Translator: Henyee Translations Editor:Henyee Translations
Qiao Jinniang asked Lu Chen to wait for her in the restaurant. She didn’t want Lu Chen to be bothered by the quarrel of shrews.
Huixiang hurriedly explained when she saw Qiao Jinniang come over. “Miss, the mooncakes should be ordered in advance, but there was a lot of pork and dough left in the kitchen, so we sold them, and everyone was only allowed to buy five.
“Now, there are only ten mooncakes left, but the two of them insisted on buying all ten, so they fought here.”
Since the opening of Tasty Pavilion, customers would fight for private rooms or seats from time to time, but most customers were wealthy businessmen and officials in Chang’an, so they usually wouldn’t make a scene and would make peace in the end.
Even if some of them were unwilling to yield, they would not cause trouble so as not to offend the Qiao Family.
But today, the two were actually kicking up a fuss here.
Seeing Qiao Jinniang come over, Mrs. Zheng said, “Jinniang, I’m your aunt. You won’t ruin my face for a lowly concubine, right?”
Concubine Li said, “Mrs. Zheng, I’m afraid you don’t know that the Empress Dowager granted my father the surname Li!
“although I’m just a concubine, I used to be a third-rank female official serving the Empress Dowager. I’m afraid my status is not inferior to yours.
“Besides, I came to buy the mooncakes as ordered by Countess Cheng’en, who is His Majesty’s aunt, while you are only the aunt of a mere restaurant shopkeeper.”
Mrs. Zheng was very annoyed and said, “I’m also the aunt of Prince Mediocre’s concubine!”
Concubine Li smiled. “You’re just her aunt. Why do you speak as if you’re her mother?”
Mrs. Zheng’s eyes dodged slightly and she said, “Nonsense! Jinniang and Ruoshui look so similar that everyone can tell they are sisters! Qiao Jinniang, why don’t you say anything? Tell me, who are buying these mooncakes?”
Qiao Jinniang asked Huixiang, “Are these the last ten?”
Huixiang nodded and said, “Yes, we have bought all the pork left in Chang’an today, and only some poor quality pork are left. The pork dealer said that the pork will be available earliest by tomorrow morning.”
Concubine Li said arrogantly to Qiao Jinniang, “Country Mistress Jia‘an, let me remind you, if you don’t give the mooncakes to me, you are disrespecting the Empress Dowager!”
Mrs. Zheng said, “Qiao Jinniang, if you don’t give me the mooncakes and help a concubine instead, I may lose face, but you’ll be laughed at harder.”
‘They both threatened her.
Qiao Jinniang said slowly, “According to the rules of our restaurant, no matter who you are, you can only buy five mooncakes at most.
“If you two insist on buying ten, then bid for it. The one with the highest bid will get them.”
Qiao Jinniang said to the onlookers, “If any of you wants to buy the mooncakes, you can join the bid too. The money sold for these ten mooncakes will be donated to the foundling hall, and the starting bid price is ten taels of silver.”
Mrs. Zheng said angrily, “I’m your aunt.”
Qiao Jinniang said, “Auntie, the restaurant has its rules. If you ask me for ten tables of dishes for free, should I agree to that too?”
Mrs. Zheng gritted her teeth and said, “Alright, I’ll pay 11 taels of silver.”
Concubine Li sneered. “Oh, right, in order to get your son out of jail, the Zheng family must not have much money left. I will pay fifty taels.”
How could Mrs. Zheng admit defeat by a concubine? She could only say, “Fifty-five taels of silver.”
Concubine Li said lightly, “One hundred taels!”
Mrs. Zheng frowned. “Are you crazy?”
One hundred taels of silver were enough to buy two pigs, or a whole house of ordinary mooncakes.
Although she was the mistress of the Zheng family, her monthly salary was only 10 taels of silver.
‘These mooncakes alone would cost her a year’s worth of salary!
Mrs. Zheng did not dare to bid again.
