Cloud sugar figurines like these were a common sight in Yun Shu's past life. But here in Tian Sheng, this was the first time she had ever seen one.
She wasn't entirely sure if it was just her imagination, but over the past two years, food, clothing, tools, and toys all seemed to have gained new variations and forms. The people who had once lived like NPCs, bound to routine and repetition, had slowly begun to learn the art of innovation.
Yun Shu curved her lips into a faint smile and strolled over with Yun Chuhuan, neither of them in any rush.
At that moment, an old man seated behind the stall was crafting a horse for a child no older than six or seven. He dipped a thin glass tube into a water bowl nearby, inserted one end into the sugar horse's belly, and gently guided the boy to blow into the other end.
The once flat, paper-thin belly of the horse ballooned into a plump, round shape, instantly earning gasps of wonder and cheers from the children gathered nearby.
A young girl passing by with her guardian stopped in her tracks, her eyes glued to the sugar sculpture as if enchanted.
The elder holding her hand paused for a moment, hesitated, then made up his mind and said warmly, "If my little Nuan Nuan likes it, then we'll buy one too."
"Really?" Her eyes sparkled with surprise, catching the light like tiny stars.
But the excitement faded almost instantly. The little girl bit her lip, then shook her head sensibly. "That's alright. Daddy said the money for sugar figures could buy several jin of rice. If I eat the sugar picture, then Mother, Daddy, Grandpa, and my little brother would all have to go hungry."
The old man seemed startled by her response. He blinked, then smiled as he gently patted her on the head. "Do you remember what that storyteller said when we passed by the teahouse earlier?"
"I do!" The girl nodded eagerly. "Her Highness the Crown Princess wrote in the Capital Weekly that today she would submit a memorial at morning court to ask His Majesty to abolish the head tax and switch to land-based taxation. And… and she also proposed building academies so that every child in Tian Sheng can go to school for free for three years!
Grandpa said it was wonderful news and told me to remember it well so I could tell Daddy and Mother when we get home. I remembered everything!"
"My Nuan Nuan is so clever." The old man beamed with pride, then crouched down to meet her gaze. "But our Crown Princess is clever too. In all these years, there's never been a single thing she wished to do that she could not accomplish.
If Her Highness says she wants to ease the burden on the people, then she will surely find a way. By next year, not only will we have new high-yield grain, we will also pay far less in taxes. With the money we save, buying you a sugar figure is certainly no issue at all."
"Wow!" The little girl gasped. "Her Highness is amazing!"
"She is indeed. So you must study hard when you go to school. One day, you might become Her Highness's little assistant. Wouldn't that be nice?"
"Yes!" she chirped in her soft, sweet voice.
Their warm exchange brought a gentle hush to the surrounding air. Just listening to the elder's affection and the child's joy made even strangers feel a little lighter.
Yun Chuhuan, standing nearby, had been listening with a slightly dazed expression. He elbowed Yun Shu lightly and whispered, "Fifth Sister… you really brought all that up at court today?"
"I did," Yun Shu replied, her smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, difficult to suppress after being praised so earnestly by such pure hearts.
"Did it go through?" he asked eagerly.
"Of course it did." Yun Shu cast him a sidelong glance and clicked her tongue in mild disdain. "You call yourself my younger brother, but even that little girl knew better. If I say I will get something done, it gets done."
"I was just double-checking," Yun Chuhuan muttered as he rubbed his nose, clearly trying to save face. "You had Capital Weekly publish the article even before anything had been finalized. That's confidence if I've ever seen it. With that kind of certainty, of course it was bound to succeed."
"This has little to do with confidence," Yun Shu replied with another soft scoff. "Capital Weekly and the Capital Daily both take a break over the New Year. But I wanted the common folk to hear the good news early, so they could enjoy the new year with peace of mind. It also serves to quash any mischief certain people might have planned during the holiday."
She paused, then added silently: that article also served as her safety net.
Though she was ninety-nine percent certain it wouldn't be necessary, just in case things didn't go smoothly at court this morning, the early publication would apply pressure on the ministers through public opinion.
…
Yun Chuhuan, of course, had no idea what kind of calculations she had made.
Realizing his attempts at saving face were getting nowhere, he shifted uncomfortably, hoping for a distraction.
Just then, a familiar figure appeared in his line of sight.
Yun Chuhuan's eyes lit up. "Fifth Sister, look, it's Cen…"
The last two syllables, "Yiyi," stuck in his throat the moment he saw Cen Yiyi crack a whip and send a man sprawling.
He instinctively edged closer to Yun Shu.
Yun Shu had already noticed the scene in the distance but didn't see her brother's subtle movement. Without hesitation, she strode forward to meet Cen Yiyi.
"Yiyi."
The whole distance was no more than twenty or thirty paces. By the time they reached her, Cen Yiyi had already retrieved her stolen coin pouch from the fallen thief.
When she spotted them, she smiled and greeted them brightly. "Fifth Young Lady, Sixth Young Master, what brings you here?"
"We just left Third Brother's residence and were wandering a bit. Happened to pass by," Yun Shu replied, then glanced at the man sprawled on the ground. "Caught a thief?"
"Indeed. With New Year's Eve so near, it seems these lowlifes are scrambling to make one last score before the year ends," Cen Yiyi said with a snort. When she saw the thief still twitching, she promptly gave him another solid kick.
"This fool had the gall to steal from me. He deserves everything he got. Frankly, he should be thankful this is the capital. If we were near a military camp, he'd be black and blue by now."
Yun Shu blinked, momentarily speechless.
Yun Chuhuan flinched. His eyes widened, and he instinctively took another cautious step toward Yun Shu. Unfortunately, he failed to notice the thief's hand stretching out near his feet.
He tripped.
"Ah—!"
No one had expected Yun Chuhuan to suddenly collapse without warning.
Yun Shu reached out instinctively to catch him, but before she could even get close, a figure in pale yellow darted in front of her.
In the next breath, Yun Chuhuan had landed squarely in Cen Yiyi's arms.
===
LOL, this was the opposite in the original story.