Guan Zhiyue was unaware of everything that was happening in the palace. At this moment, she was with Bilian, and the two of them were riding in a carriage towards General Guan's mansion.

"Young Miss, what brings you back?" Uncle Guan asked, looking at the two people who had suddenly appeared at his door.

Uncle Guan is the old steward of Guan Zhiyue's family. He is a veteran who followed Guan Hongsheng and retired from the battlefield after being injured in the arm.

"Uncle Guan, where's my father? Is this our home today?"

Uncle Guan was concerned about why this girl had come back, while Guan Zhiyue was concerned about whether her father was home.

"Master, you've gone to the military camp on the outskirts of the capital. Miss, what brings you here?" Uncle Guan looked Guan Zhiyue up and down.

Guan Zhiyue smiled and said, "Uncle Guan, don't worry, I just came out of the palace to buy some things. Don't worry, I have a palace pass, I didn't sneak out."

Uncle Guan nodded knowingly, indicating that he understood.

"Let's go! It just so happens that the Second Young Master is off today, so he can take you, Miss, out for a stroll in the streets."

"Oh, my second brother is off today! That's great!" Guan Zhiyue looked very happy.

——

The three entered the Guan residence. Guan Zhiyue first paid her respects to the two elders, and after some pleasantries, she went out shopping with her second brother.

"My dear sister, what do you want to buy this time?" Guan Chengheng looked at his sister, who was getting prettier every day, and felt incredibly proud.

Guan Zhiyue approached Guan Chengheng and said, "Second brother, I came here today to buy some fruit tree seedlings to plant on the back mountain of my house. I planted rice and corn a few days ago."

"Oh, you even planted corn? That corn from last time was delicious, did you even manage to buy the seeds?"

“Of course! I asked around at many places that sell grain seeds before I finally bought what they had hidden away. I heard it came from overseas.” Guan Zhiyue and Guan Chengheng spoke in hushed tones, like thieves.

Before long, they arrived at Zuixianlou, the largest restaurant in the capital owned by Lan Shanqi.

"Oh my, who is this? It's been a long time! Little Yue'er, you've finally come. I've missed you so much." Lan Shanqi was wearing a light blue double-breasted robe with blue and white stripes at the hem. A dark blue jade belt around his waist accentuated his strong and full back.

"Hehe, Brother Lan seems to have become even more handsome since I last saw him!" Guan Zhiyue also started showering him with compliments.

"Alright, you two stop with your mutual flattery. Sit down quickly. Young Master Lan, you must treat my sister well today!" Guan Chengheng said, disliking their mutual flattery.

Guan Zhiyue and Lan Shanqi smiled and said, "Okay, let's sit down and chat together first."

"Little Yue'er, I heard a few days ago that you wanted to come and discuss some things with me. What exactly are these things? Is there some business you want to do with me?" Lan Shanqi led the two into the private room.

Guan Zhiyue also smiled and said, "Yes, this time I really need to discuss something with Brother Lan."

"Oh, what good thing is it that I, this young master, have the chance to do this?" Lan Shanqi said while pouring water for the two of them.

"It's about food, of course."

Upon hearing this, Lan Shanqi became interested. He put down the teapot, sat down, and asked, "What kind of food is it that would make Xiao Yue'er come all this way?"

Guan Zhiyue smiled and said, "Rice paddy fish."

"Fish!"

When Lan Shanqi heard that it was fish, his enthusiasm waned, and his voice became noticeably lower.

"What's wrong? Brother Lan doesn't seem very happy?"

Guan Chengheng, who was standing to the side, tugged at his sister's sleeve and said with a smile, "Little Yue'er, you don't know, but we in Nanding Kingdom rarely eat fish."

"Oh, why? I think it tastes pretty good. The palace also cooks fish. I saw that the imperial kitchen also cooks fish."

“Yes, there will be, but don’t you know that basically no one eats them?” Guan Chengheng asked rhetorically.

Guan Zhiyue had never really cared about this issue, because the fish served in their Cold Palace was always eaten until only the soup was left. She had never heard of anyone not eating fish!

Why don't you eat fish?

Lan Shanqi laughed and said, "Oh, it's not that we don't eat fish, it's just that the earthy taste of fish is really hard to mask, so people don't like to eat fish these days."

Guan Zhiyue realized the problem and said with a smile, "Oh, that's it? Then Brother Lan's food this time can be said to be unique in Nan Ding Kingdom."

"Oh, what do you mean?"

Guan Zhiyue looked around, then pulled the two of them closer to the center of the table and started whispering to each other. After about five or six minutes, the three of them returned to their respective seats.

"Is that really true?"

"That's absolutely right!"

"Then how long will it take for the rice paddy fish you mentioned to be available?" Lan Shanqi asked.

Guan Zhiyue said with a smile, "In three days, send someone to deliver a batch of seedlings to the palace. I will take them back and raise them in the rice paddies. By mid-July, when my rice is harvested, the first batch of rice paddy fish will also be harvested."

"If you start advertising half a month in advance, you'll definitely make a fortune once my rice paddy fish are on the market."

"However, you must find the most reliable people to make all the fish recipes I give you, especially the kind of people that others can't poach even with high prices, because if these recipes get out, our fish business will be in trouble."

Lan Shanqi thought for a moment and said, "How about we open a separate shop that sells fish? That way, more people can taste and appreciate the beauty of fish."

Guan Zhiyue listened to Lan Shanqi's words and then said with a smile, "We'll talk about that later. Rice paddy fish are seasonal; they're not available all the time. They're only available when rice is planted, so there are only two seasons to eat rice paddy fish."

Guan Zhiyue's words stunned the two people present. They both knew that rice in Nanding Kingdom could only be planted for one season. Now that Guan Zhiyue said it could be planted for two seasons, the two looked at each other.

"Little Yue'er, do you know what you're saying? This is a major event that benefits the country and its people! You..." Lan Shanqi's eyes lit up.

Guan Zhiyue raised her hand, extended her index finger, and pressed it to her lips, saying, "Let's not talk about this now. Let's talk about something else. We'll discuss this after I've completed the experiment."

So the three of them changed the subject, and in the end, Guan Zhiyue and Guan Chengheng strolled around the street. Now that everything had been settled, they just had to wait to implement it one by one.

"Come on, I'll take you to eat jujube cake. I found a place that makes really delicious jujube cake last time. I was going to buy some for you to take to the palace, but I've been training troops at the military camp in the suburbs of Beijing lately."

Guan Zhiyue nodded, and the two passed by the "private quarters" that Guan Zhiyue and Bilian had seen last time.

"Come on, what are you waiting for?" Guan Chengheng looked at his younger sister who was standing in front of a shop.

Guan Zhiyue stepped forward again and knocked on the closed door. After a while, the square-faced servant from before poked his head out of the small window in the door and looked at Guan Zhiyue, saying, "Oh, it's you again, Miss. Are you here this time to pay the toll and apply for a pass?"

"Let me tell you, our museum just received a treasure map recently!"

"Oh, what is it?"

The servant gestured for Guan Zhiyue to come closer before saying, "A customer wants the underpants of the lady upstairs, and he's offering 20,000 taels!"

Upon hearing this, Guan Zhiyue's mind was filled with a sentence and a pile of gleaming silver ingots beckoning to her.

"The Emperor's underpants are worth 20,000 taels of silver."

"Really? Wouldn't the original flavor be even more expensive?" Guan Zhiyue looked at the waiter with starry eyes.

The servant was startled by her appearance, swallowed hard, and said, "I heard it's fifty thousand taels."

Guan Zhiyue's eyes darted around; this was incredibly lucrative! Wow...