The visitor was none other than the Fifth Prince.
Ever since the banquet at his residence had ended, he had found something rather strange.
The Marquis of Zhenyuan had been staring at a box of flower pastries for an unusually long time.
And that was highly suspicious.
The Marquis had a secret habit known only to a few people:
He loved sweets.
It was a preference completely at odds with his image as a battle-hardened general.
If word ever got out, people would surely laugh at the mighty Marquis for having such a delicate taste.
The Fifth Prince only knew because they were cousins and his mother had once revealed the secret.
When they were children, the Marquis had often teased him.
The Fifth Prince had frequently surrendered with the same plea:
“Cousin, please stop bullying me. You can have all the candy.”
Under normal circumstances, if the flower pastries were something the Marquis liked, he would have eaten them immediately.
If he disliked them, he would have tossed them aside.
Yet this time he did neither.
He simply sat there staring.
For a very long time.
Mo Yuxuan was not an indecisive man.
The amount of time he spent contemplating a single box of pastries tested even the Fifth Prince’s patience.
Finally, the prince grabbed one and stuffed it into his own mouth.
He wanted to know exactly what was so special about them.
The moment he tasted one, he was stunned.
Every pastry he’d ever eaten in the imperial palace was instantly overshadowed.
Even Qinxin Pavilion, the most famous pastry shop in Yunmeng Marsh, couldn’t compare.
The Fifth Prince didn’t even particularly enjoy sweets.
Yet the flower pastry’s delicate texture and balanced sweetness completely captivated him.
“This pastry really is excellent.”
“Where did you buy it, Cousin?”
“I’d like to purchase some for Mother as well. I’m sure she’d love them.”
As he reached for another piece, however, a cold look from Mo Yuxuan made him immediately withdraw his hand.
The Fifth Prince rolled his eyes.
“It’s only a box of pastries.”
“Do you really have to be so stingy?”
“Just tell me where you bought them.”
“I’ll buy you an entire cartload.”
Mo Yuxuan had two attendants.
Brothers named Mo Wen and Mo Yu.
Mo Wen was quiet and steady.
Mo Yu was the exact opposite.
Seeing the Fifth Prince’s frustration, Mo Yu couldn’t help speaking.
“Your Highness doesn’t understand.”
“These pastries aren’t merely difficult to buy.”
“They can’t be bought at all.”
“That young lady personally gifted them to our General during the banquet.”
“Our General treasures them greatly.”
“He only tolerates Your Highness touching them because you’re family.”
“If anyone else dared—”
Halfway through his sentence, he caught sight of his brother’s warning glare.
Immediately he swallowed the rest of his words.
“…the pastries.”
The unfinished sentence was torture.
Far worse than simply being scolded.
The Fifth Prince instantly smelled gossip.
“What young lady is so clever that she discovered Cousin’s fondness for sweets?”
His eyes widened.
“Could it be the Yun family’s daughter?”
For the first time, Mo Yuxuan felt a flash of embarrassment.
Fortunately, the Fifth Prince was too busy speculating to notice.
“No wonder!”
“At my banquet, Cousin ignored every noble young lady present.”
“Yet he specifically went out of his way to greet Lady Yun.”
The teasing smile suddenly transformed into confusion.
“Wait.”
“Didn’t Lady Yun say she didn’t know you?”
“Then how did you end up eating her pastries?”
The Fifth Prince was getting dangerously close to the truth.
Mo Yuxuan immediately changed the subject.
“Who was it just now that promised me a cartload of pastries?”
His eyes narrowed.
“The word of a prince should carry weight.”
“A gentleman’s promise cannot be withdrawn.”
“As a prince, surely you wouldn’t go back on your word?”
Then he calmly finished the remaining pastries.
Every last one.
The Fifth Prince nearly choked.
He silently cursed himself.
That had been reckless.
As a prince, he couldn’t exactly march into the Yun residence waving his authority around and demand pastries.
He still had some dignity.
Just as he was struggling to find a solution, one of his guards brought him news.
The Yun family had started selling food from the back courtyard.
Immediately, everything became easier.
Buying pastries as a customer was very different from begging for favors.
So he sent people to purchase several of Yun Qingyi’s specialties.
The result was glorious.
