A strange customer came to Jiangshan's shop.

He ordered one of every private dish on the menu, paid ten taels of silver to have Jiangshan cook it for him, and then sat there waiting for the dishes to be served.

There were seven or eight servants accompanying him, who stood guard like door gods, preventing any guests from entering.

For the sake of money, Jiang Shan tolerated it.

But what she couldn't stand was that the strange man only tasted one bite of each dish before discarding them.

When he once again started nitpicking about the fruit tea, demanding this and that, Jiang Shan took off his apron and refused to continue.

She stared at that excessively handsome face and said stiffly, "Young master, our shop has limited ingredients, so I'm sorry I can't fulfill your request."

The young customer asked in surprise, "Why? I paid!"

“You paid the money, but how much food did you waste? The wasted food shows that the customers are not satisfied with Jiang's Private Kitchen. My satisfaction rate dropped from 100% to 99%. Do you know how much that 1% loss is? Is this just a matter of money? My reputation, my brand, my fame, and my influence will all be damaged. Those are all intangible assets!”

“…!” The young guest stared blankly at Jiang Shan, then at his entourage, but did not get the answer he wanted from their faces.

"What you mean... I don't understand what you mean. I paid for the food, so what does it matter to you whether I eat it or not? If anyone should suffer a loss, it should be me, right?"

Jiang Shan, hands on his hips, said slowly and deliberately, "Do you know what a loss is? The dishes you ordered are enough for these people around you to have a delicious and satisfying meal. These are rare delicacies that they can't buy even if they have money in Beijing. They are enjoying their meal and are overjoyed. That's called getting more than their money's worth! Look at what you've done! You've wasted these delicious dishes in front of them. That's really despicable and immoral!"

The young guests looked at their attendants again. Some were swallowing hard, unable to hide it, some had obvious regret in their eyes, and others simply stared at their shoes, out of sight, out of mind.

He silently put down his chopsticks, thought for a while, and then shook his head with a smile.

This is the first time in my life I've been insulted like this; they practically pointed their finger at him and yelled at him.

This young lady is quite young, but she has quite a temper; she's rather interesting.

He stood up, wiped his hands with a handkerchief, and left.

He didn't say a word.

"What bad habits have they developed!" Jiang Shan muttered, tidying up the dishes on the table that hadn't been thrown away yet, and asked Qiao Sheng to take them to the homeless beggars on the street.

When the young master saw the chef from Jiang's Private Kitchen giving food to the beggar, he almost immediately recognized it as the leftovers from Jiang's Private Kitchen.

The servant's eyes immediately changed, and he rushed forward to beat the man.

"What are you doing, you dog slave? Your master hasn't spoken yet, how dare you act like a dog relying on his master's power?" A cold, sharp voice suddenly came.

The servant's expression changed drastically, and he immediately knelt down.

Li Minghe stepped forward, stared at the young man's face, and said, "Fu Qichen, you've really made something of yourself. In the capital, you pretended to be a good boy, but now that you're in this rural place, you've learned to act like a spoiled brat. You've been utterly disgraced by this lackey!"

Fu Qichen said helplessly, "Uncle, I didn't even have time to stop you before you arrived. I really didn't mean to bully anyone!"

When Qiao Sheng saw Li Minghe, he bowed to him from a distance and walked away without looking back.

Li Minghe, somewhat exasperated, pointed at Fu Qichen with his fan and said, "What are you doing at Jiang's Private Kitchen? They didn't do anything to you, did they? Fu Qichen, I'm warning you, it's not easy for their whole family—the elderly, the young, the pregnant, and the disabled—to run this shop. If I find out what you did to them, I'll break your legs!"

Fu Qichen looked at Li Minghe in surprise, raised an eyebrow, and smiled, "How could I dare? I will keep an eye on anyone my uncle wants to take care of. Besides, that shop owner Jiang is sharp-tongued and not someone to mess with; ordinary people really can't bully her!"

Li Minghe couldn't help but laugh when he thought about the personalities of the Jiao siblings.

"What are you doing in Guyang County?" Li Minghe asked solemnly, as if remembering something.

Fu Qichen coughed lightly and lowered his voice, saying, "My mother said that you were on official business in Zongyang County, so I went there. The people at the post station said that you came here every few days, so I came looking for you."

"Speak like a human being! Don't try to pull that motherfucker on me!"

"...My elder brother has been away from home for a long time. My mother was worried about him and asked my father to let me come and take a look."

Li Minghe was unaware that Fu Qiyuan had been poisoned, but upon hearing Fu Qichen's explanation, he believed it.

He tapped Fu Qiyuan's shoulder with his fan and said coldly, "I'll say it again, there's a difference between legitimate and illegitimate children. You'd better not use those underhanded tricks your mother uses in the inner quarters on your elder brother. If you behave yourself, I'll be willing to acknowledge you as my nephew. Otherwise, the Qingyang Marquis's Mansion can do without you as a relative!"

Fu Qichen's lips twitched, and he said weakly, "Uncle, why say such harsh things? I'm not my mother, I really..."

"You were quite cute when you were little, but you look more and more like your mother now that you're older, hmph...!" Li Minghe snorted, fanning himself as he stormed off.

Fu Qichen's face slowly darkened, his clenched fists trembled slightly, and his eyes revealed a mixture of resentment and unwillingness with an indescribable bitterness. He slowly lowered his head...

"Fu Qichen went to Jiang's Private Kitchen?" Fu Qiyuan stared intently at the guard beside him, unwilling to miss a single expression on his face.

"Yes, he ordered a lot of dishes, but didn't eat much, and didn't cause any trouble in the shop. Later, when his attendants were about to attack Qiao Sheng, they ran into the prince and were reprimanded by the prince."

Fu Qichen has Li Yiniang's people around him. That woman is extremely troublesome, and Fu Qichen's presence here will cause him a lot of inconvenience. He must not let Fu Qichen know about his investigation into his background.

"Have you investigated the matter I asked you to investigate?"

The guard said with difficulty, "Young master, without the magistrate's handwritten letter, Magistrate Cao will not allow us to review the case files. However, I have found another clue. Three years ago, the madam sent someone to Guxian Town and instructed all officials in Guxian Town to remember one sentence: Jiao Yan died unexpectedly!"

Fu Qiyuan felt as if he had been punched hard in the heart. Countless bizarre and fantastical images flashed through his mind in an instant, but when he tried to see them clearly, they disappeared.

That's really true!

He is Fu Qiyuan, the eldest son of the Minister of Works, but he is also Jiao Yan, the second son of the Jiao family in Huaigu Village!

"Pass the word: withdraw all personnel. There's no need to investigate anymore! Send someone to deliver a visiting card to Qingfeng Academy. I'm going to visit Master Wu there tomorrow!"

"Also, write a letter to my father and ask him to send me a few people; I need real experts!"