By the time they reached the palace gate, the last glimmer of the setting sun had faded away.
Inside the imperial city, lanterns were lit, making it as bright as day.
Feng Xiao helped Zhao Yanke down from the carriage.
After he returned to the capital, Zhao Yanke appointed him as a bodyguard of the imperial court, allowing him to accompany the emperor in and out of the palace gate.
Xiao Jingnan stood outside the palace gate. After hesitating for a moment, he finally asked, "For the welcoming banquet of the General Who Guards the Nation, are you really set on ordering wine from Wanming?"
Zhao Yanke turned back and smiled. "Of course. Otherwise, what was the point of my trip out of the palace today?"
"But three thousand jars. That's too much..."
Moreover, the welcoming banquet for the General Who Guards the Nation would be held in the Chengming Hall in the palace. By then, Li Wanming would have to enter the palace to deliver the wine...
Although he could protect her all the way this time, the perils in the palace were probably a thousand times more dangerous than those in the Princess Mansion.
Could Wanming handle it?
Also, his father and the princess consort would definitely attend this banquet. What should he do then?
Zhao Yanke said, "There are still two months until the ninth day of the ninth lunar month. We have enough time. Have a little faith in your wife! Besides, I've already paid the deposit. What, are you guys going to renege on the deal?"
Xiao Jingnan lowered his head and bowed. "Your subject wouldn't dare."
Zhao Yanke waved his hand and strode into the palace gate with a hearty laugh.
He was like a young dragon that had just grown its wings. After sharpening its claws outside, it returned to its lair with a chill.
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Grapes, green plums, honeydew melons, mulberries, roses, peach blossoms...
Apart from these commonly used ingredients, Li Wanming even tried medicinal herbs like astragalus membranaceus, angelica dahurica, dendrobium officinale, and Chinese angelica. But no matter what she did, she couldn't brew a wine that satisfied Zhao Yanke.
Five days passed, then another five days, and another five days after that.
She tried three times in a row, but Zhao Yanke either said the flavor was lacking or that it wasn't mellow enough. He either disliked the taste or the color.
Li Wanming was frustrated.
Since she started brewing wine, she had never encountered such a picky customer.
But this customer was quite knowledgeable about wine and was also very generous, which made it impossible for her to get angry.
She spent half a month in the wine shop, which made Xiao Jingnan feel sorry for her.
Who was Zhao Yanke?
He was the current emperor, the supreme ruler of the land.
Even the most delicious and interesting things in the world would seem ordinary to him.
Moreover, the late emperor had only one son, who had been doted on since childhood. He had been used to eating tributes from all over the world as snacks, which had made his taste buds extremely picky.
It would be difficult for Li Wanming's wine to catch his eye.
"Monotonous..."
"Too sweet..."
"Not mellow enough..."
Li Wanming squatted beside the wine jars, resting her chin on her hand, and racking her brain to figure out what Zhao Yanke meant by those words.
"Although my wine has different flavors, it's still based on lychee wine. The original sweetness and freshness can't be removed."
"If he doesn't like this taste, it's like forcing me to develop a new type of wine..."
She looked miserable and couldn't help complaining.
"Really! My Ranshu Good Wine and Huatang Wine were originally made for girls. What's he, a big man, doing getting involved?"
"If he's not satisfied, he can just go back and drink pear blossom white and Chongbi Wine!"
Chuntao reminded her from the side, "Miss, think about the gold."
Li Wanming thought of the box full of gold ingots as the deposit and let out a long sigh, swallowing all her complaints.
Three thousand jars of wine didn't really require that much gold.
The customer was willing to pay this deposit, which clearly included the research and development costs.
To put it bluntly, Zhao Yanke wanted to drink a type of wine that had never existed in the world before.
It had to incorporate the best features of all wines and be perfect in color, aroma, and taste.
After sighing, Li Wanming hung her head, feeling that this was not an easy task.
She wasn't Yidi or Dukang. How could she be so capable of developing a new type of wine?
