Food bloggers made fortunes in ancient times

Prince Hui's Palace.

Fish food was thrown into the pond, causing ripples.

The koi fish jumped out of the water one after another, breaking up the shadows of the clouds reflected in the water.

Li Yanche leaned on the railing, casually throwing bait, but his eyes fell on Zhan Qingyue who was walking hurriedly in the distance.

"Your Majesty." Zhan Qingyue bowed and saluted. "News has come from Hanzhou that Prince Chen has conquered Yaoguang City and is leading his army northward, heading straight for Kaiyang Prefecture."

Kaiyang Prefecture is the capital of Hanzhou, only three days away from Yaoguang. Once it is lost, half of Hanzhou will fall into the hands of King Chen.

Li Yanche paused with his fingertips, and the fish food fell into the water.

He clapped his hands, turned around and asked, "What's the reaction from my brother?"

Zhan Qingyue continued to report: "The emperor has mobilized the elite imperial guards to rush to Kaiyang, but the pro-peace faction in the court is gaining strength, and some people have proposed peace talks with Prince Chen."

"Negotiation?" Li Yanche sneered, his hoarse voice full of sarcasm, "Seventh Uncle is at the gates of the city, how could he be willing to stop at Hanzhou?"

"Your Majesty, you will understand." Zhan Qingyue nodded slightly. "Prince Chen is coming with such force this time that he obviously intends to attack the capital. The peace talks are just a delaying tactic. I'm afraid those who advocate peace in the court have already secretly surrendered to Prince Chen."

Li Yanche's eyes moved slightly: "Who is the commander of Kaiyang Prefecture?"

"Your Highness, it's General Weiyuan Zhao Yi."

Li Yanche raised his lips slightly, "He is a good fighter. What a pity."

This "what a pity" is meaningful, making it hard to figure out whether it is a pity that Zhao Yi is about to face Prince Chen's army, or a pity that the person he is loyal to is the current emperor.

Zhan Qingyue stood quietly with his head down, waiting for the prince's instructions.

The koi in the pond waited for a long time without new bait and gradually dispersed.

"Let King Chen capture Kaiyang."

Zhan Qingyue's pupils shrank slightly: "Your Highness means..."

"My brother has been doing too well these years. It's time for him to have a taste of hardship." Li Yanche said in a low and hoarse voice, with a gleam of light in his eyes. "By the way, give a big gift to the Seventh Uncle."

After winter began in October, the weather gradually became colder and the north wind was as sharp as a knife, causing pain on people's faces.

An old man on the street was wrapped in a thick cotton-padded jacket, huddled in the corner to avoid the wind, with a barbecue oven made from a tin barrel in front of him.

The charcoal fire in the furnace was burning brightly, and a dozen sweet potatoes were roasted until their skin was golden brown. The sweet hot air was particularly tempting in the cold wind.

"Roasted sweet potatoes - hot roasted sweet potatoes -" the old man's hoarse shouting drifted in the wind.

Zhou Yanli straightened the collar of his fox fur cloak. He had just come out of Zuixian Tower and still looked a little drunk.

The biting cold wind sobered him up a little.

Suddenly he smelled a sweet fragrance. He followed the smell and saw the old man roasting sweet potatoes.

Zhou Yanli suddenly became interested. He had been in Guang'an Prefecture for two years. Although he often saw vendors walking through the streets shouting "roasted sweet potatoes", he had never tasted them.

After all, cheap whole grains like sweet potatoes will never appear on their tables.

For some reason today, perhaps it was because he was drunk, or perhaps it was because the sweet smell was so tempting, Zhou Yanli walked over as if possessed.

"Father-in-law, how much are these sweet potatoes?" he asked, his voice still containing a hint of drunken laziness.

The old man looked up and saw a young man in luxurious clothes. He rubbed his red hands and said, "Three cents for one, five cents for two. How many do you want, young master?"

Zhou Yanli took out a piece of silver from his purse and threw it to the old man: "Try one."

The old man hurriedly caught the silver and weighed it in his hand. He was afraid that it was half a tael heavy. He panicked and said, "Sir, I can't make the change..."

"No need to look for it." Zhou Yanli waved his hand, "Pick a good roast."

The old man nodded repeatedly, took out a perfectly roasted sweet potato from the oven with tongs, carefully wrapped it in oil paper, and handed it to Zhou Yanli with both hands: "Young master, be careful, it's hot."

