Volume 2: The Capital, I’m Back Chapter 64: True Emperor Supreme
Coming out of Beizhen Prefecture, Zhu Qizhen looked left and right along the way, as if everything he saw was new.
Looking back to the beginning of the Tumubao Hell, every day was nothing but fighting. This is the first time that I can stroll around so leisurely.
Fan Zhong and Yuan Bin disguised themselves as servants and followed behind, vigilantly observing the situation around them.
"Don't be so nervous, you two!"
Zhu Qizhen said without turning his head: "We are just shopping, not fighting, why are you so gloomy?"
Yuan Bin couldn't help but ask, "Your Majesty, Shi Heng and the others are on death row, aren't you afraid that they will escape?"
"Run?" Zhu Qizhen smiled and asked, "Where are you running to?"
Yuan Bin was troubled for a moment, then mustered up his courage and said, "What if these people really surrender to the Japanese pirates? That would be..."
"So what?" Zhu Qizhen said calmly, "It's just the loss of a few hundred death row prisoners."
Now Yuan Bin was speechless. Yes, it was just the loss of a few hundred death row prisoners. What was the big deal?
It was almost noon and bursts of aroma wafted from the restaurants on the street.
Zhu Qizhen's stomach was rumbling with hunger. Seeing a restaurant called Dingxianglou not far ahead, he walked in. Fan Zhong and Yuan Bin hurried to follow.
When the waiter of the restaurant saw the guests coming, he hurriedly greeted them, "Three guests, please come in!"
Yuan Bin stepped forward and asked, "My master doesn't like noise, is there a quieter place?"
"No problem, please go to the private room on the second floor!"
Zhu Qizhen came to the private room and sat down on a chair, but found that Fan Zhong and Yuan Bin were still standing behind him.
"You two should sit down too!"
The two looked at each other, and Yuan Bin said, "I dare not overstep my authority!"
"We are on a tour in casual clothes now, so there is no need for so many etiquettes. I ask you to sit down!"
The two had no choice but to find a chair and sit down, not daring to sit too tightly.
A waiter came over with a teapot and teacups and asked, "What would you like to eat?"
Zhu Qizhen asked: "What special dishes do you have here?"
The shop assistant poured tea for the three people and said with a smile: "Sir, you are not a local, right?"
Zhu Qizhen laughed and asked, "How did you know that?"
"Everyone in the local area knows that we sell donkey meat at Dingxianglou!"
"Donkey meat?" Zhu Qizhen nodded and asked, "Then tell me, what dishes are there?"
"Oh, there are so many!" the waiter introduced happily, "There are braised donkey meat, donkey meat with five-spice sauce, stir-fried donkey intestines, stir-fried donkey kidneys, donkey meat with skin in stone pot, three aphrodisiac donkey dishes, donkey whip and horse racing soup..."
"Alright, alright!" Zhu Qizhen interrupted him and said, "There are only three of us. Just prepare a few special dishes."
"okay!"
After the waiter left, Yuan Bin asked with some concern: "Your Majesty, is it...unsafe to eat in a place like this?"
"Those people in the lobby on the second floor are the secret sentries you arranged, right?" Zhu Qizhen pointed outside and said, "These people acted like thieves along the way, afraid that others would not know that they are secret sentries!"
Yuan Bin blushed and said, "I know I was wrong. I will punish you severely when I get off!"
Zhu Qizhen shook his head and said, "Forget it, why bother them?"
At this time, an elegant pipa sound came from the private room next door, accompanied by a few cheers.
From the sound it seemed like someone was treating everyone to a good meal and had invited singing girls to entertain them. The party was toasting each other and it was quite noisy.
Yuan Bin stood up and said, "I will go and clear the area right away."
"What are you clearing up?" Zhu Qizhen pulled his clothes and dragged him back to the chair, "It's just a meal, don't make such a big noise!"
At this time, I could vaguely hear someone next door saying, "Manager Wang, business has been bad lately, right?"
"Why do you say that, Brother Fang?"
"The Mongols have been driven away by the emperor. I'm afraid there won't be any major actions in the short term."
