Chapter 13 The Brewer
"Boss, do you have any jewelry like jade bracelets and jade hairpins?" Ye Qingyu asked.
"Jade bracelets and jade hairpins? Oh, they were just sold last month and they are no longer available now." The boss felt a little regretful. It seemed that this deal was going to fail.
"Will it be available after a while?" Ye Qingyu seemed to really want it and asked.
"Master, these are all treasures and very hard to come by. How about you pick out some from these first, and I'll ask someone to find you a jade bracelet and a jade hairpin? What do you think?"
"Boss, you don't understand this. His wife's birthday is in three months, and he wants to give her a gift. Who would give his wife a jade cup and jade plate?" Qing Yi took over the conversation. Although he said this, he was thinking in his heart: If Xiao Ye wants to give me a gift, it would be best to give her this jade cup, which is great for drinking. Jade bracelets and jade hairpins are not rare.
"Oh, so that's how it is. The young master really loves his wife deeply. How about this, young master, please come back in two months and I will ask someone to find it for you. It shouldn't be a problem and it will definitely be in time for his wife's birthday." The boss is very good at doing business.
"Okay! Here's one thousand taels of silver. Let's settle this first." Ye Qingyu took out the banknote very generously. The boss saw it and was delighted. He was right. These two people really wanted to buy these jades.
"Okay, don't worry, sir. Just come and get it in two months." The boss patted his chest and made the promise, as if these things were in his own warehouse and could be taken out at any time.
Ye Qingyu was increasingly astonished. Who on earth was so bold as to resell items from the palace without scruples? And by the looks of it, the business seemed to be going quite smoothly.
Ye Qingyu and Qingyi said goodbye to the owner of the jade shop. After coming out, Qingyi asked Ye Qingyu what happened.
"Those are things from the imperial palace. The word 'Chu' is engraved on the bottom of the jar you saw." Ye Qingyu explained.
"Xiao Ye, that's not right. Although I don't know many characters, how could I not know the character 'Chu'?"
"The founding emperor of the Great Chu was illiterate and he came to power on horseback. When he was reviewing memorials, he wrote the word "Chu" incorrectly. The people in the Ministry of Rites were timid and did not dare to point it out, so they kept carving the wrong word on jade tributes. Later, it was discovered, but they could only make the best of it. No one wanted the founding emperor to be branded as illiterate." Ye Qingyu explained that only the royal family knew these secrets of the palace.
"Ah? It's really from the palace? I was wondering why the quality is so good? It turns out that all the good things are in the palace. Xiaoye, when we go to the capital this time, can you take me to the palace?" Qing Yi didn't expect that these things really had a source.
"..." Ye Qingyu didn't say anything.
"That's not right, Xiaoye. Why did the King of Chu want to sell these things? Did he not like them anymore, or was he short of money?"
Ye Qingyu looked at Qingyi helplessly. With such unconventional thinking, she didn't know whether to say he was too smart or too naive?
"Neither?" Qing Yi looked at Ye Qingyu's expression and suddenly realized, "I understand. Someone must have stolen it, right?"
"According to the laws of the Great Chu, jade artifacts in the imperial palace are strictly prohibited from being taken out of the palace." Ye Qingyu still opened his mouth to explain.
"So that's how it is. Who is so bold as to steal things right under the nose of Emperor Chu?" This aroused Qing Yi's curiosity.
"Well, let's not alert the enemy for now. I'll send someone to keep an eye on this place secretly. Since they are doing long-term business, there will definitely be dealings. We can follow the clues then to find out who is responsible." Ye Qingyu already had a plan in mind. Anything involving the palace was no small matter. It might lead to some big shot, so he had to be cautious in his actions.
Ever since Ye Qingyu left the Western Regions, he had been secretly protected by secret guards. He summoned two secret guards and explained the matter in detail.
I didn't expect to encounter something like this in Xihua Prefecture. Although Qingyi hadn't found a suitable gift yet, there was no rush. The two of them checked the time and found a restaurant to eat at since it was time for dinner.
"Please come in!" The waiter greeted Qing Yi and Ye Qingyu warmly when he saw them come in.
