Tang Dynasty: After living together with Chang Le, Li and his companion were dumbfounded.

Lu Chen noticed the change, but didn't point it out.

He simply washes and dries the sweatshirt every morning, then drapes it back on the chair.

We can't let Her Highness wear a smelly dress.

Li Lizhi probably didn't know.

The moment she puts on her hoodie, her whole expression relaxes.

His brows relaxed.

Shoulders slump.

It's as if she's shed the airs she's maintained all day in the palace.

Then she would tuck both hands into her sleeves, clutching the cuffs, and walk to the bedside to sit down.

Waiting for Lu Chen to bring the milk over.

Sometimes Lu Chen cooks a little later.

She was wrapped in that sweatshirt and leaning against the headboard.

I stared blankly at the medication instructions I'd flipped through countless times.

Occasionally, he would lower his head and brush his nose against her collar.

Take a sniff.

It was a very, very light touch.

She thought no one saw it.

But Lu Chen could see it clearly from the reflection on the computer screen.

He pretended not to see it.

The corner of his mouth curled up slightly.

It was suppressed again.

……

That night.

As usual, Li Lizhi only took off her sweatshirt when it was time to go to bed.

She used to drape her hoodie back onto the chair back next to the dividing line.

But today—

She hesitated for a moment.

He looked around the bedroom.

Then fold the sweatshirt neatly.

They were stacked neatly in a square.

It was placed next to the pillow.

Right next to that blue salbutamol aerosol.

She turned to the side.

Close your eyes.

Fingers rested on the cuffs of the sweatshirt.

Clutching the fluffy down.

Fall asleep.

This was the best night's sleep she had had since the beginning of autumn.

Not even a cough.

……

Early the next morning.

Li Lizhi went to pay her respects to Empress Zhangsun.

Before leaving, she draped the hoodie back over the chair.

It was as if they were afraid of being discovered.

But she left in a hurry.

She didn't notice that she hadn't checked the bedroom beforehand today.

The door to the sleeping quarters was not locked from the inside.

9:00 AM (巳时).

Yu Shu pushed open the door and came in, carrying a copper basin and a handkerchief.

Since Her Highness the Princess was not present, she came in to do her usual tidying.

Wipe the dressing table.

Tidy up the bronze mirror.

Make up the bedding on the bed.

Everything is normal.

Until she bent down to spread out the pillows.

My hand touched something.

Hard and round.

A small blue jar.

Yu Shu picked it up and examined it.

"What is this...?"

She twisted the lid, but didn't dare to open it.

It was put back in its original place.

Then she saw something else next to her.

They were stacked neatly in a square.

Dark gray.

A type of fabric she had never seen before.

It feels extremely soft to the touch, with short downy hairs on the inside and a smooth, fine texture on the outside.

It's not silk.

It's not cotton or linen.

It wasn't any fabric she recognized.

and--

The design of this garment is very strange.

There was no collar.

There are no straps.

It is a cylindrical structure that is inserted from the top.

The two sleeves were long and wide.

The neckline is round.

The button was not opened.

There are still a few faded symbols faintly visible on the clothes.

Yu Shu unfolded the clothes.

Several words were printed on the front of the chest.

She doesn't know her.

Because that's not the script of the Tang Dynasty.

But if Lu Chen were here, he would tell her—

It says "NIKE" on it.

There's another checkmark.

Yu Shu held up the garment and examined it over and over again.

His brows furrowed deeper and deeper.

The size of this garment...

She is clearly not the princess.

too big.

It's at least two sizes too big.

It is the size of an adult male.

Yu Shu's pupils suddenly contracted.

She carefully folded the clothes and put them back next to the pillow.

It looks exactly the same as when she found it.

Then she straightened up.

Standing in the center of the sleeping quarters.

My mind is racing.

Beside the princess's pillow.

There is a blue jar of unknown origin.

There is a piece of men's clothing of unknown origin.

For the past few days, Her Highness has not allowed anyone to approach the inner part of her bedchamber.

Yu Shu took a deep breath.

She didn't make a fuss.

Carrying the copper basin and handkerchief, she quietly withdrew from the bedroom.

Close the door properly.

Take five steps outside.

It stopped.

Standing under the eaves, the autumn wind made her sleeves flutter wildly.

She bit her lip.

His eyes showed hesitation.

Should we tell the Empress?

still is……

Should we take another look?

Yu Shu gripped the edge of the copper basin tightly.

The knuckles are turning white.

…………

That afternoon.

Lu Chen did some calculations in front of his computer.

After finishing the calculation, he leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling for a long time.

The sugar business is indeed profitable.

They made an outrageous profit.

But there was one thing that he couldn't shake off the more he thought about it—

Supply volume.

He now brings all the white sugar from the supermarket.

A bag weighs five jin (2.5 kg) and costs three yuan and fifty cents.

It sounds cheap.

But the question is, how much can he move by himself?

The first batch of fifty boxes of sugar cubes used ten jin (5 kg) of sugar.

Empress Zhangsun's appetite has begun to grow.

Yesterday, Li Lizhi brought a message saying that Her Majesty the Empress wanted to order an additional two hundred boxes.

Two hundred boxes is forty catties of sugar.

We brought back forty pounds of white sugar from the supermarket, in eight large bags.

He had to shoulder it all alone.

Walk three blocks.

Go up to the fourth floor.

There is no elevator.

Lu Chen's back ached just thinking about it.

And this is just the harem market.

Once news of white sugar spreads to the elite circles of Chang'an, demand will increase exponentially.

If he carries the candy home from the supermarket by himself, can he supply a hundred boxes? Two hundred boxes?

Five hundred boxes?

What about a thousand boxes?

More importantly, supermarkets do not have unlimited supplies.

If he goes to the same supermarket every day and carries dozens of kilograms of white sugar, the owner will call the police in less than a week.

This road won't take you far.

We must find a long-term sustainable solution.

Lu Chen opened his phone and searched for a word—

"Traditional sugar making methods"

As a result, a whole bunch of them suddenly appeared.

He looked at them one by one.

I watched it for half an hour.

Then he sat up straight.

The manufacturing principle of white sugar is actually not complicated.

There are only a few core steps.

Sugarcane juice.

Add lime water to settle impurities.

filter.

Decolorize with charcoal.

Evaporation and crystallization.

The Tang Dynasty had all the raw materials needed for each step.

Sugarcane – grown extensively in the south.

Lime – Burning lime was a mature technology in the Tang Dynasty, and it was used to build city walls.

Charcoal is everywhere; every household uses charcoal for heating in winter.

Evaporation and crystallization – all you need is a big pot and a pile of firewood.

In other words, white sugar could be produced entirely locally in the Tang Dynasty.

There's no need to move from the modern era.

All that's needed is for someone to teach these few steps of the process to the people of the Tang Dynasty.

And this "someone" is him.

Lu Chen tapped his fingers twice on the table.

The gears in my brain were spinning rapidly.

If a sugar-making workshop were built in the Tang Dynasty—

The cost of raw materials is almost zero. Sugarcane is plentiful in the south, and lime and charcoal are extremely cheap.

Labor costs were also extremely low. Labor was cheap in the Tang Dynasty; a strong laborer could be hired for just a few dozen coins a day.

The white sugar produced was sold for ten taels of silver in the Tang Dynasty.

This is not a 10,000-fold profit.

This is a risk-free, highly profitable venture.

Moreover, production is no longer limited by how many bags he can carry by himself.

Once the workshop is built, it can produce as much as it wants.

Lu Chen took a deep breath.

Decided.

Today I will teach Li Lizhi the sugar-making process.

……