Chapter 117: No Ghosts or Spirits
Many of the young ladies nearby, who had been pushing forward to get closer to Lin Miaomiao, treated her with little kindness. But once they heard her speak, they instantly recognized who she was.
Seeing this, Lin Miaomiao entered through the staff passage, where Li Yanhe and the Fourth Prince, Li Deren, were seated on a bench outside.
Upon stepping inside, Lin Miaomiao observed the bustling crowd and noticed that the original pearl milk tea and plain milk tea were among the best-sellers.
As she watched the customers ordering cakes, Lin Miaomiao scanned the room and found that the cakes were flying off the shelves; there was hardly a single cake left unsold.
The prices she set varied—some were inexpensive, while others were pricier. Even the cheaper cakes, like the plain yogurt cake, were quickly bought up.
While pondering this, Lin Miaomiao emerged from the staff passage. The young lady in the pale yellow dress who had been nearby hurried over and asked eagerly, “Princess, is our little shop going to launch a new product?”
Lin Miaomiao smiled and nodded, “We release new products every quarter; this quarter will be no exception.”
Upon hearing this, several young ladies accompanied by their maidservants nearby brightened with joy. After speaking, Lin Miaomiao exchanged a glance with Li Yanhe.
Li Yanhe rose and left, and, being no fool, the Fourth Prince Li Deren stood and followed Lin Miaomiao and Li Yanhe as they departed.
As they walked away, Lin Miaomiao spoke thoughtfully to Li Yanhe, “Do you think we should expand this shop?”
Li Yanhe nodded after hearing her, “There were indeed many customers today; expansion is certainly warranted.”
Lin Miaomiao agreed, “Let's find a new location in the next few days and redecorate it. When the new shop opens, we can launch the new products immediately.”
“And then we’ll implement a membership system, offering all members half-price on new products.”
Although Li Yanhe wasn’t entirely sure what Lin Miaomiao meant, he suddenly recalled how she once nearly set the kitchen on fire while experimenting with desserts.
He glanced at her with a puzzled look and asked, “The kitchen in the manor is just one—should we set up a separate kitchen for you?”
Lin Miaomiao shook her head, “No need. This time, I plan to make ice cream, which doesn’t require a kitchen.”
Relieved, Li Yanhe exhaled softly. Seeing this, Lin Miaomiao laughed and teased, “You’re not that stingy, are you? Afraid I’ll burn down your kitchen?”
Li Yanhe smiled charmingly and shook his head, “Not really. I’m just worried you might burn down the entire manor. Then the rumors outside would say that the future consort of Prince Shengxuan is a crude person who set the manor ablaze.”
Lin Miaomiao was momentarily speechless. What could she do? Li Yanhe was joking so seriously—was that really appropriate?
She glanced at him and asked, “Have you ever seen this plant?”
Pulling out a notebook and a pencil from beneath the carriage, Lin Miaomiao began to sketch swiftly.
After a moment, Li Yanhe said, “I’ve seen something like this before, but only in a travel journal. I don’t know much about it. Where does it come from?”
Frowning, Lin Miaomiao asked, “If you read about it, what did the book say?”
Li Yanhe thought for a moment and replied, “It said it wasn’t very tasty. The author followed fishermen from the sea to nearby small countries and encountered this fruit.”
Lin Miaomiao nodded without elaborating. She had been drawing cacao.
She recalled watching a documentary explaining how chocolate is made from cacao beans.
She considered making some chocolate herself, but cacao was extremely rare in this ancient society. Even if obtained, it would be costly.
Seeing Lin Miaomiao silent, Li Yanhe asked curiously, “What are you thinking about?”
“Nothing much,” she replied. “Just thinking about the new products and the shop. Nothing else.”
Li Yanhe pointed to the fruit and said, “What is this?”
Lin Miaomiao glanced at him and answered, “An ingredient for making desserts. But it’s troublesome to obtain, and it doesn’t keep well for long.”
