Chapter 83 The 83rd Inn: Students Who Have Finished Their Exams

Because of Yinshuang's plea, Yunyin didn't ask Lu Xuan where she could find someone skilled in music. She didn't know what the problem was between the two of them; she just didn't want to get involved in these troubles.

She didn't realize that even if she didn't go looking for trouble, trouble would sometimes still find her.

Yunyin received Lu Xuan with utmost care, waiting for the rain to stop so that the group could leave and they would have nothing to do with her afterward.

But she hadn't expected Yinshuang to act so quickly, and she was momentarily stunned when she heard Lu Xuan's question.

Yunyin asked in shock, "Young Master Lu, what did you just say?"

Lu Xuan touched his sleeve and said sullenly, "Didn't you want someone to play a tune? Well, I happen to have one here. How about I lend you Yinshuang for now?"

Yunyin checked again to make sure she hadn't misheard; she had indeed heard Lu Xuan offer Yinshuang to her. She frowned and said, "Young Master Lu, this is inappropriate."

Lu Xuan: "Is it that Shuang'er's singing is bad, or her piano skills are bad? I only gave her to you temporarily because you are Brother Fu's friend and a woman, and Shuang'er also wants to stay here. Otherwise, I would not have agreed to give her to someone else."

Yunyin frowned and said, "Didn't you say back then that you went to great lengths to get Yinshuang to leave with you? What do you mean now?"

She never expected that after she had rejected Yinshuang's request, Yinshuang would actually bring it up with Lu Xuan. She didn't understand what was so attractive about her little inn that made Yinshuang want to stay there rather than follow Lu Xuan.

Yunyin really wanted someone to play music, but she didn't want to knowingly cause trouble and still rush into it. She shook her head and said, "Yingshuang's musical skills are outstanding, and my small shop can't afford them. If you don't want to take her to Chang'an, you can just let her stay in Mianzhou. That shouldn't be a difficult thing for you, right?"

Lu Xuan frowned and said, "Shuang'er doesn't want to stay at home, and my wife really doesn't like Shuang'er, so I have no choice but to take her with me." He pondered for a long time, but still felt that Yun Niangzi's place was good. He gritted his teeth and said, "Yun Niangzi, please take her in for me for a while. I will pay you a reward. Once Shuang'er has thought things through, I will take her away."

Before Yunyin could refuse, Lu Xuan's generous gesture stopped her. When she saw the money Lu Xuan mentioned, she thought that it was just taking in a woman, which wasn't a big deal. She rolled her eyes and said, "I can take her in, but I won't cater to her every whim. When you return from Chang'an, I won't return this money to you."

Lu Xuan nodded and said, "No problem. This money was originally for my wife. When I return from Chang'an, I will also bring you a gift."

Yunyin really didn't want to cause trouble, but Lu Xuan gave her so much—ten taels of gold! How many dishes would she have to cook to earn that? With that money, she could repair two more courtyards. She could have as much trouble as she wanted; as long as she had money, she didn't care about the trouble.

She patted Lu Xuan on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry, I will take good care of Lady Yinshuang. If she wants to leave in the future, I will let you know."

After discussing Yinshuang's matter, Yunyin went to make some pastries for Lu Xuan. She made a lot of pastries for him because of the money he gave her, and she also planned to give him some to take with him when he left.

Yinshuang thought Yunyin would be very angry, after all, she had already refused, but she still took it upon herself to ask Lu Xuan to intervene. However, when she met Yunyin, she was very gentle with her and showed no signs of anger.

She breathed a sigh of relief. If it weren't absolutely necessary, she wouldn't have wanted to do this. She really didn't want to continue following Lu Xuan, nor did she want to go to Chang'an. But if she made other excuses, Lu Xuan certainly wouldn't let her go. Lu Xuan had indeed helped her a lot back then, but his wife was truly difficult to deal with, and she didn't want to get too involved. Yunyin was a woman, and a friend of Lu Xuan's savior. If she stayed here, Lu Xuan would likely agree.

As expected, she only mentioned it briefly, and Lu Xuan agreed after thinking for a while, which finally put her mind at ease.

