Crossing the Mountains

Chapter 151 Scented Clothes for the Exam Taker

Who knew that the reason why the soldiers came to cause trouble for Si was because the Grand Minister wanted to use her, a merchant woman from Hexi, to suppress the King of Qin, and it also ended because the King of Qin personally protected her and clarified his connection with her.

On that day, Xu Guanbai was relatively restrained and did not reveal her identity as the "female ruler." Only the soldiers who recognized her as a palace lady-in-waiting were suspicious. Prince Mohe, dressed in gold and jade, attracted the attention of the diners with his air of a Western nobleman, but in reality, he only showed his love for the authentic Hu food of Yanzhisi. When the King of Qin arrived, he dismissed the soldiers with a few words and even drank with the hostess and the young master Shentu in a private room, which truly became a "good story" that swept through Andu.

Given that his rivals in the court had already sown the seeds of rumors, and that the King of Qin had shown his support on the opening day, news quickly spread that the King of Qin intended to take Lady Shentu as a concubine.

This romantic affair was described in great detail, saying that in order to provide sesame cakes for his beloved concubine Mohe, the King of Qin became acquainted with Madam Shentu, who ran a stall on the outskirts of the city. He went so far as to offer her a prime location as a way of currying favor, just to win a smile from the beauty.

The Emperor Xuan didn't care much about the so-called chastity; one was a widower and the other a widow, so if they really got together, it would be a beautiful story. The only drawback was that the Mohe envoy, who was staying in the capital, might accuse the Prince of Qin of being heartless and cruel, saying that his own sister's body was barely cold before he was used as a pretext to arrange marriages for other beautiful women.

In short, it's just a matter of the royal family losing face, but given the King of Qin's current prestige, it's not a serious offense. Besides, the envoy from Mohe didn't say anything, and while he was cultivating relationships with powerful figures in Da Xuan, he also became a regular at that restaurant, clearly not taking the matter to heart.

Just when everyone thought the rumors were about to come true, the King of Qin deliberately had himself impeached, and then grandly explained that he only wanted to help merchants from Hexi establish themselves in Andu, and that Lady Shentu had been kind to him, so he was just doing a favor.

He spoke with absolute certainty, stating in front of Aisha that he was deeply in love with the deceased princess and would never remarry or take a concubine under the pretext of mourning his beloved consort. Afterwards, Prince Mohe praised him with tears in his eyes, saying that the King of Qin's devotion was admirable, but it was a pity that his sister was not destined to stay by his side.

After this clichéd yet lively drama came to an end, Yan Zhi Si's reputation in Andu was unparalleled. Business was so good that he was always busy, and there were often long queues that filled the entire street.

Although he benefited greatly from it, Tan Huaike, who was at the center of the rumors, was also greatly bothered by them.

Many people came not for the food, but to see what this "widow who almost became a concubine of the King of Qin" looked like. Some even made rude remarks or maliciously made suggestive remarks.

To avoid causing trouble, Tan Huaike has rarely personally greeted guests lately.

Because her restaurant was thriving, Tan Huai Ke quickly made up for her losses and even had the resources to open another shop. Seeing that there were more and more foreign merchants on the street, she began to think about starting a spice business.

Spices were the most popular commodity in the Western Regions of Da Xuan, and it was the business she and her father and brothers originally intended to do upon entering the pass. The reason she didn't open a spice shop in Hexi was twofold: firstly, she was too busy to take care of herself at the time and could only do what she had on hand; secondly, the spice business in the four prefectures had already reached a considerable scale, and it would be quite difficult to get a share of the pie from the many spice merchants.

But Andu is different; or rather, the deeper one goes into the Central Plains, the more scarce and rare the spices in the western region become.

She had investigated carefully and found that although there were many spice shops in Andu, most of them were smuggled from the border by traveling merchants. The quality was generally poor and the prices were high, so only the powerful and wealthy could afford them. Moreover, probably because of the language barrier, the sellers themselves only had a superficial understanding, and there were many errors and omissions in the blending and use of spices, which greatly affected their effectiveness.

Tan Huaike felt there were many "opportunities" here. She herself knew how to make and blend perfumes, and was fluent in the languages ​​of the Western Regions and Da Xuan. As long as she made good use of these skills, she wouldn't have to worry about not being able to make this business successful.

