The officials in the main hall were stunned.
The Minister of Revenue, Lord Shang, was also stunned. He looked at the jar, a sudden wave of sorrow welling up in his heart.
Yes, if not truly forced into a desperate situation, who would willingly eat such a thing?
Emperor Tiansheng sat on the dragon throne, his eyes growing moist.
He looked at the earthen jar, and images involuntarily surfaced in his mind.
In the kitchen of the Liu Garden in Jiangning, Xu Qinghuan, a young girl, disregarded the dignity of a County Princess.
Wearing coarse linen clothes, she coughed from the choking quicklime dust.
Enduring the smell, she stood personally before the large iron wok, pouring white sugar and refined salt in spoonful by spoonful.
Perhaps her hands were even blistered from testing the temperature of the quicklime heating up in water.
But she didn't cry out in pain; she only stubbornly wiped the black soot from her face.
She did all this not for fame, nor for profit.
She even deliberately acted the part of a spendthrift, throwing away fifty thousand taels on shipping.
It was all because she feared the soldiers would feel a psychological burden, so she intentionally claimed it was her leftover food.
"What a Xu Qinghuan..."
"What a sincere and patriotic County Princess of Daqian!"
Emperor Tiansheng took a deep breath, stood up abruptly, and walked down the jade steps step by step.
He arrived before the earthen jar, the pungent smell rushing straight to his head.
Wei Zhong was terrified and hurried forward to stop him.
"Your Majesty! This item is coarse and vulgar, I fear it may harm the dragon body. You absolutely must not approach it!"
"Scram!"
Emperor Tiansheng pushed Wei Zhong aside, his gaze resolute.
"What the frontline soldiers eat, what Xu Zhan eats—how can I, the Son of Heaven of Daqian, not eat it?"
"For the sake of my empire, County Princess Xu poured her heart's blood into developing this divine artifact."
"Today, I shall personally taste this life-saving immortal pill!"
As he spoke, Emperor Tiansheng, under the horrified gazes of the civil and military officials, reached out without hesitation.
With two fingers, he picked up a black-and-red meat brick from the inner jar, soaked in liquor.
The quicklime was hidden in the outer layer, completely untouched by the inner layer.
Emperor Tiansheng closed his eyes, opened his mouth, and stuffed the meat brick in.
A faint chewing sound echoed in the quiet hall.
The next second, Emperor Tiansheng's expression froze.
Why was it so salty?! It was so salty his tongue instantly went numb, and a bitter taste surged up.
Sweet! Sickeningly sweet! The rock sugar coated his mouth, mixing with the lard, making him nauseous.
Coupled with the intense, choking smell of aged liquor that shot straight to the top of his skull.
Emperor Tiansheng's face instantly went from red to purple, and from purple to green.
His stomach spasmed wildly, waves of nausea rolling up his throat.
Disgusting! This was too disgusting! This thing simply shouldn't exist in the realm of the living!
Too insidious!
Wei Zhong, watching Emperor Tiansheng's twisted features from the side, was frightened out of his wits.
"Your Majesty! Spit it out! Men! Summon the imperial physician!"
"Shut up!"
Emperor Tiansheng finally opened his eyes, which were entirely bloodshot.
He gritted his teeth, forcibly suppressing the urge to vomit his stomach out.
Steeling his heart, his Adam's apple bobbed.
*Gulp.* He forcibly swallowed the half-chewed meat brick.
In an instant, a cloyingly salty, bitter, and hot current smashed down his esophagus into his stomach.
Emperor Tiansheng felt his vision darken, but immediately after, the stimulation from the high salt and sugar instantly cleared his groggy head from waking up early.
"Phew—"
Emperor Tiansheng exhaled a breath of foul air tinged with the smell of lard.
He turned around and looked at the dazed officials below.
Then, he threw his head back and laughed loudly.
"Good!"
"Good stuff!"
"Truly a divine artifact!"
Emperor Tiansheng's eyes were red, whether from the cloying taste or from being moved, it was unknown.
"Once this meat brick goes down the throat, it is extremely scorching, instantly dispelling fatigue and cold!"
"I only took one bite, and I feel full of energy, wishing I could grab my treasured sword right now and go hack down a few barbarians!"
"County Princess Xu's loyalty and ingenuity deserve a reward! A heavy reward!"
The officials below were dumbfounded.
His Majesty actually swallowed that disgusting thing? And even loudly proclaimed it delicious?
Could it be that the earthen jar really contained some miraculous elixir?
The Minister of War was the first to react, excitedly kowtowing.
"Your Majesty is wise! County Princess Xu has achieved a monumental merit for the ages!"
Emperor Tiansheng took a deep breath, feeling an uncomfortable burning sensation in his stomach.
His gaze shifted, landing on Wang Defa, who had been jumping up and down the most energetically just now.
Enjoying something alone is not as good as enjoying it together.
Since I have suffered such a grievance, none of these civil officials with their mouths full of benevolence, righteousness, and morality are going to escape.
A kindly smile curled the corner of Emperor Tiansheng's mouth.
"Wei Zhong."
"This servant is here."
"How can I enjoy such a good thing for defending the country alone?"
Emperor Tiansheng pointed at the earthen jar and announced loudly.
"Bring a knife! Cut the meat bricks in this jar for me!"
"Cut them into pieces the size of fingernails and bestow them upon the civil and military officials present!"
