Chapter 42

Seeing his eldest son in such a state, Wen Zixiao couldn’t help but scold, “Cheng Ge’er, what are you doing? Walk properly.”

Wen Shuncheng, already nervous about returning to the side courtyard, was startled by his father’s scolding. He looked up to see his father, his concubine-grandmother, and his mother sitting in the main hall. He straightened up, carrying the food box and other items, and quickly ran into the main hall.

As soon as he entered the hall, everyone inside smelled a rich aroma of milk and another scent that was even more enticing, like meat but stronger. They couldn’t help but swallow.

Wen Zixiao, who had initially wanted to scold his son for sneaking around like a thief, couldn’t resist asking, “What’s that smell?”

Wen Shuncheng opened the food box, revealing the stir-fried eel strips, and took out the fish balls and milk buns wrapped in oil paper from his pocket. He said, “Father, why did you come back suddenly?”

Wen Zixiao, seeing his son bringing food home, thought he had sold the eels and bought food to improve the third branch’s meals.

“Where did you buy this food? It smells delicious. And what is this dish? It looks like eel?”

Eel was usually made into eel soup, but he hadn’t seen it prepared this way, cut into strips. Could this method mask the earthy taste of eel?

River fish, if not handled properly, had a strong fishy smell. Making it into soup was common, and some were cut into segments and cooked with heavy seasoning, but the taste was just average. There was a restaurant in the capital that made excellent eel soup, which he missed. Since coming to the border town, he hadn’t had any delicious food.

The dishes at Donglai restaurant were probably good, but he couldn’t afford to eat there. A meal would cost at least two or three taels of silver, which wasn’t much before, but now he couldn’t justify the expense.

Wen Shuncheng grinned, “Father, it’s not just the smell that’s good; it tastes even better. These are stir-fried eel strips, fish balls, and milk buns. I’ll get some chopsticks, and you can try them.” He ran to the small kitchen and brought back several pairs of wooden chopsticks.

Wen Zixiao didn’t stand on ceremony with his son. He took the chopsticks and picked up some stir-fried eel strips.

The eel strips were fresh, tender, and flavorful, with no fishy taste at all.

Wen Zixiao took a deep breath and then grabbed a milk bun. One bite revealed a rich, milky aroma, soft and sweet. The plump fish balls were also tender and delicious, with no fishy taste.

“Father, how does it taste?”

Wen Zixiao seriously said, “I’ve never tasted anything so delicious. Even the best restaurants in the capital can’t make food this good. Cheng Ge’er, where did you buy this? It must have been expensive, right?”

Could it be that my son went to Donglai Restaurant to buy this? After all, Donglai Restaurant on East Street is the largest and best restaurant in Yuanbao Town.

After Concubine Bai, Madam Meng, Gong Ge’er, and Tao Jie’er all tasted the food, they were amazed.

Wen Shuncheng then quietly said, “Father, Fourth Sister-in-law made this.”

“Fourth Sister-in-law?” Wen Zixiao didn’t react immediately. He remembered that Cheng Ge’er was the fourth in the family, right?

Concubine Bai swallowed the milk bun and said, “Your Second Sister (Madam Wen)’s fourth daughter-in-law, Yuniang.”

These milk buns were really delicious, soft and fluffy.

Wen Zixiao finally understood. They were talking about the Fourth Prince. He also knew that the Fourth Prince’s current wife was a girl from the Marquis of Dechang’s household, who was married in place of someone else. He didn’t expect this girl to have such excellent culinary skills.

The family finished all the dishes cleanly. Wen Zixiao asked, “Why did you sneak back like a thief earlier?”

Wen Shuncheng scratched his head and explained how he had met Fourth Sister-in-law while catching eels today. She had hired him to work for her, and he would work at her house daily, earning one string of coins a month. He added, “It’s just that Second Sister has been asking me about Fourth Sister-in-law’s household as if she has some ideas about her cooking skills. Fourth Sister-in-law gave me so much delicious food, and I was worried about running into Second Sister and being questioned, so I was cautious.” In fact, he hadn’t run into her before, but he was subconsciously worried about causing trouble for Fourth Sister-in-law.

His “Second Sister” was Wen Yunling, the second in the grandchildren’s generation.

Wen Zixiao frowned slightly, “Even if she finds out, so what? We don’t owe her anything. Whatever her ideas are, our family and your Fourth Sister-in-law’s family won’t indulge her, so you don’t need to worry.”

