Greedy Wen Ciyuan
In the private room of Zuixianlou, Qi Xiuming glared at the two people sitting before him. "So, that little lover in Chuzhou who lives and eats with you is the Prime Minister?"
He stood up suddenly and pointed at Wen Ciyuan, "But shouldn't he have been unconscious at that time?"
Ruan Yunsheng ate a piece of osmanthus cake that Wen Ciyuan fed him and said with a smile, "Ah He's soul has left his body. I fed him the Soul Returning Pill so that he can temporarily appear."
She told the Qi brothers everything about her Yin-Yang eyes and ghosts. Qi Xiuming suddenly remembered everything he had experienced in the haunted house and said in a daze, "So... that was all true?"
Ruan Yunsheng blinked and nodded.
Qi Xiuming felt like he was about to die, and his worldview was shaken.
He leaned in front of her in disbelief, his nose almost touching her eyelashes: "But your eyes look no different from anyone else's!"
Wen Ciyuan expressionlessly grabbed the back of his collar and pulled him away: "There are differences between men and women."
"snort!"
Qi Xiuming slumped back in his chair and muttered, "As if everyone doesn't have a wife..."
He suddenly choked and took a sip of wine in a sullen manner. It seemed that he had run away from his marriage and really didn't have a wife.
Qi Yanzhou took out a red sandalwood brocade box from his sleeve and pushed it in front of Ruan Yunsheng: "A wedding gift."
Ruan Yunsheng opened the lid of the box, and the apricot-yellow title deed lay quietly inside, with the vermilion official seal shining brightly.
Qi Yanzhou tapped the inscription with his fingertips. "The other day, I heard Boss Ruan talking about the difficulties of running a haunted house. Although the old house is large, the facade is dark and gloomy. Every time the theme is changed, it needs to be closed for repairs for several months. It's not a good idea. But I think this will meet all of Boss Ruan's needs."
Qi Xiuming crossed his legs and added proudly, "This house is my brother's most precious treasure. He was originally going to transform it into the first branch of Zuixianlou, but now it's a bargain for you."
Hearing this, Ruan Yunsheng quickly refused: "Since it is the most valuable asset, how can I..."
"Boss Ruan, please don't refuse."
Qi Yanzhou interrupted with a smile, "I also have a share in this business. If the haunted house is successful, the number of customers at Zuixianlou will also benefit."
He tapped the deed with his fingertips. "It's a win-win situation, why not do it?"
Wen Ciyuan looked at Qi Yanzhou's gentle smile coldly, and alarm bells rang in his heart. This old man had neatly trimmed sideburns and the corners of his robe were smoked with ambergris. Why was the look in his eyes when he looked at Shengsheng so earnestly?
Thinking that his wife usually liked to stare at handsome men, he subconsciously clenched Ruan Yunsheng's hand.
The group crossed Zhuque Street and stopped in front of a seven-story gilded pavilion. The flying eaves and brackets blocked out the sun, and the glazed tiles were dripping with gold in the sunlight.
Ruan Yunsheng looked up at the vermilion lacquered railings that reached into the sky, his jaw dropping in shock. "Is this really for us?"
Qi Xiuming proudly pushed open the sandalwood door.
The world inside is so shocking that it holds one's breath.
On the first floor, a mica screen depicts a vast landscape of rivers and mountains. On the second floor, a wine-drinking platform is hidden behind a Xiang bamboo curtain. On the third floor, the entire floor is a suspended glass pond, with koi carp swimming overhead.
Each floor has a different style but is as exquisite as a fairy palace.
"Boss Qi is really generous!" Ruan Yunsheng praised repeatedly while stroking the rosewood railing.
Wen Ciyuan squeezed in between them without leaving a trace, and his fingertips "accidentally" cut off her glance at Qi Yanzhou: "Your Excellency, Madam, have no complaints about giving such a magnificent building to someone else?"
Qi Yanzhou was unaware of his inner thoughts and was completely oblivious: "I haven't married yet."
"oh?"
Wen Ciyuan raised his eyebrows, "I heard that Boss Qi is the same age as Ye Li? If Brother Ye's child is still alive, I'm afraid he can run and jump."
He said with regret, "Time is merciless. If I waste any more time, I'm afraid I'll end up alone."
Ruan Yunsheng secretly stepped on him and put on a smile: "Don't blame me, Boss Qi. He just recovered from a serious injury and is not in his right mind. He often talks nonsense like this."
Wen Ciyuan pulled at her sleeve with a wronged look, but she twisted her hand and pinched the soft flesh on his waist hard, causing him to gasp in pain.
