Encountered a black shop
Liu Ruyan seemed determined to let Ruan Yunsheng relax his guard. For several days in a row, Qingyi Garden was peaceful. All food, clothing and other expenses were distributed according to regulations. Occasionally, some fashionable fabrics and jewelry were even delivered. Her thoughtfulness was impeccable.
It seemed as if she, the mistress, really loved the second young lady and treated her as her own daughter.
Ruan Yunsheng didn't care about these things. He was happy to be free without being disturbed. At this moment, he was lazily lying on a lounge chair in the courtyard, squinting his eyes and enjoying the warm morning sun, as if he was really living a retired life.
Meanwhile, Hua Rong, standing by, frowned deeply, pacing back and forth while twisting her handkerchief. "Miss! How come you're not worried at all? How could the eldest lady be so generous? She's clearly a weasel offering New Year's greetings to a chicken!"
An Yue, who was sitting on a rock absorbing the essence of the sun and moon, also echoed faintly: "Why don't you let me go and find out the truth?"
Ruan Yunsheng seemed not to hear. He suddenly stretched, touched his stomach and muttered, "I'm hungry."
She turned over and sat up, looking at Hua Rong with sparkling eyes. "I heard that the roasted lamb and cherry cheese in the capital are excellent? Should we go try them?"
"ah?"
Hua Rong suspected she had misheard. Looking at the young lady's sparkling eyes, her worries were instantly stunned. Her face wrinkled, "Young lady! It's already this late and you're still thinking about eating..."
"Eating is the most important thing." Ruan Yunsheng smiled and walked out of the courtyard. "Hurry up, I heard there will be a long line if you go too late!"
Hua Rong was so angry at her heartless appearance that she stamped her feet, but she was helpless and could only trot to catch up: "Miss, please wait for me! Alas, I heard that the crispy bone fish at the 'Zuixianlou' on East Street is especially delicious..."
The little maidservant, who was full of worries just now, was immediately attracted by the delicious food in the capital and began to count on her fingers which pastry shop was worth trying.
In the elegant room "Tingxue Pavilion" on the top floor of Zuixian Tower, the sound of stringed instruments is melodious and graceful, the cool fragrance of pine needles is burning in the copper incense burner, and the shadows of bamboos are swaying outside the window. It does not look like a restaurant, but more like a hermit's study.
Huarong held the heavy gilded menu, her fingers trembling slightly. Her eyes widened as she read out the prices word by word: "A pot of Cloudtop Snow Buds is fifty taels? Jade Eight Treasure Duck is three hundred taels?"
She slammed the menu shut, as if realizing something, and whispered in Ruan Yunsheng's ear, "Miss! Are we running into a shady shop?"
Are all black shops so open these days?
Ruan Yunsheng picked up the celadon teacup and took a leisurely sip: "Don't worry, someone's hosting us today."
Hua Rong was skeptical. How could she not know that the young lady had connections in the capital? It was over! The young lady must have been deceived!
But seeing the young lady's calm demeanor, with no intention of leaving, he cautiously said to the waiter, "I want a plate of sweet-scented osmanthus lotus root and some stir-fried seasonal vegetables..."
They tried to save as much as possible, as they didn't bring much money with them.
Ruan Yunsheng held his forehead with his hand and waved to the waiter, "Bring all your signature dishes and warm up a pot of Lihuabai."
"Okay!" The waiter nodded, turned around and left quickly, so fast that Huarong couldn't stop him.
Hua Rong watched the disappearing figure, as if seeing the white silver growing wings and flying away. She was so anxious that her voice was almost tearful: "Miss! This is all white silver! If no one comes to pay, will we have to stay here and wash dishes for the rest of our lives?!"
Just at this moment, three slow knocks were heard outside the private room door.
"What are you afraid of?" Ruan Yunsheng raised his chin towards the door and said, "Look, isn't the one who's paying the bill here?"
When Hua Rong heard that the "sucker" had come, she suddenly came to life, ran to the door happily, and pulled open the carved door.
A furry head poked in, and Qi Mingxiu's familiar face, three parts arrogant and seven parts cocky, suddenly appeared.
"Master Qi!"
Hua Rong's eyes lit up, but then fell again. She suddenly remembered that this gentleman had escaped from Chuzhou penniless, and was probably even poorer than them! This account...
