Several dishes had been laid out on the table in the main hall.
Braised pig heart, braised pig liver, braised intestines, braised pig head, and braised pig lungs.
Seeing that Master Yun had truly invited his friends over, Yun Zhiyue even stir-fried a plate of peanuts for them to snack on while drinking.
The two men seated at the table looked at each other, their expressions rather strange.
One of them said, “Yun Cheng, we treat you as a close friend, yet you invite us here to eat this?”
His tone and expression practically accused Yun Cheng of being despicable.
Yun Cheng was Master Yun’s name. At this moment, he looked completely calm. “This is a delicacy from heaven itself. It’s precisely because I consider you my friends that I’m willing to share it. If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t bear to.”
With that, he began eating on his own.
“Ah, truly delicious.”
Watching him, one of the men picked up a piece and inspected it from side to side before cautiously placing it into his mouth.
After only two bites, his eyes lit up instantly.
“Delicious! This is the first time I’ve ever tasted food with such flavor. It’s incredible!”
The other man remained doubtful. “Is it really that good?”
“You two aren’t tricking me, are you?”
Yun Cheng snorted. “Eat it or don’t. No one’s forcing you.”
“That’s right, don’t eat it then. Leave the rest for me to pack up and take home.”
“Miss, are these the ones?” The steward ordered someone to open a coarse cloth sack and place it before Yun Zhiyue.
She crouched down to inspect it carefully before nodding. “That’s right. Also, bring over two large vats—one big and one small. Fill them with water before carrying them here.”
“Miss, what do you need the vats for?” Lüliu asked curiously.
Yun Zhiyue replied lightly, “To make ice.”
Hearing that, Lüliu’s eyes widened. Miss actually knew how to make ice?
The saltpeter wasn’t pure enough, so Yun Zhiyue tried dissolving, filtering, and refining it.
After repeating the process several times, she finally succeeded.
She poured the saltpeter into the large vat and stirred it, then placed the smaller vat filled with water inside the larger one.
Lüliu watched in amazement. “Miss, th-this… it’s really freezing!”
She reached out and touched it.
“Wow, it’s so cold. It really is ice!”
Heavens, Miss truly could make ice. She was amazing.
Yun Zhiyue looked at the pure white ice forming inside the vat, very satisfied.
Skill +1.
“You absolutely must not leak this information.”
Lüliu nodded immediately. “Miss, don’t worry. This servant is most loyal.”
“Jade Delicacies Tea House has released new delicacies! One hundred servings of each flavor available. VIP guests receive priority tasting!”
Mango ice cream — 998 taels each.
Lychee ice cream — 998 taels each.
Matcha ice cream — 998 taels each.
Milk ice cream — 998 taels each.
A bright red notice had been pasted outside the teahouse. The bold black lettering stood out strikingly, impossible for passersby to miss.
People stopped one after another.
“What exactly is this ‘ice cream’?”
“No idea. It’s more expensive than ordinary food and drinks, so it must be something good.”
“Who has a VIP card? Go try it!”
A VIP card cost five hundred taels of silver.
At that moment, a young man at the entrance waved his fan lazily. “Careful now. Don’t drop this young master’s ice cream.”
Looking behind him, two servants were cautiously carrying boxes beside him.
“Isn’t that the Second Young Master of the Lin family? Why did he buy so much ice cream?”
A bold onlooker called out, “Young Master Lin, is the ice cream good?”
Young Master Lin lifted his chin proudly. “Naturally. But don’t bother going in to buy any. This young master already bought all the remaining stock.”
Because of Young Master Lin’s flamboyant display, he even shared the ice cream with many of his friends.
Those who tasted it praised it endlessly and began showing off proudly.
Those who failed to get any secretly competed with one another, swearing to queue up early the next day.
The following morning—
A long line truly formed outside Jade Delicacies Tea House.
The moment the servant opened the doors, people surged forward.
“Jade Delicacies Tea House is open! Hurry and rush in for ice cream!”
“Stop pushing me! I was here first!”
“I have a VIP card! None of you are allowed to fight me for it!”
“Hmph, as if you’re the only one with one.”
“Waiter, what are you standing around for? Hurry and pack my ice cream!”
Crowds of people jostled and shoved at the entrance, all desperate to get inside.
The servant was so frightened he nearly jumped, immediately turning around to run for the shopkeeper.
Good heavens, there were too many people.
Later, those who bought extra ice cream and brought it home found their parents serving it to guests.
They exploded in outrage, jumping up and shouting.
“Ahhh! Who told you to eat it? Do you even understand what you’re eating?!”
The women hurriedly soothed their sons.
