The guards were organized by units, and the one called by the guards was a lieutenant.

After all, what they were intercepting were items meant for the emperor, and ordinary guards wouldn’t dare take matters into their own hands.

The lieutenant was a young man.

Among the ranks of the Capital Command Camp, those with some status were mostly scions of noble families, and many felt honored to serve in the Capital Command Camp.

The lieutenant followed the guards to the city gate.

At first, he didn’t believe the guards when they said the cart was filled with items for the emperor.

Now that he saw it, his eyes nearly popped out; there was so much stuff!

The guard said, “Lieutenant Du, what do you think?”

Lieutenant Du nodded and walked over, examining Tao Shan from head to toe. “Are all these items for the emperor?”

Tao Shan, seeing the man wearing the same official uniform as Liu and Yu, understood that this was the lieutenant.

He replied, “Replying to your honor, most of these items are for the emperor, and a small portion is meant for the Minister of War’s house, the Du residence.”

The lieutenant was taken aback.

Not only he but even the guards nearby were stunned.

One of them exclaimed, “Your honor, isn’t this supposed to go to your house?”

Tao Shan was also surprised upon hearing the guard’s words. “Are you from the Minister of War, Lord Du Ke’s household?”

The lieutenant nodded. “Yes, that’s my father.”

Tao Shan: “…”

Du Ke had two sons, one legitimate and one illegitimate.

The legitimate son had been appointed after passing the imperial examination, while the illegitimate one, being a scion of a noble family, had lower expectations.

The family usually placed more hope on the legitimate son, as he bore the family’s responsibilities, while the illegitimate son was merely expected to avoid causing trouble.

This lieutenant was Du Ke’s illegitimate son, lacking any talents, either in literature or martial skills.

He obtained the position of lieutenant in the Capital Command Camp through his father’s connections, which was a decent position for a seventh-grade official.

Tao Shan saluted. “Young Master Du, my name is Tao Shan. I serve as the city’s guard general, Qin Fang, who is also a student of Lord Du. You…”

“Ah…” Lieutenant Du interrupted Tao Shan, “You’re Qin Fang? I know him; he’s my father’s student.”

The fact that Du Ke took students was well-known throughout the capital, so how could he, as Du Ke’s son, not know?

“Is my father still in Yunxiang County? How is he?”

Tao Shan was about to speak when a guard stepped forward. “Tao Ge, we need to move these items quickly, or the ice will melt.”

Lieutenant Du heard the guard as well.

Looking at the cart, which was already leaking water, and hearing the word “ice,” it was clear that the items were kept on ice.

He was worried about the gifts for the emperor getting damaged, so he said, “Let them pass. I’ll escort you to the palace. Oh, by the way…” He glanced at the guards. “Has his travel permit and documents been checked? No issues, right?”

The guard replied, “Checked, all clear.”

Tao Shan said, “Young Master Du, I’ve been to your residence several times. The steward and the guards at the gate all know me.”

Lieutenant Du nodded. “That’s fine. I’ll escort you to the palace entrance…”

He then told the guards behind him, “Send someone to my house to have the steward come to the palace entrance to recognize him, and then have him take the items meant for my Du residence back.”

Lieutenant Du made this arrangement to ensure Tao Shan’s identity, after all, these were gifts for the emperor.

If there was an issue with identity, and something went wrong, he wouldn’t be able to take responsibility.

The guard replied, “Understood.”

With someone from the Capital Command Camp leading the way, Tao Shan had no trouble traveling from the city gate to the palace.

Otherwise, with so many items, it would take quite a while just to navigate around others.

However, when they reached the palace entrance, the steward from the Du residence had already arrived.

He saw Lieutenant Du and Tao Shan. “Young Master, Brother Tao.”

Upon hearing the steward address him this way, Lieutenant Du felt relieved.

Tao Shan greeted warmly, “Greetings, Steward. Young Master Du is well. I have brought items for the emperor and the Du residence from our general. The items in the back cart are for the Du residence and are kept on ice. You need to take them back quickly; otherwise, the ice will melt, and the items will spoil.”

Upon hearing this, the steward hurriedly said, “Then I’ll take these items back first. Brother Tao, you must come to the residence sometime.”

Tao Shan was different now than before; since Qin Fang was Du Ke’s student, the Qin family was like family to the Du residence.

Therefore, Tao Shan could naturally be considered one of their own, and the steward was even more welcoming.

Tao Shan said, “I will definitely come.”

On the palace side, because this was a gift for the Emperor, and there were indeed too many items, ordinary people dared not accept it and naturally had to report to Chief Steward Chi.

When Chief Steward Chi heard this, he asked, “Are you saying that General Qin from Yunxiang County sent a lot of things and is waiting outside the palace?”

The palace guard replied, “Yes, Chief Steward Chi, what do you think?”

Chief Steward Chi thought for a moment and said, “Let’s go, let’s take a look.”

He was familiar with Tao Shan, and Tao Shan was also acquainted with Chief Steward Chi.

At this moment, seeing Chief Steward Chi come out, Tao Shan stepped forward and greeted him, “I pay my respects to Grand Eunuch Chi.”

Chief Steward Chi said, “Tao Shan, what are you bringing for the Emperor?”

Tao Shan replied, “Under the general’s orders, I brought several types of vegetables and some fruits for His Majesty. All the items, except for the fruits, have been transported on ice, and the ice is about to melt. Chief Steward Chi, what do you think?”