Curious, Li Yanhe asked eagerly, “Could we grow this here?”
Lin Miaomiao shook her head, “No. The conditions required for its growth don’t exist here.”
He nodded thoughtfully and then asked, “So it grows across the sea?”
Amused by the inquisitive Li Yanhe, Lin Miaomiao smiled and said, “You know, sometimes what we imagine about this world is wrong.”
She picked up her pencil and began to draw a sphere in her notebook.
Li Yanhe pointed at the sketch and said, “What is this? It looks a bit like a cuju ball.”
Lin Miaomiao looked at him and asked, “How do you perceive the world? What shape do you think it is?”
Before Li Yanhe could answer, the silent Fourth Prince Li Deren spoke: “The sky is round, and the earth is square.”
Lin Miaomiao nodded, “Indeed, for thousands of years, people have believed that the heavens are round and the earth is square.”
She then drew the traditional “round sky, square earth” shape and showed it to Li Yanhe and the Fourth Prince.
They seemed to accept it without much thought, until Lin Miaomiao posed a question: “But have you ever wondered, what if that’s not true?”
Li Yanhe smiled knowingly and nodded, “If you say so, I guess it must not be ‘round sky, square earth.’”
Lin Miaomiao laughed lightly, “Why do you believe that so easily?”
Li Yanhe raised an eyebrow and exchanged a brief, playful glance with her.
Smiling, Lin Miaomiao shook her head and teased, “Shall I tell you a secret?”
Li Yanhe looked up eagerly, “What secret?”
Lin Miaomiao’s lips curved into a charming smile as she glanced at the Fourth Prince, “We’re good friends—don’t tell anyone, okay?”
Both Li Yanhe and Li Deren nodded in unison.
Lin Miaomiao smiled and said, “Actually, I’m not human. I’m a thousand-year-old fox spirit.”
Li Yanhe’s expression, once lively, instantly flattened.
The Fourth Prince Li Deren, unfamiliar with the tale of King Zhou of Shang and Daji that Lin Miaomiao referenced, was puzzled by her words.
He asked, “What do you mean by that?”
Lin Miaomiao smiled gracefully, “It means I’m not human. I can see things in this world that you cannot.”
Seeing her serious expression, Li Deren seemed to believe her somewhat and nodded, “What can you see?”
Lin Miaomiao licked her lips and said, “I can see a person standing behind you.”
Li Deren tensed up immediately and turned around—there was no one there.
Li Yanhe had long known Lin Miaomiao used this trick to scare her younger brothers, Lin Langluan and Lin Langze.
Those two boys were always fooled, each time treating their sister as a kind of divine being.
Li Deren glanced at Lin Miaomiao and said, “I am not afraid of ghosts or spirits.”
Lin Miaomiao nodded with a knowing smile. Suddenly, the carriage jolted to a stop. Li Deren clenched his fists and stared at the curtains.
Lin Miaomiao turned to Li Yanhe, smiling, “See? He’s scared, even though he pretends not to be.”
Li Yanhe smiled too, “Your trick really works. Everyone falls for it.”
Li Deren twitched at their words and asked, “A trick?”
Lin Miaomiao nodded, “There are no ghosts or spirits in this world. If there were, do you think humans would have ruled society for so long?”
“If there were a deity here, do you think humans would still be the ruling class?”
Li Deren nodded silently, saying nothing further.
Lin Miaomiao told him, “I once read a book that said the human heart is more terrifying than ghosts or spirits.”
“I always thought that was nonsense until I read another book that said sometimes human behavior is far more frightening than any supernatural force.”
“It’s not ghosts or gods who commit evil, but our own guilt and conscience.”
“To give you an example: Once, a group of brothers discovered a large treasure in a cave. At first, they had no murderous intent toward one another.”
“But when they realized they couldn’t carry all the treasure out, greed overtook them.”
“They looked upon the gold and silver without hesitation and took up their axes to kill their own brothers.”