Sky Curtain: Random stalls with rhinoceros horns, shaking the entire dynasty.

Springtime in the eighth year of the Zhenguan era of the Tang Dynasty.

The wind in Chang'an carried a delightful warmth, and the Imperial Garden of Taiji Palace was ablaze with blooming flowers, with bees and butterflies flitting about.

Peonies are in bloom, and willows are drooping.

"Hehe... Little axe butterfly, don't run away~"

A clear and innocent child's voice rang out from among the flowers.

A little girl, about four or five years old, was carrying an exquisite Tang-style pomegranate-red, high-waisted ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) and frolicking happily among the flowers with her short legs.

She was born with exquisite features, her skin as white as snow, and her large eyes were like black grapes soaking in a clear spring, radiating endless liveliness and innocence.

With her hair styled in adorable double buns and a touch of light red plum blossom makeup on her forehead, she looked like a little fairy who had stepped out of a painting.

This was Princess Jinyang, whose nickname was Sizi, the most beloved daughter of Emperor Li Shimin and Empress Zhangsun of the Tang Dynasty.

"Your Highness, please slow down! Be careful not to trip!"

Several personal maids followed behind, looking nervous and keeping a close eye on her, their hands half-open, as if afraid that this delicate young master might bump into something.

"Wobupa, Wobupa wants to catch the little axolotl~"

The little girl giggled, her round little face full of excitement, her eyes fixed on a colorful butterfly.

The colorful butterfly fluttered up and down, passing through a cluster of blooming forsythia, and flew straight towards a huge Taihu stone rockery deep in the Imperial Garden.

Without the slightest hesitation, the little ox followed and circled around to the back of the artificial hill.

The palace maids dared not get too close and disturb the princess's enjoyment, so they slowed their pace slightly in front of the artificial hill.

However, the moment Xiao Sizi stepped into the shadow of the artificial hill, a faint ripple of light suddenly appeared in the air, like a gentle wave rippling on water.

Then, everything returned to calm.

"Your Highness? It's time to return to the palace for your meal. Her Majesty must be getting impatient."

The head palace maid, Chuncao, called out softly as she walked around the artificial hill.

no respond.

Chuncao's smile froze instantly. Behind the rockery was nothing but emptiness; there wasn't even a trace of the little figure.

"Princess?"

Chuncao panicked, her voice rose several octaves, and she looked around in terror.

Apart from the flowers and plants swaying in the wind, there was no trace of that familiar pomegranate red in the surrounding area.

"Quick! Quick! The princess is missing!"

The palace maids were immediately terrified, their faces turning deathly pale. They frantically searched around the artificial hill, deep in the flower bushes, and even by the koi pond next to it, like headless flies.

However, after the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the entire Imperial Garden was turned upside down, and Xiao Sizi seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving no trace, neither alive nor dead.

"It's over...the sky has fallen..."

Chuncao's legs went weak, and she collapsed to the ground, her eyes filled with despair.

Losing His Majesty's and Empress's beloved child is a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family!

……

Taiji Palace, Lizheng Hall.

A faint scent of ambergris lingered in the hall.

Li Shimin sat upright behind a large desk, holding a memorial in his hand, his brows slightly furrowed.

Empress Zhangsun gently ground ink for him, her movements delicate and graceful, exuding the dignity of an empress.

"Guanyinbi, the weather is quite nice today. How has Sizi's appetite been lately?"

Li Shimin put down the memorial, his tightly furrowed brows relaxed, and a rare look of tenderness appeared in his eyes.

Empress Zhangsun smiled slightly and said softly.

"Your Majesty, rest assured, Si Zi was clamoring to go to the Imperial Garden to see the flowers early this morning, so I had Chun Cao and the others follow her closely. I reckon she should be tired of playing by now."

Li Shimin stroked his beard and laughed.

"This little girl can't sit still. After I finish dealing with these official matters, I'll go have a meal with her."

Just as the emperor and empress were enjoying their tender moment, a shrill and panicked announcement suddenly came from outside the palace.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Disaster! Utter disaster!"

A young eunuch tumbled and crawled into the main hall, falling heavily to the ground before he could even cross the threshold. He then scrambled down the jade steps, trembling like a leaf.

The smile on Li Shimin's face vanished instantly, and his imperial majesty erupted as he roared...

"Outrageous! How dare you shout and yell before the Emperor! What kind of decorum is this!"

The young eunuch kowtowed repeatedly, crying out as he managed to squeeze out a few words.

"Your Majesty... Princess Jinyang... Her Highness has gone missing in the Imperial Garden!"

"Clang!"

Empress Zhangsun slammed the inkstick in her hand onto the Duan inkstone, splashing ink all over her. She felt a sudden darkness before her eyes, her body swayed violently, and she almost fell to the ground.

"What did you say?!"

Li Shimin's eyes widened in fury, like an enraged lion, and he suddenly overturned the desk in front of him.

The memorials were scattered all over the ground.

"Find it for me! Order your men to set up camp and seal off all twelve gates of the Taiji Palace! No one is allowed to enter or leave! Dig three feet deep in the Imperial Garden!"

"If the rhinoceros cannot be found, all the imperial guards and palace maids on duty today shall bring me their heads!"

The entire Tang Dynasty palace was instantly plunged into unprecedented panic and rage.

……

At this very moment, we are separated by more than a thousand years of modern time.

Inside a low-rent apartment outside the south gate of Kyoto University.

Jiang Feng lay sprawled on the slightly hard single bed, holding up his secondhand smartphone with a cracked corner on the screen, staring blankly at the balance in his WeChat Wallet.

[WeChat Wallet: 32.50 yuan]

"What a tragedy..."

Jiang Feng let out a long sigh and rubbed his temples in pain.

As an orphan freshman who had just started college, after paying his tuition and fees for the semester, plus the rent for his tiny single room of just over ten square meters, his savings had been completely wiped out.

There are still exactly twenty days until next month's poverty relief subsidies are distributed.

How can you survive for twenty days on thirty yuan?

Even if I only eat two dry steamed buns and drink plain water a day, I won't last until the end of the month.

"Looks like I'll have to look for day labor jobs in the urban villages, like bricklaying, or maybe washing dishes at a fast food restaurant..."

Jiang Feng sat up abruptly, preparing to get dressed and go out to look for a part-time job.

Just then, a completely emotionless, mechanical synthesized voice suddenly rang out in his mind like a thunderclap.

【Ding! 】

[Host detected facing a survival crisis; random stall system is activating...]

[Binding progress: 10%...50%...100%!]

[System binding successful!]

Jiang Feng was so frightened that he almost rolled off the bed. He looked around the room, but there wasn't a ghost in sight.

"Who's talking? Am I hallucinating? Or is it just hunger?"

[The host is not hallucinating. This system is a random street vendor system, designed to assist the host in becoming a global street food master.]

The next second, a semi-transparent light blue screen that only Jiang Feng could see appeared directly in front of his retina.

[Host: Jiang Feng]

[Level: LV1 (Newbie Stall Owner)]

System Funds: 0

[Recipes already known: None]

Jiang Feng was stunned for a full ten seconds, then his eyes burst with wild joy.

As a contemporary college student who is well-versed in online novels, he knows exactly what this is.

Goldfinger!

A system that belongs exclusively to transmigrators or chosen ones has actually fallen into the lap of a penniless nobody like me!