Chapter 86: First Frost

Chapter 86: First Frost

The Qian people had an old custom that imperial family members were not allowed to leave the city without permission. The emperor ascended the throne at the age of six, and unlike his ancestors who were princes, he did not have the opportunity to be dispatched on official duties. In fact, his circle of life was not large; owning ten thousand miles of territory was a privilege bestowed by this title. He traveled daily between the Palace of Heavenly Purity and the Hall of Mental Cultivation, where sometimes the country and its people were merely lines on a map or the two golden pavilions named "Country" and "People," standing left and right in front of the Palace of Heavenly Purity.

Of course, he did have the chance to leave the city and see the outside world, but such opportunities were few and far between. In seventeen years, he had twice toured the provinces and five times hunted in autumn—these could be counted on one hand. The burden on the emperor's shoulders was heavy; court affairs and studies left him no moment of leisure. He rarely had the chance to stroll around the capital. The only time he vividly remembered was when he visited a night market on the eve of his personal rule, which was about six years ago. It was midsummer then, and he walked through the streets in plain clothes, surrounded by people from all walks of life. The stench mixed with clamor and commotion, and he saw a kind of vulgar chaos, yet pure and candid joy.

In his heart, that somewhat unclean Qianmen Tower was his yearning for the world outside the palace. The snacks at Qianmen Tower were not very clean either; passersby might stir up dust that would drift into bowls with riveted nails... But it was precisely this humble homeliness that made him feel that the people living there were full of earthly vitality. He liked the taste of the marketplace, although this liking might not be considered refined, and perhaps should not even be a thought in the mind of an emperor. But he remembered the scattered lights that night, as well as that wonton stall.

A bowl of wontons had lingered in the emperor's memory for six years. If it were a dish prepared by the imperial kitchen, it would be a feat worthy of praise for generations. However, the old man running the wonton stall was completely unaware of it. The emperor was a disciplined person; even if he longed for it, he did not indulge in gluttony. There was a rule in the palace that one should not take more than three bites of a dish, let alone street food that had not been inspected. But last month, when he went out to visit the seriously ill chief instructor, he passed through Zhengyang Gate and found that the stall was still there. So he began to plan to bring the woman he liked to try it.

A woman who loved to eat was actually easy to please, something De Lu didn't teach him, but he realized it himself. Didn't she say that marrying someone was about finding someone you could enjoy meals with? She wanted to wean him off mutton, so he wanted to take her to try things he thought were good.

Yingming was filled with anticipation for tomorrow. As soon as she put down her chopsticks and wiped her mouth, she began to worry about tomorrow's arrangements. "You need to set a time so I can prepare."

The emperor said, "Wait until it gets dark, after the palace gates are locked and no one is moving around. That way, the news won't leak out. Besides, if we go too early, the stalls won't be open yet, and we might not be able to eat."

She hummed in agreement. "Where shall we meet?"

"I'll wait for you," the emperor said with a smile, like a child in the alley who had agreed to go out and catch dragonflies together, the more enthusiastic one taking the initiative to wait at his friend's house to urge him.

So it was settled. Yingming returned contentedly. She originally thought that the matter of Xue Furen's visit wouldn't be easily brushed aside, but the emperor seemed to have completely ignored it, and being with her was all about studying food.

Would he end up becoming the greatest gluttonous emperor in history? If so, it would be a grave sin. But then again, eating well meant strong health, and on this point, she and the emperor coincided. They both wished for each other to have a good appetite; loving to eat was a blessing, while not loving to eat was a disaster.

Scratching her head and waiting for the next day to come was a feeling beyond words. After barely making it through the night, she began to ponder what to wear today as soon as it dawned. The clothes sent by the Imperial Household Department were too splendid and inappropriate to wear outside. After much difficulty, she picked out a few simple ones, but she couldn't decide which one to wear. When the emperor arrived, she was still in a dilemma, holding up two pieces of clothing to herself. "Quick, help me decide which one is better, this one or this one?"

The emperor wore a swallow-feather gray traveling robe today, with a simple belt around his waist and gourds hanging on both sides, looking like a proud and wealthy young master. Glancing at her casually, he said indifferently, "It doesn't matter, you look good in anything."

