AEOGA CH56

The crowd fell as quiet as chickens for a moment.

No matter how capable a teenager might be, seventeen is still an age for loving play and fun.

In the past, they were too busy to find time for play, and when His Majesty and the Empress were present, they exercised a degree of restraint. Now that everything had settled into the right track and their immediate superiors were away, they had naturally become completely lawless.

Yet when the Empress spoke like that, a wave of guilty conscience washed over them, as if they had been caught red-handed.

They had heard that His Majesty and the Empress went down south to relieve disaster, purge corrupt officials, and thoroughly discipline the local unscrupulous merchants. Though called a pleasure trip, there was likely not a single moment of leisure.

While His Majesty and the Empress were breaking their backs in Jiangnan, they were cockfighting and dog-racing in Yujing… It indeed felt somewhat ungrateful.

…But it wasn’t as if they hadn’t done serious work!

Work and rest needed to be balanced!

Though they held this thought in their hearts, not a single person dared utter it aloud.

Who could possibly refute the Empress’s words? That was Lu Xuechao! Even if he failed to watch his step while walking and tripped, they would claim it was the road’s fault.

Lu Xuechao looked at the group obediently accepting the scolding: “Since this court was absent this time, so be it. If there is a next time…”

Hua Yan chimed in rapidly: “There won’t be a next time! We will definitely work twelve shichen a day, giving our all for Changli unto death!”

Lu Xuechao: “…Then call this court and His Majesty to play together.”

Xie Chongjin: “However, if you are willing to work twelve shichen a day, We shall certainly not stop you.”

Hua Yan: “…”

“Involving His Highness the Empress would be far too unfair; there would be no point in competing at all,” Shen Hezhou said with a covered laugh. “Rites, music, calligraphy, and mathematics—in which of these is His Highness not peerless?”

Qin Yulong crossed his arms: “Do you think His Highness’s archery and charioteering are any less peerless? In the past at my family’s residence, His Highness and I learned riding and archery together. After watching my father demonstrate once, His Highness held the bow in a perfect stance on his very first attempt; on his second, he struck the target; and from his third attempt onward, he hit the bullseye every single time without ever missing. It took me over a dozen corrections just to learn how to hold a bow properly, to the point where my father grew utterly sick of me.”

The Lu family had hired the finest teachers for Lu Xuechao. For civil subjects, he was tutored by the Grand Preceptor from the palace; for military arts, Grand General Qin himself was invited. Qin Yulong and Lu Xuechao had studied riding and archery alongside Grand General Qin, and Lu Xuechao’s rapid progress had been terrifying. For every word of praise Lu Xuechao received from Grand General Qin, Qin Yulong endured an equal share of scolding from his own father. Grand General Qin had almost wished to abandon his own son to meticulously train Lu Xuechao for the battlefield, only relenting because of Lu Xuechao’s frail constitution.

Qin Yulong felt only admiration, unable to harbor any envy or hatred. The gap was simply too vast; only after truly competing against Lu Xuechao could one realize how uncrossable this tall mountain was. He was already considered a talented individual, but the gap between a true genius and an ordinary mortal was as vast as heaven and earth.

“That formidable?” Helian Xi was shocked upon hearing this. An insider looks at the skill while an outsider looks at the show; anyone proficient in archery knew that every master spent thousands of practice sessions to hone their craft, making them understand all the better how terrifying it was to achieve such a feat.

“That’s archery, but what about riding?” Helian Xi asked.

“That’s even more infuriating,” Qin Yulong said. “Years ago, my father obtained a wild, untamed horse and asked me to subdue it. I tried hand-to-hand wrestling, whips, and daggers, but the horse refused to submit, throwing me off until my face was bruised and battered.”

Fascinated by Lu Xuechao’s past stories, Liu Yansheng picked up the conversation: “Did His Highness subdue that wild horse?”

Lu Xuechao: “Where would this court find the strength to subdue a wild horse?”

Everyone felt that made sense. His Highness’s frame hardly looked capable of taming a wild steed.

Qin Yulong: “No. His Highness personally fed that horse fodder just once, and the horse obediently let him mount it. It even proactively knelt on its front knees to let His Highness get on. Normally, it was outrageously violent and only knew how to run wildly without caring if the rider lived or died, but that time it merely trotted at a slow pace, afraid of throwing His Highness off.”

Helian Xi subtly mocked Qin Yulong for lacking brains: “His Highness lacked physical strength, but he possessed a brain. You only thought of taming it with whips and daggers without feeding it fodder; is it not entirely normal that you failed to tame it? What is there to be angry about?”

“Do you think I didn’t think of feeding it fodder? Do I not understand the principle of combining soft and hard tactics?” Qin Yulong said in annoyance. “That horse refused both soft and hard approaches! It wouldn’t touch the fodder I fed it and only knew how to kick me.”

