Chapter 50: King of Yue

Si Li was amused by Jiang Lang's somewhat rogue behavior. He looked like a serious person, so how could he change so suddenly?

However, on the one hand, she couldn't afford to offend the Prince of Yue's Mansion, and on the other hand, if Princess Jinhe continued to stay, the relationship between the two parties would not end for a while, and she would have to pay for all the food and drink expenses. There was no need to upset a big customer because of such a small matter.

"Your Highness may have to wait a little longer. Most customers have appointments in the afternoon. I'm injured, so I'll stand as little as possible. Please understand."

After two days of gloom, the sun finally came out today. Si Li leaned against the wall and looked up at the sun, feeling lazy and not wanting to move at all. The door between the two houses was open. From time to time, guards from the palace came to deliver documents and files. The servants brought a chessboard from next door. The brother and sister of the Prince of Yue were playing chess quietly. Si Li watched for a while, and then felt a little dizzy, so he simply stopped watching.

When Shopkeeper Tang went into the backyard to help, he was prepared, but he was still startled by the open door and the two guests. He handed over the milk tea and pulled Si Li aside to talk. He lowered his voice but couldn't hide his worry, "Girl, tell me the truth, you are not really from the Prince of Yue's Mansion, right?"

Having connections and being able to borrow the power of the Yue Palace is different from being a member of the Yue Palace. Although the latter is more closely related, if the palace says that Wanglaiju cannot continue to operate, the owner of the palace, whose capital and other funds all come from the palace, will not resist at all.

He has been cooperating with Wanglaiju for so many days and has tasted the sweetness. The little girl has a lot of wonderful ideas in her head, and she has a good relationship with people. The future development of Wanglaiju is limitless. He has made much more money than before by taking advantage of Wanglaiju. And because of Si Li's idea, he also brought some old guys he knew before to make money together. These two days, he is thinking about whether to hire two young men to work.

But if Wanglaiju is controlled by the Prince of Yue's Palace, he dare not say what will happen tomorrow. After all, who knows what the nobles are thinking? Maybe they just want someone to open a store for fun?

Si Li suppressed her laughter and looked at Jiang Lang's tense profile. She didn't intend to remind Manager Tang that his self-proclaimed quiet voice had been clearly heard by the people around him. She said softly, "I didn't even go to Qiyunlou when you invited me before. Are you still afraid of this?"

Hearing this, the young man's frown relaxed a little. It is said that clothes make the man, and the saddle makes the horse. Today, Prince Jiang was wearing a plain brocade jacquard gown. The cloud pattern embroidered with silver silk refracted a faint light in the sun. It was low-key and a bit frivolous, and even his handsome face with a hint of childishness inexplicably became three points more beautiful.

If the prince I met yesterday wore this dress, I'm afraid no one would object if he became the national teacher and offered sacrifices to the heavens.

The images of the two cousins ​​overlapped in front of her eyes. Si Li shook her head and felt a little amused. Everyone loves beauty, but it is not her place to judge the appearance of the royal children.

Just when she was about to look away, the young man who was sitting upright suddenly raised his eyes and glanced at her. Si Li met his calm eyes and felt a little guilty for a moment. She quickly lowered her head and looked at the ground, as if there was a flower on the ground.

"Does the shopkeeper have anything to say?"

"Ah." Si Li's mind was filled with beauty, and she quickly figured out a question, "I heard that Qiyun Tower was the place where the emperor and empress fell in love. I'm just a little curious why it ended up in the hands of the Prince of Yue's Mansion."

As soon as she said this, Si Li regretted it. What is this called? This is called prying into the secrets of the royal family. She still wants to live two more years! "Forget it if it's not convenient to say. I'm just curious, just curious."

Jiang Hengyun put down a chess piece and did not answer. Instead, he asked another question, "In your opinion, how does Qiyun Tower compare to Wanglaiju?"

How can they be compared? Si Li was stunned by the question. Just by looking at the exterior and decoration of Qiyun Tower, she knew that the financial resources could not be compared, not to mention the fame. In terms of technology, she was definitely not as good as the empress who single-handedly pushed Qiyun Tower to the top of the capital. So what was there to be compared?

But they had not been in contact for so many days. If she had regretted triggering this mission and losing the opportunity to go to Qiyunlou, now she had already felt the special connection between the restaurant and its diners.

She knows the regular customers and will chat with them if she happens to meet them and give them more food. The familiar customers also know everyone in Wanglaiju. Today, she hurt her foot, and almost every customer she met told her to be careful and remember to take medicine. When the counterfeit food appeared, it was also the customers of Wanglaiju who told them seriously that other restaurants were not as good as Wanglaiju and they would choose Wanglaiju again.

Not to mention that apart from the diners, there are now some connections in Wanglaiju, like the shopkeeper Tang next door, the horse shoe shopkeeper who ordered milk, the carpenters she has never met, and the bricklayer apprentice Ah Fu who helped, and... the three half-partners and half-companions of Wanglaiju who were brought out from the Si family's manor by her.

She and they are all working hard to get along well and to be better for themselves.

"Qiyunlou is very good and famous. The chefs who used to work there were also very good. I regret that I have never met the Empress. I think she is a very talented person." Si Li thought for a moment and continued, "But, Wanglaiju was opened by me, so the relationship is different. This place is like my home. Although it is not good enough, I still like it here. After all, as the saying goes, a nest of gold or silver is not as good as your own doghouse."

