Qi Yu never wanted to see ginseng again for the rest of his life. At breakfast that day, Chun He brought him a bowl of ginseng soup as usual. The broth was clear, with a few slices of ginseng resting at the bottom, stewed almost translucent and glowing a faint amber in the morning light. Before she could set the bowl on the table, Qi Yu frowned. He told her to take it away. Thinking he merely found it too hot, Chun He stirred it with a spoon and said, "Your Highness, ginseng soup should be drunk while it's hot." Qi Yu turned his face away and raised his voice a fraction. "Take it away. Don't let me see ginseng again."
Chun He stood frozen with the bowl in her hands and glanced back at A Ping. A Ping hurried over and carried the soup away on a tray, taking it to the Side Hall and even covering it tightly for fear the smell would drift out. Chun He cautiously asked what His Highness would drink today, and whether milk would do. Qi Yu said milk was fine, honey was fine, red dates and longan were all fine, as long as there was no ginseng. From that day on, A Ping packed every ginseng rootlet, slice, and bit of powder in Yuning Hall's small kitchen into a box and put it at the very back of the highest shelf in the storeroom. Even the old wild ginseng root the Empress Dowager had bestowed years ago was wrapped in several layers of cloth by Chun He and stuffed deep inside a storage chest, lest His Highness see it and frown again.
When the Crown Prince arrived, Qi Yu was sprawled over the table, using chopsticks to build a formation. He laid