Chapter 17 Fish Market

Chapter 17: Fish Market

The wind blew relentlessly toward the sea all night, making it necessary to row against the wind to reach the shore. Although Wei Yan had volunteered to help row, he was, after all, the pampered Crown Prince who had never rowed a boat before. Lu Jiming didn't dare let him try.

In the end, Ning Jia rowed on one side while Lu Jiming and Lu Guanguan took turns rowing on the other side. They finally reached the shore at dawn.

The shore was already bustling with fishing boats returning from the sea. The group walked along the coast for a while and arrived at the ferry, which had transformed into a fish market, with various seafood piled up everywhere.

Wei Yan had never seen such a spectacle and was utterly captivated. As ruler of the realm for so many years, he had seen countless rare treasures, but he had never been to the seaside and couldn't recognize these diverse items.

"This is kelp. At home, we use dried ones to make soup, and it's quite good." Wei Yan pointed at the stall in front of him. "I've eaten this fish before—it tastes sour."

"Home" naturally referred to the palace. With so many people around, they couldn't risk exposing their identities.

The stall owner smiled and spoke rapidly in a dialect that wasn't Mandarin, so Wei Yan couldn't understand.

Lu Jiming explained to him, "He says you're clearly an outsider who hasn't eaten fresh fish. This fish dies shortly after being caught. Its flavor changes after a day, and over time, it naturally turns sour."

Wei Yan said, "Then let's buy one to try. We need to eat anyway."

Lu Jiming went to ask the stall owner for the price. Since the vendors at the ferry earned their living by the sweat of their brow, Lu Jiming didn't bargain and took it at the asking price.

The stall owner threaded a straw rope through the fish's mouth and handed it to Lu Guanguan, waiting for payment.

"We disembarked in such a rush. I didn't bring any money," Lu Guanguan said, spreading his hands.

Lu Jiming fell silent. In the capital, people were often snobbish, and carrying money on oneself was mocked as a rustic habit. Since becoming an official in the capital, Lu Jiming had never carried a money pouch again.

Before the others could look at him, Wei Yan spoke up first, "When would I ever need to carry silver myself?"

Lu Guanguan held the fish awkwardly and smiled at the stall owner.

The stall owner said, "I'm just a fisherman running a small business. You gentlemen all look like important people. Please don't think about leaving without paying."

Ning Jia resignedly took out her money pouch and paid for the unreliable group. Having experienced many escapes in her childhood, she had developed the habit of always keeping her money pouch with her.

After paying, Lu Jiming asked the stall owner where they could rent a donkey cart to the town. The stall owner pointed them to a nearby fishing village.

With many merchants coming and going nearby and a considerable distance to the town, there was a very rudimentary inn in the fishing village. Lu Guanguan went ahead and ordered some food, handing the fish to the waiter to be cooked.

In the end, the fish was simply steamed, drizzled with oil, and served up.

"Eat up, Third Young Master Yin." Outside, Lu Jiming couldn't address Wei Yan as "Your Highness." Since this man was traveling under Yin Yuxie's identity leaving the capital, it was safer to call him Yin San.

Wei Yan hesitated, "Won't it be very fishy prepared like this?" Although he wasn't as obsessed with exquisite delicacies as Yin Yuxie, he had been raised with the principle that food should be refined.

"Try it first," Lu Jiming said, picking up a piece with his chopsticks and placing it in Wei Yan's bowl.

Wei Yan was both surprised and flattered and, disregarding how the fish might taste, swallowed it whole. Only after it entered his mouth did he realize it was incredibly fresh and sweet, completely different from what he had tasted in the palace.

Then, a thought struck him, and he belatedly realized that Lu Jiming seemed to treat him very differently recently compared to before. He no longer intentionally avoided him and even took the initiative to serve him food like this.

Thinking of this, Wei Yan felt happier still.

After the group had eaten their fill, they rented a donkey cart and set off for Wuwu City. From Wuwu City to Mingzhou City, renting a carriage would take only a day.

The only problem was that although Ning Jia carried money with her when she went out, she usually had little need for it, so she didn't carry much. After renting the donkey cart, her money pouch was practically empty.