This was the first time Jiang Hengyun had seen a woman who compared herself to a dog. Thinking of the notes before, it was not surprising for Si Li to say this. He held the chess piece in his hand and rubbed it slowly. The white jade jumped on the young man's fingertips, making Si Li dizzy for a moment.

"You're right, the same goes for Qiyun Tower." Jiang Hengyun curled his lips a little unnaturally, "To me...brother, Qiyun Tower is just a dead object."

Si Li didn't notice the pause in his words. After thinking for a while, she realized that what he meant was that since the Queen was gone, Qiyun Tower was no longer a home.

Although the young man was laughing lightly, an inexplicable sadness gripped Si Li, causing her throat to tighten. She reluctantly said, "Is that so?"

Neither of them spoke any more. In the suffocating awkward silence, footsteps were heard from the front hall. A powerful voice passed through the thick curtain between the front hall and the backyard, "Where is your shopkeeper? He is such a great man who can make sweet potato shreds..."

Si Li turned her head and saw the fat middle-aged man smiling and just opened the door curtain. He looked around the backyard and his eyes fell on "Jiang Lang". His smile suddenly disappeared and he shouted in a deep voice, "You kid——!"

The person who could talk to the prince of Yue like this must be of high status. He was wearing a floral cotton robe that wrapped around his round body. He didn't look noble at all, but rather like a local tycoon. His face was full of honesty and amiability. Si Li leaned against the wall to stand up and said hesitantly, "Who is this..."

Jiang Hengyun glanced at him calmly, and the middle-aged man's face changed, and a false smile appeared on his face. Lin Ruying, who was guarding the courtyard, stepped forward and saluted, "Prince, are you here to look for the prince and the princess?"

"I didn't expect you two to be here, eating alone without my knowledge." The King of Yue nodded with a smile, turned to the only new face in the courtyard, and looked him up and down for a moment without leaving any trace, "Is this the young storekeeper Si?"

Si Li could still clearly see the scrutiny in his eyes. She bent her knees with difficulty and said, "I, a commoner, greet you, Your Majesty."

"Hey, what's wrong? If you feel uncomfortable, sit down and don't be so formal with me." King Yue didn't move forward a step. He stood beside Si Li and rubbed his hands. His honesty became more and more obvious.

"Are you still going to make the sweet potato with shreds you sent me last time? Oh, I ate it once and I want to eat it again, but I didn't know where your store is and I forgot to ask at the time. I happened to see it when I went to the Huguo Temple across the street today, so I hurried over here."

It turns out that the last batch was bought by Jiang Lang for his father, so why didn’t he take it away for himself?

Si Li looked at the two men standing at the edge of the courtyard and sitting in the courtyard playing chess in silence with doubt. The fat face of the King of Yue vaguely showed some of his youthful handsomeness, and the blood relationship between the two was very obvious. But one of them was smiling and didn't even look at his son, while the other one was playing chess with one hand and rubbing his forehead with the other, seeming to be quite helpless. She was a little confused about the relationship between the father and son.

"As long as the prince likes it." Si Li put on a business-like smile, motioned Meng Taotao to bring another stool over, and sat down with the help of Xiao Que who followed. "Today is really unlucky. I fell down yesterday and hurt my foot and couldn't stand, so I only sold ten portions of shredded sweet potatoes. Seven portions have been ordered now. Do you think you should order one and I will send it down, or should we talk about it later? But the prince and the princess have already ordered two portions. The shredded sweet potatoes are sweet, and you will feel sick if you eat too much. In fact, two portions are just right for three people. What do you think?"

Two servings for three people? He is not so lucky.

King Yue glanced at the two people in the courtyard, and the smile on his face became even more fake. He casually threw a purse to Xiao Que who was guarding Si Li, "Send it. But Manager Si's injury must be treated by a doctor. Don't leave any problems. That would be a pity."

The fat King of Yue came and went in a hurry. Si Li never saw the prince say a word to his father from beginning to end. It seemed that he just came to order a portion of sweet potato slices. Si Li took out his purse, opened it, weighed the silver, and gave up trying to get to the bottom of it.

She paid five taels of silver at once, even though he came to see the little girl who was close to her son, Si Li didn't care. She earned a premium of four and a half taels just by looking at her, especially since she had no relationship with the prince, so she made a lot of money on this business.

The brother and sister were still playing chess, and Si Li sighed quietly. Jiang Lang looked good, but he was stingy. I wonder which noble lady in the capital he will marry in the future. If he is so stingy with his family, I am afraid he will be so angry.

After the morning business was over, Wang Ting came out of the house holding Wang Xiaochong, who was holding Meng Taotao's book tightly, and said with a stern face, "Whether you know how to read or not, you just know how to read, bask in the sun, jump a little, and grow taller."

Wang Xiaochong held the book in one hand, rubbed his eyes with the other, and yawned with his head down. Si Li felt amused, thinking that this child was probably not reading a book, but pretending to fall asleep while reading.

But the child is still young, it is normal for him to be easily sleepy. Wang Xiaochong is usually well-behaved and obedient, and it is not wrong for him to just love to sleep. She spoke up to help, "Wang Ting, let Xiaochong play by himself, I have something for you to do."

Wang Ting's face darkened as he took out the book and returned it to Meng Taotao. Si Li drew a circle on the ground, "Yesterday I saw a kind of grass outside the South City. The leaves had sawtooth edges, the stems were purple, and there were small light brown lantern-like fruits hanging on them. I just remembered that I had seen it in a book before. This thing is useful. Go and help me find it. There should be people who have it in the nearby villages."

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The author has something to say:

Prince: I judge myself