Whatever rumors people spread about him, he would prove those rumors true through their actions.

Several officials who had fabricated rumors met their demise in the Nanfeng Pavilion, shocking the entire court, yet no one dared to speak up.

The old emperor was bedridden and could no longer restrain him; if it weren’t for the Grand Empress Dowager, the last iron chain binding him, the new emperor might not even be able to sit on the dragon throne.

It was precisely because of his ruthlessness over the years and the impending ascension of the new emperor that the prominent families in the capital were hesitant to marry their daughters to him.

— They feared their daughters would suffer under him, and they were even more afraid their families would become targets for suppression after the new emperor took the throne.

After Fuxi finished speaking, he noticed Feng Shuo remained silent, and he couldn’t help but sigh, “If there’s no suitable candidate for the primary consort, we can consider elevating a secondary wife.”

Feng Shuo, who had been reviewing official documents, paused his pen at this remark, his brows furrowing in cold displeasure: “The Liao South Palace will only have one primary consort.”

Fuxi had watched Feng Shuo grow up, and he knew very well how the late emperor had treated him and his mother.

Feng Shuo’s current demeanor was largely a result of the late emperor and the Grand Empress Dowager.

When Feng Shuo was just born, the late emperor felt guilty toward the late empress and intended to strangle him to death.

The Grand Empress Dowager, recognizing that the late emperor sought the late empress’s likeness in him, threatened to take her own life if he did so.

Once the late empress was gone, there would no longer be anyone in the world who resembled her.

The Grand Empress Dowager’s threat forced the late emperor to spare Feng Shuo’s life.

Fuxi sincerely hoped that both Feng Shuo and the Grand Empress Dowager could move on from that past; they had suffered enough in their lives.

Remembering the past made his eyes redden: “Although the Grand Empress Dowager doesn’t recognize you now, whenever she sees a three or five-year-old child, she stares for a long time, asking where her Yan Nu has gone…”

Yan Nu was Feng Shuo’s childhood name.

Upon hearing this, a crack finally appeared in Feng Shuo’s icy demeanor as he raised a hand to cover his eyes.

Fuxi trembled as he said, “Old servant was thinking, if you had a child, perhaps the Grand Empress Dowager would feel better upon seeing the child.”

Feng Shuo questioned him, “If I take a concubine just to have a child, how will the future consort stand in this situation?”

“If you are not serious, after giving birth to the child, you can send the concubine away. When the consort enters, the child can be entrusted to her care.”

Feng Shuo coldly looked at Fuxi: “Do you think their circumstances are any different from my mother’s?”

Fuxi fell silent.

It was now the fourth watch of the night, the time to head to the Western Military Camp.

Feng Shuo had nothing more to say to Fuxi; he returned to his room to change into clean clothes before heading out.

He usually went to the military camp for meals, and the cooks at the manor were naturally pleased not to have to wake up early to prepare food.

Now, although there was a Grand Empress Dowager, she had not yet risen at this hour, so the kitchen remained in a state of cold pots and stoves.

He intended to head towards the main gate but, upon passing the western courtyard, caught sight of a tall wall and suddenly changed direction to walk toward it.

Behind that wall was the courtyard rented by Jiang Yanyi.

He didn’t even know why he came here.

Yet, standing with his arms crossed against the wall for a while, his restless heart inexplicably calmed down.

Memories of his childhood in the palace floated to the surface.

People in the palace said his mother was favored, but he knew that his mother was always covered in scars, and countless nights, she held him while crying.

She said, “Yan Nu, grow up quickly. When you’re grown, take your mother out of this cage.”

She also said, “Yan Nu, you must treat only one girl well in the future, and don’t let her down.”

Feng Shuo cut off his memories and looked up at the still dim sky; he didn’t like to dwell on these thoughts.

The sight of his mother’s tear-stained eyes and her kneeling at the late emperor’s feet pleading for mercy haunted him like a nightmare for a lifetime.

With a “thud,” something fell at his feet.

Feng Shuo looked down to see a ripe pomegranate that had fallen.

Next to the tall wall stood a pomegranate tree, which had been there for some years.

It seemed that the previous owner of the house had planted it, hoping for children, as the tree had now grown taller than the wall, extending a leafy shade over the other side.

It was the season for ripe pomegranates, and the tree was laden with fruit.

Feng Shuo stared at it for a while, then lightly jumped up to the wall.

Just as he picked a pomegranate, he accidentally knocked another one down, which fell with a “thud” into Jiang Yanyi’s courtyard.

He paused slightly.

Should he go down to pick it up?

…

The next day, Jiang Yanyi woke up long after the sun had risen high in the sky.

Since she had arrived in this world, she had never enjoyed such a comfortable sleep.