As Lu Xuan walked to the carriage and was about to leave, he turned back to Yin Shuang, who had been seeing him off, and said, "Shuang'er, if you want to go home, you can have Lady Yun send me a message and I will come to pick you up. If you don't want to go home, you can stay here. I have already spoken with Lady Yun, so you can stay here without worry."

Yinshuang simply nodded, her eyes showing no reluctance. Jinse, on the other hand, snorted coldly, not even glancing at Yinshuang, and helped Lu Xuan into the carriage.

Yunyin also stood at the door to see him off until his carriage was completely out of sight. She said to Yinshuang, "You should stay in your old room. From now on, just treat yourself as a guest and don't be too polite."

Yinshuang was unaware that Lu Xuan had already paid for the accommodation. She shook her head and said, "Miss Yun, you don't need to be so polite. I told you I could play a little tune for you, didn't you need one?"

Seeing that Yinshuang knew nothing, Yunyin thought for a moment and then told her, "Young Master Lu has already paid for your food and lodging. There's no need for you to do that, Madam Yinshuang. The one who paid is naturally a guest, so how can we let you do the work?"

Yinshuang paused slightly, and after a long silence, she said, "That was also an agreement between Young Master Lu and Lady Yun. I still want to stay here using my own abilities. Since Lady Yun needs it, and I have the ability to do so, why should Lady Yun go to such lengths?"

Yunyin thought about it carefully and realized that what she said made sense. "In that case, I'll pay you. I'll give you a fee every time I play a piece. How about that? It might not be as much as what Young Master Lu gives you..."

Before Yunyin could finish speaking, Yinshuang interrupted her, saying, "It's alright, as long as it covers the cost of food and lodging here, thank you for taking me in, Madam Yun."

She watched Yinshuang's departing figure, shrugged, and walked towards the lobby. Cheng Yong saw her and smiled, "You still kept her here."

Yunyin chuckled and said, "Lu Xuan gave so much money, why would I not take her in? Anyway, they can handle their own affairs, as long as I get the money."

Looking at the flags that were wet from the rain, she said to Cheng Yong, "We should still make a wooden sign and put it at the food stalls in front. Didn't Lu Xuan say that they were only willing to stay here because of your escort agency? Once my courtyard is built, I'll put your escort agency's sign in front. That might make the merchants trust you more."

Cheng Yong laughed and said, "Sure, if you think it's useful, then do it. Thanks to you, we had a lot more orders last month, and many people who come to your restaurant to eat also come to us to deliver mail."

Yunyin smiled and squinted her eyes, "That's great, let's help each other out."

The rain stopped, but the temperature didn't improve; it was still a bit cold. Yunyin breathed out a puff of white mist, rubbed her hands together, and went to the kitchen. She took out the roast duck, roast duck, and salt-baked chicken she had prepared and sighed, "This rain has delayed so many things. I haven't been able to deliver to them for several days. I don't know if they still want so many ducks."

Feng Hai chimed in, "You're still going to sell roast duck rice, right? These ducks will definitely sell."

“Yes, Song Shi and the others should have finished their exams by now. Tomorrow is a day off, so they might come. Let’s start selling tomorrow. Even if they don’t come, it’s fine. I think there will be more and more people on the road. Selling to them is a good idea.”

Yunyin acted immediately. She called Zheng Guilan, and the three of them killed and cleaned the ducks together. She also collected all the duck feathers, and now she has a lot of duck feathers saved up.

After finishing with the duck, the people from Manxiangju and Luo's Restaurant arrived. This was the first time the two had met. They looked at each other, smiled, and went into the guesthouse together.

Yunyin had just hung all the ducks up to dry when she heard voices outside. She came out of the room and said to the two of them, "You've come at the right time. I've already prepared everything. Come on, I'll go get them for you."

She walked towards the kitchen, and Gao Liang followed behind her, saying, "Miss Yun, do you have extra duck? It's been raining these past few days, so it's inconvenient for us to come over. Many guests must be missing us, so the manager told me to tell you to prepare more duck."

Yunyin thought of the ducks hanging in the storeroom and nodded, saying, "Now that the weather is getting colder, it's fine for me to make more. How much do you need? I can prepare in advance."

"Can I add five more of each?" Gao Liang smiled sheepishly. "That roast duck is also quite good. Many customers like it, and it sells just as well as our signature eight-treasure chicken. The shopkeeper asked me to ask you for a few more."

