"Young lady, my young master lost his temper after drinking. Please forgive him. I apologize to you," Wang Cheng said, clasping his hands in a fist salute.
From Princess Changning's intervention to Wang Cheng's apology, only a few breaths had passed. This sudden turn of events left the restaurant silent, before erupting into an uproar.
"It's Princess Changning!"
"It really is Princess Changning! Those people don't seem to have any powerful background; they must be from out of town, otherwise they wouldn't dare to provoke the princess."
"Excellent, excellent!"
"Shh! Don't say anything, or she'll get angry and beat you up."
"Yeah, last time someone glanced at her a couple of times, and they beat her half to death."
"Hurry up, hurry up! We can't stand this commotion."
The onlookers discussed it amongst themselves, then dispersed in a panic, keeping their distance.
The onlookers' discussions naturally reached their ears. Qin Mu quietly put away his wolf-hair brush and looked at the back of Princess Changning in front of him. He never expected that this little girl could be so feared by everyone.
Wang Cheng also heard the discussion. Seeing that the fierce little girl in front of him was actually a princess, he became even more afraid. However, as a retainer, he could not abandon his master, so he had no choice but to stand there with a stiff upper lip.
"Wang Cheng, what are you standing there for? Arrest him!" Only the drunken youth, oblivious to the commotion, continued shouting.
"My little darling! If you're looking for death, don't drag me down with you!" Wang Cheng groaned inwardly, looking at Princess Changning with pleading eyes.
"Get out of my way!" Princess Changning ignored his gaze and continued forward, glaring at Wang Cheng and scolding him.
After a fierce internal struggle, Wang Cheng lowered his head and bowed to make way for Wang Cheng.
"Wang Cheng! What are you doing!" The young man asked, startled, then threatened fiercely, "What are you trying to do? Do you know who I am? If you dare to touch me, I'll wipe out your whole family!"
"Oh! Then tell me who you are!" Princess Changning asked leisurely.
"I am Wang Hao, the third young master of the Wang family of Taiyuan. Little wench, are you scared now? Come with me obediently..." Wang Hao thought that Changning was really concerned about his identity, so he said smugly.
Unfortunately, before he could finish speaking, Princess Changning coldly ordered, "Break both his legs!"
"Heh heh! The Wang family of Taiyuan, what a show of power they have!" Yuchi Baolin walked up with a sneer.
"What...what are you going to do!" the young man asked, looking at Yuchi Baolin with fear.
"If you don't want to cause trouble for your Wang family, then obediently let me break both your legs," Yuchi Baolin said, clenching his fist.
Wang Cheng knew that Yuchi Baolin was telling the truth, so he stood obediently to the side. Offending the princess would probably mean he wouldn't even have a chance to leave Chang'an. Compared to that, the punishment from the Wang family was nothing.
"You...you...ah!" Wang Hao staggered backward, pointing at Yuchi Baolin, unable to speak. Then, with a scream, he collapsed. It turned out that both of his legs had been broken by Yuchi Baolin's kick. The sound of bones breaking sent a shiver down Wang Cheng's spine. The guards lying on the ground fell silent, all enduring the pain, fearing they might suffer the same fate.
"What a disappointment," Princess Changning said unhappily upon hearing the screams.
"You're a very interesting person. I'll come visit you another day!" Princess Changning said with a smile as she looked at Qin Mu, and then left with her guards.
"Should we eat somewhere else?" Qin Mu asked, having only just taken a few bites.
"Let's go upstairs to our room to eat!" Yuchi Baolin suggested.
"Alright!" Qin Mu agreed, and then the two called over a waiter who led them up to the fourth floor.
No one from Deyuelou came forward to find Qin Mu and his group, which shows that they were already very familiar with this kind of thing.
"Don't worry about it, someone will compensate us. Deyuelou has a very powerful background," Yuchi Baolin said to Qin Mu, who turned around to look.
"Hmm, did you all have such a wonderful time in Chang'an?" Qin Mu asked curiously.
"Of course not. This group of people must be here for the first time in Chang'an. They're used to running rampant in small towns. It's just that he was unlucky to run into a tough opponent on his first visit," Yuchi Baolin said with a smile, completely unconcerned about what had just happened.
Qin Mu, of course, didn't take it to heart. Although the Wang family of Taiyuan was powerful, they had offended the Li family and had no choice but to endure it. He figured someone else would probably go to the Li family to apologize next.
The private rooms at Deyuelou were quite large, but they were divided into separate seating areas. Qin Mu felt that it was more suitable for inviting guests, as it wouldn't be as lively with just a few close friends.
The taste was quite good; the meat was cooked with spices and herbs, and what Qin Mu liked most was the presence of ice. It was normal for wealthy families to store ice in their cellars, but the quantity wouldn't be large, so it was quite rare for this restaurant to provide ice.
However, the ice gave Qin Mu another inspiration: making ice from saltpeter was a very simple thing, and as for gunpowder, while he couldn't make complex explosives, black powder was no problem.
"Brother! Brother! What are you thinking about? Why are you so lost in thought?" Yu Chi Baolin asked, raising his voice.
"Oh! Sorry, I was just thinking about something."
"Could it be that you still have your eye on the princess?" Yuchi Baolin asked, winking at him.
"Of course not!" Qin Mu shook his head, banishing the image of those magnificent figures from his mind, and answered calmly.
"I just thought of something and would like to ask Brother Yuchi for help," Qin Mu said, changing the subject.
"It's alright, just tell me, I'll do whatever I can," Yuchi Baolin said, patting his chest.
"Make me a five-foot-long, hollow pipe about the thickness of a thumb, that can't leak and can withstand shocks," Qin Mu explained, gesturing as he spoke.
“It’s no big deal, I’ll make it for you tomorrow,” Yuchi Baolin agreed.
"There are a few other things; I'll bring you the blueprints tomorrow."
"No problem, I'm good at building things."
“I can help too,” Yuchi Baoqing added.
"Then I thank you both in advance."
"Didn't you say we're brothers? There's no need to be so polite."
The three of them, seeing that they had almost finished eating, paid the bill and went downstairs. The meal cost thirty taels of silver, which surprised Qin Mu.
"As expected of one of the best restaurants in Chang'an, it's really expensive!" Yuchi Baoqing exclaimed. With his current financial situation, he simply couldn't afford to eat here alone; at most, he could join someone for a couple of meals. Most people wouldn't order so many dishes, especially such high-quality items.
"Although it's expensive, it tastes great! The meat of these wild beasts isn't easy to obtain; it requires specialized hunters. The cost of maintaining a hunting team is not low," Yuchi Baolin explained.
"Do all the restaurants in Chang'an sell these?" Qin Mu asked.
"Pretty much. What else would a restaurant sell if not food and drinks? But most restaurants don't have their own hunting teams, so if they want meat, they have to buy it. Therefore, the most common profession in Chang'an is hunting."
"It shouldn't be said that hunters are the most numerous people in the Guanzhong region," Yuchi Baolin explained.
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