Although General Lu's passionate lecture had lasted for more than half an hour—complete with spittle flying and heartfelt pleas—Yun Shu's refusal to increase her own workload came just as firmly and sincerely.
Fortunately, she had already completed the design blueprints for the secret mechanisms in the rear courtyard of the restaurant. The same facilities had also been successfully installed in Fengyang Palace.
She was ready.
And the time to make money in comfort had finally come!
That very afternoon, as the final floor tile was laid in Fengyang Palace, Yun Shu had just been dismissed from her studies in the Upper Academy Hall when she immediately made her way to the Imperial Study.
"Father Emperor, Father Emperor, Father Emperor!"
"Did you strike gold? You're unusually cheerful."
Emperor Xuanwu, long accustomed to his daughter's top priority in life, glanced up without surprise.
"Speak. What is it?"
"Father Emperor..."
Yun Shu scooted forward two steps, her expression radiating sweet innocence.
"Aren't you cold?"
"What do you think?"
Emperor Xuanwu gave a soft snort of laughter.
It was already the second day of the twelfth lunar month. Only a few weeks remained until New Year's Eve.
Snow had fallen just a few days ago, and icicles still clung to the bare branches outside, glistening like crystal.
The palace attendants bustled about with their heads buried into their collars, trying to ward off the chill.
But the Imperial Study was considerably warmer than other places. Several braziers burned steadily throughout the room, and behind the Emperor's seat, a specially built stone wall contained a fire chamber—kept ablaze at all times by eunuchs assigned to it.
As long as he remained seated, Emperor Xuanwu hardly felt the cold at all.
Still, the farther from the fire wall one went, the colder it became. The flaw in this setup was obvious.
Yun Shu subtly inched closer to the warm wall.
"Father Emperor, do you remember the surprise I told you about when you visited Fengyang Palace a few days ago?"
"It's finished?"
Emperor Xuanwu raised a brow. He recalled that the ten-day deadline she had promised had indeed arrived.
"You want Us to go and take a look?"
"Of course! Something this wonderful—Father Emperor must be the first to see it!"
Sweet words cost nothing. Yun Shu looked up at him with eyes full of admiration.
"Please, Father Emperor, come see it for yourself."
"Aren't you a little old to be acting so coy?"
Though he clicked his tongue in feigned annoyance, Emperor Xuanwu gave the order to Li Dehai to prepare the imperial carriage—and the smile tugging at the corner of his lips refused to be suppressed.
Yun Shu cheerfully followed behind him.
Even when the doors to the Imperial Study swung open and a blast of frigid wind turned her into a shivering quail, her eyes still curved into delighted crescents—because soon, she would be rich.
Emperor Xuanwu: …
"Just look at her," he thought.
"Was she really this happy simply because I was visiting her palace?"
A warm, paternal affection rose quietly within him.
Seated in the dragon carriage, Emperor Xuanwu lifted the curtain and glanced outside at Yun Shu, who was bundled up like a furry dumpling in her heavy cloak. His voice carried a light, teasing note.
"Well? Aren't you coming up?"
"Many thanks, Father Emperor!"
Who would willingly trudge through snow and ice for half an hour when one could ride warm and snug?
Yun Shu didn't waste a single breath refusing. She clambered inside with hands and feet both, moving quickly lest her dear Imperial Father change his mind.
Once inside, she didn't go so far as to sit right next to him. Instead, she settled down beside a bronze brazier filled with silver-frost charcoal, crossed her legs, and looked up to speak.
"Oh, right—Father Emperor, I've calculated the total investment needed for the restaurant. It's a bit… high."
Emperor Xuanwu gave her a sidelong glance, amusement flickering at the edge of his lips.
"A bit high? How much is that?"
"Well..."
Yun Shu's gaze drifted slightly, and her tone faltered just enough to hint at guilt.
"Somewhere in the range of… a few hundred thousand taels."
A few hundred thousand?
She certainly wasn't shy when it came to numbers.
Emperor Xuanwu found the amount excessive—yet, when he considered that this was the venture projected to outgrow even the national treasury in two years' time, an initial investment of that magnitude didn't seem so outrageous after all.
After a moment's pause, another thought crossed his mind.
"But We recall that you only have a little over one hundred thousand taels in your possession."
Most of that had come from his own rewards, with some small earnings from Capital Weekly. The remaining sum—ten thousand taels—she had cunningly extorted from that fool, the Sixth Prince, under the pretense of starting the newspaper.
Emperor Xuanwu looked down at Yun Shu with growing interest.
"And We also remember that you once said, whatever profits the restaurant earns, will be split based on our respective investments."
"Naturally."
"But if we go by your current estimate, wouldn't that mean the majority share would fall to Us?"
"I wouldn't mind Father Emperor taking the bigger share, but…"
Yun Shu heaved a helpless sigh, clearly having anticipated this line of questioning.
"I worry that if word got out among the court officials, the memorials denouncing me would pile up to the rafters. Besides, I already promised you this restaurant would open under my name."
Emperor Xuanwu: …
Was she suggesting that he provide the bulk of the funding, yet walk away with the smaller cut?
"You can't possibly mean that We should invest more, only to receive less in return?"
"Of course not!"
Yun Shu even looked a little wounded.
"Would I be so unreasonable, Father Emperor?"
"Then explain—what are you planning to do?" This time, Emperor Xuanwu didn't fall for her pitiful expressions. He sat with arms folded, waiting with great interest.
"Do you even have money?"
"I could... if I wanted to."
Yun Shu gave him a quick sidelong glance, then slowly tested the waters.
"Father Emperor, suppose in a few days, a bunch of people come seeking my help. Could I charge a fee?"
A crowd seeking her help?
Emperor Xuanwu immediately thought of General Lu Jingkun, who had just recently come bearing treasures in exchange for Yun Shu's expertise.
Without hesitation, he nodded.
"Why not? We are your Father Emperor. Even We have to put in money to open a restaurant with you."
"You're absolutely right."
Yun Shu gave an abashed smile.
"It's just… since they aren't my real mothers, I'm afraid asking too bluntly might upset the noble consorts."
Emperor Xuanwu: …
So that was her grand plan? She'd circled all this way around just to make her move on the imperial consorts?
Emperor Xuanwu's eyes narrowed, his gaze sharp.
Yun Shu blinked back at him with feigned innocence.
Emperor Xuanwu: !!
An emperor's word is law.
Since he had just declared aloud that she was free to charge those who asked for her help, it would be unseemly to go back on his word so soon.
He let out a cold huff but recovered quickly.
"Our consorts would not come to you without cause. This must have something to do with that so-called 'surprise' you insisted We come see today, is it not?"
"Father Emperor is brilliant!"
Yun Shu didn't waste the opportunity to offer flattery.
"Nothing escapes your eyes!"