Read Novel Full Chapter 252
Chapter 252: An Qi
As honey-glazed meat jerky, pork floss, and bread cakes became hot sellers among the upper circles in Shezhou, the Emperor had just finished the morning court session and returned to the Imperial Study. There, he heard from the Inner Eunuch Cen that An Qi had returned. He dismissed the others and was now reading the records of Daxing Village presented by An Qi.
When he saw that Sang Luo had conducted a castration experiment on pigs and had invited government officials and nearby villagers to observe the results, the Emperor, who had been drinking tea to soothe his dry throat after a long morning speech, nearly spewed the tea out. He choked badly, causing the outer gatekeeper, Cen, to become uneasy and ask from outside, “Your Majesty?”
He was eager to enter the study and find out what was happening.
“It’s nothing.”
After the coughing subsided, the Emperor responded from inside and continued reading the records with an increasingly odd expression.
“Is it really true that the pig gained eighty or ninety pounds?”
An Qi nodded. “Because this matter is quite unusual, the villagers often went to observe. An Jiu, An Shi, and Dark Eleven had heard the details and stayed there for several months, watching the pigs grow.”
The Emperor asked, “…So what’s the principle behind it? And why did she think of conducting such an experiment?”
Who would think of castrating a perfectly healthy pig and then raising it?
An Qi replied, “…Perhaps it’s due to careful observation. An Jiu said that the uncastrated pigs grew restless, didn’t eat or sleep well, and therefore didn’t grow as robustly.”
The Emperor: “…” That actually makes sense.
To prevent the topic from taking a strange turn, the Emperor continued to read through the notes from the Dark Guards and then came across the records about Sang Luo’s shop.
Fresh produce, specialties?
“What do the two shops sell?”
This was a good question, and An Qi knew the answer well, as he had eaten the most.
Although his eyes lit up for a moment, he remained composed, looking as usual, and reported formally.
The Emperor heard several names of products he had never heard before. After living over thirty years, he was surprised to doubt the strength of the Xiao family. As an old aristocratic family, where did all these unknown things come from? Could it be regional differences? He glanced at An Qi, who swallowed.
This was a Dark Guard personally trained by him since childhood, from when he was six or seven years old. The Emperor was very familiar with An Qi’s semi-hidden attributes.
“Did you buy any?”
An Qi: “…” The last remaining jar of honey-glazed meat jerky was in jeopardy.
His inner self was almost rolling in despair. He remained honest, “Yes, I bought some.”
The Emperor lifted his chin, “Let me see.”
An Qi felt that presenting the item was more than just showing it.
Of course, he couldn’t say that. He bowed and withdrew, not through the main door but by disappearing behind the screen. He soon returned with two small jars in hand.
The pork floss was fine; he didn’t like it much. But parting with that jar of honey-glazed meat jerky was painful. During his time on the boat, he had relied on it for chewing. He placed the jar on the Imperial desk with great deliberation.
The Emperor looked at him, and An Qi hesitated, “Your Majesty, the pork floss can last longer, but the honey-glazed meat jerky, the shop’s girl said it won’t last in the heat, at most twenty days.”
“You’ve been on the water route for how many days?”
“Fifteen days.”
“Then you still have five days.”
“It won’t be fresh.” Desperate struggle!
The Emperor’s gaze hardened, “On the battlefield, if we’re trapped, even hairy cakes can be cleaned and eaten. I’m not that delicate.”
Without hesitation, he took the jar of honey-glazed meat jerky from the Imperial desk. The jar appeared ordinary. An Qi explained, “The jar was replaced with a ceramic one.”
Items with Daxing Village markings were not suitable for appearing in the palace, especially not with him, the Dark Guard, or the Emperor.
“You always handle things meticulously.” The Emperor was in a good mood and swiftly opened the jar. An Qi quickly called for a pause, took a silver needle to test, and after a while, seeing that the needle did not change color, signaled that the Emperor could begin.
The appearance of the meat jerky was appetizing. The Emperor took a piece and chewed.
Alright, now he understood why An Qi had clung to it so fiercely.
He smiled, clearly in a great mood, and chewed with pleasure, even pushing the jar toward An Qi, “Want some?”
An Qi: …
He knew it wouldn’t be his.
“I dare not.”
The Emperor’s mood improved even more. He asked An Qi, “What about the bread and cakes? Didn’t you bring any back?”
“They don’t last long, just three or four days before going bad, and they’re also hard to get. Perhaps due to insufficient ingredients, they only sold a little in five days. When the time came, the shop was closed, and wealthy families’ servants in the city guarded it. These items are new, and no one knew about them, which is why they were still available.”
Indeed, now that food is scarce everywhere, it was improving. The fact that Daxing Village could sell food indicated that people’s lives were slowly getting better. The Emperor was not frowning, but looked at An Qi and joked, “Were you guarding it too?”
An Qi’s fingers twitched, but he defended himself, “There was An Ba guarding outside the village.”
At this point, An Qi remembered something and said, “By the way, there’s something. Shen Lie seems to have suspected the identities of An Jiu and the others.”
It had been nearly four months since Zeng Ziqian mentioned Shen Lie’s name. The Emperor was momentarily unsure who Shen Lie was, then remembered he was Sang Luo’s husband. He was a bit surprised, “How? Did you make any mistakes?”
