Chapter 60

Chapter 60

The Shen family's vegetable field business came to a full stop.

Li Geng and the others hauled vegetables to other towns, only to haul them right back at noon, loaded exactly as they left.

Not a single basket went out.

Today, only Shen Song's vegetables actually went out.

However, the vegetables picked today were all set aside by Shopkeeper Xu and the others for pickling, with no plans to sell them anytime soon.

The pickled vegetables sold well in the restaurants, and folks from out of town loved taking a few jars home.

If any local was heading out on a long trip, they'd grab a jar or two to eat along the way.

The Shen family gathered in the main hall, but they weren't exactly worried.

They'd gotten through way harder times before, so this was nothing.

Even if they could no longer sell vegetables, they'd collected a nice chunk of penalty money.

That money came from whoever was pulling the strings, and the shopkeepers in other towns didn't dare breathe a word about it. Shopkeeper Xu and Lin Yue, however, told them everything there was to tell.

When the people sent by the mastermind found them, they'd toss a pouch full of silver at them, calling it penalty money. They were told to break their contracts with the Shen family and stop ordering veggies, or else.

The Shen family realized that whoever was behind this really meant to shut down their vegetable business for good. But even if they could no longer sell vegetables in the future, the Shen family wasn't too rattled.

Since the fields had spiritual energy running through them, if they couldn't grow veggies, they'd just grow grain and still get by.

And if even the grain shops wouldn't buy from them, they could just take it straight to the government.

The government had official spots for taking in grain, though they paid thirty percent less than the grain shops did.

But if the Shen family planted all thirty-eight mu of wasteland with grain crops, plus what they already had, they'd be close to a hundred mu all told.

Their harvests were always plentiful, and even at a thirty percent lower price, they'd still bank a decent amount of silver over the year.

Compared to now, it was the difference between making a hundred taels a year and making fifty.

But whether it was a hundred taels or fifty taels, it was a fortune to the Shen family.

Before, they couldn't even put away one tael in a whole year.

Make more, live more. Make less, live less.

As long as the whole family stayed hardworking, steady, and healthy together, there wasn't a hurdle they couldn't get past.

More money or less, it didn't really matter.

If the troublemaker had the guts, let them try getting the government to turn away their grain too.

The threat to their vegetable business didn't scare them one bit.

Shen Dashu, the old hand at farming, mulled over the harvest and said, "Give it another month—if this isn't sorted out, we're planting grain in the veggie fields. Can't put it off any longer, or it'll hurt the harvest."

Liu Chunxia also said, "That's right. Leaving the veggies in the ground too long isn't good either. When the time comes, we'll pull them up, pickle some, and haul the rest to the market. Can those folks control every single person at the market?

Worst case, we give the veggies away and skip the profit. As long as nothing goes to waste and it ends up in someone's belly, any way works."

Shen Jue had a short fuse and couldn't stand being provoked. He said angrily, "Why are they pushing our family around like this? We're just farming honestly to get by—what's the deal? They're already so rich, and still not satisfied. Are they planning to haul it all into their coffins?"

Shen Lin paused for a beat, then mumbled, "Yeah."

Shen Jue shot Shen Lin a look of approval—good little brother!

"Father, Mother, I think Sixth Brother makes a good point. I know common folks shouldn't go up against officials, but they're after our so-called secret recipe and our lives. How much longer are we supposed to back down?" Zhou Gu felt uneasy too. He wasn't scared of hard times, but being shoved around and boxed in like this didn't sit right with him.

Xu Hongmei picked up Zhou Gu's words, speaking with a touch of sarcasm about those behind the scenes, "Second Brother-in-law is giving them too much credit. Officials? They're nothing but folks with piles of silver to bribe officials into protecting them. Decked out in gold and silk, living high on the hog, all petty and shameless—downright disgusting."

Zhou Gu looked at his eldest sister-in-law, quite surprised. "Oh! Sister-in-law, that was a great line. I almost thought it came from Fifth Brother or Third Sister's husband."