He had just returned and had gone to greet his parents first. From his father, he learned that Concubine Gui had tuberculosis and had already left the Wen family to return to the Pei family. When he returned to the third branch, he asked his mother, who insisted that Concubine Gui indeed had tuberculosis.

“By the way, how is your Aunt Gui?” Wen Zixiao asked.

Wen Shuncheng replied, “Aunt Gui is doing quite well. Her complexion is improving, and she’s even gained some weight.”

Tuberculosis patients gaining weight?

Wen Zixiao looked at Concubine Bai with suspicion, feeling something was off. He couldn’t help but ask her what was going on.

Concubine Bai calmly said, “The doctor said it was tuberculosis, so it must be tuberculosis. Maybe it wasn’t severe. Your Aunt Gui was tormented too much before. Now that her children and grandchildren are taking good care of her, she’s getting better. Look at our third branch. Look at your aunt, your wife, and Tao Jie’er. Aren’t they all thinner and in worse health than when we first arrived in Yuanbao Town?”

Wen Zixiao’s face darkened. He had long thought about splitting from the family. His parents were biased, favoring his elder brothers because they were legitimate sons. He never competed with them, but his father treated the third branch like servants. He couldn’t tolerate it forever.

Even if they split from the family and his father didn’t give him any money, it wouldn’t matter. He had secretly saved quite a bit. Though it wasn’t enough to buy a house, they could rent one for now. Otherwise, he feared his aunt, wife, and daughter would end up as exhausted as Concubine Gui.

But how should he bring up the idea of splitting the family to his father?

…

Wen Zixiao fully supported Cheng Ge’er working for his second sister’s family. As for Gong Ge’er, he didn’t have much to do either. Helping out at Xu Qinyu’s house would be good for him.

Wen Shuncheng stayed at the Pei family, working diligently. Every morning, he went outside the town to catch eels. For several days, he sold the eels to Fourth Sister-in-law.

Wild eels were nutritious, so Xu Qinyu made many delicious dishes with them, such as stir-fried eel strips, dry pot eel, crispy eel, dry-fried eel segments, scallion-braised eel slices, steamed eel, eel porridge, eel soup, Liangxi crispy eel, and more. They enjoyed a variety of eel dishes.

Xu Qinyu wanted to pay Cheng Ge’er for the eels, but he refused. So, she sent him home with food every day, including eel dishes, milk buns, braised fish, fish head tofu stew, and fish balls, rotating the dishes for the third branch to enjoy.

The third branch of the Wen family had been eating well lately, and their health visibly improved.

Freshly cooked food had the strongest aroma, which could travel far. Once it cooled, the aroma diminished. In a room, the scent of food lingered, but the first and second branches were far from the side courtyard, separated by several courtyards. They couldn’t smell anything and didn’t know Cheng Ge’er was working for Xu Qinyu.

In no time, Wen Shuncheng had been working at the Pei family for half a month, with Wen Shungong also helping with odd jobs.

The two brothers were usually together. That morning, Wen Shungong hadn’t joined him because he wasn’t feeling well. Gong Ge’er was two years younger than Cheng Ge’er, barely ten years old. Xu Qinyu wanted to pay him too, but both boys refused, saying they ate plenty at her house every day. Indeed, they ate well, and growing boys had big appetites. So, Xu Qinyu didn’t insist on paying the younger one, sticking to one string of coins.

After half a month, Wen Shuncheng had become proficient in cleaning fish, preparing intestines, and pounding fish paste, saving Xu Qinyu a lot of effort.

Gong Ge’er mostly helped with tasks like taking out the trash and often played with Feng Ge’er and Yuan Jie’er in the courtyard.

Xu Qinyu noticed that Cheng Ge’er learned quickly and had good knife skills. Though not paper-thin, his fish slices were quite thin and evenly cut. He seemed to have a talent for cooking. Xu Qinyu planned to observe him further to see if he was interested in becoming a chef. But first, she needed to train his knife skills.

Every chef starts by practicing knife skills, an essential part of the craft.

Xu Qinyu stayed busy, and a month had passed since Fourth Brother left. She missed him a bit and wondered how he was doing with the merchant caravan. The disaster in the north hadn’t ended. Though the heavy snow had stopped, the weather remained cold. In the southwest, they had already started wearing light jackets.