"Without money, how will we get to Mingzhou?" Wei Yan, the Crown Prince of a nation, was worrying about money for the first time in two lifetimes.

"That's easy," Lu Jiming said, narrowing his eyes. "Let Lu Guanguan temporarily sign up with the local beggars' guild and kneel in the city for a day. We might run into a generous patron, and we'll naturally get the money."

"Young Master, why don't you just sell me instead? You'd get more money and wouldn't have to rely on luck," Lu Guanguan said.

"How could I sell you?" Lu Jiming replied. "I'm still waiting to castrate you and send you to the palace."

This scared Lu Guanguan so much that he made as if to flee for his life.

Wei Yan said, "Don't listen to your master's nonsense." However, according to palace rules, no adult men besides the emperor and consorts could reside in the inner court for extended periods.

If Lu Guanguan stayed by Lu Jiming's side for another year or so, he would likely have to find him another job.

"Don't worry. Once we reach Wuwu City, I'll have a way to get silver," Lu Jiming said.

Amid the jokes, the donkey cart was prepared, and Wei Yan was once again wide-eyed with surprise.

This donkey cart had no cover at all—just a donkey pulling an open wooden plank.

If his two younger brothers found out, they would laugh themselves to death.

"This village only has this kind. Third Young Master Yin will have to make do," Lu Jiming said.

This reminded Wei Yan that he was currently Yin Yuxie. Any embarrassment would be Yin Yuxie's, so what was there to fear? He sat down without much concern.

The donkey cart slowly made its way into Mingzhou City. Lu Jiming had his Hanlin Academy compiler's official waist token, so he didn't need to provide additional documents and easily entered the city.

Once inside, he headed straight to a shop and said to the shopkeeper, "Tell Xu Cifeng that Lu Jiming is here for a tael of silver."

Wei Yan's guard went up again.

Who was this Xu Cifeng? He had never heard Lu Jiming mention him in his previous life.

Moreover, Lu Jiming gave his own name to the shopkeeper instead of his courtesy name, indicating that he must be very close to Xu Cifeng. Wei Yan thought of many possibilities, and a pang of jealousy welled up in his heart.

He had originally thought he knew Lu Jiming very well, but after coming to Mingzhou with him, he realized that Lu Jiming had many past experiences he was unaware of.

Of course, when he met Lu Jiming, the other was already twenty years old. Lu Jiming had lived for twenty years in places Wei Yan didn't know about, which was almost half of his life.

Thinking of this, Wei Yan felt another piercing pain.

In his previous life, Lu Jiming only lived to forty-five. Those short twenty years were actually half of his life.

The shopkeeper didn't bat an eye and directly took out a small ingot of silver from behind the counter, saying, "Young Master Lu, you're too modest. One tael isn't enough. Here are ten taels—take them all. By the way, it seems like it's been a long time since I last saw you."

Hearing the shopkeeper's words, Lu Jiming realized that this person had previously worked in the Mingzhou shop. He had seen him many times when he interacted with Xu Cifeng.

"One tael is enough. I just need to rent a carriage back to Mingzhou. Ten taels is too much," Lu Jiming said. "I've been in the capital these past few years and haven't been able to get away."

After getting the silver, Lu Guanguan went to rent a carriage. The shopkeeper took Lu Jiming to the backyard of the shop to drink tea while waiting.

Wei Yan really wanted to ask who Xu Cifeng was, but after considering where he currently stood with Lu Jiming, he felt it wasn't yet appropriate to inquire about the other's private matters. So he kept quiet and sat down to taste the tea the shopkeeper brought out.

The tea was unexpectedly delicious, almost comparable to the quality of tribute tea. Wei Yan raised an eyebrow and said, "I didn't expect to drink such good tea on Xuping's account."

Lu Jiming smiled, holding the teacup in his hands, and didn't say another word.

Wei Yan had thought Lu Jiming would take the opportunity to talk about who Xu Cifeng was, but he didn't mention it at all. Wei Yan was instantly somewhat disappointed and became even more curious about this elusive Xu Cifeng.

