TGPSAC – Chapter 38

In the end, Yu Jiuzhou still didn’t explain why she had done it. She had always believed that a monarch need not explain their actions to a subject.

However, her attitude had softened and was no longer so cold and rigid.

Silence fell over the room. Hearing that things had quieted down, Chun Gui entered with a tray of pastries.

Just moments before, she and Xia Qu had been trembling outside. There was clearly an argument happening inside, mostly with the Fuma doing the talking.

Xia Qu had even worried that Her Highness, in a fit of displeasure, would have Chi Wan executed.

Her Highness was a monarch. Even if the Fuma was highly regarded by His Majesty, the Emperor couldn’t say much if the Princess decided to give her a beating. It was a matter between partners, and as long as it didn’t go too far, it would be overlooked.

Xia Qu had wanted to go in and save the Fuma, and Chun Gui had the same thought. They couldn’t let Her Highness kill the Fuma in a moment of anger; they had to find a way to intervene.

But just as they prepared the pastries, the room fell silent.

Xia Qu didn’t go in. Fearing she might say the wrong thing, she let Chun Gui go alone.

Inside the main hall, Chi Wan sat fuming. All her words had been for naught.

Yu Jiuzhou, for her part, found Chi Wan rather strange. As a monarch, it was already a great concession for her to have said so much. Though she hadn’t seemed to explain, she had in fact offered a sentence of explanation. What more did Chi Wan want to ask?

This was the gap between ancient and modern thinking, or perhaps, the gap between a client and a contractor.

Client: I want something simple yet luxurious.

The contractor creates a hundred versions for the client and writes a report thousands of words long.

In the end, the client feels the contractor doesn’t understand them, while the contractor thinks that even if the client is the one paying, they can’t just give a simple sentence and expect so much work to be done.

Chun Gui carried in the pastries, first placing a plate beside Yu Jiuzhou, then setting an identical one next to Chi Wan.

Chi Wan nodded her thanks, then rose to her feet. “Your Highness, I’ll be taking my leave.”

She couldn’t even be bothered to refer to herself as ‘this subject’ anymore. She was already unaccustomed to it, and now she had even less desire to say it.

As Chi Wan stepped out, Yu Jiuzhou paused for a moment, then said coldly to Chun Gui, “Go and see her out.”

Chun Gui was puzzled. “?”

Then it dawned on her, and she immediately smiled. “Yes.”

She had overheard some of their argument. Normally, the Fuma couldn’t even enter Yongning Courtyard, so why would she, the Grand Princess’s highest-ranking female official, be needed to escort her out?

It was obvious that Her Highness couldn’t bring herself to explain certain things to the Fuma but didn’t want her to misunderstand. On the surface, she was sending Chun Gui to see her out, but in reality, it was to clear up the Fuma’s confusion.

Her Highness and the Fuma were monarch and subject, but also partners. It seemed Her Highness still only saw the Fuma as a subject. Her Highness had yet to come to her senses.

Chun Gui chuckled to herself and hurried after Chi Wan as the Grand Princess had instructed.

She had to walk for quite a while before she finally caught sight of Chi Wan’s back. She couldn’t very well shout “Fuma” across the residence grounds, so she could only quicken her pace.

But Chi Wan had long legs and walked quickly, one of her steps equaling three of Chun Gui’s. If not for the need to maintain her composure, she would have broken into a run.

Chi Wan returned to her small courtyard. Yue Luo had been assigned to the front courtyard by Chen Jin. This courtyard was in the rear, and by rights, no Qian Yuan other than the Fuma herself should be allowed to enter.

Yu Jiuzhou also disliked using male Kun Ze, so the rear courtyard was staffed only by female Kun Ze, including the guards.

The first thing Chen Jin did upon arriving at the small courtyard was to move Yue Luo out.

This happened to suit Chi Wan’s wishes perfectly, so she said nothing. Once her business was up and running, she would have Yue Luo manage a shop. A store manager would be a good role for her.

Yue Luo was literate, skilled in martial arts, level-headed, and had her own ideas. Sending her out to be a store manager was a perfect fit.

But first, she would have to learn the ropes at the first shop.

