Five Years After My Death, the Mad Emperor Still Summons My Spirit

The snow-white milk looked as smooth as silk as it poured from the plain, dark earthenware pot. Red dates, dried rose petals, and some preserved fruits tumbled out with it, and Little Tiger couldn’t help but let out a loud GULP as he swallowed his saliva.

’It smells so good!’

’I’ve never smelled such a sweet drink! Oh, wait, Sister Ming said this is called milk tea.’

In the past, farmers from the suburbs would pass through their market carrying buckets of milk. He had once joined the crowd to take a look at this so-called "fresh milk."

The moment the lid was lifted from the wooden bucket, the smell hit him so hard he almost fell over backward.

It was so foul. The rank, milky smell was so strong he couldn’t help but dry-heave. Later, he heard his mom say that stuff was actually very precious. Especially in the summer, it had to be transported over several miles, and without ice, it might spoil.

That was the kind of thing only wealthy families would have.

Little Tiger remembered thinking at the time, ’Do wealthy families actually like to have such disgusting stuff?’

But now...

"HSSS—"

"Be careful, it’s very hot!"

The two sounds rang out at the same time.

The first was Little Tiger, who couldn’t resist taking a sip from his bowl, hissing as he burned his tongue. The second was Ming Lingyi’s warning, which came a moment too late.

When Ming Lingyi saw Little Tiger hissing from the burn, she finally couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing.

Even with a burned mouth, Little Tiger started babbling at Ming Lingyi with a thick tongue, gesturing as he spoke, "Sho good! Sho fragrant! Hsss, hiss, ow, that hurts!"

He wanted to say the roasted milk was delicious and fragrant, but his tongue was so burned that the words came out garbled. Not sure if Sister Ming understood, he just gave her a big thumbs-up.

Ming Lingyi laughed even harder at the sight. She patted Little Tiger’s head. "Hurry back and eat your breakfast. Be careful not to burn yourself again."

Only then did Little Tiger leave, looking back every few steps.

With one cup of roasted milk tea sold, Xiao Chun had already brought another from the back of the courtyard, watching as Ming Lingyi added red dates, malt sugar, and other ingredients.

Xiao Chun had already tasted this roasted milk tea on the morning of the second day of the new year.

The fragrance had completely captivated her then. Just like Little Tiger, even though she’d badly burned her tongue, she couldn’t stop herself. As if she hadn’t eaten in weeks, she endured the scalding heat and took several more sips.

’I have no idea where my young miss comes up with so many strange and wonderful ideas.’

The milk was also very expensive. After the second day of the new year, her young miss had taken her to the suburb of the capital to sign a contract with a farmer, who would now deliver milk to their shop every morning.

The milk alone cost half a string of cash.

Many people’s living expenses for a whole month were only five hundred coins. After all, a catty of mutton was only forty to fifty coins. This milk was truly a luxury.

No wonder ordinary families couldn’t afford it.

The reason Ming Lingyi only placed six earthenware pots on the grill was that she had considered its high price; she estimated not too many people would buy it for breakfast.

As for this roasted milk tea, she first got the idea in the Great Desert, when many of the barbarians’ salty milk teas made their way into the border town. She had tried them, but compared to savory milk, she much preferred it sweet. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

As for the tea cake, she added it to cut through the raw taste.

A pot of black tea simmered with milk in the winter, plus sweet red dates and goji berries to promote circulation—it sounded very nourishing and was perfect for the cold weather.

One cup would warm you from the inside out.

In just that short time, more neighbors from the market had gathered around.

It seemed many people still hadn’t forgotten the aromas Ming Lingyi had created in her courtyard before the new year.

When they heard that this Jade Plum Shocking Snow Cake was selling for twenty coins apiece, some people just watched the excitement for a bit, then shook their heads and left. But quite a few other neighbors gritted their teeth and bought one or two to try something new.

There were also those with more money to spare, who bought five or six to take home.

Just then, a young man who looked like a student, with a book bag slung over his shoulder, ran over.

"Miss Ming! I’ll take ten Jade Plum Shocking Snow Cakes!"

Ming Lingyi looked up and saw a familiar face.

It was the student from the Imperial College named Zhang Zhidong. She remembered him clearly because, during the few days she had her stall at the Imperial College, it was this particularly lively student who always looked like he wanted to buy out her entire stock of plum blossom cakes.

As a result, he was often chased and hit by his own classmates.

She hadn’t expected that on the very day the Imperial College resumed classes, he would actually come all the way to Huaided Fang specifically to buy plum blossom cakes.

Ming Lingyi beamed at her best customer. "You got it."

During the New Year holiday, Zhang Zhidong had been desperately craving the plum blossom cakes made by Miss Ming, who had set up her stall at the entrance of the Imperial College.

Over the few days his father was on leave, their home had many visitors. Whether it was the pastries his mother prepared for the guests or the ones brought by his father’s official colleagues, after tasting them, Zhang Zhidong found them all "utterly tasteless."

’They’re just so ordinary!’

Especially after having tasted Mrs. Ming’s plum blossom cakes, he looked down on all other pastries.

So, on the seventh day of the new year, Zhang Zhidong guessed Mrs. Ming would open for business. He got up bright and early all by himself, without even waiting for the household servants to wake him, and dashed from his home all the way to Huaided Fang—all for a single bite of that pastry!

Standing in front of the shop, Zhang Zhidong’s gaze was quickly drawn to the plain-looking earthenware pots.

"What’s this?" he asked curiously.

"Meilong Dianjiang · Red Date Milk Tea." Ming Lingyi then explained what was in the milk tea.

Zhang Zhidong was the youngest son of the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, so he was by no means short on Silver. He found the red date milk tea incredibly fragrant, and the name "Meilong Dianjiang" was the epitome of elegance. "Give me a cup of that, too," he said.

Ming Lingyi said with a smile, "We do charge for takeout containers."

She had prepared some takeout containers for her shop, just not very many. When Ming Lingyi was getting ready, she had only stocked them just in case, estimating that most people would choose to leisurely finish their breakfast in the shop before leaving.

She hadn’t realized that many students at the Imperial College wanted to sneak in a little more sleep, so they had no time for breakfast. Instead, they would take it to the academy to sneak a bite while the Doctors and the Sacrificial Officer were giving their lectures.

"Fine, pack it up," Zhang Zhidong said without the slightest hesitation.

The takeout container Ming Lingyi had prepared was a bamboo tube, which cost two coins each.

"That will be 217 coins in total." Ming Lingyi poured the roasted milk tea into the bamboo tube and handed it to Zhang Zhidong. "Be careful, it’s hot."

After thanking her, Zhang Zhidong hurried away.

Perhaps it was Zhang Zhidong’s extravagant purchase that convinced the hesitant crowd that the Ming Family’s Jade Plum Shocking Snow Cake and roasted milk tea were well worth the price, or perhaps it was the resounding praise from the customers already enjoying their breakfast in the shop; either way, business in front of Ming Lingyi’s shop suddenly boomed.