Chapter 1 The Question

"I heard, there's a maid named Sophie in your room?" Unexpectedly, when Min Yue arrived at the Ye family's courtyard early the next morning, taking Ye Tao along to welcome the princess, Princess Zhaohua's first question to Ye Tao was this.

"That's right, he's hoarding beauties at such a young age. Half of Yicheng knows about this," Min Yue chimed in helpfully before Ye Tao could even speak. Peng Detian, who had been waiting in the Xunfeng Pavilion for a while, lowered his head, seemingly hiding a smirk.

"Reporting to Your Highness, there is indeed a maid named Sophie… but it's not quite hoarding beauties, is it?" Ye Tao glanced at the gloating Min Yue and said, "To say half of Yicheng knows, that's an exaggeration, isn't it?"

Peng Detian caught his breath, took a sip of tea, and said, "Not really, not really. Here's how it is…"

"Lord Peng!" Hearing Peng Detian's intention to reveal his secrets, Ye Tao disregarded the formalities. If the situation wasn't so unsuitable, he would have jumped up and covered Peng Detian's mouth. Min Yue held Ye Tao back, saying, "It's just a joke. Can't we talk about you taking in such a beautiful maid? In Yicheng, it's quite a story."

Peng Detian nodded repeatedly and said, "Indeed, here's how it is…"

Two years ago, a foreign merchant named Muhammad, who frequently traveled the Yicheng-Nanyang sea route, prepared gifts in Yicheng to celebrate the king's 50th birthday back home. Usually, those who contribute outstanding gifts would get a chance to make a wish, and the king would grant it as long as it wasn't too excessive. This was a local tradition, and the king received a dazzling array of precious gifts, so he wouldn't lose out in the end. Muhammad had acquired a huge piece of mutton-fat white jade, taller than a man, and he had the idea of carving it into a statue of a beautiful woman. But time was short, and the carving styles of the Dongping craftsmen were vastly different from the Hu people's style, so the finished product might not please the king. To the west of Muhammad's country, there were sculptors who favored a realistic style. But the sea route was too far, and there wasn't enough time for such a detour. Muhammad knew that the then 12-year-old Ye Tao already had a reputation as the best craftsman in Yicheng, and since he had previously purchased property in Yicheng and had frequent contact with the Ye family's workshop, he sought Ye Tao's help.

Unexpectedly, after hearing Muhammad's concerns, Ye Tao said nonchalantly, "You want it to be exactly like a real person? That's not difficult at all." Ye Tao quickly used a few pieces of wood to create a small model of a standing statue of a girl draped in a light gauze, holding a water bottle. Muhammad was overjoyed and immediately decided to have Ye Tao take charge of the statue.

Ye Tao was delighted to see such a good material, while Muhammad felt that his future was bright because he had found a sculptor like Ye Tao. Neither of them had even agreed on the reward beforehand.

In less than a month, Ye Tao presented Muhammad with a beautiful statue of a girl. The light gauze on the statue seemed to flutter in the air, every fold so real. The girl's lifelike face carried a happy smile. Her hair, tied up in a bun with strands hanging down, was all visible. The pose of holding a large water bottle and slightly turning her body perfectly depicted the girl's graceful figure. According to Eastern etiquette, the scantily clad girl would inevitably be criticized by moralists as being indecent, but in the Hu people's territory, and even in those large and small countries further west, this was just slightly thinner than normal clothing. Putting the statue in the hall, with the sunlight turning from various directions throughout the day, Muhammad and his followers actually stared at the statue blankly for a whole day. The statue, which seemed like it would step out and become a real person at any moment, its exquisite face and figure, made Muhammad feel reluctant to give it away as a gift.

After the excitement, he remembered that he hadn't paid the reward yet. Even though the Hu people were always generous with work rewards, Muhammad couldn't think of what kind of reward would be worthy of Ye Tao's masterful craftsmanship, worthy of the statue's value. In the end, Muhammad actually gave Ye Tao a group of 12 young dancers that he had been training for several years as a reward. Among these dancers were Franks, Greeks, Persians, Lombards, Romans, and Babylonians from the far west, as well as mixed-race children born to Hu people and local women who had come to the East early on. Each of them was beautiful. And years of training in dance, music, and various languages had made these dancers more than just pretty faces. Dancers were not just about dancing. In the Hu people's territory, dancers who were favored by guests often had to serve them in bed. Muhammad, who knew this well, naturally wouldn't neglect this aspect of training. Although these dancers were all virgins, they had been applying fragrant oil to their bodies every day since they were 10 years old. When passions ran high, the heat of their bodies would release the fragrance, mixing with the girl's body scent, which was more effective than any aphrodisiac. And these dancers, although the oldest was 16 and the youngest was only 11, had all seen real men and women performing various intimate acts in front of them, and they were not shy about matters between men and women.

