Chapter 1 Abundant Fried Buns

Everyone had witnessed how decisive the princess could be. She said she wanted to create "Feng Yu Sheng Jian," and that very afternoon she had obtained quotes and locations for some shops that were preparing to transfer ownership. That evening, she bought a shop located at the corner of Hongyun Lane and Xuanwu Avenue. The shop was too small; the previous owner, who ran a restaurant, couldn't make a living. But for shengjian (pan-fried buns), which were suitable for both dine-in and takeout, it was perfect. Early the next morning, Ye Tao was urged by Chief Steward Liu to bring a few apprentices who had just come from the construction site of Master Qi’s residence to decorate the shop, helping to repair tables and chairs. The "Feng Yu Sheng Jian" signboard was white with black characters, flanked by orange-red decorative patterns… not much different from the authentic Feng Yu Sheng Jian in another time and space. In this era, there were no suitable paint varieties for colors like orange-red. Even the Ye Clan Workshop, with its unparalleled painting skills, couldn't immediately produce orange-red waterproof paint. The signboard was temporarily made of thick white linen dyed orange-red. The next evening, the flat-bottomed pan and the personnel responsible for frying the shengjian arrived at the shop. By night, various tableware and paper bags for takeout were delivered. On the morning of the third day, with auxiliary foods such as fansitang (glass noodle soup), blood soup, and paigu niangao (spare ribs with rice cakes) not yet in place, the first Feng Yu Sheng Jian in Dongping Kingdom opened for business, only offering shengjian bao (pan-fried buns) and plain water.

Seeing the princess's actions, both Min Yue and Peng Detian were somewhat dumbfounded, and Ye Tao felt that the princess's playful heart was probably even stronger than her ability to make money. She didn't lack this money. On the contrary, during the days she could stay in Yicheng, relying on shengjian bao, even if the Feng Yu Sheng Jian business was indeed surprisingly good—so good that there was no need to prepare any other kind of dine-in food—it would definitely not be possible to earn it all back. The princess wasn't doing this so she could eat shengjian more conveniently, nor was it so that more people could enjoy this unique food. It was just a whim. If there was any significance, it was probably this: this was Ye Tao's and her first joint venture.

Min Yue and Peng Detian, and even Liu Yong, maidservants Sisi and Qiao'er, were all amazed at the princess's favor towards Ye Tao. Almost every day, the princess would call Ye Tao over for a chat. After paying a courteous visit to Peng Detian's home, incidentally touring the Zhan Garden built by Ye Tao, and visiting the mountain villa that Min Yue had wheedled from Ye Tao, the princess simply summoned Ye Tao to let him decide where she would travel next.

Was this an act of grace from the princess towards a young man of the same age? No one could figure it out. If it wasn't a princess doing this, but just the daughter of another high-ranking family, perhaps Min Yue and Peng Detian would be thinking of playing matchmaker for the two of them, or perhaps, if the Ye family's status was higher. But now, no matter how inappropriate Min Yue and Peng Detian felt, they kept silent, writing down everything they knew in detail in memorials and sending them by 400-li express delivery to the capital, while accompanying them with smiles, occasionally interjecting in the gatherings of the two.

In a few days, the Yicheng seaside scenery was almost exhausted. As a city without much historical heritage, rarely producing any literati or historical sites in hundreds of years, everyone didn't expect that the princess would still linger and refuse to leave. After seeing the seaside scenery, she simply went to Yi Zhan Lou every day to play army chess with people. Only then did the guards realize that the princess was actually an expert in army chess. In fact, for any modern person, this kind of tabletop game was easy to pick up. Modern society had far more entertainment than this time and space. The more complex and bizarre Huan Ling chess, with its hundreds of pages of rules, wasn't understood by many people in the entire Yicheng, but the princess could fight three hundred rounds with Ye Tao, the creator of this game's rules, making the onlookers cheer. After a few days, she could even advise Ye Tao on the settings of the chess pieces. For the princess, this wasn't difficult; it was just a variation of Magic: The Gathering. Putting some cards that only appeared in booster packs into the official deck as chess pieces and bringing them to this era, which didn't yet have the habit of playing cards. Apart from the difficulty in issuing booster packs and the lack of a reliable platform for exchanging chess pieces between players, the game itself wasn't complicated.

Originally, it was thought that the princess would stay in Yicheng for a few days and then leave. Unconsciously, Min Yue and Peng Detian had communicated with the capital twice via 400-li urgent communication. The Emperor's reply clearly wanted the princess to return to the capital as soon as possible, but he hesitated and didn't want to make the princess unhappy. Such an attitude made Min Yue and Peng Detian even more confused as to what was going on. Had the princess's favor reached such a degree?