Li Geng, who had been named, lowered his head in embarrassment, while Shen Chong showed no reaction.

Xu Hongmei raised her chin, pointing at her son and Chi Jiu. "It's Yi'an learning characters from Xiao Jiu, picking up some scholarly phrases. I figured the customers at the vegetable shop also spoke in such refined ways, so I made a point to listen more and learn from them."

She not only listened to Shen Yian and Chi Jiu but also to the customers buying vegetables.

She imitated and learned, thinking it might come in handy.

When Zhou Gu and Shen Ning heard this, they thought—their sister-in-law was truly capable! They also worked at the vegetable shop but had never thought of that.

Zhou Gu immediately said, "If the vegetable shop can reopen later, I want to learn too."

Shen Ning also said, "That's right. Our sister-in-law sounds different when she speaks now—it feels so reasonable."

Xu Hongmei gave a light cough, a bit embarrassed, but still held her chin high, straightened her back, and put on the air of the eldest daughter-in-law.

"Constantly yielding only makes people think you're weak and easy to bully. If we give in this time and they still won't let it go, the Shen family isn't without spine." Shen Chong's voice was gentle, but his words were firm.

Zhao Lu nodded immediately—he preferred settling things with his fists and had no patience for such sneaky tricks.

Shen Zhun, who was usually quiet and rarely spoke, also said, "If it really comes to blades and spears, when pushed to the brink, we might as well fight it out."

With words spoken to that extent, the old Shen couple and the eldest brother Shen Jing didn't object or shake their heads in refusal.

That was tacit agreement.

The entire Shen family was the type to yield to kindness but never to force—the harder they were pushed, the bolder they became.

After the ordeal at Tiger Head Mountain, when they were backed to the cliff's edge, their thought was still that at worst, the whole family would die together.

Liu Chunxia thought—Heaven had given their family's Xiao Ba divine abilities, which meant gods existed. Even if the family went to the underworld, they could reunite there.

The more the Shen family was scared, the braver they became. All they sought was family reunion.

She said, "There won't be a next time."

Shen Song watched his family, hearts united and strength pooled together. He felt as if he were lying on soft grass, a gentle breeze blowing, blue skies and white clouds above, surrounded by the laughter of loved ones and the play of children—every sense he had was filled with happiness.

His heart was completely full, the corners of his mouth uncontrollably lifting into a smile, his eyes brimming with joy.

Shopkeeper Xu had said he would lead a group of restaurant owners to the prefectural city.

With the vegetable business halted, the Shen family had nothing pressing to do, so quite a few of them went along.

The old Shen couple, Shen Chong, Shen Jue, Shen Lin, Zhou Gu, Xu Hongmei, Zhao Lu, Shen Song, and Chi Jiu.

The more people, the more imposing the procession.

Shopkeeper Xu even hired suona players and cymbal beaters to lead the way.

Along the road, they drew a lot of attention.

Once a crowd gathered, Shopkeeper Xu would speak with a pained expression, saying their restaurants had been running fine until some unknown people forced them to shut down.

After he finished, professional mourners would wipe their tears and wail loudly, "Ohhh! We're done for! We're done for! Those damned bullies are forcing the common folk to starve! Heavenly Judge, give us justice!"

The six hired mourners were pros, with booming voices and raw emotional power.

Even Shen Song got choked up and started crying.

He wiped his eyes, his eyes and nose all red, ready to go beg the magistrate for justice.

Chi Jiu stood off to the side, smiling while he wiped Shen Song's tears away.

In the end, Chi Jiu's sleeves were soaked with tears.

The hired mourners were supposed to wail and cry the whole way to the prefectural city.

The whole crew walked the entire way into the city.

The trip took a solid four days.

They bunked at inns each night.

Anyway, they had all the time and energy in the world now.

In those four days, along the route from Qingyun Town to Yunxi County and then to the prefectural city, word spread that most of Qingyun Town's restaurants had been shut down by unknown bullies, the owners were being starved out, so they were marching to the prefectural city to demand justice.

