He approached the front of the mansion and said to a colleague, "Keep watch; I’m going to report back to the princess."

In the study of the bewitching king, Feng Xuxu was looking at how much land each Prefecture Government owned when she heard the butler report that a youth was looking for her outside the mansion. Frowning, she thought for a long time but couldn’t remember who it could be.

"Princess, could it be the youth who was accused of being a thief?" Yingsu reminded from the side.

Reminded by Yingsu, she indeed recalled such an incident, and the memory of that stubborn youth brought to mind the three-year agreement they had.

"Hmm, lead him to the pavilion in the garden courtyard."

"Yes, princess," Yingsu turned and left the study.

She put down the materials in her hand, stood up to straighten her clothes, and opened the door of the study to walk towards the garden. Zhu Lengqing and Lan Lengyun, who were guarding the door, quickly followed the princess.

When they arrived at the pavilion, Baihe served up a pot of freshly brewed flower tea. Just as she was about to savor it, she caught sight, out of the corner of her eye, of Yingsu leading a refined youth in a Crescent White Robe.

She took a small sip of the flower tea; its fragrance filled her mouth, greatly relaxing her spirit. Even the flowers from the space had the effect of rejuvenating the spirit. If she used Space Spiritual Spring Water to dilute and water the flowers outside the space, would they have the same effect? She needed to ponder this carefully. She could start with a test. If it proved successful, she would have another way to make money, which considerably brightened her mood.

Yingsu approached the princess, bowed, and said, "Princess, I have brought the person."

Feng Xuxu looked at the white-robed youth outside the pavilion, who still had the same stubborn expression.

"Are your wounds completely healed?" she asked the youth outside the pavilion, setting down her teacup.

"They are."

"What can you do?" She leaned an arm on the cool table, letting one hand dangle while resting the other arm on her thigh, absently twiddling her fingers in circles as she seemingly casually questioned the person outside the pavilion.

"Our family earns its livelihood through tea picking, making, and selling. I learned by stealth, secretly practicing with the master since childhood, and now I’ve mastered the art formidably," the youth replied, speaking determinedly to the person in the seat of honor.

"You wish to stick with your old trade, to confront your father," she said, eyebrows raised, looking at the person at the lower seat with interest.

"I plan to utterly ruin him." Recalling the heartless and cold personage of the youth’s father, the young man’s eyes blazed with a fire, wishing to reduce him to ashes.

"What’s your name?"

"Replying to the princess, my name is Sun Xiangjie."

"Do you know how to plant tea trees?" This coincided somewhat with her own plans. She could make further adjustments later, adding some new varieties of tea, which might yield unexpected outcomes.

"I’m somewhat aware. I read about it in unofficial histories, but I’ve never actually cultivated them." Suitable land for tea plantation wasn’t something one could simply find anywhere. Weather, humidity, rainfall, and soil conditions all demanded stringent criteria. Sun Xiangjie’s father, Sun Xiao, once intended to expand the tea garden but couldn’t find any land suitable for planting tea trees after searching far and wide, thus he ultimately gave up the idea.

"Hmm, go back to Xuanyuan Mansion for now. After I find a suitable place, I’ll inform you. In the meantime, you should thoroughly study the planting of tea trees. If there’s anything you need, come to see the princess."

"Yes." He turned around and left the mansion with Yingsu.

After sending Sun Xiangjie off, Feng Xuxu stayed in the pavilion for a while longer, then lifted her eyes to the sky outside, thinking it wasn’t early anymore. She hadn’t cooked for a long time and, on a whim, went down to the kitchen to personally prepare a few dishes for Dugu Chen.

Looking at her handiwork on the dining table, she smiled contentedly, then turned to go clean off the grease that had covered her.