In the past, Beijing did not have an outer city, but during the Jiajing period, Altan Khan invaded the interior of the country many times, and the capital was under martial law several times. In order to strengthen the city's defense, Emperor Jiajing ordered the construction of an outer city. Originally, he planned to use the city wall to surround the entire inner city and the Temple of Heaven and the Altar of Land and Grain. However, not long after the construction started, it was discovered that the actual amount of work was much larger than expected, and it was impossible to complete it with the financial resources at the time.

Finally, the imperial court decided to build the city in stages, starting with the outer city on the south side of the city wall. After the south wall was built, the east and west ends turned north and built another section to connect with the southeast corner of the inner city. The original square shape of Beijing was changed to a "convex" shape.

Therefore, when Zhao Hao and his companions wanted to enter Beijing, they had to first enter the outer city from the East Gate, and then walk west along the inner moat for a while before they could reach Chongwenmen.

However, with the protection of the outer city, Chongwenmen has actually become the gate inside the city, and it will not be closed all night unless it is under martial law.

When Zhao Hao and his companions arrived outside Chongwen Gate, they saw torches burning under the city gate and merchants and travelers still queuing up to pass through the gate.

It was not that the soldiers guarding the city were more considerate of the people, but Chongwen Gate was the first customs gate in the country, and most of the goods entering Beijing from other places were taxed through this gate. Therefore, if the gate was opened for one more hour, they could collect one more hour's tax.

In addition, the Chongwenmen Customs was so profitable that the tax ambassadors and ordinary tax collectors were rotated once a year. Everyone had only one year to make a fortune, so why not leave work early?

Looking at the long line in front, Zhao Hao thought that it would take until midnight to enter the city.

But the two carriages did not line up at all, they went straight through the crowd and arrived at Chongwenmen.

When the tax officials saw the lantern with the words "Guangluqing" on it, they opened the door and let the carriage pass without saying anything. Although the merchants in the queue were indignant, they were used to it and were too lazy to blame them.

Privilege is this kind of shit that makes others hate you but makes you happy.

~~

After entering the city, the three carriages finally had no obstructions. They headed north along Chongwenmennei Street and arrived at Chunsong Hutong in Huanghuafang, Dongcheng District.

Zhao Jin had received the news long ago and was waiting eagerly at the entrance of the alley.

“Oh my.” Seeing Zhao Jin standing in the cold wind with frost on his beard, Zhao Shouzheng hurriedly got out of the car, held his cold hand and said, “Your status is different now, you shouldn’t be waiting outside.”

"Uncle, you are joking. If you forget your roots just because you got an official position by chance, do you think you deserve the surname Zhao?" Zhao Jin smiled and bowed deeply to him.

After getting up, he held Zhao Hao's hand again and said emotionally: "I've been looking forward to seeing you day and night, and finally you have my brother here!"

"Brother, I hope you don't mind us being noisy because of the large number of people." Zhao Hao smiled and asked Eryang to salute the teacher, then said to Zhao Jin, "We are all frozen, let's go inside and talk."

"Yes, yes, yes." Zhao Jin took Zhao Shouzheng in one hand and Zhao Hao in the other, and walked towards his home together.

Zhao Jin's house is in the middle of the alley, in a large courtyard facing south. It is not far from Donghuamen, and most of the residents are officials from the imperial court, so the house price is not cheap.

When Zhao Jin came to Beijing, he spent two thousand taels to buy this large courtyard with three entrances and two exits. If it weren't for Zhao Hao's financial support, he really couldn't afford such a large house.

Of course, if Zhao Jin hadn't been planning on going to Beijing for the imperial examination, he wouldn't have bought such a big yard.

Zhao Jin's daughter had married, and his eldest son stayed in his hometown to serve his wife. Only his wife and youngest son came to Beijing to reunite with him. Together with his nephew Zhao Shizhen and Yu Peng and a dozen other servants, it was more than enough for them to live in the East Courtyard. However, he also bought the West Courtyard, which showed that the elder brother was sincere from the beginning and wanted them to live in his house.

