Allure of a Country Maiden-Chapter 208 - 206 The Emperor Leaves

After the banquet, they returned to the Shen family residence and shared what they had learnt.

Mrs. Tan, Hu Yiming, Jiang Tao?

These three people usually don’t seem to have much to do with each other.

Shangguan Xuanyi thoughtfully looked at the names of these three people on the paper.

Mrs. Tan is a seller of rouge and powder.

Hu Yiming is a grain merchant.

Jiang Tao is a dealer in medicinal materials.

Their businesses are not particularly large, but they have dealings throughout the entire prefecture.

Their mediocre standing among the rich businessmen is such that they always seem to have more than those below them and less than those above.

Usually, they do not stand out in any affairs, they just go along with the crowd, remaining quite unremarkable.

However, this low-profile nature is their camouflage.

Jiang Tao’s people have already noticed him. But all covert investigations into his all-related assets, houses, and villas turned up nothing, not a shred of evidence about that man could be found.

They’ve never found any connections between him and the other two individuals.

But... once their targets have been identified, would it be long before they find evidence?

"These three people might just be in charge of this prefecture."

Di Shaowei thought aloud while picking a piece of peach meat with a bamboo stick.

"And what of it?" Shangguan Xuanyi was quite nonchalant about this.

"True, we only need to find evidence about that man. Does it even matter if it’s nationwide? It would be undeniable! It’s a serious offence to knowingly commit a crime." Di Shaowei took a bite of an apple.

By capturing the ringleader, the rest would inevitably follow.

"Twelve!" Shangguan Xuanyi called out seemingly to the empty air.

A shadowy figure leaped forward, kneeling before Shangguan Xuanyi.

"Trace these three people’s ancestries back eighteen generations, investigate everyone they’ve interacted with in the past ten years, and everything they’ve done." Di Shaowei tossed the paper over to him.

Twelve caught the paper, but did not move.

"Go!" Shangguan Xuanyi nodded.

Only at this instruction did Twelve leave.

"The apples in this girl’s house are so sweet and crunchy. I don’t usually like fruit, but I can’t stop eating these!"

Shangguan Xuanyi glanced at the fruit plate on the table, thinking about this person!

The fruit plate had been brought by the girl just a while ago. It was clear she had prepared them herself; neatly cut and evenly sized, he had already eaten more than half of them.

"It’s already dark, why are you still here!" Shangguan Xuanyi rushed him.

"I’m discussing business with you!" Di Shaowei was entirely absorbed in the fruit.

"No need!" If he doesn’t leave soon, he would finish all the fruit the girl had prepared for him.

In fact, Xiao’er had prepared it for both of them.

"I will leave after I finish these fruits!" Di Shaowei began to eat at a faster pace.

"Go! If you want more, go to the kitchen and wash them yourself!" Shangguan Xuanyi’s face darkened.

There are plenty of fruits prepared in the kitchen, they can also wash them themselves if they want more.

"Why should I wash them myself when there’s ready-made here?" Di Shaowei somehow understood his intent, but he speared another fruit on the bamboo stick and stood up, heading towards the door.

As he went, he left behind a single comment: "Stingy!"

Shangguan Xuanyi looked at the plate, only one piece of apple that he disliked most was left, and his face fell.

He would refuse to interact with him anymore!

The next day, the emperor would be leaving, before returning to the Imperial Capital, he needed to go south to see Prince An.

Shangguan Xuanyi and Di Shaowei didn’t follow, as the matter concerning those three people hadn’t been resolved yet. They decided to deal with it before setting off.

Huang Wei and the two young masters of the Commander-in-chief’s Office went along as well. Their role was to publicly protect the emperor, but there were also many others covertly involved.

Doctor Luo, worried about the emperor’s health, also joined the journey.

For the first time, the emperor felt that he had the nature of a bandit.

He had arranged for an extra carriage, specifically to carry the food produced by Xiao’er’s family.