An Qi shook his head, “I don’t think so. Before the shop opened, he seemed to have tested An Jiu and the others, but the traces were not obvious. At that time, An Jiu was unsure. But after that, when Madam went out several times, I and An Ba were secretly guarding. We nearly got spotted by him when he was supposed to be at the academy. It was then that I, to avoid suspicion, went into the shop to buy something.”
And ended up falling into a trap, spending half a month’s salary on three visits to the shop.
“By the way, he went to An Jiu and the others’ ‘home,’ and then he visited the governor’s office.” An Qi was uncertain whether to reveal this detail.
“Did he look for Zeng Ziqian?” The Emperor’s narrow eyes narrowed slightly, showing a hint of interest.
He had initially considered Shen Lie merely a convenient step for Sang Luo to enter the capital and maintain close ties with the court. However, it seemed Shen Lie was more than that. His sharpness was rare and clearly indicative of a martial talent. It would be a pity if he didn’t achieve greatness in these troubled times.
But if Shen Lie’s heart were not in his family, it would be uncertain whether Sang Luo would still be in this world. Reflecting on this, it seemed almost fated that Shen Lie and Sang Luo were destined to assist him and Da Qi.
Considering the documents sent to various prefectures in Da Qi and the subsequent benefits, the Emperor was in a good mood and said, “If he doesn’t clarify, you should act as if you don’t know about it. Just focus on doing your job.”
“Yes.”
As An Qi prepared to leave, the Emperor called him back, “Later, get twenty liang of silver from Cen Xi. Next time you come back, bring two more jars for me.”
An Qi’s eyes lit up, and his smile spread widely. He tried to maintain some reserve, “Your Majesty, each jar costs only one liang.”
“Then take two liang.”
An Qi’s smile froze. The Emperor, pleased, said, “Go on. The rest is a reward for you. Don’t spend all your salary on these things. In a few years, when you leave the Dark Guards, don’t end up without savings for a wife and children. I wouldn’t want people to think I’m mistreating my subordinates.”
An Qi was overjoyed, thanked the Emperor profusely, and left with a cheerful step.
When Cen Xi came in to attend to the Emperor, he saw that the Emperor was wiping his hands with a damp cloth. As he approached, he noticed a new item on the Imperial desk—a nondescript jar. Combining this with the bits of conversation he had overheard, he guessed what it was.
Shen Lie.
An Qi and his group had gone to Daxing Village.
It wasn’t likely for the Emperor to send Dark Guards to Daxing Village because of a simple plow. Cen Xi, as the Emperor’s trusted aide and someone who was close to him, quickly figured out the situation, his eyes widening slightly.
The Emperor casually picked up a memorial from the desk and, seemingly inadvertently, asked, “Have the Luo and Dou families sent people over?”
Cen Xi quickly bowed, “Lord Li sent someone in mid-June. The message has likely been delivered by now.”
The formula had been discarded and was lost forever. From now on, anyone in Da Qi could make paper, but the Luo and Dou families were excluded.
The Emperor was satisfied and smiled.
—
In Daxing Village, Shen Lie was unaware that his minor actions had been reported to the Emperor. After secretly observing for a few days and receiving a reassuring but unspoken answer from Zeng Ziqian, he felt relieved about Sang Luo’s safety.
With the end of summer approaching, Sang Luo’s belly was growing larger. She was very sensitive to the heat and enjoyed the cool mountain breeze. Recently, she liked to rest in the pavilion built by the government for the imperial edict inscriptions.
After being busy with land development, building houses, and opening shops for half a year, Sang Luo finally had some leisure time. She began to focus on the issue of the children in the village studying.
The five students from the academy were currently the best teachers for the village children. Sang Luo thought about it and decided to have Shen Lie use the leftover wood from building their house during his breaks to make some desks and chairs.
“Don’t put them anywhere else, just in this pavilion. It’s spacious and well-lit. When it gets cold, move them to the south room at our entrance. If An Ning and the others need to study together, that’s fine too. Ask Yunzheng and Qinghe if they can take turns teaching the village children during their breaks.”
With only one turn in six breaks, naturally, they were happy to do it. Shen Lie was only worried about one thing, “Will it trouble you?”
“Why would it trouble me? It’s nice to hear the sound of children reading.” She patted her round belly, feeling the baby move in response. Smiling, she said, “See? This one seems to love excitement.”
Shen Lie’s eyes brightened, and he leaned in, pressing his hand against Sang Luo’s belly to play with the baby, “Dear, I’m Daddy. Give me a little touch.”
The baby inside was very familiar with his voice and the term “dear.” Seeing the movement on her belly, Sang Luo couldn’t help but laugh.
Seeing Shen Lie’s excited face as he spoke to the baby, calling it “dear,” she laughed, “Have you decided on a name yet?”
They had already filled a page with names for boys and girls, but none were satisfactory. Ever since Sang Luo got pregnant, they had been calling the baby “dear” back and forth.
Sang Luo asked as Shen Lie squatted beside her, “Don’t you like any of them?”
Shen Lie looked up, “None seem quite right. I’ve come up with several names. How about we pick one together tonight?”
Sang Luo chuckled. They had already chosen names several times, and it was likely they wouldn’t find one to Shen Lie’s liking tonight either.