At this moment, Qing Yi couldn't help but miss Qing Qing. In the past, Qing Qing followed Ye Qing Yu and served her with great care, which always made him complain. For example, she would bring her master the best tea and even carry clean tea sets with her.
Although Ye Qingyu often ventured into the martial arts world, he was still a young prince and was used to being served. This time, he sent Qingqing and Qingfeng to the capital, and since he didn't bring any other maids with him, he had to do many things himself. Qingyi was actually quite caring towards him, but there were still many details in life that he couldn't fully cater to.
Qing Yi took the hot water brought by the waiter, scalded the teacup on the table first, and then poured tea for Ye Qingyu.
Ye Qingyu accepted Qing Yi's care calmly. In his opinion, there was really no need to be polite.
"Waiter, what special dishes do you have here?" Qing Yi asked.
"Sir, the most famous dish in our Xihua Prefecture is the red oil pig's trotter. It is fragrant and spicy, soft and delicious, and the taste is absolutely unique!" The waiter enthusiastically recommended the local signature dish.
"Let's try one and see if it's as delicious as you say. Do you have any dishes that aren't spicy or oily, or even sweet?" Qing Yi himself loved meat dishes, and he knew Ye Qingyu couldn't handle spicy food. A while ago, when he'd taken him to try some Western Region specialties in the Western Regions, this guy had actually rinsed the food in water before eating it.
"Of course! Xihua Prefecture is rich in peaches. We locals collect peach blossoms every spring, dry them and make peach blossom cakes, peach blossom rice cakes, and brew peach blossom wine. My two gentlemen, why not try the dishes we make with peach blossoms? They are fragrant, refreshing, sweet but not greasy." The waiter knew the family's dishes like the back of his hand.
"Okay, then let's have three vegetarian dishes, two meat dishes, a plate of peach blossom cakes, a plate of peach blossom rice cakes, and a pot of peach blossom wine." Qing Yi said.
"Okay! Please wait a moment, the delicious food and wine will be here soon!" The waiter repeated loudly the dishes ordered by Qingyi, turned around and ran to the kitchen to convey them.
"I wonder what this peach blossom wine tastes like?" Qing Yi was a little curious.
"The enchanting peach should taste quite sweet, right?" Ye Qingyu guessed.
"Then Xiaoye, you will definitely like it. If it tastes good, I will go pick peach blossoms and make peach blossom wine for you, how about that?" Qingyi said with a smile.
"Don't make promises casually. How can you make wine just by talking about it?" Ye Qingyu looked at Qingyi with amusement. The words that came out of this kid's mouth were more disgusting than peach blossoms.
"Hey, Xiaoye, don't look down on me! If others can learn it, I can definitely learn it too. As long as you like it, I can definitely brew it for you. If you don't believe me, just wait and see." Qing Yi looked unconvinced.
As the two were talking, the waiter came over with a jar of wine.
Qingyi filled the glasses of wine for both Ye Qingyu and himself, then took a sip. It was indeed very sweet, just as Xiaoye had said.
"How do you like the taste?" Qing Yi asked Ye Qingyu.
"Not bad." Ye Qingyu has always preferred sweet food, and this wine with the sweet flavor of peach blossoms is just what he likes.
"It's just a little too sweet, too light and sweet, and not strong enough. It's not as delicious as the Linglongzui I had in Jiangnan before." Qing Yi commented.
"If flower wine is brewed into strong liquor, it will lose the flavor of flowers." Ye Qingyu suddenly thought of Lian'er who could brew osmanthus wine. Is she still looking forward to Qingyi tasting the osmanthus wine she brewed?
"If you use osmanthus flowers to make wine, the sweetness will be less, and you will probably like it better." Ye Qingyu raised his eyebrows, his voice cold and calm.
"Osmanthus? Isn't that a flower too? I guess it tastes similar." Qing Yi saw the waiter start serving the dishes and asked, "Waiter, do you have any other wines here? I want something stronger, not so sweet."
"What's wrong, sir? Is this peach blossom wine not to your taste? This is the signature wine of our Xihua Mansion. Many outsiders come here to buy it." The waiter looked surprised.
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