Shocking! The entire court was drooling with envy because of me.

"So fast?" Shen Qing was somewhat surprised by their efficiency. "When do you plan to start?"

"We have to hurry, Xin Heng needs the money. If possible, we hope to start tomorrow."

"Tomorrow is fine too," Shen Qing nodded.

She doesn't have much to do right now, so it's time for her to get back to the hot pot task.

After all, she was really looking forward to the rewards for the hot pot mission.

"Great!" Yan Wenli's eyes lit up. "Then we'll host our first group of guests tomorrow night!"

"Does anyone really want to spend six hundred taels of silver to eat hot pot?" Shen Qing was still somewhat skeptical.

"What? Six hundred taels? That's so expensive??"

Before Yan Wenli could speak, General Tao, who was standing next to him, exclaimed in shock.

What does six hundred taels mean? That's almost the entire fortune of a middle-class family! Are you crazy?!

Yan Wenli hurriedly explained, "Father-in-law, our main purpose is to raise funds to build a palace for His Majesty. As you know, the national treasury simply cannot afford it, so there's no other way..."

"His Majesty is becoming more and more outrageous!" General Tao couldn't help but slam his hand on the table.

The late emperor was a wise and capable ruler, skilled in both literature and military affairs, but unfortunately, he passed the throne to a good-for-nothing who only knew how to indulge in pleasure.

The current emperor is surrounded by a group of sycophantic and treacherous officials who only know how to suck up to powerful figures and fawn over them, instigating beauty pageants and the construction of palaces.

They don't care about the lives of ordinary people at all.

"Father-in-law, please be careful with your words. In short, we will extract the money for building the palace from the powerful and wealthy merchants, and it will not affect the common people."

"The first group of guests we're going to entertain tomorrow are all people Xin Heng and I have carefully considered. They're all spoiled brats who often spend money like water and don't care about money at all."

"We described hot pot as mysterious and wonderful enough, and they have already agreed."

Hot pot is something you'll want to eat again after you've tried it once, and those rich kids will definitely recommend it to others after they've had it.

In this way, hot pot will become more and more famous in Beijing, and more powerful and wealthy people will come to taste it.

After all, we're all in the same circle. If others eat and you don't, you'll always feel inferior.

Shen Qing nodded: "Alright, since you're all ready, let's begin tomorrow."

She didn't want to get involved in court affairs; she just wanted to sell hot pot.

Since everything was already prepared, she didn't need to ask any more questions.

......

One night passed.

The next morning, Nangong Yao slipped out of the palace with three or four servants.

"Hurry, hurry! If we can get first place in line, we can buy two!"

Young Prince Nangong Yao urged as he ran, determined to buy more spicy strips today so that his family and friends could all try them.

"Your Highness, please slow down! Don't fall!"

"Watch out!"

The servants chased after them, shouting as they went.

Apart from the two servants who had eaten spicy snacks yesterday, the other servants didn't know what to buy and were even a little worried that their young master might cause trouble.

Nangong Yao didn't care about the group of people behind him at all, and kept running towards the old place where Shen Qing set up his stall.

When we arrived, the usual spot was already crowded with people.

"Thank goodness, thank goodness, Sister Shen hasn't set up her stall yet," Nangong Yao said, panting heavily.

As long as he doesn't set up his stall, he's confident he can snag first place.

The other servants were also out of breath from running; running so early in the morning was really tiring.

"What are you doing here?" the clueless servant asked stealthily.

"The young master brought us to buy something absolutely delicious. You wouldn't believe how incredibly fragrant it is! I still can't get enough of it."

"Does the Prince and Princess know?"

"The young master is going to take this back for the prince and princess to eat today."

"Can the prince and princess eat this... street food...?"

"What street food? This is the young master's filial piety!"

The servant who had eaten the spicy strips was very excited, and he was certain that once the prince and princess ate the spicy strips, they would fall in love with them.

At that time, they might send someone to buy it every day.

And he was able to eat a few spicy snacks too...

"You're not waiting for Madam Shen, are you? Madam Shen said yesterday that she's not selling spicy strips anymore," a passerby couldn't help but say when he saw the group.

He is also a big fan of spicy strips, and happened to leave late yesterday, which is why he heard Shen Qing's words.

"What? You're not selling it anymore? Why?" Nangong Yao suddenly rushed up to the passerby, grabbed his sleeve and asked, his face filled with anxiety and disappointment.

"...They said there was no more spice powder."

"What? Why didn't you say so earlier? If you had said so earlier, I could have asked my dad to look for it. No matter what it is, my dad would definitely have been able to find it!!" Nangong Yao stomped his feet on the ground in anger, his eyes welling up with tears.

God knows how miserable he is when he can't eat spicy strips.

The passerby shook his head, looking regretful. He wanted to eat some too, but they just wouldn't sell it.

"Kid, don't tug at my sleeve, I have things to do."

Upon hearing this, Nangong Yao gripped the reins even tighter: "Do you know where Sister Shen lives? I want to go find her!"

"You little brat, do I look like I know anything?"

Why make things difficult for a passerby?

Helpless, Nangong Yao could only loosen the passerby's sleeve.

But he is in so much pain right now that he wants to cry.

Now that's bad, the spicy strips are gone. Not only can he not brag to his friends, but he can't even eat them himself.

No doubt, those little brats will say he's lying soon enough.

"It's all your fault!" Nangong Yao shouted, pointing at the two servants who had eaten spicy snacks yesterday.

"This...this isn't our fault..."

"That's right, Your Highness, you didn't have many of those spicy snacks left from yesterday."

"Yes, yes, in our opinion, we should ask around and see where Madam Shen is, and ask her what spices she needs. No matter what spices she needs, our Prince's Mansion definitely has them!"

"Then you'll have spicy snacks to eat again!"

The two servants, working in tandem, came up with another idea, quite skillfully.

Nangong Yao sniffed. Yes, the most important thing now is to find Sister Shen, so that he can continue to eat spicy strips.

"You all, gather all the little beggars in the capital. I need them to find out where Sister Shen is!"

The young prince was always causing trouble outside, and he dared not use the people in the palace for many things. Therefore, he gathered a group of little beggars with food and money.

That was his own power.

This time, he also chose to use his own influence to find Shen Qing.

......

Shen Qing slept until she naturally woke up.

Refreshed.

Speaking of which, having unparalleled martial arts skills makes all the difference; she felt much lighter and full of energy.

She opened the system, preparing for tonight's hot pot feast.