This sentence was said without any pretense and seemed quite natural. He himself didn't seem to realize anything amiss, but Yingming felt a sweetness in her heart. Afraid he would notice, she covered it up with vague words, as if afraid he would take them back. "You still need to make a decision for me. I have to choose one."

The emperor recalled that when she first entered the palace, he had punished her to learn etiquette. That day, she was balancing a bowl under a magnolia tree in front of the Cining Palace annex, wearing a set of clothes that looked very nice.

"Don't you have a rosy-cheeked one?" the emperor pondered for a moment. "That one is fine."

After hearing this, Yingming thought for a long time before finally remembering. She hurriedly called Songe to rummage through the chests. "Quick, find my spring landscape robe!" After shouting, she paused. This busy sovereign actually remembered she had that dress? It seemed that he had been paying attention to her for a long time, so he must have her in his heart!

This kind of secret little thought really made her heart flutter. Yingming felt as if boiling water was churning inside her, and her heart could not contain it, ready to show on her face. She peeked at him behind the curtain, but he was completely unaware, slowly fanning himself with a folding fan and patiently waiting in the main room. He had never waited for anyone in his life; everything in this world revolved around him. Who dared to waste the time of His Majesty? His temper was not gentle either. Now that he had to deal with her, he was probably being worn down, gradually becoming more humane.

Meanwhile, De Lu was deep in thought. Why did every carefully considered word of His Majesty always end up offending people, while those blurted out unintentionally had a warm and affectionate tone? Like that sentence just now, "You look good in anything," it was simply divine inspiration. And choosing clothes for someone else, the two pieces the empress was holding did not include the rosy-cheeked one, yet His Majesty could accurately pinpoint it. The enlightened emperor was truly different from before.

De Lu sighed deeply, feeling a sense of relief that his apprentice had finally mastered the art. Taking advantage of the empress going in to change her clothes, he approached and said, "Your Highness, look how happy the empress is today."

The emperor hummed in response. "When it comes to food, she glows."

De Lu said it wasn't just that. "Not just because you're taking her to eat wontons, but because you praised her. This approach is correct. Girls love to be complimented. You just subtly praised her and said nice things. By the next day, the empress will be inseparable from you."

The emperor seemed to have also realized this truth. Yes, it seemed to be like that. Just now, he saw the smile at the corner of her lips, though only a faint trace, it was still a significant change.

The emperor became even happier, fanning himself with more vigor. Finally, she came out after changing her clothes, and he was a bit stunned. She was dressed extremely simply today, without tying her hair in two buns, instead braiding it simply, and wearing a pair of small lotus leaf hairpins. She took off her earrings with three clamps on one ear, leaving only a pair of pearl earrings. When she walked, the two pearls swayed on both sides of her delicate neck, exuding a particularly lively and playful beauty.

"Hurry up and leave." She was in a great hurry, slung her small pouch over her shoulder, and after taking a couple of steps, she suddenly turned around and asked, "Do you have any silver with you? If not, I can lend you some, and you can repay me double when you return."

This individual truly seizes every opportunity to make a profit. The emperor disdainfully remarked, "Your ancestors were not officials, but merchants, right? So you expect to double your earnings in such a short time?"

She smiled and said, "There's no help for it, my annual stipend is only a thousand taels, which is not a small sum, but there will surely be significant expenses in the future, so I must be frugal."

The emperor chuckled, thinking to himself that although the empress's annual tribute had a set rule, it was indeed insufficient. He could easily allocate more from the public treasury if necessary. She spoke sweetly, but in reality, she was just fond of amassing wealth. However, this time she had miscalculated. He patted the purse at his waist, "See this? I've brought enough silver, so don't even think about lending money at interest from me."

The conversation did not go well, but Yingming just smiled it off, fully displaying the grace of maintaining benevolence even when a deal does not go through. Nothing could disturb her good mood; how long had it been since she last went out? The trip to Changchun Garden could be disregarded, but this time she was genuinely out to enjoy the night market! Back when she was at home, she rarely had the opportunity, only allowed to go out with her elder brother, with the permission of her father and Enie. After her elder brother left for Jilin Ula to serve as a clerk, she had never been able to leave home after dark again.

