Xu Qinyu was stunned when she heard this. "Guards? Why are there guards coming to my house?"

There are only Huo Jiang, Lian Hua and about 20 other guards in the restaurant, but no servants. There are not many officials and families with servants in Raozhou City. Moreover, Xu's Restaurant has received rave reviews from diners over the past three years. Xu has never made enemies with the dignitaries in the city, so how could there be guards surrounding the house?

Chun Tao shook her head, "I don't know. I just heard someone knocking on the door. I went to open the door and saw a group of guards in black armor surrounding the house. They also said they wanted to see you, the owner of Xu's."

Guards in black armor?

Xu Qinyu's heart skipped a beat. She knew that the Black Armored Army wore black armor. Could it be that those outside were the Black Armored Army? But since Raozhou City was taken over by the Black Armored Army a year ago, she had no contact with the Black Armored Army. She had never even seen the Black Armored Army's leader, nor had she ever seen them come to Xu's restaurant for meals.

But Xu Qinyu was not sure at the moment whether the people outside were the Black Armored Army. After all, the Black Armored Army had already fought into the capital city, and no one knew what the situation was like inside the capital city. Only a small number of Black Armored Army remained in Raozhou City.

So who are these guards? What did Xu Ji want to do?

No matter what happened, Xu Qinyu had to go out and take a look. Xu's Restaurant did not evade taxes, and it did its best to treat diners, so she was not afraid of trouble.

Xu Qinyu said, "I'll go out and take a look."

Chuntao had a loud voice, and Ning Jie'er and Wen Shi had already heard what she had just said. Wen Shi and Ning Jie'er had already put on their clothes and came out of the house. When they heard Xu Qinyu say this, they immediately said, "Yu Niang, I'll go with you to take a look."

"Fourth sister-in-law, I'll go with you."

Xu Qinyu nodded, and the three of them walked towards the courtyard gate. Chuntao hurriedly followed, and Moyu, who had been following Xu Qinyu, also followed her and walked towards the gate.

In fact, before Chuntao came to report, when Xu Qinyu was still washing up in the house, Moyu, who was originally sleeping under the window of her room, suddenly ran out of the room with his ears erect, came to the courtyard, and lay there with his ears erect, motionless, until Chuntao came in to report. Only then did he look at Chuntao again, but with his ears still erect, obviously he already knew what was going on outside.

Xu Qinyu felt much more at ease when she saw Mo Yu following her.

When winter comes, Baiyu hibernates in an unknown place in the mountains. Snakes usually hibernate for three to four months, without eating or drinking, and will not wake up even if no one disturbs them. But Baiyu is different. It will come back once every ten days or half a month, and run back to the mountains within two days of coming back.

So Baiyu is not here at the moment, only Moyu is with him.

Four people walked forward with a majestic black leopard.

The sky was gloomy, snowflakes were still falling, and a layer of white snow covered the ground. Xu Qinyu stared at the white snow on the ground, which made a creaking sound when stepped on. Her heart was beating a little violently. She didn't know why, but she always felt that something was a little strange. She didn't think the guards outside the house would be harmful to her and Xu Ji, but so many guards were really strange...

They soon arrived at the gate of the house. After going around the screen wall, Xu Qinyu saw that the gate was still closed. Chuntao must have seen so many guards outside and wanted to come in to pass on the message, so she quickly closed the gate again.

Since the guards didn't force their way in, it must be no bad intention for them to come looking for her.

Could it be something good?

Xu Qinyu felt strange and confused.

Chuntao ran over and opened the red door of the house, and Xu Qinyu saw the situation outside. It was indeed as Chuntao said. There was a row of guards wearing black armor standing outside, and these guards had particularly serious expressions. At a glance, there were about dozens of guards.

When the guards saw Xu Qinyu, Wen Shi, and Ning Jie'er coming out, they all stepped back, raised their left arms, bowed and saluted. Then the guards shouted, "Please respectfully invite the Empress, the Empress Dowager, and the Princess to return to the capital."

Xu Qinyu was silent.

Mrs. Wen and Sister Ning were in much the same state as her, both seemed a little slow to react.

Chuntao, needless to say, stared at the guards who were performing the ceremony in front of her with a dazed look on her face. What were these guards doing?

Xu Qinyu was a little confused...

