My Husband Comes from the Future
My Husband Comes from the Future Chapter 148.4

Chapter 148: Chóngwén Academy 4/4

Since Fāng Xiùniáng resided in the provincial capital, she needed a new identity and backstory.

This was the story Fāng Xiùniáng had fabricated. She claimed her name was Āxiù and that she had married her childhood sweetheart several years ago. Unfortunately, her husband fell ill and passed away. Then her mother-in-law wanted to sell her…

…She didn’t want to remarry, so she burned her own face. Later, her parents intervened, took her back from her in-laws, and since she had nowhere else to go, she came to the provincial capital to start a small business.

After learning about “Sister Āxiù’s” experience, the townsfolk felt sympathetic towards her and admired her loyalty and integrity.

The auntie arranged by Zhū Qián had already returned to Chóngchéng County. Fāng Xiùniáng had found a widow in the provincial capital whose husband had passed away and whose son had started his own family. She lived with her and helped her with odd jobs. The local thugs and ruffians didn’t dare to bully her.

After all, Sister Āxiù wasn’t someone to be trifled with. Once, a thug approached her and made inappropriate remarks about her appearance, saying he didn’t mind her being ugly and wanted her to come home with him… Sister Āxiù took out a knife and threatened him with the back of it. She warned him that if he dared to speak like that again, she wouldn’t just use the back of the knife…

Sister Āxiù’s deep devotion to her late husband, willing to disfigure herself to avoid remarriage, meant trouble for anyone who tried to push her. Naturally, no one dared to bother her.

Upon hearing this, Lí Qīngzhí smiled, “That’s good.” Fāng Xiùniáng wasn’t a pushover; that was just fine.

Her fabricated story was also quite good… Even though she didn’t boast about it much, she mentioned that her family brought her back from her in-laws’ house… This indicated that she had connections, and with her running this braised meat shop, others naturally wouldn’t dare to mess with her.

When Lí Qīngzhí returned home that day, he immediately went to hug Lí Dàmáo and Lí Èrmáo: “Dàmáo, Èrmáo, I missed you so much!” He actually wanted to hug Jīn Xiǎoyè more, but he could only do so when no one else was around, not in front of others.

That evening, Lí Qīngzhí finally had a good hug with Jīn Xiǎoyè.

Jīn Xiǎoyè sighed, “Don’t you feel hot?”

“Not at all! Xiǎoyè, don’t you notice? I’m cool! Your husband here is always cool in summer and warm in winter. You should hug me more!”

Jīn Xiǎoyè: “…” Lí Qīngzhí might have felt cool when he first hugged her, but soon enough, he was as warm as ever! She was sweating!

But she didn’t mind; she hugged him anyway. They hadn’t seen each other for five days, and she missed him terribly.

While Lí Qīngzhí and Jīn Xiǎoyè enjoyed their time together, in the imperial palace of the capital city, the Emperor once again left the chambers of his favorite consort and retired to his own bedchamber to sleep.

The Emperor’s health had been declining, and he hadn’t visited the harem for years, if not decades.

However, he had a good relationship with Concubine Liu and had always enjoyed living with her. When he felt cold in the past, Concubine Liu would warm him up by holding him. Now, he liked it when Concubine Liu held him.

But now, Concubine Liu had a child.

The child cried at night, and even the slightest noise would wake the Emperor up, leaving him unable to sleep… so he had to live separately from Concubine Liu.

Once back in his own chambers, the Emperor tried to sleep, but he couldn’t fall asleep right away. Instead, he found himself thinking about the events of the day.

For example… the “Salt Sun-Drying Method” proposed by Zhāng Zhìrú.

If salt could be sun-dried, it could significantly reduce the price of salt, making life easier for the common people.

The Emperor pondered various matters and found himself unable to sleep for a long time.

However, Lǚ Qìngxǐ slept well that night. The next day, he was full of energy and attended the morning court session.

After dealing with all the matters at hand, Lǚ Qìngxǐ said, “Gentlemen, I have some good news to share with you today!”

The officials were all surprised.

Good news, out of the blue? What could it be?

Could it be that the Emperor was going to name the consort’s child as the crown prince?

The Emperor’s failing health was no secret in the court, and the courtiers didn’t believe that an infant could secure the throne.

