AEOGA CH26

Fu Xinian was mid-sip when the words hit him. A mouthful of wine went straight down his windpipe, triggering a violent coughing fit that turned his face beet red.

Helian Xi, who had been carefully picking through his food, nearly choked on a fish bone.

Wang Yiming’s hands shook so badly that his chopsticks clattered to the floor. He scrambled to pick them up, face pale with shock.

The rest of the room fell into a collective, glazed stupor.

Wait… what did His Majesty just say?

These two dishes… were personally made by the Empress?

It was hard to blame them for their absolute shock. The Empress, with his spotless white robes and ethereal, peerless aura, looked like a deity who didn’t even consume mortal food. Those hands looked destined only for playing the zither, writing poetry, and painting landscapes. It was practically impossible to picture him holding a heavy iron ladle over a hot, grease-splattered stove.

Yet, not only did he cook, but his culinary skills were also transcendent. The intricate cuts of the Squirrel Mandarin Fish alone proved his mastery of knife work and culinary precision—skills that an ordinary person couldn’t replicate even if they watched.

Most importantly… who on earth were they to deserve a meal hand-cooked by the Empress himself?!

Looking at the table of picked-over remains, the group suddenly felt a wave of deep chagrin and reverence.

If they had known the Empress was the chef, they would have bathed, burned incense, and savored every single bite with solemn elegance. Recalling how they had just practically fought over the food like starved wolves made them want to bury their faces in shame.

But they couldn’t help it—it was simply too delicious. These were men raised on jade cups and fine silks. Even Lin Chanzhi, the most impoverished among them, had eaten fresh, flavorful vegetables grown by his own hands. By all accounts, they were accustomed to the finest things in life and shouldn’t have lost their composure so easily. Yet, Lu Xuechao’s culinary skills transcended their very understanding of food.

Lu Xuechao watched their reactions with quiet satisfaction.

Out of more than twenty dishes, only those two had been prepared by his hands; the rest were standard palace fare made by the imperial chefs. The fact that these two had been singled out for such high praise proved his culinary skills surpassed the imperial standards.

Having successfully passed the test of these highly pampered elites of the capital, Lu Xuechao knew that once these dishes reached the public, they would undoubtedly take the world by storm.

Currently, the culinary methods of the era were extremely monotonous, limited to a few basic techniques. Food was viewed merely as a tool to stave off hunger rather than an experience to be enjoyed. Not only the commoners, but even these wealthy, aristocratic clans only differed in having more dishes and meat on their tables—the preparation styles remained just as dull. If his own palate hadn’t been so incredibly picky, Lu Xuechao would never have been driven to invent his own recipes.

Choosing a restaurant as the stepping stone for their commercial empire was also a deliberate move to improve the general happiness of the populace. Since the people regarded food as their prime heaven, eating merely to fill one’s stomach was a waste of ingredients; true culinary art should bring joy. Lu Xuechao’s ultimate vision was that once Changli achieved prosperity, affordable, exquisite delicacies would find their way into every household, allowing ordinary citizens to truly enjoy life.

Of course, in this initial start-up phase when the treasury was desperately strapped for cash, these secret recipes remained his exclusive intellectual property—and they were going to be used to rake in serious gold.

Liu Yansheng immediately fell back on his diplomatic, polite rhetoric: “Your Highness is a person of ten thousand gold. This gesture of gratitude is far too heavy; we truly do not deserve such an honor…”

But damn, that fish was good. Please, let there be a next time.

Xie Chongjin smiled benevolently. “You all labor for the state. What is there that you do not deserve? This is exactly what you have earned. Even this Emperor acted as the kitchen assistant for the Empress.”

Lu Xuechao shot him a highly amused, skeptical glance.

Looking at Xie Chongjin’s righteous, generous expression, an outsider would truly believe the Emperor was a magnanimous master. In reality, he was incredibly petty.

When Lu Xuechao had gone to the kitchen, Xie Chongjin had insisted on tag-teaming, claiming he couldn’t bear to let his beloved work alone. Having previously witnessed Xie Chongjin’s disastrous attempts at cooking, Lu Xuechao knew better than to let him near the actual food, so he merely relegated him to the role of “spice and seasoning passer.” Fortunately, having at least tried to learn to cook in the past, Xie Chongjin was capable of distinguishing sugar from salt.

“Sugar.”

“Soy sauce.”

“Salt.”

Essentially, whatever Lu Xuechao called for, Xie Chongjin handed over, remaining perfectly quiet and cooperative throughout.

