"Who in the palace doesn't know Prince Li is now the Emperor's favorite?"
Every audience with Qin Lu left His Majesty in unusually high spirits—
So even when the Emperor was not in the study, attendants rushed to inform him of the prince's arrival.
By coincidence, the Emperor happened to be strolling through the imperial glass greenhouse—
(A structure requiring no major construction, merely a cleared plot in the gardens, making it the palace's earliest completed renovation.)
Upon hearing of Qin Lu's visit, he immediately ordered him brought to the greenhouse.
Dismissing the attendant, the Emperor paced slowly between the plant beds, muttering half-complaint, half-boast:
"What's Third Son doing here again? Can't go a week without bothering me!"
"His Highness simply wishes to be close to Your Majesty," Chief Eunuch Wang soothed, expertly feeding the Emperor's ego.
The Emperor's expression softened imperceptibly, though he snorted for decorum's sake:
"Nonsense! He's just here to brag about whatever new toy his princess consort invented!"
His tone dripped with exaggerated grievance.
Initially, novelties like glass lanterns, soap, and paper had dazzled him into overlooking Qin Lu's constant references to "my consort said…"
But after repeated visits, the pattern became unmistakable:
Every sentence from Qin Lu contained "my consort"—
"My consort suggested…"
"After discussing with my consort…"
"My consort and I believe…"
The relentless spousal praise made the Emperor's teeth ache.
(Though Chief Eunuch Wang knew better than to agree aloud, deftly redirecting:)
"Even Princess Consort Gu's inventions are ultimately tributes to Your Majesty."
"True enough," the Emperor conceded, mood lifting as curiosity took hold. "What do you suppose he's brought this time?"
An impossible question—
Gu Yanshu's innovations defied all prediction.
But the Emperor hadn't expected an answer anyway; he simply wanted to savor the anticipation.
——
When Qin Lu arrived, snowflakes dusted his cloak.
"This son greets His Imperial Majesty—"
"Enough formalities!" The Emperor waved him off. "What's so urgent?"
His eyes, however, kept darting to the cloth-covered basket in Qin Lu's grip.
To protect the greens from snow, Gu Yanshu had ordered it draped—
(Though Xing Ren's overzealousness resulted in a comically oversized shroud that obscured all hints of its contents.)
Qin Lu, never one for suspense, answered plainly:
"My consort cultivated winter vegetables. Today's first harvest is for Your Majesty."
"Oh… just vegetables?"
Disappointment flickered across the Emperor's face.
Winter in Tianqi lacked leafy greens, but root vegetables like radishes and bamboo shoots were commonplace.
He'd hoped for something rarer beneath that dramatic covering.
Yet as Qin Lu lifted the cloth, revealing vibrant emerald leaves, the Emperor's breath caught.
"—Spinach?!"
He leaned closer, disbelieving.
Green vegetables in winter?
Impossible!
Qin Lu set the basket within reach, explaining:
"My consort missed greens after autumn. He devised this method to grow them indoors."
The Emperor prodded a leaf—
Fresh juice beaded where his nail pierced the tender flesh.
Real. Alive. Unmistakable.
"How?!" he demanded.
At fifty, with decades of imperial dining behind him, winter's dietary limitations grated increasingly.
(His physicians constantly nagged about fiber intake, especially when… ahem… certain royal functions grew sluggish.)
Qin Lu gestured to the greenhouse around them.
"Glass enclosures with heated floors replicate summer. My consort theorized it might work—and succeeded."
The Emperor stared at his own ornamental greenhouse—
Suddenly seeing it with new eyes.
(No longer just a pretty conservatory… but a revolutionary farm.)
——
"Growing vegetables in glass greenhouses isn't as simple as it seems."
Temperature, humidity, ventilation—every detail mattered.
As he spoke, Qin Lu produced a meticulously annotated document from his sleeve and presented it to the Emperor.
Gu Yanshu had compiled a comprehensive guide on greenhouse cultivation.
When drafting it, Qin Lu had asked why he'd so readily gifted the method to the throne.
Gu Yanshu's response?
"What profit is there in selling this? Only the wealthy would bother. And to build greenhouses, they'd need glass—which they'd have to buy from Taoranju anyway."
A merchant to his core, he'd already calculated maximum returns:
Selling the technique? Minimal profit, endless after-sales headaches.Gifting it to the Emperor? Imperial favor + automatic noble adoption = free marketing.
