After Being Mistakenly Taken for a Fellow Traveler by Emperor Long Aotian - Chapter 117

The emperor was sitting in the imperial study, holding a book over his head and spinning a brush in his hand. Green Medicine brought him a cup of tea and gently advised, “Your Majesty, both Lord Lu and Lord Hou are handling matters in Qingzhou. With them there, you can rest assured.”

“How can I rest easy? Every day the flood disaster continues, the people there suffer another day. And those corrupt officials… The people’s interest has been dragged out for fifty-eight episodes. By the time they’re done, the flowers will have wilted…” the emperor grumbled.

Green Medicine could not offer any further comfort and quietly left the imperial study. As she stepped out, she saw a young man with a phoenix waist token carrying a jar. She recognized him and said with surprise, “Young Master Zhou, you’re here? Please go in and talk to the emperor.”

Zhou Xun nodded and entered.

The emperor, who had been fuming, instantly brightened up upon seeing Zhou Xun. “What brings you here? Aren’t we supposed to be avoiding suspicion these days? Oh, sit down, sit.”

“I brought some soup for Your Majesty,” Zhou Xun said.

“Soup?”

“I heard you’ve been in poor health lately,” Zhou Xun said with a smile, “So I made some fish soup.”

The emperor: !!

“My goodness, is this what it feels like to have a wife?” the emperor murmured, “My life is complete!”

Zhou Xun blushed slightly and opened the jar. The dark, thick soup inside was now visible to the emperor.

The emperor’s expression froze in surprise: ……………

“What is this?” the emperor asked shakily, “Why is it black… is it cuttlefish or something?”

“It’s not cuttlefish, it’s black fish,” Zhou Xun explained, “But it might be similar?”

He didn’t see anything wrong with the black-colored soup he had made. As the saying goes, a gentleman stays away from the kitchen. Zhou Xun had studied all his life and had never cooked before. However, he was slightly better than someone who would just throw a whole tomato and large chunks of meat into a pressure cooker and boil them. He knew to cut things up, add seasoning, and then cook…

As for why the soup turned out black, Zhou Xun wasn’t sure. However, he thought that since black fish was called black fish, it might be because its soup was black. Also, the emperor’s remark about “cuttlefish” implied that cuttlefish soup is indeed black, which reinforced his guess.

Black fish and cuttlefish, with such similar names, should share some characteristics, including the color of the soup (black).

Although Zhou Xun had never cooked before, he had heard that soup should be thick. His soup was so thick it was almost sticky, which he believed met the standard of being “thick.”

The emperor: …

Zhou Xun: “What’s wrong… Does it look unappetizing?”

Saying this, Zhou Xun was about to take a spoonful himself. The emperor, fearing to see his beloved suffer from testing the soup and possibly dying in front of him, grabbed Zhou Xun’s spoon. “No, no, it looks…”

Zhou Xun looked up at him.

The emperor: “…… very good.”

Hearing this, Zhou Xun fell silent for a moment before breaking into a bright smile. His smile lit up his face, with his eyes shining.

The emperor instantly understood the phrase “the most difficult to endure is the favor of a beauty.”

It turned out that a person’s face really does light up when they smile… No wonder the ancient King You of Zhou lit the beacon towers because of Bao Si’s smile. Who could resist a beauty, especially one’s beloved? Now, with Zhou Xun’s smile… if he didn’t drink the soup, he wouldn’t be a man! A man should demonstrate the passion of self-sacrifice and not let someone who brings soup with such a smile be disappointed!

With great enthusiasm, the emperor dipped his spoon into the black, sticky substance and…

The emperor: …

He found that just maneuvering the spoon through the soup was a challenge.

“Don’t drink it, I know it must be difficult to drink,” Zhou Xun said lightly, “It’s my first time cooking, so I’m not very experienced.”

The emperor, with a strong survival instinct, immediately replied, “You can’t say the soup made by your wife for the first time is bad, that’s a man’s dignity!”

“Never mind.” Seeing Little Li peeking in from the door, Zhou Xun called him over, “Please, Little Li, dispose of this soup.”

Little Li saw the black substance in the soup and his face twisted slightly. The emperor continued to flatter, “The soup contains good ingredients. It’s a waste to throw it away. Let’s use it… let’s use it…”

After thinking for a moment, he said, “Let’s pour it on the flowers! It’ll nourish them!”

Little Li: … What did the flowers do wrong!

Little Li trembled as he carried the bowl of black water away. The emperor paused and comforted Zhou Xun, “Don’t be sad. At least you’ve given me new inspiration.”

Zhou Xun looked at him, “What inspiration?”

The emperor said, “To thoroughly eliminate crime and corruption.”

Zhou Xun: …

Zhou Xun couldn’t help but cough. The emperor quickly changed the subject: “Look at this report from the Ciyishi. Currently, in Qingzhou, the officials and merchants are colluding, and the situation is chaotic. The governor there is very capable, and has managed to conceal the accounts for many years without a leak.”

Zhou Xun took the document and frowned. “It’s actually easier to just kill the governor, but that wouldn’t solve anything. We need to find evidence and root them out completely.”

The emperor replied, “Yes.”

“… We need to figure out how to find the hidden accounts in Qingzhou. That’s crucial. With the account books, we can pinpoint and dig out all the hidden collusions,” Zhou Xun said, tapping his finger on the table. “Does the Ciyishi have such talent?”

