Luoyang City

Looking at the scenery outside, Mingxiu sighed. This ancient capital that had served as the capital of thirteen dynasties was no longer as prosperous as it once was.

"My lord, come and see this Luoyang, where Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu fled Beijing after the Boxer Rebellion failed. Isn't it quite nice?" Mingxiu teased Kangxi with a smile.

Emperor Kangxi was resting with his eyes closed when he heard Mingxiu's words. He frowned, opened his eyes, and looked at Mingxiu: "There won't be any more." Kangxi said stiffly.

"Yes, there won't be any more!" Mingxiu didn't insist that Kangxi say anything; she was just teasing him.

“I’ve been to Luoyang before, and I can still see some differences, but the differences are quite significant.” Mingxiu looked outside.

"Be careful with your head." Kangxi helplessly turned Mingxiu's head back: "So, this is why you wanted to come to Luoyang."

They were originally very free-spirited, going wherever they wanted, but Mingxiu suddenly said she wanted to go to Luoyang, so the two of them came here.

Mingxiu shook her head: "No, it's not that. I just wanted to take a look. We've seen enough of Hangzhou and Jiangnan, and I don't want to go to the desert. Suddenly, I thought of Luoyang, so I wanted to come and see it."

"Alright, let's take a look then, and then we'll prepare to set sail," Kangxi said helplessly.

"OK."

The main reason they didn't go to sea directly was the language barrier. Although they would definitely need to bring a lot of people with them when they went to sea, no matter what others did, they couldn't rely on themselves. So the two of them decided to learn a foreign language for a period of time before going to sea.

Of course, Kangxi mostly studied on his own, while Mingxiu was left out.

Don't you see, her schooling experience of more than ten years before resulted in her not mastering a single foreign language?

It's all the same thing, going back to where we came from.

So she gave up on that kind of high-difficulty challenge.

"Master, we've found a place to stay up ahead. Shall we head over there first or go eat?" Liang Jiugong called out from outside.

"Eating, of course, should be the first thing we do," Mingxiu quickly said.

Although she kept eating throughout the journey, these snacks were different from regular meals.

The carriage moved slowly forward, and soon the group arrived in front of a restaurant. They went inside. When Mingxiu came before, she thought Luoyang was very quaint and elegant, but now that everything is quaint and elegant, it doesn't seem so famous anymore.

Mingxiu pulled Kangxi inside, followed by Liang Jiugong, Yulan, and others, with guards behind them. The group was divided into three private rooms: one for Mingxiu and Kangxi, one for the women, and one for the men.

"What would you two like to eat? Our shop has a wide variety of dishes," the waiter said with a smile as he walked in.

Mingxiu looked at the signboard and saw a very familiar dish: "Waiter, is Luoyang Water Banquet a dish?"

"Sir, you flatter me. Since this is a water banquet, it naturally includes a table full of dishes. Our water banquet is the best in all of Luoyang, with a total of 24 dishes, including 8 cold dishes and 16 hot dishes. There are hot and cold dishes, meat and vegetables, sweet and salty dishes, and sour and spicy dishes. I guarantee that you will be satisfied with your meal."

Mingxiu nodded: "Okay, let's wash with this Luoyang water first, and talk about the rest later." She did want to eat something else, but her stomach was already full.

"Alright, sir, please wait a moment, it will be brought to you right away." The waiter went out excitedly.

"You seem to be in high spirits. Can you finish all this food?" Kangxi said with a smile as he poured Mingxiu a cup of tea.

"It's okay if they can't finish it. When it comes up, we can just take some out and give the rest to them," Mingxiu said, pointing at Yulan. She did want Yulan and the others to sit down and eat with her. She had tried before, but they felt uncomfortable sitting down and couldn't eat well at all, so Mingxiu didn't insist.

The food was served shortly afterward. Mingxiu looked at the cold dishes with a smile and said, "I heard when I went out to play that in Luoyang, no matter what season it is, even on a cold day, cold dishes must be served first. I didn't expect to actually have them today. My lord, please try them." Originally, Kangxi wanted Mingxiu to call him "husband," but since not many people called him that, Mingxiu didn't want to make a fuss, so she followed suit and called him "lord."

Mingxiu picked up the dish and prepared to eat. She knew what it was without even being told: Peony Swallow's Nest. It was amazing that despite its name, it wasn't made with peony flowers or bird's nest, but with radish. The large white radish was steamed and dried three times until it was as thin as hair, and it was served with shredded egg, shredded seafood, chicken, ham, and other ingredients. Mingxiu took a bite, and the taste was indeed quite good.

Mingxiu and Kangxi tried the dishes one after another, and by the time they had eaten all twenty-four dishes, they were basically full.

"What's the master's favorite dish? My favorites are this braised carp with scallions and the eight-treasure rice. It's so soft, sticky, and sweet, it's absolutely delicious." Mingxiu said, while still scooping out the red dates and longans with her spoon.

"Eat slowly, or you'll get indigestion. If you like it, we can eat here for a few more days." Kangxi looked at Mingxiu helplessly, wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, and then began to say, "My favorite dishes are the bird's nest soup and the sliced ​​meat in broth. I think they taste very good too." Kangxi pointed to the dishes and said.

Mingxiu nodded: "That's fine. If Master likes it, we'll stay here and eat for a while longer."

Kangxi raised an eyebrow and tapped Mingxiu on the head with his fan: "Well, you actually tried to set me up. It's clearly just your own greed."

"Hehehe, of course it's more fun to eat with someone. What's the point of eating alone?" Mingxiu rubbed her head, which didn't actually hurt at all.

"You're such a grown man. It's only because Chenghuan and Baocheng aren't here right now that they can see how childish their mother is," Kangxi shook his head.

Mingxiu rolled her eyes: "Come on, it's understandable that Chenghuan doesn't know what I'm like, but Baocheng certainly does. I wonder what Baocheng's expression was when he found out that we left without saying goodbye."

Mingxiu held the bowl and smiled secretly; Baocheng's expression must be quite amusing.

"Heh, you're still laughing at him? Be careful he gets revenge on you when we get back, then I won't care about you anymore," Kangxi said leisurely, opening his fan.

Mingxiu glared at Kangxi: "How could you do this? It was clearly Master who said to leave directly. This wasn't his decision. If Master doesn't approve of me, I'll just say it directly and see if Baocheng believes you or me." Mingxiu became more and more proud as she spoke, raising her chin to look at Kangxi.