The ice crystal palace of the north was rumoured to be a beautiful place that many wished to witness at least once in their lives.
Ki had been among them but she had never had the opportunity to see it in her previous life due to the war breaking out.
As everyone was making their way through the busy streets, Ki picked up on the smell of fish and animal meat cooking as the vendors sold them from their stalls.
If people were not able to hunt then they would journey to find a suitable unfrozen lake to fish in to catch food for to eat or sell.
It was not strange to see other people wandering over the frozen over lakes and fishing where there was a hole or crack which had opened up naturally or they had done themselves.
Even if they were lacking in decent herbs, vegetables and fruits to eat, there was still an abundance of animals to hunt and fish to catch if they knew how to locate and catch them using their own abilities.
The north was a place where it was always extra harsh on the weak and untalented people.
A person needed to be strong or talented in some area to keep themselves safe from the many dangers and difficulties the cold lands brought to them.
The tall walls seemed to get in the way of most of the strong cold winds that blew so those inside the capital were not as affected by the weather as most others had been outside of the walls.
It was much easier to light fires and go about their daily business without worrying about the strong winds causing inconveniences to their daily lives.
Some had a fresh kill or catch hung up by them while others were preparing various easy dishes that could be taken away and eaten on the move.
The most seen option was many skewered pieces of meat or fish which seemed to be very popular among the common citizens who walked around with the skewers as they continued to shop or walk towards their next destination.
Ki nodded in appreciation then turned to an assistant of the family then pointed to some stalls. "Collect some from each and bring them to me with their information if you can learn anything about them. A name or their stall placement should be enough."
As a merchant, Ki had a keen sense for business and would not miss out on opportunities.
There were many things that would be overlooked by others due to the status of the people within the city being lower than the nobles and being underestimated greatly.
The nobles lived on more luxurious things and liked anything that helped to elevate their status while despising anything cheap or lowly, there were often many things they overlooked because of their high vision.
Ki had lived as a spoiled daughter of her family until she lost it and became an abused slave then wandered around with no status to protect herself until she finally entered the blood sect and attained her status there so she was not restricted to such thinking like other nobles.
Even a simple skewer stall was something she would take a second look at if it had a chance to help her family turn a profit.
There were high end cooks in the capital but they lacked certain things that ordinary people had or recipes which had been passed down within the families which they used to support themselves so there could always be hidden gems hidden within the common people.
Ki sending someone to purchase the skewers and collect some information was just her way to research the trading in the capital and to find out if anyone had potential.
She continued to point out various places and send some people to visit them to collect information and goods as they all made their way towards the part of the city which had many private residences.
Someone was stood at the gate and had their figure covered up by thick clothes but Ki recognised them right away. "Open the gates."
The person turned around and their eyes brightened suddenly. "Young lady, you made it finally. Did something happen on the way here?"
Ki let out a sigh. "Let's talk about this once we have gone inside and have handled everything."
The person bowed and then went to signal for the others to enter the gates which had been opened for them. "This way young lady."
As she was lead towards the building further within the walls, Adam and Elizabeth both got down from their carriage and stretched their bodies.
Adam sneezed and wiped his nose. "Ah… I think I am coming down with a cold. Wife! It is your duty to care for me. Hehe! Hey, my most beautiful lady… since I am not well, could you ask out lovely daughter for one of those bottles?"
Elizabeth crossed her arms over her chest and scowled at him. "You are scheming for your daughters creations once again. You never learn… you were cut off not long ago and yet you still covet her things."
She turned away from him and walked away towards the building to catch up to Ki which meant that she left behind her husband who had a pitiful and neglected look on his face. "Wife! How could you! I really am sick this time.. this damned cold!"
He had played various tricks in the past to coax Ki and Elizabeth to give him some of the wines that Ki had made.
He had tasted many of the special ones and some of the medical wines due to him complaining about various things like having joint pains or insomnia.
While some of them were true, there were times where he lied to taste them again and he had been caught out by his wife and daughter.
Due to him lying, Adam had become suspected of lying most times when he complained about problems with his body.
Elizabeth lacked proper training in the basics of medicine and could not spot the differences as well as Ki so she believed her husband was lying again.
Ki on the other hand had a keener eye and knew when he was lying or telling the truth so she had given in to his requests when he was actually feeling bad.
Elizabeth left her husband in a hurry believing he was lying again but she could not take any chances with the cold weather so when she had caught up to Ki, she coaxed her. "Daughter.. can you check on your father again? I am worried about him and do not want him becoming ill in this place. Do not let him know I asked you to check on him though. I am still angry with his previous actions. Hmph."
Ki revealed a relaxed smile as she walked side by side with her mother. "Do not worry mother. He will be fine."
It was a typical example of the boy that cried with wolf but instead it was the man that cried illness.
Even if Adam was really unwell, everyone around him doubted him because of his past words and actions.
Elizabeth had no choice but to turn to her daughter to find out the truth and left her husband behind once he had mentioned himself being unwell because she did not know if she could trust him.
Ki signalled to a servant and said. "Go outside and escort my father inside and to a room to warm up. Take out one of the special labelled bottle named heat and gift it to him."
The servant bowed. "Yes, young lady!"
As the servant escorted Adam inside, Adam had a proud look on my face. 'Ah my daughter really treasure her father.'
Later he was enjoying the wine he had been gifted and his body became very warm with each gulp he took of it. "So magical. So the northerners have been enjoying this for so long now. My daughter sure is smart and has them all figured out. No wonder the northern businesses have been so profitable."