“… It seems not,” the emperor answered sincerely. “They seem only good at killing and making explosions.”

Zhou Xun: …

“We need to find a way to retrieve the account books from the governor’s residence… Steal them, if necessary…” The emperor thought for a moment and then slapped his thigh. “I’ve got it!”

“What?”

“I just remembered someone who’s very good at stealing and treasure hunting!” The emperor said excitedly. “You should remember him too.”

Zhou Xun blinked. The emperor continued, “The one from Jiangzhou, the hero who saved the damsel and then let her go, disguised himself as the damsel, and when Lu Xiandao lifted the sedan curtain, he found a man inside. That thief, his name is Bai…”

“Bai Yuxing?” Zhou Xun thought for a moment and recalled the person. “Later, Lu Xiandao put him back in prison, didn’t he? He’s been in prison ever since?”

“Yes, that’s the one. He’s particularly skilled at stealing things. But you can’t call him a thief now,” the emperor said mysteriously with a smile.

Zhou Xun: ?

The emperor said, “He’s now known as the ‘Rice Sage’! He was just awarded the title recently. With the help of some informants, he went to a small southern country and brought back a very useful variety of rice. The Ministry of Works is currently researching and promoting it.”

Zhou Xun: “…Rice Sage.”

“We were planning to confer the title next week,” the emperor said, slapping his thigh, “but now, let him head to Qingzhou and retrieve the account books!”

…

After returning to the capital, Bai Yuxing didn’t go out to meet anyone. Instead, he was so exhausted that he slept for three full days in the residence the emperor had given him, only getting up when the sun was high. He dragged himself downstairs, sat on the doorstep, chewing on a stalk of rice, with a look of satisfaction and high spirits on his face. The emperor had indeed kept his promise; there were no more wanted notices for him, and the jewels and rewards had arrived.

“Now I’m a court official too!” He looked at the swallows flying in the sky, thinking of them as eagles. He couldn’t help but recall a certain stern face, who should now be on duty at the Wei Guard. “Stern Face, didn’t expect this, did you? I’m now the Rice Sage. Heh heh heh, let’s see how you’ll catch me now!”

With these thoughts, he felt he had every reason to visit Lu Xiandao. On his way back, he had already planned where to go first—see the majestic little moon, Miss Zhang Lingsu, to see how she was doing. Then, he would visit Lu Xiandao and show off. Let this stern face see the medals he now wore!

He thought about it and told the butler behind him, “I’m going out for a bit, I’ll be back soon.”

“Alright!” the butler replied, “Do you need to take anything with you?”

Bai Yuxing thought for a moment and said, “I’ll go back to my room and get something.”

He went back to his room, put on the medal the emperor had given him, and took the trophy with the “Rice Sage” inscription. If not for the inconvenience of carrying the plaque, he would have liked to take it to the Wei Guard as well, to surprise the cold Lu Xiandao.

With great pride, he arrived at the Wei Guard. On the way, he imagined Lu Xiandao’s expression when he saw him. The stern face should show some admiration this time, right? Well, maybe not admiration, but at least surprise?

As Bai Yuxing strutted in, he planned to casually show Lu Xiandao the trophy and mention how the emperor had awarded him the residence, lifted the wanted notice, and made him a court official. Also, what kind of official was the Rice Sage? Would Lu Xiandao have to salute him in the future?

Speaking of official salutes… did they have to kneel?

“Forget it, forget it.” Bai Yuxing thought to himself with great magnanimity, recalling how Lu Xiandao stood straight and proud when watching him from outside the prison, “It’s better if he stands; the Rice Sage is magnanimous, I won’t hold his previous captures against him.”

But then he thought, maybe it’s not about Lu Xiandao having to salute him in the future… Although he spoke confidently, seeing Lu Xiandao in person might make him feel a bit less assured about the medals.

Lost in thought, he arrived at the Wei Guard only to hear He Liang say, “Lord Lu has gone to Qingzhou for an investigation.”

“What? To Qingzhou…” Bai Yuxing felt a bit disappointed, “When will he return?”

He Liang replied, “At least half a month, at most a few months.”

Bai Yuxing: …

“A few months? I’m supposed to be awarded in a few days, and he won’t be back for months? The flowers will wilt by then!” Bai Yuxing grumbled, “Why did he have to go now, of all times?”

With a heavy heart, Bai Yuxing left the Wei Guard. Becoming the “Rice Sage” and completing the emperor’s mission should have been a joyous occasion. The shiny medal and trophy were exciting, but he couldn’t shake off his disappointment.

Returning to his residence, the butler served him dinner, and while eating, asked, “Lord, how is Miss Zhang these days?”

Bai Yuxing, who was poking at his meatball with chopsticks, shivered upon hearing this.

Right, how was the little moon? He had set out to see her today, didn’t he? How did he end up back here?

Before he could even put on his outer robe to go out, someone arrived at the door. It was Little Li, who greeted him respectfully: “Lord Bai, the emperor requests your presence in the palace.”

…

“Stealing the account book?? The account book??” Bai Yuxing exclaimed, sitting next to the emperor, “Go to Qingzhou and steal the account book??”

The emperor replied, “Not Jiangnan, but Qingzhou.”