Just as she was struggling with her conscience, Qi Mingxiu stepped aside, revealing the person behind him.
The man was dressed in a moon-white brocade robe, his figure was as straight as a pine tree, his eyebrows were as cold as snow, and he exuded an aloof scholarly air.
"This is my brother, Qi Yanzhou." Qi Mingxiu said with a hint of boasting in his tone.
Ruan Yunsheng, who was originally leaning lazily in the chair, sat up slightly straighter. It was great that she was an ice beauty.
She immediately smiled brightly and took the teapot to pour a cup of hot tea. "So it's Master Qi. I've heard a lot about you."
Qi Mingxiu waved his hand proudly, "Boss Ruan, you're welcome! This Zuixianlou is owned by my brother."
Ruan Yunsheng picked up a piece of amber bacon with her silver chopsticks. The slice was as thin as rice paper, and when held to the light it had a glassy sheen. It melted in her mouth with its salty, fragrant aroma, and carried the unique aroma of wood smoke. She couldn't help but exclaim, "This bacon is marinated with exquisite techniques. I'm afraid it might not even be found in the palace."
She glanced at the bustling traffic outside the window, lost in thought: "But with such a high price, how can ordinary diners dare to ask for it?"
Qi Yanzhou tapped the tabletop with his knuckles, his voice calm and composed: "Zuixianlou does three kinds of business."
He gestured to the endless stream of people outside the window, "The seats on the first floor are sold by word of mouth. For ten taels of silver, you can taste the craftsmanship of the imperial chef's disciples. The goal is to spread the reputation of 'the best taste in the capital.'"
"The private rooms on the second floor are all about tranquility." He pointed to the bamboo sign hanging in the corridor. "High-ranking officials and nobles are most afraid of encountering acquaintances when entertaining guests. The private rooms here all have independent staircases, so they don't interfere with each other. You pay double the price for privacy without prying eyes."
“And this top floor…”
He raised his hand and brushed the purple clay teapot on the table, its body gleaming with warmth. "What we're selling is 'one-of-a-kind'. Every dish must be ordered fifteen days in advance, and the ingredients are delivered by express horseback over a distance of eight hundred miles. For example, this bacon comes from black-gold pigs smoked using traditional methods in southern Yunnan. Only a hundred kilograms are produced each year. What you're paying for isn't the food, but the unique presentation."
At this time, the waiter bowed and presented a plate of exquisite crystal cakes. Qi Yanzhou said calmly, "This is a carp cake carved by Mr. Wang from Jiangnan. He is now over seventy years old. It takes him three days to rest to carve a plate. This is not a snack, but a craft that is about to be lost."
Ruan Yunsheng's eyes flashed with sincere admiration: "Boss Qi is able to invite such a prestigious person to come out of retirement. He really has great connections."
Before she could finish her words, Qi Mingxiu, beaming with joy, interrupted her, "Of course. Three years ago, the tribute of ambergris from Southeast Asia was so fiercely fought over in the palace that they only got three cents. My brother sailed straight into the stormy sea, drank blood wine with those native chiefs for three days, and finally brought back an entire whale!"
His eyes lit up surprisingly. "Now those islanders only recognize my brother's token. Even the royal family has to go through our private port if they want to taste the new things!"
Qi Yanzhou's ears turned slightly red, and he put his fist to his lips and coughed lightly: "Ming Xiu." There was a hint of warning shame in his voice.
Ruan Yunsheng pursed his lips and tried to suppress his laughter. He finally understood clearly that this noisy Second Young Master Qi was actually a brother-con who wanted to praise his brother to the sky.
"Compared to these,"
Qi Yanzhou cleverly changed the subject, his eyes fixed on Ruan Yunsheng with genuine admiration. "Miss Ruan's haunted house is truly unprecedented. Turning horror stories into an experience business, enticing people to voluntarily pay to be frightened, this is truly ingenious."
Talking about his line of work, Ruan Yunsheng's eyes lit up. "Boss Qi, you're too kind. I'm just taking advantage of the fact that the more afraid people are, the more they want to try."
Qi Yanzhou nodded in agreement: "Just like the 'Thousand Gold Banquet' at Zuixianlou, it actually just takes advantage of their curiosity and competitive spirit to make those high-ranking officials' children willing to pay."
The two smiled at each other, and there was a tacit understanding between them as if they were evenly matched.