"I must say, I owe this to the Emperor's blessings," she said, leaning against the carriage wall, as she lifted the curtain of the small window. "I've longed to come out and see the world; it's so beautiful and lively out there..." Spotting a street performer, she exclaimed in surprise, "How large must this person's mouth be? While others swallow swords, he swallows knives?"

The emperor had little interest in sword swallowing or knife swallowing; he sat calmly, watching her with a serene gaze, "The season is not at its best now. When winter comes, I will bring you here again. It would be best to choose a time when the world is frozen and desolate, with a single stall and a lamp. Sitting under a tent made of oilcloth, the northwest wind cannot be contained and blows inwards, and then a bowl of hot wonton soup is placed in front of us. As soon as you take a bite, snowflakes fall from the sky like salt being sprinkled... By that time, we should already be married."

Yingming listened and realized that what he was savoring was not actually wonton, but a state of mind, an emotion. However, in the final analysis, it all boiled down to one sentence, "You have simply never experienced hardship," abruptly cutting off the emperor's reverie.

He frowned deeply, "You, person..."

In the biting cold, with the northwest wind slicing through like a knife, you're still sitting there eating wonton soup, can you even hold the spoon properly?

She was, after all, a pampered young lady. In winter, she had a warming pot and a hand warmer; her hands had never been exposed to the biting northwest wind. The piercing cold was something she had only heard of, and the mere thought of it was quite terrifying. The emperor did not blame her for her lack of experience, and said gently, "With hot food in front of you, you won't feel the cold. If it weren't for the premature passing of my predecessor, I should have gone to the military to toughen up. A man, a true man, should not fear the cold."

Yingming nodded in agreement; indeed, for an emperor who lost his parents at an early age, he missed out on many opportunities to experience the hardships of life. Thus, even eating wontons by the roadside on a snowy day could evoke a kind of bright melancholy.

She said, "When the first snow falls, you must take me out again."

After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the nights had already begun to carry a hint of chill. Beijing enters winter earlier than the southern regions, and the Emperor thought that, perhaps in another month and a half, it would be just about right.

The carriage continued to move forward, at first only the jingling of the bells around the horse's neck could be heard. As time passed, the sound of human voices gradually grew louder. Upon lifting the curtain to look outside, a bustling scene unfolded with crowds of people coming and going, indicating a lively and busy atmosphere.

"Behold, this is my realm! Those people coming and going are all my subjects of the great British Empire!" The emperor grandly introduced, implying, "Do you see how vast my family's legacy is?"

Yingming also naturally exuded an air of a businesswoman, no wonder every household wishes for their daughter to become an empress; being an empress is truly wonderful. A man's assets become one's own, and one can speak with righteous confidence, saying that all these belong to our family.

The unmarried young couple, standing tall and imposing with their arms akimbo in front of the carriage, exuded an air as if they were spoiling for a fight, ready to pick out someone from the crowd who displeased them and engage in a brawl.

A vendor carrying a stick of candied hawthorns passed by them, casting a glance at the group, and began to call out loudly: "Candied hawthorns... So much sugar, oh dear..."

Another man carrying a load walked by slowly, his voice louder than the candied haws seller, "Bankong①... give more..."

The emperor gazed at his empress with a smile, exclaiming, "How full of the vitality of life!"

Little Fu bounded over with three leaps from afar, kowtowing and saying, "Master, Mistress, Old Zhang has set up his stall tonight. The usual spot was taken over by a monkey performer, so he moved to the base of the city wall." As he spoke, he led the way forward, "Your servant has checked, the water on the stove has been replenished several times with ladles, but there hasn't been a single customer for a long while. It seems the timing is off; now is the time when people come out to stroll the night market after having their fill. Business will likely pick up in the middle of the night."

The emperor was in high spirits, "That's perfect, let's give him a grand opening."