Yu Jiuzhou was a woman of action. She had said she would prepare three estates—one for honeycomb briquettes, one for pharmaceuticals, and one in reserve.

Such were the benefits of power, influence, and wealth. A single command was given, and within a few days, everything was arranged perfectly.

Chi Wan had also received an invitation from the Lin family, stating they would visit on the second day of the new year. This showed the Lin family’s tact; no one would impose on the very first day of the year.

Besides Chen Jin, Chi Wan’s small courtyard was assigned several new staff: four maids and two eunuchs.

The eunuchs in the Princess’s Residence were selected from the imperial palace. Half the maids came from the palace, while the other half were purchased from outside after the residence was established. The number of staff assigned to Chi Wan was not considered large.

Of course, Chi Wan herself felt it was too many. She disliked being surrounded by a large entourage when she went out. In her past life, she was always on her own. When she went out, it was usually the event organizers who sent someone to pick her up. It was convenient to go anywhere alone.

She wasn’t used to having so many people in her courtyard to serve her, so she told Chen Jin that when she was in her room, she required no attendance and that no one should enter.

In truth, the Kun Ze and He Yuan women placed in the courtyard were tacitly understood to be the Fuma’s concubines, should the Fuma desire them.

The requirements for a Fuma in Great Zhou were not strict. They could hold real power, and as long as they didn’t take a proper noble concubine, having serving concubines was considered nothing.

Yu Jiuzhou probably hadn’t thought about it; she had simply ordered the arrangements to be made according to regulations.

Chi Wan was oblivious to these nuances. She had no desire for carnal pleasures. Aside from the occasional assault by Yu Jiuzhou’s beauty, she would rather immerse herself in the study of ancient medicinal formulas.

Many modern medicinal formulas had been modified to some extent, and many had surely been lost. For a researcher of ancient formulas, coming to the ancient world was a chance to see the differences for herself. Were modern formulas superior, or was ancient Chinese medicine truly the best, as was commonly believed?

However, compared to modern times, the ancient mindset was centered on inheritance. It was difficult to obtain authentic formulas unless one was a child or a disciple.

Chi Wan was the Fuma, and her status was equivalent to that of a monarch. She was, in a word, powerful. If anyone knew of her interest in Chinese medicine, they would surely send her all sorts of secret manuals. But in the field of medicine, she disliked using her power to pressure others, which was why she had yet to visit the Imperial Medical Academy to consult with the imperial physicians.

There were two such people in the Princess’s Residence: Imperial Physician Zheng and her granddaughter, Zheng Yi. Imperial Physician Zheng’s medical skills were excellent. Anyone who could become an imperial physician was certainly a leader in Great Zhou’s medical world. It was possible their treatment of some illnesses was limited by their perspective, or perhaps they didn’t dare to be bold.

After all, their patients were either the emperor and his consorts, or imperial relatives and high-ranking officials. One mistake could cost them their heads. Rather than using strong medicine, it was better to be conservative. If the patient couldn’t be cured, that was one thing; saving their own skin was paramount.

On her way back from Yongning Courtyard, Chi Wan had been calculating. It seemed she and Yu Jiuzhou could not engage in any deeper cooperation. If Yu Jiuzhou told her nothing, what could she do? It was better to just stick to what she was good at.

She cherished her life, but she was not without principles.

She had just returned and sat down, not even having taken a sip of hot tea, when Chun Gui entered. She stood there, staring at Chi Wan without a word.

Chi Wan was confused. “? What is it?”

Chun Gui said nothing. The visible rise and fall of her chest—couldn’t she see she was exhausted?

Chun Gui worried that if she spoke, she would lose her breath and faint on the spot.

So what if you have long legs? Even if you’re in a hurry for dinner, there’s no need to walk that fast.

“Is something the matter?” Seeing her just staring, Chi Wan assumed Yu Jiuzhou had sent her to do something.

She had only said a few extra words just now; it wasn’t even a real argument. Was Yu Jiuzhou sending Chun Gui to glare her to death? Was she being sent on her final journey?

After a good while, Chun Gui finally managed to speak. “Her Highness asked me to see the Fuma out.”

