Rumors stop with the wise.

Reality is not like this. The vast majority of people aren’t unwise, but rather the allure of rumors and gossip is too powerful. People are manipulated and controlled by rumors, and furthermore, they add fuel to the fire. They don’t use wisdom to resist rumors, but instead use wisdom to find “details” that match their imagination to supplement and “correctly” interpret rumors, making them more realistic and taking pleasure in it—see, I guessed correctly.

Creating and spreading rumors has been one of the people’s indispensable pleasures since ancient times.

Thus, actual events and people’s powerful gossiping imagination combine, constantly adding “substance” to them. Rumors become more true the more they spread, like a snowball. When the rumor rolls into a mountain, people believe that’s the mountain.

The relationships between Wei Caiwei and Lu Ying, Wang Daxia, after being processed and supplemented with details layer by layer, transformed from a rumor full of holes into a fragrant/scandalous “secret story” of high officials’ sons falling at the feet of a flirtatious pretty widow, known to everyone.

After all, a chaste widow isn’t surprising—people aren’t interested in that. Upon hearing of a flirtatious widow, they immediately become excited.

Moreover, Wei Caiwei’s fainting on Dragon Boat Festival, Lu Ying carrying her into the military tent, lavishly spending on ice buckets, the young widow’s mysterious disappearance for a month, her being recommended by Lu Bing to pass the palace physician examination, Lu Ying never seeking out the young widow again, and Wang Yanei running to the widow’s house almost daily—all these were undeniable facts.

From a “logical” perspective, the rumors were more true than the truth.

And Ding Wu, relying on living off his sworn sister’s support, returned from the harsh land of Tieling to the capital—who would be willing to go back? He’d rather abandon the dignity and face of a high official’s son to engage in merchant activities despised by nobles, opening a shop to make money, becoming a nail household in the capital—absolutely refusing to return to Tieling.

The owner of Wanhuo Trading Company was called Zhao Quan, who was actually the White Lotus sect leader.

Sect Leader Zhao listened to his subordinate’s account of Ding Wu’s background, his eyes showing contempt. “You see, I was right, wasn’t I? Are kings, lords, generals, and ministers born with nobility? What high officials, what court—they’re all paper tigers, no different from us common people. They all need to eat. When they’re well-fed, they lecture us about propriety, righteousness, integrity, shame, loyalty, filial piety, chastity, and righteousness to control us and make us work like oxen and horses for them. Bah! If these court officials were hungry every day and oppressed by the court, would they still pledge allegiance to the Ming Dynasty?”

The subordinate smiled obsequiously. “The sect leader is right. The former War Minister’s son couldn’t endure in that harsh land, couldn’t get enough to eat—no different from us. They all have to swallow their pride to do business. Ding Wu even relies on a woman for food, and this subordinate sees he eats quite contentedly, shameless. A bunch of sanctimonious people curse us as Ming traitors, selling out the country and harming the people—that’s because they’ve never been hungry.”

Sect Leader Zhao opened the gift Ding Wu had sent. It was wrapped quite nicely, but inside were just common Beijing peach pastries. He picked up a piece and took a bite. It was crispy and crumbly, almost melting in his mouth, sweet but not cloying—actually better than those sold in the market.

This gift was quite thoughtful. Practical, inexpensive, yet attention-grabbing. Ding Wu really was a clever businessman.

Sect Leader Zhao was very satisfied. After finishing the peach pastry, his beard was covered with crumbs. He picked up a small ivory comb to clean the crumbs from his beard and said:

“If the Ming court’s food and An Da Khan’s food were placed before us, which is clean and which is dirty? They’re actually the same food. Naturally, whoever can let us eat our fill is who we’ll serve loyally. Those blindly loyal people spit and curse us as Ming traitors, but if An Da Khan’s food were really placed before them, I guarantee they’d pick up their bowls and eat faster than us. They speak of benevolence and righteousness, but in their hearts are male thieves and female prostitutes.”

The subordinate offered advice: “Why don’t we recruit Ding Wu too? If he could submit to the Great Khan, it would surely slap the Ming Dynasty’s face hard, and we’d achieve great merit with the Great Khan. The Great Khan would surely reward us handsomely.”