Qi Yanzhou smiled and said, "Master Wen's words do make sense. It's just that I haven't met the person I'm attracted to yet, and I don't want to waste my life with a stranger."
Ruan Yunsheng was moved by what he said and patted him on the shoulder solemnly: "I never thought there would be someone as insightful as Boss Qi in this world!"
Wen Ciyuan snorted coldly and spoke sweet words.
Walking to the seventh-floor terrace, Ruan Yunsheng leaned over the railing and gazed into the distance, his eyes sparkling. "I've made up my mind. This first floor will be used as a lobby to entertain guests, and the second floor will be a strategy station."
Seeing everyone's bewilderment, she smiled and explained, "I plan to fill the haunted house with puzzles and mechanisms. The Strategy Station will be a place for guests to exchange clues and discuss solutions."
Qi Yanzhou nodded: "This way, we won't have to worry about the mechanism being too difficult and discouraging the guests."
"That's not all~" Ruan Yunsheng winked playfully, "The guide station also sells exclusive desserts and drinks. After the guests of Zuixianlou have eaten their fill, they must have something to drink!"
Qi Xiuming clapped his hands in amazement: "Great! I can still make some money!"
"And my desserts and tea are unique." Ruan Yunsheng raised an eyebrow. "Even people who don't play in the haunted house will come here just for this treat."
"unique?"
Qi Xiuming didn't believe that there were any pastries in the capital that he hadn't eaten?
Ruan Yunsheng immediately described a modern cream cake, with a fluffy sponge base wrapped in snow-white cream, decorated with fresh fruit chocolate, and a rose pattern squeezed out with a piping bag.
There's also modern cocktails, with a turquoise mint syrup at the bottom and milky white coconut milk floating in the middle. And there's the Abebei pearl milk tea for young people, with its brown sugar-cooked pearls wrapped in tea fragrance, springy and tantalizing when you breathe it in...
"Why don't we go to the mansion and try it now?"
Wen Ciyuan suddenly spoke up and generously invited the two brothers of the Qi family, completely forgetting that half a minute ago he had implied that Qi Yanzhou was "living alone under an old tree."
Ruan Yunsheng understood his thoughts and pinched his palm, trying not to laugh. "Prime Minister, didn't you just..."
"cough!"
Wen Ciyuan calmly put his arm around her shoulders and said, "Boss Qi has generously given us this building, so we should repay him with a wonderful banquet."
Ruan Yunsheng curled his eyes but didn't point it out, leading everyone through the Nine-Curve Corridor.
The kitchen of the Prime Minister's Mansion was already crowded with curious servants, and even the fire-making maid was lying by the stove, peeking.
Ruan Yunsheng glanced at the stoneware bowl and wooden steamer and sighed, "I definitely can't make small cakes now."
Suddenly his eyes turned, "But I can let you taste the wine!"
She rolled up her sleeves and took out the glass wine pot, her movements flowing like water:
First pour in amber honey wine, then add lime juice, and let the sugar form a frosty color at the bottom of the cup.
Suddenly, she shook off a few dried flowers from the sachet at her waist, twisted them into crimson powder with her fingertips, and sprinkled them into the cup.
The most amazing thing is the "Snow Technique"——
She threw the copper pot into the air and caught it. The pot spun in the air like a silver moon, and the sound of ice beads colliding with the wine was as clear as jade breaking.
After three ups and downs, frost condensed on the wall of the pot, and water vapor was as thick as white mist in fairyland.
“Bang!”
The lid of the pot was opened slightly, and the emerald green wine poured into the celadon cup, with layers of rosy light, the bottom layer was covered with gold, the middle layer was covered with green, and the top layer was covered with a violet mist!
She finally pinched a piece of mint tip, twisted a thin slice of lemon with her fingertips, stuck it on the rim of the cup, and pushed it towards Qi Xiuming: "'Zhuang Zhou Mengdie' - please taste it."
The room was filled with silence.
Qi Xiuming stared at the mint leaves swaying at the rim of the glass, his throat dry. "Is this really wine?"
In the transparent glass cup, the wine has distinct layers like condensed rays of light, and tiny ice crystals float where the gold and green blend together, as if the sunset clouds were sealed in the cup.
Ruan Yunsheng's lips curled up slightly. She had learned this move from a bar she had been studying for a long time. Don't ask why she was watching so closely; the reason was because the silver-haired bartender's fingers flew like butterflies, and the beads of sweat on his collarbone when he shook the pot exuded sexiness...
Ahem, we’ve strayed off topic.
"Try it." She pushed the bottom of the cup lightly with her fingertips.
Qi Xiuming took a sip cautiously and suddenly his eyes widened!