Chi Wan was speechless. “You’ve already seen me all the way home.”

Usually, ‘seeing someone out’ meant to the gate. Who sees someone all the way home? This was a first for her.

Chun Gui stepped forward awkwardly. “Fuma, Her Highness is a monarch. There are some things a ruler will not explain to a subject. Why must you be angry with Her Highness?”

“Was I angry?” Let her do as she pleases. Hadn’t she tried to be nice? Attending a monarch is like attending a tiger. Acting in front of the emperor was a high-risk profession. What was wrong with wanting to know the inside story?

After she transmigrated and figured out the situation, her goal was to save her own life and eventually find a small county to retire early. In the process, she would help Yu Jiuzhou as much as she could.

Chi Wan felt that, whether to compensate for what her original self had done or out of her admiration for Yu Jiuzhou as a character, she had done quite well. Was it too much to ask to be kept in the loop?

She could understand what Chun Gui was saying, but she couldn’t accept it. This whole monarch-subject business… although she called herself a subject, it was just her adapting to local customs. In her heart, she didn’t like it one bit.

Seeing her obviously fuming expression, Chun Gui said seriously and directly, “You are angry.”

“I am not!”

“You are.”

“I am not!”

Chun Gui was speechless. How childish.

“Does the Fuma know why those scholars were so agitated that they went to the palace gates to petition?”

Chi Wan’s heart stirred. Finally, someone used the word ‘petition’ instead of ‘causing trouble’ or ‘forcing the Emperor’s hand’.

Like master, like servant. Given Chun Gui’s relationship with Yu Jiuzhou, Yu Jiuzhou must think the same way.

She began to speak up for Yu Jiuzhou in her mind.

Still, Chi Wan let out a light huff. “Wasn’t it instigated by someone Her Highness sent?”

“Yes, and no.”

What did that mean?

Chun Gui explained, “At the New Year’s Eve banquet, His Majesty was overcome with anger because the commoners from the Qingyuan County land annexation case splattered their blood at the palace gates. The Fuma went to Qingyuan County and released them, yet they still chose to do this. Why do you think that is, Fuma?”

Chi Wan immediately understood. “Someone wanted to blow this matter up. Someone knew that Prince Zhongshan would attack Her Highness at the banquet. Regardless of whether Prince Zhongshan or Her Highness won, as long as the commoners splattered their blood at the palace gates, the matter could not be downplayed.”

In the novel, it was precisely because of this incident that Yu Jiuzhou had no chance to defend herself. The Emperor quickly settled the case, demoting a chief administrator and executing a few servants. To the Emperor, this was downplaying a major issue, but from then on, the Princess’s Residence’s reputation among the common people was ruined.

Now, Yu Jiuzhou was fine, which clearly meant Prince Zhongshan had lost. Yet, Prince Zhongshan hadn’t suffered any substantial harm. The only one who had was the House of Huai’an.

A marquisate being demoted to an earldom, the original Marquis of Huai’an executed, and the heir exiled—such an outcome was already a major case. A noble house had fallen, a result more than ten times greater than in the novel.

Chi Mingwu was sentenced to die by poison on the seventh day of the new year. Out of respect for the ancestors of the House of Huai’an, his body would be left intact. Chi Xu was to be exiled to Baiyue on the same day.

However, because Yu Jiuzhou had ordered them to be flogged a hundred times, they didn’t die on the spot only because an imperial physician kept them alive with a dose of medicine. They could die, but not at Yu Jiuzhou’s hands. Nominally, they were her elders, and although they wouldn’t dare claim to be the Grand Princess’s elders, that was their official relation.

The aftermath of this incident was today’s event: the scholars petitioning at the palace gates. The result was that His Majesty agreed to launch a full investigation into the land annexation cases in Yanbei, targeting Prince Zhongshan.

In the end, the one whose interests were harmed was either Yu Jiuzhou or Prince Zhongshan. Therefore, the person who planned the blood-splattering incident was either Prince Ying or Prince Bao’an.

Seeing that she understood, Chun Gui continued, “Her Highness learned that someone was planning to stir up the emotions of the scholars and commoners to challenge His Majesty together. The day chosen was the first day of court, when all the officials would be present. At that time, it would escalate into the scholars, commoners, and officials all pressuring His Majesty.”

