The Princess’s Inner Thoughts Were Overheard by Her Emperor Father

Xiao Yunzhou stayed at Changchun Palace for nearly two hours.

Fruit-infused tea, with five or six types of tribute fruits, was placed in clear tea. Cubes of peach, apple, and tangerine... tender pink and jade yellow, dyed the green tea into a jewel-like translucent color.

Poured into newly blown transparent glass cups, it was a sight to behold.

The aroma of fruit and tea wafted through the air. The taste was refreshing and slightly sweet, even more invigorating and crisp when chilled.

If Xiao Yunzhou wasn't focused on maintaining his health and longevity, he might not have been able to stop drinking.

But in the end, he showed restraint and turned to Concubine Liu and the others, "I find this quite enjoyable. You should all try some too."

He distributed the fruit-infused tea to Cheng Qian and Cheng Shan, and used a small gold spoon to moisten Little Chuchu's lips with some fruit juice.

However, the children's portions were not iced, as Xiao Yunzhou was concerned about their young digestive systems.

In no time, the group had finished all the fruit tea on the table.

Liu Chaniang and Consort Min were still using small gold spoons to scoop out fruit pieces from the glass cups.

Occasionally, they would share a small bite with Chuchu.

"I used to think these tangerines were ordinary, but mixed with the tea fragrance, they're quite good," said Consort Min, who usually didn't enjoy vegetables, but was now falling in love with fruit tea.

"I like the grapes," Cheng Shan had his own preference.

He immediately asked Qiu Li to make him a separate portion, "Just the crystal grapes, nothing else."

[Hehe, just grapes alone, isn't that like the grape cheese tea from HeyTea~] Xiao Chuchu thought to herself, blinking.

[My sixth brother really knows how to enjoy food.]

Xiao Yunzhou listened and gave a rare look of appreciation to his sixth son, "I'd like a portion of just crystal grapes as well."

[When strawberries are in season, I'd like to try the cheese strawberry drink~] Xiao Chuchu pondered.

[Oh, and a peach-only flavor would be nice too~]

Xiao Yunzhou silently noted his daughter's preferences and hurriedly told Qiu Li, "Prepare a separate portion of each of these fruits for me, with milk added."

Milk was good for intelligence, he remembered what his daughter had said.

Usually, drinking milk alone could be cloying and have a gamey taste, but today Xiao Yunzhou felt he could drink it every day.

In no time, Xiao Yunzhou and the others had tried nearly everything on the large square table.

Towards the end, Xiao Chuchu became too lazy to even point at the table.

On the table, some items were ingredients for modern milk tea, while others were creations that Liu Chaniang, Consort Min, and Cheng Shan had requested from the imperial kitchen and tea room, such as crystal dumplings, osmanthus cakes, fermented rice, mung beans, date paste, and longan.

Liu Chaniang and Xiao Yunzhou could hear their daughter's thoughts, so their combinations were more conservative, resembling traditional milk tea.

Cheng Qian was generally indifferent to sweets and stopped after a few cups.

Consort Min and Cheng Shan, however, were insatiable. Seeing that Chuchu was tired, they started experimenting on their own, throwing all sorts of ingredients into the milk tea.

Besides honey and syrup, they even added salt separately...

Surprisingly, it worked out well. "Oh, this salty milk tea is quite good too~"

[Aww, that's called sea salt milk tea!] Xiao Chuchu giggled, forcibly clinging to Consort Min's hand to take a small spoonful.

Cheng Shan was even more adventurous, adding everything the kitchen had sent - red beans, mung beans, job's tears, glutinous rice, taro balls... all into the milk tea.

[Oh, it's become a family reunion milk tea!] Xiao Chuchu watched from the side, thoroughly amused.

After a round or two, everyone had basically grasped the pattern.

Sweet on sweet was hard to go wrong.

Sweet and salty combinations were a bit risky.

Some of Consort Min's devilish combinations, like adding chili to milk tea, made Xiao Chuchu tightly close her little mouth, unwilling to try.

Even the good-natured Liu Chaniang repeatedly declined.

By the time the table was nearly empty, everyone had drunk their fill and eaten their stomachs round with toppings.

"For dinner, serve something easily digestible," Xiao Yunzhou patted Liu Chaniang's hand and gave a piercing look to Cheng Shan, who had eaten the most.

"In the future, we can't let the little princess drink these often. She's still young and should only have a taste occasionally..."

Just as he was speaking, Wei Zheng, who had been happily sipping milk tea in small mouthfuls, noticed the shadow of a little eunuch flickering outside the window.

Wei Zheng frowned and quietly walked out, "What's the matter? Can't you see the Emperor and the little princess are enjoying themselves?"

"Wei Zheng, news has come from the Ministry of Rites. They say that Duoti has written a letter back to the grasslands about the treatment of Sang Tu."

"Sanda Khan is very pleased and wishes to express his gratitude with five hundred cattle and sheep. He also hopes to send two grassland doctors to Jing Country in the spring to study medicine, with tuition fees to be discussed separately."

Upon hearing this, Wei Zheng didn't dare delay and hurried to inform Xiao Yunzhou.

Xiao Yunzhou couldn't help but look at the drowsy little princess.

Winning over the heroic figure Duoti not only improved Jing Country's national strength but also strengthened the connection between Jing Country and Wu Yun Country.