However, right when the dishes were nearing completion, Xie Chongjin suddenly offered up a jar of vinegar.

Lu Xuechao didn’t even look up. “I didn’t ask for vinegar.”

He paid absolutely no attention to the fact that Xie Chongjin had developed a sudden case of the sulks.

Xie Chongjin took a swig of the vinegar himself, his face twisting from the sheer sourness.

The supervising imperial chef standing nearby was utterly dumbfounded. Can vinegar be drunk directly like that? Since when did His Majesty possess such a bizarre preference?

Only then did Lu Xuechao look up, finding the situation hilarious. “If you are jealous, you can just say so. There is no need to torture yourself like this.”

To express jealousy in such an awkwardly indirect yet painfully obvious way—does he have to be this stubborn? He was a brilliant emperor, yet he consistently did the silliest things in front of him.

Xie Chongjin grumbled, a sour scent literally trailing from his breath. “In the past, you only cooked for me.”

Lu Xuechao corrected him, “I also cooked for my father and my dad.”

Xie Chongjin huffed, “They are our parents. Why would I mind them?”

Lu Xuechao smoothly thickened the sauce. “But you mind them now? Liu Yansheng and the others have worked themselves to the bone for you for two months. Besides, once Huamanlou opens, we need people to test the dishes.”

“I know, and didn’t I let it happen? I even helped prepare the meal…” Xie Chongjin muttered petty, vindictive threats under his breath. “I’ll let them rest for three days. After that, they will work for this Emperor until they drop. Otherwise, they’ll be unworthy of this meal.”

Lu Xuechao: “…”

So now, hearing Xie Chongjin say “This is exactly what you have earned,” Lu Xuechao had to exert serious self-control to keep from laughing out loud.

Unaware of the Emperor’s dark, capitalistic calculations, the officials now looked at the remaining dishes with an expression that had transcended “reverence” and moved straight into “pious worship.”

They had actually eaten a meal co-prepared by the Emperor and Empress themselves. They felt as though they had reached the absolute peak of their lives.

Hua Yan suddenly realized something. “Your Highness, will these two dishes… be added to the menu of Huamanlou?”

Huamanlou had been fully remodeled over the past two months. The Emperor had dispatched several imperial chefs to staff the kitchen, and the clerks were already in place—all of them being the male escorts who had chosen to stay. Everything was ready; they only lacked the grand opening.

Hua Yan had originally been worried about the business. Although their kitchen was staffed by imperial-grade chefs, Yujing was packed with high-end restaurants, many of which were owned by nobility who frequently hired retired imperial chefs. Having a good chef wasn’t a unique selling point. Although Huamanlou was backed by the royal family, the royals operated strictly behind the scenes; on paper, Hua Yan was the sole owner. Lu Xuechao had no intention of revealing the royal backing initially, which meant noble clans wouldn’t visit just to flatter the throne. Hua Yan hadn’t been sure how he was going to make the place stand out.

But if they added Emerald White Jade and Squirrel Mandarin Fish to the menu…

Hua Yan could practically guarantee it would be an overnight sensation. It would take the city by storm, and not a single competitor under the heavens could replicate it.

Lu Xuechao replied, “They will.”

He paused, then added, “Moving forward, Huamanlou will introduce two new dishes every month. Before they go on the menu, I will prepare them for you all to test first.”

Originally, Lu Xuechao only cooked to satisfy his own palate. But to run a successful restaurant, catering only to his own preferences wasn’t enough; they had to appeal to a wide variety of tastes, continually refining and developing different flavor profiles.

Everyone: “!!!”

Happiness has come far too suddenly.

_

Over the next few days, Liu Yansheng, Shen Hezhou, Qin Yulong, and Fu Xinian enjoyed a much-needed rest.

Conversely, Hua Yan and Wang Yiming became busier than ever. Because Huamanlou was officially opening its doors.

Huamanlou was situated at the end of Yuhua Street. This street was famously known as the “Avenue of the Wealthy,” lined with silk shops, jewelry boutiques, high-end restaurants, and elite brothels. The prices were astronomical; only high-ranking officials and nobility could afford to spend money here.

However, because so many corrupt officials had been executed over the past two months—the exact demographic that usually frequented these high-end establishments—the remaining nobles who survived the purge were mostly clean. Furthermore, given the tense political climate, every noble family was practicing extreme low-profile living. As a result, the once-bustling Yuhua Street was currently cold and deserted, with barely any foot traffic.

