Early in the Morning

Li Zhiyue and Bai Tang had breakfast together.

After finishing, Bai Tang was about to pay respects to her aunt, Bai Ruzhu.

Li Zhiyue smiled and said, “My mother just got up. Don’t bother her now. Come on, cousin, I’ll take you somewhere.”

The two took a carriage to the outskirts of the capital and arrived at the gate of a courtyard blooming with flowers.

Standing outside the small courtyard, Li Zhiyue called out loudly, “Wan Feng, are you there?”

Soon, a pretty figure emerged.

Cheng Wanfeng smiled brightly. “Zhiyue, you came just in time. I just caught an osmanthus fish by the river. It’ll be delicious steamed. Come in and sit. And this is?”

“Let me introduce you.” Li Zhiyue began, “This is Lady Cheng Wanfeng, sister of Lord Cheng, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. And this is my cousin, Bai Tang.”

“Miss Cheng.”

“Cousin Bai.”

The two exchanged polite greetings.

Bai Tang was very grateful for Cheng Changyan’s help the day before and spoke with great respect.

Li Zhiyue smiled and said, “There are no outsiders here. Just be casual.”

Bai Tang was startled.

So her cousin didn’t consider the Cheng family outsiders anymore?

Could it be…

She went along smoothly, “Then I’ll call you by your given name, Wanfeng.”

“Sounds good.” Cheng Wanfeng relaxed. “What would you like to eat? I’ll have the aunt next door help bring some ingredients back.”

Li Zhiyue thought for a moment. “What other dishes did your mother teach you?”

“My mother? She doesn’t cook,” Cheng Wanfeng laughed. “She’s a foodie. She’d describe the taste to me, and I’d slowly experiment. I’ve learned a bit from the eight major cuisines in your region. My dishes may not be authentic, but they’re not bad.”

Bai Tang was confused.

Your region? What region?

Eight major cuisines?

She had never heard of that.

“Then make your best dish,” Li Zhiyue rolled up her sleeves. “I’ll be your assistant. Cousin, how about helping wash the vegetables?”

The three worked together, and soon a sumptuous lunch was ready.

There were four dishes in total, each from a different cuisine — a bit of a fusion.

Li Zhiyue sat down and smiled. “Cousin, I remember the Bai family has a small restaurant in the capital. Try Wanfeng’s cooking and tell us how it compares.”

Bai Tang tasted the Longjing shrimp.

Her eyes went wide. “This taste is incredible! Why didn’t our restaurant ever think of stir-frying shrimp with Longjing tea?”

She sipped some tea and tried the osmanthus fish.

Again, she was stunned. “Savory, fragrant, and spicy—this flavor is irresistible!”

Next was poached chicken. It looked plain but tasted delicious.

Finally, they had vegetable meatball soup, soft and smooth, incredibly satisfying.

“Wanfeng, where did you learn to cook like this?” Bai Tang was astonished. “Our restaurant hired many fine chefs, but none of them come close to you—not even one-tenth, no, one-hundredth!”

Cheng Wanfeng replied modestly, “Oh, I just cook casually. As long as cousin Tang enjoys it.”

Li Zhiyue smiled. “How about we go into business together?”

Bai Tang froze.

So did Cheng Wanfeng.

“Wanfeng, your culinary skills are unmatched in the Great Wei. Haven’t you thought about building a future with your cooking?” Li Zhiyue’s tone was persuasive. “Food is essential. Everyone loves it. This is a business that’s guaranteed to succeed.”

Cheng Wanfeng’s breath caught.

She had thought about earning money to ease her brother’s burdens, but for various reasons, she never acted on it and gradually gave up the idea.

In her mother’s world, women could stand on equal footing with men.

There was no need to stay confined in the inner courtyard. Perhaps… it was time for her to step out of this little courtyard too.

A spark lit in Cheng Wanfeng’s heart.

She smiled. “Alright.”

Li Zhiyue turned to Bai Tang. “Your family’s restaurant has been doing poorly these past few years. They’ve changed chefs again and again, but nothing helped. I figure if things go on like this, it’ll shut down in six months. You should try to save it.”

Bai Tang didn’t hesitate.

She immediately nodded.

If the Bai family weren’t so poor, her mother wouldn’t have accepted bribes, and things wouldn’t have turned out like this.

Seeing that the two had no objections, Li Zhiyue slowly laid out her plan.

The Bai family would provide the restaurant space, Cheng Wanfeng would contribute the culinary skills, and she would invest the capital.

The capital would be used to renovate the restaurant and purchase premium ingredients, aiming at the high-end market.

“You two take 40% each, and I’ll take 20%,” Li Zhiyue smiled. “We’ll all be busy from now on. First, cousin, you need to gain full management control of the restaurant. No interference. Wanfeng, start drafting a menu. Once we have a draft, we’ll test the dishes and finalize it. I’ll draw up the design to remodel the space…”

Cheng Wanfeng nodded and said, “This is your idea. It’s not right that you only take 20%. The restaurant belongs to the Bai family, and I’m not contributing anything physical. I’ll take 20%.”

“No way,” Bai Tang protested. “The success or failure of a restaurant hinges entirely on the chef. You deserve 40%. I should take 20%. I don’t know anything…”

“Alright,” Li Zhiyue smiled. “Let’s each take 30%, and keep 10% for future expansions. How’s that?”

The three finally reached an agreement.

They finished the meal with great satisfaction.

After putting down her chopsticks, Bai Tang asked curiously, “Wanfeng, I heard your brother was the top scholar of his year?”

Cheng Wanfeng nodded proudly. “My brother loved martial arts since childhood, but my mother was ill at the time, so he couldn’t go to war. He stayed home and studied for just four years and still became top scholar. He’s that amazing because top scholar was the highest title available!”

Li Zhiyue was stunned.

Others study for over a decade just to become a provincial graduate, and Cheng Changyan did it in four years and ranked first in the nation?

A true genius!

How had such a brilliant person never appeared in the original novel?

Then she remembered.

Cheng Changyan’s mother was a time traveler.

That must have caused a butterfly effect, triggering a chain of changes.

Everything related to Cheng Changyan had subtly shifted.

For example, the position of Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, originally held by Lord Wen, was still vacant because Cheng Changyan delayed his promotion.

“Wanfeng, do you know what your brother studied back then?” Bai Tang asked hesitantly. “My cousin — oh, Zhiyue’s older brother — the autumn exams are coming up, and I was wondering if I could help him.”

Cheng Wanfeng was more than happy to help.

She got up and went to Cheng Changyan’s room, returning shortly with several books. “These have his notes. They’re more insightful than the Guozijian lecturers. Let your cousin study them. They’ll be a big help for the autumn exam.”

“Thank you so much!”

Bai Tang looked as if she’d received a treasure.

Li Zhiyue: “…”

Lovestruck fool — truly hopeless.