After a peaceful winter, the pale red imperial army swept in again, and the atmosphere in Hopeland became increasingly tense.
There are countless white-sailed ships in the harbor, some carrying various war supplies and food, and some carrying some residents and valuables to other places.
In the harbor where seagulls circled and screamed, dense crowds of people stood on the docks. Many horse-drawn carriages dragged newly unloaded wooden boxes to the military camps in the city and the outlying garrison. There was a busy and shouting scene everywhere.
In a small cafe not far from the pier, two people who were about to part ways were sitting.
"Letis, this is your reward for the past few months." An aunt put a bag full of gold coins on the table.
"This...maybe is too much." Letis looked at the owner of the clothing store in front of her, a little surprised.
"No, Letis." The aunt looked at the beautiful girl in front of her and shook her head slightly.
"At the beginning of the year, you helped the store get a sewing machine, which made the production of coats countless times faster. Later, the store even hired a dozen people to make them together, and the batch of furs was quickly used up."
"Taking advantage of the cold weather, I made a lot of money this time. You deserve these." After that, she pushed the bag over again.
Letis took a rough look at the bag of gold coins. The number was about 70-80, which was quite a huge sum of money for ordinary people. In the past, she had worked in a spinning mill for ten years, and she might not be able to make it.
Earn this amount.
"Okay, don't refuse anymore." Looking at this weather-beaten but still beautiful girl, the aunt shook her head with pity.
"You have suffered a lot in these years." She knew that this girl looked like a well-to-do young lady, but there were many small scars on her arms and body. She must have experienced these years.
Went through a lot of hardships.
The two talked about the past few months. At the beginning of the year, Letis helped the store improve and manufacture a new sewing machine, which greatly improved the efficiency and made a lot of profits. But now that the fur has been used up, the Canghong Empire
The army attacked again. Seeing that Hopeland was about to fall into crisis, many residents and refugees began a new round of transfers.
"Now that Hopeland is no longer safe, you can use this money to go to other cities, such as the northern sanctuary, the southern islands, or Soland, the capital of Crancia, where you can settle down and live a good life.
life.”
"Perhaps you can also open a clothing store to make a living. I see that your style and concept of clothing design are very avant-garde, much better than an outdated old man like me." The aunt helped Letis analyze the future.
"When you settle down, you can also find a suitable husband. A beautiful girl like you should not be short of suitors. You just need to be careful not to be deceived by bad people."
"Thank you, ma'am." Letis nodded, feeling very grateful to the lady from the clothing store. If it weren't for her, she might still be crowded in a noisy and crowded tent camp like other refugees.
"Okay, I won't nag anymore. My daughter thinks I talk too much, so she hasn't been home much in the past two years."
"Do you still have a daughter?" Letis asked slightly curiously.
"Yes, she has been very smart since she was a child. She graduated from Emenas a few years ago and must have been in Falcon territory recently. Anyway, I don't have to worry about it now. She is very good at making money and living on her own."
After the two communicated for a while, it was time to say goodbye.
"It's time to board the ship. The whistle has started to sound over there." Through the glass window of the cafe, the two of them saw the iron-clad passenger ship in the port beginning to emit white steam, preparing to warm up.
Letis picked up her newly bought suitcase and walked out of the cafe, waved goodbye to the lady sitting in the store, and then walked towards the large passenger ship with the sun visor on her head.
The moist sea breeze blew her white skirt, and her golden hair shone in the sun. Now she is about to start a new journey. This time her destination is Solander, the capital of Crancia. Maybe she should
Follow this aunt's advice and open a clothing store to make a living. After you earn enough money in the future, you can consider alchemy.
The waves kept hitting the thick side of the ship. This large passenger ship broke through the white waves and headed west. It will go north along the coastline and head to the west coast of Crancia.
——————————
The eastern part of the Canghong Empire, Wanglong Port.
This is the most prosperous port in the eastern part of the empire. In the past, ships heading to the east would stop here, which brought a lot of wealth. Orientals who came to the western continent would also look back at their homeland here, so it was named Wanglong.
port.
