Imperial Husband Chapter 82

Chapter 82

"Not a problem, leave it to me." Dashu patted his own chest, letting out a hearty laugh.

Just as expected.

With Dashu leading the way, Li Jin and the others arrived in a very short time at the place where Dashu had found the saltpeter. They examined these peculiar-looking white prismatic crystals.

Ying Yuan said with disbelief, "I never imagined there would be this much here."

"These things are called saltpeter, they have many uses." They are also one of the raw materials for gunpowder.

Since gunpowder had not yet appeared in this world, Li Jin did not speak the latter part aloud.

Simultaneously.

Li Jin finally understood where Ying Ziqi's saltpeter had come from in his previous life.

Speaking of which.

Before Li Jin was reborn, he had also mentioned saltpeter to Ying Ziqi, but Li Jin concealed its specific uses, only saying it was a medicinal substance he had read about in ancient texts, and asked Ying Ziqi to bring some back if he ever saw it.

At that time, Ying Ziqi happened to go to Zhuzhou and encountered the saltpeter Li Jin mentioned, so he brought some back. After all, Li Jin was an important chess piece for Ying Ziqi; such a trivial matter Ying Ziqi would not refuse to satisfy.

However, Ying Ziqi held something back.

He said this was all the saltpeter there was, and then probed Li Jin from the side, wanting to know other uses for saltpeter besides medicinal ones.

Having interacted with Li Jin for so many years, Ying Ziqi certainly did not believe Li Jin's claim that saltpeter was merely medicinal. Therefore, in Ying Ziqi's view, Li Jin must be hiding something.

Yet no matter what Ying Ziqi did or how he tested him, Li Jin simply would not say, insisting it was for medicinal use whenever asked, which infuriated Ying Ziqi. 

However, because Li Jin was the heir apparent of the Prince of Dingbei, and Ying Ziqi desperately needed the power that came with Li Jin's status as the prince's heir, he dared not act rashly. He could only suppress his anger, thinking to settle accounts with Li Jin properly once he held great power in the future.

The reason Li Jin chose to conceal the truth back then was because the power of gunpowder was too immense, and Ying Ziqi at that time was too young. Telling him would surely have brought about much bloodshed and chaos.

The facts proved.

Li Jin's worries were not unfounded. Later, Ying Ziqi volunteered for a campaign. Even after conquering an enemy city with Li Jin's help, he disregarded Li Jin's opposition and slaughtered all the commoners in that city. 

The formal divergence between Li Jin and Ying Ziqi, nearly to the point of a complete break, also began with this massacre.

At the same time.

Li Jin also felt relieved in his heart that he had not told Ying Ziqi about gunpowder back then. Otherwise, given Ying Ziqi's madness, the casualties would have been even more severe and tragic.

However, this massacre was not the end, but the beginning of a series of crazed actions by Ying Ziqi.

In several subsequent siege battles, Ying Ziqi adopted the method of slaughtering the entire city's population. Not counting smaller cities, he massacred seven major ones.

Regarding Ying Ziqi's city-wide slaughters, court ministers were not without opposition, but Ying Ziqi already held great power, having obtained the authority to oversee state affairs, making those dissenting voices utterly ineffective.

"Third Prince, they have already surrendered, why must you stubbornly order a massacre?"

"If they are not of our race, their hearts must be different."

"Are you saying you want to exterminate all foreign peoples? Even if they surrender?"

"Yes, these people have no reason to live. Death is their only proper end. Li Jin, you are far too soft-hearted. These foreigners are not worth you speaking up for them."

Suddenly.

Ying Yuan's worried voice broke in, interrupting Li Jin's reminiscence, "A-Jin? A-Jin? A-Jin, why have you suddenly stopped talking?"

"It's nothing, I just remembered some unpleasant things from the past."

Coming back to his senses, Li Jin smiled at Ying Yuan to reassure him.

Things from the past? Was he thinking about those people from the Prince of Dingbei's mansion?

Ying Yuan immediately thought of the hypocritical people at the prince's mansion. But since Li Jin said it was nothing, he didn't press further. "A-Jin, you just said these stones are called saltpeter?"

"Yes," Li Jin nodded, picking up a piece. "In the right amounts, it can clear away foulness, reduce internal fluid retention, purge excess, counteract toxins, relieve swelling, and so on. However, to use it as medicine, it must be processed and cannot be consumed directly."

"As medicine..."

The curiosity in Ying Yuan's eyes grew even stronger.

During his years in the palace, Ying Yuan would study medical texts in his leisure time, so he naturally knew of many medicinal herbs, but this was the first time he had heard of a stone that could be used as medicine.

"For you." Li Jin unexpectedly handed the stone in his hand to Ying Yuan. "When we have time later, I'll teach you how to prepare this saltpeter for medicinal use, alright?"

"Alright."

Ying Yuan took the saltpeter Li Jin offered, unable to conceal the joy in his heart.

"Brother Jin, you're truly incredible, even knowing something like this." Dongzi widened his eyes in exaggerated awe, making no attempt to hide his admiration for Li Jin.

Although Dashu was well aware that Li Jin had absolutely no romantic interest in Dongzi, seeing Dongzi display this admiring look—one he had never once directed at him—made Dashu feel a pang of despicable jealousy.