“Under pressure, His Majesty would be faced with a dilemma. The Fuma already knows what the scholars and commoners want. The officials, however, are the beneficiaries, and they would certainly not want His Majesty to launch a major investigation. Thus, His Majesty would be caught in a difficult position. Given his temperament, he would surely side with the officials. The petitioning scholars and commoners would be doomed to die. The person behind the scenes would then present evidence of Prince Zhongshan’s land annexations, allowing them to topple Prince Zhongshan with great speed.”

“Toppling Prince Zhongshan would be a good thing for Her Highness, but she was unwilling to see so many scholars and commoners die for the sake of the succession struggle. However, such things are impossible to prevent. With so many scholars and commoners, their actions cannot be completely controlled. Her Highness decided to detonate the situation early, before the court session began and before any officials could dissuade her. She went to the palace early precisely to protect these scholars before His Majesty.”

“However, Her Highness gave the Fuma a choice. She thought the Fuma would not get involved. Not just us, but Her Highness too was very surprised by the Fuma’s… integrity? It was at that moment that Her Highness felt that rather than playing the part of a treacherous and isolated official, the Fuma would be better suited as a pure and remonstrating one. As long as an emperor values their posthumous reputation, they would not kill the Fuma. In the meantime, Her Highness will gradually consolidate her power and will certainly be able to protect the Fuma.”

“Her Highness did so much. She could have easily toppled Prince Zhongshan, but she took such a roundabout path for the sake of those scholars, offending many people in the process. Her Highness was not afraid. The Fuma should not have misunderstood her.”

Chi Wan fell silent. If Chun Gui hadn’t come to tell her all this today, the relationship between her and Yu Jiuzhou might have remained strained.

She would have stopped trying to help Yu Jiuzhou with all her heart, doing only what was within her power. When everything was over, she would have changed her identity and run away.

But she was very confused. “I asked Her Highness so many times. Why didn’t she say anything?”

Chun Gui said only one thing. “Why do you think I am here, Fuma?”

That’s right. Chun Gui was Yu Jiuzhou’s person. Without Yu Jiuzhou’s signal, how could she have come and said so much?

Chi Wan’s face flushed red instantly. She smiled awkwardly. “I’ll go apologize to Her Highness right away.”

“It’s better if the Fuma doesn’t reveal this.” Her Highness would certainly not admit it. And with the Fuma being someone who sticks to her principles, she probably wouldn’t get far with Her Highness.

Chun Gui didn’t really understand. What kind of subject insists on getting an explanation from their monarch? Her Highness needed to be coaxed.

“Fuma, your words can make Vice Grand Secretary Yuan faint from anger, your intelligence can match Her Highness’s plans, you know so many astonishing formulas, and your martial skill allows you to fall from a horse unharmed. How is it that you don’t know how to get along with Her Highness?”

A faint sense of resignation appeared on Chi Wan’s face. “I really didn’t anger Vice Grand Secretary Yuan until he fainted. He fainted because I pricked him with a silver needle.”

“Is that the point?” Chun Gui was exasperated.

Chi Wan suddenly realized something. “How did you know I fell from a horse?”

Chun Gui was speechless. Could she say that Her Highness had Xia Qu drug your ugly horse?

“Chen Yuan told me,” Chun Gui decisively threw Chen Yuan under the bus.

Chi Wan tilted her head in confusion. Something felt off, but she didn’t dwell on it. “Chun Gui, go tell Her Highness that I will prepare a surprise for her tonight.”

“What kind of surprise?” Chun Gui was baffled. The Fuma certainly changed her tune quickly.

She was the epitome of someone who corrects their mistakes immediately, completely unlike ordinary Qian Yuan who would stubbornly hold onto their pride, refusing to admit they were wrong even when they knew the truth.

“It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you.”

Chi Wan strode out of the courtyard and headed straight for the kitchen, leaving Chun Gui standing there alone.

“If the Fuma could always be like this, perhaps she and Her Highness could get along well.”

