Father and mother left the capital,
Big brother, little brother, and little aunt left the capital.
Grandmother went to the countryside to open a branch of her pickle shop.
Only Li Ping remained in the capital.
Li Ping missed his mother a little, but soon got too busy to think about it.
The Sixth Prince got the list of the four princes and their mothers’ preferred princess candidates.
"And yours?"
"I already have someone in mind."
"Which girl is so unlucky?"
"Li Ping, can’t you talk properly? I am so handsome, elegant, and charming… Marrying me is Bai Ling’s honor."
Bai Ling? The daughter of the Bai family, the richest merchant in the Qing Dynasty.
"How much dowry did the Bai family give?"
"Am I that kind of vulgar person? Do you think I care about Bai Ling herself? Does money have nothing to do with it?"
"How much? 1 million?"
"10 million."
"How much!"
"Oh, just 10 million won! Why are you making such a fuss?" The Sixth Prince said casually, completely forgetting that when he received the letter from the Bai family, he had screamed in shock.
"Does Bai Ling have a younger sister?" Li Ping wanted to marry one too.
"How old are you, and you already want to be my brother-in-law?" The Sixth Prince looked Li Ping up and down. "Bai Ling has no younger sister, but she has a niece who is eight years old."
Li Ping rolled his eyes at the Sixth Prince and continued looking at the list.
"Why isn’t the Fifth Prince on it?"
"Fifth Brother doesn’t like women. He doesn’t need a princess." The Sixth Prince poured himself a glass of water.
"Which young gentleman does he like?" Li Ping stroked his chin, thinking about the sons of ministers who were close to the Fifth Prince.
"Should we hold a contest for the most handsome young gentleman?"
"No." The Sixth Prince rejected Li Ping’s idea.
"Reason."
"Fifth Brother has someone he likes. If we hold a contest and he finds out, he won’t let us off." The Sixth Prince explained; he had experienced the Fifth Prince’s martial prowess.
Li Ping thought about the Fifth Prince’s fists and shrank his neck.
He agreed with the Sixth Prince and decided not to hold the contest for young gentlemen.
"Who does the Fifth Prince like?" Li Ping asked curiously.
The Sixth Prince shut his mouth and refused to say.
"Sixth Brother, we’re this close. Just tell me. I promise I won’t tell anyone." Li Ping really wanted to know.
The Sixth Prince shook his head firmly; he absolutely would not say.
"Sixth Brother~" Li Ping called out in a syrupy, wheedling voice.
The Sixth Prince shuddered and immediately backed away from Li Ping.
"I just remembered, I have business. I’m leaving." The Sixth Prince turned and ran off quickly, as if being chased by wolves.
Which young gentleman did the Fifth Prince like? What made the Sixth Prince so scared?
Li Ping found it more and more interesting.
"Go find Uncle Yuan."
"Yes." The attendant nearby went to fetch Wen Yuan.
Wen Yuan arrived quickly. "Wen Yuan pays respects to the master."
"Uncle Yuan, I’ve told you many times. No need to bow." Li Ping reached out to support Wen Yuan, stopping him from bowing.
"Master’s status is different now; etiquette cannot be abandoned."
"What’s so different?" He was still he—Li Ping of the Li family, nothing had changed.
In Wen Yuan’s heart, he wished Li Ping would resume the surname Jiang.
"Don’t try to persuade me. I won’t change my surname." Li Ping had no intention of sharing the surname Jiang Mingshe.
"Master, why did you summon Wen Yuan?"
"Who does the Fifth Prince like?"
Uh…
"Why can’t you say?"
"If I tell you, will you be angry?" Wen Yuan looked at Li Ping’s face and asked quietly.
"Say it first." Whether he got angry or not depended on who Wen Yuan was talking about.
Sooner or later, it would come out. Wen Yuan gritted his teeth and spilled.
"It’s the Second Young Master."
Smack! Li Ping slammed his hand heavily on the table. The teacup on the table bounced and wobbled, spilling tea onto Li Ping’s hand.
Li Ping felt no heat; his mind was entirely on Wen Yuan’s words.
"Say that again."
"It’s your second brother, master."
"Why didn’t you tell me until now?" Li Ping was furious.
