The craftsmen had just tamped the foundation of Xiaoyao Tower flat and level, and the scent of fresh yellow earth rode the wind straight into Du Heng’s nose when the people Princess Changle sent hurried him along and half-invited, half-dragged him into the palace, with his feet barely touching the ground as he rushed to the side hall. He was still turning little schemes over in his head: Could it be that the glass matter was finally taking shape, or did Your Majesty suddenly have a new idea and want to add some fresh tasks to the Gezhi Institute?
As soon as he entered the side hall, he froze for half a beat… there was not a single palace maid or eunuch in sight, and only a broad desk sat in the middle with an enormous Chang’an’s West Market map spread across it. Fine ink lines outlined the crisscrossing streets and lanes, vermilion marked the ward gates in eye-catching red, and even the tiny tavern on the corner that sold huping was clearly labeled. Princess Changle wore everyday clothes, still that familiar lotus-purple ruqun, and the hem was smooth and unembroidered, looking even cleaner and crisper than what ordinary girls wore. Her hair was only loosely pinned up as well, with a few dark strands falling over her shoulders, and it was obvious she had been waiting anxiously enough that she did not even have time to properly finish her grooming.
“Father Emperor agreed to put up 10,000 strings of silver to help us build Xiaoyao Tower!” Princess Changle said the moment she saw him, without the slightest detour, and her voice was as steady as an old shopkeeper holding an imperial seal. “But there are two requirements: we must open for business within three months, and we have to earn back the capital within six months. Do you have a complete plan?”
Du Heng did not answer directly, and instead raised his brows and asked, “Princess, what kind of place do you want Xiaoyao Tower to become in the end?”
Princess Changle paused, her fingertip hovering over the blank area on the West Market map and stopping in midair, clearly not expecting him to ask that.
“If it is only for making money, then opening an ordinary tavern is enough; if you want fame, you can hold a few elegant gatherings and invite scholars to inscribe poems and paint, and that would work too,” Du Heng said, his eyes shining like fallen sparks, almost glowing even in the dim side hall. “But if you want to use Xiaoyao Tower to vindicate gewu art, to open the common people’s eyes, and to blaze a path for new rules, then we have to do something different and treat this building as a living tool for spreading gewu, treat the food as the bait that draws the people in, and treat the principles of gewu as the soul of the tower!”
Princess Changle’s eyes lit up at once, like autumn water reflecting the bright moon, and she quickly leaned forward a little. “Hurry and tell me your ideas, because my heart is already itching to hear them!”
Du Heng stood up, felt around by the desk for a charcoal stick, and began to sketch briskly on the West Market map, his strokes swift and vigorous, and before long he outlined the rough shape of Xiaoyao Tower.
“First, the positioning has to be crystal clear: Xiaoyao Tower cannot only do business with nobles, because scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants should all be able to come in. I plan to set three levels of seating: private rooms at 50 wen per seat with delicate tea snacks and dedicated attendants; open seating at 15 wen per person with four people sharing a table; and also takeaway tasting portions at 5 wen per serving with fragrant millet rice. The prices will be posted clearly, so neither an old man leaning on a cane nor a snot-nosed child will get cheated.”
“Second, we have to make it comfortable for customers to come:”
We will use Eight Immortals Table sets with chairs that have backrests, so customers will not have sore waists even after sitting for a long time, and we will wrap the chair legs in copper sheets to keep them from scratching the floor and drawing complaints.
We will make colorful menus, dividing meat dishes, vegetarian dishes, soups, and sauces into four colors and drawing matching pictures, so even commoners who cannot read can order by looking at the images.
We will hang a small copper bell at the corner of each table, and if a customer shakes it when needed, the waiter must run over within ten breaths and cannot leave the customer waiting.
We will place a suggestion book at the entrance, collect it punctually at You hour every day, and I will personally review it and post the changes we will make the next morning so everyone can see our sincerity.