Yunyin thought she could manage to feed Manxiangju twenty ducks every day, so she nodded and said, "No problem, come to me tomorrow to pick them up." She looked at Zhao Qian, "Did your wife say she wanted more?"

Zhao Qian shook his head and said, "No need. Our shop mainly serves mutton. These roast ducks are just an extra. Five of each is enough."

Yunyin nodded to indicate that she understood. She handed them the ducks and chickens for the day and then got two jars of plum sauce for them, saying, "This plum sauce should be enough for this month. I'll give you another jar next month. I won't be selling ducks in December. You should go back and tell your manager."

Zhao Qian knew the reason and readily agreed, but Gao Liang looked puzzled and asked, "Why not sell ducks in December? The New Year is still a long way off, why not sell them?"

Seeing that he knew nothing, Yunyin said a few words to him: "Go back and tell your manager, he will make a decision."

When Gao Liang first heard about the cold winter, he said seriously, "I will tell our manager, Lady Yun. I have to go back now. It's such a big deal, the manager probably doesn't know yet."

After he finished speaking, he took his things and left, no longer thinking about communicating with Yunyin. Yunyin looked away and said to Zhao Qian, "You should go back early too. Has Sister Aman already stored up winter supplies?"

Zhao Qian nodded and said, "It's almost done. Our wife started preparing as soon as she heard about it."

Yunyin nodded, went back to her room to get a package, and handed it to Zhao Qian, saying, "This is a cotton coat I prepared for her. Please take it to her for me. I will also send her a quilt when I finish making one."

Zhao Qian nodded, holding the heavy cotton coat, and said, "I will tell my wife."

After Zhao Qian left, Yunyin looked at the rising sun. Qian Si and the others should come to work today, and Lin Yun would also send people. She thought about the room that Yinshuang was currently staying in and decided to clean up the room next to it to make quilts, hoping to finish before the snow.

The weather was still fine the next day, as if the continuous heavy rain before had been an illusion. The sun peeked out from behind the mountains. Yunyin directed Ma Hao and the others to clear the table and move the food to the food stall in front. The food stall was already bustling with activity.

Because she had prepared new breakfast dishes, many people came to try them. The customer from before also arrived on time. When he saw that Yunyin had indeed prepared new dishes, he exclaimed, "Miss Yun is really true to her word. I was worried that you hadn't prepared anything because of the rain. I didn't expect you to have prepared new breakfast dishes."

He looked at the food stall shrouded in white mist and asked curiously, "What kind of food is this? Rice noodle rolls? I've never heard of that before."

Yunyin set the table and smiled at the diner, saying, "Young Master Zhou, this is how it's prepared in Lingnan. Try it and see if you can accept it."

He said, "Don't call me Zhou Langjun, just call me Zhou Shan, or Zhou Dalang is fine too. I like all the food in your shop, I haven't encountered any I don't like yet, I'm sure I'll like this new food."

He looked at the row of tables Yunyin had set up and asked curiously, "What are you doing here?"

Yunyin: "This is a new dish I made, I plan to sell roast duck rice." She took out the sign she used before, changed the sticker, and put it on the roadside, saying, "Everyone who comes to eat today can try this roast duck. If you like it, you can order it separately."

Zhou Shan raised his eyebrows and said, "Can I try the food if I only order breakfast?"

Yunyin smiled and said, "Of course." Roast duck with rice noodle rolls is also a good match.

Zhou Shan took the plate Zhang Lin handed him, sat down and said, "Then I must have a good taste. I've never had the chance to have a proper meal here before, except for breakfast every day." He took a bite of the rice noodle roll and was amazed by its softness and smoothness. Dipped in the sauce, it was so delicious that his tongue almost melted.

He exclaimed in surprise, "Miss Yun, this sauce is so delicious! It's much more flavorful than the wontons you made before."

Yunyin smiled but didn't say anything. Zhou Shan finished his rice noodle roll in one go, walked over to her and asked, "Can we try the roast duck now?"

Yunyin nodded and said, "No problem, please wait a moment, I'll go get it."

She took out the prepared roast duck, cut it into pieces, picked out a piece and handed it to Zhou Shan, saying, "Try it."