"Let’s take more of the dried meat, squid strips, dried fruits, biscuits, and nuts. These can be stored for a long time," Doctor Luo, after inspecting the items in the carriage, suggested more of these items be taken so as to avoid discomfort.

"Alright," agreed Chengyao. He then instructed the servant to fetch more.

The emperor nodded in agreement. The journey back to the palace was a long one; if they didn’t bring enough, sometimes the food on the road was simply unbearable.

"Let’s get a few more cakes and loaves of bread. They can be eaten in the afternoon or at night when bored. The weather isn’t too hot now, so they’re unlikely to spoil in a couple of days," Doctor Luo mused aloud, remembering his favourite durian mille-feuille cake and chicken ham sandwich.

The emperor nodded again. He didn’t particularly like desserts, but he found these tasty.

The Imperial Chefs in the palace might not be able to prepare them.

"One basket of fruit won’t be enough! Let’s get two more baskets. They can quench thirst on the road, so there’s no need to brew tea. Just eat one or two," he suggested.

The emperor nodded once again. He had never realized before how considerate Doctor Luo could be; he was truly winning his favor.

"I seem to recall the miss mentioning she wanted to prepare tea eggs. Were they made?" Doctor Luo asked Mrs. Liu.

Mrs. Liu nodded in affirmation.

"Excellent, tea eggs are durable. Please pack more for me," he requested.

"You can take the entire pot. Tea eggs become more flavourful the longer they are soaked. We simmer them daily, so they’ll last for many days. If anyone else wants to eat them, we can just make another pot today," Mrs. Liu replied.

"Your sister-in-law sure knows how to pamper people," Doctor Luo responded, chuckling and nodding in agreement. He had intended to ask for the entire pot but had been too embarrassed to articulate his request.

Mrs. Liu promptly ordered the servants to put the tea eggs, together with the tea leaves, inside a jar.

A jar? Right! Almost forgot!

"We should also bring two jars of pickled vegetables and chilli sauce! These condiments are great with rice, and nothing purchased outside tastes as good as what’s prepared at home!" he insisted.

He spoke as if it were his own home!

Di Shaowei, dumbfounded, realised for the first time that one could be so unabashed. He wondered why he hadn’t thought of this before!

Doctor Luo mentally checked the items that were already packed. He felt something was missing.

He clapped his hands as the realization struck him!

"Have we packed the smoked meat, sausages, dried fish, and shrimp?" he asked.

"But these can’t be eaten raw, do we still need them?" Chengyao asked curiously.

"Yes, we need them! Once we get to the Post Station, we can have someone there cook them. Let’s take a lot of these items, as they can be stored. We’ll have enough to eat for ten to a dozen days!" he clarified.

"Then I’ll go and pack more!" Mrs. Liu quickly moved to pack up more upon hearing this.

In the end, the carriage was packed to the brim. They were unable to close the carriage doors and had to store some of the items on the carriage the emperor would be riding on.

There’s a saying: "Out of ten daughters, nine are thieves!"

Anyone not in the know would think they were seeing off Mrs. Liu’s daughter who was visiting her maternal home!

Even Shangguan Xuanyi was beginning to find it hard to watch any longer. It was embarrassing, as if they had starved in their past lives!

Di Shaowei, on the other hand, found it insightful. He hadn’t even known it was possible to be so thorough in his demands! He decided to learn and imitate this the next time he set off.

Eventually, Chengyao asked, "We’ve only prepared two jars of apple vinegar, will that be enough?"

The emperor nodded, "That should suffice. But we could prepare another two jars of wine."

He planned to gift Uncle Prince An with two jars of wine later.

The wine from the Western Regions wasn’t as robust in flavour as this one. Such a delicacy should be shared!

Finally, the emperor’s party left and Xuanyi sighed in relief.

Having such an unabashed father, he felt his cheeks burn with embarrassment.