What? What about the Empress, the Queen Mother, the Princess? Are you talking to them?

Are you calling them?

But how did they become empresses, queen mothers and princesses?

No, if they were to become the empress dowager and princess, it would only mean that the fourth brother became the emperor? ?

Only if her fourth brother becomes emperor can she become empress, her mother-in-law can become empress dowager, and Ning Jie'er can become princess.

Xu Qinyu finally reacted, but she still couldn't believe it. Her mind was blank and she felt like she was dreaming. Could it be that she was still dreaming and hadn't woken up yet?

How did the fourth brother become the emperor? Could it be that the leader of those black armored soldiers was the fourth brother?

The business trip that Fourth Brother mentioned actually involves taking the Black Armored Army to the capital?

Xu Qinyu's mind was in a mess and her heart was in turmoil.

Wen and Ning Jie'er are similar to her.

Sister Ning's face turned a little pale.

The three of them finally reacted, looked at each other, and stared at each other, but no one spoke first.

In the end, it was Wen who spoke first, "You, you guys..."

At this time, a man came out from the group of black-armored guards. The man's appearance was not outstanding, but rather ordinary. He was Huo Ye. Since he entered the capital, broke into the palace, and captured the Empress Dowager and Emperor Sheng Yuan, from the moment he captured the Empress Dowager and Emperor Sheng Yuan, no matter whether His Highness was the Prince of Shu or the leader of their rebel army, His Highness was no longer His Highness, but the current Emperor.

After His Majesty captured the Empress Dowager and Emperor Sheng Yuan, what he was most worried about were naturally the families in the border town, so he asked Huo Ye to personally lead a team of people to rush back to the border town to bring the Empress and others to the capital.

Huo Ye said, "I am the commander-in-chief of the emperor's court. I have been ordered by the emperor to take the Empress Dowager, the Empress, and the princesses back to the capital. The emperor has been very cautious over the years and has never revealed what he was going to do. He was just afraid that the Empress Dowager would worry. Now that the big thing has been accomplished, the Empress Dowager is the one who is most worried. Don't worry, the throne is the will of the people and the legitimate successor. The late emperor left behind a number of edicts to make the eldest prince the crown prince. The emperor found the edict and gave the eldest prince a posthumous title. The Empress Dowager and Emperor Sheng Yuan have confessed that they were the ones who poisoned the late emperor."

After hearing this, Wen finally couldn't bear it anymore, she covered her eyes, and tears flowed from between her fingers.

Ning Jie'er and Xu Qinyu also felt uncomfortable, with tears in their eyes. They did not try to persuade Wen Shi, but just let her cry her heart out.

At this moment, Zhu also came out with Sister Yan and Brother Feng.

She came to the main courtyard to look for Yu Niang and the others but couldn't find her. She heard from the maid that there were a lot of guards outside surrounding the house. Yu Niang and the others came out to check, and then Zhu came with the two children to look for her...

When Huo Ye saw Zhu, Feng Ge'er, and Yan Jie'er, he immediately said, "Please respectfully invite Old Lady Zhu and the Princess and Prince back to the capital."

Zhu and the two children looked confused.

Huo Ye repeated what he had just said to the other three people, and their confusion finally turned into shock.

Zhu was even a little frightened and her body was shaking.

Xu Qinyu was afraid that her grandmother would be frightened, and since it was still snowing outside, she said, "Let's go inside first."

It was definitely impossible to go to the restaurant for breakfast today, but she still asked Chuntao to go to the restaurant and tell them.

Chun Tao still looked dazed. "Okay, okay, I'll go over and tell the restaurant."

After Xu Qinyu led her family and Huo Ye into the house to talk, the other guards remained outside the house.

Chuntao also ran towards the restaurant in a trance. She didn't even know when she ran into the restaurant. She was still rushing towards the kitchen with her head down. Chen grabbed her and said, "Chuntao, why are you rushing in with your head down? Be careful not to bump into the hot pot and hot soup in the kitchen and scald yourself. Where is the boss? Why are you here?"

Chuntao looked up in a daze and called out "Auntie Chen".

Chen has been working for Xu Qinyu for several years. In the first year of Xu's Restaurant's opening, Chen was hired, as well as Lin and Yuan. The first three female waiters of Xu's Restaurant have all followed Xu Qinyu to the restaurant for three years.

