Everyone in Jiangzhou knew Shen Zhengze.
When Lord Shen first arrived, every part of Jiangzhou was suffering from flooding. Tasked by the Emperor with disaster relief, he worked for several days without sleep or rest to save the people, earning him the deep love and respect of the commoners.
After the relief efforts concluded, he remained in Jiangzhou Prefecture as the Prefect. He cracked down on corrupt officials and helped Jiangzhou regain its vitality. Little by little, Jiangzhou became more prosperous and wealthy than ever before.
Yet, for some reason, outrageous rumors spread through the streets claiming that Lord Shen was cold-blooded and cruel—a notion that Han You found incomprehensible every time he heard it. Lord Shen was clearly a good official!
At this moment, this “good official” was looking at Han You with an air of indifference.
“Finally back?”
Han You: “!!!”
QAQ! He had been caught!
Even though the voice was gentle and elegant, it sounded bone-chilling to Han You.
“My Lord… uh.” A flash of inspiration struck him, and he offered the wrapped candied hawthorn (tanghulu) he was holding. “My Lord, your subordinate just discovered a delicious snack called iced candied hawthorn and bought some especially for you to taste.”
The Lord never liked accepting gifts from subordinates; he would surely refuse. In that way, the candied hawthorn would return to his hands. Since he had left his post without permission to buy them for Lord Shen in the first place, Lord Shen wouldn’t punish him either.
Two birds with one stone. √
However.
“I accept your good intentions.”
Han You’s hand felt lighter. He looked up in astonishment, meeting the playful gaze of Judge Bai, who was now holding the candied hawthorn.
Han You’s heart turned to ash. Wasn’t it said that Lord Shen doesn’t like eating these things!!
Bai Qiao confiscated the eleven small snacks and turned to hand them to Shen Zhengze.
“Ting’an, here.” (Ting’an was Shen Zhengze’s courtesy name.)
Shen Zhengze’s ink-colored eyes swept over the candied hawthorn, his expression as stern and unmoved as always. “You handle them,” he ordered indifferently.
Bai Qiao’s eyes relaxed, and he looked at the group of subordinates who had been accompanying them on the inspection of Sajin Bridge.
“Since the Lord has spoken, let’s divide them up!” he said with a hearty laugh.
With a leader taking charge, the atmosphere gradually relaxed. Several constables and small captains came forward with smiles to take the candied hawthorn. Even Han You reached out, thick-skinned, but Bai Qiao slapped his hand away.
He stared at Judge Bai with a confused expression.
Bai Qiao: “You get none. Leaving your post without permission, and you still want to eat?”
Han You withered. He listened to the exclamations of his colleagues.
“This candied hawthorn is a real curiosity! I’ve never heard of it being sold in Jiangzhou!”
“Who would have thought that mountain fruits could taste this good? There are baskets upon baskets of them on the mountain!”
“The person who made this must be truly ingenious!”
“This flavor is absolutely superb!”
Han You pricked up his ears, unable to keep from feeling proud again. “My taste is definitely spot on! Let me tell you, this boss isn’t just great at making candied hawthorn; her chicken soup mini wontons are also a masterpiece! I’ll be at the Jiangzhou wharf tomorrow morning—you all should go taste them if you have time.”
…
Bai Qiao also ate a skewer, equally full of praise. “It is truly delicious. Ting’an, are you really not going to have a taste?” He handed over the last skewer of iced strawberries.
Shen Zhengze, with his hands clasped behind his back, was rubbing the white jade thumb ring he wore while gazing at the lively night market. Hearing this, he glanced at the candied hawthorn again.
It was delicate and translucent. Every sesame seed on the strawberry was clearly visible, looking like red jade under the warm light of the red lanterns. It didn’t look like food, but rather a beautiful work of art. Up close, he could even smell the faint, sweet fragrance of the candy coating.
“No need,” Shen Zhengze refused softly.
Bai Qiao’s hand paused. He suddenly asked, “Is it possible your condition—the loss of taste—has still not improved?”