The fruity aroma dissipates the alcohol smell like a surging wave, the sweet and sour taste of passion fruit is intertwined with the coolness of mint, and after swallowing, the aftertaste of lychee lingers in the throat.
He slapped his thigh fiercely: "How can this be wine? It's clearly the nectar of the Queen Mother!"
The crowd suddenly became agitated.
"Don't worry~" Ruan Yunsheng held the pot and swung it in the air, and the wine fell into a row of tea bowls in an arc. "Whoever sees it gets a share!"
Wen Ciyuan tilted his head back and drank "Zhuang Zhou Mengdie" in one gulp. His Adam's apple rolled twice, but he couldn't taste anything. He looked at Ruan Yunsheng eagerly, like a puppy that didn't get a bone.
Shen Yunzhou pushed him away with his butt: "Go line up at the back~"
Ruan Yunsheng smiled softly, rolled up her sleeves, took out tapioca flour and brown sugar, poured hot water into the flour, and rubbed it with her fingertips, and unexpectedly rubbed out a plate full of shiny and elastic "pearls"!
Brown sugar is boiled into a slurry, and the sweet fragrance wrapped in honey mist rises up, dyeing the window screens a warm brown.
Milk and black tea blended on her wrist, and the brown and white swirl poured into the celadon bowl, and then poured into the glistening brown sugar pearls.
"Brown sugar bubble milk tea, done!"
Qi Xiuming snatched the bowl and took a deep sip. The pearls rolled across his tongue. He puffed out his cheeks and mumbled praise, "Such a springy texture! Such a tea-milky aroma! Absolutely amazing!"
The cooks crowded around to try the new product, exclaiming in amazement: "I've lived for sixty years, and I never knew tea and milk could be combined to create such a heavenly flavor!"
Wen Ciyuan quietly rubbed back behind Ruan Yunsheng, hooked his fingertips around her belt and said, "Madam, please add more pearls to my bowl."
After everyone reluctantly left, Wen Ciyuan rubbed against Ruan Yunsheng, hooked his fingertips on her sleeve and shook it gently: "The little cake that Madam just mentioned..."
Ruan Yunsheng raised an eyebrow and pressed his palm against his slightly bulging stomach: "Can you still eat more?"
Wen Ciyuan lowered his eyes: "...Yes."
There was a stubborn determination in his voice.
Ruan Yunsheng sighed deliberately, "But we're short of whipping cream. We need to let fresh milk sit overnight, then take the floating fat from the surface and beat it repeatedly."
She tilted her head and smiled, "Butter needs to be fermented and purified. Can you wait?"
Wen Ciyuan was silent for a moment, then suddenly raised his voice to the outside, "Mo Yu."
Mo Yu flashed in, only to see his master's serious expression: "Quickly purchase ten dairy cows, and then find a craftsman to make a copper mixing bucket. Have everything ready before midnight."
Mo Yu: "...Now?"
"Bring back some more ice." Wen Ciyuan added calmly, "Madam said the cream needs to be refrigerated."
Ruan Yunsheng laughed and leaned on his shoulder: "Prime Minister, are you going to change your career and open a dairy?"
Wen Ciyuan's ears flushed slightly, but he still kept a stern face: "The opening of the haunted house is imminent, so of course we can't delay."
Finally, after downing three bowls of pearl milk tea and eating dinner, Prime Minister Wen collapsed on the armchair with a bulging belly, his brows knitted into a bitter gourd, "Madam, my stomach is bloated."
Ruan Yunsheng held back a laugh and handed over the hawthorn pills: "I told you not to drink it a long time ago, but you refused to listen."
Wen Ciyuan swallowed the pill with resentment, but was woken up by flatulence in the middle of the night. He rubbed his aching abdomen and rubbed the edge of the bed pitifully: "Madam, will you accompany me for a walk?"
The only response he got was Ruan Yunsheng's even and long breathing, mixed with a comfortable hum. No one had touched her at night, and she was sleeping soundly with her arms around the brocade quilt.
Wen Ciyuan pried at the crack of the bed with resentment: "Shengsheng..."
"Snoring——"
He was answered with a small snore.
The Prime Minister had no choice but to put on his clothes and leave the hospital in disappointment. Under the moonlight, he held his waist and walked slowly around the lotus pond, burping with a milk tea flavor every three steps.
There were whispers from the darkness:
"My Lord, have you... fallen from grace?"
"Hush! I heard that he was kicked out by his wife because he drank too much milk tea."
Shen Yunzhou, who was laughing secretly behind the rockery, was covered with his mouth by Mo Yu and dragged away.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com