The grand "vinegar tasting event" ultimately concluded in a way that pleased everyone (except for the Imperial Guards and vinegar shop owners who were thoroughly exhausted). Lin Wanwan successfully satisfied her appetite, Xiao Che gained the self-satisfaction of "doting on his wife," and the owner of "Wang's Vinegar Shop," who was casually rewarded with a hundred taels of gold, was laughing in his sleep.
However, no one expected that this was just the beginning.
Since unlocking the taste code of "sour," Lin Wanwan's palate has been like a wild horse, embarking on a treacherous path from which there is no turning back.
Today they crave sauerkraut fish, tomorrow they crave spicy rabbit head; in the morning they have little interest in desserts, but in the afternoon they suddenly crave candied hawthorn. These ever-changing tastes bring both pain and joy to the chefs in the imperial kitchen.
The pain lies in the fact that the Empress's tastes are truly unpredictable, but the joy lies in the fact that as long as the Empress's needs are met, the Emperor's rewards are as abundant as flowing water.
Xiao Che, on the other hand, thoroughly enjoyed it. He seemed to regard satisfying the Empress's bizarre appetites as an equally important matter as governing the country. He would even personally go to the imperial kitchen to "supervise" the preparations, ensuring that every dish precisely matched Lin Wanwan's mood at that particular moment.
That afternoon, the winter sun shone warmly through the window lattices onto the carpet of Kunning Palace.
Lin Wanwan leaned lazily against the soft couch, holding a book she'd somehow found—a collection of miscellaneous notes about the Southern Frontier—reading with great interest. Xiao Che sat beside her, ostensibly reviewing memorials, but in reality, his attention was mostly focused on observing the changes in her expression.
"A fine fruit of Lingnan, named lychee. Its shell is like red silk, its membrane like purple gauze, its flesh as translucent as ice and snow, and its juice as sweet and sour as nectar... It is a pity that it changes as soon as it leaves the branch; its color changes in one day, its aroma in two days, and its taste in three days..."
Lin Wanwan softly read the words from the book, and the image of the crystal-clear, juicy fruit involuntarily surfaced in her mind. She subconsciously licked her lips, and an intense craving welled up uncontrollably.
She put down the book, sighed with some regret, and remarked unintentionally, "The description in this book is so tempting, it's a pity it's winter. If only I could eat such fresh and juicy lychees in the winter."
She spoke these words very softly, almost as if she were talking to herself.
However, in the Kunning Palace, which has already turned "silent mode" to the maximum, no sound can escape the ears of a certain "master of tension".
Xiao Che, who was writing furiously, suddenly stopped, leaving a long ink mark on the memorial.
He slowly raised his head, a hint of seriousness flashing in his deep eyes. He looked at Lin Wanwan and repeated with utmost seriousness, "You want to eat fresh lychees in winter?"
Lin Wanwan was amused by his serious expression and waved her hand with a smile: "I was just saying it casually. This goes against the seasons, how can we possibly eat it?"
Going against the will of Heaven?
Xiao Che's brows slowly furrowed.
In his dictionary, the phrase "going against the times" never seemed to be a significant obstacle.
He put down the vermilion brush in his hand, leaned forward slightly, and asked again in a tone as if discussing national strategy, "You, right now, want to eat?"
“Yeah,” Lin Wanwan replied casually, unaware of the seriousness of the problem, “I just suddenly really wanted to…”
Before he could finish speaking, Xiao Che had already stood up abruptly.
His expression was more serious and resolute than ever before, as if he were about to make a major decision that could change the fate of the nation.
He took it seriously.
He took it seriously once again!
"Guards!" Xiao Che shouted, his voice carrying an undeniable authority.
The eunuchs who were guarding outside the hall scrambled in.
"Issue my decree!" Xiao Che spoke rapidly, issuing orders in rapid succession. "Immediately summon the Minister of Works and the officials of the Ministry of Agriculture to the Imperial Study within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn! Any delay will be punished!"
The eunuch obeyed and left, and the atmosphere in the entire Kunning Palace instantly shifted from the languid afternoon to the tension before battle.
Lin Wanwan was completely dumbfounded.
"Your Majesty, what... what are you doing?" She sat up straight, somewhat uneasy.
Xiao Che walked to her side, bent down, gently patted her hand, and gave her a domineering smile that said, "I've got everything under control, so you can rest assured." He said, "Just wait."
After saying that, he strode off towards the Imperial Study, leaving Lin Wanwan standing there, bewildered.
No way... he wouldn't really want to...
...
An hour later, the entire court was in complete uproar.
Inside the Imperial Study, the Minister of Works and several officials in charge of royal agriculture were kneeling on the ground, their official robes soaked with cold sweat.
On the desk in front of them lay an open notebook, the very one Lin Wanwan had just read.
Their emperor was tapping his fingers on the illustration of "lychee" on the page, his face displaying an undeniable madness.
"I don't care what methods you use," Xiao Che's voice was cold and resolute, "within three days, I want to see fresh, dew-covered lychees in this capital! It's not just the Empress who wants to eat them, it's also my princes/princess who want to eat them! Do you understand?"
