Chapter 104 - Still Water Runs Deep
It was truly surprising to Zhao Xiang that Shen Lian had this att.i.tude.
Zhao Xiang was still trying to come up with an explanation to convince Shen Lian again.
However, Shen Lian interrupted his thoughts, "His Majesty has five sons—three of them have been the Crown Prince. The previous Crown Prince was the most virtuous and able but he died a strange death. Your uncle was once the Crown Prince but now he is dethroned and confined for life. Only your father has never been in His Majesty"s favor before, but in the new term, he was designated as the Crown Prince. Who would not know that the position of Crown Prince is a fiery pit now? Your father should have declined the designation yet he gladly accepted. Word on the streets is that your father is cowardly and slow-witted. Could it be that you, his son, think so too?"
Zhao Xiang held his breath when he heard this. Ever since he was young, he had been valiant and decisive—even his heartless grandmother appreciated him. It was obvious when compared to the cold treatment of his grandmother towards his father.
People had said that Zhao Xiang"s father had been designated as Crown Prince by virtue of his mother"s love towards him. However, since Zhao Xiang had studied history as a child and understood the complexity of the situation, he knew better than to simply jump into the imperial power struggle that was going on. Yet, his father did not decline the designation but gladly accepted after hearing the decree.
The month Zhao Xiang was in Imperial City felt like he was treading on thin ice. His father had come down with a strange illness, sending the group of doctors to the brink of helplessness.
Naturally, what really disheartened him was that his grandmother did not care to question the matter.
Even if he had the makings of an Emperor, Zhao Xiang was young. He was still confused and troubled or he would not have sought for Shen Lian.
There was a perceptive premise to Shen Lian"s statement. As a son, he was naturally the one who really understood his father. Therefore, he would know his father was not the brightest. His father did not know how to get his own mother to like him or how to keep a low profile and maintain his distance from his subjects. All along, he had been conforming and did not have his own opinions.
However, now that Shen Lian really thought about it, their family had maintained the peace for so many years until now.
Zhao Xiang was an intelligent person and thoroughly understood Shen Lian"s hint. At that moment, he felt that Shen Lian was frightening and could not help but be suspicious of such a figure like him. His methods were formidable and he possessed such knowledge—what could he possibly be plotting?
Zhao Xiang did not ask and buried this uncertainty inside him. His face did not reveal any of his concerns.
They chatted casually for a little while more before Zhao Xiang left.
Shen Lian watched as Zhao Xiang left and then averted his gaze to Imperial City. Its reputation was growing bleaker by the second.
"Big brother, I"m hungry." Ruoxi"s young voice rang from behind Shen Lian.
He picked her up and chuckled lightly, "You"re not going out to scrounge for free meals today?"
"I want to eat something delicious." Ruoxi held onto Shen Lian"s chin. "Big brother"s face is really smooth. There is not even a fine hair on it," she thought.
Shen Lian replied, "Then we"ll go to Fu Man Lou today and have some roast duck. Do you want to drink alcohol?"
"Ruoxi is still young so I cannot drink. Big brother, you should not drink either," Ruoxi tugged on a strand of Shen Lian"s hair.
...
Fu Man Lou was a single-storeyed building. It was situated on the neighboring street to the clinic. There was a river by the street called Anping Ca.n.a.l. This man-made river was Shendu"s widest flowing river with a span of over two hundred feet.
This was dug after the Empress had personally given the orders which benefited the large crop fields outside the city. Before that, the rice in Imperial City was expensive and life in the city was hard. Ever since the Anping Ca.n.a.l was dug, the Empress ordered her people to research and develop finer breeds of rice. The price of rice in Shendu decreased over the years.
There were many such policies like this set in place by the Empress. Even though they had to change the designation of an imperial reign for the Empress, it was not a bad thing for the common folk.
Fu Man Lou was not a restaurant but a tavern near the Anping Ca.n.a.l.