His appetite was thoroughly satisfied.
Unfortunately, good food didn’t stop him from gossiping.
As he ate, he couldn’t resist teasing his cousin.
“No wonder you didn’t get angry after being put in your place.”
“If a young lady can make food this delicious, getting scolded by her hardly counts as suffering.”
Still, he hadn’t forgotten his original goal.
The flower pastries.
For two consecutive days, his servants failed to buy any.
On the third day, he dispatched people even earlier.
And still returned empty-handed.
At that point, he could no longer sit still.
He decided to visit personally.
If necessary, he would swallow his pride and ask Lady Yun directly.
Surely she could spare a few pastries and preserve his dignity.
On the third day of business, Yun Qingyi finished closing up the stall and was preparing to return inside when a voice stopped her.
“Lady Yun, please wait.”
She turned around.
Standing there in ordinary clothing was the Fifth Prince.
Yun Qingyi immediately bowed.
“Your Highness.”
“May I ask what brings you here?”
As an unmarried young woman, it would be inappropriate to invite a prince into her home.
Yet standing in the street and speaking wasn’t particularly proper either.
After a moment’s thought, she had two small stools brought outside along with a pot of tea.
The conversation took place right there in the alley.
The Fifth Prince got straight to the point.
“By chance, I once tasted a few flower pastries.”
“They were excellent.”
“I wished to purchase several boxes for my father and mother in the palace.”
“I heard they were made by Lady Yun.”
“I’ve had people waiting here for three days.”
“Yet they haven’t managed to buy a single one.”
The implication was obvious.
He wanted flower pastries.
And he couldn’t get them.
Yun Qingyi didn’t think too deeply about how he had acquired the pastries.
When she originally distributed samples, she had been extremely generous.
Someone receiving a box and later using it as a gift wasn’t unusual.
The problem wasn’t that she didn’t want to sell flower pastries.
The problem was that she genuinely couldn’t.
None of the household servants could reliably identify edible flowers.
Several attempts at purchasing ingredients had failed.
She herself had gone searching through the markets but found nothing.
After explaining the situation honestly, she added:
“In a few days, another market fair will be held.”
“I’ll try looking again.”
“If I manage to find suitable flowers and make another batch, the first tray will definitely be reserved for Your Highness.”
The Fifth Prince’s disappointment instantly transformed into hope.
Without hesitation, he placed a gold ingot onto the table.
“Consider this a deposit.”
“Lady Yun must remember to save some pastries for me.”
“I shall wait at my residence.”
Before Yun Qingyi could refuse, he turned and left.
She stared at the gold ingot.
One tael of gold was worth roughly sixteen taels of silver.
This piece weighed around ten taels.
In other words:
About one hundred and sixty taels of silver.
An absurd amount.
The Fifth Prince wasn’t merely paying a deposit.
He was applying pressure.
Yun Qingyi couldn’t help laughing.
This was definitely not how she had imagined running a business.
Since she couldn’t return the money, she would simply have to accelerate her search.
That evening, she carefully reconstructed the memory of her encounter with the flower-selling grandmother.
The time.
The location.
The weather.
Everything.
Perhaps recreating the same circumstances would allow her to find the old woman again.
The day had been a major market day.
The weather had been excellent.
Yet even near noon, the grandmother still had many flowers remaining.
That suggested she lived outside the city.
She likely traveled a considerable distance and only reached town around midday.
Yun Qingyi began analyzing the problem scientifically.
Roses preferred sandy loam soil.
They required abundant sunlight.
At least six hours per day.
Ideal temperatures ranged between fifteen and twenty-five degrees Celsius.
Considering all those factors, she concluded that the old woman’s home was most likely located north of the city.
Once she reached that conclusion, her plan was set.
The following morning, she would search near the northern city gate.
What Yun Qingyi didn’t realize was that Yun Zhong’s daily shopping trips had become rather conspicuous.
Among all the vegetables and groceries he carried home each day, bouquets of flowers stood out tremendously.
“Miss!”
“I bought the flowers you wanted!”
Every single time, the young gentleman living across the alley happened to witness the scene from the second-floor pavilion of his residence.
Watching Yun Zhong deliver yet another armful of flowers, he chuckled to himself.
“She really is a girl who loves buying flowers.”