“Third, the dishes have to be worth chewing on: we will center on stir-fried dishes and pair them with the previously popular cured meats and sauces,” Du Heng said. “Next to every dish, we must paste a ‘gewu note’… for example, beside ‘shepherd’s purse cured meat stir-fry,’ we will write ‘the shepherd’s purse was picked from the east slope of Dujiawa, fresh and not treated with pesticides; the cured meat was salted for seven days, and the soy sauce was fermented for seven days.’ And under ‘ginger-scented bean sprouts,’ we will note that ‘the bean sprouts were grown by hydroponics for three days, without soil and without contamination,’ so everyone can eat with clarity and feel at ease.”
“Fourth, we need some linkage to earn extra money: we will also sell the soap we make ourselves in Xiaoyao Tower, made with plant ash so it cleans well without hurting the skin. We will also sell our own transparent glass cups that shine in your hand, as well as the rose dew I gave you before, where a little spritz makes your whole body smell sweet. From the money we earn selling these things, we will take thirty percent and invest it into the Gezhi Institute to improve crops, research iron-smelting, and tinker with new medicinal formulas.”
Princess Changle listened as if spellbound, her fingertip lightly tapping the desk, and then she suddenly frowned. “What if competitors get jealous and deliberately shout nonsense, saying you use ‘demonic arts’ to season the food, or that the iron pots are poisonous?”
Du Heng could not help laughing, looking completely confident. “Isn’t that easy? We open up the back kitchen so anyone can go in and look. We will hang signs for where every ingredient comes from and update them daily, and for the oil and sauces we use, we will paste seals marked ‘Censorate supervised’ so the government vouches for us. We can also invite people from the Imperial Medical Office to test the dishes and post the results to prove our things are not poisonous, because as long as we are open enough, rumors will naturally disperse… after all, transparency is the best reassurance.”
Princess Changle sprang to her feet in excitement and could not help clapping once. “That is wonderful! gewu was never something to hide, because it has to be displayed for everyone to see, and it was never about guarding secrets like treasure, because it has to be opened up for everyone to examine!”
As she spoke, she picked up her brush and wrote briskly, drafting twelve “Xiaoyao Tower Regulations,” and every character was as rigorous as law.
1. Du Heng shall oversee Xiaoyao Tower as a whole and may call upon the resources of the Ministry of Works and the Directorate of Imperial Works.
2. proprietor Changle shall be responsible for external affairs and coordinate relationships with the government, merchants, and all other parties.
3. All ingredients shall be bought and used the same day, and anything left overnight shall be burned, with nothing kept to the next day.
4. Chefs must undergo gewu knowledge training and may only take the post after obtaining certification.
5. One day each month shall be set as “Commoners’ Day,” and on that day 5 wen lets you choose any one dish.
……
After finishing the last rule, she deliberately added a line: “This building is not just an ordinary tavern; it is a window into the government, a mirror of people’s lives, and a test of the system.”
Princess Changle pushed the regulations in front of Du Heng. “Sign and seal it; starting today, you are in charge of Xiaoyao Tower!”
Du Heng picked up the brush, but stopped right as he was about to write, and the ink drop at the tip hung over the paper, about to fall but not falling.
“Princess, I have a request.”
“Go ahead.”
“Please have Princess personally serve as ‘Xiaoyao Tower chief steward,’ and externally be called the ‘proprietor,’ while I will serve as the ‘head cook’ and handle the specific work behind the scenes.”
Princess Changle frowned in confusion. “Why? Everyone in the world can see your abilities, so there is no need for you to hide behind the stove fire.”
