Chapter 1052 – Climbing Flower (Part 2)
The two chatted back and forth casually.
Wan Xiuer was a detail-oriented person and quickly gathered the basic information about Feng Zhen from their idle chatter.
Widower, with a child.
Talking about his son made his eyes light up; he complained, but his pride was blatantly obvious.
Wan Xiuer appeared calm on the surface, but inside she found it amusing.
She had presumed that someone working alongside the main character would be cunning and sly, but Feng Zhen turned out to be surprisingly innocent.
Well, he was much more likable than those hypocritical and pretentious men.
To prevent the seedlings from dying off completely, Wan Xiuer specifically moved two extra plants and took great care of them, ensuring they should thrive.
Seeing that she was done with her task, Feng Zhen rose to escort her back to the camp where the female troops were temporarily stationed.
Wan Xiuer lit an oil lamp, rummaging through her belongings to find the dried Climbing Flower blossoms she had prepared last year, swiftly making several pillows and stuffing the flowers inside.
The trend at the time was narrow, tall wooden pillows; the higher your status, the finer the wood used for your pillow.
Wooden pillows were often too high, causing many people to suffer from stiff necks, and Wan Xiuer’s mother was one of them.
Her mother would dry the fallen Climbing Flower blossoms, choosing the softest and finest ones to stuff into the pillows as filling.
Wan Xiuer didn’t like wooden pillows either. With her husband absent for years, she simply exchanged her own pillow.
Comfort was all that mattered!
Working late into the night, she entrusted a female soldier to deliver a few pillows discreetly to avoid unnecessary gossip.
Jiang Pengji benefited from this; she hugged the soft pillow, giving it a sniff, the surface emanating a faint fragrance.
“What’s inside? Smells quite nice—”
At the moment she received this gift, Jiang Pengji was having her meal, and Feng Zhen was roped in to help.
She watched him work, wondering if he had time to sneak off and flirt!
As Feng Zhen noticed Jiang Pengji fiddling with something in her arms, he remembered Wan Xiuer’s words from yesterday and allowed a slight smile to creep onto his face.
If all went well, when he finished his task and returned to the tent, he should also find a similar gift awaiting him.
Thinking of this, he felt a bit regretful—
Ah, someone else enjoying his unique gift, it seemed like it was he who gained from Jiang Pengji’s favor, not the other way around!
Yes, Wan Xiuer used the guise of thanking Jiang Pengji to present gifts to Jiang Pengji and the strategists and military generals she relied on.
“Must be Climbing Flower,” Feng Zhen replied.
“Climbing Flower? Using dried flowers as pillow stuffing, she really has a thoughtful heart.”
Jiang Pengji, however, was unaware of what it was, thinking the name simply sounded nice.
Squeezing the soft pillow, Jiang Pengji planned to try it out at night.
“Xiuer’s thoughts are really clever, this pillow casing can be replaced,” Jiang Pengji discovered a string on one side of the pillowcase; when she pulled it apart, she found the two sides weren’t stitched but intricately tied with a long string, leaving no gaps.
Untying the string, Jiang Pengji pulled out the inside contents.
She lowered her head, oblivious to the sudden change in the live stream’s comments.
【Zhu Wan Yan】: Scared me to death, when I first heard Climbing Flower, I thought an entire city was stuffed in the pillow!
【I’m Called Su Su】: What a shame— I also misunderstood—
【Jun Po】: Holy moly— I remember Climbing Flower is an ancient name for the kapok tree, right?
Kapok tree!!!
Most of the audience was still confused, wondering what kind of flower Climbing Flower was, while some viewers were already connecting the dots.
So, this thing is the kapok tree!
【I Don’t Like Eating Apples】: I’ve seen this before; I remember kapok flowers were ornamental in ancient times before being utilized.
【Tang Yuan Warrior】: Wait— Does this mean our host can now grow cotton?
In the ancient society, productivity was low, and the common people struggled for their daily needs.
As for food, Jiang Pengji was already researching sweet potatoes and yams, which had high yields and could feed many. If high-yield cotton could be used to solve clothing issues— once Jiang Pengji conquers the entire realm, a prosperous dynasty would be just around the corner!
The audience was buzzing with excitement, but some scholars doused their enthusiasm with cold water.
【Old Driver Alliance】: Cotton refers to the fiber from the seeds of plants in the mallow family, while what we commonly refer to as cotton should be the fine fluffy cotton with high yields. The kapok tree belongs to the kapok family, and its flower filaments can be used as fabric material, while the tree itself can also be used for paper-making. While kapok fibers can be used for cotton clothing, they don’t match the fabric quality and yields of the cotton we know—
Kapok flowers do not equal cotton!
With the Old Driver’s explanation, much of the audience’s enthusiasm was dampened.
However, as Jiang Pengji pulled out the stuffing, their excitement surged once more—
Inside, there were kapok fibers, but also white cotton!
Jiang Pengji picked up a clump and squeezed it; it felt good.
In her era, only the wealthy could wear true pure cotton clothing.
However, pure cotton clothing had various issues. As a warrior, she could only wear it during her rare breaks, as she typically donned specialized combat gear made from some sturdy interstellar plant fibers, which felt softer than cotton but was resistant to ordinary blades.
Thus, she didn’t know the ancient term for cotton, but she did know what that mass of fluff was useful for.
In her excitement, Jiang Pengji slammed her palm down on the table in front of her.
The sudden loud noise startled Feng Zhen into dropping his pen, leaving a long inky streak on the rice paper.
What’s going on—
Feng Zhen looked up at his leader.
Privately, he thought that the tools used by the leader should be replaced with copper or iron ones; otherwise, replacing them frequently was too wasteful.
“Leader?” Feng Zhen tentatively spoke.
Jiang Pengji suddenly stood up, leaving behind a “You keep at it; I’ll take my leave”—she clapped her behind and left without a trace.
Feng Zhen: “…”
Now that the leader was gone, could he sneak off and take a break?
Wan Xiuer was busy organizing the items Feng Zhen sent over; she couldn’t follow the army and would most likely be sent to her assigned territory by Jiang Pengji. With this thought, Wan Xiuer began to pack her belongings to avoid last-minute chaos—
Hearing movement outside, Wan Xiuer curiously stretched her neck.
Seeing Jiang Pengji, she stood up and performed a bow.
“No need for such courtesy.” Jiang Pengji said, cutting right to the chase, “Where did you get this?”
Wan Xiuer was startled; she had thought there was something wrong with the cotton fluff, and her already pale face turned even whiter.
Could it be that this fluff had been tampered with, and someone was using her to frame Liu Xi?
In an instant, various conspiracy theories and household struggles flashed through her mind.
After a moment of hesitation, she stammered, “Th-this… this is from the tree I planted in the yard… Is there something wrong?”
Could there really have been an incident?
But Jiang Pengji excitedly grabbed Wan Xiuer’s delicate hand.
With bubbling excitement, she asked, “How many are there? Where is the tree?”
Wan Xiuer was puzzled but felt relieved.
From Jiang Pengji’s expression, it should be nothing bad, so she could rest easy.
“There are three trees planted in the yard, and seven normal Climbing Flowers…” Wan Xiuer didn’t know what the tree producing the fluff was called, but it was mixed in with the Climbing Flowers as a bridal gift, so it should also be a type of Climbing Flower, just with a bizarre appearance.
She imagined, perhaps it was just a Climbing Flower that had grown crooked?