In truth, the night market abounds with delightful attractions, such as stalls selling puppies and bear cubs, as well as vendors offering porcelain and glassware, stone seals, and imperial beads and feathers. One can find virtually anything they desire. It would be quite pleasant to stroll along, and by the time one arrives at the destination, they would be just in time to feel hungry and enjoy a bowl of something fitting to the setting. However, this particular individual, it seems, has his sights set on nothing else but a wonton stall. He is solely focused on that particular dish, so much so that one might even suspect that he intends to return to the palace immediately after a quick meal, wiping his mouth clean—his so-called 'eating wontons' being nothing more than just that.

She was restless with anticipation, "I would like to take a stroll first..."

He turned to look at her, and just as she was about to head towards the roadside, he pulled her back. "Didn't I say we were going to have wontons?"

"My stomach isn't hungry right now, how can I eat..." Although she was being dragged by him, she still tried to lean towards the bustling area. "Quick, look! There's goldfish scooping over there!"

The emperor was practically dealing with an uncooperative child. She had no intention of following him, and he couldn't scold her in public. He waved his hand at De Lu in a hurry. "Go, scoop a few back." While coaxing and deceiving her, he dragged her to the wonton stall.

The old man selling wontons grinned widely. "Oh, Sir, you haven't eaten yet? How about a bowl of wontons to fill your stomach?"

The emperor nodded. "One bowl of shepherd's purse, three bowls of mutton. We're four people."

The old man exclaimed, "Got it!" The nearby Little Fu was moved to tears. "Master, the servants don't need to eat. We'll serve you and Grandma."

If this were any other time, the emperor wouldn't have thought of buying a bowl for the servants below him. No matter how favored these attendants were, they weren't people who could dine at the same table. But now, with a queen who was eager to eat, he was forced to learn to share.

Yingming found this quite nice. She didn't have particularly strict master-servant views and always treated her subordinates as human beings. Little Fu sniffled, and she felt quite heartbroken watching him. She secretly thought that this master must usually be very harsh on his subordinates, for them to be so moved by just buying a bowl of wontons.

The emperor felt a bit awkward and said, "It's okay, eat." He pulled Yingming under the tent to find a seat.

Yingming turned around to look around. This tent was made by tying several large pieces of oilcloth together. The seams allowed one to see the passing crowd, no wonder it would leak wind in winter.

The emperor was always kind and courteous to outsiders. He asked the vendor, "Earlier, this stall was set up at the horse path entrance. Now that it's moved here, how's business?"

Old Zhang squatted beside the stove, pumping the bellows. The firelight illuminated a face full of wrinkles and a smile. "It hasn't affected me much. My stall caters to the military officers. Originally, when they came down from the horse path, they could get something hot to eat. This time, they have to walk a few more steps, which is good for stretching their muscles. However, it's not good for the monkey show to set up there. I'm not saying he took my spot; the place belongs to His Majesty. We're just borrowing the temple to burn incense. The city is full of armored soldiers, and their footsteps are heavy, easily startling the monkeys. Not many people go there to watch the show. It's really not a good place to do business."

Most elderly people in the capital were kind-hearted and didn't complain just because they suffered losses. The emperor originally wanted to deal with the monkey handler for him, but hearing him say this, he let it go.

At this moment, the wontons were ready, served in such large bowls that they were placed in front of them. Soldiers had big appetites, so the ingredients for the wontons were also given generously. Yingming was secretly amazed. This large bowl could fit her head inside.

De Lu returned with the goldfish, smiling. "Grandma, look. Your servant spent a lot of effort to scoop three. That goldfish seller was too bad. He only put a few fish sparsely in a large vat, making it hard to scoop." As he spoke, he took out silver needles from his sleeve and placed them in the bowls. He then scooped one out for himself to taste, ensuring there was no danger before handing over the pre-prepared golden spoons.

Old Zhang sold wontons among the common folk and had seen wealthy patrons, but rarely saw such elaborate arrangements. He immediately exclaimed, "I remember now! You ate here five or six years ago, and you were also so careful with the inspection then. Back then, you were still a young man of seventeen or eighteen. Now you even have a wife. Thank you for remembering me."

The emperor was slightly shy and smiled. "Our wife likes to eat, and today she insisted I bring her..." Before he could finish, he noticed her glaring at him. He swallowed the rest of his words.