CHAPTER 19

Good wine aids sleep.

Although she had dreams all night, when Shu Yanyan woke up in the morning, she felt as if her whole body was filled with energy.

She got up and busied herself, quickly preparing three exquisite breakfasts.

The morning news was as expected, with headlines dominated by the royal banquet held last night. The editors dedicated a significant portion to introducing the noble ladies and princesses who attended the event, confidently stating that the future Empress would emerge from among these popular candidates.

Little Yunmiao took a bite of toast and asked unclearly, "Mommy, what is 'huang', and what comes after that? Can it be red?"

Little Guan Guan explained, "Not that 'Huang', it's the yellow emperor."

[In Chinese philosophy, yellow stands for the centre and the earth. It also refers to Huangdi: the legendary Yellow Emperor. The name Huangdi comes from the Chinese root Huang which can mean both "radiant" and "yellow." This associated the emperor with the sun.]

"Oh!" Little Yunmiao suddenly realized, "I remember now! Mommy told me that the Empress is the mommy of the princess!"

She looked at Shu Yanyan. "So where is the princess?"

Shu Yanyan pinched her chubby cheek.

"Mommy also said not to talk with food in your mouth, do you remember that?"

Little Yunmiao eagerly displayed a well-behaved smile, hastening her chewing and swallowing everything in her mouth.

Then, she opened her mouth to indicate, "Yunmiao has eaten it all."

Shu Yanyan was amused by her antics. "Well, that's about right."

Little Yunmiao puffed her cheeks and asked, "So, Mommy, where is the princess?"

"Why does the Emperor only look for an Empress and not a princess? Is the princess with the prince?" she continued.

Shu Yanyan felt a bit of a headache.

After all, it was really difficult to explain the logic about childbirth to her two-year-old daughter.

But she tried her best to clarify, "Um, the Emperor needs to first choose an Empress, and then the Empress can give birth to a princess."

"Oh..." Little Yunmiao blinked her big eyes. "So where is the princess before she is born?"

Shu Yanyan quickly picked up her milk cup and handed it to her. "That's a secret, we can't reveal it beforehand, or else the princess might be taken away by bad people."

Little yunmiao held the cup in her hands, stunned, and forgot to drink. "Wow... I see..."

Shu Yanyan reminded her, "Now, eat up. After eating, you still have to go to school, Yunmiao. You can't be late."

Little Yunmiao nodded vigorously. "Okay!"

Finally, she put aside her wandering thoughts and focused on the food in front of her.

When they arrived at the school, the teachers were waiting enthusiastically at the school gate. After handing little Yunmiao over to her homeroom teacher, the teacher specifically mentioned the upcoming school fair to Shu Yanyan.

This would be little Yunmiao's first public event since starting school, and Shu Yanyan also attached great importance to it. After promising that she would participate actively, Shu Yanyan asked, "For the school fair... can I bring someone else with me?"

She remembered what Chu Yu had mentioned before leaving last night.

The teacher nodded. "Of course."

She explained, "There will be a registration form, and any accompanying adult who wants to enter the campus will need to fill in some information. As long as they come with you and indicate their relationship with the child, they will be allowed in."

Shu Yanyan nodded thoughtfully. "Okay, I understand."

She waved goodbye to her daughter, leaving the kindergarten behind with little Yunmiao's reluctant gaze.

Next, Shu Yanyan immersed herself in her regular work routine.

The dessert shop didn't open until the afternoon, but Shu Yanyan needed to prepare various ingredients in the morning. Fortunately, in this technologically advanced world, the kitchen equipment was highly automated, allowing her to easily handle everything even when she was the only person in the shop.

During lunchtime, her smart wristband received a new message.

Shu Yanyan opened it and found that besides the usual video of little Yunmiao eating obediently sent by her teacher, Chu Yu had also sent a greeting message.

Although it was just a simple greeting, the tone gave off a sense of intimacy that could mislead someone.

Shu Yanyan was uncertain if it was because of what happened last night that their relationship had progressed to this point.

But the person. not long ago, was still surrounded by a crowd of beauties, hosting extravagant banquets in the palace.

[Shu Yanyan: I'm doing well, not busy.]

[Shu Yanyan: But Emperor... with so many things to do, do you have time to chat casually with people?]

Chu Yu's reply came quickly.

[Chu Yu: It depends on who the person is.]

Chu Yu indeed couldn't be considered busy.

Under her reforms in the past few years, most of the state affairs had been handed over to the parliament. She played more of a role as a national symbol and military leader. The Empire had been peaceful recently, so naturally, she had more freedom.

