Xiao Jingnan spoke with an air of ease.
But in Li Wanming's heart, there was a flutter of unease.
“... Will it work?” she asked woodenly.
In terms of operation, she thought what Xiao Jingnan said was feasible.
Once they knew the raw materials and could find relevant records in ancient books, they could then sift through the details and follow the clues to find the brewing method of the Dragon Paste Wine.
Moreover, as a brewer, she was quite eager to try brewing wine with alligator meat.
However, the wine Zhao Yanke had ordered this time was for the New Year's family banquet in the imperial palace.
This was the grandest banquet of the year in the Great Sheng Dynasty, attended by all the imperial relatives and nobles.
What if something went wrong...
“If something goes wrong, it's naturally up to His Majesty to take the blame,”
Xiao Jingnan still smiled lightly. “My lady just needs to add a bit of alligator meat to the original Golden Jade Hall Wine. Whether it's distilled, pickled, soaked or smoked, it's entirely up to you.”
Li Wanming's eyebrows knitted in panic. “What His Majesty wants is the Dragon Paste Wine...”
If things went wrong, it would be a serious crime of deceiving the emperor!
“What Dragon Paste Wine!” Xiao Jingnan shrugged indifferently. “He's just bored in the palace and wants something new. As long as you tell him this method and say that we've brewed a new wine called Phoenix Bone Wine in a different way, he'll surely be satisfied.”
That was true...
Given Zhao Yanke's personality, as long as she used alligator meat in the wine, no matter what was brewed, as long as it was non - toxic, he would surely drink it happily.
“What if it doesn't taste good...”
Li Wanming still hesitated.
Although she was eager to try, she didn't have the spirit of sacrificing herself for the cause of brewing.
She was terribly afraid of death. She didn't want to deceive the emperor, nor did she want to anger those powerful nobles.
“I've said, His Majesty will take the blame,” Xiao Jingnan comforted her gently. “Who would dare to say that the wine bestowed by the emperor at the New Year's palace banquet doesn't taste good? Even the Empress Dowager would give His Majesty some face on such an occasion.”
Well, since that was the case, then... it was time to take action!
Li Wanming was originally quite interested in brewing new wine. After listening to Xiao Jingnan's analysis, she also thought that it seemed she didn't have to risk her life. So she finally agreed.
She asked Chuntao to send a letter to the Feng Mansion, fully informing Feng Xiao of this plan.
When Feng Xiao heard this, he was very excited. “So it's an alligator! I've never eaten an alligator before!”
He immediately went into the palace to report this good news to Zhao Yanke. When he came out of the palace, he was already holding a box of small gold ingots in his arms.
“His Majesty was extremely touched!”
Standing in the courtyard of the Zhaoyu Academy, Feng Xiao said passionately, “He said: I just had a sudden idea, but unexpectedly, Lady Cheng was so diligent that she found the origin of this wine overnight! If all the people of our Great Sheng Dynasty were as hard - working, intelligent and erudite as Lady Cheng, why would we worry about not pacifying the territory and making the country rich...”
Li Wanming: “Speak plainly.”
Feng Xiao stuffed the box into her hands. “Old rule, pay the deposit first.”
Li Wanming put down the box and pointed to a document on the desk beside her. “New rule, sign the contract first.”
“Ah?” Feng Xiao was taken aback. “Do we still need to sign a contract this time?”
Li Wanming said, “Yes. This matter is too big. I can't afford to take the blame if something goes wrong. There's nothing else in the contract. The main point is that if the wine I brew doesn't taste good, or if I don't finish brewing it on time, well... the deposit won't be refunded, and you still have to pay the rest of the money.”
Feng Xiao gasped. “You're such a shrewd merchant! After not seeing you for a few months, has Lady Cheng evolved to this extent?”
Li Wanming scratched her ear embarrassedly. “After having a confrontation with the Imperial College, I should have made some progress, shouldn't I?”
She knew that the terms were harsh, but there was no other way. She had never tried brewing wine with meat before. The difficulty was too great, and she wasn't sure she could succeed.
She had to find some insurance for herself.
Xiao Jingnan said with a smile, “If the young general can't make the decision, you might as well take this contract back to His Majesty and let him sign it.”
“Of course I'll take it back to him!”
Feng Xiao folded the document and stuffed it into his bosom. He said angrily, “It's him who wants to drink the wine, not me. It must be him who signs!”
No refund of the deposit and full payment of the balance...
That was a thousand jars of wine!
How could he dare to sign such a contract?
If things didn't go well, all his savings in this lifetime wouldn't be enough to cover the loss.
If General Feng found out, he'd surely beat him to death!
“After His Majesty signs it, remember to remind him to affix the seal,” Xiao Jingnan added.
“Affix the seal...?” After Feng Xiao realized what it meant, he slowly opened his mouth wide. “You, you mean... for such a wine - buying document, we still need to use the imperial jade seal...?”
Xiao Jingnan: “If His Majesty doesn't want to, it's okay not to use the jade seal. We can just take the document to the Ministry of Revenue to get it stamped.”
“No! ... Wait!” Feng Xiao shouted.
His mind was a bit muddled.
A document personally approved by the emperor still had to be taken to his minister to be stamped...
If this got out, Feng Xiao didn't know whether it would be more embarrassing for the emperor or for the Ministry of Revenue.
“Okay, okay. I'll ask him... Maybe he'll really agree to affix the jade seal.”
Feng Xiao walked away in a daze with the document in his bosom.
Li Wanming stood beside Xiao Jingnan and asked softly, “Do we really want His Majesty to use the jade seal?”
There were procedures for affixing the seal in the palace. It wasn't something that Zhao Yanke could do whenever he wanted.
Xiao Jingnan: “The New Year's palace banquet is a grand occasion. The jade seal will provide more insurance. Moreover, in this way, it's like informing Empress Dowager Kang in advance. Even if she finds out later, she won't make things difficult for you.”
Li Wanming's eyes widened slightly. “Make things difficult for me? No way. She's the Empress Dowager...”
Xiao Jingnan smiled and gently shook his head. “It's just an extra layer of protection. It doesn't matter.”
Zhao Yanke had been acting more and more absurdly in the palace recently.
But Xiao Jingnan had made the right bet.
The more absurdly he acted, the more at ease Empress Dowager Kang felt about him.
Recently, Empress Dowager Kang had started to hypocritically urge him to read memorials again.
So as soon as Feng Xiao came, Xiao Jingnan guessed that this must be another strange idea of Zhao Yanke's.
Specifying to drink a legendary wine and making a big fuss by sending the commander of the imperial guards out to look for it. It was truly extremely extravagant and absurd. Only a fatuous emperor could do such a thing...
Since Zhao Yanke had set up the stage here, Xiao Jingnan naturally had to add fuel to the fire.
To show that this emperor was really only concerned with eating, drinking and having fun, so as to completely reassure Empress Dowager Hu.
Moreover, on another level, this document with the imperial jade seal would indeed provide more protection for Li Wanming.
After all, it was the New Year's palace banquet. The matter was of great importance.
What if that unreliable Zhao Yanke slipped up somewhere? With this highest - level contract of the Great Sheng Dynasty, it could at least provide one more layer of protection for Li Wanming.
And also...
“If this matter succeeds, my lady's wine shop will really become famous all over the world,” Xiao Jingnan said with a smile.