Since Qi Guze's incident, Tianxianglou was closed for a few days, but it was not affected at all after reopening. On the contrary, the business became even more prosperous due to the taste. Not to mention, Xu Yuehuai has now launched a whole roasted lamb that can be delivered to customers' homes, making Tianxianglou's business even more prosperous.
On this particular day, Tianxiang Restaurant unexpectedly welcomed a distinguished guest—the Duke of Zhenguo. He came to the restaurant, found a private room, and ordered a large number of dishes.
But this man was ostensibly there to eat, but he was actually subtly trying to gather information. He even asked Anan, who was serving the food, "Young man, how long have you been working here? Do you know what kind of person your manager, Xu, really is?"
Anan first looked him up and down, then spoke vaguely: "My lord, I have only been here for a few days. It just so happens that Manager Xu is away on a long trip. I only saw her once from afar these past two days. As for who she is, I'm afraid you will have to ask her yourself."
His words made even the Duke of Zhenguo turn his head to look at him.
This little person speaks so eloquently; it seems that his upbringing is different from that of others.
The Duke of Zhenguo pondered for a moment, then took out a silver ingot from his pocket and spoke again: "Young man, as long as you tell me about your Manager Xu's character, this silver ingot..."
Unexpectedly, before he could finish speaking, Anan interrupted him: "Please enjoy your meal, Your Excellency. I'm busy waiting for you downstairs."
In an instant, the Duke of Zhenguo's hand froze in mid-air, unsure whether to retract it or not.
As soon as Anan left, Xu Yuehuai came in.
Xu Yuehuai entered the room with a cold face, and her expression towards the Duke of Zhenguo was also not good: "Duke, are you here for dinner today, or to cause trouble?"
"Why do you say that, Manager Xu? You saved my wife earlier, and I'm grateful to you. Why would I come to your Tianxiang Restaurant to cause trouble?" The Duke of Zhenguo laughed it off, then kept trying to find fault with the conversation.
However, the Duke of Zhenguo kept subtly bringing up Xu Yuehuai's past, pretending to be unintentional: "Shopkeeper Xu, your skills are so good, you must come from a very distinguished family. I wonder who your master was? Did you grow up in the capital? I've never heard of that before."
"I've lived in Luoping Village since I was a child. I only came here because of a flood." Xu Yuehuai thought it was just a casual remark, so she replied casually.
But the Duke of Zhenguo kept asking, "Do they still have any relatives? Have they ever come to the capital?"
Upon hearing this, and considering what Anan had said to her, Xu Yuehuai naturally sensed something was amiss. She immediately became displeased and asked directly, "Lord Duke, what are you trying to do by inquiring about my past?"
"No...it's nothing..." The Duke of Zhenguo wanted to say something more to evade the question.
Xu Yuehuai's face grew increasingly grim, and she coldly said, "If you have any questions, please ask directly. Although the Regent can no longer protect our Tianxiang Pavilion, we will not allow ourselves to be bullied. If you really have any questions, I will answer them. But if you are just looking for trouble, I will not be polite."
Seeing that he had already said so much, the Duke of Zhenguo stopped hiding his intentions and hesitated for a moment before saying, "Manager Xu, I think you are very likely my daughter who has been missing for twenty years."
He finished speaking and his emotions were very complicated; he even kept rubbing his hands together.
Despite his high position and great power, he was still afraid that the person in front of him who looked so much like his daughter would suspect him of being a fraud.
Xu Yuehuai was puzzled for a moment, unsure whether to believe it or not. After a long while, she gave a bitter smile.
"Lord Duke, although I also dream of rising to a higher social status, what you're saying is rather ridiculous. I've lived with my parents since I can remember, and later went to my husband's family. I've never been to the capital before, so how could I be your daughter?" She found the matter absurd and quickly stood up, not intending to continue.
Finally, worried that her words were too blunt, she added, "I know you think that because I saved the Duchess before, you want her to rely on me, but there's no need for that."
“My skills are enough for me to establish myself in Chang’an.”
Xu Yuehuai is determined and confident. She will never rely on others to solve problems that she can solve herself.
The Duke of Zhenguo naturally saw her determination, but he was unwilling to let his daughter off so easily.
He pondered for a moment, then immediately said, "Don't worry, I will definitely investigate this matter thoroughly and give you an explanation. Then you'll know I wasn't lying to you."
After he finished speaking, he sent someone to Luoping Village. After learning that Xu Yuehuai was from Luoping Village, the Duke of Zhenguo lost his appetite and politely took his leave to return to his residence to investigate.
After seeing off the Duke of Zhenguo, Xu Yuehuai became increasingly curious about her own background and prepared to send someone to investigate.
After Anan summoned Xu Yuehuai, he was about to go downstairs when he suddenly overheard conversations inside the house. He overheard someone saying that Xu Yuehuai might be the daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo, and out of curiosity, he eavesdropped outside the door. When he heard that they were going to investigate carefully, he became very suspicious.
After the Duke of Zhenguo and his men had all left Tianxiang Restaurant, he couldn't help but scratch his head and step forward to ask, "Manager Xu, why don't you just go and have a blood test with that Duke of Zhenguo? That would save you the trouble of going through all this trouble to investigate."
Xu Yuehuai smiled and then said, "Anan, you can't determine whether someone is a relative just by relying on a blood test. After all, in addition to the blood of relatives mixing, blood of the same type can also mix."
"Are there different types of blood?" Anan asked curiously.
Xu Yuehuai continued, "Yes, the blood of people in this world is divided into several categories. So, apart from relatives, there are many people whose blood is the same and can naturally mix. Therefore, the method of blood kinship testing is not very reliable. To be on the safe side, it is better to find out the truth."
After this explanation, Anan suddenly realized how stupid his supposedly clever method had been.
"Then I need to read more books so that I can know as much as Manager Xu." He quickly smiled, but then scratched his forehead again, embarrassed.
Seeing this, Xu Yuehuai knew that Anan was a studious person. Now that Aqi had left, Anan could take his place in school. However, this would be unfair to others. In addition, Zhongnan Academy was not a place that ordinary people could study at. Xu Yuehuai had to think about it again.
"Alright, go get to work." Xu Yuehuai dismissed the idea and sent the people away. She found a corner to sit down by herself and kept thinking about what the Duke of Zhenguo had said.
Zhou Wan, who had been busy all along, naturally noticed all of this. Ever since the Duke of Zhenguo arrived, Xu Yuehuai's mood had been off.
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