Zhou Shan took the roast duck, which was neither too big nor too small. The bright red skin looked very crispy, and it was indeed crispy when he ate it. The meat was very tender, and there was no gamey smell at all. He couldn't help but exclaim:

"Yun Niangzi's cooking skills are really amazing. I used to prefer chicken and didn't like duck much. Mainly because duck is difficult to cook and has a strong fishy smell that is hard to deal with. I never expected that Yun Niangzi's duck would taste so good."

After finishing a piece, he sucked the sauce off his hand, licked his lips, and said, "Miss Yun, wrap one for me. I'll take it home tonight so my family can try it too."

Yunyin smiled and said, "Okay, wait a moment."

She took the dried lotus leaves she had prepared earlier, wrapped the roast duck in them, then wrapped it in oil paper, and handed him two bamboo tubes, saying, "The green plum sauce inside is for you to dip in, or you can eat it without it, it's up to you. The other jar contains pickled radishes, which I made myself, so you can try them out."

After paying, Zhou Shan put the paper package into the basket he had brought, picked up his things, and said goodbye to Yunyin.

As soon as he left, Yunyin heard the sound of horses' hooves. She looked up and saw that the person leading the way was someone she hadn't seen in a long time.

Yunyin looked up and greeted, "Song Shi, Lin Hui, it's been a long time." Then she looked at Xie Yan, who was slowly riding over from behind, and said, "It's been a long time, Mr. Xie too. How have you been lately?"

Xie Yan dismounted and nodded, saying, "Miss Yun, it's been a long time. Your shop is as lively as ever."

Song Shi waved his hand and said, "It's not like we've been apart for a long time. It's only been a little over ten days, not half a year or a year. Alright, I have a lot of things to do today. I'll go to the shop first, and you can chat slowly."

Song Shi quickly carried his things and led his horse toward the inn. Xie Yan said helplessly, "He's recently become obsessed with studying murals. He says he's found a good way to finish them faster and he wants to earn money quickly. It's been raining these past few days, and with the school exams, he's been very anxious."

Yunyin looked at Song Shi, who had already disappeared, met Xie Yan's eyes, pursed her lips and said, "Should I not have let him paint the murals? I remember he said he wanted to take the imperial examination. Now that he's painting these, it will probably interfere with his studies."

Seeing that Yunyin felt somewhat guilty, Xie Yan shook his head at her: "Actually, I am still very grateful to you. At least you gave him a goal. He said before that he wanted to study hard, but he was not cut out for studying. I watched him become more and more depressed and worried about him, but I couldn't solve his problem."

"Although your suggestion wasn't the best, it gave him a direction to strive for, and he became more energetic. I'm very grateful to you."

Yunyin didn't expect Xie Yan to say that. She smiled and said, "I just thought he had a good foundation in painting and wanted him to give it a try." After she finished talking about Song Shi, she nodded to them and said, "You've come at the right time. I made a lot of roast duck today. You can try it. I'll have Zheng Guilan send you a roast duck rice dish. You can order it from her if you like."

Upon hearing this, Lin Hui jumped up in a few seconds. "Yun Niangzi, what delicious food have you made again? I haven't had a proper meal lately because of the exams. I finished the mushroom sauce a long time ago. I've been eating those awful boiled vegetables at school every day. I don't know how the school found people who can cook such terrible food."

Yunyin skewered a piece of duck meat with a bamboo stick and handed it to him, saying, "Try it and see if you like it. You can also try the breakfast I made; Huo Yu and Lin Yun both said it was good."

Lin Hui took the bamboo skewer, raised his eyebrows and smiled, "My aunt and uncle both like it very much, so it must be really delicious. You don't know, my uncle is a very picky person. If it's not good, he won't come to eat it again and again."

He took a bite of the roast duck, and the taste was completely different from that of Peking duck. Peking duck is about the refinement, the atmosphere, and the skill involved, while this roast duck was rich in sauce, with crispy and tender skin. It was delicious even without any sauce.

He raised an eyebrow and said, "It's really delicious, Miss Yun. Give us one, and a few servings of that rice noodle roll you mentioned too."

Seeing Lin Hui's anxious look, Xie Yan shook his head and said, "Didn't you already have breakfast? Can you really eat all this?"