Shu Yanyan remembered the news from last night.

[Shu Yanyan: What if it's a friend you met at the banquet last night?]

After sending the message, she realized that it sounded inappropriate. After all, she had no right to inquire about such personal matters.

In reality, Chu Yu, upon seeing the message, felt a mix of pleasure and helplessness.

[Chu Yu: Where I went and what I did last night, I think Miss Yanyan should know better than me.]

[Chu Yu: If you continue to accuse me like this, I might have to come to your door to demand an explanation.]

Shu Yanyan wrinkled her nose.

[Shu Yanyan: I really don't know... At least I don't know anything that happened before you came to see me!]

[Chu Yu: Alright, from now on, I'll make sure to report to you.]

Shu Yanyan's heart skipped a beat.

[Shu Yanyan: I didn't mean it that way...]

She felt her cheeks heating up and quickly ended the conversation.

[Shu Yanyan: I have to go and get busy now. Let's not chat for now.]

Chu Yu didn't persist either.

[Chu Yu: Alright.]

Shu Yanyan let out a sigh of relief, forcing herself to shift her attention. She checked the time and pressed the button to open the automatic door of the shop.

Sunlight instantly poured in from outside, bathing her in its radiant warmth. The aroma of milk in the shop, when exposed to the sunlight, filled the room with a sweet scent.

Shu Yanyan took a deep breath, feeling comfortable, and mustered up her energy to welcome today's customers.

But it seemed that fate always liked to throw little obstacles in people's paths.

Just as Shu Yanyan was marveling at how quickly the first customer had arrived today, she looked up and caught sight of a somewhat familiar figure.

"Welcome... Ah, why, why is it you?"

The person who entered was none other than the after-sales manager from the supermarket, whom Shu Yanyan had encountered a few times during her shopping trips. His intentions were quite clear, and he had even harassed Shu Yanyan on two occasions.

However, Shu Yanyan remembered that the last time she encountered him, she had mentioned the situation to Chu Yu and Ge Meng, and Ge Meng had promised to handle it.

She couldn't understand why he would appear here.

Ke Qiang looked around and finally fixed his gaze on Shu Yanyan.

"Miss Shu, so you're really opening a shop here. I've been staking out for days and finally caught you on your opening day."

Shu Yanyan recalled that during her previous shopping trips, she had provided her home and shop addresses to the supermarket for home delivery. Residential areas had stricter management, but she never expected him to find her shop.

She forced herself to remain calm. "What exactly do you want?"

Ke Qiang casually found a seat and sat down. "I don't want anything in particular. You're opening a shop, and I'm just here to be a customer. Isn't that normal?"

He glanced at the menu on the wall. "Just bring me a couple of dishes. As long as they're made by your own hands, it's all good."

Shu Yanyan pursed her lips.

She was not weak, so she spoke up directly. "I'm sorry, but this establishment will not serve you. Please leave."

Ke Qiang sneered coldly. "You never show any mercy in your actions. Last time, you directly caused me to lose my job, and now you want to drive me away again?"

Shu Yanyan replied, "You know very well why I don't show any mercy."

Her hand hovered over the panic alarm button. "Please stop harassing me. Otherwise, I will resolve this matter through law enforcement."

Ke Qiang seemed agitated upon hearing this and seemed like he wanted to argue further. Fortunately, at that moment, a young couple walked into the shop, making him hesitate. He suppressed his anger and turned to leave.

However, this did not ease Shu Yanyan's lingering concerns.

As she attended to her customers, she took advantage of some spare moments to search for the laws of the Empire. It was similar to the situation on Earth in her previous life. The person's actions were just on the edge of being illegal but didn't actually violate any laws. If she were to call the police now, she wouldn't be able to do much to him.

This further increased Shu Yanyan's worries.

"Stay calm!" she encouraged herself. "Yunmiao has Guan Guan by her side. She'll definitely be fine. As for me... I always use public transportation when I go out. As long as I'm careful, I'm not really afraid of what he might do!"

Having reassured herself of this, Shu Yanyan managed to calm down a bit.

She quickly pushed the incident with Ke Qiang to the back of her mind because a few days later, the weekend arrived, and the amusement park event proceeded as planned.

In addition to Chu Yu, Yunmiao had also invited her friend, Fang Tian Tian.

Although Fang Suqing was busy, she still had a video call with Shu Yanyan, promising to bring her daughter Tian Tian to the gathering.

After ending the video call, Shu Yanyan returned to the kitchen to continue preparing the small desserts she would sell at the amusement park, completely unaware of what was about to happen at the event.

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