Top Scholar

Chapter 439 No Desires

The main street of Luomashi was brightly lit, with colorful lanterns still on, but there were few people admiring them.

"Why aren't the people coming out to see the lanterns?" Zhu Shou and Su Lu walked down the deserted street.

Su Lu thought to himself, "They've probably cleared the streets. Those few people admiring the lanterns might actually be Imperial Guards in disguise..."

He chuckled and said, "I guess you've had enough. The Lantern Festival has been over for more than ten days. Even the best feast gets boring if you eat it every day."

He secretly gloated, thinking to himself, "I'm quite good at giving advice..."

"Hmm, that makes sense." Zhu Shou nodded and said, "Then let Shuntian Prefecture quickly replace the lanterns with a new batch, so everyone can have a fresh look!"

"Ah, this..." Su Lu immediately broke out in a cold sweat, thinking to himself, "Why does this guy think so differently from everyone else?"
"What's wrong?" Zhu Shou glanced at him.

"This is so boring." Su Lu quickly adjusted the angle and shook his head, saying, "It's almost the second day of the second lunar month, who still wants to see lanterns? It's outdated, you know?"

“It’s definitely outdated.” These two words had a real effect on the young Zhu Shou, so he ordered, “Take down all the lanterns tomorrow…we’ll release dragon lanterns instead!”

He then smiled at Su Lu and said, "Releasing dragon lanterns on the second day of the second lunar month is never out of fashion, is it?"

“But it’s not outdated…” Su Lu was sweating bullets, thinking to himself, “Is this lamp absolutely necessary?”
He realized that this was an extremely principled person, and it would be virtually impossible to get him to change his mind...

Come to think of it, he fought against all the officials for the sake of the Eight Tigers, even at the cost of a complete break; last year he had a falling out with the Empress Dowager, and now he's still living in the Leopard Chamber. How complicated must things be?
However, Su Lu has served all kinds of eccentric students. Once he has accurately diagnosed their pulse, what is there to be afraid of?

Then he heard him say in a low voice, "Can your dragon lantern fly?"

“Ah, my dragon lantern swims in Taiye Pond…” Zhu Shou immediately became envious and said, “Your dragon lantern can fly.”

“Oh, that kind of lamp is called ‘Hidden Dragon in the Abyss,’ and this kind of lamp is called ‘Flying Dragon in the Sky,’” Su Lu said with his hands behind his back.

"That lamp of yours is still the best," Zhu Shou said wistfully. "Get me... uh, get one for the Emperor, please."

“That won’t do.” Su Lu shook his head decisively. “I have an exam, I don’t have time.”

“Alright, I’ll have the Emperor issue an edict tomorrow.” Zhu Shou laughed, “Let’s see if you dare to disobey.”

"You think you can do whatever you want? Do you think the Emperor will listen to you?" Su Lu scoffed.

"Just you wait and see." Zhu Shou then imitated him, his tail practically wagging in the air.

Zhang Yong followed behind, utterly impressed. Su Jieyuan was truly brilliant…

~~
As they were talking, the two arrived at Fuxinglou Restaurant on the street corner.

By this time, all the shops on the street had closed, but this restaurant was still brightly lit...

Zhu Shou breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this and said happily, "Great, there's still one restaurant open."

"Yeah, we were lucky." Su Lu nodded with a smile, thinking to himself that even if the door was closed, it would still be broken open.

"Please come in, sir..." The innkeeper stammered as he personally stood at the door to greet the customer.

"Hey shopkeeper, why are you trembling?" Zhu Shou glanced at him strangely.

"It's windy at the entrance..." the shopkeeper said with a forced smile, "Shake it a couple of times to warm it up."

"Please come in, please come in." He quickly ushered the three distinguished guests, who together did not have a single beard, to a private room on the second floor.

Zhang Zhong bowed and opened the door. Zhang Yong went in first, quickly scanning the room. The private room was decorated with care, and the charcoal stove was already burning brightly, radiating warmth.

Exquisite DVDs were laid out on the table, and wine was kept warm.

Of course, most importantly, there were no hidden dangers. In fact, Zhang Zhong had already checked every inch, but Eunuch Zhang couldn't skip this step.

We must let the Emperor see his unwavering loyalty!

After confirming that there were no problems, Zhang Yongcai stepped aside to invite Zhu Shou inside.

Su Lu followed him inside, while the other eunuchs waited outside, not daring to enter.

Upon entering the private room, Zhu Shou casually sat down in a seat, pulled out a chair next to him, and said to Su Lu, "Sit closer so it's easier for us to talk."

Su Lu didn't stand on ceremony. He went straight over, lifted his robe, and sat down, as if he were having a gathering with friends.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Yong was so shocked he almost dropped his teacup. Oh dear, how could he possibly sit at the Emperor's head of the table?!

He frantically winked at Su Lu, but Zhu Shou glared at him, and Zhang Yong immediately stopped looking away.

"Old Zhang, please sit down too." Zhu Shou then invited him, "It's a rare opportunity to leave the palace, let's put aside our status and relax."

"Sigh..." Zhang Yong had no choice but to move cautiously to the other side of the seat, barely touching the corner of the chair with his bottom, and sitting there without daring to even breathe loudly.

He was actually putting on an act for the emperor and for Su Lu. "Even I, the second-highest-ranking eunuch, am acting like this, you'd better be more careful and restrain yourself, my dear nephew..."

"Brother Zhu is right," Su Lu said with a smile. "This wine only tastes good when drunk with friends; otherwise, it has no flavor at all." Zhu Shou asked curiously, "Oh? What do you mean?"

"Because no matter how good the wine is, it will taste different if you add anything else, even light tea won't do." Su Lu then poured Zhu Shou a cup of wine and let him take a sip.