Helian Xi thought about it and realized it made sense: “Who could refuse something fed by His Highness the Empress? Not even a horse could refuse. As for what you fed…” He gave Qin Yulong a disdainful look. “Even a dog wouldn’t eat it.”

Qin Yulong sneered: “Even a dog wouldn’t eat it? Then why did you eat the cabbage I served you that day? Is this the extent of the Ninth Prince’s moral integrity?”

Helian Xi retorted back: “Remembering a single bite of cabbage until now—is this the extent of Young General Qin’s generosity?”

Hua Yan marveled in amazement: “How do these two manage to start arguing no matter what topic they talk about…”

Liu Yansheng cleared his throat, taking charge of the situation: “Enough. Squabbling in front of His Majesty and His Highness the Empress—where are your manners? Since the reports are finished, His Highness has just returned from outside and is exhausted from the journey; do not disturb His Highness’s rest any longer. We shall take our leave.”

Qin Yulong and Helian Xi stopped their bickering, and everyone bowed in salute: “We shall take our leave.”

“You may retreat,” Lu Xuechao said. “This court has developed two new recipes. I shall send the recipes to Hua Yan in a moment to launch as new dishes at Huaman Pavilion tomorrow.”

Hua Yan smiled: “Yes. Then we are in for another treat.”

Xie Chongjin said: “In a few days, We and the Empress shall inspect the military camp.” It was also time to see the results of these past months of training.

Qin Yulong cupped his fists: “Yes.”

The next day, two more dishes appeared on the menu at Huaman Pavilion—Beggar’s Chicken and Farmhouse Cured Meat.

As soon as the news broke, the nobility of Yujing moved at the slightest scent, with Grand Commander Liu rushing over to dine at the earliest opportunity.

Squirrel Mandarin Fish was already an unmatched, world-rare masterpiece that was difficult to surpass. With such a gem preceding them, Grand Commander Liu felt it would be hard for any subsequent dish to amaze him again.

Half an hour later.

Grand Commander Liu pulled out his Compendium of Heaven’s Delicacies and fell into a dilemma of choice.

Squirrel Mandarin Fish and Beggar’s Chicken… which one was truly the number one delicacy under heaven?

…

Without a doubt, Beggar’s Chicken and Farmhouse Cured Meat once again received overwhelming enthusiasm and widespread acclaim.

Originally, Squirrel Mandarin Fish was an earthly supreme delicacy, but it carried a sweet profile; some disliked sweet food, while others disliked fish, limiting its audience to high-ranking officials and nobility. Though famous, its customer base was somewhat restricted. Selling a single signature dish for three months inevitably led to palate fatigue. By now, half of Huaman Pavilion’s customers were merely coming to hear the storytellers tell tales.

Farmhouse Cured Meat was savory, perfectly neutralizing the sweetness of the Squirrel Mandarin Fish. Coupled with the fragrant, tender Beggar’s Chicken, another massive wave of popularity was ignited.

Chongxue Palace.

Hua Yan and Wang Yiming were excitedly reporting the incoming profits since the new dishes debuted at Huaman Pavilion, saying that bringing in a bucket of gold daily was no exaggeration.

Lu Xuechao said, “I still have some new recipes here.”

“Launching new items again so soon?” Hua Yan thought for a moment. “Your Highness mentioned previously that Huaman Pavilion would introduce two new dishes every month. Being down south for two months, introducing four new dishes is indeed appropriate…”

“Not for Huaman Pavilion,” Lu Xuechao said. “Buy another shop—not on Yuhua Street, but as close to the bustling marketplace as possible. Hire some people to open a flatbread shop called Coarse Grain Flatbread, priced at five copper coins each.”

He had researched for a long time, combining Zhou Ziyan’s ancestral secret recipe with traditional hard-bread making techniques, adding his own modifications to finally create a flatbread that could be stored for long periods while maintaining great flavor. It could serve as dry rations for long journeys, or as a breakfast snack in daily life.

Wang Yiming: “…Ah?”

Going from a two-taels-a-dish Squirrel Mandarin Fish at Huaman Pavilion on Yuhua Street to a five-copper-coin flatbread in the marketplace was simply light-years apart.

Hua Yan: “Ah what? Since His Highness the Empress instructed it, we only need to carry it out.”

…

A flatbread shop soon opened in the busy marketplace.

At first, people did not pay much attention to it, being more accustomed to buying a couple of steamed buns from a bun shop for breakfast, or drinking a bowl of porridge at a porridge shop. Everyone knew how unpalatable hard bread was, generally keeping their distance from flatbread-type food.

Unable to contain his curiosity, someone went in and bought one to taste, immediately crying out in surprise at how delicious it was.