The refugees fleeing from the disaster in the north are likely heading towards the south or the capital, rather than coming to the southwest. The distance is too great, and the journey is too wet and infested with insects, making it unsuitable for escaping.

Not only did the news come from the north, but two days later, Wen Shuncheng returned from catching eels and told Xu Qinyu something.

“Fourth Sister-in-law, I just went out to catch eels, and on my way back, I heard people saying that the water bandits by the canal robbed an official ship!”

Xu Qinyu gasped, “They dared to rob an official ship? Those water bandits by the canal are so bold?”

There have always been some water and mountain bandits on the cliffs on both sides of the canal. They live on the cliffs because of the dangerous terrain, and only they are familiar with the routes. They usually rob merchant ships on the canal.

Xu Qinyu had also heard that there were actually two groups of water bandits. One group only robs merchant ships with a bad reputation and doesn’t kill people, but they do rob goods and sometimes injure people.

The other group robs everything and kills people. It was said that this group previously robbed a merchant ship, and everyone on board was killed. The court was furious and sent soldiers to eliminate the bandits, but due to the cliff terrain, they failed several times.

But she didn’t expect these bandits to be so bold as to rob an official ship.

Official ships on the canal transport coal and iron ore. Robbing these is a capital offense. The previous bandits never dared to rob official ships, so it’s unclear which group did it this time.

“Did they rob coal or iron ore?” Xu Qinyu asked.

Wen Shuncheng whispered, “Both. They robbed two ships, taking not only the iron and coal but also the ships themselves. No one knows where the ships went.”

Usually, two official ships travel together.

Xu Qinyu remembered that the iron and coal mines had recently started operating, making the docks busy. With the warmer weather, she had planned to dry some beans to make fermented black beans and bean paste, and after making a barrel of fermented tofu, she intended to set up a breakfast stall near the docks.

But just as she bought the beans, such a big incident happened on the canal.

The court would certainly not let these bandits off easily, and the docks would be unsettled for a while. It seemed that setting up a business at the docks wouldn’t be a good idea. Instead, she decided to finish making the fermented black beans, bean paste, and fermented tofu, and then set up a breakfast stall on West Street or East Street, avoiding the docks.

…

Meanwhile, on the cliffs of Zhangbi Mountain on both sides of the canal, there was a hideout for the water bandits. Hidden by dense forests, the area had many small wooden houses and rows of vegetable plots.

In the village, a sturdy man with a bald head and a simple, honest face was scratching his head in confusion. “Boss, do you think Boss Lei’s people have gone mad? How dare they rob an official ship? This will surely provoke the court to come after us again.”

These were the water bandits Xu Qinyu mentioned, who only robbed merchant ships with bad reputations and didn’t kill people.

The man called “Boss” by the bald man was about thirty years old, equally burly, with a full beard. He frowned and said, “Boss Lei must be crazy. We should be cautious these days. Increase the guards at the village entrance and the front and back mountains. If there’s any sign of trouble, we’ll abandon the village and hide.”

A scholarly-looking young man in his twenties, standing next to the boss, shook his head after hearing their conversation. “No, it can’t be Boss Lei. He’s ruthless, but even he wouldn’t dare rob an official ship. If he had, he would have done it years ago. Robbing an official ship means going against the court completely. He’s not that foolish. Robbing merchant ships already earns him enough.”

No one wanted to provoke the court, and Boss Lei was no exception. Besides, how would they sell the coal and iron ore from the official ships? Without connections, it would be impossible to sell those goods. Even with connections, it wouldn’t be easy. Only a madman would rob those things.

So he knew it wasn’t Boss Lei.

The bearded man frowned, “If it wasn’t Boss Lei, then who did it?”

The scholarly man momentarily thought and said, “Remember when some small merchant caravans were robbed? The methods were similar to ours. The caravan owners had gained a lot of ill-gotten wealth and were robbed, but it wasn’t us. Although the methods were similar, it wasn’t Boss Lei either. If it were Boss Lei, no one on those merchant ships, including the guards, would have survived. So it must be another group, and they must have robbed the official ships.”

Everyone in the village fell into deep thought. Who would dare rob an official ship?

Would this bring disaster upon them?

…

The court was indeed furious. When the news reached the palace, Empress Dowager Fu was enraged. She immediately sent soldiers to track down the two stolen official ships and sent a letter to the governor of Raozhou in the southwest, urging him to dispatch soldiers to eliminate the bandits on both sides of the canal.

