Chapter 18: A Major Incident at the Qin Prince’s Residence—Even the Dogs Must Get Involved

Listening to Ye Xun’s words, Cao An asked with confusion, "Your Highness, what is soap?"

Ye Xun replied, "It is a detergent, used for washing clothes."

Cao An continued, "And you are making this yourself?"

Ye Xun arranged the raw materials and pondered, "We are going to sell it. Our future prosperity depends entirely on this stuff."

Soap? Washing clothes? Selling it?

Cao An and Ling'er were once again stunned. They had thought Ye Xun had come up with some brilliant idea, but it turned out to be selling so-called laundry soap. Could this thing actually make money? Furthermore, commoners struggled just to have enough food to eat; where would they find spare cash to buy such a thing?

Although he thought these things, Cao An kept them to himself. He would be grateful enough as long as Ye Xun stopped causing trouble and provoking the Xia Emperor’s wrath. As for his research into soap, as long as Ye Xun was happy, that was enough.

In the Great Xia, cleaning agents already existed, though they were merely natural substances like wood ash, rice-rinsing water, or honey locust pods. Ordinary households typically just used wood ash.

Nearby, Ye Xun ignored Cao An and Ling'er, focusing entirely on his research. Possessing an extraordinary memory and the ability to recall things after a single glance, he searched his mind for the contents of the "Encyclopedia of Essential Skills for Time Travelers."

First, he took a jar, added wood ash, and then poured in water—roughly twenty percent more than the volume of the ash. He then picked up a wooden stick, inserted it into the jar, and began stirring frantically.

Watching the focused Ye Xun, Cao An felt a jolt of surprise. He remembered the last time he had seen Ye Xun this serious was last year at a poetry gathering, when he was staring at Shangguan Yunqing. The time before that was when he was fixated on Chen Yuanyuan at the Red Sleeve Pavilion. The time before that… Cao An shook his head; the past was too painful to recall. Back then, the deposed crown prince had been nothing more than a lecherous, hedonistic spendthrift.

Ling'er watched intently, filled with curiosity. Ye Xun remained immersed in his work. "Ling'er, prepare the cloth and the jars."

"Ah? Oh, yes!" Ling'er quickly fetched the items.

He then had Ling'er cover the jar with the cloth. Ye Xun lifted the jar containing the wood-ash water and poured it into an empty jar to filter it, obtaining the mixed liquid—the lye. Next, Ye Xun placed the lye on a small stove to heat it, allowing the water to evaporate to increase the lye's concentration. Once it had evaporated sufficiently, he placed an egg into the liquid; when the egg floated, he took the jar off the stove. The concentration was just right.

Observing Ye Xun’s methodical and peculiar maneuvers, Cao An was bewildered, yet everything seemed to make perfect sense. It was only then that he realized the impact of being deposed had been immense. A man who previously wouldn't even pick up his own chopsticks and required others to feed him was now working with such efficiency. Could it be that His Highness might actually succeed? A shred of confidence in Ye Xun began to grow in Cao An's heart.

Ye Xun had no time to observe the changes in Cao An’s expression. He handed the osmanthus and Chinese roses to Ling'er. "Ling'er, crush these two types of flowers until you extract their essential oils."

"Yes, Your Highness." Ling'er took the flowers, filled with motivation; she had been infected by Ye Xun's enthusiasm, even though she still didn't quite understand what this "soap" was.

Seeing Ye Xun delegating tasks to Ling'er, Cao An puffed out his chest and asked eagerly, "Your Highness, is there anything I can do to assist?"

Ye Xun pointed to the raw lard. "Go and render that lard."

In truth, lard was not strictly necessary; other animal fats would work as well. But in this era, lard was the cheapest. At this time, pork was considered "low-end" meat, consumed only by the impoverished, because the pigs were not castrated, making the meat incredibly gamey and difficult to swallow. Furthermore, due to the filthy habits of pigs, scholars and the literati disdained eating it. Thus, lard was very inexpensive.

"Yes," Cao An trotted off to get to work.

About an hour later, Cao An and Ling'er had finished their tasks. Ye Xun heated the lard and the lye to about forty degrees and poured them into four separate jars, mixing them together and stirring vigorously. One jar contained milk soap, one honey soap, one osmanthus soap, and one Chinese rose soap.

"Master, what next?" Cao An asked, looking at the four jars with sweat beading on his forehead.

Ye Xun mused, "Stir. Stir until you can't stir anymore."

In reality, fat does not dissolve well in lye; one should add alcohol to help the fat dissolve rapidly. But they had no alcohol, so they had to use their raw, brute strength. Cao An looked at the four jars and frowned; there were only three of them.

With that thought, Cao An had an idea. He brought over Wangcai, the dog, and made it hold a wooden stick in its mouth to stir one of the jars. Wangcai bit onto the stick, staring at Cao An and Ye Xun with a blank, confused expression, as if to say, "I may not be human, but you guys are really dogs."

Cao An patted Wangcai’s head and urged, "Don't just stare. We are short-handed in this manor; everyone has to work. No free loaders here. Even if you're a dog, you have to pull your weight."

Soon, three people and one dog were stirring the four jars frantically. Wangcai tilted its head, eyes wide, questioning its own existence as a dog. Ye Xun, while stirring, instructed Wangcai, "Wangcai, pull your tongue in. Control your drool; don't let it drip into the jar. This all cost money to buy!"

Seeing Wangcai’s hopeless expression, Ling'er covered her mouth to hide her smile. Even now, she couldn't believe that the man beside her was the Prince of Qin of Great Xia, and that this was the Prince of Qin’s manor. Ye Xun was likely the most down-and-out prince in history, forced to make things himself to sell for money.

Without alcohol to accelerate the dissolution, it was indeed exhausting. They had to heat the soap mixture two more times before it was finished. After the stirring was done, not only were Ye Xun and the others exhausted, but even the ferocious Wangcai was practically foaming at the mouth. Had it not been for its deep bond with Cao An, it would have fled the Prince of Qin’s manor overnight. The Prince of Qin’s manor was too cruel; even passing dogs were captured and forced into hard labor.

Afterward, Ye Xun allowed no time for rest and began pouring the soap mixture into one hundred wooden molds that he had ordered Cao An to have custom-made. By the time the three of them finished, it was the middle of the night.

Twenty-five bars of osmanthus soap, twenty-five of Chinese rose, twenty-five of milk, and twenty-five of honey—one hundred bars in total. This was the beginning of Ye Xun’s first pot of gold.

The group then headed to the front hall, waiting for the following day when the soap would cool and set to see the results. Regardless of whether this attempt succeeded, the relationship between Cao An, Ling'er, and Ye Xun had grown much closer, and their impression of him had changed drastically. No one would have expected that the once-notorious, hedonistic crown prince could now be so earnest and grounded. Although they were still unsure of the quality of the soap Ye Xun had created, his attitude alone was worthy of their respect.

Dinner that evening was quite lavish. Knowing they had worked hard, Ye Xun had specifically asked Cao An to buy wine and dishes. Even Wangcai was given a pig trotter. After the meal, the three of them returned to their rooms to rest, waiting quietly for the morrow.