The peach pastry was so delicious that after Sect Leader Zhao finished combing his beard, he couldn’t resist picking up another piece to continue eating. This time he took a tea towel to shield his chin, eating while speaking:

“Don’t rush. Let’s observe first, test him out. Ding Wu’s father Ding Rukui was sentenced to death years ago but still hasn’t died. I estimate Ding Wu hasn’t completely given up on the Ming Dynasty. If the Ming Dynasty kills his father, he might submit to the Great Khan.”

Sweet Water Lane.

The peach pastries were baked by Ding Wu himself, so naturally they tasted different.

Because preparing various medicinal tablets sometimes required baking medicinal materials, after Ding Wu came to the capital to live with Banxia, he built a steamed-bun-shaped oven in the courtyard using mud and bricks.

Previously in Tieling, Ding Wu would recall various delicious foods from the capital. Generally, people’s homesickness is mostly missing the food of their hometown.

Ding Wu had no aptitude for martial arts or medicine, but his culinary skills were self-taught. Tieling was a place of exile and military settlements where many things couldn’t be bought even with money, so Ding Wu figured out how to make food himself, constantly improving recipes. The meals and pastries he made were sometimes better than professional cooks’.

Peach pastries were Ding Wu’s specialty. His secret was being more generous with oil and fine white sugar than pastry shops.

Since ancient times, high sugar and high fat have been shortcuts to delicious food.

Additionally, Ding Wu would slowly cook milk over low heat, refining butter to knead into the dough. The baked peach pastries were crispy and delicate, not dry at all. With one bite, the crumbs seemed to melt in your mouth.

Ding Wu removed the charcoal from the oven, then pushed in the iron tray with peach pastry dough, sealed the oven mouth with mud, and used the internal high temperature for baking.

Wei Caiwei stood on a ladder against the wall, excitedly lowering her voice: “They’re coming! That cousin called Duos is really coming to repay the money!”

All humans enjoy gossip, and the gentlemanly Ding Wu was no exception.

With only one ladder, Ding Wu crouched by the back door, peeking through the crack to watch the excitement.

Duos, wearing the gold collar, rode a black steed past the gate, followed by two people carrying gifts.

Duos dismounted and knocked on the Wang family’s main gate.

Wang Yanei had gone to the Jinyiwei office for roll call early in the morning and wasn’t home, but Wang Qianhu had patrolled at night and was resting at home during the day. The steward woke him, saying a foreigner had come to repay money—a full two thousand taels!

Wang Qianhu quickly got up to receive the guest. Duos explained his purpose, presenting gifts and money—a stack of bank notes from Santong Bank. “…Thank you, Young Master Wang, for your righteous rescue.”

Wang Qianhu had just been cheated of four thousand taels by his ex-wife’s family and had witnessed human cruelty. Now with Duos repaying money on behalf of his fiancée, it immediately became a world with true feelings and true love again.

Duos sat briefly before taking his leave. Though dressed as a foreigner, he was familiar with Han etiquette, spoke properly, and appeared grateful but not humble before Wang Qianhu—clearly a well-educated person.

Wang Qianhu treated him with courtesy and personally saw Duos to the door.

Wei Caiwei, perched on the wall, said: “They’re leaving! Wang Qianhu personally saw him off with a smile on his face. Looks like the money was really repaid.”

Ding Wu was making lunch—today’s meal was again the Tieling specialty of iron pot stewed goose. Busy cutting the goose, he had no time to peek through door cracks and said: “Duos repaying money isn’t repaying you. Why are you more anxious than Wang Daxia?”

Because I want to confirm that Wang Daxia wasn’t betrayed by anyone in his previous life.

Wei Caiwei finally came down from the ladder. “I just want to see good people get good rewards and evil people get punished. Good people shouldn’t be let down.”

Water was boiling in the iron pot.

Ding Wu put the cut goose into a large tin vessel shaped like a drum, added scallions, ginger, spices, cooking wine, soy sauce, salt, peppercorns, and yellow bean sauce—not adding a drop of water—then tightly screwed on the round lid of the tin drum and placed it in the iron pot of hot water, stuffing a thick log into the furnace.

The tin drum was airtight, and after continuous heating, it worked like a pressure cooker of later times. One log could easily cook the hard-to-prepare goose meat until tender.

One goose was equivalent to two chickens. Ding Wu deliberately saved half for Wang Daxia in the evening, eating half a stewed goose with Caiwei.