Grand Eunuch Chi hurriedly said, “Oh, then hurry and take them inside, to the… let’s first take them to the entrance of the Imperial Study.”

He originally wanted to say to the Imperial Kitchen, but the Emperor would not see the things sent to the kitchen.

Considering that the Emperor had a good impression of Qin Fang, who was also a student of Du Ke, Chief Steward Chi naturally wanted to do a favor for Qin Fang. “Tao Shan, you come with me to see the Emperor.”

Tao Shan responded, “Ah? Yes.”

His heart raced a little, feeling nervous.

Eunuch Chi was not making a casual decision; since these items would inevitably prompt the Emperor’s inquiries, and he was someone who knew nothing when asked, he needed to bring someone familiar along, and Tao Shan was just right for that.

The Emperor was in the Imperial Study reviewing memorials.

Recently, due to the matter of the grain merchants, the capital was unusually quiet, and everyone was waiting for the follow-up regarding these merchants.

Therefore, even if something happened at this moment, it was also being suppressed.

Eunuch Chi walked in: “Your Majesty, great joy.”

Without lifting his head, the Emperor asked, “What joy is this?”

Eunuch Chi replied, “General Qin from Yunxiang County has sent you gifts, including vegetables and fruits, all transported on ice. I thought you might be tired after looking at memorials for a whole morning, so I brought the vegetables and fruits outside for you to take a look.”

Upon hearing this, the Emperor indeed became somewhat interested: “That kid Qin Fang sent something again? Let’s go have a look.”

The Emperor followed Chief Steward Chi outside and saw that the items were packed in wooden boxes, a total of eight boxes.

Some of the boxes were still dripping with water.

The Emperor was in a good mood; regardless of whether the items were valuable, he possessed an entire kingdom.

For him, no matter how precious the items were, they were just rare curiosities.

Yes, just curiosities.

So for him, the thoughtfulness behind the gift was what mattered most.

Someone like Qin Fang, who thought of his subjects and people even after obtaining sweet potato flour and potato flour, was exactly what he appreciated.

As Eunuch Chi observed the Emperor’s expression, he noticed the Emperor was even happier than before.

He said, “When General Qin’s private guards entered the city, they were stopped by the guards because there were too many items. Your Majesty, isn’t that amusing?”

The Emperor raised an eyebrow upon hearing this: “How did they manage to get in?”

Eunuch Chi replied, “It was quite coincidental; the duty officer today happened to be Du Caixing, the second son of Lord Du. Isn’t he commanding the camp in the outskirts of the capital?”

The Emperor chuckled, “That kid? That really is a coincidence. Open these boxes for me to see what they are.”

Eunuch Chi waved to Tao Shan: “Your Majesty, this has stumped me. This is Tao Shan, General Qin’s private guard; let him tell you.”

Tao Shan stepped forward a few paces, then knelt down with a thud: “Commoner pays his respects to Your Majesty.”

The sound of him kneeling was heavy enough for the Emperor to glance at Tao Shan, who was dripping with sweat, his face full of exhaustion, but he kept his head down, nervously not daring to look up.

The Emperor understood that traveling from Yunxiang County to here with so many items must have been tiring.

He said, “Bring this private guard a bowl of water.” Then he told Tao Shan, “Get up and speak.”

Tao Shan felt moved: “Thank you, Your Majesty.” It turned out that the Emperor was so approachable; no wonder the general would send these items over such a long distance.

The guards had already opened the eight wooden boxes.

Four of them had ice, while the other four did not.

The Emperor curiously asked, “What are these?”

Tao Shan introduced one by one: “The red one is a tomato, the green one is broccoli, the white one is cauliflower, the long one is cucumber, and the other four boxes are watermelons. The watermelon is a fruit and needs to be cut open to eat.”

As he spoke, he took out a notebook from beside the boxes and handed it to Grand Eunuch Chi, “This has recipes and ways to eat these items. However, this broccoli can’t be left out; it must be eaten quickly, or the green parts will turn yellow.”

Seeing the vegetables and fruits, the Emperor felt a strong sense of emotion.

He approached and touched each vegetable and fruit, then said to Chief Steward Chi, “Have the Imperial Kitchen prepare every dish according to the recipes here.”

Eunuch Chi replied, “Yes.”

Tao Shan thought for a moment and said, “Your Majesty, this watermelon is particularly delicious; it can be eaten straight after being cut and can also be eaten cold. Cut it in half, and you can scoop it out with a spoon.”

Eunuch Chi heard this and said, “Your Majesty, shall I go cut one for you?”

There were forty watermelons in total, with ten in each of the four boxes.

The Emperor said, “Go ahead.”

Eunuch Chi picked a watermelon and looked at the methods of eating it written by Yang Haiyan.

There were four ways listed.

The first method was the simplest: just wash the watermelon and cut it into slices to eat.

The second method was to press the watermelon to make juice.

The third method was to cut the red flesh of the watermelon into pieces and put them in a bowl, then use toothpicks to eat them; of course, the toothpick method also had to be included.

The last method was to cut the watermelon into slices and eat it directly with a spoon.

After looking it over, Chief Steward Chi decided on the first method since he didn’t have toothpicks at the moment, and the first method was the most convenient.