He hoped he wasn't handsome—it would be best if he were a two-hundred-pound fatty.

Having a carriage made the journey to Mingzhou much faster. The closer they got to Mingzhou, the more uneasy Lu Jiming felt.

By now, the imperial envoy delivering the decree had likely already visited the Lu family. The news that he had been chosen as the Crown Prince's Consort was surely known to everyone at home, and he wondered what the Lu family's attitude would be.

Lu Jiming recalled a distant uncle he once had, who preferred men and stubbornly refused to marry a woman. In the end, he was beaten to death by the clan elders.

At that time, Lu Jiming was still young and didn't even understand what had happened. It was only years later, when he overheard a few uncles chatting, that he finally pieced together the story.

It was deeply ironic for such a family to produce an imperial consort. Moreover, if one was unlucky enough to become the Empress, the clan's descendants would be barred from taking the imperial examinations and entering officialdom.

Thinking of this, Lu Jiming couldn't help but curl his lips into a smile. He wanted to see just how heartless his father could be, and whether the family he had devoted his entire previous life to supporting could chill him to the core.

"Xuping, what are you smiling about?" The carriage ride was boring and bumpy. Wei Yan had dozed off for a while and just woken up, noticing Lu Jiming's smiling expression.

Lu Jiming answered Wei Yan, "It's been many years since I returned to my hometown. I'm feeling a bit apprehensive."

"Speaking of that, I'd like to know what your life was like in Mingzhou before."

Lu Jiming said, "From the time I started my education, I had to study at the crack of dawn. The Four Books and Five Classics all had to be memorized. After breakfast, I would go out to the academy. After classes ended, I'd return to the study to complete the assignments left by the teacher. That was my daily routine. I got two or three days off a month, which I'd spend wandering around with classmates or friends."

Just then, Lu Guanguan woke up and added to Lu Jiming's words, "It's because I accompanied the young master studying all those years, sleeping only two or three hours a day, that I never grew tall."

Lu Jiming thought of the Lu Guanguan who would transform into a nine-foot-tall giant in a few years and swallowed the words that had come to his lips.

After a day of being jostled about, they finally reached Mingzhou just before the city gates closed. When Lu Guanguan got off the carriage to present his identification plaque to the city gate guards, he saw Cui Chi, who had been waiting outside the city for a long time.

Cui Chi spotted Lu Guanguan and immediately approached. "No need to verify identities. With the Imperial Guard's plaque, there's nowhere in Great Qi you cannot go." After saying this, he went to the front of the carriage.

The Imperial Guard answered directly to the Emperor and knelt for no one else. Now, at the gates of Mingzhou, Cui Chi naturally couldn't bow to Wei Yan. He simply leaned close to the carriage window and said, "Young Master Yin, all nine members of the Imperial Guard's D Team have arrived and are waiting at the city gate."

"Was anyone injured?" Wei Yan asked.

"Just some flesh wounds, nothing serious." Those pirates weren't much of a threat yet, relying only on surprise attacks and cannon fire. After Wei Yan left, the D Team had no more reservations and easily dealt with the people on the ship, jumping overboard before the pirates, in their desperation, could fire their cannons at the merchant vessel.

The ship's captain and crew were familiar with the water and were all fine.

"The brothers have worked hard. There will be rewards for everyone upon our return," Wei Yan said. "Remember to compensate the Yin family with a merchant ship."

Cui Chi acknowledged the order and escorted the carriage into the city.

The Lu family had a century-old foundation. Currently, there were ten branches in Mingzhou. Among the relatives, apart from Lu Jiming's third and fifth uncles who served as local officials, all were currently in their ancestral hometown.

The Lu Mansion was a residence bestowed by the founding emperor, and it still bore the plaque inscribed by Emperor Wen himself: "Purity and Integrity Pass on Fragrance." Even though the family's fortunes had declined, they remained the foremost prominent clan in Mingzhou.

"Guanguan, go knock on the door," Lu Jiming said, sitting in the carriage. After a long while, he finally made up his mind, pinching the bridge of his nose as he spoke.

Author's Note:

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Daily updates until Tuesday.