He had known Shen Zhengze since they were children and was aware that his friend was born with a loss of taste; he had even visited famous doctors all over the capital for him. Because it wasn’t a life-threatening illness, he hadn’t paid much attention to it. Now, thinking back, Shen Zhengze was indeed extremely indifferent toward food.
Shen Zhengze did not reply.
Bai Qiao slowly pulled his hand back, only feeling that his friend’s life was truly miserable. The man was already so dull and serious, adhering strictly to the rules, and now he couldn’t even taste the joy of good food. It was no wonder the man was so detached he was practically becoming a monk.
“Ah! There’s a thief!”
A commotion suddenly broke out in the crowd.
“There’s a thief! Catch the thief!”
From the street heading south to north, a figure bolted straight out, knocking over a group of people.
Jiang Mo was busy wrapping candied hawthorn for someone. In front of her were the maids who had searched the entire Sajin Bridge to find her.
Nuomi, familiar with the routine, took out half a tael of silver. “Boss, I want ten skewers of candied hawthorn—five mountain fruit and five red fruit.”
The other two maids followed suit, each handing over half a tael for the same order.
“There are only ten red fruit ones left. One was sold earlier, so there are nine remaining,” Jiang Mo counted. Because strawberries were expensive, she had priced them at forty-five wen each, with no other discounts, so not many people had asked for them throughout the evening.
“Then we’ll each take three, and the remaining seven will all be hawthorn,” Nuomi suggested.
Jiang Mo wrapped the skewers, took the silver, and sent the maids off. This big sale seemed to have opened a floodgate, and passing commoners followed suit, wanting to have a taste.
“Give me a skewer of these candied hawthorns, too.”
“I want one, too!”
“I want two!”
The straw stand was soon more than half empty; there were only three skewers left.
“Miss, these candied hawthorns are really popular!” Iris said happily. She had thought selling seventy or eighty percent in the first night would be good, but she hadn’t expected to sell so many in such a short time, with customers buying ten at a time.
Jiang Mo felt quite pleased herself. She was exhausted after running around all day. The sooner she sold out, the sooner she could go home.
Soon, the last three skewers were claimed. Just as Jiang Mo was about to announce that they were finished, a noisy commotion erupted in the distance behind her.
“There’s a thief! Stop him!”
The flow of people surged toward her and Iris. In the blink of an eye, the two were separated. She could only vaguely hear Iris calling her name, but she couldn’t tell where she was, and the sound grew fainter and farther away.
Jiang Mo was pushed to the side of the Sajin River, finally finding a moment to catch her breath. Suddenly, a man popped out from the side and grabbed her.
A sharp dagger was pressed against Jiang Mo’s swan-like neck. Screams erupted all around, and the crowd formed an enclosure.
“Don’t come any closer! Or I’ll kill her!” the thief threatened viciously.
Jiang Mo: “…”
She was having a very hard time.
“This fellow…” Jiang Mo tried to speak, to say something, but was threatened by the person behind her.
“You are not allowed to speak!”
Fine, then.
Soon, a group of constables squeezed in from the outside, surrounding two men in the center—one in white and one in green. It was the first time Jiang Mo had seen a man who was halfway decent to look at.
“Outlaw! Let the boss go!”
When Han You saw that it was Jiang Mo being held hostage, he was shocked and broke into a cold sweat. He still wanted to eat chicken soup mini wontons tomorrow morning!! What if the boss was traumatized?
“Everyone back off! Do not come closer!” The thief was getting desperate, his hand holding the dagger shaking uncontrollably.
Afraid of hurting Jiang Mo, Han You dared not move forward and could only cast a pleading look at Shen Zhengze. “My Lord, please, save this young lady.”
Seeing him acting like an ant on a hot pan, Bai Qiao couldn’t help but ask, “Do you know this young lady?” She was wearing a veil; if they weren’t acquaintances, how could he recognize her?
Han You looked indignant. “Of course I know her! That candied hawthorn is sold by this lady! I’m going to her stall tomorrow morning to buy chicken soup mini wontons!!”
This terrible, frustrating outlaw!
Bai Qiao: “…”
Why is this kid’s brain filled with nothing but food?