Xiao Yunzhou sighed and decided not to linger any longer, "I'll return to the Imperial Study to handle state affairs. You all rest here."

He didn't dare to rest too much now.

Otherwise, wouldn't it waste the little princess's painstaking guidance?

"Go and call back Jiang Li from the Ministry of Revenue."

"And the Imperial Cabinet."

"The Imperial Kitchen."

...

"This roast duck wrapped in pancakes with sweet sauce is truly delicious."

Two handsome 'young masters' who looked extremely similar were feasting in a Beijing duck restaurant in the capital.

"Making it ourselves is quite fun."

"Yuan, you must try some too."

"It's really interesting, there's even the duck bones for dry eating, and duck bone soup... three ways to eat one duck."

"This is the first time I've eaten duck without any gamey taste, and it's so tender and juicy."

"Indeed, young miss... I mean, young master. You rarely ate duck at home before."

"That's right. If it weren't for the peddler praising Jing Country's roast duck as if it were heaven-sent, I wouldn't have wanted to try it."

"Let's pack these to take away. We can have them tonight. I really can't eat anymore right now."

As the two 'handsome young masters' prepared to leave, their maid seemed hesitant to speak.

"Young miss, we just passed by Jing Country's bank. They say if you deposit ten, you get twelve back. I wonder if it's true. Are we coming back next year? I kind of want to..."

"Yuan, be cautious. We're here for study and travel. Look more, eat more, listen more, but don't spend money on uncertainties. If war breaks out, it's hard to say what will happen to the banks."

The twin beauties from Chu State, burping from their satisfying roast duck meal, were content but skeptical about Jing Country's bank.

"Grandfather said that even though Jing Country has established diplomatic relations with Wu Yun Country, their national strength is still not as good as our Chu State."

"Jing Country's treasury is probably severely depleted, which is why they've come up with this temporary method of borrowing money from the people."

In the Imperial Palace, Xiao Yunzhou had no idea that the operating principles of the bank had been accurately guessed by the twin beauties from Chu State.

"Yuan, the Jing Country's bank may limp along for a while, but in the long run, it's unlikely to stay afloat. It's easy to deposit money, but getting it back out will be quite the challenge."

The maid accompanying the two 'young masters' from her homeland was immediately frightened out of any notion of making a deposit.

"Thank you for the warning, young master! I nearly lost my purse! So the bank is just a scheme by the Jing Country's emperor to swindle the common folk!"

But no sooner had she spoken than a scholar at a nearby table stood up abruptly, his face dark with anger.

"You two young masters, are you scholars from Chu State visiting here?"

"If you're from Chu, how can you make such baseless claims about our Jing Country when you don't understand our situation!"

This blue-robed scholar, with a frightening birthmark on his left temple, was none other than Zheng Qiru.

He was the talented young man with an intelligence score of 99 whom Xiao Chuchu had noticed outside Zhengyang Gate that day.

Xiao Yunzhou had treated him with respect then, deeply moving Zheng Qiru, who had always been insecure about his unsightly appearance. He had decided to devote his life to serving the court.

So now, when Zheng Qiru heard these two handsome Chu scholars accusing the Jing emperor of swindling and speaking ill of the Jing Country's bank, he couldn't contain his indignation and felt compelled to argue.

"Young masters, do you dare to wager that within three days, Chu merchants will willingly conduct transactions at our Jing Country bank?"

The two attractive 'scholars' were taken aback for a moment, but quickly sneered, "Why not? We accept the bet!"

*

In the imperial study.

Xiao Yunzhou set down the memorial about the five hundred cattle and sheep offered by Wu Yun Country. He skipped over the Ministry of Rites and fixed his gaze directly on Jiang Li from the Ministry of Revenue.

Finally, he looked at Manager Liao from the Imperial Kitchen, who had arrived in a state of confusion.

"How embarrassing."

"Ministry of Revenue, Imperial Kitchen!"

Xiao Yunzhou looked up and let out a long sigh, "I'm embarrassed on your behalf."

Jiang Li from the Ministry of Revenue and Manager Liao from the Imperial Kitchen: "...?"

The emperor was having another fit of madness.

Hadn't he just received gifts from the grasslands and enjoyed tea with the little princess? The emperor should be in a good mood, shouldn't he?

They didn't understand. How had they embarrassed him again?

"These five hundred cattle and sheep, as well as the livestock trade brought by the spring market opening - Ministry of Revenue, have you thought about how to handle this large influx of grassland livestock?"

"Imperial Kitchen, the Ministry of Revenue now requires all large expenditures to report project profits and budgets. Do you have any profitable projects planned for this year?"

Both Jiang Li from the Ministry of Revenue and Manager Liao from the Imperial Kitchen were stunned by these questions.

The cattle and sheep had just arrived, so of course they hadn't had time to think about it.

And the Imperial Kitchen had always been responsible for food expenses, with money flowing out for purchases, never any income.

Profitable projects? Were they supposed to start charging the imperial harem for meals?

Both men were at a loss.

Xiao Yunzhou slammed his hand on the table, "I'm too ashamed to even speak of you!"

"???"

"?!"

Xiao Yunzhou wasn't asking a question, but making a statement, "My little princess is only four months old, yet she's already come up with a way to make money from this batch of livestock and a method for the Imperial Kitchen to turn a profit!"

"How old are you? Aren't you ashamed?!"

"..."

"!"

"Listen up, I'm going to open a royal milk tea shop."