The back door of the imperial dining room closed with a clang.
Shen Chan stood in the spring breeze, holding half a jar of candied green plums in her arms.
Charge: Tampering with the meal menu for the Queen Mother's birthday banquet.
The truth: The dish never made it to the table.
No one spoke for her.
The life of a servant under the stove is not worth a plate of snack money.
But her grandmother said - "If you are a well-rounded eater, you will never die of hunger."
She rented the narrowest storefront in Tianshui Lane.
Twenty pounds of green plums, three taels of broken silver, and a hand-copied "Food List Fragment".
On the day of the seventh opening of the altar, the aroma spread half way through the alley.
Someone cheated on her, so she went to court to overturn the verdict herself.
Someone poached her, but she didn't look back: "I'm fine now."
Someone protected her—a young man who called himself an "errand runner" and helped her peel green plums all spring long.
Until he handed over a piece of deed to the shop, with five claws showing dark patterns on the corners of his robe.
Shen Chan pushed the deed back: "The rent will be paid as usual. Twenty coins means twenty coins."
He smiled: "My mother said you are the cheapest good thing she has ever tasted."
The Queen Mother personally presented the plaque, and the Prince lined up in person.
She went from being a maid under the stove who could be bullied by everyone to becoming Lady Shen of the most popular plum shop in the capital.
Don't underestimate anyone who has a unique skill.
Don't underestimate any plum that is willing to wait in the jar for ten months.