The Minister of Works nearly choked on his breath, and with a mournful face, he kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty, this...this is absolutely unacceptable! Lychees are a fiery fruit from the southern border, preferring warmth and disliking cold. Now, the capital is freezing cold, and the vegetation is withered. This action...this action goes against the seasons and defies the natural order!"
An elderly agricultural official with white hair and beard wept bitterly: "Your Majesty, forced melons are not sweet, and out-of-season fruits cannot be grown at all! This is the way of Heaven, and cannot be changed by human effort!"
"The Way of Heaven?" Xiao Che sneered. He stood up, walked to the front of the crowd, and looked down at them with the obsession and domineering nature of an emperor. "In this Great Liang, I am the Way of Heaven! My empress's desire to eat is the will of Heaven!"
"I don't care if you burn charcoal or build greenhouses, all I want is results!" he said, enunciating each word clearly. "If you can't do it, you'll all go to the southern border and be my fruit farmers for life!"
The crowd was terrified by his unreasonable and domineering manner and could only accept the decree with tears in their eyes.
And this is just the beginning.
After driving the officials of the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Agriculture to madness, Xiao Che immediately summoned officials from the Ministry of War and the Postal Service.
He directly invoked the "800-li urgent dispatch" order, which symbolized the highest level of emergency military affairs.
"Issue my imperial edict: order all post stations in the southern border region to immediately activate the highest-level relay system!" He pointed to a spot on the map and commanded, "From Guangzhou Prefecture, send the freshest lychees to the capital at the fastest speed, at any cost! If a horse dies, replace it; if a rider dies, replace him! If I do not see the lychees within three days, I will send you to be buried with those horses!"
The entire imperial study was completely silent.
Everyone was stunned by the emperor's unprecedented and insane act.
For the sake of the Empress's remark, he did not hesitate to mobilize the entire national machinery, on the one hand to defy the seasons and force summer fruits to grow in the dead of winter, and on the other hand to reduce the geographical advantage and turn thousands of miles into a three-day journey.
This isn't pampering, this is madness!
Everyone knows the story of "A rider gallops through the dust, bringing smiles to the imperial concubine's face; no one knows it's lychees that have arrived." But that former emperor, at least, was in the summer.
And their emperor actually wanted to make the mortal world churn and the lychees fly in the dead of winter!
The news spread like wildfire throughout the palace and the imperial court. Everyone who heard it reacted with a sense of absurdity at first, followed by profound shock and…envy.
Just how favored was this empress to be able to make an emperor so obsessed with her, exhausting the nation's resources just to fulfill a casual wish?
...
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
For the past three days, the empire's most powerful forces have been frantically working around a tiny fruit.
All the royal greenhouses were heated with the finest silver-fiber charcoal, regardless of cost, and the temperature was precisely controlled to summer levels. Countless experienced gardeners and agricultural officials worked tirelessly for three days and three nights, using all sorts of ancestral and even unprecedented fertility-inducing secrets, almost risking their lives.
Meanwhile, on a long post road leading directly from southern Xinjiang to the capital, a thrilling race against time to save lives is unfolding.
Countless swift horses galloped wildly along the post road until they foamed at the mouth and died of exhaustion. The knights used specially made ice boxes to protect the precious fruit, changing horses but not riders, speeding along like lightning, kicking up a trail of dust.
Lin Wanwan sat in Kunning Palace, listening to Ruolan's report, her heart filled with mixed feelings.
She felt touched, helpless, and mostly, at a loss for words.
She really was just saying it offhand.
On the third day at dusk, the afterglow of the setting sun bathed the palace.
Xiao Che led Lin Wanwan by the hand to a side hall of Kunning Palace.
In the center of the hall, two exquisite trays were placed.
On the tray to the left was a basket of lychees. The lychees' shells still had a hint of unripeness, clearly indicating they were locally grown using artificial methods, and they looked somewhat forced.
On the right tray, there was only one lone piece.
But that one seed instantly attracted everyone's attention.
Its fruit shell is bright red and glistening, like a burning flame, with even a glistening dewdrop clinging to it, as if it had just been picked from the branch. A rich and sweet fruity aroma permeates the entire hall.
A weary and nearly exhausted courier knelt on the ground, his voice hoarse as he reported, "Your Majesty... this is... this is the 'Gua Lü' tribute from Guangzhou Prefecture. It took 327 knights, 416 horses to die, and two days and eleven hours to finally... deliver it."
Lin Wanwan looked at the lychee and felt an indescribable shock.
This is not just a piece of fruit; it is a miracle built with countless human and material resources, and with the emperor's unreasonable obsession and deep love.
She raised her head and looked at Xiao Che beside her.
His face was full of pride and satisfaction, as if he had accomplished a groundbreaking feat.
Above his head, in his designated emoji area, a chibi-style Superman figure wearing a red cape and sporting a giant "S" on his chest stands with his hands on his hips, puffing out his chest with immense pride, against a backdrop of a dazzling starry sky.
[Look! There's nothing I can't do! .gif]
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