After lunch, Ding Wu had to go to Toutiao Alley to supervise the shop renovation. Before leaving, he specifically instructed Wei Caiwei: “Banxia, remember to take the peach pastries out of the oven in half an hour. After they cool, wrap them properly with dry lotus leaves and oil paper. Tonight, have Wang Daxia take them to Commander Lu tomorrow.”

Wei Caiwei cleared the dishes, laughing: “I want to eat Brother Ding’s peach pastries too.”

Ding Wu said: “I made two trays. The other tray is for you. When Wang Daxia comes tonight, don’t bring them all out to entertain him—he’ll eat them all by himself. I’ve been very busy lately and finally found time to bake. Making these is troublesome, so I don’t know when I’ll bake again.”

Ding Wu really understood Wang Daxia too well.

Wei Caiwei nodded. “I understand, I’ll eat them sparingly. Be careful when you go out on business.”

After Ding Wu left Sweet Water Lane, he immediately put on the face of a mercenary businessman, bought a watermelon to bring to the Toutiao Alley shop, and shared it with the craftsmen painting and whitewashing walls: “Come, everyone rest a bit and eat watermelon!”

The paint tools piled in the shop were unguarded, but a Shandong Greyhound was tied at the door to watch over things. No one dared go in to steal, much less to eavesdrop.

The craftsmen went to the inner room to eat melon and rest, but actually to report today’s surveillance results.

They were all Jinyiwei secret agents.

“Today when a cart of goods was delivered to Wanhuo Trading Company, the greyhound was very agitated, barking at the cart continuously, as if there was something inside, but we can’t confirm if it’s gunpowder.”

Ding Wu was responsible for recording, his brush flying like a dragon.

Another agent said: “The soil here is relatively soft, easy to dig tunnels, but tunnels also collapse easily and need wooden reinforcement.”

Ding Wu picked up a ruler to draw diagrams, calculating the earth volume needed to dig to the neighbor’s underground warehouse, and made complex calculations. In a day and a half, they’d dug ten cartloads of earth. “At the current speed, we can dig to the other party’s basement in ten days.”

“Gunpowder gets damp easily. If there really are such things, the walls must use lime and green bricks to block moisture. We should prepare these in advance. If we accidentally break through, we can patch up the wall to prevent the other party from discovering.”

The agent painting at the door said: “This morning, I saw the former courtesan Miss Yingying enter the trading company, accompanied by a foreigner with small braids all over his head and a gold collar. Looking at his bearing, he doesn’t seem like a nouveau riche. The owner Zhao personally received them at the shop entrance, seeming quite familiar with these two people.”

Ding Wu continued recording and said: “The gold-collar foreigner is called Duos, Jin Ying’s fiancé. Jin Ying was formerly a courtesan and should have frequently patronized Wanhuo Trading Company as a major customer, hence the shop owner’s personal reception.”

The agent said: “Next to Boss Zhao was a manager with a big beard. I always feel he looks familiar, as if I’ve seen him somewhere.”

Ding Wu recorded everything, to be taken to the Jinyiwei office by the agents after work ended to hand over to Lu Ying.

In the evening, Wang Daxia came to mooch dinner without suspense. Wei Caiwei told him about Duos repaying the money. Wang Daxia calmly ate goose: “Repaying money just helps patch the big hole my former stepmother created at home. I won’t see the silver anyway, whatever.”

After dinner, Wei Caiwei brought out the peach pastries. She initially brought out only half, but seeing him eat happily and still wanting more, she couldn’t resist giving him the other half too.

The next day, Wang Daxia gave the wrapped peach pastries to Lu Ying. When he returned in the evening, he said Commander Lu liked them very much, gave half to Master Lu, and finished them that day.

Hearing this, Ding Wu lit the charcoal in the oven again and stayed up until midnight baking a fresh tray of peach pastries.

Wei Caiwei was “awakened” by the aroma in the middle of the night. Seeing Ding Wu busy in the courtyard, she thought: Yesterday you said you were too busy lately to have time to make them, and didn’t know when you’d bake again. How did you suddenly go back on your word?

Could it be… a bold guess appeared in Caiwei’s mind.

Author’s Note: Little thoughts discovered by Sister Banxia~