Qi Mingxiu looked at this and that, and suddenly muttered: "Why do I feel like I'm redundant..."
Qi Yanzhou's knuckles tightened slightly, and a rare hint of embarrassment appeared on his jade-like face. "To be honest, I came here today... to ask for a favor."
He looked up at Ruan Yunsheng, his gaze calm but filled with stubbornness. "Ye Li was once my best friend. We were classmates and vowed to work together to reform the canal transportation. But when I returned, he suddenly met with misfortune. The Ye Mansion fell into ruin overnight. I have made many inquiries, but the mystery remains shrouded in mystery."
His voice gradually lowered: "I heard that the young lady's haunted house is based on the old story of the Ye Mansion. I wonder if it is okay..."
Ruan Yunsheng took a leisurely sip of tea, her eyelashes trembling slightly. "Boss Qi, do you want to hear the truth or a lie?"
"What!" Qi Mingxiu suddenly jumped up, "So those scary things in your store are really all made up?"
"Don't say it so harshly," Ruan Yunsheng chuckled, shaking his teacup. "It's only half true and half false."
Qi Yanzhou's expression was solemn: "Please tell me the truth, young lady. This matter... is a knot in my heart."
Ruan Yunsheng suppressed her smile and spread her hands. "The truth is—" A rare look of confusion appeared in her eyes. "I don't know myself."
Qi Mingxiu's eyes widened in disbelief. "So all those scary stories of yours were just made up?"
She blinked innocently. "That's not the case." She poured tea from the kettle, her voice calm. "The plot of the first act is absolutely true and credible, as is the cruel way Yao Niang treats them."
She deliberately avoided the clues about the ghost in the Ye Mansion and only said, "I checked the files from that year. A month before Ye Li went crazy, he went out to receive three groups of overseas merchant caravans, and Yao Niang..."
She dipped her fingertips into the tea and drew a strange symbol on the table. "She has this totem on her body, but I don't know what it means."
"So you made up the identity of Yao Niang in the haunted house?" Qi Mingxiu was stunned.
Ruan Yunsheng nodded. "I really don't know her true identity, but I'm sure she's in cahoots with the mastermind behind this, and that mind-controlling poisonous insect is definitely not from the Central Plains."
She suddenly turned to look at Qi Yanzhou, "By the way, what kind of business was the Ye Mansion doing back then? How could such a person dare to use evil magic to kill them all?"
Qi Yanzhou's face darkened, his knuckles unconsciously rubbing the cracks on the teacup. After a long moment, he spoke in a hoarse voice, "The Ye family has a long tradition of scholarly tradition, full of nobles and aristocrats. Ye Li's grandfather was the current emperor's first tutor, and his students and friends were spread throughout the court and the country. By the time of Ye Li's father's generation, although not good at writing, he displayed an astonishing talent for maritime transport, single-handedly opening up the 'Liuli Route' to the South Seas, bringing a steady stream of exotic treasures to the palace."
His voice gradually lowered. "But just when the route was at its peak, the Ye family was suddenly discovered to have been secretly communicating with the Siamese royal family. The evidence was irrefutable, and His Majesty was furious. This led to their subsequent disastrous downfall."
Ruan Yunsheng pondered, "So it's very likely that my former political enemies are using sea transportation to set up this scheme?"
Qi Yanzhou stared at the tea-stained totem on the table. "The traces of what happened back then have been completely erased, but now that I have this clue, I won't give up."
He suddenly stood up and bowed deeply to Ruan Yunsheng. "Qi must start his investigation from the Nanyang witchcraft. Thank you very much, Miss Ruan, for today."
Ruan Yunsheng quickly waved his hands: "Boss Qi, you're too polite. This sky-high-priced banquet really opened my eyes~"
Her eyes suddenly lit up, "Speaking of which...can these dishes be packed?"
Qi Yanzhou was stunned for a moment, and a genuine smile appeared on his jade-like face: "Of course."
"Great!" Ruan Yunsheng immediately shouted happily outside, "Waiter! Two servings each of Emerald Eight Treasure Duck, Crystal Pomfret, and Snow-Topped Ganoderma Lucidum Soup!"
The waiter's loud reply came from outside the window: "Okay——"
Qi Yanzhou looked at the greedy and bright girl in front of him, and the depression in his heart was dispelled a little.
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