Chronicles of the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 25 25. Death row
After half an hour, the smallest pot of Zhuzhe juice, after being stirred and boiled with lime water, had a slight brown sugar flavor.

It would take two more days for the hot pepper yeast to ferment, so Qin Shi immediately instructed the kitchen staff: "Make some wheat cakes. Roll them out a bit, fill them with cane sugar filling, and then bake them next to the stove."

You can never go wrong with brown sugar pancakes.

Especially nowadays, sugar intake is not much, so no one can resist the sweet taste.

What's more, the thick brown sugar filling is hot, sweet and fragrant, and it makes you feel happy after taking a bite. It is not sticky like malt candy. The flavor is different, so it tastes very different.

The only trouble is that the brown sugar has not solidified yet, so it is a little difficult to wrap it.

But Zhou Ju was already very satisfied.

It was because the palace kitchen was now filled with a strong sweet fragrance, and the old duck soup was arranged in the palace next door. If he didn't have a little dignity, he would probably have tried a few bites first when he walked in.

After Qin Shi gave the order, he stayed behind to see the color of the flour. It was indeed not the ordinary white color in the supermarket. Instead, it was hard to tell whether it was grayish white or yellowish white.

The grains are coarse, but because it is for consumption by nobles, the remaining grains and bran are sifted out layer by layer, and the remaining ones are generally good.

Qin Shi also gained some confidence in the steamed buns that would follow.

The cooks showed off their skills, each making a different version of the brown sugar pancake. Qin Shi watched one person roll out the dough with exceptional fluidity. He watched silently for a while before making plans for tomorrow.
"For breakfast tomorrow, I want a bowl of sunflower soup with some shrimp in it."

"Use the same method to roll out the dough, but evenly add oil, salt, and green onions. Bake until it's 80% done, then add a chicken."

"Another sugar cake."

The head cook didn't dare to raise his head, but he became excited: "I'll remember this."

It doesn’t matter if you can’t remember, professional assistants Akame and Wu Zi will remember it.

Qin Shi looked at Zhou Ju who was standing beside him and said, "Prince Zhou, can we have the same breakfast tomorrow as well?"

Although Zhou Ju could smell the duck soup and brown sugar, he hadn't taken a single bite yet. He could only cautiously say, "I'll come back to tell the king when I get back."

……

Boiling the brown sugar did take some time.

When Zhou Ju returned to Zhangtai Palace, the King of Qin was still working as expected. A royal physician was carefully holding an moxa stick and fumigating his neck from a distance.

Because there was no wind, the entire Zhangtai Palace was shrouded in smoke. If Zhou Ju had not been choked and wanted to sneeze, the mermaid oil lamps that never went out would have flickered in the mist, making it really look like a fairyland.

The King of Qin sat upright on the high platform and did not even raise his head when he heard his reply:
"Well, does Qin Qing have any shocking words?"

After saying this, he paused slightly while reading the memorial. After noticing this, even Ji Heng, who was slightly unhappy about the memorial just now, couldn't help but relax his brows.

After all, it had only been a day, and everyone, including him, had already gotten used to Qin Qing's words.

It's really rare.

Ji Heng simply threw the memorial aside and listened to Zhou Ju's detailed retelling. When he heard about the harm of bronze ware and fish sashimi, his brows furrowed again.

The imperial physician who was doing moxibustion on the side pursed his lips and said: It is a blessing for them, the imperial physicians, that the king met Qin Qing when he was seriously ill!

But it is really a misfortune for their Shaofu that the king still takes Qin Qing with him after he recovers!

In just one day, the king has run into problems with food, clothing, and shelter. The Shaofu has no choice but to take responsibility.

If this continues, they might lose their lives before the king dies!
The imperial physician's heart was more bitter than bile at this moment.

Fortunately, Zhou Ju had a good grasp of the narrative rhythm, and at this moment, he briefly shifted to Qin Shi's surprise. As he expected, the king was also delighted by the soon-to-be-grown wheat cakes, but he quickly thought of wheat farming, and thus quickly calmed down. However, this so-called "Zhu Zhe Sugar"...

Ji Heng's mind raced, and he quickly thought about the products and climate of the surrounding areas of Nanhai County, and then thought about the production of Zhuzhe. At this moment, he interrupted Zhou Ju's reply in a deep voice:

"Pass the order down, Zhuzhe must be careful in all matters related to sugar production. I will be of great use to you."

Zhou Ju quickly agreed.

Then he asked, "Since this is the case, I will send the people in Lanchi Palace to keep the secret, specifically for Qin Qing alone."

Seeing that the king's expression was not very good, he changed the subject: "Your Majesty, Qin Qing specially presented delicious food, and the servants have already prepared the stove and are waiting in the side hall."

Ji Heng raised his hand. "No hurry. I've already ordered the Minister of the Interior to bring in the condemned prisoners. There's no need to wait to see if what Qin Qing said is true. Zhou Ju, come with me to inspect it."

The imperial physician ordered the moxa sticks to be taken back, and the servants quickly came forward to pack his clothes. The doors around Zhangtai Palace were wide open, and the evening breeze blew in, and the room felt refreshed in an instant.

……

Zhangtai Palace is located in the secondary hall of Xianyang Palace. At this moment, long corridors are connected in all directions, and the side halls are close at hand.

Zhou Ju followed the crowd and served the King of Qin. He soon saw the death row prisoner being escorted by the imperial physician and soldiers waiting in the side hall.

There were actually not many death row prisoners in prison - most of them were sent to build the Great Wall, the highway, and the underground palace. Those who remained were mostly stubborn rebels from the six kingdoms.

Seeing Ji Heng now, the audience couldn't help but sneer: "The tyrannical Qin is unjust! Zheng Heng, your complacency won't last long!"

Another man glared at him angrily, "Zheng Heng! You, with the surname Ji, are relying on the Zhou King's influence! The Shang Dynasty was unjust, but King Wu was the opposite!"

"You tyrannical Qin, I want to see which hero will rise up to rebel!"

The survivors of the Six Kingdoms have said too much about this.

The King of Qin had a stern look on his face and didn't give him any expression. He just sat steadily at the table and waved his hand.

The sergeant quickly raised his hands and held down the two death row prisoners, one on the left and one on the right.

At the same time, rough hands clamped the prisoners' cheeks tightly, forcing them to open their mouths wide, like fish on a chopping board, and any struggle was in vain.

Then the attendants on both sides each held a small jar of red and white powder and said, "King Bing, this is one pound of cinnabar powder."

"This is a pound of white lead powder."

Then he poured them into the two people's mouths one by one.

This action caused the two death row prisoners' throats to twitch, and they couldn't help but cough and struggle, emitting clouds of powder.

However, no matter how miserable they were, the hands on their bodies and faces were like bronze locks, locking them tightly.

The servants ignored the two men's reactions and poured some clean water into the jar. They did not bow and retreat until the whole jar was finished.

The soldiers loosened their grip, and the two men were no longer able to resist. They fell to the ground in a mess, coughing until their faces turned red and purple, and their heart and lungs were about to vomit.

Then the imperial physician and the clerk came forward. The former kept observing and speaking about the two death row prisoners, while the latter recorded everything the imperial physician said.

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Ji Heng, surnamed Ji, clan Zheng. As mentioned at the beginning, men are addressed as: clan name + given name.

[The temptation of oven-baked brown sugar cakes, even for us who have no shortage of delicious food these days, is not the same as maltose and maltose. Moreover, maltose and honey are the only sweeteners nowadays.]

[The medical knowledge in this chapter is from the Internet and is for reading only, not for reference. Please do not imitate.]