Three days passed quickly.
Early in the morning, Yun Yuan and Ji Huai went to Huai Shang Restaurant.
Due to word of mouth from those present that day, even though it was not dinner time, the Huai Shang Restaurant was still bustling with people and every seat was full.
Everyone was eagerly waiting for the competition to begin, filled with enthusiasm and anticipation.
In order to make it easier to work, Yun Yuan wore a Xiangfei-colored dress with narrow sleeves and a slanting collar. The light-colored jade belt outlined her small waist that could be held in one hand. Her silky black hair was combed into a bun, revealing her slender white neck.
The noisy voices in the restaurant quieted down the moment she appeared, and everyone's eyes were unconsciously attracted to her, unable to look away for a long time.
Yan Xiaoman almost bit her teeth to pieces.
She had dressed up specially today so as not to look too different from Yun Yuan. The apricot-yellow dress looked cute and lovely on her, but it was far inferior to Yun Yuan.
She thought bitterly, those who knew about it thought it was a cooking competition, while those who didn't thought it was a beauty pageant. Everyone was mesmerized by Yun Yuan's beauty, so who would vote for her?
Yan Xiaoman was angry and wanted to complain to Ji Shen beside him, but found that he was also looking at Yun Yuan, and he immediately became furious.
It would be fine if it was someone else, but Ji Shen was his husband. She worked so hard to support him in school. How could he set his sights on another woman?
She smiled wryly: "Husband, do you also think Yun Yuan is pretty?"
Ji Shen woke up as if from a dream and looked away awkwardly, "Not as pretty as my wife."
He said this, but his mind was filled with the words of his classmates.
[I heard you rejected Yun Yuan's advances. What were you thinking?! She's such a beautiful woman! If it were me, I wouldn't even want to marry her. If she tried to kill me, I'd stretch my neck out for her to chop off.]
Ji Shen didn't know what he was thinking. At that time, he just thought Yan Xiaoman was perfect. There was a voice telling him that he should be with Yan Xiaoman, pamper her and protect her, but this voice suddenly disappeared three days ago.
He used to look down on other women, as if there was an invisible barrier in his eyes that prevented him from looking at them.
However, in the past three days, the fog that obscured his vision gradually dissipated, and some different thoughts and ideas began to emerge in his mind.
He began to re-examine the women around him and found that they had many charms and characteristics that he had never noticed before.
The headmaster's granddaughter is beautiful and intelligent, his classmate's younger sister is a pretty girl...even Lin Yi's married sister, he thinks she is mature and charming.
But none of these were enough in front of Yun Yuan. Not only did his classmates not understand, even he couldn't understand it now.
He was rarely confused and couldn't help showing some guilt in front of Yan Xiaoman.
Yan Xiaoman was disappointed. She didn't want to rely on men, but that was the general environment in ancient times. She could make money, but men had a natural advantage in improving their social status. They could achieve success through hard work. What could she do as a woman?
No matter how much money she makes in business, she is still at the bottom of society. That is why so many wealthy people in ancient times donated money to support education, one of their purposes was to find a backer.
She wants to cooperate with Ji Shen for mutual benefit, but now Yan Xiaoman is a little uncertain. Who can guarantee that Ji Shen is not the next Chen Shimei?
Yun Yuan didn't know that there was a rift in the relationship between the male and female protagonists, and she wouldn't care even if there was.
She immediately saw Mu Xingzhi standing in the front row. He was wearing a white robe today. Unlike his usual elegant and refined attire, he looked even more aloof today, as if he was above the world.
However, when his gaze fell on Yun Yuan, that coldness disappeared without a trace in an instant.
The corners of his mouth rose slightly, revealing a faint smile, which was full of tenderness and doting. Both his graceful demeanor and gentle temperament were unforgettable.
Yun Yuan nodded at him, and a look of sadness flashed in Ji Huai's eyes. Compared to Mu Xingzhi, who had a good family background and was well-educated, he might only be able to please her with his physique.
The manager of Huai Shang Restaurant looked at Ji Huai calmly, and when he nodded silently, he announced the start of the competition.
To ensure fairness, the steward pulled up the kitchen curtain and let everyone in to take a look.
After making sure that there was nothing else except ingredients, firewood, salt, water and basic kitchen utensils, Yun Yuan and Yan Xiaoman were allowed to bring their respective spices and each choose a kitchen to go in.
Yan Xiaoman unceremoniously chose a large kitchen, while Yun Yuan nonchalantly entered a small kitchen.
Be it Ji Huai or Mu Xingzhi, neither of them showed any distrust or worry about Yun Yuan on their faces. They found a seat closest to Yun Yuan's kitchen and sat down, waiting quietly for Yun Yuan to come out.
Braised meat takes a long time to prepare, so Huai Shang Restaurant has prepared storytelling and opera for everyone to enjoy.
"...What I'm going to tell you next is what happened far away in the capital. After twenty years of searching for her son, Princess Su finally got her wish. It turns out it's related to our Qingcheng."
The audience pricked up their ears and said, "Hurry up and tell us. Don't keep us in suspense."
"As everyone knows, Prince Su is the younger brother of the current emperor. He played an important role in the process of your majesty ascending the throne and has the merit of following the emperor. Even now, Prince Su still commands 200,000 troops and is your majesty's right-hand man.
It is said that twenty years ago, it was the most intense and critical moment when the struggle for the throne was incessant and the various forces were fighting. During the Xuanwu Palace Incident, the Fifth Prince at that time was scheming and ruthless. He even took the second son of Prince Su as a hostage, trying to force Prince Su to stand on his side.
Prince Su was forced to flatter the Fifth Prince on the one hand, and secretly support his elder brother on the other.
After the Xuanwu Palace Coup, although Prince Su successfully eliminated the rebels, the Second Young Master disappeared without a trace, and no one had heard from him since. Everyone thought he had become an innocent victim of the coup. But twenty years later, with only a few people left who knew his characteristics, he was actually found!
Mu Xingzhi showed no interest, as if he had heard about this matter before, without even batting an eyelid.
The spectators were puzzled: "What does it have to do with Qingcheng if the Second Young Master of Prince Su's Mansion is found?"
"Don't even mention that the Second Young Master has ended up in our Qingcheng..."
"Don't worry, sir. Let me tell you slowly." The storyteller patted the memorial paper slowly, then slowly said: "Prince Su agreed to the Fifth Prince's plan to abdicate, but at the critical moment, he changed sides. He did not abandon his own bloodline, but secretly called on his assassins to rescue it.
The scene was in chaos and the assassins suffered heavy casualties. The last assassin tried his best to save the second young master, but was hunted down by the enemy.
Seeing that the assassin was seriously injured and about to collapse, he accidentally met a woman who was being robbed of money by bandits while fleeing.
This assassin killed the bandit and entrusted the second son to this woman, asking her to raise him for a period of time, promising to return within a month to take the second son away.
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