Without thinking, he grabbed a nearby plant and blurted out, "Dongzi, look how strange these leaves are. This must be some kind of medicinal herb or something too."

"..."

Hearing Dashu's utterly tactless remark, the corner of Dongzi's mouth couldn't help but twitch.

"Dashu, you've done well." Li Jin, upon suddenly seeing what was in Dashu's hand, couldn't help but be momentarily stunned, then smiled. "With this, your trip won't have been in vain."

"Brother Jin, is this really a medicinal herb?"

Hearing this, Dashu couldn't help but swallow nervously.

Dashu had just said it offhand, having no idea what use the thing in his hand had.

"No." Li Jin shook his head. "It's something edible."

"No way? This thing can be eaten?"

Dashu opened his eyes wide in exaggerated disbelief, looking the wilted plant over in his hand. Besides the yellowish-brown, oddly shaped leaves and the tough stem, it didn't look edible in the slightest.

Overcome by curiosity, Dashu actually took a direct bite. "Uh... this is just too..." awful, right?

Dashu, afraid his words might displease Li Jin, quickly swallowed the unfinished remark.

Li Jin shook his head with amusement. "Dashu, before eating it, you need to peel the stalk a bit."

"Ah?"

Dashu was dumbfounded, not understanding what Li Jin meant.

"Like this," Seeing Dashu still didn't understand, he simply took one plant from Dashu's hand. Then, in front of all three of them, he peeled off the skin covering the stalk, broke the peeled stalk into two pieces, and handed one to Dashu and the other to Ying Yuan. "Try it."

"Um, alright," Dashu accepted the stalk from Li Jin with slight apprehension. He took a bite and immediately opened his eyes wide in disbelief. "Compared to before, what a huge difference!"

Ying Yuan chewed a little and remarked with surprise, "It's quite good."

Li Jin smiled. "What you're eating are sweet potato leaves. The tender parts can be eaten directly. For the tougher parts, you need to peel the skin first before eating."

"Dashu, give me some too."

Dongzi immediately imitated Li Jin's method, peeled a stalk, put it in his mouth, and a glint of delight instantly flashed in his eyes.

Seeing that they also seemed to like the sweet potato leaves, Li Jin unexpectedly reminded them, "Dashu, if you keep digging where you picked these leaves, you might make a surprising discovery."

"Dashu, let me do it."

Dongzi trusted Li Jin more than Dashu did. Therefore, as soon as Li Jin finished speaking, Dongzi eagerly started digging.

"I'll help too," said Dashu, hurrying over to assist Dongzi. After all, Dongzi would be his future wife; how could he just stand by and watch?

Not long after, Dongzi and the others simultaneously looked at Li Jin.

"Huh? Brother Jin, there seems to be something underneath."

"I felt it too."

"Bring it up and have a look," Li Jin chuckled lightly, gesturing for Dongzi and the others to bring up whatever was buried in the soil.

"Mm."

As they responded, they exerted force to lift the object.

With a soft thud, the true appearance of the thing from the ground was finally revealed to everyone.

"Red... it's red..." Dashu, seeing sweet potatoes for the first time, was instantly dumbstruck, momentarily unsure what to do. Dongzi's expression was no different.

"The sweet potato leaves from earlier taste better cooked. As for these sweet potatoes, whether eaten raw or cooked, they taste quite good."

Li Jin picked up one of the sweet potatoes that had been tossed to the ground by Dongzi, broke it open, and gave pieces to Dongzi and Dashu, saying meaningfully, "Would you like to try?"

The sweet potatoes Dongzi and the others dug up, perhaps due to the drought, were somewhat small; Li Jin could hold one in his hand.

"Uh..."

"This..."

Dongzi and the others wanted to follow Li Jin's suggestion, but the color of the sweet potato was too strange, and they couldn't make up their minds.

Seeing their hesitation, Ying Yuan looked at Li Jin and said, "Li Jin, give me some. I want to try it."

"Alright," Li Jin nodded and gave one half of the broken sweet potato to Ying Yuan.

Li Jin had lightly brushed off the dirt clinging to the sweet potato before breaking it.

Ying Yuan didn't hesitate. He took the sweet potato and bit into it.

"It's sweet... it's sweet," Ying Yuan said with surprise.

"Sweet?" 

Ying Yuan's words undoubtedly stirred the cravings in Dongzi and Dongsu's stomachs. Without waiting for further invitation from Li Jin, they spontaneously followed his method, cleaned the dirt off the sweet potatoes, broke them in half, and ate.

Indeed, they tasted a long-lost sweetness.

Li Jin suddenly asked, "Is it good?"

Dongzi and Dashu once again spoke simultaneously with joy, "Very tasty, extremely tasty! I've never eaten anything so delicious."

In Da Xia, for commoners, sugar was a very precious commodity, its value no less than salt. But for children from farming families like them, only the most favored child in the family might get to eat one or two pieces a year.

"Dashu, let's dig more to take back. Amu is sure to like it."

"Alright, I'll help you."

"Dashu, aren't you going to dig some to take back?"

"No," Dashu shook his head. "You know my family's situation. If I take it back, not only will they seize it all, but if they see you have some, they'll definitely make a big fuss, claiming it's all theirs and try to take yours too."

Dashu understood his family members very well. So rather than digging some up only to have it completely taken away, it was better to give it all to Dongzi.