“With Princess’s name in front, it can block a lot of trouble for Xiaoyao Tower, and if I handle the actual affairs, I can also quietly research gewu without being bothered by the outside world,” Du Heng said, his gaze firm and his tone sincere. “If great aristocratic clans want to pick a fight, they will target ‘Princess Changle,’ not me, an unknown commoner, and if commoners trust us, what they trust is the ‘principles of gewu,’ not me, a person with a few little tricks. Only if we coordinate, one in the light and one in the dark, can we accomplish great things, because if I step to the front, I will definitely become the target of everyone’s arrows. But if you stand at the front, that is the Son of Heaven backing us, and only then will the common people feel at ease.”
Princess Changle stared at him, and there was both shock and respect in her eyes. After a long while, she nodded. “Fine, we will do it your way: you will hide behind the scenes, and I will stand at the front; you will be responsible for pondering tools and researching techniques, and I will be responsible for protecting the path of gewu and paving the road for you.”
That night, the two of them stayed in the side hall and drafted the menu together. The candlelight flickered, casting their shadows, and from time to time low laughter drifted over, warm as if wrapped in cotton.
Princess Changle thought of a delicious “Dongpo Pork” and suggested adding it to the menu, but Du Heng laughingly changed it to “Xiaoyao Pork” and explained mischievously: “Su Shi has not been born yet, so using the name ‘Dongpo Pork’ would not match the reality, and calling it ‘Xiaoyao Pork’ both fits our tower’s name and sounds nice. And we have to write on the note: ‘simmered over low heat for three shichen, the meat falls apart and the broth is rich, and it tastes best with newly harvested millet.’”
Princess Changle liked fish-fragrant flavored dishes, so Du Heng thought it through and created a dish called “fish-fragrant eggplant,” using pickled vegetable juice, ginger and garlic, and soy sauce to blend a fish-fragrant taste. It had no fish, yet you could still taste the fish’s freshness, and Princess Changle listened until she kept swallowing saliva.
Princess Changle also remembered the chili sauce Mother Empress once mixed, so Du Heng named the chili sauce he had made before as “Changle personally made,” keeping the recipe strictly secret and letting only three people know it. He even carved the characters “Changle personally made” on the bottle, instantly making that bottle of chili sauce precious.
In the end, Princess Changle put down her brush and suddenly asked softly, “If one day I am no longer a princess, would you still be willing to manage this Xiaoyao Tower together with me?”
The side hall fell silent all at once, with only the candle wick occasionally giving a crackle.
Du Heng reached out and held her hand, his palm warm, and his voice was soft yet carried oath-like firmness. “The one I love is Changle, not the identity of a princess. Even if you become an ordinary commoner, I will still stir-fry shepherd’s purse for you the way you like it, and even if you lose power, I will still keep this stove fire with you. This Xiaoyao Tower was called ‘Xiaoyao’ in the first place because of you.”
Princess Changle’s eyes reddened slightly, and she tightly clasped his hand in return, her fingertips trembling a little with emotion. “Then it is settled: this building, you and I will build it together, and this life, you and I will live it together.”
When they left the palace, moonlight spilled over the streets and lanes of West Market like a layer of silver. Du Heng stood on Xiaoyao Tower’s foundation, and the earth beneath his feet still carried the scent of fresh soil, yet he seemed to have already seen the future bustle: wine flags flying high in front of the building, the tower packed with loud voices, scholars gathering to discuss gewu art, farmers happily tasting new dishes, merchants busy ordering glass products, and children curiously circling the pulley water-drawing device, as lively as the New Year.
And the two characters “Xiaoyao” were not only this tower’s name, but also the wish he and Princess Changle made together… a yearning for freedom and a promise to build a flourishing age together.
Du Heng raised his head to look at the bright moon in the sky and silently calculated in his heart: build Xiaoyao Tower in three months, roll out our own glass in six months, and present improved medicinal formulas in nine months…
Within half a year, I will definitely make the light of gewu illuminate every street and lane of Chang’an, so every common person can taste the sweetness that gewu brings.
The stove fire was about to be lit, and the great road of gewu was also about to be laid out.
In this game of chess, he and Princess Changle would hold black and white respectively and draw a brand-new Great Tang together.