Lin Hui pulled Xie Yan inside, saying as they walked, "You don't understand. I can eat any dish Yun Niangzi makes, anytime. Come on, let's try this new food..."

Their conversation gradually faded into the distance, and Yunyin could no longer hear what they were saying. However, it was obvious that Lin Hui had said something to anger Xie Yan again, and Xie Yan had tapped him on the head. Yunyin turned back to continue setting out the ducks and serving the guests who were gradually arriving.

Inside the inn, Song Shi strode in, looked at the murals still covered by bamboo curtains, and said to Cheng Yong behind the counter, "Young Master Cheng, it's been a long time. Before anyone else comes in, I'll go and draw some pictures."

Cheng Yong saw Song Shi walk by quickly, put down his things, and take down the straw mat covering the hanging mural. He nodded and said, "Okay, you go ahead with your work. By the way, Young Master Song, have you had breakfast yet? Would you like me to order you something to eat?"

He received no reply, but Lin Hui, who came in later, shook his head and said, "Don't worry about him, he's already obsessed with it. He's been like this lately, and he often thinks about these things at school."

Cheng Yong nodded and said, "Alright, would you two gentlemen like some food?"

Lin Hui pulled Xie Yan to a seat. "We've already ordered. Someone will bring it over in a bit. Don't worry about us, Mr. Cheng. We'll make ourselves at home."

Seeing that they were being very casual, Cheng Yong stopped paying attention to them and started cleaning the counter.

Lin Hui and Xie Yan chatted about interesting things at school. Song Shi was carefully taking out the paints from the book box and carefully tracing the pattern he had drawn before. Just as he was about to continue, he heard a clear voice in his ear: "Is this a painting of peach blossoms?"

Song Shi paused in his work and looked to the side. A pretty woman was curiously looking at his painting, her brows furrowing from time to time. He looked away and asked, "Who is my wife?"

Yinshuang withdrew her gaze from the peach blossoms and nodded to Song Shi, saying, "My name is Yinshuang, and I am a singer at Yunlai Inn. These were all painted by you."

Song Shi raised an eyebrow and said, "Miss Yun found someone so quickly. Where are you from? I haven't seen you in Long'an County."

Yinshuang pursed her lips. "I came from Mianzhou." She didn't continue talking about herself. She pointed to the peach tree, raised her eyebrows, and asked, "Has my lord not carefully observed the peach blossoms? Don't you think there's something wrong with the painting on them?"

Song Shi turned to look at the peach blossoms he had painted, frowned and said, "It's normal, I don't see anything wrong with it."

"Peach trees are a type of tree that blooms before their leaves grow. But in the peach tree you drew, the leaves inside are already quite large. This is not realistic. When peach blossoms are in full bloom, the leaves are often very small, many of them only have a tiny leaf bud. So peach blossoms look very realistic, with only flowers and no leaves."

"That's why many people love to admire peach blossoms; the mountains and fields are covered in blooming flowers, which looks very romantic. But the peach blossoms in your picture aren't very eye-catching; instead, the leaves are more striking."

Song Shi's hand twitched slightly. He pursed his lips and looked back at the peach blossoms on the mural. Just as Yin Shuang had pointed out, he had indeed painted the leaves too large, and the flowers were layered and hidden under the leaves, like a blushing lady.

“You’re right, I haven’t observed it closely, but when I think back to the peach blossoms I’ve seen before, they do look similar to what you’re saying.” His eyes softened slightly, as if he had lost his composure. “Am I not suited for painting? Even something as simple as this is something my wife knows, yet I made a mistake.”

Yinshuang didn't expect that her words would make him doubt her. She quickly shook her head and said, "That's not what I meant. I was just pointing out a mistake in your painting. But if you ignore that, your painting has its own unique style."

Seeing that the person was still very sad, she pursed her lips and said, "Believe me, I have seen many ancient paintings. The peach blossoms in them are not realistic. The flowers and leaves are also in full bloom, and they do not take into account the actual situation when the peach blossoms are in full bloom. You don't have to think that you painted something wrong."

"Moreover, I can see the intention behind your painting of these peach blossoms. The peach blossoms are hidden among the leaves, just as the Cloud Inn is hidden in the valley. Didn't you also paint the inn and food below? That's the key point."