97 Chapter 97
"Are you so afraid of my death?"
As they were talking, the carriage had already arrived in front of the restaurant. Wei Che glanced at the street through the curtain. It was indeed a street that was not the most prosperous in the capital, but it was indeed bustling.
He casually asked, "Why?"
Xu Qinghe replied: "You are not my 'self-pleasing person' yet. I only dress up for girls. Please stand aside. Move aside, I want to get off."
After saying that, she really got out of the car holding up her dress, leaving the peacock-like Wei Che behind.
The peacock raised his eyebrows in displeasure. Before anyone left, he raised his hand and grabbed the girl's arm, pulling her into his arms with force.
"Say it again, do I count?" He held the person in his arms and narrowed his eyes dangerously.
Xu Qinghe said stubbornly: "Not really—well..."
I told you not to mess up her makeup!
Wei Che, this bastard!
Xu Qinghe was kissed by him, and all her breath was robbed, but she still kept her eyes open to accuse him, and met his dark eyes.
It was like a game of chess between two people, one trying to get in forcefully while the other tried to stop him from entering.
In the end, Wei Che was more skilled. He gave her a sneak attack on her skirt with his big palm. The girl in his arms let out a "嘤" and her body softened. She welcomed him in with her teeth wide open.
After a long time, Xu Qinghe's tongue tip became numb, and when she was almost suffocated to death in his arms, this man finally let her go.
But he still rested his forehead against hers and asked in a deep voice, "Say it again, does it count?"
Xu Qinghe wanted to retreat, but couldn't. When he opened his mouth, he saw the man's threatening look.
He held the back of her neck closer to her.
It was as if if she said no again, this man would come over and kiss her again. He was so shameless.
"It counts, it counts, okay?" She raised her hand to block the man's lips to prevent him from taking advantage of the opportunity to steal her fragrance again.
Wei Che kissed her palm: "That's more like it. A man will die for his friend. I can die for you, but you don't even dress up——"
Xu Qinghe suddenly covered his lips tightly, frowning.
"You are not allowed to say that word again."
"Which word? 'Death'?" Wei Che blinked, his voice muffled in her palm, making it unclear.
"I've already told you not to say that again!" Xu Qinghe pounded his shoulder. The corners of his eyes were already slightly red from the kiss just now, and now he was so anxious that even his eye sockets were red.
Wei Che took her hand down, held it to his lips and kissed it, but he was smiling: "Okay, okay, I won't say anything. You are so afraid of me - what is it?"
Xu Qinghe lowered his head, straightened his clothes, and replied, "We should always avoid such things."
Fortunately, this man just held her wrist and pinched her neck to kiss her, so there were no wrinkles on the beautiful dress.
"Bring me the mirror."
The spacious carriage was equipped with not only incense burners and ice mirrors, but also the princess's usual makeup mirror. Wei Che took the mirror, which was almost bigger than her face, and held it in front of her with one hand.
The lip balm had been smudged by his kisses, and some of the powder on her chin had fallen off. Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes, smudged the powder there.
Xu Qinghe glared at him fiercely, his watery dark eyes clearly accusing him.
Wei Che almost raised his hands in surrender. He gently lifted the person off his legs and placed her on the cushion, saying flatteringly, "Okay, okay, blame me, blame me, blame me. I'll go downstairs and let your maid touch up your makeup, okay?"
The consequence of messing up a girl's carefully put-on makeup was that when the girl got off the car, she simply ignored his outstretched hand, didn't even glance at him, and leisurely straightened her sleeves and walked into the restaurant.
"I'll pick you up at 11:00 PM tonight at the latest. You need to keep your evening time with me."
Xu Qinghe didn't even turn around and ignored him.
Wei Che knew that the girl would definitely be waiting quietly at the door at that time, and when he came, she would complain about him and say: You are so slow.
He also said that he only dressed up for girls. Then who was it that dressed up like a beautiful butterfly for Xie Qi on the seventh day of the seventh month every year?
This girl is really stubborn.
Forget it.
He leaned his head against the car wall and sighed.
It was Xie Qi’s birthday, and Wei Che was lucky enough to be able to spend a whole night with him. What else could he ask for?
It's a pity to lose the clothes he had prepared long ago and the good horse in his villa outside Beijing.
"Let's go back home."
He ordered with a curled lip.
**
Roughly speaking, the restaurant that Xu Qinghe invested in has been open for more than half a month now.
That building was originally a long-renowned restaurant on this street, but its owner left Beijing for some reason and sold the store.
When Xu Qinghe walked into the restaurant, he saw that the lobby was crowded with people. Waiters with towels draped over their shoulders were either shuttling between the seats or fluently announcing the names of dishes to the guests.
What's more, a tray of fine wine was placed against his chest and delivered to the designated seat in a blink of an eye. The speed was astonishing.
There was also a constant stream of people coming and going on the stairs leading to the private rooms on the second floor.
The private rooms on the upper floor were all packed. As soon as the guests at the previous table came out, the guests behind them rushed in and sat down, fearing that they would miss out if they were a step late.
