The doctor suffers from amnesia, but not complete amnesia.

"Let's go, I think Wei Yanwu is still awake—we need to get these dishes to his residence quickly, lest they get cold on the way."

Qiao Yelan didn't care whether Wei Yanwu was asleep or not.

Even if you're asleep, you still have to get out of bed to greet yourself.

So when Qiao Yelan arrived at the Longmen Governor's Mansion, he saw Wei Yanwu, who had an ethereal air about him.

"Why are you here in the middle of the night, instead of sleeping or going home?"

Wei Yanwu glared at Qiao Yelan with annoyance.

"I'd like to invite you to have dinner together."

Qiao Yelan said with a smile.

Wei Yanwu: ?

"Look, I know you can't go back to your hometown or your old house during the Spring Festival, and you can't eat the flavors you miss. You must be very sad. So I specially brought these for you."

Qiao Yelan clapped his hands, and the waiters, carrying food boxes, began to serve the dishes in order.

Wei Yanwu was initially confused by Qiao Yelan's words, but when he saw the food box, he tensed up.

He was very familiar with this thing.

What hometown, what old house—hometown is the capital, and old house is the imperial palace, right!

One dish after another was taken out of the food box, and Wei Yanwu knew the name of each dish without the waiter announcing it.

The sixth path.

The seventh course—

The eighth course...

Wei Yanwu suddenly looked at the ninth food box with some fear.

According to the ritual system of the Great Yan Dynasty, offerings to ancestors consisted of ten dishes. When the emperor held a grand banquet for his officials, only the emperor himself received nine dishes, and the number of dishes decreased accordingly based on his status and rank.

If Wei Yanwu had stepped down normally and gained the title of prince, he would have been able to enjoy eight courses. However, now that he is the Duke of Wei, if he were to attend a banquet, he could only eat seven courses—so when he saw the eighth course, he already felt something was wrong.

There's even a ninth one now...

Generally speaking, besides the emperor, only one person in the Great Yan Dynasty was worthy of serving the same nine dishes as the emperor—the old Celestial Master who had been presiding over the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion for hundreds of years.

If others receive the ninth dish, it's essentially like the emperor telling you—

You should start writing your will.

Then he saw the food box placed in front of Qiao Yelan.

The man opened the food box himself and took out the dishes inside.

"What are you looking at? Is this for me, or do you want to try some too?"

Qiao Yelan raised her eyelids slightly.

Wei Yanwu looked at the dish and fell silent.

That dish was indeed not the ninth dish, but rather one of the regular New Year's dishes bestowed upon the imperial palace.

The problem is that when the emperor bestows New Year's dishes, they are either important officials in the court, so important that even if they are unhappy, they still have to be given dishes—for example, that old vegetable dish from the Si Sui Tai that both Wei Yanwu and the emperor were very unhappy with.

Or perhaps this minister is truly favored by His Majesty, and is thus bestowed with food as a sign of imperial favor.

Aside from the emperor's likes and dislikes, another strict requirement was that the person receiving the dish could not have a noble rank lower than that of a marquis, or a grade lower than that of a third-rank official.

Wei Yanwu was absolutely certain that when he left the capital, Qiao Yelan did not hold any official title or noble rank. In the following years, he never saw Qiao Yelan again, and the only person he contacted was a Philin named Kalshi.

In other words, Qiao Yelan, who was still a commoner when he set off from Longmen last month, obtained at least a third-rank official position or a township marquis in just one month.

Considering the distance between the capital and Longmen, in other words, the emperor even allowed him to leave the capital ahead of time with the bestowed dishes—just how much did the emperor value him?

So these eight dishes...

"What is the imperial decree?"

Wei Yanwu suddenly asked.

"What decree? You mean His Majesty's decree to bestow the dishes?"

Qiao Yelan picked up her chopsticks, somewhat puzzled.

"This dish was bestowed upon me, not you. Why do you need to see the imperial edict?"

Alright, it's confirmed. These eight courses of royal cuisine weren't even meant for me by the emperor, but for the person opposite me—because I'm only fit to eat seven.

"Try it, it's the kind of food you make back home."

Qiao Yelan warmly greeted Wei Yanwu, and he himself was indeed a little hungry, so he ate quite happily.

Wei Yanwu also picked up his chopsticks and took a taste.

It does look familiar.

He put down his chopsticks and stared at Qiao Yelan.

"how did you do it?"

"How did I do that? Lord Wei, are you sure this is the question you want to ask?"

Qiao Yelan's voice carried a hint of mockery.

Wei Yanwu looked at Qiao Yelan, and finally lowered his gaze.