After giving these orders, Empress Dowager Fu turned to see her son lying on a chaise longue, being served fruit by two beautiful women.

Empress Dowager Fu frowned, “Why aren’t you reviewing the memorials?”

The new emperor laughed, “Isn’t that what I have you for, Mother? You can review them. I’m tired of reading those ministers’ memorials. It’s always about the northern disaster victims, asking for funds from the treasury for disaster relief, or impeaching me and you. It’s so annoying. These ministers are so bothersome. I’ve been on the throne for so long, and they still won’t let go of the past. Besides, I spared Fourth Brother’s family, only exiling them.”

The two beautiful women trembled with fear.

Since the new emperor ascended the throne, countless palace maids and beauties have lost their lives.

Empress Dowager Fu glanced at the two beauties and waved her hand. They hurriedly bowed and left, carefully closing the hall doors behind them.

With only Empress Dowager Fu and the new emperor left in the hall, she didn’t mind that her son wasn’t reviewing the memorials. She could handle that herself. However, seeing her son so lazy made her angry. “Instead of being so idle, why don’t you go find the edict? Think about where your father might have hidden it. As long as the edict remains unfound, it’s a sword hanging over our heads.”

She couldn’t understand why someone like Madam Wen, with her lowly background, could become empress and gain Emperor Shengjing’s favor, to the point of writing an edict to make the Eldest Prince the crown prince.

Moreover, the constant petitions from the officials forced her to release the Pei family. Even after she released them, the officials wouldn’t stop nagging. She wanted nothing more than to wipe out Pei Weixuan’s entire line and even kill those officials who did nothing but write petitions all day. But she couldn’t do that without finding the edict first. She wanted to be remembered as a good empress dowager who brought peace and prosperity.

The new emperor, however, found searching for the edict less appealing than visiting the animals his fourth brother used to keep—petting the lynx, feeding the golden eagle, riding the yak, and stroking the white tiger.

“Go now!” Empress Dowager Fu commanded sternly.

Seeing his mother angry, the new emperor reluctantly got up and left the hall, accompanied by eunuchs and palace maids. Instead of going to Emperor Shengjing’s former palace, he went to Fourth Brother’s palace.

The new emperor thought that after searching for months, perhaps his father had tricked them, and there was no edict. It was just a way to keep them uneasy. Thinking of his father’s death, the new emperor felt sad. It was his own father, after all, and his mother had been the one to act. He knew that if his mother hadn’t acted, it would have been his elder brother on the throne, and they would have been the ones exiled. As he thought about this, he headed to Fourth Brother’s palace.

In the palace, there was a garden where Fourth Brother’s pets were kept. These fierce animals had no wildness left in them and were very tame. The new emperor kept them for his own enjoyment.

In the garden, he had the palace servants open the gates. The white tiger, golden eagle, lynx, and yak immediately came to greet him.

The white tiger affectionately rubbed against him, the golden eagle stayed by his side, gently fanning him with its three-to-four-foot wingspan, and the beautiful golden lynx lazily lay beside him, allowing him to pet it.

Finally, he rode the yak around the garden.

Emperor Shengyuan spent an hour in the garden, feeling much more at ease after petting these furry animals. It was even more comforting than being accompanied by beauties.

Speaking of beauties, Emperor Shengyuan thought of the third daughter of the Marquis of Dechang’s household. When she cried, she looked delicate and pitiful, causing one to feel heartache.

He planned to tell his mother that in a few days, they would start selecting concubines, and the third daughter of the Marquis of Dechang’s household would surely be chosen to stay in the palace.

After Emperor Shengyuan left, the palace servants closed the garden gates. The white tiger, lynx, yak, and golden eagle immediately got up and ran to a small lake at the back of the garden, specially dug for them. They began to roll around, covering themselves in mud, and then slowly washed it off in the lake.

While cleaning its wings, the golden eagle called out “wah wah wah,” and its cries seemed to convey a sense of grievance and anger.

The palace servants guarding the garden knew from the sound that the golden eagle was upset. After all, it had never made such sounds when it was with the Fourth Prince.

However, the servants didn’t dare tell Emperor Shengyuan, fearing for their lives. It was better to pretend not to know and continue taking good care of the Fourth Prince’s pets.