However, in consideration of the other’s identity as an imperial envoy, the two officials reluctantly came forward to salute. Official You, after all, was a veteran old official. He gathered up his doubts with a smile and said, “The great imperial envoy has worked hard, coming all this way. I’ve prepared some drinks and refreshments in the Lion’s House to welcome and help you clean away the dust of the journey.”
“The kindness of these two officials is something that would be disrespectful for me to decline!” Lion’s House? Since the highest officials of Jinling chose it to receive the imperial envoy, it should be good right? She didn’t know if she would have the chance to enjoy the authentic food of Jinling at that place. Xiaocao revealed a faint smile, that was unhurried and calm. It gave people a sense of unfathomability. In actuality, she was very happy in her heart.
Official You saw that the other party, although young, was graceful and generous and the contempt in his heart lessened. When she got off the boat, Imperial Prince Xu stepped forward and stretched out his arms to support her. Official You couldn’t help but think of the rumors about Imperial Prince Xu and Princess Consort Xu that had circulated through the capital the last time he went to report his work.
Rumors said that Imperial Prince Xu, who was still Royal Prince Yang at the time, had been chasing after a female official. The female official at the time merely had a peasant family’s background. Because she improved the seeds, allowing them to give high crop-yields, the emperor had assigned her to take charge of the Imperial Breeding Base. Afterwards, because of her great achievements, she was granted the fourth rank title of Clerk of the Capital for Grain. Was the imperial envoy sent by the emperor the Clerk of the Capital for Grain?
Looking at the way Imperial Prince Xu took care of the imperial envoy, he thought of the news that had just come from the capital——in the middle of the third month this year, Imperial Prince Xu married the Clerk of the Capital for Grain. Thus, didn't that mean that the great imperial envoy was Imperial Prince Xu’s new wife?
Official Fan suddenly realized something. It seemed as if only Princess Consort Xu would be able to let Imperial Prince Xu be her bodyguard? However, what was the situation with Chief Steward Su? Two great gods were sent out to escort her, which clearly showed the great importance the emperor attached to the Clerk of the Capital for Grain!
The two highest officials of Jinling finally understood what was going on. They looked at each other and their contempt disappeared. Official You even became excited. If the Clerk of the Capital for Grain was as miraculous as the rumors said, did that mean the rice breeding base of Jinling would be able to be established and develop into something like the Imperial Breeding Base? That would be a marvelous achievement. When he returned to the capital to report on his work two years later, he would definitely have the opportunity to be promoted!
In Jinling’s most famous restaurant, Lion’s House, Xiaocao gleefully sampled sauced pork ribs, Jinling braised duck, sweet-scented lotus root, and Jinling’s soup dumplings.
The Jinling braised duck was dark-skinned with tender meat. It was rich but not greasy, fragrant, and delicious. The dish was fragrant, spicy, crispy, and tender. The meat was chewy, tender, and tempting. It made people salivate and could never be forgotten once eaten. Due to its functions of clearing away excess heat, detoxification, nourishment, aid in blood clotting, and reducing diarrhea, Xiaocao decided to add it to the menu of her Medicinal Cuisine House.
Regarding the method of cooking and the recipe, Xiaocao gave this problem to her man. She believed that a simple braised duck recipe couldn’t defeat his imperial highness. However, she never thought that the boss behind the Lion’s House was Governor Fan of Zhili. Imperial Prince Xu expressed to him his interest in the dishes of the Lion’s House. Before he even spoke, Official Fan gave him the Lion’s House to thank him for his kindness and the promotion he received in recent years. In the end, the governor just wanted to hug the prince’s thigh.
Yu Xiaocao picked up a soup dumpling, which looked similar to her own. However, Jinling’s soup dumplings were more authentic as they had the three traits of a pure translucent-white outside, rich fragrant soup, and a delicious taste. The skin of the soup dumpling was crystal clear, chewy, and smooth. The stuffing was fresh, aromatic, and smooth. There was a lot of soup in each dumpling and had a slight hint of sweetness. When one sucked on the dumpling with a reed tube, the broth flowed out, Xiaocao ate an entire bamboo steamer basket of dumplings in one breath. She devoured the food in front of her until she had food stuffed up to her throat before she reluctantly stopped.
However, when the sauced spareribs were served, Xiaocao couldn’t sit still. The sauced ribs tasted sweet with a unique flavor. They had a red color, tender meat, rich aromatic bones, and the sauce was salty with hints of sweetness within. Xiaocao braved her bulging stomach and tasted two ribs. She finally had to put down her chopsticks regretfully.
When the sugared lotus root was on the table, she could only gaze at it with a pathetic look in her eyes. Her eyes resembled that of a wounded animal’s, with a pitiful light in her big eyes.
Zhu Junyang was angry and thought it was funny at the same time. He told Wutong to let her mistress take a digestive pill before he relaxed. He had a good idea of how much the lass could usually eat. Today, she had eaten twice the amount! This greedy lass wasn’t afraid that she wouldn’t be able to handle it.
“Aren’t we going to be staying in Jinling for some time? If you like it, I will bring you here to eat every day!” Zhu Junyang slowly put down his chopsticks at his wife’s pitiful expression. If she didn’t have enough then she didn’t have enough. His wife shouldn’t cry over this!