Although the empire is recruiting troops and preparing for war, the city is still peaceful. Living in this prosperous commercial city for a long time, people have become accustomed to working in trade and earning huge profits. Naturally, they are interested in those who fight and kill.
Things are not interesting.
After all, who would be willing to risk their lives on the battlefield when their lives are rich and sufficient? This is also true among the four Dukes. The Landsworth family has always been dovish and hopes that the situation will be stable and stable with few conflicts.
The wealthy life also allows the nobles in the eastern part of the empire to live a leisurely life, with a lot of time to play with art, opera, painting, etc. The jewelry and clothing sold by the Landsworth family have always been the trend vane in the empire.
With a top-notch family, artistic temperament, elf blood, and wealth that rivals the rest of the country, it is not difficult to imagine how popular the Landsworth family is in the empire with such a halo.
‘Golden Flame Tulip’ is a famous pastry shop in Wanglong Port.
In the clean and spacious kitchen, about twenty cake chefs wearing white towels are working hard. They mix flour, sugar, eggs and other raw materials according to the set proportions, and constantly add other auxiliary materials for baking to make a rough cake.
Cake embryo.
After that comes the process of painting, shaping, carving, and plating. After a complete and good cake is baked, you can easily earn nearly several silver coins, dozens of gold coins in a day, and a huge income of nearly a thousand gold coins in a month.
This is the reputation and reputation of 'Golden Flame Tulip'.
At its most glorious time, it is said that they provided all the cakes at the Duke of Landsworth's birthday party.
"Bumansha, is Bumansha here?"
A maid wearing a black and white uniform walked into the large baking room and looked around. Unfortunately, everyone here was wearing a uniform light green uniform and a white scarf on their heads. She couldn't tell the difference for a moment and pushed up the glasses on the bridge of her nose.
.
"Here, I'm coming."
A girl with chestnut blond hair walked over. She had a plump bust and slender waist, and seemed to have a mature and attractive temperament. Although this girl was not married yet, people often mistakenly thought she was a neighbor.
A good wife and mother of the family.
Seeing the girl wearing an apron in front of her, the head maid nodded with satisfaction. Although this employee has only been in the cake house for a short time, she can learn everything quickly and is now the most skilled pastry chef in the store.
"Come with me, I have an important task for you." She put her hands on her waist and led the girl out of the back kitchen.
The 'Golden Flame Tulip' is the property of Count Hongyuan, a nobleman from Wanglong Port. It is said that his ancestors came from the East. Although he has been mixed for many generations, he still maintains the characteristics of black hair and black eyes.
Under the leadership of the maid, Bumansha came to the second floor of the pastry house's front hall, which is usually the place where distinguished guests are received.
At this moment, a handsome aristocratic man of about 30 years old was sitting on the sofa waiting. He was wearing a black dress, with a flying phoenix bird embroidered with gold and red threads on his side collar.
"This is the current Earl of Hongyuan, Lord Li Lin." The head maid on the side introduced Bu Mansha.
"Hello, Mr. Li Lin." Bu Mansha nodded and saluted.
"It's been a long time since I've been to the store. I heard that a talented person recently came out. I had something to do and stopped by to check it out this time."
The man with long black hair sat on the sofa with his legs crossed, looked at the housewife-like girl next door, and continued to speak.
"Perhaps I didn't train these people well. It seems I almost mistakenly recognized a real dragon."
"Bunya, please step back first."
"Yes, Master." Then the bespectacled head maid quietly stepped back and closed the door before leaving.
Seeing such a scene, Bu Mansha did not panic and looked at the Count Red Kite quietly.
"Miss Bumantha graduated from Emenas, right?" The young earl leaned forward, took out the teacup on the table, and then poured out the hot tea from the teapot.
"Yes, my lord."
"No need to be so formal, please sit down first." He filled two cups of tea and placed one of them in front of Bumansha.