The worries of others couldn't affect the princess, even though she knew that Min Yue and Peng Detian were contacting the capital behind her back. Although Liu Yong also felt that something seemed inappropriate, his current job was to protect the princess. As long as there was no threat to the princess's life, everything else didn't matter. In his judgment, making the princess unhappy was clearly a threat to her life, given her physical condition.

Master Qi's new residence was completed. Qi Zhentao had just moved out, and the princess urged him to move into the residence built by Ye Tao, which was worth Qi Zhentao's asking price of 100,000 taels of gold. If comfort could be valued, then this seemingly simple courtyard was definitely worth that much. It was a whole set of residences that combined modern villa design elements. The landscape, lighting, insulation, and soundproofing of the house, the design of each piece of furniture in each room—there wasn't a single place that made people feel that it was different from the things they usually used or the houses they lived in, yet everywhere made people feel different. Especially the quiet room perched on top of a boulder. Although the eaves were relatively low, the floor, treated with mirror-finish technology, was crystal clear and smooth. Standing on it, you could look down at your reflection, invisibly increasing the sense of space. Walking barefoot on such a floor or lying by the bed in your clothes and drinking a cup of hot tea all seemed like such happy things.

The princess, who only liked to occupy this room alone, didn't seem to refuse Ye Tao's entry. After brewing a pot of hot tea for the visiting Ye Tao and filling the tea stove with two pieces of charcoal, Qiao'er and Sisi retreated. After the first time the two of them had a rare and negligible moment alone on the top floor of the Xunfeng Pavilion on the princess's first day in Yicheng, they had such an opportunity again.

"Hehe, we can speak directly now. I've been so tired these past few days," the princess said with a smile. At this moment, she didn't have the demeanor of a princess cultivated over many years. She was as happy as an ordinary little girl. When alone, she wanted Ye Tao to call her name—Tan Weixin, or just call her Xin'er.

"You've created Feng Yu Sheng Jian. What's next?" Thinking of this, Ye Tao found it interesting.

"I haven't thought about it yet, but I can't compare to you. When are you going to bring your Sophie Marceau for me to see?" Tan Weixin's tone was sour.

"Do you bring your own maidservants to show people?" Ye Tao shook his head and said, "And… it's just that I think she looks like her, no, it's that I initially thought she would grow up to look very similar. Even if her face is exactly the same, so what?"

"Oh?" Tan Weixin asked with a smile, "Why are you so sentimental?"

"In the beginning, I had a thought: Sophie, perhaps she is the best marker I can use to remind myself of the existence of that past time and space, the best souvenir I can collect in this era. However, although Sophie is the Sophie of Sophie Marceau, although her face is really similar, she happily manages the household for me and acts like a gentle little wife at such a young age. Is this still the Sophie in my memory? Although she is a person I could never have, she dares to love and hate, yet expresses her emotions with a proud attitude. That is definitely not a character that this era can create. Now, the more I see the Sophie I have, the more I am constantly reminded that that time and space is gone forever." Ye Tao drank the tea in his cup in one gulp, wishing that what was in the cup at this moment was not tea, but wine.

"How sentimental," Tan Weixin said. "At least you have a souvenir. But what about me? Hehe, I've always been sick since I was a child. I really miss those magical hospitals in the original time and space. Of course, if I were as rich as I am now and still living in that era, being sick more often wouldn't be a big problem."

Tan Weixin, intertwined with optimism and realism, was a peculiar woman. Even if she was a princess, she couldn't hide this. On the contrary, the identity of the princess gave her optimism and reality an excellent opportunity to express themselves.

"It feels much better to say these words. Thanks to you," Ye Tao said gratefully.

When there were only two of them, they could abandon all distance in status. The two of them sat side by side by the window. Each had a cup of tea in front of them. By the sea, summer wasn't too scary. The wind blowing on the body was warm and soft, without any feeling of heat, but rather like enjoying the bright spring light. Relying solely on this open door for lighting, the room seemed even more secluded. The black, bright floor reflected everyone's thoughts like a mirror.

"Hey, do you have any dreams? In this era, you can do many things you wouldn't dare to imagine, right? Can you tell me?" Tan Weixin asked.

"Dreams?" Taking a sip of tea, thinking quietly for a moment, Ye Tao suddenly jumped up, as if mad, and shouted loudly outside the window, "Dreams? Yes, dreams… I… I want this sky, to no longer block my eyes; I want this earth, to no longer bury my heart; I want all living beings, to understand my will; I want all the Buddhas, to vanish into thin air!"

Feeling a tender little foot kick his butt, Ye Tao's face was on the floor the next moment. He complained in pain, "What are you doing? What are you doing? I was just kidding."

Tan Weixin widened her eyes, pointed at Ye Tao, and said, " *Wu Kong Zhuan* (Record of Wukong)! I was hoping to take it out and show it off in a few years. If you pirate it first, how will I survive?"

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…It's not that I don't want to be generous, but being so generous every day will wear me out, so please be generous too~