Finally, they arrived at the prefectural city.

They'd figured getting through the city gates would be a hassle, but when they arrived, the low-level clerks just jotted down their names, what they looked like, and where they were staying, then let them in.

The twenty taels of silver Shopkeeper Xu had set aside for bribes never got used.

From Qingyun Town to the prefectural city, Shopkeeper Xu kept telling everyone he had no clue which scumbag was behind all this, and asked any do-gooders along the road to keep their eyes peeled.

To spot anyone sneaking around them with shifty looks.

If they caught anyone, they'd drag them to the courthouse together, so the magistrate could sort it all out and smoke out the real culprit.

He never named names, just claimed he didn't know who was behind it. The families in the city who already knew Xu and his crew were coming to sue found it hard to make a move. His vague talk tied their hands.

This crew made such a public spectacle that everyone and their mother knew about it, so even silencing them by killing them was off the table.

Fifty-plus people was no small crowd—even they couldn't cover that up.

Shopkeeper Xu had shelled out to hire a big crew because he was scared of being outnumbered.

He figured the bad guys couldn't pull anything on the road, so they'd try to stop them at the gates.

Turns out, they'd already gotten through the gates and were marching toward the courthouse, still blasting music and wailing.

Shopkeeper Xu had a hunch someone was pulling strings for them behind the scenes.

Whoever it was, it was working in their favor.

The prefectural city was hopping.

And the locals there? They loved a good show.

Pretty soon, a crowd of at least a hundred folks was trailing along to the courthouse.

Since Xu and his crew had to keep up the crying act, they crawled along.

Every step they took, the crowd got bigger.

By the time they hit the courthouse, it was already afternoon.

The mob had grown huge, packing every inch of the plaza in front of the courthouse.

Shopkeeper Xu and his people dropped straight to their knees, and the six mourners went all out, wailing loud enough to rattle the sky.

Even without the horns and cymbals, their screams could drill right through your skull.

Shopkeeper Xu chimed in, hollering for the magistrate to give them justice.

Lin Yue was a little embarrassed, but like the other shopkeepers, he echoed Xu's plea.

The Shen family knelt in the crowd too. The old Shens thought about how far they'd come. They just wanted to live in peace, but some greedy rich merchant had to come after them.

Shen Song heard his folks sniffling quietly. The mourners had already got him worked up, and he was fighting to hold it in. But hearing his parents broke the dam—he sobbed his heart out.

The racket outside was too loud for the prefect to play dumb.

He sent out a clerk first, who tried to shoo everyone away, but the crying was so gut-wrenching, like they'd been wronged something fierce, and a ton of regular folks were watching. The bigger the crowd got, the more any move they made would blow up in their faces. Riling up the public? That'd be a disaster.

So the clerk just tried to calm people down while someone ran inside to fill the prefect in.

Hearing that, the prefect knew he couldn't dodge it anymore and had to brace himself and step out.

As he got close to the gate and heard the wailing, he couldn't help but flinch. They were crying like their folks had just died. What the hell was this about?

He quickened his pace.

When he reached the main gate, the prefect saw a crowd kneeling in front, shouting for the magistrate to seek justice.

Behind them stood a throng of people stretching as far as the eye could see.

Panic flickered through the prefect's gut, but he kept his face stone-cold.

The prefect had a square face, pale skin, and a neat, long beard. In his crimson robe and black cap, he looked every bit the scholarly, upright official.

"You're all folks of my Yunan Prefecture. Crying like this means you've got some serious grievance. As your prefect, hearing this breaks my heart. So what's happened to make you all so upset? Get up, and let's talk about it."

His voice was steady and commanding, but with a warm, reassuring edge. It made you want to believe him, to trust he'd fix things and hand out justice.

Shopkeeper Xu knew that was just lip service. He was about to answer when a voice wailed out, all pitiful: "Your Honor!"

