I Became the Eye Candy: Four Bigshots Claimed to be My Dad?

Chapter 498: Chapter 14: How About the Three of Us Share a Family Tree?

That same day, Xi Yan submitted a farewell letter to the Beili Emperor, stating their intention to leave the capital in seven days.

The Beili Emperor had been searching for over a month without any sign of Xi Fengying. He couldn’t help but suspect that she might have left the Capital City on that very day. Although it seemed a bit far-fetched, it was also the most plausible explanation.

After all, the Capital City had been turned upside down several times. Even an ant hiding for that long would have had to come out for food. Yet for over a month, there had been no movement, and the city gates were unusually quiet.

The Xi Yan embassy had also been under surveillance for many days, but not a single suspicious person was seen.

They knew better than anyone whether or not the embassy had any hiding places.

The Eldest Princess of Xi Yan was recuperating and unable to travel to Beili. Beili no longer had any reason to hold back the Xi Yan envoys from returning to their country. Forcibly detaining them would likely arouse Xi Yan’s suspicion.

Thus, he immediately approved Xi Yan’s departure and issued the necessary travel documents.

Consort Yuan had lost so many things from her chambers, and the thief was still at large. Every time the consort saw her empty palace, her head would throb with a splitting pain.

Yuan Yintang had sent multiple letters, reporting that he had scoured the area for a hundred li around but still found no trace of any Gu worms.

If the perpetrator wasn’t a master of Gu worms, then they certainly weren’t human, but a ghost or some malevolent spirit.

Consort Yuan was terrified of such supernatural matters. She was constantly woken by nightmares, to the point where she could no longer bear to live in her own palace. Weeping, she begged the Emperor to move her to a new one.

「May 22nd」

The Gu family completely settled their assets and formally divided the household. The sheer value of the fortune accumulated over several generations was staggering. Even the Beili Emperor was speechless for a long moment after hearing the news.

He knew the Gu family was rich, but he never imagined their assets were worth two of Beili’s national treasuries.

’With so much wealth, couldn’t they raise an army and revolt with ease?’

Because of this, the Beili Emperor grew warier of the Gu family. At the same time, he began to covet their wealth. The national treasury was currently severely depleted. If the Gu family’s fortune could fill the state coffers...

But on second thought, the Gu family had so many heirs. When divided among them all, it seemed there wouldn’t be much left for any one person to inherit.

The main branch of the Gu family had dozens of members. Each person received tens of millions in assets, enough to last an ordinary person for dozens of lifetimes.

Old Master Gu only kept a small portion of the money and two shops in the Capital City for his retirement. The rest was all divided clearly and equally per head, with no favoritism shown.

The wealth was split evenly, and the shops were assigned by drawing lots. Even if someone drew a less desirable one, with so many officials bearing witness, no one dared to complain.

「The General’s Manor, Yuehua Small Building」

Ye Qianning was also surprised when she learned about the Gu family’s inheritance. ’Tens of millions in assets now would be equivalent to hundreds of millions in modern times. Every one of them is a tycoon.’

"The Gu family is just too wealthy," Peony said, looking up in surprise from the fish she was cleaning.

"How could it not be a lot after accumulating for generations? It’s a good thing they never did a detailed accounting of their wealth before," Ye Qianning said without looking up from the recipe she was holding.

"Why is that?"

"With that much money, who wouldn’t be green with envy? The Gu family has a lot of people, so it’s not as conspicuous when it’s divided among them." ’If they hadn’t divided it, once that total amount was calculated, the Gu family wouldn’t have lasted more than a few years before being brought down.’

’Confiscating their assets would replenish the national treasury. Who wouldn’t be tempted when they’re short on funds?’

"Even the little children got a share. It’s such a huge loss for Boss Gu to have left the family," Peony said, shaking her head and clicking her tongue.

Ye Qianning just smiled without saying anything. Gu Shuo had some shops of his own. As an imperial merchant, most of the money he earned went to the royal family, with only a small portion going into his own pocket.

’His net worth couldn’t be low, either.’