As she dressed and stepped out of her room, she saw Qiukui squatting by the courtyard wall, seemingly doing something.

The sun had risen high enough to be slightly blinding, and Jiang Yanyi squinted as she stretched. “Qiu Kui, when did you get up?”

Hearing her voice, Qiu Kui turned her head, excitement barely contained on her face. “Huahua, pomegranates fell from the sky!”

Jiang Yanyi was taken aback, walking over to take a look.

She discovered that three pomegranates had somehow fallen into the courtyard, one of which was damaged, while the other two were large and red, likely unscathed because they had landed in the flowerbed soil.

The damaged one had a brown stem, suggesting it had ripened and fallen off, while the stems of the other two were still fresh and green, indicating they probably hadn’t fallen off by themselves.

Jiang Yanyi looked up at the courtyard wall, where half of a pomegranate tree was exposed, and wondered, “Could it be that the wind blew last night and knocked those two pomegranates down?”

Otherwise, it didn’t make sense.

Qiukui looked eagerly at Jiang Yanyi. “Huahua, can we eat them?”

Although she was tempted, she knew that those pomegranates didn’t belong to them, fearing they would be scolded by the owner for eating them.

Jiang Yanyi stared at the two pomegranates, troubled.

Theoretically, they should return them, but it seemed very pretentious to do so.

If they were ordinary neighbors, it wouldn’t matter; if something from your courtyard fell into mine, I could return it, and it might even help strengthen neighborly relations.

However, next door were high-ranking officials.

Not to mention the master of the house, even the servants wouldn’t care that two pomegranates had been blown from their tree.

If she went out of her way to return them, the gatekeeper might think she was trying to take advantage of the situation.

After some hesitation, Jiang Yanyi finally said, “You can eat them. I’ll make some pastries later to send to the neighbors nearby. I can just casually mention the pomegranates to the gatekeeper of the Duhu Mansion.”

That way, it would be a matter of reciprocity.

Before opening the restaurant, she wanted to give gifts to the surrounding neighbors to build good relationships, ensuring that they would be on amicable terms with those they frequently encountered.

After all, there’s an old saying that “distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors.”

With just the two of them here, if anything happened, they would need the help of the neighbors.

Hearing that Jiang Yanyi said they could eat the pomegranates, Qiukui happily picked them up.

Jiang Yanyi then strolled over to the corner of the yard, checking on the chili peppers she had planted, and carefully fetched a small scoop of water from the water tank to pour onto the soil at the base of the plants.

She had learned from her visit to the market with Qiukui that chili peppers were referred to as “fan jiao” here.

She heard they were rare items brought back by trading caravans from beyond the border, and that they were so scarce that even having money might not guarantee a purchase.

Wasn’t that just turning chili peppers into prized flowers?

Earlier, Jiang Yanyi hadn’t known how valuable this pot of chili peppers was.

Now that she did, she felt somewhat undeserving of such a gift.

Even though Feng Shuo hadn’t seemed to care about the pot of chili peppers the other day in the military tent, their market value was still there.

It was like someone who disregards money; if they casually handed you a piece of gold, you couldn’t just assume it was rightfully yours because the giver didn’t value it.

Jiang Yanyi thought that the next time Feng Shuo came over for a meal, she couldn’t charge him for it!

The hot pot restaurant would offer him free meals for life.

After returning from the market yesterday, she had a faint idea: given the current rarity of chili peppers, if she nurtured this pot well and cultivated it, selling them as potted plants before the market was saturated might earn her more than using them for hot pot.

Her hot pot restaurant would start with a clear soup base.

Although people in this era enjoyed spicy food, the heat from the fruit of the zhuyuan plant was like comparing bronze to a king; the difference was substantial.

To introduce someone who had never experienced the overpowering taste of chili peppers to spiciness would require a gradual process.

Launching directly with a spicy broth could lead to problems; not only were chili peppers currently expensive and scarce, but if they turned out to be a financial loss, what would she do?

Moreover, she feared that people might not readily accept it, resulting in an empty restaurant, which would be disastrous!

After much consideration, Jiang Yanyi concluded that introducing spicy hot pot should be a gradual process.

Once her hot pot restaurant gained popularity, she could slowly roll out spicy broth; her loyal customers would certainly be willing to try it out of trust.

The future looked bright!

The more she thought about it, the more she felt that the pot of chili peppers given by that general was not just a potted plant; it was practically a treasure trove!

If her chili cultivation plan succeeded, she would have to send a significant gift to his residence.

This would be to express her gratitude for the peppers and, naturally, to enjoy the benefits of being backed by a powerful figure.

If her business grew bigger, there would undoubtedly be turbulent times ahead, so it was essential to establish connections early on.

Jiang Yanyi gazed affectionately at the chili plant, her eyes shining like a mother’s.