Shen Song's knees were killing him from kneeling, so he hopped up fast and blurted out, "I've got a ton to tell you."

The prefect saw a young guy, face soaked in tears, staring up at him with big round eyes just brimming with trust.

The kid actually believed every word he said, not a single doubt in him.

The prefect looked away for a second, then waved him over. "If you've got something to say, come up here and say it."

Shen Song stepped up.

A clerk brought a chair over. After the magistrate sat down, seeing Shen Song just standing there stiff as a board, he had the clerk fetch another chair.

"Have a seat too."

Shen Song sat down immediately.

He said, "My family is from Shen Family Hollow. We used to be very poor, couldn't even afford food, and had to scrape by on wild greens every day. Later, we started a business off the back of digging wild greens and farming. Then somebody tried to take our business and pulled all kinds of dirty tricks on us. We bust our backs on that land, up before dawn and in bed late, tending the crops. Every penny we make comes from our family's sweat.

We're fine with not selling veggies, but not because those bastards strong-armed us into it. Besides, we never had some magic recipe to begin with. They wouldn't believe it, and they just kept pushing further and further. Sir, everyone says you're a real champion of the people who can get justice done. You'll help our family get justice, won't you?"

The magistrate listened, and the more he heard, the more it rang a bell.

He frowned and asked, "Shen Family Hollow—that's in Qingyun Town, Yunxi County, right?"

Shen Song nodded. "That's right."

The magistrate had been lounging a bit, but now he straightened up.

He said to the clerk, "Go fetch some long benches and get them all seated. It's a bad look to have wronged folks kneeling like this."

The clerk scrambled to do it, and soon everyone was sitting on the benches.

The magistrate then asked Shopkeeper Xu and the rest what their complaints were.

Shopkeeper Xu said, "I run a little eatery in Qingyun Town to make a living. My whole family's survival hinges on this little restaurant. But a pack of thugs forced us to shut down, saying if we opened, they'd kill my whole family. It's absolutely terrifying, I tell you. I don't want to die, but if the restaurant stays shut, I can't feed my family. How are we supposed to get by? After mulling it over, I figured the only way was to come with everyone else who's been bullied by these thugs and beg you, sir, for justice."

The magistrate nodded and then looked at Lin Yue beside him.

Lin Yue's eyes were already brimming with tears. He was genuinely choked up. "Sir, you might not know this, but I lost my husband years ago and I've been raising a boy with a bad heart all by myself. That restaurant is my lifeline. If it's open, I can make money to buy medicine to keep my kid alive. But now they've forced my restaurant shut. No income means no medicine, and no medicine means my kid dies. If anything happens to him, how could I keep living? Those people are basically killing me!"

The magistrate was touched. There's nothing a parent won't do for their child.

The magistrate's eyes slid to Shen Song. The second he realized who Shen Song was, he knew this had deep currents underneath.

The big shots up top were duking it out, and the little fish down below were cashing in on the chaos.

He knew all about the Shen and Chen families' dealings.

Back then, someone from the Xie family had sent word telling him to keep his nose out of it.

With things still up in the air, he didn't want to pick a side.

But with this crowd making such a scene in public, he couldn't just brush it off.

The magistrate dropped his gaze for a second, then looked back up.

"Go on back for now. Run your shops like you always have. As for the ones pulling strings behind the scenes, I'll get to the bottom of it."

His first move was to get them out of here.

Shopkeeper Xu had been gunning for exactly this kind of promise from the magistrate.

Knowing when to quit, they all nodded. As they left, they shouted "wise magistrate" again, crying and thanking him up and down.

That boxed the magistrate into a corner.

The magistrate played the part of the kindly father-official, watching Shen Song and the others leave.

The second he turned away, the smile dropped off his face. He waved over a trusted man and said, "Go tell the Chen family the situation up top is still murky. Tell them not to push it too far."

When Chen Mingshan got the magistrate's warning, his face went dark.

He didn't even wait for the guests to leave before his face twisted.