The owner of the tavern was a beautiful woman. Many came to eat and drink just to catch a glimpse of her.
It was said that she was a widow who wanted a happy household. It was also said that she wanted to transform the tavern into a restaurant. Hence, she gave this small tavern the name "Fu Man Lou".
Fu Man Lou was not packed to the brim with customers every day. After all, the customers that come with the intention to win over the woman would not come back after failing to get their hands on her.
The widow did not only have good looks but she was also an excellent chef. Initially, this motivated many customers to return but she had a fatal shortcoming. The food she made on any given day was a coin-flip between amazing and atrocious.
When it was good, not even the imperial cooks could compare. When it was bad, it was worse than pig feed.
This shortcoming was indistinguishable based on the appearance of the food but was immediately notice when it was being eaten.
Shen Lian had only come to eat here once almost two months ago. He had better luck then and the roast duck he had still made his mouth water when he thought about it.
This is why Shen Lian was shocked when he reached the tavern with Ruoxi. There was not a single customer during this rush hour and that was pitiful.
The widow was in her thirties and she still had an elegant air to her. When she saw Shen Lian, she welcomed him with high spirits. Her small waist naturally swayed like the willow branch in the wind and her slender figure was graceful.
"What would you like to eat, sir?" She asked.
Ruoxi answered first, "Two roast ducks, no alcohol."
The widow chuckled with amus.e.m.e.nt with little Ruoxi and then looked to Shen Lian. Shen Lian nodded in agreement.
Then, the widow called out, "Xiao Bai, quickly wipe down this customer"s table. I am going to cook."
Once that was said, she went straight to the kitchen in the back of the tavern.
The worker known as Xiao Bai, who was originally laid down on the floor in a corner, got up when he heard the widow"s voice.
Xiao Bai was a young man. His face was cold and hard as though people had owed him a lot of money. When he saw Shen Lian, he hesitated but Shen Lian remained unresponsive.
Xiao Bai was the young man in white Shen Lian had saved in the alley when he was being chased down by his rivals in black.
His real name was Bai Shaoliu. That night, he had lost too much blood and had collapsed at the entrance of this tavern. He was saved by the widowed owner.
Bai Shaoliu felt a familiarity when he met Shen Lian but he could not remember the time they had met. Everything that night happened in a blur and he was not able to place Shen Lian in the scene.
After a short while of waiting, a pan of roast duck was served on their table. The slices were very even. The ordinary person would only see the superficial details but Shen Lian"s eyes were drawn to the perfect execution of knife skills.
That pan of roast duck was very skillfully prepared. With a thin knife cutting into the crevices of the duck, it caused the meat to fall away from the bone.
In reality, not many noticed that the best feature of the widow was not her waist but her hands. They were fairly exquisite and not coa.r.s.e despite her days cooking in the tavern.
Of course, even though the widow was extraordinary, Shen Lian only came to the tavern for the food and nothing else.
Even though he was full from the five types of grains served with the roast duck, he still had the desire to eat more.
The seasoning of the duck was good, maybe was even better than the first time he had it. The widow naturally did not accompany Shen Lian and Rouxi while they ate but Bai Shaoliu was leaning on the door to bask in the sun once he had wiped the table clean. He did not greet the customers and the tavern owner did not allow him to call in new customers.
The tavern was near the waters which made it cool even though it was high noon.
Shen Lian had even thought about moving the clinic to this street. It could be better than the present location.
Ruoxi was serious as she ate. Slice by slice, she devoured the roast duck in the pan. She had actually eaten more than Shen Lian had.
All of a sudden, Bao Shaoliu flew backward into the tavern. He was heading directly towards Shen Lian and Rouxi"s table.
Luckily, Bao Shaoliu managed to flip his body in mid-air and he crashed into the next table instead of theirs.
Ruoxi was a displeased because some of the dust from the crash had fallen into the pan of roast duck.