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

From the very first bite, he could feel the soft yet firm texture of the green ball’s skin, which was infused with mugwort juice. It wasn’t like ordinary dough that fell apart easily; this was springy and resilient. The fragrant mugwort wasn’t bitter at all, but instead carried a hint of sweetness.

When he bit into the salted egg yolk nestled within the red bean paste filling, the distinct, savory, and slightly grainy texture of the yolk immediately and powerfully took over his palate.

The savory saltiness of the yolk and the sweet fragrance of the red bean paste blended together, creating a unique and novel flavor. It was absolutely delicious.

One of the main reasons Jiang Yuchuan disliked pastries was that he found them to be deceptively exquisite. They looked delicate, but were always sickeningly sweet and hard to stomach. Every time he took a bite of a pastry, he felt like he needed to down an entire pot of light tea just to wash away the cloying sweetness that made his chest feel tight.

But the green ball in his hand was nothing like the flavors he had always detested.

For starters, the green ball wasn’t cloyingly sweet at all. Even the sweet red bean paste inside wasn’t the least bit overwhelming.

It was delicious.

Jiang Yuchuan finished the two green balls in just a few bites. Even though the other one, filled with lotus seed paste, was purely sweet, he didn’t find it unbearable.

As Jiang Yuchuan ate the green balls, Xiao Chun was secretly watching him.

Ever since she learned that Jiang Yuchuan was the cousin of that horrid young lady from the State Duke Mansion, Xiao Chun had been watching him with a hint of wariness.

’What if he’s just as awful as she is? What if he doesn’t like my lady’s green balls and stops after a couple of bites? We didn’t even charge him Silver for them!’

So, she decided that if this young gentleman didn’t finish them, she would give him a stern warning and insist that he eat every last bite.

To her surprise, Jiang Yuchuan actually ate them all.

Xiao Chun breathed a sigh of relief.

Ming Lingyi smiled as she watched Xiao Chun.

Jiang Yuchuan stood up and walked back over to Ming Lingyi’s small cart. He looked a little embarrassed. "Could I get some to go?" His parents had passed away, but he had an old servant back home who had been with him for a very long time and was like family. Jiang Yuchuan wanted to bring some back to his residence for him. "I’ll pay with Silver."

Ming Lingyi, of course, wasn’t about to turn down business. But before she could answer, Xiao Chun had already jumped in, nodding eagerly. "Of course, sir. How many would you like?"

"I’ll take ten to start," Jiang Yuchuan said. "All of them the salted egg yolk flavor, please."

Xiao Chun started to see him in a better light. ’Anyone who appreciates how delicious my lady’s salted egg yolk green balls are must have some good taste.’

"That will be three hundred wen."

Jiang Yuchuan paid but didn’t seem to be in a hurry to leave.

"Is there something else?" Xiao Chun asked.

Jiang Yuchuan said, "I was wondering who wrote the sign for your stall?"

Xiao Chun arched an eyebrow. "Is that important?"

"Of course." Jiang Yuchuan’s expression turned much more serious. "This calligraphy is like a sword drawn from the heavens. Where the brushtip falls, its edge slices through the paper! The opening strokes are like shattering jade from Kunlun Mountain, the finishing strokes like silver hooks and iron lines. In every turn, you can feel thunder concealed in the writer’s wrist. Even though it’s only four characters, each one is as elegant as a crane’s cry among the clouds, its sharpness revealing an unrestrained and noble spirit. Only a person who has read ten thousand books and holds great righteousness in their heart could ever achieve such a powerful and beautiful style."

As Xiao Chun listened to Jiang Yuchuan, her eyebrows shot up, and the smile on her face grew wider and wider.

An expression that clearly said, ’Well, you’ve got good taste after all,’ appeared on her face.

"That’s my lady’s handwriting!" Xiao Chun announced proudly.

A flash of astonishment appeared in Jiang Yuchuan’s eyes.

From the way Ming Lingyi had refuted Zhao Shu earlier, he already suspected she must have read a few books, but he never imagined that she had written the sign as well.