Such a "reward" caused quite a stir at the time. Ye Tao was at a loss and was in a flustered state, but Muhammad had already set sail back home, and the reward couldn't be returned. Waiting for Muhammad to come back more than half a year later to return the reward to him? Sending a group of women back and forth like this, Ye Tao also felt it was unbearable. So, after this group of dancers learned Chinese for a period of time, they were allowed to find their own way in the Ye family's framework. Two of the older ones, or those who learned Chinese well, were sent to work as shop assistants in Yijia Home Furnishings and Yi Zhan Lou and Yi Zhan Xiaopu. This caused a sensation that year. People in Yicheng who liked to gossip made a special trip to see the beauties, and many young people foolishly bought a lot of useless things just to impress the beauties. And the mixed-race child that the princess had previously encountered with her maid in Yi Zhan Xiaopu was one of them.

Ye Tao gave this group of dancers complete freedom and respect. They lived together in a separate courtyard. Those who wanted to work in the shops could go, and those who didn't want to could choose to do some work within their capabilities in the various Ye family's institutions. The youngest Roman girl at the time was now the only female apprentice in the Ye family's workshop and was also good at drawing designs for pottery and porcelain. The oldest Persian girl at the time married Ye Tao's eldest brother, and now Ye Tao respectfully calls her "Sister-in-law" every time he sees her. This group of dancers escaped the tragic fate of being sent back and forth as objects because of Ye Tao.

But among this group of dancers, only one continued to learn various subjects, unwilling to work, only wanting to stay by Ye Tao's side. And Ye Tao actually only kept this dancer as his maid. And almost all the maids of wealthy families lived in the same room as the master they served, and even slept in the same bed before the master had a wife. Another duty of this type of maid was to allow her master to complete the transformation from boy to man on her body.

Min Yue's eyes were quite sharp, so he could naturally see that Ye Tao hadn't touched that beauty named Sophie. The Frankish girl Sophie, whose figure was gradually growing, became more attractive almost every month than the previous one. Min Yue couldn't help but maliciously speculate that Ye Tao was preparing to pluck this delicate flower when it had grown to its most perfect state.

But although he knew this, and probably many people knew this, saying that Ye Tao was "hoarding beauties" and that half of Yicheng knew about it, wasn't much of an exaggeration.

Peng Detian spoke with relish, narrating the process in a very playful tone, which made Ye Tao feel somewhat embarrassed and annoyed. But being teased by the two powerful figures in Yicheng, it wasn't easy to get back at them. For a moment, Ye Tao could only stare fiercely at Peng Detian and Min Yue, looking like he was burning with anger.

"That's quite interesting," the princess said with a smile, "Sophie… that's a good name indeed. Is this Sophie really as beautiful as you say?"

"Reporting to Your Highness, the dancers were all chosen for their beauty, and Sophie looked just average among them at the time, not outstanding, but these two years have brought out her charm, which is simply dazzling. In this humble servant's opinion, Ye Tao's eye for beauty is more admirable than his woodworking skills," Min Yue said, taking another jab at Ye Tao, ignoring his already pale face.

The princess remained as gentle and pleasant as ever, and these anecdotes only added a smile to her lips. But the two maids, Sisi and Qiao'er, covered their mouths and chuckled happily.

"Young Master Ye, is this Sophie's name your maid's original name?" the princess asked.

"No, it's a name I gave her." Although Ye Tao felt embarrassed about being drawn into this matter, he had to laugh it off and find a way to get through it.

The princess's eyes lit up and she said, "Oh? Why did you give her such a name?"

Ye Tao sighed inwardly and said, "Reporting to Your Highness, I have some books brought by Hu people at home, one of which describes a stunningly beautiful Western woman in no less than a thousand words. At the time, I saw that my maid also came from the Frankish region and her appearance was quite similar to the stunningly beautiful woman named Sophie Marceau described in the book, so I simply named her after her." Ye Tao thought to himself, now you understand, right? I guess you'll definitely want to see it later…

Sophie Marceau… the princess's eyes lit up even more. She didn't expect such an interesting thing. She didn't believe that there was really any Western book that described Sophie Marceau; it was obviously made up by Ye Tao. Time-traveling really can fulfill a person's diverse possibilities. Quietly resolving to definitely go see that Sophie Marceau, the princess changed the topic. "It's not too early. How about we go to the Ye family's workshop now?"

Everyone responded in agreement, and the princess immediately added, "Everyone must remember not to reveal my identity when we get there. Please call me Xin'er. … Young Master Ye, you should call me that too."