Chen said, "Chun Tao, what's wrong with you? Why is your face so pale?"

Chuntao swallowed her saliva and said, "Aunt Chen, my wife won't come over to make breakfast today."

Chen said, "Okay, I'll go to the kitchen and tell them that the boss must be tired, so why not take a day off today?"

Chun Tao blinked and said, "Aunt Chen, from now on, my wife will not come to the restaurant to cook breakfast and dinner."

My wife has become the empress, so she must go to the capital to enjoy the good life. How could she continue to cook for others? Who dares to eat the food cooked by the empress? But she had eaten the food cooked by my wife before...

Chuntao suddenly felt her legs go weak.

Aunt Chen was stunned for a moment, "What are you talking about, kid? Aren't you cursing the boss?"

Aunt Chen thought that this would only happen if the boss was seriously ill or disabled and could no longer cook.

"Auntie Chen, no, I'm not cursing the Dong family." Chun Tao swallowed again, "My wife has become the empress."

"What?" Chen thought she had misheard. "Empress? What Empress?"

Chun Tao said: "Just now a group of guards surrounded the house..."

She told Chen what had just happened in great detail.

Chen was stunned and finally murmured: "Could it be that I am still dreaming? Why did I have such a strange dream? Oh, it hurts so much, it's not a dream."

While muttering to herself, Chen pinched her thigh, which caused her to burst into tears. Only then did she realize that it was not a dream at all.

Chun Tao chuckled, "Actually, I still think I'm dreaming. It's normal for Auntie to think this way. Then Auntie, tell the people in the kitchen that I won't be going."

Chen was still confused. She thought that if the Dong family wanted to become the empress, it must be because the Dong family's man became the emperor. Isn't the Dong family's man just a beautiful embroidered pillow who only knows how to do business? How did he become the emperor? Didn't the leader of the Black Armored Army go to the capital? Could it be that the Dong family's man was the leader of the Black Armored Army?

Chen was stunned.

Chun Tao called out again, and she came back to her senses. She asked, "Then, can we tell other people about the boss's business?"

Chun Tao felt that this matter could not be kept secret. The lady was going back to the capital with the guards, and the lady did not ask her to keep her mouth shut. "I think it should be possible to tell. The lady is going back to the capital with the guards, and the restaurant must explain it clearly."

After Chuntao left, Chen was still standing there.

This was truly shocking. The boss she had followed for several years had become the empress. My God, she had even eaten breakfast prepared by the empress.

Not only she had eaten it, but half of the people in Raozhou City and Yuanbao Town had eaten it. When they find out about it in the future, they will definitely have the same experience as her.

After Chuntao returned, the guards outside the house were still standing. Even when she walked over, these black-armored guards didn't even look at her.

Inside the house.

Huo Ye meant that they should pack up their things today and set off for Beijing tomorrow. The water routes were blocked now, so they could only take the official road. The carriages and other things were already prepared, so Xu Qinyu and the others didn't need to worry. If they could travel quickly, they would be able to return to Beijing in twenty days.

Xu Qinyu remained silent. It was impossible for her to believe Huo Ye's words just because she heard them. After all, she had never met Huo Ye.

No, she had seen this man before. She had eaten at Xu's Restaurant in Yuanbao Town.

But I have never seen Fourth Brother with him, so I won’t easily believe what he says.

And she never thought that her fourth brother would become emperor.

Finally, Huo Ye took out the letter that his fourth brother had written to her. At the end, Huo Ye also said, "Does the Empress have a crabapple-colored glass hairpin in her hand? That hairpin was made by the Emperor himself when he went to Erlai Country. He said he wanted to give it to you, the Empress. I went to sea with the Emperor that time. Or you can call Huo Jiang and Lian Hua over. The guards of Xu Ji are all from the black armor guards, and they are the Emperor's confidants. The Emperor was worried about the safety of you and the Empress Dowager, so he transferred more than 20 black armor guards to serve as the restaurant guards."

Only then did Xu Qinyu believe it.

She had never taken that glass hairpin out until now. No one else except her family knew about it. Even Chuntao and the others didn't know that she had such a glass hairpin.

Since what Huo Ye said was true, he must set off back to Beijing.

Wen said, "You make the decision, Yu Niang. When do you think we should set off?"