Upon hearing the word "Mongol", Yuan Bin stood up subconsciously. Zhu Qizhen waved at him, indicating that he should listen more.
"Brother Fang, I don't understand. It is precisely because the Mongols were defeated that they need supplies. If they had won the battle, they would have robbed them themselves. Would they still spend money to buy them?"
"Manager Wang is absolutely right. Come, have a drink!"
After just a few words, Zhu Qizhen realized that this was a businessman who colluded with thieves.
Transport supplies to foreign enemies and make a fortune from national disasters. Well... the national treasury happens to be short of money, so we can rob it!
Yuan Bin whispered, "Your Majesty, do you want to arrest him now?"
"Wait a minute!" Zhu Qizhen thought for a while and whispered, "There must be more than one company that can do business with the Mongols. Don't alert the enemy first. Keep an eye on this person and follow the clues to see how many more big melons are hidden behind him!"
At this time, the person next door said, "Shopkeeper Wang, I have a batch of cotton cloth. Would you like to sell it?"
"Cotton cloth is a rare commodity among the Mongols. I'll take all the money you have!"
"Thank you so much, Manager Wang!"
Zhu Qizhen was secretly surprised. Are businessmen nowadays so arrogant?
How dare you talk about doing business with the Mongols so loudly in public? Is there no one to stop you?
At this time, the waiter began to serve the dishes. Zhu Qizhen ate and whispered: "Let's go back and find out what's going on behind these people... Well, this donkey meat tastes good!"
When the three of them were eating, they smelled a faint fragrance wafting over. Zhu Qizhen couldn't help but turn his head to look, and saw a young woman with a good figure walking past the door with a pipa in her arms.
The woman happened to take a look inside, and their eyes met. Zhu Qizhen was so stunned that he even forgot to chew the donkey meat in his mouth.
The woman had a veil on her face, revealing only a pair of almond-shaped eyes, which were full of affection and arousing.
She saw a young man staring at her, and there was no disdain on her face. She just smiled politely, then walked away quietly with light steps.
What Zhu Qizhen was thinking at this moment was, this is much better than number 18!
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty?"
Yuan Bin called out softly, and Zhu Qizhen finally responded and asked, "What's wrong?"
"They're leaving!"
"Oh!" Zhu Qizhen nodded and said, "Follow me!"
Yuan Bin put down his bowl and chopsticks, walked out of the private room, called two Jinyiwei secret sentries from the lobby, and followed those people downstairs.
After dinner, I returned to the Qianqing Palace, took a nap first, and then took out paper and pen to write and draw.
There are too many areas that need to be improved in the Ming Dynasty, and it is definitely not something that can be achieved overnight. For example, where should we start with this steam engine...
It was getting dark. I had a few quick bites of dinner, which tasted bland, when Queen Qian came over with a bowl of ginseng soup.
"I saw that the emperor was busy with his official duties, so I ordered someone to cook a bowl of ginseng soup and bring it to the emperor to nourish his body."
"Oh, put it down!"
Zhu Qizhen was worrying about where to start with the steam engine. After all, he only understood the general principles of this thing and didn't know how to make it.
The Ming Dynasty implemented the eight-legged essay system for selecting scholars, and scholars read the Four Books and Five Classics. If they studied natural sciences, they would be regarded as eccentric and pedantic. Therefore, it was extremely difficult to train a group of scientific workers!
Emperor Qian looked disappointed and could only say, "I will take my leave first!"
Zhu Qizhen finally reacted and said, "I was just thinking about something, don't worry!"
As he spoke, he picked up the ginseng soup and drank it all, then smacked his lips and said, "As expected, it's served by the Queen herself, it tastes good!"
Seeing this, Queen Qian smiled and said softly, "I just saw that the emperor was too busy, but I couldn't help, and I felt a little sorry."
From a close distance, Zhu Qizhen discovered that Queen Qian's appearance was truly peerless, but compared to the beauty he met in Dingxiang Tower , she was a little less charming but more beautiful.
It was late at night, and the red candles were flickering in the Qianqing Palace, creating an indescribably beautiful scene.
Zhu Qizhen was lying on the bed, secretly sighing, it turned out that this was the real emperor's supreme meal...
