Chapter 207 1/3

The royal family of Daqi bears the surname Qi, and the current emperor is named Qi Jun.

Qi Jun was once handsome and robust in his youth, but since being poisoned, his health has deteriorated. Now in his forties, he already appears aged.

On the way here, Lü Qingxi had been introducing things around to him, but Qi Jun’s eyesight was poor, and he couldn’t see clearly.

However, even though he couldn’t see the surroundings clearly, Qi Jun still looked eagerly around.

When they arrived outside Qingyun Tower, the guards by Qi Jun’s side helped him down from the sedan chair.

He didn’t want to be assisted, so after getting off the sedan chair, he signaled for the guards to leave and walked forward by himself.

But he hadn’t walked a few steps when Lü Qingxi held him back. “Your Majesty, be careful, there’s a doorstep ahead.”

Qi Jun cautiously stepped forward, crossed the doorstep, and entered Qingyun Tower.

When Qi Jun’s health was good, walking was no problem for him. However, climbing stairs was very difficult, and he would start panting after just a few steps.

But Lü Qingxi had made arrangements long ago. They didn’t go to a private room on the second floor but went to the backyard instead.

There was a courtyard behind Qingyun Tower, usually not used to entertain guests, but it had been specially arranged today.

Lü Qingxi even went to find Chang Duan and said, “His Majesty can’t eat spicy food and prefers strong flavors…”

With the emperor’s poor health, there were many dietary restrictions, and many things couldn’t be eaten. Additionally, because of his illness, the emperor often couldn’t taste the food, so his preference for strong flavors had grown.

Chang Duan noted down everything Lü Qingxi said and then went to cook.

Actually, Lü Qingxi had already discussed these matters with him earlier, and he had prepared the menu long ago.

In their Chang family’s recipe book, there were several dishes that could nourish the body, very suitable for the emperor.

In addition… Chang Duan took some pickled cucumbers and pickled vegetables from the kitchen jars.

After slicing the pickled cucumbers, they could be served directly on the table. The pickled vegetables could be finely chopped and stir-fried with shredded meat, and the pickled vegetables could be made into soup…

These were not usually served to the emperor by the palace chefs, but they were quite appetizing.

Chang Duan made the main dish, which was yam, cabbage, and minced meat congee, along with several nourishing dishes and some pickled vegetables.

This was completely different from the Qingyun Feast he had made before, but undoubtedly, these dishes were very much loved by Qi Jun.

Qi Jun had eaten many dishes with complicated procedures and precious ingredients over the years, and he was tired of them. Seeing these pickled vegetables and pickled cucumbers was appetizing, and he hadn’t eaten much of them before.

Qi Jun was extremely satisfied with this meal. When he left, he said to Chang Duan, “Shopkeeper Duan, I’ll come again next time.”

Chang Duan smiled and saw the people off, sighing deeply only after they left.

The emperor had come this time, quietly and without fanfare, but Chang Duan had known his identity from the beginning.

He had entertained the emperor and even cooked for him!

Although his ancestors were imperial chefs, this was something he had never dared to imagine before.

The weather was very cold in midwinter, but Chang Duan’s clothes were already soaked with sweat, and he had been very nervous before.

“I didn’t expect the emperor to be like that.” Feng Da, who went by the alias Ma Er, came to Chang Duan’s side.

Chang Duan and Feng Da had come to the capital together. After arriving in the capital, Chang Duan opened Qingyun Tower, and his reputation as “Master Duan Jin” became increasingly known. Feng Da had been hiding in the shadows, helping to gather various information.

Today, upon learning that the emperor was coming, he quietly came to take a look.

Chang Duan didn’t say anything, looking in the direction where the emperor had left.

The emperor’s health was very poor, and he was very close to Eunuch Lu.

However… the Prince of Jin and the Prince of Yan had been making trouble all along.

Li Qingzhi didn’t know that Chang Duan had seen the emperor.

He inquired about Fan Weiyan as a candidate who came to the capital to take the imperial examination. Only then did he know that Fan Weiyan had already arrived in the capital and had just left yesterday.

As candidates, they should be able to meet in the capital.

Li Qingzhi brought his family with him, and they had a meal together. Du Yongning didn’t want to eat with the women, so he had dinner elsewhere with the Taoist he had just met.

Du Yongning liked the Taoist very much. The Taoist knew a lot of things, and he had traveled to many places.

He even thought that a lone wanderer should be like the Taoist.

Lu Mingshan also liked Du Yongning very much. This young master Du was very easy to deceive and would say anything.

However, after all, he was a candidate… Although Lu Mingshan pretended to be superior in front of Du Yongning, he refused to accept money from him.

As long as he didn’t take the money… even if his fortune-telling was inaccurate, he could claim that he was not skilled enough or that the other party’s fate had been altered by something. After all, people wouldn’t come after him.

Lu Mingshan followed the fleet out of curiosity about Li Qingzhi and also wanted to find a way out for his little apprentice.

He might be rotten for his whole life, but he didn’t want his apprentice to follow the same path.

Maybe he could do something big in the capital and then retire and leave the capital?

When the fleet arrived in the capital, it was October 19th.

After sitting on the boat for so long, everyone was uncomfortable, but now they had finally arrived… Everyone’s faces were full of joy.

Li Qingzhi also looked curiously at the capital’s dock.

However, as Qian Fugui had said, there wasn’t much difference between here and the provincial capital of Jiang’an Province. It was just that this place was larger, and the style of the houses was slightly different.

He didn’t know what the city was like.

But now that they were here, they had to be careful.

Li Qingzhi hired people to unload the things they had brought. Wu Baichuan lent them a boat, and Li Qingzhi also brought a lot of goods with him.

These goods included glass products and soap, as well as embroidered products from the Jin Ye Embroidery Workshop.

Jin Xiaoye planned to sell these and then open a few shops in the capital.

As for what her shops would sell… selling marinated foods would be great, and Juewei Restaurant could definitely be opened in the capital!

Being a good official, it was said that one couldn’t earn much money, and there were big expenses in the capital…

Li Qingzhi and his friends were not in a hurry. They planned to find an inn near the pier to settle down first, and then go to the city tomorrow to try to rent a yard to live in.