Everyone sighed and hurried to the next pharmacy.
Those who bought saltpeter early had already started making ice.
A crowd of over a hundred people had gathered in three or four layers in front of a beverage shop.
"Boss, are you even capable? Why is there no reaction at all after I put the saltpeter in?"
"Why are you in such a hurry? The recipe says that the water will cool down slowly."
"Oh dear, this is so worrying! Do you think the Marquis's mansion is lying to us? Water is water, and ice is ice. It's not winter yet, how could water turn into ice for no reason..."
"Yeah, it might just be a scam. They say they'll let everyone in the world eat ice, but I just don't believe it—wait, why is the air getting colder? Oh my god! The water's reacting, it really seems to have gotten colder!"
"Really? Let me see, let me see..."
Upon hearing this, the onlookers became excited, and even passersby couldn't help but squeeze in. Everyone stared wide-eyed, and when the water gradually turned into ice, everyone was dumbfounded as they touched the cold, transparent ice.
"Oh my god! The water has really turned into ice!"
"A magical technique! This must be a magical technique!"
"The Marquis's mansion is truly benevolent and compassionate, actually passing on immortal arts to us mortals!"
With a thud, someone knelt down.
"Brothers, let's all go to the Marquis's mansion! From now on, we'll all be able to eat ice. We must repay this kindness!"
"Yes, yes, we never had ice before, but from now on, ordinary people like us can afford ice too."
In the palace, Consort Gao smashed a room full of things.
"You wretch! How dare you deceive me! Yesterday I lost over a hundred soldiers just to obtain the recipe, and today it's known throughout the city. She claims she's afraid to offend anyone, but I think she's incredibly audacious!"
"Your Majesty, please calm down. There's nothing we can do now. As for the Empress, as soon as she heard the recipe was out, she immediately sent someone to the Marquis's residence to offer condolences. She said that it was no wonder the ice could kill someone. Someone must have played a trick on her. She wants to seek justice for the young master's wife and the Marquis's residence."
"Is this true? Quickly, quickly, you must withdraw all our people immediately. We cannot let the Empress catch me red-handed."
"Yes, I'll take care of it right away. What about the Marquis's residence?"
"What else can we do? Let's send someone to offer our condolences. After all, the whole capital is talking about the virtues of the Pei family."
"What a brilliant idea to 'make ice affordable for all the people of the world'—I wonder who came up with this idea. Compared to money, this merit and the hearts of the people are what I truly desire!"
The imperial concubine spoke with envy and jealousy, her eyes reddening.
The old nanny beside her guessed, "It must be Old Madam Pei. We originally planned to take advantage of the fact that the Marquis's mansion had no man to support it, so we went to steal their recipe. We didn't expect Old Madam Pei to have this trick up her sleeve. In that case, we have no choice but to act against her."
"No wonder she's the daughter of a family that produced two generations of prime ministers."
The old woman sighed deeply.
No one knew that all of this was Jiang Shuwan's doing.
At the Marquis's residence, Jiang Shuwan had just seen off the people sent by the Empress to offer their condolences when Consort Gao's people arrived.
The two exchanged pleasantries, remaining polite on the surface. However, as soon as Jiang Yao and the others left, the two became so angry that they smashed pots and pans.
"nausea!"
"These royal relatives are fucking disgusting!"
"They clearly stole my formula, and now they're acting like they're on my behalf. It's disgusting for a thief to cry 'stop thief'!"
"Shh, keep your voice down. They just left. Don't let them hear us." Pei Lingyu, who was taking care of her by the bedside, stood cautiously by the door, peeking out, afraid that Consort Gao's people would hear Jiang Yao's words.
"What's wrong? I'm going to shout!"
"They're shameless, idiots! They can't even make money themselves, so they steal my recipes. If they don't want to be looked down upon, they should find their own way! They're so narrow-minded and uncultured, no wonder they can only be concubines!"
Pei Lingyu was shocked by her words, "What are you saying? She is a Noble Consort."
"What happened to the Imperial Concubine?"
"Even a Noble Consort was a concubine?"
"Once a concubine, always a lowly one!"
Pei Lingyu: "..."
Jiang Shuwan: "..."
"!"
What are those expressions on your faces?
"I wasn't wrong at all. A concubine is half a servant, and even if she's an imperial concubine, she's still a servant!"
Covering her face with a headache, Jiang Shuwan turned and went to Madam Pei's courtyard.
"Good boy, we're counting on you this time."
Madam Pei held Jiang Shuwan's hand, very satisfied with Jiang Shuwan's performance this time.
In particular, the phrase Jiang Shuwan had her servants spread, "So that all the common people in the world can afford to eat ice," is quite popular.
It has now spread throughout the entire capital, winning the hearts of many for the Pei family.
Previously, the Pei clan had been quite ashamed because of the Wen family and the aunt's loan sharking.
Later, Jiang Shuwan opened a porridge stall and a medicine stall, and now she has the merit of making ice, which has made the Pei family pick up the face they lost.
"Grandma, you flatter me. This is my second sister's good deed, and it can't be attributed to me at all."
“If it weren’t for the method you came up with, not only would the Pei family’s reputation be at risk, but your second sister’s life would also be in danger.”
"Speaking of which, your second sister is quite talented. She even knows a magical art like making ice from saltpeter. However, she is a bit naive. How can she easily offer up a business like ice making, which requires no investment and yields huge profits? Especially now, when things are going through a lot, it's best to keep a low profile."
As she spoke, Madam Pei pointed to the sky, and Jiang Shuwan knew that the old lady was hinting at the struggle for the throne between the Crown Prince and the First Prince.
Ever since she took over the household management, the old lady would tell her about matters of the imperial court from time to time.
For example, the eldest prince and the crown prince are fighting to the death, and the marquis's family cannot take sides.
The goal was to make her learn more and more about the affairs of the imperial court, so that she could figure out the causes and consequences of the Sun family's decline in the previous life.
According to known information, His Majesty is very poor, extremely poor.
In his previous life, although General Sun won a battle, the court still lost many soldiers due to the spies.
With so many people dead, someone has to take the blame.
Those of lower rank cannot bear this blame, and those of higher rank and who are also useful cannot be allowed to take the blame, since the border will still need these people to guard it in the future. General Sun, who has lost both legs and is practically a cripple, is naturally the best candidate to take the blame.
Since he's useless anyway, making him take the blame will not only appease public anger, but also save us from having to reward him handsomely.
After all, since we won the battle, His Majesty is obligated to reward us according to custom.
Your Majesty is poor. This will appease public anger and save money. Why not do it?
Whether it was a frame-up or His Majesty was misled, the Sun family was indeed abandoned in the previous life.
This life is different. In this life, the Sun family first found the traitor and used him to catch the enemy off guard, which led to a great victory in the Battle of the North.
Upon his return, General Sun will surely be richly rewarded.
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