"Because the Second Young Master ordered me not to let you know."
Li Ping had ordered that.
"When did Second Brother find out?"
"Two years ago."
Two years ago, Li Ping’s subordinates had found a method for using seawater to produce salt.
After experimenting, this method yielded high salt output, low cost, and high profit.
Li Ping had ambitiously planned to enter the salt industry.
He had prepared the beach for salt drying, salt workers, factory buildings… everything, but the salt license couldn’t be obtained.
In the Qing Dynasty, salt was under government control. To sell salt, you needed a salt permit; to produce or sell it, you needed a salt license.
Both permits and licenses were managed by the Ministry of Revenue.
Two years ago, the Minister of Salt Affairs at the Ministry of Revenue had been the Fifth Prince.
Realizing this, Li Ping understood everything.
Smack! Li Ping slapped himself.
"Master!" Wen Yuan grabbed Li Ping’s arm to stop him from hitting himself again.
"Master, it’s all my fault. Don’t hurt yourself." Wen Yuan hadn’t expected Li Ping to do this.
"No, it’s not your fault. Nor mine. It’s the Fifth Prince’s fault." Li Ping clenched his fist and slammed the table hard again, as if the table were the Fifth Prince.
Wen Yuan’s heart raced. "Master, don’t do anything rash."
Li Ping smiled. "Uncle Yuan, I never do anything rash."
The more Li Ping said that, the more uneasy Wen Yuan felt. It seemed like trouble was coming.
Li Ping didn’t actually do anything rash. He just handed over all his affairs.
He rode a swift horse for a month until he found Li An, who was treating patients.
Li An was surprised to see Li Ping.
"Why are you here?"
"I heard about the Flower Town incident. I was a bit worried and came to check on you, Second Brother."
"I’m fine. Zhonglou and the others were very responsible; I wasn’t hurt at all." As Li An spoke, he noticed Li Ping glancing around.
"What are you looking for?"
"Five… nothing." Li Ping snapped back to focus and pulled out the jar he had brought from the capital.
"I knew I was coming to see you, Second Brother. Grandmother specially made some pickled radish for you."
"I’ve been craving this." When Li Ping left the capital in a carriage, the first thing he brought was medicine, and the second was Cai Damei’s pickled vegetables.
No matter how sparingly he ate, after more than half a year, it was all gone.
Li Ping’s offering was just what he needed.
Li An packed up his stall and took Li Ping to a food shop—Jindou’s Kitchen.
Entering the shop, Li Ping saw a familiar face.
"Jindou!"
"I knew it. Pingping would recognize you at a glance." Li An smiled.
"Ping… Young Master,"
"Call me Pingping like before." Li Ping cut Jindou off.
"Alright, Pingping. What dishes would you like to eat?"
"I want all your signature dishes."
"I have plenty of signature dishes."
"Make them all. I’ve got plenty of people here; no worries about leftovers."
"Alright, challenge accepted." Jindou turned and went to the kitchen to prepare.
Li Ping and Li An sat at one table, while the others sat at separate tables, leaving room for the two brothers to talk.
"Spill it. What happened?" Li An poured tea and pushed it toward Li Ping.
"I’m just worried about you."
"You found out about the Fifth Prince’s feelings." Li An took a sip of tea to soothe his dry throat.
He had been seeing patients all morning and his throat was scratchy.
"Second Brother, I can have someone take him out." Li Ping guaranteed he could do it without anyone noticing.
"Try me. My feelings for him have already changed."
A high-level hunter always appeared as prey.
At this point, Li Ping felt a bit of sympathy for that someone.
"The food is here." Jindou personally carried a tray, delivering one signature dish after another.
Li Ping and Li An ate to their satisfaction.
After they finished eating, the three of them sat together and talked.
It was mainly Li An and Li Ping listening to Jindou recount his past.
The story of how Chef Jin and Chunyao had divorced was not hidden from the two brothers.
They had both chosen to follow Chef Jin back to his hometown market town. The two of them had hoped Chunyao would come along too, but she refused.
Back in the town, Chef Jin reopened the Jin Family Kitchen and ran the business while also teaching Jindou and his brother the art of cooking.
Later, Chef Jin remarried and had more children.
