"Oh—these fried potato strips are quite good as well."
With a single bite, the texture revealed layers of contrast: first the crisp exterior, followed by the soft, moist interior of the potato.
Golden in color, crispy outside and tender within.
"Do you know what this is fried from?"
The maid who was warming wine for the ladies lowered her head with a smile and explained, "In reply to the honored ladies, this is made from potatoes."
"Potatoes?"
"Yes. This is also a newly introduced variety from our Gu family. There are many new dishes as well. The ladies may go to Caiyue Pavilion to sample them, but since these crops have only just been cultivated, yields are still low and supplies are currently limited."
"Oh, right—didn't Caiyue Pavilion recently introduce something called hotpot? I wonder if we might try it?" The Vice Prefect's wife reclined lazily on the massage bed, enjoying the attendants' service.
"Well…" The maid hesitated slightly. Knowing that these ladies were powerful figures in Jinzhou and not to be offended lightly, she bowed and said, "Please allow me to consult the shopkeeper."
"Well then, we're benefiting from the madam's influence," one woman laughed. "I must taste this hotpot properly later."
"Exactly! After the hotpot, let's play a few rounds of mahjong. I lost quite a bit last time—I must win it back this time."
Upon hearing the request from the ladies, the shopkeeper hesitated only briefly before sending someone to Caiyue Pavilion to fetch a set of hotpot ingredients.
After all, the number of copper hotpot vessels at Caiyue Pavilion was limited, and ingredients were also scarce. The fish balls and meatballs were freshly prepared daily by the kitchen staff. In winter, vegetables and seafood were especially precious commodities. With such costs, the price of a single hotpot set was naturally high.
Ordinary people could not afford it and could only sigh in envy. For now, it circulated only among noble households.
Though the capital lay far away along rough roads, creaking carriages still transported these novel delicacies into its gates.
The capital was filled with nobles and wealthy elites, people who spent silver freely and cared little for expense. Their curiosity toward such novelties only fueled Caiyue Pavilion's overwhelming popularity.
Yet within a grand residence closest to the imperial city, the atmosphere in one study was heavy and oppressive, like storm clouds pressing down.
Several men below stood with heads lowered, trembling, barely daring to breathe as they awaited the coming outburst.
"The Gu family's business is flourishing more than ever. Didn't I tell you to support their collateral branches? A useless bunch—all of you! You can't even control a single woman!"
"Your Highness, that Gu Lanxi is exceedingly shrewd. Her methods are impossible to guard against."
The man addressed as "Your Highness" wore robes trimmed in red and gold thread, a jade-inlaid sash around his waist. His jet-black hair was bound high beneath a crimson crown. Though his attire was impeccable and his features once handsome as polished jade, the sinister expression on his face ruined it all.
"Then what do you suggest?" the Crown Prince demanded, pacing with his hands behind his back. "Fifth and Seventh are both eyeing my position. Without money, how am I supposed to deal with them?" He paused, then added, "And have you found out who the Gu family is backing? It's been this long and you've learned nothing?"
The Gu family's reputation as wealthy merchants was known far and wide. He had thought they would be easy to control, only to find someone else had beaten him to it. Worse still, over the past half year, their business had grown explosively.
"This… your subordinate is incompetent."
"Useless! All of you are useless!"
With a loud crash, a cup shattered at their feet, scalding tea splashing onto their hems. At the sound, all of them dropped to their knees with a thud, pressing their foreheads to the ground.
"Y-Your Highness, I've already sent people to approach the Li family's second son…"
The Li family were imperial-appointed royal merchants. Though their wealth did not rival the Gu family's, they were still among the richest, and with a large clan, far easier to exploit.
Hearing this, the Crown Prince's expression finally softened somewhat.
…
Far removed from such distant power struggles, Li Nanqiao knew nothing of them. Ever since Lu Youqing had spoken with her that day, she had been lost in thought.
"Nanqiao, what's troubling you? You've been distracted lately," her mother said, having noticed her daughter's unusual demeanor.
Li Nanqiao looked at her mother, whose temples had turned white. Years of working under sun and wind in the fields had darkened and roughened her skin, carving it with hardship.
Chronic illness had left her frail, her back bent as she walked.
Fortunately, ever since Li Nanqiao began working for Lu Youqing and the others, their life had improved. With money to hire doctors, her mother's condition had steadily gotten better.
Faced with her mother's worried gaze, Li Nanqiao set down the axe in her hands, unsure how to begin.
"It's all right. Talk to me," her mother said gently. "I may not be able to help much, but it's better than keeping it all bottled up."
After a long silence, Li Nanqiao sat down beside her, picked up a stick, and absentmindedly traced lines in the dirt as she recounted everything Lu Youqing had said to her that day.
Her mother stopped what she was doing and looked at Li Nanqiao, who kept her head lowered, scribbling aimlessly. Seeing the disorderly lines on the ground, she let out a soft sigh.
"Nanqiao, you want to follow Madam Lu and them, don't you?" Though phrased as a question, her tone was certain.
They had depended on each other for years. Perhaps she wasn't a mind reader, but she had carried Nanqiao in her womb—how could she not know what her daughter was thinking?
Li Nanqiao's hand paused mid-scribble, though she still did not lift her head.
"You're worried about leaving me behind, aren't you?" her mother continued softly. "I can see it clearly. Madam Lu and Qin Ke are capable people. Following them would be better than staying in this village. Surely you don't want to farm your whole life?"
Having once stood at death's door, she had learned to let go. She would no longer force her wishes on her daughter.
"I'm already halfway into the grave," her mother said calmly. "But you're still young. Didn't you chatter endlessly when you came back from Jinzhou last time? The world out there is vast—you should go and see it."
Though uneducated, Li Nanqiao's mother was perceptive and clear-minded.
"Wherever Mother goes, I go," Li Nanqiao said stubbornly.
She would never leave her mother alone in the village.
Her mother tried persuading her for a long time, but Li Nanqiao repeated the same words.
In the end, with no other choice, her mother looked around the house she had lived in for most of her life and finally relented.
"Wherever you go, Mother will go too."
Li Nanqiao leapt up in excitement, shouting, "I'll go tell Madam Lu!"
Watching her daughter dash off, her figure shrinking until it became a tiny black dot, Li Nanqiao's mother murmured softly, "I hope the decision I've made is the right one…"
At that moment, Lu Youqing listened with a smile as Li Nanqiao told her final decision, a heavy weight finally lifting from her heart.
She turned her head toward the window, where pristine white snowflakes drifted down from the sky like silver butterflies dancing in the air.
"It's snowing."