"Have you reached an agreement with His Majesty regarding the Lungmen Dollars?"

“On the fifteenth of the first month, I will return to the capital again. By then, this matter will be settled. The Imperial Household Department will liaise with you, but the Longmen Coin is a currency issued solely by you, Wei Yanwu, and has nothing to do with the Imperial Household Department. Do you understand?”

"I understand. The Great Yan will only allow the exchange of Lungmen Dollars and Silver Notes, but it will restrict the circulation of Lungmen Dollars. Other than that, it will not provide any support, right?"

Qiao Yelan nodded. This was the advantage of choosing Wei Yanwu for this position—if it were Kosic, he would probably still be babbling to himself right now.

"At that time, you will take the lead, and the Babel Tower and Swire families will respond to you and agree that all trade in all areas west of Lungmen can be conducted in Lungmen currency, with the value standard anchored to red gold—this will also facilitate exchange with other countries' currencies."

"Besides the Great Yan, what other country would respond?"

"The twin queens of Letania will respond, and the trade route from Lungmen to Vidonia—now called Triinttelme, the capital of Letania—will be given priority."

Wei Yanwu was a little puzzled. It wasn't enough to just make a trade route passable; there had to be several large transit points along the route, the kind that could provide a large amount of supplies for transit caravans, at least at the level of a town.

"This is a bit difficult, isn't it? Whether it's Lungmen or Trinity, we don't currently have enough power and resources to extend beyond the mobile cities and build these transit points."

“We didn’t ask you to build it; Babel will take full responsibility for these matters—but it will definitely be registered under your name.”

Qiao Yelan waved his hand.

"how long?"

"Once the Lungmen coin approval is granted, that's fine."

?

What do you mean?

Wei Yanwu's hand trembled slightly.

"You've already finished building it?"

He asked incredulously.

"Do you think I've been focusing the Tower of Babel on Kazdel all these years just for fun?"

Qiao Yelan countered with a question.

The Tower of Babel never makes a losing deal.

Theresa and Theresis have always been puzzled by Qiao Yelan's attitude and behavior towards Babel.

Kazdel, which was almost destitute, had no value whatsoever to attract the Tower of Babel, but Joe Yelan came anyway, bringing agricultural technology and industrial equipment, and worked hard to transform the originally barren Kazdel region into an agricultural area and industrial park.

Theresa was therefore filled with gratitude towards Qiao Yelan, and even though Theresa believed that Qiao Yelan had ulterior motives, she actually maintained a tacit and even proactive attitude in the face of such strong and visible support.

If Theresa hadn't been chosen by the Demon King's Crown and then put the crown on herself, he wouldn't have been forced to step in, break ties with Kal'tsit, and try to control the Tower of Babel to use the technology to forcibly destroy the Black Crown.

So the fact is, thanks to the Kazdel Rural Revitalization Plan, and with the gratitude and respect of the Sarkaz people led by Theresis and Theresia, Babel has quietly completed the preparations for the trade route.

Flat terrain, which is best suited for trading, is also, in other words, the best plains for farming.

Several small towns, born from agricultural areas, are scattered along what Babel Tower had previously calculated to be the most efficient transport route connecting the Great Flame Dragon Gate to the City of Radiant Hoof in Letania.

Agriculture provided ample supplies, while the construction of industrial parks brought about by the Tower of Babel made it possible to maintain and procure the caravan's machinery and equipment.

With ample supplies, mechanical equipment maintenance capabilities, accommodation and catering services, and even basic infrastructure construction—even if it involves a longer route, all caravan leaders know which way to go.

Even if Theresis discovered Babel's true intentions after the trade routes were opened, it would be meaningless, because he had no reason to oppose them, nor could he oppose them—because the Sarkaz had already benefited.

Before the trade route was opened, the Sarkaz were already extremely grateful for the help of the Tower of Babel. After the trade route was opened, would they still hate the Tower of Babel for the caravan traffic brought by the Tower of Babel's role in facilitating the trade?

The only thing to worry about in this process is that Theresis will see through Babel's attempt to "buy" the hearts of the Sarkaz and then pull the rug out from under them, taking the fruits of their labor.

Qiao Yelan saw the problem, and the solution was simple—Babel Tower had always been operating under the guise of being Theresia's subordinates.

The peaches are for your sister, not mine. If you try to take them, you're taking what belongs to your sister.

How do you say "拿捏" (ná niē)?

That's why Qiao Yelan was so lenient with Theresa's behavior before, knowing that she might wear the crown and disrupt his plans, yet he was willing to tolerate this behavior that was almost a betrayal.