Concubine Li said to Qiao Jinniang, “Since you said that the one who bids the highest price will get the mooncakes, they are mine.”
Qiao Jinniang ordered Huixiang to pack the mooncakes for Concubine Li while thinking that Earl Cheng’en Mansion really had money to bum. They actually bought ten mooncakes for one hundred taels of silver!
Getting the fresh meat mooncakes, Concubine Li left complacently.
The onlookers in front of the restaurant also dispersed.
Mrs. Zheng glared at Qiao Jinniang angrily. “You really don’t take me seriously at all.
“You stupid slave-raised b*tch! How could you fawn over a lowly concubine but bully me, your aunt?!”
Qiao Jinniang gave Nuomi a look.
Nuomi rushed over and slapped Mrs. Zheng severely in the face.
Before Mrs. Zheng realized what happened, all her maids and mammies had been pushed into Tasty Pavilion by servants of the Tasty Pavilion.
The door was then closed.
Mrs. Zheng, who was luxuriantly dressed, fell to the ground, “You, you, I am your aunt!”
“So what? Since you said I bullied you, I should really do it, shouldn’t I?”
Qiao Jinniang said, “My unscrupulous relatives in Lin’an were much more disgusting than you.”
“Initially, I don’t feel like bothering with your shrews, but you shouldn’t insult my foster parents!”
It was not the first time that the servants of the Tasty Pavilion had followed Qiao Jinniang to do this.
They had long been used to it, and they proficiently tied up all the maids and mammies.
Mrs. Zheng had never been humiliated like this.
“Qiao Jinniang, are you not afraid that I will publicize what you have done to me today? I’ll sue you for beating me. If your parents know that you are so disrespectful to me, they would definitely send you to the countryside!”
Qiao Jinniang snorted. “You can do it if you like if you don’t mind others knowing that you, a countess, were humiliated like this by a group of restaurant servants.”
“And go ahead and complain to my mother. My foster parents brought me up and treated me like their own daughter. If I just let others insult them and do nothing, am I still a human?
“Bajiao, bring over my foster parents’ spirit tablets.”
After a while, Bajiao carefully brought the spirit tablets over.
Qiao Jinniang said to Mrs. Zheng, “I want you to kneel and apologize to my parents!”
“No way! I won’t apologize to the two servants,” Mrs. Zheng stubbornly said.
Qiao Jinniang chuckled. “You look down on me because I didn’t grow up in a noble family, but you should know that a person like me has more guts than a noble lady like you. You don’t want to apologize? Fine, I’ll make you apologize!”
Signaled by Qiao Jinniang, Nuomi came over and slapped Mrs. Zheng again.
Mrs. Zheng was slapped several times in a row before she finally submitted.
She looked at Qiao Jinniang full of fear. Most of the noble ladies in Chang’an would scheme against their enemies behind their backs, but Qiao Jinniang dared to directly beat her!
“L apologize, I apologize.”
Mrs. Zheng hurriedly kowtowed to the spirit tablets.
Only then did Qiao Jinniang let go of her servants, Mrs. Zheng stumbled and almost crawled out of Tasty Pavilion.
Lu Chen came out from behind the screen on the side and tapped Qiao Jinniang’s head with his finger. “Do you forget that you promised me on our wedding day that you will never bring your servants to fight someone again?”
Qiao Jinniang pursed her lips and said, “I really can’t stand her anymore. She scolded my foster parents during the Mid-Autumn Festival.”
Lu Chen said helplessly, “I just don’t want to see you get in trouble. Fortunately, she only brought some maids and mammies with her today. What if she brought guards with her?”
Qiao Jinniang snorted. “But she only brought some maids and mammies today. Besides, she started it first. Can’t I teach her a lesson?”
Lu Chen said, “It’s not that you can’t teach her a lesson, but you can do that in a better way.”
Qiao Jinniang raised her head and asked, “What way?”
Lu Chen: “If you become the crown princess, you can even make her guard your parents’ tomb.”
