Shang Shaoyan twitched his lips, barely suppressing the urge to hit someone that was surging within him: "Shopkeeper, do you have any left? I'd like to buy a copy to read."
The shopkeeper shook his head: "It's not that I don't want to sell it to you, it's just that I only have two copies left. One is for my collection and to be passed down to my family, and the other is for me to look at often. If you want it, young lady, you'll probably have to wait three days. We sell hundreds of copies every day."
Shang Shaoyan chuckled twice: "It's selling so well? Doesn't that mean it's practically known throughout Nanchen?"
The shopkeeper smiled and proudly puffed out his chest: "Of course! Most of the merchants who come to Shuzhou these days are here to get the original copy with Mr. Dongshan's inscription. That's why 'Locking Love' has become Shuzhou's newest specialty!"
Shang Shaoyan sneered inwardly, planned out "Fifty Ways to Die for Xu Xian", chatted with the shopkeeper for a few more minutes, and then took his leave to return home.
...
Bai Lu and Cheng Chu had heard early in the morning that Shang Shaoyan would arrive in Shuzhou at noon, and were currently discussing with the kitchen what delicious dishes to prepare.
The head chef in the kitchen was a young woman, gentle and beautiful, who was very good at cooking folk dishes—she could also cook imperial and official dishes. She was a descendant of imperial chefs, but after so many generations, many recipes had been lost.
"Merchants from the Western Regions recently sent over some chili peppers and spices." The head chef thought for a moment, "These are all good things, how about we prepare a full spicy feast for the county princess?"
Bai Lu and Cheng Chu exchanged a glance, the latter already swallowing hard: "A whole spicy feast?"
The young chef nodded: "Exactly. It's still chilly in early spring, and Shuzhou is damp. Eating something spicy will help us get rid of the cold and dampness."
Bai Lu was somewhat worried: "The county princess can eat spicy food, but... but I don't know about the others."
What she wanted to say was that she didn't know if Qiao Xiuyu could eat spicy food. After all, the county princess came to Shuzhou mainly to take Qiao Xiuyu to the northwest. If he got a stomachache, the county princess couldn't afford to waste that time.
Cheng Chu replied, "What's the big deal? Just drink more hot water."
Bai Lu thought about it and agreed: "We can also use hot water to wash away the spiciness of the vegetables... Not bad, General Cheng, you're really something!"
The two looked at each other and smiled, both agreeing that this method was excellent.
After deciding what dishes to cook, the two went to greet Shang Shaoyan. From afar, Bai Lu and Cheng Chu saw Shang Shaoyan riding towards them, exuding an aura that was not to be trifled with. It seemed that someone had angered her again.
Shang Shaoyan dismounted and said coldly, "Invite Xu Xian to lunch today."
Then she thought for a moment, and sneered, "I really have to thank him, after all, he wrote such a good book!"
Bai Lu: "..."
She glanced at Shang Shaoyan somewhat guiltily: "Princess, it was me earlier..."
Shang Shaoyan interrupted her, looking at Bai Lu with gentle kindness: "Good Bai Lu, how could you be wrong? You were just trying to appease him. A woman is never wrong; it's always those stupid, stinky men who are wrong."
Cheng Chu was caught in the crossfire for no reason, but seeing that Shang Shaoyan was in a bad mood, he didn't dare to say anything more—he already knew that this storybook would definitely cause problems! He had advised Xu Xian at the time, but Xu Xian said that both the Princess of Heyang and the Seventh Young Master had agreed to it, so how could he dare to say anything more? Maybe the young couple just liked it this way?
However, it turned out that he was wrong, terribly wrong.
Cheng Chu sighed, and then silently lit three incense sticks for Xu Xian in his heart.
Shang Shaoyan walked ahead, making orderly arrangements as he headed towards his bedroom: "Tomorrow I will depart for the Northwest. Cheng Chu will bring three hundred elite soldiers with me. Since the Western Suburbs Camp has already developed a high regard for us, things won't be too difficult when we reach the city gate. You will leave two hundred elite soldiers in Shuzhou. Bai Lu will be responsible for continuing to make proper arrangements here with them and infiltrate Shuzhou. Bai Lu will also continue to maintain good relations with the two officials."
“I will also bring Qiao Xiuyu along. I will arrange for him to be placed outside the Northwest military camp, with Cheng Chu personally watching over him, to prevent him from accidentally touching any secrets. He's just a weak and helpless young man, tsk…”
As they spoke, Shang Shaoyan had already reached the bedroom door. Before going in, she said to Bai Lu one last time, "Oh, right, remember to keep an eye on Xu Xian. I can't control him from writing random stories, but he's probably already aware of what we're doing. If he tries to spread the word, lock him up. He's a talented person, so just treat him well and don't torture him."
Bai Lu chuckled: "Princess, don't worry. You should go take a hot bath and get a good night's sleep; you must be exhausted from the journey—"
Shang Shaoyan was confident in Bai Lu and Cheng Chu's abilities. Hearing this, he nodded and closed the door.
Qiao Xiuyu was still sleeping—he had gone to bed very late last night, partly out of excitement and partly out of worry.
He was naturally excited that Shang Shaoyan was going to take him to the Northwest, but he was worried about his brother's health.
Last night, after he wrote back to Shang Shaoyan, he received another letter from Qiao Yu. The letter contained simple greetings and anecdotes from daily life, but Qiao Xiuyu did not miss the smell of medicine on it.
Qiao Xiuyu was very familiar with the smell of this medicine. After being found and brought back to the palace, he had been living with Qiao Yu and had practically grown up smelling the medicine. He had a keen sense of smell and recognized that it was the smell of the medicine that Qiao Yu had once been critically ill and almost couldn't be saved.
He tossed and turned all night, finally falling asleep just as dawn broke. He slept soundly, and even though Shang Shaoyan's return was quite noisy, he was completely unaware.
He had a very long dream, in which he had just returned to the palace the year before.
...
Before Qiao Zhuo was found and returned to the palace, he had a name called Fang Zhuyu, which was given to him by his adoptive parents from the scholarly family who adopted him.
Later, he became a beggar and suffered so much beatings and hardship. The worst time was winter when he was hungry and cold and covered in frostbite. He would huddle at the feet of the Buddha statue in the temple, trying to remember his home, where there was a charcoal fire burning and he ate mutton. It was so warm there.
This was a method taught to him by an old beggar: as long as he desperately imagined things to eat, wear, and keep warm, he wouldn't feel cold.
If you're still cold or hungry, go to sleep. Sleeping will make everything better.
The old beggar was very kind to Qiao Zhuo. He found a steamed bun but didn't eat it himself, leaving it all for Qiao Zhuo. Little Qiao Zhuo was already sensible; he didn't want to eat it and wanted the old beggar to eat it instead.
At that moment, the old beggar just smiled, his dirty face full of kindness: "You eat, I'm not hungry, I'll be fine after a nap."
Qiao Zhuo refused, so in the end the two of them had to each take half, squatting behind the Buddha statue and eating it bite by bite with snow water, occasionally looking up at each other and smiling.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
