Once it was deemed perfect, the embroiderer stepped back a few paces to admire everyone's collaborative masterpiece.
“Miss, you were right to tell me not to embroider the whole thing, it would be too heavy.”
Another embroiderer also discovered the wonder of the wedding dress, exclaiming, "Wonderful, truly wonderful! The dotted line embroidery is dreamlike and ethereal, both gorgeous and lively."
Looking at herself in her wedding dress in the bronze mirror, Jiang Shuyue felt like she was dreaming.
After trying on the clothes, Qiuju was about to go to the storeroom to get the phoenix crown to try on when Jiang Shuyue stopped her, saying, "The phoenix crown I personally chose is sure to fit, no need to try it on."
She personally selected the phoenix crown from the Treasure Shop. She disliked those complicated and heavy styles, so she specially chose a simple and elegant red gold and red jadeite phoenix crown with pearls.
Simple yet elegant.
The embroiderers carefully put away all the wedding dresses.
When only Qiuju was left in the room, Jiang Shuyue said wistfully, "I don't know when he will come back. I don't know why, but I always feel uneasy. Do you think Xiao Jingzhao might have someone deliberately detain him and prevent him from coming back?"
"Miss, don't overthink it. Young Master Nangong isn't stupid. He certainly won't publicize the marriage everywhere."
Qiuju was also a little uneasy. Throughout history, there has never been a precedent of a woman who had been favored by the emperor marrying another.
My young lady and the Emperor have had an intimate relationship by chance and have even conceived a child. What if the Emperor finds out that my young lady and her husband are getting married?
Qiuju was still confident that the Emperor wouldn't do anything to her daughter, but the situation with her son-in-law was a different story.
Qiuju dared not voice her worries and add to her mistress's troubles, so she comforted her, "There are still several days until the wedding, maybe the young master will be back tomorrow."
Jiang Shuyue was preoccupied with exchanging seeds for jewelry and gold, and quickly put the matter of marriage out of her mind.
She coaxed Qiuju, saying, "I'll just take a stroll around the street ahead. You don't need to follow me. If Young Master Nangong comes back, just tell him to wait for me at home."
Qiu Ju glanced out the window and saw that the rain had stopped. A ray of sunlight shone down, and the crystal-clear water droplets on the leaves shone with iridescent colors, like colorful pearls.
"Miss, please go ahead. The rain has stopped outside. I'll take some people next door to tidy up the room."
Jiang Shuyue went straight to the grain shop after leaving the mansion. There was no shortage of food in the capital, so Jiang Shuyue did not take anything out of her space. The grain shop sold ordinary rice and flour.
There are only a few bean seeds left in the warehouse that haven't been sold yet.
After checking, Jiang Shuyue was relieved to confirm that she had not put any tomato seeds there before leaving.
...
As expected, apart from the Liang Kingdom's envoy, the other envoys, like dogs with a keen sense of smell, followed the scent and found Juxian Pavilion.
After taking care of everything, Hu Qing sat in the front hall and drank tea.
Before they had even taken a couple of sips of tea, several men dressed in foreign robes asked in broken Wanling dialect, "Do you have a lot of vegetables here?"
Hu Qing immediately understood upon seeing their attire; the Emperor was indeed a prophet.
"Please come in, sir. Our vegetables are the most abundant in the capital, but they are also the most expensive."
"Please look, everyone. This is a plaque personally bestowed by the Emperor. The title of 'Number One Building Under Heaven' is not given lightly."
Hu Qing smiled broadly and was very enthusiastic. He specifically mentioned the plaque bestowed by the emperor to prevent the barbarians from causing trouble.
The visitor, unsuspecting, waved his hand and said, "Things are valued for their rarity, so if they're expensive, then so be it. Arrange a table for us and bring out a portion of all the vegetables."
Hu Qing gave the waiter at the counter a wink, and the waiter quickly picked up the menu and handed it to him with both hands.
"Our restaurant is honest and fair to all, young and old. Prices are clearly marked. Please take a look at the menu and order accordingly."
This group of people were from Sangguo. Although they could communicate normally in Wanling language, they couldn't recognize all the characters in Wanling script.
The leader waved his hand and said, "No need to look. Just give us a serving of every dish that other restaurants don't have here, especially that thing called tomato."
The waiter looked at Hu Qing and said, "How... how are we going to serve this food? There are only a few of them, how can they eat so much?"
Hu Qing took the menu and instructed the waiter, "Take them to the private room on the first floor, I'll take care of this."
The waiter led the group to a private room next to the back hall. Hu Qing called the waiter over and gave him some instructions. The waiter then turned and ran to the kitchen.
Just as one group of people was settled, another group arrived.
The new customer, like the one before him, couldn't understand the menu and specifically ordered tomatoes and other vegetables.
Hu Qing followed the same method, arranging all the rooms in the private rooms on the first floor.
Before noon, five groups of people arrived in total, and judging from their clothes, they were all foreigners.
Because those people arrived early, the food was served very quickly.
The waiter announced the name of each dish as it was served.
Juxian Pavilion has always been careful to protect its reputation. Hu Qing always arranges the dishes according to the number of guests, and has no intention of overcharging them.
Every dish served was met with rave reviews from the Sang people. Even the stir-fried pork with green peppers was so delicious that after just one bite, they would gulp down water from their teacups, exclaiming how satisfying it was.
"Esteemed guests, all the dishes are served. Please enjoy your meal." The waiter respectfully poured tea for the guests and was about to leave.
The man in the lead glanced at the table and said with displeasure, "No, we don't have the tomatoes we need."
The waiter pointed to the dishes on the table and introduced them again: "Tomato scrambled eggs, tomato egg soup. Our restaurant's principle is to avoid waste. If you feel that the dishes are not enough, you can ask for more."
"No, we want those sweet and sour tomatoes. Quickly, have the kitchen make some."
"This... I don't know what you mean, sir. Do you mean sour plum drink?"
Hu Qing had anticipated this outcome. Seeing the waiter's predicament outside the private room, he stepped inside.
"Please don't make things difficult for the errand boy, sir. I am the manager here. Please feel free to tell me your needs, and we will do our best to meet everyone's expectations."
"Bang!"
The Sang man slammed his glass down in anger, shouting, "I specifically ordered tomatoes, why did your restaurant serve us this kind of dish?!"
Hu Qing asked calmly, "Gentlemen, have you all eaten the scrambled eggs with tomatoes on the table?"
"I've eaten it."
"Have you tried the tomato and egg soup?"
Everyone replied dejectedly, "We've tried it, it's alright."
One of the angry men said, "If there's no cold tomato salad, what kind of manager are you? I clearly mentioned red tomatoes just now."
Hu Qing wasn't annoyed. He smiled and asked, "Please calm down, sir. Our restaurant's chefs have limited culinary skills. May I ask where you've had cold tomato salad before?"
Just as the man was about to say he was in the palace, he suddenly realized that the other person's question was digging a hole for him.
How can the chefs in a restaurant compare to the emperor's imperial chefs? Are we just going to let this loss go unpunished?
The man's eyes darted around, and an idea came to him. "It doesn't matter if you can't make a good cold dish. Just wash a few, cut them into pieces, and put them on a plate."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