The wilted Yu Xiaocao immediately became energetic again, “Then let’s come tomorrow to eat the sugared lotus root! And that braised Lion’s head meatballs seem to be pretty good too, and…”
“Are you sure your stomach can handle it?” This lass, her eyes were bigger than her stomach. He couldn’t help saying a word to remind her.
Xiaocao wilted again before immediately saying, “If I can’t eat everything…then at least I can have a taste of everything!”
“Are you sure you can stand it?” Zhu Junyang couldn’t help stopping her,
Xiaocao scratched her head, “It seems that I can’t! What should I do? There are too many delicacies in Jinling to eat!”
Governor Fan watched the interaction between Imperial Prince Xu and the princess consort and silently roasted them in his mind. Everyone said that the prince had decided on her when she wasn’t even ten yet and had waited for her to grow up. Today he’d seen that the prince favored the princess consort like she was his daughter, and this situation gave him goosebumps.
“The great imperial envoy is right. Jinling is a famous ancient capital of five dynasties (Author’s note: The Ming dynasty’s capital wasn't in Jinling due to the founding emperor being a transmigrator). It’s not only prosperous and rich but also full of delicious food. The Lion’s House is just the tip of the iceberg. Many of the local delicacies are among the citizens. Jinling’s snacks all have different flavors. It would be a pity if the imperial envoy didn’t taste them one by one!” Official Wu was just afraid that there wasn’t an excuse for the imperial envoy to stay longer. He saw that she loved delicious food so much, so he decided to seize this opportunity that the heavens gave him.
Yu Xiaocao heard this and became even more upset, “Official Wu, you’re purposely trying to get me in trouble! You know that I’m gluttonous but you’re tempting me!”
Official Wu hurriedly denied, “Great Imperial Envoy, the emperor didn’t set a deadline for your return. You can spend more time in Jinling to experience the local conditions and customs and taste all the snacks of Jinling…”
Xiaocao was immediately full of energy. That was right! She could use the excuse of observing the growth and harvest of the rice in the experimental fields of Jinling until this crop of rice was matured and harvested. At that time, when she brought the new data back, no one would use her to make an issue of!
Besides, if conditions permitted, she wanted to experiment with hybrid rice. She knew the rough idea of how to go about it but the key was experimentation. When she thought of it this way, a bright smile came to her face.
When Zhu Junyang saw this, he gave an approving smile to Official Wu and poured him a cup of wine. The other people at the table were old experts at observing, seeing this, how could they not understand? This Imperial Prince Xu was someone who doted on his wife without a bottom line. That was to say, as long as Princess Consort Xu was happy and satisfied, he would view the person who made her content in a better light.
Who was Imperial Prince Xu ah?! He was the emperor’s favorite right-hand man and had a high reputation and status in both the court and military. In the world of officialdom, it was very difficult to advance without a backer. Only a fool would not take advantage of getting closer to such a big and powerful backer!
In the following days, Yu Xiaocao found that those Jinling Officials, who had doubts about her identity, suddenly became very thoughtful and welcoming.
First of all, the villa where she lived with Imperial Prince Xu was a scenic, beautiful and quiet place. It was said this was the estate of the richest family in Jinling. Everything she ate and used all suited her to a T. It seemed that everything was all specially prepared for her according to her preferences. These people were well-intended and had done their work very carefully. For example, they knew that she usually liked to make her own snacks and food, so the kitchen was well prepped and they had even sent over a new oven to be installed in.
The inspector general also invited a Jinling tour guide to serve Imperial Prince Xu and Princess Consort Xu. In their spare time, they were taken around the famous scenic spots of Jinling, brought to every corner of Jinling for tasty food, and were told some legends and literary quotes from Jinling.
After a day's rest in the estate, Xiaocao rode to the experimental estate that was more than ten miles away from Jinling under the eager eyes of Official Wu. It was said that this piece of estate was originally the property of a certain vassal of the former dynasty. After the collapse of the former dynasty, it was taken over by the imperial court. When the officials of Jinling reported to the imperial court saying that they would set up a test field in the south, the emperor set aside these thousand acres of good land to support agricultural experiments.
Most of the estate's many paddy fields were still planted with traditional rice. Only three mu of good farmland near the manor were to be used as experimental fields.
At this time, it was entering the fourth month of the year. The temperature south of the Yangtze River was higher and the planting time was earlier than in the north. Thus, the rice in the fields were already as high as a person’s shin. The rice in the experimental fields were growing better. From the distance, it looked like a thick green carpet. The scene full of green looked very refreshing.
Official Wu pointed to the experimental field, silently compared it to the others, and said, “Imperial Envoy, look at the rice seedlings here. They’re not as good as those of the Imperial Breeding Base in the capital. The ones in the capital seem to be stronger.”
Yu Xiaocao thought, ‘I always go over the wells and rivers in the suburbs in the capital every three to five days. Thus, the water irrigating the capital all has some spiritual energy in them. The ones here naturally can’t compare.’ However, she could only keep this to herself and not let it out!
As a result, due to the different climate, soil, and water, the growth of the rice would also be affected to a certain extent. Then she showed Official Wu and some experienced farmers some of the advanced rice planting methods she picked out from her past life.
The experimental fields had been placed in front of the emperor and the imperial court supported it so much so that it couldn’t be placed in the hands of those not in the trade. Official Wu was born in a peasant family and only became an imperial official at the age of forty. He had only become a small seventh-ranked official. Now that he was reaching the age of retirement, he was still only a sixth-ranked official.