Chun Gui sighed and returned to Yongning Courtyard. She recounted a part of her conversation with Chi Wan, leaving out the explanation to protect Her Highness’s pride, and only mentioned the Fuma’s apologetic attitude.

Yu Jiuzhou frowned. “A surprise?”

“Yes. This servant does not know what it is. The Fuma said it wouldn’t be a surprise if she told.”

“Hmph, how theatrical.”

Yu Jiuzhou flicked her sleeve, the corners of her lips turning up slightly. She was quite pleased that Chi Wan had admitted her mistake so quickly.

Allowing Chun Gui to go and explain was the absolute limit for her. As the dignified Grand Princess, she would never bow her head.

Chi Wan’s reaction was also very satisfactory to her, bringing a sense of gratifying vindication.

But a moment later, Xia Qu came to report. “Your Highness, the Fuma has gone mad. She’s in the kitchen playing with flour, pouring all sorts of strange things into it. The kitchen staff didn’t dare say anything, so they told me. I went to take a look out of curiosity, and it’s a complete mess.”

Playing with flour?

Yu Jiuzhou frowned. “Tell the Fuma that if she wants to play, she can play with mud. Don’t waste food.”

“But the Fuma insists she’s making a delicacy,” Xia Qu said. It was hard for her to imagine what kind of delicacy could be made from that mess.

She had seen Chi Wan add sesame oil, honey, dried fruits, and eggs to the flour. She thought she was making pastries, but who made pastries like that?

Yu Jiuzhou waved her hand thoughtfully. “Forget it. Don’t bother her.”

This was probably the surprise Chi Wan had mentioned. As for the flour, the Princess’s Residence was not so poor that it couldn’t afford to let the Fuma use some.

“But she can’t be allowed to waste it. Tell Chi Wan that if I find out she is just playing around, I will make her pay.”

Yu Jiuzhou had seen the true state of the common people. Those with land couldn’t even feed themselves after paying taxes each year. Those without land could only become refugees or starve to death.

It wasn’t that she was stingy. She could give Chi Wan silver, but food could not be wasted.

Xia Qu nodded in confusion. “Don’t worry, Your Highness. I had someone put away most of the flour, leaving only a little for the Fuma. Not much will be wasted.”

“Good.”

Yu Jiuzhou looked at Chun Gui. “Send word to have different merchant houses purchase coal mines. The more, the better.”

“Yes.”

Honeycomb briquettes were useful and easy to make. The recipe would likely be figured out after one or two batches were sold. At that point, the raw materials would become a rarity. To prevent malicious price gouging, the more coal mines she had in her hands, the less likely any trouble would arise.

Next was sea salt. According to the method Chi Wan provided, crude salt was easy to obtain, but refined salt would take time. For the snow disaster in Wucheng, crude salt would suffice.

As soon as she could confirm that the method could produce crude salt, she would immediately dispatch a large quantity to aid in the Wucheng disaster relief.

In her past life, when the Wucheng disaster struck, Prince Ying was demoted to a commoner. If events were allowed to unfold, Prince Ying would be finished. But that would mean many people would die; every household in Wucheng would hang white mourning silks, and not one in ten households would survive.

A few days ago, His Majesty had wanted to send Prince Ying for disaster relief, but she had stopped him. She also had the Emperor grant an additional fifty thousand taels for Wucheng’s relief, for a total of one hundred and fifty thousand. However, she only had someone take one hundred thousand. Even if Prince Ying coveted the one hundred thousand taels, he wouldn’t be able to embezzle much.

She had suggested to His Majesty that imperial merchants purchase supplies and deliver them to Wucheng, which would save a lot of money compared to directly allocating silver. Coincidentally, she had her own merchant houses prepare the supplies, selling them to the imperial merchants with only a ten percent profit margin.

After all, selling without making a profit would arouse suspicion.

His Majesty had entrusted this matter to her, and she had passed it to the Lin family. It was no problem for the Lin family to procure a batch of crude salt.

