Opening a Tavern in the Tang Dynasty

Lord Zhang, his face filled with worry, stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, what should we do? The envoy from the Western Regions is so arrogant, openly declaring war and making such outrageous statements. This is truly excessive!"

Li Shimin's face was solemn, his eyes narrowed slightly, his hand gently stroking the armrest of the chair, and he said in a deep voice: "Humph, the small Western Regions dares to provoke like this."

"Let me think about this. This matter requires careful consideration. We must let them know that the majesty of the Tang Dynasty cannot be offended, and we must also make thorough plans to prevent them from committing any illegal acts."

There was a sudden silence in the court, and all the ministers held their breath, waiting for Li Shimin's decision.

Li Shimin looked at his ministers and said, "Li Jing! The Western Regions and the Tang Dynasty are preparing for war. Go and prepare."

Li Jing quickly knelt and replied, "Your Majesty, rest assured. I will immediately arrange all military affairs. I will go all out and prepare for battle. I will not allow those scoundrels from the Western Regions to succeed!"

Cheng Yaojin was furious when he heard this. He stepped forward and shouted, "What about me? Your Majesty, I, Old Cheng, also want to fight in the battlefield. How can you let me stay here?"

Li Shimin looked serious and waved his hand, saying, "Don't worry, Mr. Cheng. I have other considerations for this arrangement. Please stay here for now."

"The Imperial Palace also needs capable guards. I trust you. When the opportunity arises, I will let you fight in the battle."

Although Cheng Yaojin was filled with resentment, he could only respond, "Okay, since your Majesty has commanded me to do so, I, Old Cheng, will obey your Majesty."

Li Shimin looked around at the ministers and said solemnly: "Don't go back to your homes these days. Stay in the palace. It will be convenient for discussing the war."

"Secondly, the Imperial Palace also requires your joint protection to prevent the envoy from the Western Regions from secretly doing harm on his way back. Everyone must be vigilant at all times!"

The ministers responded in unison: "As your Majesty commands!" and then took action.

Li Jing hurried to the military camp, and a group of soldiers rushed forward to greet him.

A general asked in confusion, "General, what's the matter? Why are you rushing here in such a hurry? Is there some urgent military information?"

Li Jing's face was solemn as he shouted, "Prepare, prepare! The envoy from the Western Regions openly declared war on the Tang Dynasty in the court today."

"Your Majesty has ordered us to immediately prepare our armies for battle. Do not slack off! Those bandits from the Western Regions are attempting to invade the Tang Dynasty. We cannot allow them to succeed!"

Upon hearing this, the officers and soldiers suddenly became serious and shouted in unison: "Follow the general's order! We must ensure that the invading enemy from the Western Regions will not return!"

Then they all got busy, starting to check weapons, food and reorganize the troops.

At the Cheng Mansion, Hua Da Jiao waited and waited for Cheng Yaojin to come back, but he didn't see any, and she was worried.

She kept muttering anxiously, "Why hasn't Cheng Yaojin come back yet? It's already so late. He should have been home by now. Could something have happened?"

"Hmph, if I knew what trouble he got into outside, I would skin him alive!" After saying that, he paced back and forth in the room.

Fucai came over and said, "Master Cheng won't be back these days. He'll stay in the court."

Hua Da Jiao was startled: "What's the matter? But the emperor..."

Fucai waved his hand: "No, it's the envoys from the Western Regions who declared war on the Tang Dynasty and are preparing for war."

When Hua Da Jiao heard this, her eyes widened and she asked anxiously, "What? Cheng Yaojin hasn't returned these past few days and is staying in the imperial court? What's going on?! An envoy from the Western Regions, and a war?"

"How can that be? Old Cheng can't afford to have any mishaps. Humph, what right does that guy from the Western Regions have to provoke our Tang Dynasty and even dare to fight? Do they really think our Tang Dynasty is easy to bully?"

As he spoke, Hua Dajiao unconsciously clenched his fists, his face filled with worry and a hint of anger: "How dare a mere Western Regions person do this?"

On the other side, Yu Yu's family in the tavern didn't know that the Tang Dynasty was going to war.

Yu Yu opened her eyes wide and looked at the watermelon and freshly cooked green plum soup on the table.

She swallowed and said, "Are these watermelons and green plums for sale? They look so tempting."

Xiaoyu smiled and waved her hands: "Don't worry, we won't sell them. We'll keep them for ourselves to eat and even give to the emperor."

"Your Majesty has given us a lot of rewards a few days ago, so we should return the favor."

Li Hao also nodded and said, "Yes, watermelon and green plum soup are the best way to cool down in these hot weather. We must save some and send it to His Majesty."

Yuyu took a bite of the watermelon, feeling the coolness that penetrated her heart, her eyes lit up and she said, "It's much cooler after the ice cubes are made.

Xiaoyu nodded: "Yes... yes, with the ice we can make popsicles. They will definitely be popular in this hot weather."

Li Hao gulped down a mouthful of green plum soup: "Popsicles, what a good idea!"

Xiaoyu went to get saltpeter: "Yuyu, go to the space and get some materials."

"Okay!" Yu Yu responded, and soon all the ingredients were ready.

She looked at the ingredients and said, "Okay, let's make popsicles."

Yuyu looked at the pile of prepared ingredients in front of her and said, "Haha, in a little while I can make all kinds of fruit-flavored popsicles. They're sure to be cool and delicious!"

Li Hao nodded: "Yes, give the emperor some when he comes."

Xiaoyu stood up and said, "Yuyu, you stay here and make the popsicles. I'll go cook. Lihao, you come too. The diners are still waiting. We can't let them wait too long."

Yuyu nodded quickly: "Okay, okay, you go ahead and do your work, I'll concentrate on making popsicles"

When the popsicles were finally made, she went to the kitchen with them.

Yuyu chatted with Xiaoyu who was cooking, "Mom, this is the most classic mung bean popsicle, full of the fresh aroma of mung beans!"

"Also, this one has a milky flavor, and it has a rich, milky aroma."

"This is the original popsicle, a simple and pure icy taste.

"This is the regular sweet one. It's sweet and refreshing."

“And it comes in a variety of colors. It’s beautiful and delicious. Diners will definitely love it!”

As she spoke, her face was full of anticipation, and she continued to carefully fiddle with the freshly made popsicles: "Hahahaha"

Xiaoyu put down the spatula and said, "Li Hao, take the dishes out."

She nudged Yuyu slightly and said, "Go outside and talk to the diners about this popsicle."

Yuyu walked out happily: "Okay"

“Quiet, quiet”

Diners are confused: "What's going on?"

Yuyu pointed to a basket of popsicles beside her and said, "This is what we have just released. These are the new popsicles from our pub..."

One diner's eyes lit up: "Wow, popsicles? I've never seen anything like this before. Are they really as delicious as you say?"

A little kid next to him was pulling at the edge of his clothes, yelling, "Daddy, I want to eat it. I want to eat the colorful one."

The person next to him smiled and nodded: "Okay, I'll buy you one to try."

Another young, scholar-looking customer remarked, "How are these popsicles made? There are so many flavors, it's amazing."

An old man stroked his beard and said, "I wonder if this new thing suits my taste. How about the mung bean flavored one? I'd like to try it."

"Milk flavor, milk-flavored popsicles sound soft..."