Once the palace adopted it, officials would scramble to copy—
(Recognizing the source instantly by the glasswork, thereby boosting sales.)
Even Qin Lu, accustomed to his consort's ruthless efficiency, marveled at the scheme.
Now, he executed the plan flawlessly.
The Emperor studied the notes—not with annoyance, but fascination.
Glancing between the document and the basket of greens, he suddenly found the greenhouse's ornamental flowers unbearably frivolous.
Without hesitation, he ordered Chief Eunuch Wang:
"Remove these blossoms. Plant vegetables using these instructions—today."
With workmen arriving, Emperor and prince withdrew, strolling toward the imperial chambers.
The greens were sent to the imperial private kitchen—
(A rare act of culinary selfishness from the Emperor.)
Noticing Qin Lu's look, Qin Yuan defended shamelessly:
"Problem? You gifted these to me."
(Translation: My greens now. Cry about it.)
Qin Lu acquiesced silently.
Pleased, the Emperor indulged in rare small talk:
"How are affairs? Any difficulties? How's married life?"
Then—seemingly casual—
"Those new teahouses… Guiyuanju and Yaoyue Pavilion. Also your consort's ventures?"
"Dowry properties," Qin Lu confirmed.
The Emperor's eyes gleamed.
"The storytellers there—his people too?"
"Mn."
(Though originally Qin Hao's recruits, they'd been transferred to Gu Yanshu's command.)
The Emperor coughed lightly.
"Then he must have… the unpublished chapters of The Legend of Chancellor He?"
Qin Lu froze.
This couldn't mean…
"Your Majesty… listens to teahouse tales?"
The Emperor scowled at his hesitation.
"Answer plainly! Does he have them or not?"
"...Yes."
The admission confirmed it:
*The Son of Heaven was hooked on serialized fiction.*
Initially, courtiers' chatter about Chancellor He had piqued his interest.
But their fragmented retellings soon failed to satisfy.
He'd dispatched eunuchs to attend live performances—
Only to face the cruel cliffhangers Guiyuanju specialized in.
(One chapter per day, always ending on a suspenseful note.)
Now, like any addict, he sought the uncut manuscript.
"Guiyuanju's latest installment ended with He San passing the county exams—while He Wu failed spectacularly."
Thanks to their tutor's cover-up, the He parents dismissed He Wu's failure as youthful inadequacy.
When the results were posted, they'd spotted a matching name beside He San's—
But who would suspect an illiterate farmhand of scholarly achievement?
Even He Wu, the sole witness to He San's secret studies, assumed his brother hadn't taken the exam.
Thus began a deceptive calm—
He Wu returned to school; He San resumed fieldwork by day, sneaking study sessions at night.
Now with one advantage: direct access to the tutor's guidance for difficult passages.
As the prefectural exams approached, a new dilemma emerged:
*How to retrieve his household registry (required for registration) under his parents' noses?*
And just as listeners leaned forward, breath held—
*"To know what happens next—tune in tomorrow!"*
(Cue collective rage.)
*Ending there?!*
*What kind of cruelty is this?!*
The Emperor—equally hooked—had seized upon Qin Lu's connection to Guiyuanju like a lifeline.
Yet when Qin Lu confirmed he knew the plot's conclusion, His Majesty's hope curdled into baffled fury.
——
"You… know the ending?" The Emperor eyed his son skeptically.
(Since when does this battle-obsessed brute care about scholarly sagas?)
"Mn."
Qin Lu's unexpected admission stemmed from shared library hours with Gu Yanshu.
All of Guiyuanju's scripts were personally supervised by his consort—
(During which Qin Lu had absorbed the general arcs.)
Eager to oblige, he summarized briskly:
"He San aces the exams, achieves the Triple Crown of imperial honors, gains the Emperor's favor, rises meteorically, and becomes a legendary chancellor."
A beat of silence.
"That's… it?" The Emperor blinked.
"Mn."
(Gu Yanshu's original briefing had been equally succinct.)
The Emperor's eye twitched.
Half a month's suspense over county exams…
Countless twists and turns…
And this idiot condenses a lifetime into one sentence?!
He hadn't wanted the destination—
He craved the journey: the struggles, the reversals, the triumphant payoffs!
Qin Lu's clueless stoicism finally shattered the imperial patience.
"GET OUT!"
(A roar that startled nearby eunuchs into dropping their tea trays.)