"Especially Censor Wang, who just said this was filth."
"Give him two extra pieces, so he can properly experience what the hardships of the military are like!"
Upon hearing this, Wang Defa's face instantly turned a deathly gray.
He looked at the earthen jar emitting a strange smell, his legs went soft, and he collapsed directly onto the floor.
"Your Majesty! This subject... this subject has recently been suffering from stomach ailments, I fear..."
"What?"
Emperor Tiansheng's face darkened.
"I, the Son of Heaven, can eat it, but you, Wang Defa, cannot?"
"Do you think the item I bestow upon you is poison, or do you think you are more precious than I am?!"
"This subject wouldn't dare! This subject will eat! This subject will eat!" Wang Defa was so scared he kowtowed repeatedly.
Soon, Wei Zhong took a small knife, suppressed his nausea, and cut the rock-hard meat bricks into small pieces.
Young eunuchs carried trays, delivering the black meat granules in front of the various lords.
A peculiar scene unfolded in the main hall.
The civil and military officials of the Daqian Dynasty now each held a fingernail-sized piece of meat in their hands.
The Minister of Revenue looked at the meat granule in his hand, his hand trembling.
The Minister of War, however, had shining eyes.
"Beloved subjects, what are you still standing there for?"
Emperor Tiansheng stood on the high platform, smiling as he looked at them.
"Eat."
"After eating, each of you must write a poem for me."
"The topic will be praising the taste of the Xu family. Those who write poorly will be fined half a year's salary!"
The officials cursed in their hearts, but on the surface, they had to pretend to be overwhelmed by the favor.
Wang Defa closed his eyes, pinched his nose, and violently stuffed the meat granule into his mouth.
"Urgh..."
As soon as it entered his mouth, that salty, sweet, fishy, and foul taste almost sent Wang Defa straight to the afterlife on the spot.
He covered his mouth, tears and snot instantly gushing out.
But he didn't dare spit it out; he could only twitch while forcibly swallowing it down.
"Good! So good!"
Wang Defa's face was beet red, tears streaming down, as he howled loudly.
"This meat... this meat is truly incredibly delicious!"
"This subject feels... this subject feels his entire body is full of strength!"
Lord Shang was also rolling his eyes from the spiciness, clutching his stomach, forcing out a smile uglier than crying.
"Your Majesty's words are extremely correct..."
"This meat... is truly sweet in the mouth, and warm in the heart!"
In the main hall, a chorus of coughing, dry heaving, and insincere praises suddenly rang out, rising and falling.
"A divine artifact! It truly is a divine artifact!"
"County Princess Xu truly has the heart of a Bodhisattva to come up with such a wondrous flavor!"
"This subject is struck by a burst of poetic inspiration!"
A civil official, his throat hoarse from the overwhelming saltiness, still managed to force himself to stand up.
"The Xu family's divine meat tastes great!"
"It wards off the cold and keeps us warm, achieving great merit!"
"When the soldiers eat it, they will win battles!"
"When the barbarians see it, they will turn and run!"
Emperor Tiansheng looked at this group of tormented old foxes, feeling incredibly satisfied in his heart.
Watching these usually sanctimonious old foxes being tortured half to death, yet still having to bite the bullet and exclaim "so delicious," Emperor Tiansheng felt an immense sense of comfort. The pent-up frustration of many days was swept away in an instant.
He stood up, feeling refreshed, and waved his large sleeves:
"Good poem! Reward him!"
"Since my beloved subjects are eating so happily, then savor it carefully. Court dismissed!"
Amidst a chorus of relieved voices giving thanks, Emperor Tiansheng hummed a little tune from Jiangnan, clasping his hands behind his back and walking back to the rear hall with a swaggering gait.
Only then did the officials dare to spit out the residue in their mouths. One by one, they supported themselves against the walls, helping each other as they shuffled out.
Only Censor Wang Defa, who had been given special attention by the Emperor earlier and had eaten the largest piece, was now leaning against the vermilion pillar at the entrance of the Taiji Hall, vomiting so violently that the sky spun and the earth went dark; even his bile was about to come out.
Because of this bout of vomiting, he fell to the very back.
When almost everyone had left, Wang Defa wiped away his tears and snot. Just as he was about to stagger out, passing by a corridor of a side hall, he suddenly heard a hurried and hushed voice coming from the corner of the wall.
It was the Chief Eunuch Wei Zhong, who was lecturing several brush-holding eunuchs:
"Be quick about it! The Emperor specially instructed just now that this imperial edict must be expedited! Do you understand what expedited means?"
"The Xu family of Jiangning has achieved an unparalleled merit in saving the state this time! His Majesty is highly pleased. Not only will he reward them heavily, but he also ordered Xu Youde and his family to enter the capital immediately to have an audience with His Majesty!"
"I have served by His Majesty's side for so many years, and I have never seen His Majesty pay so much attention to any family's daughter, even intending for her to enter the court..."
Although Wei Zhong's voice was low and separated by a corridor, it was still heard.
He looked around carefully. Convinced that no one was paying attention, he didn't leave the palace immediately. Instead, he turned into an inconspicuous corner. Facing an inconspicuous little eunuch who had been waiting in the shadows, Wang Defa took out a jade pendant engraved with the Wang family crest from his sleeve.
Subsequently, the little eunuch, sweating profusely, walked away quickly.