’It’s only tens of millions per person. In the future, his brilliance will be worth far more than that.’

"Aunties, have you all memorized these recipes?"

"We have. I never knew there were so many ways to cook seafood. If we opened a restaurant with these, it would definitely be more popular than Immortal’s Drunkenry."

"What’s Immortal’s Drunkenry? Even the Imperial Chefs in the palace probably couldn’t make these."

"Pangtuan said the seafood from Nanyuan is better than Beili’s. I really want to try Nanyuan’s seafood."

"I want to, too! The dishes made with Beili’s seafood are already fantastic. I can only imagine what fish from the South Sea would be like."

The aunties processing the seafood all voiced their agreement.

"Just wait a little longer, and you aunties will be able to satisfy your cravings." For the better part of the last half-month, Ye Qianning had been teaching the aunties how to make all sorts of seafood feasts.

The seafood from Beili already tasted amazing. Once Nanyuan’s seafood was introduced, it would definitely become the dark horse of the culinary world.

"I never would have thought you could eat sea snails," Huaihua said. Her entire concept of food had been constantly redefined over the past few days.

She, a person who didn’t even eat fish, actually found it delicious. She was especially addicted to the sea snails recently.

"There are even more ways to prepare snails. Later, Auntie, you should try the sea urchin. You didn’t get to have any last time."

"It’s all black and spiky. I wouldn’t dare eat it."

"It’s delicious! The flavor is wonderful. If you don’t believe me, try some when this pot is done," Shaoyao strongly recommended.

"Alright, fine."

Ye Qianning chuckled softly and placed the cookbook on the table. They had been eating seafood in the manor every day recently. ’This kind of spread would be sensational even in modern times.’

In this era, seafood preparation was very basic: steaming, pan-frying, stir-frying, and soup. Even a top chef’s seasonings were limited, so the best flavors were only so-so.

The most important factors were the ingredients and the texture of the seafood itself. The texture varied in different sea regions, and the South Sea was the largest sea on this continent.

It was also home to the greatest variety of fish. Those expensive fish that needed to be air-freighted in modern times were commonplace in the South Sea.

There was a huge difference between one fish and another. Rare fish were one of the reasons she had Gu Shuo get into maritime trade.

’They are unique to Nanyuan and will become a major source of income in the future.’

"Young Miss, Boss Gu is here," the butler said as he walked into the courtyard.

"Alright."

The butler glanced toward the small kitchen several times. The aroma was overwhelming and mouth-watering.

"Getting hungry, Grandpa Li?" Ye Qianning teased.

The butler looked away, scratching his head in embarrassment. "Not only has the food in our manor been getting more and more delicious, but after eating seafood a few times recently, my palate has become quite discerning."

"Don’t worry, Grandpa Li. Everyone in the manor gets a share today."

"Really?" The butler’s eyes lit up. "I have to say, the seafood made in our manor is truly one of a kind. My hometown is also by the sea, but I’ve never eaten fish and shrimp this delicious."

"There are some new dishes today. Be sure to give us your review after you eat, Grandpa Li."

"What’s there to review? It’s guaranteed to be a divine delicacy." The butler’s mouth watered more and more as he spoke.

Ye Qianning laughed, found a handkerchief to wipe the fishy smell from her hands, and walked out of Yuehua Small Building.

She had specially invited Gu Shuo today to sample a grand seafood feast. She had taught the aunties a total of eighty-eight seafood and fish recipes. There were actually many more, but she would teach them gradually later. Some of the cheese-based sauces were only successfully created after many attempts.

’Seafood with cheese is the ultimate sensory experience.’

「In the main hall」

Zhan Chi and Gu Shuo were sitting across from each other. Having been home for nearly half a month, they had figured some things out and were preparing to build a very large restaurant on the border of Nanyuan.

The restaurant’s location would be close to Beili. They also planned to build specialty shops near East Shu and Xi Yan.

They had drawn up some of their plans for Nanyuan on rice paper and brought them today for Ye Qianning to review.

In just half a month, Zhan Chi had come to see Gu Shuo in a completely new light.