Her Entire Court Reborn with Her in the Modern World

Chapter 163: Chapter 162: Her Fragrance Is Blended Only for Your Majesty

A look of realization dawned on Qian Qiu. "Next time, you must remind your sister never to mix liquor and beer. That’s the easiest way to get drunk."

"Yeah," the waiter added while clearing the table. "Good thing our bar is decent and quiet. Otherwise, if something happened, it would be a disaster."

On this bar street, Half Cup of Clear Dream was an anomaly. It never played any ear-splitting, rowdy music, and it closed on the dot at two in the morning. Logically, a bar with such a lack of lively atmosphere should have gone out of business long ago, but no other place could replicate Half Cup of Clear Dream’s signature drinks. Many peers were green with envy, but they could do nothing about it.

Shi Changying raised an eyebrow. "Alright, I’ll scold her." She was no good at taking a scolding—she couldn’t stomach the grievance. But when it came to scolding others, she was an expert.

"Can you manage alone?" the waiter asked. "Let me help you support her—"

His voice abruptly cut off. Shi Changying had effortlessly hoisted the sleeping Xu Shuangqiao onto her back without the slightest difficulty.

Qian Qiu spoke leisurely, "What are you helping with? You aren’t even as tall as this little girl. Don’t get crushed under her weight, or else I’ll have to carry you back."

The waiter was speechless. Did she have to be so hurtful? When he got home, he was going to complain to his dad for not letting him drink milk when he was young!

"Wait, little girl, here’s something for you." Qian Qiu slipped an exquisite glass bottle into Shi Changying’s school uniform pocket. "I think you’ll like this perfume."

Shi Changying caught a whiff of a cold rose fragrance. It was indeed a scent she liked, so she said, "Reach into my right pants pocket."

Qian Qiu did as she was told and pulled out a small bag of cookies.

"A fair exchange," Shi Changying said lazily before leaving with Xu Shuangqiao on her back.

"She really has the temper of a child," the waiter said, scratching his head. "Miss Qiu, if she knew what that bottle of perfume you gave her actually was, she definitely wouldn’t be this calm."

The perfumes personally crafted by the Rose Queen had long stopped being sold. Now, they could only be found on the secondhand market, and their prices had been driven sky-high.

"What is it then?" Qian Qiu asked faintly. "Is perfume some kind of precious treasure? The most precious things cannot be bought with money."

No matter how many more fragrances she formulated, or how much people sought after them, it wasn’t what she wanted. All she wanted was a single word of praise from Her Majesty—

"Little Qian Qiu, your perfumery skills are getting better and better."

But that had already become an impossible extravagance. Only in her dreams could she find such fulfillment. Qian Qiu tucked the cookies away, returned to the bar, and took out a few new bottles of liquor to start designing a new drink.

The night deepened, and the wind grew colder. Shi Changying hadn’t come alone. When she received the waiter’s emergency call, she had been discussing a language arts question with Shaoyuan, so he had accompanied her to Half Cup of Clear Dream.

Shaoyuan had already called a car. Seeing her come out, he gave a slight nod. "Come here."

Shi Changying placed Xu Shuangqiao into the back seat before getting in herself, while Shaoyuan took the passenger seat in the front. The car drove smoothly along the wide road, the bustling street scenes rapidly retreating behind them.

Shi Changying received another call. "Hello?"

"Changying, are you home yet?" Ming Chengli said. "Dad is just calling to let you know that I’m currently in Linsu. Things were a bit urgent, so I didn’t have time to notify you earlier."

Shi Changying paused. "You went to Linsu?"

In the front row, Shaoyuan tilted his head slightly.

Ming Chengli said excitedly, "Changying, you know that after discovering something like this, there’s no way your dad could sit still! Don’t worry, Dad will definitely take good care of himself."

"You have a history of this. I don’t believe you," Shi Changying said.

Ming Chengli was speechless. "Why aren’t you home yet when it’s so late?" he asked, his expression turning serious. "Changying, you aren’t being obedient."

"When have I ever been obedient?"

Ming Chengli was left speechless once more.

Shaoyuan suddenly chuckled. He unhurriedly raised his voice, "Don’t worry, Uncle. I will safely take Classmate Shi home."

"Oh, Little Shao, you’re with her! Then I’m relieved." Ming Chengli breathed a sigh of relief. "But it’s too late, and it’s never good to stay out. You still need to head back as soon as possible. I have a lot to keep me busy over here. Changying, get some rest early."

After ending the call, Ming Chengli wrapped his coat tighter around himself. He thought to himself that since he had promised Shi Changying to take good care of his health, he certainly couldn’t break his word. Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night. Archaeological personnel hurried in and out, none having the time to stop and rest.

After all, Ming Chengli wasn’t a member of the Linsu archaeological team. No matter how anxious he was, he couldn’t personally step up to restore those manuscripts; he could only help them with other tasks. He bustled about, but the fact that he wasn’t wearing an archaeological uniform caught the attention of others.

"Xiao Ran, I think he looks a bit familiar." The old professor pushed up his glasses. "Is he a former student of Mingjing University? Do you know him?"

Bai Xiaoran glanced at Ming Chengli and said flatly, "Mingjing University has so many students. How could I possibly know them all?"

"That’s true," the old professor smiled. "You were a prominent figure in your cohort. So many juniors look up to you as a role model, and you’ve made tremendous contributions to the development of Xuan History."

Bai Xiaoran modestly declined, "You flatter me. This is all within my duty." He took another look at Ming Chengli, noting that the man seemed to possess a degree of professionalism, though he truly didn’t recognize his face. Of course, with his status, he wouldn’t know him anyway.

"I wonder what is actually recorded in Xie Qingshi’s manuscripts," the old professor muttered to himself. "Considering we only just discovered them now, it’s likely not simple."

"During the Taichu Period, the biographies of many historical figures are incomplete. Some are missing their birth years, while others lack their years of death." The archaeological team leader sighed. "It’s also because the Jiang Dynasty extensively burned books that, to this day, we surprisingly don’t even know what Taichu’s real name was."

Bai Xiaoran remained noncommittal. "A tyrant whom everyone wanted dead—what is there to commemorate about her name?"

"Be that as it may, we still want to know the truth," the old professor said. "It’s a pity. Even with abundant historical records, we aren’t people of that era, so we can never truly know what happened back then."

"The historians represent the official attitude of the Xuan Dynasty, while ethnographies represent the civilian perspective," Bai Xiaoran stated. "Even if they had ulterior motives, could everyone possibly be biased? Since multiple historical sources corroborate that Taichu was an incompetent tyrant, then that’s exactly what she was."

The old professor deeply agreed.

After helping an archaeological team member carry some items up, Ming Chengli turned around and spotted Bai Xiaoran chatting with the archaeological team leader. As if he had seen a ghost, his pupils violently contracted, and in an instant, the hairs on his arms stood on end!