Xiao Jingnan saw that she had lost weight in the past few days. She frowned all day, had no appetite, and couldn't sleep well. There were dark circles under her eyes. He felt sorry for her.
So he said, "Tomorrow is the Qixi Festival. There's a fair near the Matchmaker Temple. I'll accompany you to have a look?"
Li Wanming lowered her head and didn't say a word.
She was curled up in a squat, like a hare that had just endured the wind and rain. Every hair on her body exuded a sense of dejection.
Xiao Jingnan walked over and pulled her up. "It's not a good idea to just stay here and work on your own... I heard that there are many novel things and delicious food at the fair. Maybe the snacks and brewed wine from other people will give you some inspiration?"
Li Wanming's eyes flickered. She thought he had a point and finally nodded in agreement.
The Qixi Festival is also known as the Double-Seventh Festival.
On this day, women who admired the Weaver Girl's craftsmanship would offer fruits and melons to the star Vega. Then they would sit together, thread needles under the moon, and compete in eyesight, praying that the Weaver Girl would bestow upon them sharp eyes and dexterous hands.
Later, because the Matchmaker Temple in the east of the capital was very effective and had a strong incense, the Qixi Festival activities gradually moved here.
So, on this day every year, there would be a lively fair outside the Matchmaker Temple.
Girls would put on their most beautiful clothes, bring incense, candles, and paper offerings, burn incense, and pray to invite the "Skillful Lady". Then they would sing, dance, and play all the way.
Of course, many people would also go to the Matchmaker Temple to offer incense, praying that the Matchmaker would bestow a good marriage upon them, so as to achieve both "seeking skills" and "seeking a marriage partner".
Li Wanming thought that the first person who came up with the idea of holding the Qixi Festival near the Matchmaker Temple was a genius.
The fair, entertainment, sacrifice, prayer, seeking skills, and marriage... all in one go. It truly met the customers' needs and achieved one-stop service.
"Don't you know?" Xiao Jingnan looked at her. "This was the idea of Empress Zhaoyuan."
"She said that whether men were officials or commoners, they still had days off and winter breaks. But women still had to be filial to their in-laws and raise their children on festive days without a moment's rest. The more festive the day, the busier they were."
"So she wanted to give women in the world a festival to have fun. So she established this Qixi Fair and set it outside the Matchmaker Temple. She hoped that all the women in the world would have a smooth marriage and a worry-free life."
After hearing this, Li Wanming lowered her head.
She knew about Empress Zhaoyuan.
The legendary most extraordinary woman in the Great Sheng Dynasty.
It was said that she and Emperor Taizu started the uprising together and fought side by side.
Although she was a woman, she didn't stay in the inner courtyard. Instead, she fought on the battlefield with her husband, charging through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, and founded the everlasting foundation of the Great Sheng Dynasty!
When Empress Zhaoyuan died, Emperor Taizu was heartbroken. "I've lost my left and right arms!"
So for Emperor Taizu, she was never just a wife who managed the inner courtyard for him. She was a partner, a colleague, a close friend, and a confidant.
Li Wanming was silent for a long time before slowly saying, "They all say that the Great Sheng Dynasty has an open atmosphere and is not as strict with women as the previous dynasties. But it's been almost two hundred years since the founding of the dynasty, and four emperors have all said that they would allow women to serve as officials in the court, but it still hasn't happened."
She thought of her mother.
Yuan Jinqiu was skilled in martial arts, resolute, brave, and resourceful. Her ability to fight on the battlefield far exceeded that of Li Rusong. Even Li Rusong's military merits were earned by her... But so what?
In the eyes of the world, her main identity was still Mrs. Li.
She was just a woman who could barely enter and leave the military camp because of Li Rusong.
And her eldest and second sisters.
The eldest sister was gentle and capable, and the second sister was brave and powerful... But weren't they still trapped in the inner courtyard and unable to break free?
Xiao Jingnan knew what was on her mind. He was silent for a moment, then looked up and smiled. "Don't be in a hurry. I promise you that in this lifetime, you will definitely see women serving as officials in the court."