Butler Chen hustled the guests out before things got even messier.

When Butler Chen came back, Chen Mingshan had already hurled a teacup to the floor, leaving tea and broken porcelain everywhere.

Butler Chen had someone clean it up, while Chen Mingshan scowled. "What's that Zhao guy playing at? Lord Wang is the Crown Prince's man. How could he lose?"

Butler Chen picked his words carefully. "The Crown Prince is the rightful heir, so Lord Wang won't lose. But the snakes in the grass keep pulling every trick they can. The Emperor's been sick for years, and everyone's watching the Crown Prince. Too many people want him down. I'm afraid the Crown Prince can't block every blow."

Chen Mingshan went quiet, his arrogance cooling off.

Even though no one in his family held a post, they'd been the ones funneling money up the ladder, and he'd heard plenty about how officialdom worked.

His forebears had gotten tangled in these things before, and the dangers were beyond description.

He'd never lost to small fry before, so when he finally did, he got so fixated on the opportunity that he got sloppy.

He hadn't stopped to think, again and again, whether there was a trap hiding behind this so-called opportunity.

Chen Mingshan said in a low voice, "Call everyone off. No more watching the Shen family. Send people to the capital to sniff around. Any sign of trouble, no matter how small, report back ASAP."

Butler Chen nodded and left.

The Shen family made it back to Qingyun Town a lot faster than the trip out to the prefectural seat.

They rode back in a carriage.

The day after they got back, Shen Song made his usual veggie deliveries, and the shop opened up like nothing happened.

Shen Song only delivered to the eateries in Qingyun Town.

The taverns in Yunxi County and Mingqing County had also stopped ordering from the Shen family. And the ones in Yunxi County hadn't come along to the prefectural city either.

The owners behind those taverns had their own tangled interests.

Shen Song had taken the breach-of-contract money from the taverns before. They hadn't wanted to break the contracts either—when they talked about it, the managers all looked miserable.

But there was no way around it.

Whether the big bosses liked it or not, the end result was the same: they couldn't order from the Shen family anymore.

Li Geng and the others weren't making deliveries anymore, so they kept busy with the family's fields for now.

The shop opened today, and Zhao Lu came along too.

The local thugs didn't show today, which was a relief.

It also confirmed that the Chen family really were the ones behind all the trouble.

After wrapping up the deliveries in town, Shen Song headed to the county to see Xie Zhiyu.

There was a veggie shop in the county now, and the Qi household's kitchen did all its shopping at the Shen family's shop.

Xie Zhiyu, when it came to food, was no longer like before, unable to take a single bite.

During those days in the prefectural city, Shen Song, worried he might have nothing to eat, had specially delivered quite a few vegetables over.

Shen Song went to Bamboo Court and saw Qi Yuanjing just coming out of the room. He smiled and said to Shen Song, "Song-ge, in a couple of days, I'll definitely get back at them for you."

"Get even?"

"Yes, didn't that Chen family pull some dirty tricks?"

"It's fine now. Their family doesn't dare stir up trouble anymore. We went to the prefectural city and saw the prefect. He was really kind and saw justice done for us!" Shen Song thought about it, and couldn't help but feel admiration, thinking the prefect truly was an upright official.

Qi Yuanjing knew about the commotion they'd caused—it was quite a show.

He'd also quietly helped out behind the scenes, helping them get there safely and making sure the whole plan went off without a hitch.

He chuckled, "Not bad—you guys wrapped that up fast."

Shen Song grinned, "Shopkeeper Xu was sharp—he came up with that plan."

Qi Yuanjing nodded and didn't say more.

The Shen family were honest, simple people, and they were already happy with how things turned out. But Xie Zhiyu had a bad temper and was petty and vindictive.

He'd definitely settle old scores and new ones all at once.

Better not say that out loud and scare Shen Song.

"Xie Zhiyu is awake today. Go on, go see him." Qi Yuanjing smiled.