Zhao Hao and his sons and their apprentice entered the warm main room, greeted the old sister-in-law, and presented her with various valuable gifts brought from Jinling and Yangzhou.

The old sister-in-law was also a simple person. She knew that Zhao Jin lived in someone else's house when he was exiled to Nanjing. Plus the gifts that the other person brought were enough to buy this house, the old sister-in-law became even more enthusiastic.

After the greetings, the maids and servants brought hot water for the guests to wash off the dust, and Zhao Jin invited the four people to take their seats.

In the flower hall, the copper hot pot was steaming, and next to the pot were more than a dozen plates of various kinds of red mutton, which made everyone, who had been hungry for a long time, immediately salivate.

"Come on, let's have hot pot today." Zhao Jin invited his uncle to take a seat. He and Zhao Hao sat on both sides of Zhao Shouzheng, while Eryang and Zhao Shizhen sat at the bottom.

"Wow, I haven't had this for more than ten years." Looking at the plates of red and white mutton, Zhao Shouzheng's appetite was aroused, and he said very knowledgeably: "Top leg, tri-fork, cucumber strips, this table of meat is not cheap."

Zhao Jin personally prepared a bowl of sesame sauce for his uncle and said with a smile: "As your nephew, I, the Minister of Imperial Households, have nothing else but plenty of food and drink!"

"That's true." Zhao Shouzheng nodded with a smile. The Guanglu Temple was in charge of various banquets inside and outside the palace. Zhao Jin, the temple minister, naturally had no shortage of various ingredients at home.

"Eat first, eat first. I'm so hungry, so hungry." Zhao Hao picked up a piece of mutton and started to eat it like he did in his previous life.

But he was despised by Zhao Shouzheng.

"How do you eat like a poor person?" Zhao Shouzheng picked up a plate of mutton and put it all into the pot with chopsticks, saying, "A decent family would eat it in a plate."

"I haven't eaten it, so how would I know this..." Zhao Hao gave a dry laugh and covered it up.

The mutton was cooked in no time, and everyone started eating. Before long, everyone had eaten at least three or five plates, and finally they were no longer hungry and their bodies were warm...

The servants brought ten plates of mutton on a tray. Zhao Shouzheng waved his hand and said, "It's so late. Let's not eat mutton. Let's have some cabbage and tofu."

"Do as Uncle Master ordered." Zhao Jin then told the servants, "Get some cordyceps, pine mushrooms, chicken mushrooms, beef liver and the like sent from Yunnan to refresh everyone."

The servants hurried downstairs to prepare, and soon, they brought up all kinds of precious mushrooms. They were still fresh in the middle of winter, and no one knew how they were preserved or transported.

Put the mushrooms into the pot and put them into your mouth. They melt in your mouth and are full of freshness and fragrance. They are not inferior to mutton at all.

Zhao Shouzheng couldn't help but praise: "Today I know that 'Four Unsuitables' is nonsense."

"Grandmaster, what does the four unmatched qualities mean?" Hua Shuyang asked curiously.

"Well..." Zhao Shouzheng looked at Zhao Jin, who poured him a glass of wine and took over the conversation and said with a smile:

"The so-called "four things that don't live up to their names" refers to the four things in the capital that are not worthy of their names - 'Hanlin Academy articles, Wukusi swords and guns, Guanglu Temple tea and soup, and Imperial Hospital prescriptions'."

After a pause, he said with a wry smile, "I, your uncle, am in charge of the third one."

"The tea soup of Guanglu Temple... is delicious?" Wang Wuyang praised while tasting the delicious chicken mushroom: "I want to work in Guanglu Temple after I pass the imperial examination."

“Hahaha, look at how useless you are!” Zhao Jin laughed heartily for a while before explaining, “The Guanglu Temple is in charge of banquets inside and outside the palace. On such occasions, thousands of people often eat together, which is a big pot meal in itself. In addition, there are various lengthy ceremonies, and the food is left cold. It would be strange if it is not unpalatable…”

"Of course, Siqing's special meal is still delicious." Zhao Hao said with a smile.

ps. Sixth update, 2100 votes plus more, please give me monthly votes and recommendation votes~~~