"Madam, this restaurant is really lively!" Even Nanzhi couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
I never knew this little girl Lin Xiao was really good at making trouble!
The slight annoyance that Xu Qinghe had just felt because of Wei Che disappeared the moment he saw this bustling restaurant.
The layout of this restaurant is not actually elegant, it can even be said to be simple, but in this simplicity, there is a sense of southern scenery everywhere, which not only makes people in Beijing feel novel, but also makes people from the south who settle here feel at home.
"These are all arranged according to the painting my wife gave me. The lobby and private rooms are decorated with specially cultivated wisteria flowers, as well as other flowers that people in the southern border love to display in their homes. The music I ordered to play is also a folk song from the southern border, leisurely and light, and everyone loves it!"
Lin Xiao was dressed in a neat short suit, and his eyes were full of the youthful vigor.
Xu Qinghe followed her up to the second floor. Looking down from the second floor, they saw another noisy scene.
She looked at the figure floating below and praised sincerely, "Thank you for your hard work. You did a great job."
Lin Xiao rubbed his head sheepishly. "Actually, it was all arranged by Madam. Most of these were designed according to Madam's ideas. I just made some minor changes. And the chefs Madam hired specialize in both southern cuisine and popular Beijing dishes. They really satisfy many people's needs, which is why everyone likes to eat here. Oh, and the chef Madam hired is also very good. He taught me a lot..."
"Okay, stop flattering the madam." Nanzhi laughed happily. This little girl was honest, but too honest. They came out for important things to do.
Lin Xiao immediately reacted: "Hey, okay, I'll take my wife to check the accounts. To be honest, I still haven't mastered this whole accounting thing."
Nanzhi laughed and said, "Madam, you have been learning to read accounts since you were learning painting. This is something that cannot be learned overnight. It has only been half a month. You have a lot to learn."
When Xu Qinghe was young, the Nan'an Prince and his wife had already decided not to have any more children in the future. The huge Nan'an Palace would belong to Xu Qinghe in the future, so in addition to learning some painting, the princess also forced her to learn housekeeping.
Barely two quarters of an hour had passed, but Xu Qinghe had already finished looking through all the accounts of the restaurant since its opening, amidst Lin Xiao's stunned reaction.
She pointed at two names on the roster and said to Lin Xiao, "Although it's said that clear water will attract no fish, these two people in the kitchen are too greedy. They've embezzled a hundred taels in just half a month. Find an opportunity to teach them a lesson. If they still don't listen, kick them out and we'll find someone else."
Lin Xiao came back to his senses and quickly responded.
After checking what happened in the restaurant, Xu Qinghe asked again, "How's the search for the person in the portrait going?"
There were two people in the portrait. One was the prince of Nanyi Kingdom who would be coming to Beijing to pay homage to the emperor in a month. Wei Che was just waiting to contact him the next day. The other was a person whose name was unknown and only had a portrait. The two of them were to be looked for separately.
It’s just that Xu Qinghe knew that Wei Che had ordered his men to look for her, but the latter knew nothing about her movements.
After hearing this, Lin Xiao's face, which was full of energy just now, suddenly fell.
"I set up a porridge stall as Madam instructed, and indeed, it attracted quite a few beggars to help us. I also arranged for some people to volunteer to work in various officials' residences. But in the past two weeks, there has been no news of the person in the portrait. Madam, could it be that the person is not in the capital at all?"
Xu Qinghe thought about it and shook his head: "Wei Che said that Cen Liangping claimed to have seen that person in the capital."
But when Wei Che asked where he saw it, he couldn't remember it no matter what.
"Let's search slowly for now." Xu Qinghe rubbed his scalp and said slowly, "There is still a month before the Nanyi Kingdom delegation arrives in Beijing. If we can't find it within this month, we can think of other ways."
If it really doesn't work, after subduing Nan Mingzhao, we can get some clues from him.
After dealing with these important matters, the next step is to spend time with my daughters.
Xu Qinghe looked out the window at the scenery, which was full of greenery and bright sunshine. She asked, "Hasn't Jing'an arrived yet?"
Lin Xiao replied, "We just arrived and have someone take the princess to Ling Han Xuan."
As soon as he saw Jing'an, Xu Qinghe felt very uncomfortable because of her strange gaze: "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Jing'an smiled and said, "Qinghe, you are very different from the last time we met."
The last time they met was just over ten days ago. How could they become so "different" in such a short time?
"Hmm... He seems more relaxed and happier than last time. More importantly, he looks better too."
Princess Jing'an looked him up and down, and finally concluded, "In short, he looks more lively than before."
Nanzhi served the two people food while smiling, "Princess, you really have a good eye. Our Madam has not only looked better these past few days, but she's also smiling more than in all the past few years combined."
She hadn't seen such a happy and lively princess for a long time.
Jing'an agreed with what he said, but then realized something belatedly: "...Madam?"
Xu Qinghe coughed unnaturally: "We can't let others know that the princess is the one behind this restaurant."
"Oh, I see."
Jing'an's gaze soon became somewhat meaningful.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