Hearing this, Shen Song immediately ran toward the room. He hadn't been able to see him earlier, and then he'd been away for several days. Shen Song felt like it had been ages since he'd last seen Xie Zhiyu.

"Xie Zhiyu!"

As soon as Shen Song entered, he saw a finely dressed man sitting on the daybed in the outer room.

He walked over quickly.

Xie Zhiyu wore a rich green brocade robe, a big, glossy pearl set in his gilded hairpin, and from his belt hung a jade pendant, an embroidered pouch, a jeweled dagger, and an intricately crafted sachet ball.

His face, once pale and sallow, now had some color, and his lips were even more vividly red, with striking, well-defined features. His handsome face had dark, deep-set eyes with slightly upturned corners—refined and alluring. At Shen Song's call, he was staring straight at him.

Even as Shen Song reached him, the intense emotion in his eyes didn't fade—it only grew more intense.

Xie Zhiyu idly twirled a black jade chess piece between his fingers, his pale fingers against the black piece making a stark contrast. His dark, clear eyes stayed fixed on Shen Song, who was a little out of breath, and he asked casually, "Why are you running?"

"To come see you!"

Shen Song's eyes lit up as he looked at Xie Zhiyu. He'd finally seen Xie Zhiyu back to his old self, and his heart was filled with joy.

Joy he couldn't contain.

His voice lifted at the end of his words.

That was just how happy he was.

The black jade piece between Xie Zhiyu's fingers hit the table with a thud.

He didn't look at the piece. He tilted his head slightly, leaning on the arm that rested on the table. He tapped his temple with a slender finger, and said, looking troubled, "Shen Song, don't look at me like that, smiling at me."

Shen Song automatically sat on the other side of the daybed, where tasty, pretty pastries were already set out on the table. He was about to grab one, "Why's that?"

Xie Zhiyu didn't answer. He reached across the chessboard and grabbed Shen Song's wrist just as he was about to take a pastry.

As Shen Song looked on in confusion, he pulled him off the daybed and led him to the wooden stand with the brass basin.

The basin was filled with clear water, and Xie Zhiyu pressed Shen Song's hands—much smaller than his own—into the water.

"Wash your hands first, then eat."

Shen Song laughed; he'd forgotten.

Just as he was about to wash them himself, Xie Zhiyu slipped his fingers into the water too.

He held Shen Song's hands and washed them for him.

Shen Song's fingertips curled in the water without him meaning to, his heart beating a little faster, "Don't squeeze my hand—it tickles."

Xie Zhiyu looked down at the hands he was holding in the water, and asked lightly, "Why are you so ticklish?"

Shen Song said he didn't know.

Back when Second Brother-in-law bathed him, he wasn't ticklish.

But anywhere Xie Zhiyu touched him, he felt ticklish.

Maybe he used to not be ticklish, but now he was.

Shen Song figured.

After drying his hands, Shen Song sat back down with Xie Zhiyu. This time, Xie Zhiyu didn't grab his wrist again.

Shen Song finally got to eat the tasty pastries, stuffing his mouth until his cheeks puffed out.

He also forgot to keep asking Xie Zhiyu for the answer to his earlier question.

Two weeks later, Shen Song heard some news from Shopkeeper Xu.

The Chen family's home had been raided by the imperial court the day before.

Several wealthy merchants from Yunan Prefecture had their properties confiscated too.

They were accused of colluding with foreign enemies, and all were sentenced to have their property seized and be exiled.

For something this big, the yamen posted public notices, and they were put up at the gates of every county and town.

Shen Song was busy delivering vegetables to town when he noticed a crowd at the city gate, but he didn't think much of it.

Shopkeeper Xu had already talked it over with others and now filled Shen Song in on the details.

Shen Song listened, pretty surprised. Just days ago, everything seemed fine, and now they'd already been raided and exiled.

Shopkeeper Xu was surprised too, but he took it more in stride.

Most of these people's money was dirty, and to keep it, they had to bribe higher-ups at every level.