Su Lu added some tea to the cup, and the wine immediately changed color. Zhu Shou even took a sip and found it was indeed undrinkable.

"The relationships in this world are too complicated. Only when friends are free from desires and ulterior motives can things remain untainted," Su Lu sighed softly.

"Is that so?" Zhu Shou asked thoughtfully.

"Think about it. In officialdom, subordinates want to curry favor with their superiors to get promoted and make money; at home, younger generations want to please their elders to gain more benefits; as for relationships between men and women, whether it's a phoenix seeking a mate or a mate seeking a phoenix, it always boils down to 'having something to gain'..." Su Lu then spoke eloquently:
"There's always one side trying to please the other, saying insincere flattery, bowing their heads and begging for mercy. How can that wine not taste good?"

"Even the person being flattered will get tired of it after a while, and once they see through it, they might even feel disgusted. What's the point of drinking wine if you can't hear the truth or see the real person?"

"Oh! That makes so much sense! That's exactly it!" Zhu Shou's eyes lit up, and he patted Su Lu's shoulder excitedly, saying, "No wonder I was unhappy no matter how much people flattered me in the palace. Turns out I was disgusted by it!"

“Yes, they’re only trying to curry favor with you because you’re a favorite of the emperor,” Su Lu nodded and smiled.

"..." Zhang Yong was speechless. Was this top scholar a bookworm? How come he was more worldly than me?

Regardless of what he thought, Zhu Shou was deeply moved. He excitedly slammed his fist on the table and said, "Today, let's cast aside all those empty titles... What grand eunuch, what favorite of the emperor, and you, the top scholar, all of you, can go to the side! The three of us are just friends who drink together!"

Su Lu laughed heartily, poured Zhu Shou another cup, and raised his cup to invite him: "Haha, that's a straightforward statement! We'll go with your suggestion!"

"Cheers! Cheers!" Zhu Shou raised his glass, beaming with joy.

"Hey, hey, cheers..." Zhang Yong had no choice but to pick up his wine cup with both hands and gently clink it against the two of them.

At this moment, dishes were delivered to the door in a continuous stream, and Zhang Zhong took the tray and came in to serve the dishes himself.

Zhang Yong asked in a low voice, "Have you tried everything?"

"Alright." Zhang Zhong nodded slightly and said with a smile, "Use it with confidence, use it with confidence."

"Come on, everyone, eat up!" Zhu Shou put his worries aside, his stomach already growling with hunger. He took the chopsticks and began to eat heartily.

Zhang Yong was busy serving food to Zhu Shou, while Su Lu only took a few bites before putting down his chopsticks.

"Why aren't you eating?" Zhu Shou asked, glancing at him with food in his mouth.

"I already ate before I left." Su Lu picked up his wine glass and swirled it. "Just keep you company while you drink."

"Wine without meat is no fun at all." Zhu Shou personally handed him a lamb skewer and said warmly, "Look at this roasted meat, crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and juicy—it's absolutely authentic!"

Su Lu, unable to refuse the kind offer, accepted the skewer of grilled meat and ate it.

"See? I didn't lie to you, did I?" Zhu Shou asked with a smile.

"To be honest, it's just so-so." Su Lu shook his head and said, "Without cumin and chili powder, this barbecue has no soul."

"Cumin? Chili powder?" Zhu Shou asked curiously. "What are those? I've never heard of them before."

"I... I don't have any either." Zhang Yong shook his head.

“Cumin is also called Anise, and it must have been introduced from the Western Regions in the early days,” Su Lu said, feigning doubt. “I’ve eaten it in Sichuan, so it should be available in the capital, right?”

"Go back and find it. I'll taste it and see if it's really that miraculous," Zhu Shou instructed Zhang Yong. "And that chili powder too, have someone find it!"

"Yes." Zhang Yong nodded hurriedly to indicate that he had made a note of it, and said to Su Lu, "Friend Su, I'll trouble you to write down the two names later."

“Anxifennel is just benzoin with the character for fennel added.” Su Lu then laughed and said, “Don’t bother with chili powder, the Ming Dynasty doesn’t have it at all.”

"Then where did you find out?" Zhu Shou became even more curious.

"Where else could we find it? In books, of course." Su Lu said with feigned seriousness, "I've been reading it for so long that I've forgotten the title. The author was a eunuch who served Ma Sanbao. He said that he brought this back during his voyages to the West, and it could turn all kinds of rotten ingredients into something magical..."

"Zheng He's voyages to the Western Ocean?" Zhu Shou took the bait as expected.

"That's right, it was Zheng He's voyages to the Western Ocean during the Yongle and Xuande reigns. They brought back thousands upon thousands of rare creatures, including unicorns, lions, ostriches, zebras, leopards, six-legged turtles, white elephants, phoenixes, long-horned macaques, and fine Arabian horses..."

Su Lu then rattled off a list as if it were his own treasure: "And pepper, cloves, cinnamon, ambergris, frankincense, myrrh, dragon's blood, styrax, kalanchoe, sandalwood, benzoin, nutmeg..."

But the truth is there were no chili peppers. At this time, that stuff had probably just been brought back to Europe by Columbus, and it would be decades before it reached the Ming Dynasty...

But it doesn't matter, it's just bragging anyway, no need to be so precise.

Zhu Shou was indeed captivated by the hype, and excitedly drooled, exclaiming, "How many delicious and fun things are there?"

Then Su Lu sighed and said, "It's a pity that the voyages to the West have long since stopped, so the supply of these rare items has naturally been cut off."

"Then I... will really have to go on another voyage to the West!" Zhu Shou slammed his hand on the table.

(End of this chapter)