was extremely refreshing.
The emperor closed his eyes and relaxed. He felt the hot and salty moisture enveloping him. Lying on the long chair, he smelled the faint fragrance of essential oils in the room. It was very relaxing. His whole body felt warm, and the tiredness from sitting at the desk every day seemed to melt away. He felt extremely comfortable.
After the salt - mist therapy, Li Ying led him into the next salt cave and invited him to lie down in the heated salt crystals and relax.
Salt burial was different from ordinary mud or sand burial. The heat was more evenly distributed, and the weight and texture were heavier. It quickly penetrated into the bones and meridians, continuously releasing heat. The healing effect was indescribable.
Finally, he lay on the salt board for a dry - steam salt therapy. The warm salt board made his tired and sore back sweat profusely. All the inexpressible soreness accumulated over the years in his body dissipated with the sweat, and all his fatigue was left behind.
The emperor felt as if his weak body had regained its youth. Although he was covered in sticky sweat, he didn't feel the slightest bit uncomfortable. The exhilarating feeling even made him feel a long - lost sense of youthful vigor.
He closed his eyes. Half - asleep and half - awake, he heard the imperial concubine Li softly call, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty?"
He then woke up as if from a dream and sat up. He suddenly realized that he had been suffering from insomnia and stress for days, but today he had slept soundly in the salt cave without any defense. His heart tightened.
The imperial concubine Li said coquettishly, "Your Majesty, you've been unable to sleep well for days, and even the imperial physicians are helpless. But the Li girl solved the problem so easily. Truly, one can't judge a book by its cover. It seems that the common people do have some ingenious folk remedies."
Li Ying raised her eyebrows. What a "folk remedy"! The imperial concubine Li's words clearly implied that she had done something or used some drugs to make the emperor drowsy.
The emperor was already a very suspicious person. Hearing this, how could he not have doubts?
Li Ying remained calm and exchanged a look with Lu Xunguang.
Lu Xunguang understood. He picked up the pre - warmed silver kettle, brewed a cup of warm coffee in a smooth and effortless manner, and respectfully presented it to the emperor.
"Your Majesty, you've just had the salt therapy. You must be thirsty. I've prepared some coffee to moisten your throat. It's a wonderful drink for refreshing the mind and has become quite popular in the capital recently. Would you like to have a taste?"
All the utensils used for brewing the coffee were made of solid silver, so there was obviously no possibility of poisoning.
Although the coffee looked as black as ink, it had an indescribable aroma, which did arouse the emperor's curiosity.
Seeing this, the imperial concubine Li scolded again.
"Your Majesty is of precious stature. How can you drink such an unknown thing? If anything goes wrong, who can take the responsibility?"
Li Ying seemed to have anticipated her words. She knelt on the ground with a seemingly panicked expression, but her voice remained neither overbearing nor humble.
"Your Majesty, the imperial concubine Li cares about your well - being and makes comprehensive considerations in everything. Naturally, I dare not be careless!"
"The coffee beans brewed today were all selected by the imperial concubine Li's beloved musk cat. This pet is very spiritual. Thanks to this spiritual pet, we were able to brew this cup of high - quality coffee. Please investigate clearly!"
As she spoke, a servant brought out the musk cat. Sure enough, the cat was sleek and shiny, with a pair of bright eyes darting around. It was extremely cute.
The servant let go, and the musk cat looked around, then trotted straight to a bunch of red coffee fruits and feasted on them.
The emperor was slightly stunned when he saw this, and then a look of interest appeared on his face.
He had heard that the Lu's coastal tea grew on the cliffs and was extremely difficult to pick by manpower. The Lu family had trained some wild monkeys to pick the tender two leaves and one bud. Everyone in the capital was amazed by this, and he also found it interesting. However, due to his busy state affairs, he had never had the chance to visit the coastal tea factory in the fishing village.
Today, he could actually see the musk cat selecting coffee beans with his own eyes. It was really a strange thing.
The imperial concubine Li never expected that Li Ying would bring out her musk cat at this critical moment. She stared at Li Ying in disbelief and was momentarily speechless.
The emperor knew how much she loved this cat. Seeing this, he felt even more at ease and said with a smile, "My dear concubine, you've put a lot of thought into this. Since it's like this, I'll have a taste."
Lu Xunguang's coffee - brewing skills were already excellent. Moreover, the coffee beans selected today were all of high - quality with a mellow aftertaste. He also added enough milk and brown sugar. Although it was a bit bitter at first, it soon had a sweet aftertaste. It had a unique flavor compared to the imperial tribute tea.
The emperor took a couple of sips and immediately relaxed his frowned eyebrows. He praised, "It's truly wonderful!"
He listened to Li Ying introduce the amazing effects of coffee in refreshing the mind. Coupled with the fact that he really felt refreshed, he couldn't stop praising it.
"Imperial concubine Li, you've been so thoughtful!"
The imperial concubine Li had a strange look on her face. She couldn't figure out why Li Ying had given such a great credit to her for no reason. But seeing that the emperor was in a great mood, she had to pretend to be calm and kowtow to thank the emperor for his praise.
After the emperor slowly finished his coffee, he seemed to remember something and ordered, "The queen has been listless for days and has no appetite. This coffee is quite novel. Imperial concubine Li, you can send some to her for her to taste."
Li Ying quickly said, "Your Majesty, you and the queen have a deep affection for each other. But this must not be done!"
"The queen is still weak after giving birth. If she drinks coffee, she may have even more trouble sleeping, and the young prince will also not be able to rest well."
The imperial concubine Li scolded, "How dare you talk too much in front of the emperor!"
Li Ying bowed her head nervously. The emperor was in a good mood after the salt therapy. With the eldest princess mediating on the side, saying that Li Ying was just worried about the queen's health and had lost her manners for a moment, he was not angry.
He just raised his eyes and casually asked, "Then in your opinion, what should I reward the queen with?"