in2ebook Chapter 138 The Emperor is Shocked
Chapter 138 The Emperor is Shocked
The chill of deep winter lingered in the night, and dark clouds could be seen moving through the silent darkness, obscuring the crescent moon. The imperial city was shrouded in solemnity, and upon closer inspection, one could see that the entire capital was enveloped in cold.
The Imperial Study was extremely quiet, so quiet that only the person on the dragon throne could be heard holding their breath and intently reading the memorials.
Those standing inside and outside the hall dared not move, remaining as still as dolls.
But soon someone broke the silence.
"Your Majesty, Grand Tutor Zhao has come to visit late at night," Eunuch Fude reported, bowing to the emperor as he entered the hall.
The man on the dragon throne, dressed in a dark yellow robe, raised an eyebrow and put down the memorial in his hand upon hearing this.
The man said to Fude, "Summon Grand Tutor Zhao to the palace."
"It is Your Majesty!" Fu De stepped out of the palace.
Grand Tutor Zhao, dressed in a crimson official robe and wearing an official hat, looked very solemn. He stood at the bottom of the steps outside the Imperial Study, his wide robe covering his hands. His right hand, holding something, could be vaguely seen, but it was not clear.
Fude didn't dare to peek, but he understood that Zhao Taifu's visit to the palace late at night must be for something important, so he didn't dare to delay and ordered the imperial guards to let him pass.
Grand Tutor Zhao entered the Imperial Study smoothly. He first kowtowed to the emperor on the dragon throne, but because he was holding something in his hand, it was inconvenient to kowtow. So he put the thing aside and then bowed to the emperor.
Upon hearing the emperor tell him to rise, he slowly got up.
"Grand Tutor, is there something important that you have come to visit so late at night?" The Emperor's attitude toward his former teacher was noticeably less serious.
"Your Majesty, this old minister has come here to show you something!"
It must be said that Zhao Taifu's appearance at this moment was indeed intimidating, because he was so serious and solemn that even the emperor was on tenterhooks, fearing that something bad might have happened!
"Oh? Is that the food box in your hand?" After all, the emperor naturally noticed the large movement.
"Your Majesty is right."
The emperor was curious about what it was that could make the Grand Tutor come to the palace late at night.
Unlike Sun Xianren, Zhao Taifu did not keep things mysterious. After all, he was the emperor, and one could not joke in front of the emperor. So he took out the oil paper directly.
Fu De, who was waiting nearby, bent over, took the oil packet, and then returned to the emperor's side, placing it on the desk in front of the emperor.
Although the emperor was puzzled, he still opened the oil-wrapped paper.
Grainy, translucent particles appeared before my eyes.
"This is... snow?" the emperor asked after taking a look, but he quickly realized that this thing was not quite the same as snow, and he could not understand what Zhao Taifu meant.
“Your Majesty, this is not snow.” Grand Tutor Zhao’s serious expression disappeared, replaced by a slight smile.
"Then this is?"
“It’s sugar! Refined sugar! It can also be called white sugar!” Grand Tutor Zhao eagerly chimed in.
"What?!" The emperor could no longer sit on his dragon throne; the shock in his eyes was almost overflowing.
Even the usually composed and cautious Eunuch Fude couldn't hide his surprise and his gaze fell on the white sugar.
"If Your Majesty doesn't believe me, you can try it!"
As soon as Zhao Taifu spoke, Fude, who was standing to the side, stepped forward weakly and said to the emperor, "Your Majesty, may this servant have a taste for Your Majesty."
"No need, I trust the Grand Tutor." The emperor refused Fu De's offer to "test the poison."
The emperor pinched a sugar granule between his thumb and forefinger, gently rubbing it between them, carefully examining the fine, sand-like white sugar, before putting it in his mouth.
"This...this is really candy?!" Even the emperor couldn't believe it after taking a bite.
Grand Tutor Zhao was naturally aware of the emperor's inner shock.
So he took the opportunity to state his plan, "Your Majesty, if this refined sugar can be produced in large quantities, the people of Jin Dynasty will be able to eat sugar that is free of impurities. Moreover, the surrounding countries do not have such refined sugar. If the court can control it, it will be able to sell to other countries without any competition, which will greatly increase the national treasury!"
Grand Tutor Zhao's words hit the nail on the head, and even touched the emperor's heart. The emperor could no longer sit still and immediately stood up from his dragon throne.
"Who made this refined sugar, no, this white sugar?"
“This person is Lance Nian, the newly appointed top scholar of this year, but…” Grand Tutor Zhao hesitated before continuing.
"?" The emperor, seeing the hesitation in his eyes, said directly, "Speak freely."
"But the recipe for this white sugar comes from a storybook."
"What storybook?"
"The Little Chef of the Jin Dynasty"
The emperor's eyelids suddenly twitched. "This name, and it's from a storybook... could it be that guy named Wuming?"
The emperor's mind flashed back to the scene of that little girl kneeling before the palace last time, and his head throbbed.
"Your Majesty is wise; it is indeed this man!"
emperor:……
He suddenly realized he had underestimated a young girl, but then, remembering how she made those honeycomb briquettes, he felt it was perfectly reasonable.
"Summon all officials of the third rank and above to enter the palace immediately. Also, go to the residence of the newly appointed top scholar and order Lan Sinian to depart for the palace immediately!" the emperor said to the eunuch Fu De beside him, but everyone present could hear the urgency in the emperor's tone.
Fu De dared not delay. After receiving the order, he hurried out of the imperial study to inform his subordinates.
An official, who was dreaming on his bed in his mansion late at night, was approached by someone from the palace who knocked on his door.
He hurriedly dressed and went to the front of the mansion to greet the guests, but received an imperial eunuch's decree: all officials of the third rank or above were required to enter the palace immediately!
The officials, who had not yet grasped the situation, immediately became aware of what had happened in the palace that prompted the urgent summons of officials of the third rank and above in the middle of the night. Could it be something extremely urgent?
Officials speculated, but no matter how hard they racked their brains, they couldn't guess, since the court had been peaceful recently and there were no signs of anything major happening.
Some clever officials would stop the eunuch delivering the imperial decree before he left and secretly slip him some silver.
With a smile, she asked, "May I ask what has happened in the palace, sir?"
The eunuch who delivered the decree gladly accepted the silver. "My lord, this servant dares not presume to know His Majesty's intentions." After saying this, the eunuch secretly observed his surroundings and lowered his voice to say to him, "However, this servant heard that Grand Tutor Zhao entered the palace late at night to discuss matters with His Majesty, and His Majesty was so pleased that he sent someone out of the palace to deliver the decree."
The eunuch delivering the imperial decree stopped there, not daring to say more. "That's all I can say. It's getting late, and I still have to go and inform the other officials."
After hearing this, the officials no longer dared to stop her from inquiring about information.
But as soon as his father-in-law left, he muttered to himself, "Grand Tutor Zhao?!"
In the dead of night, some people are asleep, while others are still handling government affairs.
Upon hearing the emperor's decree, they hurriedly changed into their official robes, had carriages prepared, and braved the cold of the night to head towards the palace.