With that in mind, she decisively took over another shop not far from Yanzhisi.

This time, without anyone else's help, she handled everything herself, which added some procedural hassles but also avoided some bloodshed. Until the "Forget-Dust Incense Shop" opened, few people realized that it shared the same owner as Yan Zhisi.
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To reduce waiting time, Yanzhisi recently opened a takeaway food stall, making it convenient for diners to buy easy-to-take dishes to eat at home. For example, roast meat, samsa, flatbread, and fruit wine can be grabbed and taken away like at a snack stall. However, for more substantial dishes such as spicy lamb trotters, meat noodles, Sichuan peppercorn chicken, and braised pork, you still have to wait for a table.

That day, the queue outside Yanzhisi was once again incredibly long. Tan Huaike sat in Wangchen Incense Shop, watching from afar, taking a break from her work. She thought she had made ample preparations, but the spice business wasn't as easy as she had anticipated. Although her spices were cheaper, more varied, and of good quality, they didn't attract many customers. They weren't even as popular as those shops that resold spices, and her business remained lukewarm.

Tan Huaike felt she needed to rethink her business strategy, but she hadn't been able to calm down and figure it out properly these past few days.

There is no other reason——

Shentu Zhuo entered the palace to undergo the selection and assessment process.

Perhaps because she had been embracing the role of the eldest sister-in-law for so long, Tan Huaike felt even more nervous than Shen Tu Zhuo, the examinee. When she saw him off to the exam, she specially prepared incense pills to scent his clothes in order to ward off bad luck and bring good fortune.

On the eve of entering the palace, Shen Tu Zhuo couldn't sleep. Suddenly, he smelled a clear and distant fragrance. Out of curiosity, he went out to check and saw Tan Huai Ke standing under the moon, wearing a robe. He unfolded the clothes he would wear to meet the emperor and hung them up on the incense burner. Then, he gently fanned the incense smoke with a silk fan, allowing the fragrance to slowly permeate the fabric.

Seeing how much she cared for him, Shen Tu Zhuo was deeply moved.

He stepped forward and asked, "Are you still awake, sister-in-law? Why are you smelling my clothes in the middle of the night... Hmm, what is this fragrance? It smells so good."

While working, Tan Huaike said, "To translate it directly from the Mohe language, this is called Langguanxiang. The ingredients are very complicated and not easy to mix. It took me half a month just to collect the materials."

"Why bother with all that trouble? Just use ordinary spices." Shen Tu Zhuo said, feigning innocence despite getting the benefit.

“I asked the Master, and he said that those who pass the examination usually have to be appointed as officials first, and only after further investigation can they be assigned to other posts.” Tan Huai Ke smiled shyly. “I don’t know what officials do, but it sounds very similar to the Langguan in Mohe dialect. If we use these incense balls to scent our clothes, it will bring us good luck.”

"It's definitely a good omen." Shen Tu Zhuo couldn't help but chuckle.

A wisp of smoke swirled around her, and Shen Tu Zhuo was momentarily mesmerized. He felt that the person before him was like a fairy from the Dunhuang Grottoes, so beautiful that he dared not defile her.

Tan Huai Ke straightened his clothes and, seeing him in a daze, asked, "What's wrong?"

Shen Tu Zhuo came to his senses: "Since it's such a rare fragrance, why not use it to scent the clothes inside? There's a wind outside, and the smoke will be blown away. What a waste!" He was more worried about Tan Huai Ke catching a cold from the wind than about the clothes, but he didn't dare to say it outright.

Tan Huaike looked up at the crescent moon: "The people of Mohe believe in the god Monroe. The sunlight and moonlight both contain the power of the god Monroe. I pray that you will enter officialdom in one fell swoop. May the incense be carried to heaven by the wind, and the god Monroe will know."

She looked at Shentu Zhuo, her eyes shining brightly, "I believe in you, you will definitely get what you want."

At this very moment, Shen Tu Zhuo, dressed in a fragrant robe, sat in the examination hall.
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Next chapter: You have more courage than that coward Shen Tu Jianzhi.