The sun set gently on the horizon, dyeing the waters a glowing red. The land seemed to have been draped with a dark red brocade robe. Usually at this time of the day, the docks would be becoming more quiet. However, at this moment, it was still bustling with activity. The dockworkers came to and fro, hauling cargo on their shoulders and backs. Carts among carts were stacked high with goods from the sea-going s.h.i.+ps.
A bunch of brawny men dressed entirely in black patrolled the perimeter of the docks. All of their eyes were alert and they attentively observed the surroundings. In the cargo holds of the hundred or so s.h.i.+ps, there were the seeds of unfamiliar crops as well as some precious goods from the western hemisphere and southern seas.
The rarer something is, the greater its value. Silks and porcelain, which were commonly seen items for the Great Ming Dynasty, could be sold for ten times, even a hundred times their value in the west. On the flip side, goods that were considered commonplace in the west were worth more their weight in gold in the Great Ming Dynasty. The emperor had previously said that all of the goods from the voyage, other than the ones he listed, were the property of Royal Prince Yang. From the spoils of this trip, Prince Yang would definitely increase his wealth by a hundredfold! There were so many valuable items, so they naturally had to prevent unscrupulous people from seeing them.
Royal Prince Yang also regarded these goods with a lot of importance and refused Commander Bao's proposal of being escorted into town first. He sat inside the simple business office at the docks and watched as the bags of goods got loaded onto the horse carts. The expression on his face was tranquil and his mouth was pressed into its customary line. His eyes glowed with a cool light and emitted an aura that made people hesitant to approach him.
"Grumble…" The four people sitting in silence suddenly heard a slight noise. It sounded distinctly clear and made it hard for people to ignore it.
Commander Bao stealthily looked out of the corner of his eye to peep at Prince Yang. The prince's expression stayed the same as if the obvious sound of his stomach growing had nothing to do with him.
Steward Liu astutely detected Commander Bao's line of sight and lightly coughed to call the other man's attention. He then hugged his stomach and quietly confessed, "Master, please forgive me. This old servant didn't have a good appet.i.te this morning on the s.h.i.+p. It's not even dinner time, yet my belly is complaining for food."
Prince Yang naturally knew that his head steward was taking the fall for him. However, did Steward Liu really think he was still that childish? The world was vast, but eating was an important thing, what was awkward about being hungry? His bright eyes whirled a bit and he looked Steward Liu in the eye before he faintly remarked, "Commander Bao, is there anywhere we can go to get some food on these docks?"
This question made Commander Bao feel a bit uneasy. The Tanggu Docks were very simple, so the only people selling food were the nearby villagers, who were all peasant farmers. The food was quite crude and no one knew how hygienic it was either. It was said that Royal Prince Yang was a bit of a germaphobe, would he be able to stomach eating the food here?
When Prince Yang noticed that Commander Bao had stayed silent a bit with an awkward expression on his face, he followed up in a slightly raspy and gloomy voice, "What? Is Commander Bao in a bind right now?"
Very few people knew that Zhu Junyang had a bout of illness when he was very young. In fact, due to anemia, he had fainted in the past. His body had slowly strengthened as he got older and with the treatment of the imperial physicians. After he started practicing martial arts, almost no one knew about this particular past. However, because of this previous illness, Zhu Junyang could not stand being hungry. As soon as he felt the pangs, his mood would become irritable and fl.u.s.tered. Consequently, the tone he used to speak to Commander Bao had also held some impatience.
Commander Bao hurriedly got off the stool and kneeled down with his hands cupped and head lowered, "Royal Prince Yang, the environment at the docks is too crude and plain. I'm afraid...I'm afraid you might not be able to tolerate the food here!"
"How could I not tolerate the food here? I've even eaten raw fish and drank rainwater on the s.h.i.+p. If that's not considered crude, what could be?" The emptiness in his stomach was making Zhu Junyang feel irritable and agitated. His last sentence even held a hint of rebuke within it.
The person who understood the young royal prince the most had to be Steward Liu, who had watched him grow up. He knew that the young royal prince was ravenous. If he didn't get some food now, someone was going to have to suffer. Steward Liu hastily spoke to Commander Bao, "Commander Bao, find some food that is edible at the docks and bring it back. This old servant is almost about to faint from hunger!"