Xu Qinyu thought for a moment and said, "I'll go to the restaurant and tell them later. As for the other luggage, there's not much to pack, just a few changes of clothes. Mom, you can pack your valuable clothes and jewelry in a few boxes separately, and then ask Commander Huo to send someone to send them back to the capital, and we can set off first. The other ones are Mo Yu and Bai Yu. Mo Yu is in the house and can go with us at any time, but Bai Yu is still in the mountains. Bai Yu has been with me all these years. If it can't find me when it goes down the mountain, I'm afraid it will cause trouble..."

Huo Ye immediately said, "Don't worry, Queen. His Majesty said that both white jade and black jade are very spiritual. As long as the Queen leaves a token and tells the white jade, the white jade will return to the capital with the black-armored guards."

Xu Qinyu always felt a little awkward when he called her Empress.

There is no sense of reality, it always feels like a dream.

Besides, she was just a cook, how could she be an empress, not to mention that the fourth brother was now the emperor, but her marriage with the fourth brother was a coincidence, and she and the fourth brother were just in love before, and they had never slept together. She couldn't be an empress, she could only cook...

Maybe it's time for her to return to Beijing, but not to enter the palace and become empress. She wants to return to Beijing to see her original family and explain things to her fourth brother. She is also worried about her wine shop and restaurant, which are the result of her hard work.

Xu Qinyu lowered her eyes.

Since he had decided to return to Beijing, Huo Ye began to prepare.

Xu Qinyu was afraid that Wen and Ning Jie'er would notice something strange about her, so she said with a smile, "Then mother, Ning Jie'er, and grandmother, you guys pack your things first. I'll go to the restaurant and make sure everything is properly arranged."

Wen nodded, "Yuniang, go quickly."

Xu Qinyu stood up, left the yard, and slowly walked towards the restaurant.

In fact, she knew very well in her heart that she did not want to continue to be with her fourth brother. The reason was very simple. Her fourth brother would be the emperor in the future and would have countless concubines in the harem. He wanted to expand the royal family and marry the daughters of the aristocratic families and important officials in the capital to consolidate his throne.

She was just a cook and could not help her fourth brother in any way. She did not understand these things and could not face being trapped in the harem. She could only compete for favor with other concubines.

She was not from this era and could not accept such a husband-wife relationship, so she simply let go early while there was nothing going on between her and Fourth Brother. She thought that although Fourth Brother was not talkative, he was also a humble gentleman and would let her leave.

Xu Qinyu raised her head to look at the gloomy Tian'er, and couldn't help but pursed her lips and smiled.

No matter what, it is really good that Fourth Brother can become the emperor and avenge the eldest prince and the late emperor. She hopes that Fourth Brother will have smooth sailing in the future.

She congratulated her fourth brother on becoming emperor. She said that her fourth brother was a good man who understood the sufferings of the people. He would definitely be a good emperor who worked diligently and loved the people. The future Great Sheng Dynasty might really usher in a peaceful and prosperous era.

Xu Qin let out a long sigh, still feeling a little depressed in her heart. No matter what, her feelings for her fourth brother were real, and she would definitely feel sad if she wanted to let go.

They soon arrived at the restaurant, and Chen had already told everyone there that her employer had become the Empress.

Everyone in the restaurant was shocked and confused. It felt like they were dreaming, and they felt a little restrained when they saw Xu Qinyu.

It was still early and everyone was busy in the kitchen. No customers came to eat, so Xu Qinyu called all the waiters over and asked someone to call Gong Ge'er and Tao Qi.

Gong Ge'er is the manager of the restaurant. After all, Gong Ge'er and his family are also members of the Wen family and relatives of his mother-in-law. They may return to Beijing in the future, but there is no other manager in the hotel now, so she prefers to ask Gong Ge'er to manage the restaurant first. When the Wen family really wants to return to Beijing in the future, she will make other plans. If that doesn't work, she still has the four brothers Feng Tiao Yushun. They are her most trusted apprentices. Feng Ge'er is also growing up and can start learning to manage the hotel.

Xu Qinyu said: "Because, because of some reasons, I will leave Raozhou City and return to the capital, so I will still have to ask you to take care of the restaurant."

Gong Ge'er's eyes widened as he asked, "Fourth sister-in-law, can you return to Beijing? Could it be that those rebels have already overthrown the evil empress dowager and the incompetent emperor?"

Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "Your fourth brother is the leader of the rebel army. He also found the imperial edict that the previous emperor made the eldest prince the crown prince, so he has a legitimate reason to attack Concubine Fu Gui. The commander-in-chief under his command came here today and plans to take us back to the capital."

Gong Ge'er was extremely surprised.

He knew that his fourth brother was the King of Shu, but he didn't know that he was also the leader of the Black Armor Army. He went to the capital quietly and seized the throne, but it was a good thing he seized it!

Gong Ge'er should still be the calmest person in the room. After Xu Qinyu finished explaining, he said, "Four, no, don't worry, Her Majesty, you can return to Beijing without worries. We are here at the restaurant."

Xu Qinyu couldn't help laughing and said, "You'd better not call me Empress. It's awkward for you to call me that, and it's awkward for me to hear it too. Just call me the same as before."

Gong Ge'er scratched his head and said, "How dare we do that?"

Xu Qinyu instructed some other things, taking every aspect of the restaurant into consideration. Finally, she also instructed the brothers Fengdiaoshun and Yushun to learn more from Gong.

Xu Feng and Gong Ge'er are about the same age, and they are no different from real brothers now, but Xu Feng still wants to follow Xu Qinyu. But now Xu Qinyu is the empress and no longer just his master, so he has no choice. But he has also figured out that the restaurant and wine shop are the hard work of his master, and he will protect them for his master.

Xu Qinyu spent more than half an hour explaining things to Gong Ge'er and the others in the private room upstairs. The other chefs had already gone to the kitchen to get busy.

By the time Xu Qinyu came down, diners had already come to have breakfast with Xu Jiyong.

Most of Xu's customers recognized Xu Qinyu, and asked with a smile, "Did the boss prepare breakfast today? To be honest, although the food made by other chefs is equally delicious, the food made by the boss is still the best. Even though they are all prepared in the same way, the boss's cooking skills are still the best."

Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "I had something to do today, so I didn't help in the kitchen."

The diners laughed and said, "We just don't have the good taste."

After Xu Qinyu left, the waiters nearby had strange expressions on their faces, and were hesitant to speak. They did not dare to tell these diners that they would never be able to eat the food prepared by the boss from now on.

…

After Xu Qinyu returned, she went to the city again. She withdrew 300,000 taels of silver from the bank, which was almost one-third of her earnings in recent years. She had nearly one million taels saved in her bank. The main reason was that the world was in turmoil this year and the restaurant business was affected. Although the wine was brewed, it had not been sold outside. She planned to wait until the beginning of next spring to transport it to other states.

Before the world was in turmoil, Xu's Restaurant's highest monthly profit was over 80,000 taels.

She planned to take the three hundred thousand taels of silver back to her original family.

This time when she returned to Beijing, she was still very nervous. She didn't know how to face her original family and whether they would notice anything.

Everything was ready. The next morning, Huo Ye sent a carriage to pick up Xu Qinyu and the others. Huo Jiang and Lian Hua also went back to the capital with them. The remaining black-armored guards stayed in the hotel as security for the time being.

Xu Qinyu did not bring Chuntao and the other maids back to the capital, for she was afraid that they would not be accustomed to the life there. Moreover, she had no plan to enter the palace and was planning to return to the southwest in the future. Therefore, she did not bring Chuntao and the other maids with her. She also returned their indentures and allowed them to stay in the restaurant to work and save some money so that they could buy land and start their own business in the future.

There were three carriages in total returning to Beijing. They were much more spacious than ordinary carriages, covered with soft furs, and equipped with small tea tables and stools. When the tea tables and stools were put away, there was even a place to sleep. The curtains of the carriages were also very thick, which could block all the wind and snow. There were also hand warmers inside, so the whole carriage was warm and comfortable.

Xu Qinyu and Ning Jie'er rode in one carriage, while Wen and Zhu, each with a child, rode in the other two carriages.

Mo Yu was not happy riding in a carriage and always ran behind it.

Even Ma Er Qilin followed him back to the capital this time.

In this way, they drove all the way to the capital. However, no matter how fast the carriage was, it had to stop at the post station to rest. In this way, they traveled during the day and rested at night. It still took them twenty days to reach the capital, and they did not make it to the end of the year.

The day I returned to the capital was the fifth day of the first lunar month.