Officials and merchants in cahoots—probably the big shot behind them fell, and that's why they got dragged down.

"What do you think of the spot where the Chen family's restaurant was, Song-ge?" Shopkeeper Xu asked Shen Song.

Shen Song snapped back to the present, and after a moment's thought, said things were going well.

"Last time I went to deliver vegetables, the place was really busy—more than any other restaurant in town."

"Uncle Xu, I'm planning to buy out the Chen family's restaurant!"

Shopkeeper Xu had originally intended to become the top restaurant in Qingyun Town, but with such a golden opportunity right in front of him, he couldn't just watch it pass him by.

Shen Song said excitedly, "Oh my, Uncle Xu, you're amazing! You can buy out a restaurant in the county town!"

For Shopkeeper Xu, taking over the Chen family's restaurant meant putting in everything he had—all his savings.

It wasn't going to be easy, but Shopkeeper Xu felt confident about what lay ahead.

He laughed, "Hahaha, from now on I'll be ordering even more from you—vegetables, rice, and flour. Make sure you set aside plenty for your Uncle Xu!"

"Definitely!"

When a whale falls, everything thrives.

Several such "whales" had fallen in Yunan Prefecture.

Those families owned vast tracts of farmland, all prime quality land.

Originally, these fields would never have fallen into the hands of ordinary people, but due to the confiscation, the farmland was seized and handed over to the various county offices.

As long as the common folk could afford it, they could buy it.

The harvest from good land was several times that of poor land.

Although the common people couldn't buy much, even acquiring one or two mu was a good thing.

Two months after the Chen family and others in Yunan Prefecture were exiled and had their property confiscated, three major events occurred one after another.

The Crown Prince was stripped of his rank and made a commoner for treason, and the very next day, the Emperor died.

The once-obscure Eleventh Prince ascended the throne, held the imperial examinations, and issued a series of decrees.

The Emperor was too far removed from the common people's lives for them to care much.

All they knew was that they had a new Emperor, and life continued as usual.

Shen Song couldn't have cared less about the Emperor.

What made him a little sad was that a pastry shop he loved had been shut down.

Those pastries had a crispy exterior, a soft and chewy interior, and were filled with dense red bean paste—absolutely delicious.

No other pastry shop sold anything like them, and Shen Song really missed them.

It was only because the shop had been shut down by the authorities that Shen Song learned it belonged to one of those exiled families.

Having failed to get his pastries, Shen Song headed back with Eight and a Half Taels in tow, making for the vegetable shop.

He hadn't walked far when he spotted the pastries he was craving at a small roadside stall.

He hurried over and bought some to eat.

The stall owner quickly wrapped ten pieces in oil paper for Shen Song.

Shen Song couldn't wait any longer—right there at the stall, he picked one up and stuffed it into his mouth.

The moment it touched his tongue, his eyes went wide. This tasted even better than the ones he'd bought at the shop before!

Shen Song was curious and asked, learning that the original recipe actually belonged to the stall owner's family.

Because their goods were delicious and drew many customers, someone had stolen the recipe and forced them to stop selling it.

Now that those people had been exiled and their property confiscated, they could no longer bully them.

Shen Song hadn't expected this. He was happy for the stall owner, but also a bit worried. "What if someone tries to steal your recipe again?"

The stall owner laughed, "That won't happen. The prefect had officials put up notices in every county and town, saying it's a new rule from the court. If anyone tries to steal someone's secret recipe, they'll be fined and beaten. From now on, if anyone tries to steal from us, they'll not only be punished, but they'll have to compensate us too."

Shen Song chewed on the delicious, sweet pastries, and upon hearing this new decree, his eyes curved into happy crescents.

He liked this new decree from the Emperor.

This way, his family no longer had to fear people like the Chen family, who had tried so hard to steal their secret recipe.

People like the pastry stall owner and his own family, who had gone through this before, would no longer have to suffer.

Those with secret recipes could now do business without fear.