Jingao didn’t get along with his stepmother and had no interest in learning to cook. At sixteen, he ran off to join the army, leaving no news for years.
Jindou, on the other hand, was fond of the trade and earnestly studied under Chef Jin.
Chef Jin taught Jindou everything he knew, then sent him away from home to travel and study under various masters, learning from others’ strengths.
“I saw my mother here. This Jin Family Kitchen is the one she opened. She had a sharp tongue, but her cooking skills were just average,” Jindou said with a smile as he looked over the shop.
Finally, he turned to Li An and dropped to his knees with a thud.
Li An reached out to lift Jindou up, but Jindou refused.
“My mother passed away from illness half a year ago. Before she left, she grabbed my hand and told me, ‘If you ever see him one day, you must kneel and knock your head three times to him. Then say, “I’m sorry. I was wrong.”’” After saying this, Jindou solemnly knocked his head three times.
Li An helped Jindou to his feet. “The matters of that year are in the past.” Li An had already taken his revenge on Chunyao back then.
“Mother was right,” Jindou said. “‘The young master speaks harshly, but has a soft heart.’”
Leaving the Jin Family Kitchen, Li An took Li Ping back to the inn to rest.
“You’re here at just the right time. In three more months, I have to take the provincial exam. We’re going back to Jiangcheng.”
“Good, I should go back and dig up that treasure too,” Li Ping replied.
“What treasure?”
“Dad’s hidden treasure. It’s in the courtyard next to the broken temple.” Back then, Li Ping had figured it out from Ye Yunniang’s words. But he was still young and didn’t want to let Bao Min get his hands on it, so he kept quiet.
“After all these years, is it still there?” Li An thought Jiang Mingzhe might have already dug it up.
“If he tried to hide it from me and dig it out, that’s impossible,” Li Ping said confidently.
To arrive before the provincial exam, the brothers rode hard and fast.
But man proposes, God disposes. They ran into heavy rainstorms again and again, blocking their way.
By the time Li An and Li Ping reached Jiangcheng, Li Pan had already finished the exam and left. Ye Yunniang, moved by her two sons’ tears, softened her heart and agreed to go back to the capital with them.
Knowing they would return to Jiangcheng, she left a letter for them along with some gifts she had bought on the road.
“I’m an adult now, and she still gives me little doll toys,” Li Ping said, shaking a brightly colored porcelain doll in his hand. It was one of his few small hobbies apart from making money.
Li An looked at the medical books and handwritten notes in his hands. Ye Yunniang always searched for these things wherever she went.
The two paid their respects at the graves of Li Min, Li Jun, and Jin Huifang, then went to see Bao Min to ask for men to help.
“I can give you the men, but I want a cut of the take,” Bao Min set his condition.
“Master Bao, what do you need so much money for?”
“To save up for Shushu’s dowry,” Bao Min said matter-of-factly.
Bao Min poured all his longing for his wife and daughter into his official work. He never took a penny extra and often used his own salary to do good deeds, accumulating blessings for them.
This time, when Cai Shuyi came to Jiangcheng, it struck Bao Min that his daughter was grown up. He needed to prepare her dowry.
“The dowry for Little Aunt should indeed be prepared. I’ll give you twenty percent,” Li Ping agreed.
The three of them, along with the men, went to the courtyard next to the broken temple. They searched around but found no hidden mechanism.
“Are you sure it’s here?”
“It must be here. Dad wouldn’t lie to Mom,” Li Ping said with some confidence.
If they couldn’t find anything in the courtyard, they would search from the basement.
They went into the basement of the broken temple and had the men search carefully.
One of Li Ping’s men, an expert in mechanisms, discovered a wall with a hidden mechanism behind it.
After some effort to crack it, the wall moved, revealing a space behind it.
The first thing they saw was a three-legged golden toad on the door opposite.
“The treasure is behind this door,” Li Ping said triumphantly, pushing it open.
Inside, it was filled with boxes, twice as big as the basement of the broken temple.
How much treasure was there?
The happier Li Ping grew, the bigger his smile became.
Until he opened the boxes.
One box after another—nine out of ten were empty. The one that had something inside turned out to contain grain.
Finally, in an empty box, they found a letter.
On the letter was written just one sentence:
“Son, surprised?”
《The End》