“Xuan’er, if you want more, just buy some tomorrow.”
“Do you know how sought-after the ice cream from Jade Delicacies Tea House is now? Even with money, you might not be able to buy it.”
Ice cream completely swept through the capital.
The noble young ladies secretly competed with one another, taking pride in having eaten ice cream.
Mingzhao Palace.
Yun Zhiyue entered the hall while four older servants carried two large boxes behind her.
Inside were five hundred ice creams.
“Zhiyue, you’ve come!” Xiao Zhaoning was delighted to see her friend.
Then she glanced sideways. “What’s this?”
Yun Zhiyue opened one of the boxes and took out an ice cream. “This is a new food I recently developed. It’s already being sold at Jade Delicacies Tea House. Zhaoning, give it a try.”
“Wow, so this is ice cream? It’s been the talk of the capital these past two days. I was planning to look for you today, but instead you brought it straight to me!” Xiao Zhaoning was overjoyed.
“There are five hundred in total. Just let me know once you finish them.”
Afterward, Yun Zhiyue also visited the Empress Dowager’s palace.
This connection was one she intended to maintain carefully.
After some thought, Xiao Zhaoning decided she couldn’t keep such delicious food to herself.
Father Emperor deserved the most—two hundred sticks.
Mother Empress would get one hundred.
Imperial Brother would get another hundred.
She would keep the remaining hundred for herself to enjoy slowly.
Qianqing Palace.
Bright yellow imperial papers spread across the dragon desk like drifting clouds, while smoke curled gently from the bronze crane-shaped incense burner nearby.
A eunuch approached with tiny measured steps and reported softly, “Your Majesty, the Princess has come to pay her respects and wishes to see you.”
The man’s wrist holding the brush was as elegant as cold jade. As vermillion ink fell upon the paper, the gilded brush tip sliced through the silence of the palace hall.
Emperor Mingde looked up. “Quickly, let her in!”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Outside, Xiao Zhaoning walked in cheerfully. “This daughter greets Father Emperor.”
Emperor Mingde raised a hand. “Ning’er need not stand on ceremony.”
“Many thanks, Father Emperor.”
Smiling brightly, Xiao Zhaoning took out an ice cream, unwrapped the oil paper, and handed it to him. “Father Emperor, try this ice cream. A friend gifted it to me. It’s delicious.”
After tasting it, Emperor Mingde found it quite good and rewarded several sticks to his favored consorts.
This, in turn, sparked another round of rivalry within the harem.
Eastern Palace.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince, the Third Princess has sent over one hundred ice creams.”
A guard entered carrying a box.
Xiao Jingyu set down his book. “What is ice cream?”
The guard looked surprised.
The Crown Prince actually didn’t know?
The popularity of ice cream had spread so widely that even a small guard like him had heard of it—though he himself had never tasted any.
“Your Highness, it’s a new delicacy from Jade Delicacies Tea House. Every day demand far exceeds supply. Even with money, it’s hard to buy.”
By the end of May—
Two rows of buildings had been constructed at the estate. The open space between them was filled with wooden racks covered in drying trays.
Knowing that the system would soon stop supplying ingredients once the mission was completed, Yun Zhiyue ordered people to spread large quantities of sliced lemons onto the trays.
Once dried, this batch of lemon slices could be stored for one or two years.
She also reserved a portion of seeds to plant the following spring.
[Congratulations, Host! Today’s points gained: +1122]
[Total points: 10098]
[Congratulations on completing the mission! (๑＞＜๑)]
[Lemon ingredients will no longer be distributed.]
[Random gourmet reward issued.]
With a soft pop, an extra box of food appeared on the table.
The smell pierced straight into the nose.
Stinky.
Far too stinky.
Yun Zhiyue stared at the box of stinky tofu on the table, her expression darkening for once. “Take it away. I don’t want it.”
She seriously suspected the system was messing with her.
[Host, it can’t be taken back~]
“Oh? Then you eat it yourself.”
[Host, you should eat it. I can’t eat this~]
Yun Zhiyue: …
She really wanted to smack it to death.
“Miss, why does your room smell like manure?” Lüliu returned carrying dried clothes. The moment she smelled the odor in the room, her little face scrunched up.
“Miss, come out quickly! It stinks so badly!”
Yun Zhiyue pointed at the food on the table. “Do you want to try it? It’s edible.”
Lüliu looked horrified. “Miss, don’t joke around. How could something that smells this awful possibly be eaten?”
Miss had started making strange foods again.
But this time, it seemed she had failed.
“Forget it. Take it outside and feed it to the dogs.”