The flatbread possessed a golden, crispy skin dotted with chopped scallions; a single bite revealed a filling packed with egg, ham, and diced meat, with options to add sesame or corn according to personal taste. With both meat and eggs, selling for five copper coins was a bargain of incredible value.

Coarse grains could actually be turned into such delicious flatbread!

Good products never lacked buyers. The flatbread shop’s business quickly blew up with activity, becoming immensely popular among the common people. While the flatbreads were delicious, they needed to be eaten fresh and hot. Beyond selling fresh flatbreads made on the spot, the shop also sold dehydrated dry-ration flatbreads, which preserved the flavor to the greatest extent while keeping for a long time. Many commoners preparing for long journeys did not hesitate to abandon hard bread and take Coarse Grain Flatbreads on the road instead.

After the flatbread shop exploded in popularity in Yujing, Lu Xuechao sent word to Yun Yao to open flatbread shops in those vacant properties in Jiangnan as well.

Doing business solely with noble and prestigious families meant the audience would forever be restricted to a small circle. The vast majority of people in this world were still the common masses laboring for their livelihoods.

Wang Yiming tallied the accounts, clicking his tongue repeatedly.

The profits of a flatbread shop could naturally not compare to Huaman Pavilion. A flatbread shop was a small-capital business operating on thin margins and high volume; though cheap, the sheer number of buyers accumulated into a substantial sum over time.

Lu Xuechao was like a money tree—whatever stray dust shook off his body turned into monumental wealth.

This money tree was currently inspecting the troops at the military camp.

Under Qin Yulong’s rigorous training, the soldiers were all full of energy and vigor, appearing as a well-trained, elite force.

Receiving a personal inspection from the Emperor and Empress for the first time, the soldiers’ morale soared, putting forth a hundred and twenty percent of their energy to present their absolute best state.

After the infantry inspection came the cavalry and archers.

A square formation of cavalry maneuvered warhorses with unified, disciplined movements, so synchronized that even the rows of horse hooves overlapped.

Young General Qin, who had once been thrown off horses with a bruised face, was now a master at taming both men and horses.

Following the cavalry, a line of archers drew their bows and notched arrows; as soon as one line fired, the next line immediately stepped up to follow. Ten thousand arrows launched in unison, every single one striking the red center.

“These are elite troops I trained with my own hands. Every single one is a sharpshooter who never misses, capable of taking an enemy commander’s head within a hundred paces—the absolute best ambushers,” Qin Yulong said with undeniable pride in his tone. “Though the cavalry’s accuracy isn’t as high as the archers’, it still sits at eighty percent.”

Xie Chongjin showed no sign of joy: “If an arrow cannot pierce the enemy’s armor, even a hundred percent accuracy is zero percent damage.”

Qin Yulong froze: “Though that is true, how could armor be so tough? Previously when clashing with Xifeng, their armor could not stop our arrows from penetrating.”

His spear used at close range could pierce through that person’s armor… let alone arrows shot from afar, which carried such immense destructive power.

Qin Yulong laughed: “Since Your Majesty is so worried, why not allocate some military funds to expand our equipment?”

“Military funds will naturally not be lacking for you,” Xie Chongjin took Lu Xuechao’s hand and turned to leave. “We are tired from watching; let us rest in the command tent for a moment.”

Lu Xuechao followed him into the tent before asking, “What’s wrong?”

“The final siege battle against Yelang in my past life,” Xie Chongjin’s expression turned grim, clearly recalling unpleasant memories. “Changli’s arrows could not pierce Yelang’s armor at all. They had obtained a blacksmith from the martial world who specialized in forging divine weapons, creating sharper arrows with far greater lethality and double the range of ordinary bows. When the two armies clashed, our arrows couldn’t even reach them before a torrential rain of arrows showered down from their side. They called that weapon a crossbow.”

“Perhaps it doesn’t exist right now, but it definitely will in the future.”

“Relying solely on current weaponry is insufficient to withstand Yelang in the future; crafting more of them will be useless.”

This was also the reason why Xie Chongjin had never invested state treasury funds into crafting weapons and equipment. The current equipment was already outdated.

Lu Xuechao asked, “Who was that blacksmith?”

“Qingshu, do you wish to find him in advance so he can serve Changli?” Xie Chongjin shook his head. “Regrettably, I do not know either. He was strictly protected by Yelang; I only know he was a native of Yelang who could never help Changli.”

Lu Xuechao said, “Then we shall not rely on others; we shall craft superior weapons ourselves.”

Xie Chongjin knitted his brows: “Where can we find such talent?”

Lu Xuechao looked at him: “Do you believe that I am omnipotent?”

Xie Chongjin froze.

After a long pause, he let out a helpless, low laugh: “Qingshu, saying that makes me look quite dense.”