’For a woman to be able to write with such skill... it’s truly impressive.’

"Xiao Chun." Ming Lingyi gave her plump maid a slightly exasperated look before turning to Jiang Yuchuan. "It was just some casual scribbling. You flatter me, sir."

After his brief surprise, Jiang Yuchuan collected himself. "May I ask who your master was?" He couldn’t possibly treat Ming Lingyi as a common merchant woman. With calligraphy like this, Jiang Yuchuan felt that she probably surpassed most of the scholars in Shangjing City.

Ming Lingyi chuckled. "My old father taught me a little here and there, and I just learned a bit casually. I’m lucky you think so highly of it, sir."

’To press her further would be rude.’

’You can’t just meet a young woman and demand she explain her entire family background, can you?’

Jiang Yuchuan felt a pang of regret. He wasn’t a rake; he simply had a deep appreciation for fine calligraphy and wanted to befriend the artist.

Unfortunately, since the artist was a woman, it made things rather inconvenient.

"Will you be setting up your stall here again tomorrow, miss?" Jiang Yuchuan asked.

The Dayan Dynasty was quite generous with its holidays; there were three full days off for the Qingming Festival.

Jiang Yuchuan had originally planned to spend the remaining two days of the holiday at home reviewing case files after accompanying his friend to Qinglong Temple today.

There was no shortage of difficult and complicated cases at the Ministry of Justice. As the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, he spent his days dealing with them, and he had always taken pleasure in his work. But now, Jiang Yuchuan’s perspective was starting to shift.

’Perhaps coming out to see this young lady from the Ming Family is a little more important than staring at case scrolls.’

Ming Lingyi replied, "Tomorrow, I’ll probably be on the other side of the Qujiang River."

There was a grassy field and a canal over there, and plenty of young people out for the spring festival. She planned to move to a new spot each day.

A smile spread across Jiang Yuchuan’s face. "Excellent. I’ll see you tomorrow, then."

After saying this, he strode away, a smile playing on his lips.

Ming Lingyi: "???"

’See me tomorrow?’

’Did we make plans to see each other tomorrow?’

Xiao Chun sidled up to her. "My lady, why did that gentleman say he’d see you tomorrow? Could it be... he’s interested in you?"

If even the thick-skinned Xiao Chun could sense something was unusual, then of course Ming Lingyi had felt it too.

She gently pushed away Xiao Chun’s inquisitive face and chuckled. "What did you think of that young man’s looks?"

Xiao Chun thought for a moment. The gentleman in the moon-white robes had handsome features and seemed a bit aloof, but he was certainly good-looking.

"Very good-looking," Xiao Chun said.

Ming Lingyi just smiled again.

It took Xiao Chun a moment to process, then her eyes went wide. "My lady! You... you don’t mean to say..."

Ming Lingyi said, "What are you thinking? Tomorrow we get to see a handsome young man *and* earn some Silver. What’s not to be happy about?"

Xiao Chun: "..."

Shi Mingyue, who had been secretly listening in on their conversation from the side: "..."

’This lady of hers is really one of a kind!’ Shi Mingyue couldn’t help but giggle to herself.

’What Ming Lingyi didn’t say was that seeing Jiang Yuchuan today made her suddenly realize something. In this new life, she could leave Li Yun behind. She could find a new young man.’

’Perhaps because she had already died once, her views on marriage were no longer as rigid as they used to be.’

’If she met someone she liked, there was no reason they couldn’t enjoy each other’s company for a while. Even if it didn’t lead to marriage, she could accept that.’

’Isn’t life all about the experience?’

’There’s no need to hang all her hopes on one man, right? Meeting more people, experiencing different kinds of affection, and being able to walk away at any time... that seemed like a special kind of experience in itself.’

’She just wanted to live a life like most men in this world did.’

Just as these "heretical" thoughts surfaced in Ming Lingyi’s mind, a familiar, shrill voice shouted from up ahead.

"This is the place! Flip that stall for me!"