Huamanlou’s location wasn’t particularly advantageous, and it had never been able to compete with the other established brothels. Its only major draw, Hua Yan, had been redeemed early on, leaving the establishment without a star attraction. Two months ago, when they closed their doors for remodeling, the neighboring businesses had secretly mocked them. A brothel naturally served food and drinks; if Huamanlou’s food had actually been good, their business wouldn’t have been so abysmal in the first place. What did they expect to achieve by turning into a restaurant? It seemed like a pointless waste of two months’ worth of revenue.

Yet, unexpectedly, the political landscape of Yujing had flipped upside down. With the entire street suffering from a lack of business, Huamanlou’s two-month closure ended up causing them zero relative loss.

Today, after two months of silence, Huamanlou finally reopened its doors.

The rival brothels sent out servants to investigate, wanting to see what the place had been transformed into. After all, everyone was idle; they might as well satisfy their curiosity. The neighboring restaurants also dispatched scouts. Since they would be operating on the same street, they needed to see if this newcomer posed any threat to their business.

One look, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

The entrance of Huamanlou was completely deserted. There wasn’t even a crowd hired to create artificial hype.

On a street of high-end consumption like Yuhua Street, ordinary citizens wouldn’t gather to watch anyway; commoners wouldn’t dare step foot here. As for the wealthy elites, with the Emperor actively purging corruption and the storm yet to fully pass, they were all behaving as quietly as mice, refusing to even step out of their estates, let alone visit a newly opened restaurant.

Choosing to open on a day like this was a terrible business decision.

With the opening day so cold and quiet, what threat could they possibly pose?

Inside Huamanlou, Hua Yan finished the ribbon-cutting ceremony and stood by the empty entrance, looking out expectantly.

“When will the ‘distinguished guests’ Her Highness mentioned arrive?”

For the past two months, Huamanlou had focused solely on remodeling without launching any marketing or promotional campaigns. Marketing would have been useless anyway—with the court in chaos, who had the mental bandwidth to care about a restaurant opening? Lu Xuechao had simply saved them the advertising costs.

Hua Yan was entirely confident that once a customer tasted the Emerald White Jade and the Squirrel Mandarin Fish, they would be hooked for life.

But the premise was that they needed customers to walk through the door first. Even the finest wine could go unnoticed if the alley was too deep; expecting a packed house without any prior publicity was nothing short of a pipedream.

When Hua Yan had voiced this concern to Lu Xuechao, the Empress had merely replied: “On the day of the opening, distinguished guests will naturally grace your doorstep.”

So, despite the dead quiet outside, Hua Yan remained patient, waiting calmly.

However, the younger Hua Yu looked deeply worried. “Brother Hua Yan, what will we do if no one comes?”

Hua Yu was sixteen this year. Having outgrown his childish features, he was now a slender, handsome youth with a gentle, slightly melancholic air about him. Due to his past traumas, Hua Yu had never been very cheerful and held a deep aversion to the trade. The older brothel owner had pitied him, shielding him from taking clients even after he turned sixteen. While this special treatment had caused some quiet resentment among the other escorts who were forced to work upon reaching age, the owner had simply told them: “He suffered far worse before the age of sixteen than you will ever face after.” Hearing this, the complaints quickly died down.

Hua Yu had been protected by Hua Yan for years. After Hua Yan was redeemed, Hua Yu had grown even more withdrawn. Having Hua Yan return to the building as the new owner made Hua Yu the happiest he had been in years, bringing a rare, bright spark back to his eyes.

Hua Yan patted his shoulder. “No need to worry. Someone will come.”

Though, in truth, he had no idea who to expect.

_

After a long wait, a carriage finally pulled up to the entrance.

An elegant, middle-aged couple stepped down from the carriage. Though they were clearly of mature years, their features were exceptionally refined. The gentleman in the blue robe possessed a handsome, commanding presence, carrying the steady, authoritative aura of someone used to wielding great power. The gentleman in the white robe beside him was ethereal and breathtakingly beautiful; it was easy to see how he must have turned heads in his youth.

Hua Yan’s eyes lit up. He immediately smoothed his robes and stepped forward to greet them. These two must be the distinguished guests the Empress spoke of.

Yet, looking at the gentleman in the white robe, Hua Yan couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of familiarity. That shouldn’t be right… someone this beautiful, if I had met him before, how could I possibly have no memory of it?

Before he could dig deeper into his thoughts, Wang Yiming—who had enthusiastically usurped the role of a front-of-house waiter—approached them with a bright, welcoming smile:

“Welcome, honored guests! Please, step inside.”