Chapter 512. Fright (1/2)

Zhu Junfan heard this familiar voice and raised his brow at Su Ran, chuckling, “Is her zodiac sign the dog? How is her nose so good that she catches a whiff of our scent so quickly?”

Su Ran smiled faintly and said, “It’s not the little lass who is well-informed, but her maidservant. When we were coming up earlier, the manager had been eyeing you, Master, and I suspiciously for such a long time, so you can’t say you didn’t notice.”

He stood up to open the private room’s door and grinned warmly at the little lass outside. Yu Xiaocao’s eyes sparkled when she saw this beautiful face, ‘Wow, Sir Su is even more ethereal than the male lead in the drama ‘The Journey of Flower’  [1]  that she had watched in her previous life. He’s such an eye candy. The emperor keeps such a handsome man by his side, could he actually be…’

“Wretched lass, what kind of dirty thoughts are you having, smiling so secretively?” Zhu Junfan noticed the sundaes of a variety of colors in the stylish, transparent glasses and raised his brows, looking quite satisfied.

Facing the emperor who was dressed in plain clothes, Yu Xiaocao did not feel as much reverence as before, and smiled, “Your Imperial Majesty, I’m but a child, so how could I have dirty thoughts? If there is Buddha in your heart, you’ll see everything as Buddha; if there is dog poop in your heart, everything you see will be dog poop…”

Su Ran took the tray from the little lass’s hand and shot her a look that said ‘that’s some guts’, reminding her of the identity of the person she was referring to. She drily laughed, racking her brain for ways to tactfully resolve her statement.

Zhu Junfan dug into a strawberry flavored sundae, asking dangerously, “Beloved Official Yu, what do you think is in our heart right now?”

Yu Xiaocao’s eyes rolled around in thought, then suddenly a sly expression flashed across her face as she grinned, “Your Imperial Majesty, your eyes and heart must be full of iced desserts right now. How is the taste of the sundae? I’ve personally made it just for you—it’s an honor no one else has!”

“Good that you’re clever! We’re gracious, so we won’t stoop down to your level. However, you opened this iced desserts shop at just the right time, when we were coming up, the seats downstairs were nearly full, and there weren’t many private rooms left upstairs. How is it? You’ve earned quite a lot, haven’t you?” Zhu Junfan felt a shot of coolness reach the bottom of his heart when he ate the strawberry sundae, but instead of perceiving the cold, he felt a kind of indescribable comfort in his stomach.

Yu Xiaocao smiled along, “It’s all thanks to your gracious self. The business is going well, so I’m able to earn some pocket change!”

“Hmph! This is pocket change? A bowl of ice porridge, which is just a small piece of crushed ice and a little bit of honeyed beans, already costs five hundred copper coins! And a scoop of ice cream that’s not even as big as a ping pong ball costs one tael! If we came in, we wouldn’t be able to leave without spending a few taels. How is this pocket change?” Zhu Junfan paused, then nodded as he continued, “Right, compared to your ‘Blossoming Beauty’, which easily earns tens of thousands of taels, this is indeed pocket change!”

Yu Xiaocao tittered, adding more strawberry syrup to the emperor’s glass and joked, “Isn’t this because a big ‘Buddha’ backs our Blossoming Beauty? Don’t people only trust my spa because of your gracious self and her imperial majesty?”

He thought about his empress and her ten percent share of the Blossoming Beauty’s profit after it opened for business for a few months. The amount was near to exceeding his personal treasury! What more could be said about this little lass’s earnings? He ate another mouthful of the sweet yet tart strawberry syrup and said with a slight sourness in his tone, “Little lass, you have so many ideas for earning money that your assets are nearly exceeding ours, as we are only a poor man.”

“Your Imperial Majesty, please don’t say this, this little one is really fearful! This little one is not that Shen Wansan  [2]  whose fortune could match that of a country’s wealth; please don’t learn from that Zhu Chongba  [3]  and behead this little one to confiscate this little one’s assets!” The story of Zhu Yuanzhang and Shen Wansan did not exist in the current Great Ming Dynasty. As such, this classic could only be understood by her and this fellow transmigrator who came from the same world.

“Legend says...Shen Wansan died because he owned a treasure bowl and was punished because of his wealth. Moreover, his fortune could be compared to that of a country’s treasury, and he was able to buy half of the empire, so Zhu Yuanzhang was afraid of him. You ah...As long as you’re honest and don’t become full of yourself, we won’t mind no matter how much money you earn!” When he mentioned the treasure bowl, he had an odd smile on his face and Yu Xiaocao felt his gaze flicker to the multicolored stone on her wrist.

Su Ran, who was enjoying his sundae at the side, listened in bewilderment to their conversation. Although he had never heard of the story of Shen Wansan and Zhu Chongba, he could still sense something off about their conversation. It was as though the emperor and the little lass of the Yu Family shared the same secret. However, he was a dutiful chief steward, he would do his best for the matters under his jurisdiction, but for the matters that he should not know, he would pretend to be mute and deaf. This had been strictly taught to him since the day he entered the imperial palace.

“The treasure bowl is but a rumor! Shen Wansan was a genius in his trade, that’s why he could become the richest man in the empire. As for me, I don’t have any great ambitions, I just want to not worry about basic necessities and live life like a rice weevil which only ever eats and waits for its death. That's enough for me.” Yu Xiaocao reminded herself in her heart, 'All I need is enough money to spend. I mustn't become like Shen Wansan. He worked hard all his life but in the end, all of his efforts went to someone else instead.'

“No, that’s not allowed!” Zhu Junfan now felt a bit upset, “You’re our good minister, the revitalization of our agriculture and the prosperity of the empire all depend on you, beloved official!”