However, parts of Yanbei were Prince Zhongshan’s territory, and Prince Ying also had people there. The relationships were complicated. Yanbei was not far from Shengjing and was located on the border, making it a strategic location. Its agriculture was highly developed, and it had many merchants. In times of peace, the taxes it submitted to the national treasury ranked in the upper-middle among all provinces of Great Zhou. But because of an old incident years ago, Emperor Shengyuan became angry at the mere mention of Yanbei. He let Yanbei develop on its own, and as long as they didn’t rebel and submitted their taxes and grain on time, he paid it no mind.

When Yongjia County flooded, two hundred thousand taels were allocated. In previous years, repairing dikes cost over a million taels per county. This amount wasn’t actually much, as Great Zhou was indeed short on funds and had many expenses, but it was still slightly better than Yanbei’s situation.

But this year, Yanbei was suffering from a harsh winter, and Wucheng was hit by a snow disaster. A whole prefecture with several counties under it received only one hundred thousand taels in aid, and the money for supplies came out of the Lin family’s own pocket.

Due to Emperor Shengyuan’s neglect, Yanbei had been almost completely carved up by Prince Zhongshan and Prince Ying. Prince Zhongshan’s family had operated in Yanbei for four generations. Prince Ying was wealthy and could buy loyalty easily. The two princes had extorted no small amount of wealth in Yanbei. The common people paid their taxes, only to be fleeced again by the two princes. The people of Yanbei suffered greatly.

No matter how much Yu Jiuzhou wanted to eliminate Prince Ying, for the sake of the people of Yanbei, she could not let the Wucheng disaster relief fail.

Listening to what Chi Wan had said today, she felt not only that her authority had been challenged, but more so that her path was not a lonely one. Though thousands upon thousands may oppose her, she would go forward.

There was too much injustice in this world, and some things had to be done by someone. The confusion, hardship, and suffering along the way all seemed to gain a glimmer of hope the moment she found a fellow traveler.

For the first time, Yu Jiuzhou felt that Chi Wan’s appearance had added another ray of light to the gloomy skies of Great Zhou, however faint it might be.

The faintly glowing Chi Wan, unaware that she might have ascended to the heavens as a lightbulb, was staring with a pained expression at the failed bread in the steamer. She then turned to the head cook. “Is there really no more flour in the Princess’s Residence?”

The cook shook her head. “Until General Xia Qu returns, there is no more flour in the residence.”

Alright, she knew what was going on now.

Seeing Xia Qu striding over, Chi Wan approached her with a serious expression. “Why won’t you let them give me the flour?”

“I was afraid the Fuma would play with the flour like it was mud.”

Chi Wan was confused. “? Who said that?”

“Her Highness,” Xia Qu sold Yu Jiuzhou out without hesitation.

Chi Wan was speechless. “…I’m doing something important. Hurry up and have them give me the flour.”

Xia Qu peered into the pot at the unidentifiable lump of stuff and wrinkled her nose in disgust. “Give the Fuma another bowl…”

Chi Wan quickly interjected, “Two bowls.”

“Fine, two bowls of flour.”

Sesame oil, finely ground sugar she had made herself, eggs, and flour. Finally, Chi Wan found a ceramic pot to use as a mold; otherwise, it would just collapse in the steamer.

Once that was done, she began to whip cream by hand. The Princess’s Residence had no shortage of milk; cow’s milk, goat’s milk, and camel’s milk could all be found.

Chi Wan once again felt grateful for being transmigrated into a wealthy and noble status.

Furthermore, with her hand speed, the cream was whipped in just over ten minutes. In the process, her hands moved so fast they were just a blur.

Xia Qu gave her a thumbs-up. “This is the first time I’ve seen someone use internal energy to make pastries.”

She curiously pinched off a piece of the unknown pastry. Since it had been steamed, she took a bite. Although it didn’t look good, it tasted nice, with a faint milky fragrance and a soft, delicate texture in her mouth. Only then did she realize Chi Wan was making a pastry.

When she saw Chi Wan using internal energy to whip the milk, Xia Qu felt her worldview being challenged. People who knew internal martial arts were rare in the world, and those who walked among society were even rarer. In all her life, she had never seen anyone use internal energy like this.

Chi Wan shot her a ‘get out of the way’ look and continued to focus on making her cake.

A cream cake was Chi Wan’s theme for the day. With her skills, she could only make a very simple one. In modern times, when she was stuck at home during lockdown, she had craved something sweet and had made a few cakes herself using an oven, failing many times in the process.

