The Hot Pot Restaurant Behind the Imperial College

[This is an early draft submitted for consideration. It's a little rough, so read with care ovo]

Blurb:

The mountains and seas are vast. You can't fit them all in one pot.

That's the sign outside the hot pot restaurant behind the Imperial College.

Qiao Wan had worked diligently in the Imperial Kitchens for over a decade. She saved up most of her assets and gave them to the head steward to secure a favor allowing her to leave the palace. With what remained, she bought herself a business to make a living.

Crisp, tender tripe; silky wide noodles; fresh, sweet shrimp paste; springy meatballs; a numbing, spicy broth that soaked into every bite.

And handsome young men, full of life, getting jealous over her. Life was just so dull...

One day, Xu Siye, the renowned and respected official of the Imperial College, sought out Qiao Wan. His expression was stern as he asked, "What is the meaning of this, Miss Qiao?"

Qiao Wan deliberately avoided his familiar features. A mischievous impulse took hold, and she smiled. "I have a fishpond at my residence. It's so large that a hundred people could... ahem, that the fish could swim around freely. Would you like to see it, Master Xu?"

※

Recently, Xu Jing had kept catching a strange fragrance drifting from somewhere. The students at the Imperial College seemed to take the scent as a signal, as though they had an unspoken agreement.

As soon as classes ended, they all disappeared.

One day, on a whim, he followed the fragrance to the back gate and saw the figure that had occupied his dreams for over a decade...

Qiao Wan? Qiao Wan?

He couldn't have mistaken her, and he wouldn't let her slip away again.

He had searched everywhere for her without success. So she had even changed her name, determined to leave her past behind?

The young and talented Master Xu found it increasingly hard to stomach the sight of the young nobles from the Imperial College spending lavishly there and making Qiao Wan beam with delight.

※

After Stew the Mountains and Seas closed, other hot pot restaurants opened behind the college one after another, but all did poorly and shut down in short order.

They didn't understand that the students could think of nothing but the proprietress of Stew the Mountains and Seas.

Miss Qiao was not only beautiful, but also clever. Whenever someone imitated her, she would come up with a new broth base and set off another craze.

There was Sichuan and Chongqing hot pot, northern-style hot pot, Fujian and Guangdong hot pot, Yunnan and Guizhou hot pot, Jiangsu and Zhejiang hot pot. By now there were dozens of varieties: spicy, numbing, sour, pungent, fragrant, mild...

The name of the restaurant, Stew the Mountains and Seas, truly said it all. It had flavors from every corner of the country, encompassing everything and offering it all.

These copycats never understood the secret. They thought young men only cared about looks?

They were just trying to imitate Dongshi, and failing miserably!

※

On the day the Qiao family was cleared of its wrongful charges, Qiao Wan shut herself in the courtyard and ate a simple meal of red-broth hot pot alone. She added extra numbing spice and chili until she was gasping with her mouth open, tears falling into her dipping sauce without her realizing it.

She had arrived in this world alone, and the Qiao family had taken her in and raised her. It was only right that she repay their kindness.

After composing herself, she opened the courtyard gate and found more than a dozen familiar faces. She was surprised and delighted.

Xu Jing stood silently in the distance, watching as the students rushed in, each carrying ingredients, and chattered over one another:

"Miss Qiao, no, we should call you Fifth Miss Qiao now!"

"When is Stew the Mountains and Seas going to reopen?!"

"We can't wait any longer!"

In the crowd, the two of them looked at each other from afar.

She knew, too, how much Xu Jing had done for her, and how much trouble he had endured because of her.

Now that the turmoil was over, she would repay his affection with a lifetime of happiness.

Theme: Building a thriving hot pot business in ancient times