Lǚ Qìngxǐ continued, “The Provincial Governor of Jiāng’ān, Zhāng Zhìrú, has proposed a salt-making method that can lower the price of salt!”

Lǚ Qìngxǐ had not personally tested the “Salt Sun-Drying Method,” but he had consulted with experts in salt production, who assured him that it was feasible. In fact, some areas had already begun sun-drying salt, though it wasn’t widespread.

Since salt had always been boiled to produce it, the idea of sun-drying salt had never been considered before.

Lǚ Qìngxǐ elaborated on the “Salt Sun-Drying Method” in court, explaining that it was born out of his concern for the rising salt prices and the people’s difficulties. He intended to promote it further.

Lí Qīngzhí had given the salt-drying method to Zhāng Zhìrú, but because Zhāng Zhìrú had drawn the ire of the Crown Prince, he couldn’t be seen associating too closely with him. Therefore, he instructed Zhāng Zhìrú not to reveal that the method came from him.

In Dàqí, where salt was strictly regulated, an ordinary commoner studying salt production… might not necessarily bring him any benefits and could even cause trouble!

Moreover, the sun-drying method for salt was not entirely new and didn’t carry much merit even if it succeeded.

Therefore, the proposal was credited to Zhāng Zhìrú.

The court officials: “…”

The Emperor: “…”

The Emperor was well aware of the situation and knew that the “Salt Sun-Drying Method” had nothing to do with Lǚ Qìngxǐ. However, Lǚ Qìngxǐ had this kind of character… he issued an edict to commend Zhāng Zhìrú, then began the process of implementing the new method, including the construction of salt fields…

As for Lǚ Qìngxǐ… he received a small sum of money as a reward and some verbal commendation.

But Lǚ Qìngxǐ didn’t mind; he happily accepted the reward.

He wasn’t really trying to claim credit for himself; he just wanted to make things difficult for Zhāng Zhìrú!

Provincial Governor Zhāng must be feeling quite frustrated after putting in so much effort to research the “Salt Sun-Drying Method,” only to have his credit taken by that eunuch… He doesn’t know about it yet, though. He’ll have to wait for his friend to write it down and send him a letter to find out!

As Lǚ Qìngxǐ left the court, he was in a particularly good mood. He even said a few provocative words to some officials who were friendly with Zhāng Zhìrú.

Of course, he dared to do so because these officials wouldn’t dare to hit him.

Coming out of the palace, Lǚ Qìngxǐ said, “Let’s go, have a meal at the Qingyun Tower.”

The food at the Qingyun Tower is just as good as what the imperial chefs make!

No, the food at the Qingyun Tower is even better than what the imperial chefs make!

Sometimes the dishes made by the imperial chefs are already cold by the time they reach him and don’t taste good at all. Besides, no matter how delicious something is, it becomes tiresome after eating it too often.

The food at the Qingyun Tower is always fresh.

At the Qingyun Tower, Cháng Duān had already received the letter and items sent by Lí Qīngzhí.

He had already arranged for the utensils that would make the liquor more aromatic, but they hadn’t been made yet. However, he had tasted the flavor of the Sichuan peppercorns.

Cháng Duān found the taste of these Sichuan peppercorns truly wonderful.

According to the instructions written by Lí Qīngzhí, he made some chili sauce… dipping something bland into this chili sauce instantly made it delicious!

These Sichuan peppercorns are excellent, and he doesn’t know where Lí Qīngzhí got them from… he had never seen them before!

When Eunuch Lǚ comes for dinner later, he can make him a bowl of spicy and numbing fish slices.

Eunuch Lǚ has always liked the taste of Sichuan peppercorns, so adding some of this chili sauce… he shouldn’t dislike it, right?

At the same time, Zhào Lǎosān found Lí Qīngzhí: “Ah Qing, the Sichuan pepper plants you asked me to grow have grown quite a bit.”

After obtaining the chili peppers, Ah Qing had the seeds extracted to plant them. He hired people from the village and asked Zhao Laosan to oversee the process. With the work at the new dock finished, Zhao Laosan had some free time on his hands and was skilled in farming, making him a perfect fit for assisting with the chili peppers. 

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