The conditions in ancient times were even worse, so failure was normal. Perhaps because she had failed so many times before, she succeeded in making the bread on her second try now.

The bread was technically steamed, but however it was made, success was all that mattered.

Chi Wan spread the cream on the cake, added a few dried fruits, and some chestnuts. A fresh hazelnut cake was born.

Xia Qu watched from the side, stunned. “So that’s how it’s made.”

She ate a spoonful of the leftover cream. It was full of milky flavor, sweet, and had a wonderful texture. Glancing at the finished cake Chi Wan had made, she took a piece of the bread and dipped it into the cream, like dipping a flatbread into sauce.

Chi Wan was baffled. “?” It was the first time she had seen someone eat cake like that, but there was nothing wrong with it.

“Fuma, your skills are incredible.” Xia Qu’s eyes shone as she ate the cake. Then she said to the head cook beside her, “You all better learn this quickly. I want to eat this for three days straight—no, ten days.”

The head cook was speechless. “General Xia, this is the Fuma’s pastry recipe. We can’t just use it as we please.”

Chi Wan waved her hand. “From now on, it’s a recipe of the Princess’s Residence. You can make it whenever you want. Whoever makes it best, I’ll have you start a class and teach students in the future. These students can then go out and open pastry shops, and you’ll be the founding masters of cake.”

The cooks were speechless. They were willing to teach students, but ‘founding masters of cake’ sounded awful. Usually, the young eunuchs in the palace called the old eunuchs ‘old ancestors.’ They weren’t eunuchs.

Chi Wan picked up the pastry and walked out of the kitchen with a smile. Cake was a novelty; it would surely be popular as soon as it was introduced. An ancient version of an oven could be made. She would first seize the market and establish a brand name. Even if it was imitated, it wouldn’t be a big problem. Opening two shops in each province would be enough, targeting the wealthy families. Cake wasn’t like in modern times; the ingredients were quite luxurious. Since she was making money from the rich, she wouldn’t be polite with the pricing.

She arrived at Yongning Courtyard. Yu Jiuzhou had already been informed of her arrival. Seeing her approach, she looked at the thing she was carrying with some confusion. What was that?

The big-mouthed Xia Qu had already started talking. “Your Highness, the Fuma has made an excellent pastry. You must try it.”

Chi Wan was speechless. “?” This is my show.

She gave Chun Gui a look, and Chun Gui immediately pulled Xia Qu away.

Yu Jiuzhou raised her eyes, giving off an air of looking down on the world. It was just a pastry. For the sake of this person’s painstaking effort to please her, she would grant her the courtesy of trying it.

She looked at the spoon on the plate, knowing it was meant to be eaten with a spoon. But she couldn’t possibly finish such a large piece. She glanced at Chi Wan.

What? Chi Wan returned her gaze with a questioning look.

And she claimed she would serve her? She couldn’t even understand her glance.

Just then, Chun Gui entered with a delicate small dish. She scooped a small spoonful of cake onto it and then presented it to Yu Jiuzhou. “Your Highness, please enjoy.”

Chun Gui had heard that Xia Qu had eaten a lot in the kitchen, so she roughly knew it was bread eaten with cream.

Yu Jiuzhou gave Chi Wan a ‘learn from this’ look, then elegantly picked up the spoon. A small piece entered her mouth. It was delicate and soft, with a rich, mellow milky fragrance. The flavor lingered on her tongue, with a long-lasting aftertaste.

It tasted very good. It was indeed a surprise.

One spoonful, two spoonfuls… the cake on the small dish was quickly finished. Yu Jiuzhou was left wanting more, but as the Grand Princess, she had her self-control. She had been taught since childhood that no matter how much she liked something, she should not touch it a second time.

It would be one thing if they were in private, but Chi Wan was still watching.

Having just been educated by Yu Jiuzhou’s glance, Chi Wan immediately understood. She quickly stepped forward and cut another piece for Yu Jiuzhou—a large one.

Yu Jiuzhou said, “…Get out.”

Chi Wan was bewildered. What did I do now?

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