The official road in Shu twisted and turned like a silk ribbon soaked in ink, winding through the peaks. When Su Jinli lifted the soft silk curtain on the left side of the sedan chair, a cloud of damp, cold mist immediately poured in, clinging to the pearl tassels at her temples like torn cotton wool. The distant peaks were mostly swallowed by thick clouds, revealing only their dark green peaks, like outlines smudged with light ink in an ink painting, looming against the gray sky. The sedan chair jolted gently as the carriage rolled over the gravel road, the axles creaking rhythmically, echoing the occasional song of a thrush in the forest. The air was filled with the sweet, fishy scent of moss and moist earth.

"Mom, look over there!" Si Yan was lying on the right side of the car window, his little nose rubbing against the lotus pattern carved on the window frame, holding the newly bought red sandalwood abacus tightly in his arms. The sunlight shone through the sparse branches and leaves on his focused little face, and the abacus beads clattered in his palms. Each bead was rubbed by him to be warm and shiny, with an amber luster. "It took a full seventeen days to travel from Chang'an to Shu, and the total travel expenses were thirty-eight taels, seven cents and four cents," he tapped the window frame with his nails, and the abacus beads jumped rapidly under his thumb, "If this rugged mountain road is repaired into a smooth official road, assuming eighty workers and two hundred cubic meters of stone per mile, plus the workers' rations, transportation costs and wear and tear of stone-cutting tools, it will take at least..."

"Stop, stop!" Su Jinli smiled, extending her index finger and gently tapping the frame of her son's abacus. The sandalwood felt cool beneath her fingertips. "My little accountant, put the abacus away first," she said, pointing to the gradually darkening sky outside the window, where a few wisps of smoke were already rising from the distant valley. "Thinking about what to eat tonight is the serious matter. If you keep calculating, it will be dark." As soon as she finished speaking, her fingertips were rubbed by the copper shaft of Si Yan's abacus. It was the smooth touch left by his years of fiddling with it, with the warmth of a young man's palm.

"I want something spicy!" Nian Li suddenly shouted through the car window. The pomegranate-red pompom on her head swept across the thin dust on the window sill, startling two sparrows perched on a roadside sycamore tree. The girl's voice was clear and loud, echoing through the sedan chair curtains and silencing the cicadas in the tree shadows. "Uncle Hu said that the chili peppers in Shu are so spicy that they can make your tongue burn!" She shook her head, the silver ornaments in her hair jingling, and her eyes sparkled as she gazed at the eaves of the distant city walls. "I want to try it and see if it really feels like fire!"

Jiang Yan, who was looking down at the deed, felt his hand tremble when he heard this. The ink drop from the wolf-hair brush spread out on the rice paper, forming a small ball, like a suddenly blooming ink flower. "Chili?" He raised his head, his brows slightly furrowed, and his eyes, which usually smiled, were now filled with caution. He thought of the spicy Hu La Tang he had tasted in the West Market of Chang'an. The spiciness made his tongue numb for most of the hour, and he drank three bowls of sour plum soup before he could recover. "How spicy is it?" He put down the deed, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the edge of the paper, "Is it three times hotter than the Hu La Tang in Chang'an? I think that Hu La Tang is already unbearable."

Su Jinli raised an eyebrow, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the mutton-fat jade pendant at her waist. It was a keepsake hand-carved by her maternal grandfather, and it felt warm to the touch. "I heard from a passing caravan that the hot pot in Shu is so spicy it makes you break out in sweat, and the more you eat, the more addictive it becomes." A longing smile played at the corner of her mouth, remembering her past life in the prime minister's mansion. Her stepmother always forbade her to even touch the spicy tofu made in the kitchen, saying it was "undesirable to a lady's manners," let alone such a strong flavor. "I must try this in this life and make up for my past regrets. Besides, with Siyan and Nianli around, how could I let you suffer alone?"

In the evening, the carriage finally entered the territory of Chengdu Prefecture. Lanterns on both sides of the street lit up one after another, and the scarlet halo reflected on the bluestone road wet by the rain during the day, like a layer of flowing rouge. Si Yan suddenly sniffed, a look of surprise on his little face, and a grain of coal dust on the tip of his nose that had been rubbed on at some point. "Mom, it smells so good!" He sniffed hard, his little brows slightly frowned in intoxication, "It smells like meat, and it has a strange, numb aroma! It's like there are a lot of peppercorns!"

Following his direction, a shop with a sign reading "Zhang's Old Stove" came into view. Two enormous red lanterns, painted with vibrant chili peppers in gilded gold, swayed gently above the door lintel, gleaming in the dusk. The tassels of the lanterns rustled softly against the doorframe in the wind. The door was wide open, and steaming hot air, mixed with the rich aroma of butter, mingled with the pungent scent of chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns, pierced Su Jinli's nostrils, causing her to inhale deeply. Through the open windows, she could see the diners inside, each fanning themselves with bamboo fans, beads of sweat glistening on their foreheads, yet they continued to tuck into their food, sighing with satisfaction and occasionally punctuated by a sharp inhalation from the spiciness.

"This is it!" Su Jinli's eyes lit up, and before the carriage had even stopped, she lifted the curtain and prepared to get out. Jiang Yan quickly reached out to help her, his fingertips touching her slightly cold wrist, and he couldn't help but tighten his grip: "Slow down, the ground is slippery." He jumped off the carriage first, turned around and caught her steadily, the sleeves of his moon-white gown brushing against the hem of her skirt, bringing with it a faint scent of ink. Si Yan landed first, holding the abacus, while Nian Li tugged at Jiang Yan's sleeve, eagerly looking into the store.

The moment you step into the shop, you're hit by a wave of heat mixed with chilies, Sichuan peppercorns, and fresh meat, almost suffocating you. Several copper pots in the center of the lobby are boiling simultaneously, their gurgling sounds echoing like a lively symphony. The waiter immediately approaches, wearing an oilcloth apron stained with a few drops of dark red oil. His voice, resonant with a thick Sichuan accent, is so resonant it makes your eardrums buzz: "Ladies and gentlemen, please come in! We have authentic beef fat soup base, fresh tripe, ox throat, and even pig brains freshly delivered from the butcher. Would you like to try some? I guarantee it'll be so spicy it'll make your tongue tremble. It's a real treat!"

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