Zhou Yanli took the sweet potato, it felt warm to his hand, and the sweet aroma went straight into his nose.

Peel off the charred skin to reveal the golden and shiny sweet potato flesh inside, steaming hot and juicy.

He took a tentative bite and then his expression became surprised. This inconspicuous lump of earth was so sweet and soft!

Zhou Yanli finished one in just two bites, still wanting more: "Give me two more."

Just then, a ragged little beggar came over timidly and looked at the sweet potatoes in the oven eagerly.

Seeing this, the old man quietly gave him a small one and said, "Take it and eat it. Be careful of the heat."

Zhou Yanli caught a glimpse of this scene and raised his eyebrows: "The old man is really kind-hearted."

The old man smiled sheepishly: "We are all miserable people, any help is appreciated."

"Sir, here are your sweet potatoes." The old man wrapped two hot sweet potatoes and handed them to Zhou Yanli.

Zhou Yanli took the sweet potato but did not leave immediately.

Seeing that the other party was so kind, the old man couldn't help but strike up a conversation with him: "From your accent, you don't sound like you're from Songzhou?"

"You're talking about me..." Zhou Yanli replied half a beat late, "I'm indeed not a local, I'm from Hanzhou."

The old man was stunned for a moment when he heard this, Hanzhou?

Isn't there a war going on there?

Zhou Yanli ignored the old man's surprise, waved his hand, and staggered away.

It was already dark when he returned to his residence.

The whole house was deserted, with only one or two servants guarding it. When they saw him coming back, they hurried to greet him.

Zhou Yanli frowned and threw the remaining sweet potato in his hand to the servant at the door.

"Master, dinner is ready. Do you want to eat it now?"

Zhou Yanli looked a little tired: "No more food, all of you can leave."

The servants looked at each other, but did not dare to ask more questions. They left one after another, leaving Zhou Yanli alone in the empty front hall.

He walked slowly to the chair in the hall, sat down heavily, and looked ahead with a dull look in his eyes.

There had been no news from Hanzhou for nearly half a month, and Zhou Yanli had a bad feeling in his heart.

If his father had not repeatedly warned him not to return to Hanzhou when he left home, he would have been unable to resist going back to take a look.

Zhou Yanli wiped his face fiercely, trying to dispel the uneasiness in his heart.

As he got drunk, he leaned back in his chair and fell into a deep sleep.

After an unknown amount of time, he was awakened by the sound of hurried footsteps.

Zhou Yanli opened his eyes and saw the old servant of the Zhou family standing in front of him with a pale face.

“Master!” The old servant’s voice trembled, “Prince Chen’s army broke through Kaiyang, and General Zhao and General Zhao died in the battle!”

Zhou Yanli stood up suddenly, feeling dizzy. He held onto the back of the chair to avoid falling. "When did it happen?"

"Three days ago..." The old servant handed over a wrinkled letter, "This was sent by the master, saying... telling the young master not to go back..."

The fall of Kaiyang City meant that his hometown had fallen, and his father——

Mr. Zhou, the prefect of Kaiyang, I'm afraid...

"Where's my dad?" His voice was hoarse and not like his own.

The old servant lowered his head, not daring to look him in the eye: "When the city was captured... Lord Zhou he... he..."

"talk!"

"Lord Zhou...died for the city..."

Zhou Yanli opened the letter with trembling hands. On it was written his father's familiar handwriting: "...Kaiyang is in danger. As an official appointed by the court, your father must live and die with the city. My son, remember, no matter what happens, you must live well..."

The letter paper was crumpled and Zhou Yanli's vision was blurred.

"Prepare the horses." Zhou Yanli looked up, his voice hoarse.

"Master! The master specifically instructed..."

"I said prepare the horses!" Zhou Yanli shouted, "I want to go back to Kaiyang!"

The old servant knelt down and said, "Master, please think twice! Going back now would be like sending yourself to death! I risked my life to send the letter out just to protect you!"

Zhou Yanli was trembling all over, reason and emotion fighting fiercely in his mind.

Finally, he slumped to his knees, whimpering like a wild animal and pounding the ground with his fists until his knuckles were bloody.

Snowflakes started falling from the sky at some point. It was the first snow in Kangrui's eighth year, and it came quietly, bringing with it the sad news that Kaiyang City had fallen.