"Given Ms. Bumantha's ability, working in a cake shop is really a bit of an inconvenience." Recently, he made some inquiries and learned that this girl was the top student of Emenas in the past, and she also won three championships in the school.
existence.
"It's nothing, actually I quite like making snacks."
Bu Mansha sat down and answered with a natural expression. Perhaps this was the confidence of a genius. Even though she had no identity, she was not afraid of the count in front of her.
"That's it." Li Lin tapped the armrest of the sofa with his fingers. Seeing that the girl didn't look like she was lying, he finally sighed.
"Then I have to respect your thoughts."
"Actually, I came to you this time because I originally wanted to find someone to complete a task. You should know the current Emperor."
"Your Majesty is wise and mighty today, but he is not yet married. It was not until recently that news came from Titania that your Majesty is already engaged. In order to prepare for the wedding, it is natural that all parties need to be perfectly prepared."
"And we, 'Golden Flame Tulip', have been invited to make pastries. Of course, it is only an invitation at the moment. We have to compete with a dozen other well-known pastry houses in the empire to pass the assessment and become the pastry supplier for this wedding banquet.
"
"If I can supply cakes for the emperor's wedding banquet, what an honor and fame it is. Needless to say, you can guess it. And in this competition, we must also produce the best work."
"After hearing this, you must have understood why I came to you."
"I will take five of the best pastry chefs in the cake house to Titiania to participate in this campaign. Before that, I hope you can create a new category that is refreshing and attractive.
The selection officer’s eyes stand out from the competition.”
"I understand." Bumansha nodded.
"In the next month, you can use the materials in the kitchen at will. I will also equip you with two assistants to facilitate you to experiment and make new pastries. If you have any special materials, you can tell Bunya, she
Your request will be met.”
"Don't be stingy with expensive materials. Perhaps the more expensive the better, as long as you can help me get the supply of cakes for this royal wedding banquet, I will prepare a huge reward of 3,000 gold coins for you."
"This must be a huge fortune for top students in Emenas."
"Thank you for your support." Bumansha stood up and thanked her.
"Very good, then I'll leave it to Miss Bumantha this time." The earl drank the tea and then put it back on the table.
After that, Bumansha said goodbye, opened the door and left.
"Ah, so fast?" The head maid on duty outside the door said slightly surprised when she saw Bu Mansha coming out. Then she looked inside through the gap and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that the earl was safe and sound.
After Bu Mansha left, the cute-looking head maid returned to the room. She sniffed and then looked at her master with a slightly curious look.
"Don't look at me like that, you impure-minded maid." Li Lin tugged on his slightly tight tie.
"You can't blame me for that. After all, Miss Bumansha is quite likable." The maid cleared the table and saw the two cups on it.
Unexpectedly, the master poured tea for her in person. It seemed that she had to treat Miss Bumansha well in the future, maybe she might become her own mistress.
————
The Third Age, June 1698.
The emperor of the Canghong Empire publicly announced his engagement partner, who was a girl from a small noble family in the south.
As soon as this news was released, it triggered countless controversies. Some people were envious, some were jealous, and some said it was illegal. His Majesty the Emperor should marry someone with a more noble status. A girl like this is only worthy of being His Majesty the Emperor's behind-the-scenes lover.
She cannot be allowed to ascend the throne of the queen.
In the midst of countless arguments and quarrels, the ordinary noble girl "Lily Esther" quickly came into everyone's sight. She and her family also became the focus of thousands of eyes.
But this time the emperor of the empire still maintained his consistent majesty and determination, suppressing all objections. For this young emperor who has achieved great things, pride and self-confidence seem to be inevitable traits. He has sufficient time and
Use your energy to control this empire and make it what you want it to be.
And being so powerful, he will naturally not let all kinds of gossip compromise his will and desires. Since he wants it, he will definitely get it.
After this, the nobles in the empire gradually understood the emperor's determination.
Perhaps this seemingly ordinary girl will eventually become the most humble queen in the history of the empire, and can she master the bright red rose scepter?