Chapter 244: Becoming Famous (5)
It was exactly because of that grudge that Miss Yuan had pestered Second Madam until she agreed to let her attend the restaurant’s opening together with the other young ladies of their family.
Madam Rong had been intending to come along as well, but an unexpected incident in their estate had held her back. As the lady-in-charge of the Ying Estate, she had to attend to the matter. Madam Rong had personally escorted the three ladies to the estate’s entrance and instructed the eldest amongst them, Miss Su, to take care of her younger sisters before sending off their carriage.
The three sisters had arrived late. It was already 12pm by now. The manservants and maidservants in charge of welcoming the guests had already returned to the restaurant by now. Chu Lian had also thought that House Ying wouldn’t be sending any representatives by this hour.
Without any escort at all, House Ying’s carriage went straight to Guilin Restaurant’s main entrance.
Before they got off the carriage, one of the retainers outside leaned in close to the carriage and reported at a low volume, “Misses, Guilin Restaurant’s entrance has been blocked.”
The disdain on Miss Yuan’s face was wiped clean. She lifted the curtains and looked towards Guilin Restaurant’s plain-looking entrance.
The entrance of Guilin Restaurant was swarming with people. There was even a long queue outside, filling the already narrow alley.
How could this be possible! How could a restaurant in such a desolate area have this many customers?!
Miss Su also found it strange. She instructed the retainer to ask around Guilin Restaurant’s main entrance.
In a moment’s time, that retainer returned.
He carried a doubtful and baffled expression as he reported, “Replying to Fifth Miss, all these people are here to eat at Guilin Restaurant.”
“What!” Miss Yuan couldn’t hold back her shout. Her sudden fuss over something so trivial earned her a glare from Miss Su.
Miss Su paused a while in thought before taking out two fine invitations from her sleeve and passing them to the retainer. “Give these two invitations to Guilin Restaurant’s manager. Tell him that we’re here to meet Honoured Lady Jinyi.”
The retainer acknowledged the order and left.
Not too long later, the retainer led Manager Qin and a wise-looking senior servant over to the carriage.
Manager Qin personally ordered someone to bring House Ying’s carriage over to the rear entrance. Once they entered the inner court meant for female guests, Senior Servant Zhong took over and led them to a small court within.
Senior Servant Zhong instructed the maidservants standing by in the courtyard to attend to House Ying’s ladies and invited them to sit down. After doing so, she then stood by the side and respectfully said, “Misses, please wait a moment. Our Third Young Madam will be arriving shortly.”
Miss Fu cast a measuring gaze over Senior Servant Zhong. Her eyes flickered, but she didn’t speak in the end.
Miss Su thanked Senior Servant Zhong.
Meanwhile, Miss Yuan tsked in disapproval, “What? We’re guests today. Is Sixth Sister really going to make us wait?”
Right after she spoke, Miss Su frowned. Senior Servant Zhong stiffened for a moment before uttering an apology with her lips pressed together, “You’re our Third Young Madam’s esteemed guests. It’s this old servant’s fault for not inviting Third Young Madam over earlier.”
Miss Yuan’s expression changed and she glared at Senior Servant Zhong. She hadn’t expected this old servant to be so tactless. She was actually trying to protect Chu Lian even at this time. She was just a lowly menial servant, but she actually dared to retort to her?
Miss Yuan was used to getting her way in the Ying Estate. She was about to scold Senior Servant Zhong on the spot. However, before she could even speak another word, she was held back by Miss Su and Miss Fu.
Even Miss Fu, who usually liked to sit back and watch the sparks fly, had tried to hold her back today. She immediately turned to Miss Fu with a glare.
However, Senior Servant Zhong wasn’t at all flustered by Miss Yuan’s temper. She bobbed towards the three young ladies and continued as if nothing had happened, “This old servant will personally prepare some tea and snacks for the young misses. Please make yourself at home.”
Miss Yuan stared as Senior Servant Zhong walked right out of the courtyard before turning to her sisters with a face flushed red from frustration. “Fifth Sister, Ninth Sister, look at that! Is this how Sixth Sister treats her guests? Why didn’t you let me scold her?”
Miss Su and Miss Fu weren’t stupid. They weren’t going to agree with Miss Yuan’s blame towards Chu Lian.
Miss Su put on a stern expression with furrowed brows, “Seventh Sister, that’s enough from you! This isn’t House Ying’s second branch. Don’t take things too far!”
Miss Fu sneered, “That’s right, don’t throw our dignity out together with yours!”
Miss Yuan had been in a bad mood ever since entering Guilin Restaurant and looking at the novel arrangements within the building. Adding on to that, her two sisters were even scolding her. Her face turned red with anger. However, there was no one here to back her up now. Furthermore, ever since that incident at Jinshi Pavilion, she had learned to behave a little more. She wrung her handkerchief and managed to resist the urge to retort more.
However, she had come here to see Chu Lian make a joke out of herself. How could she let Chu Lian go so easily?
She shot a glance at one of her handmaids, who then quickly brought out a container of food from behind her.
In a moment, one of Guilin Restaurant’s maidservants brought in freshly brewed tea.
Steam billowed up from the tea, giving off a special dry and bitter smell. Although House Ying was in decline, a starving camel was still larger than a horse. They had been carefully raised from a young age, so they could recognise that this was a loose-leaf tea from North Fujian.
Although sencha brewing was now trending in the Great Wu Dynasty, there were many different types of tea, seperated by the region they came from. North Fujian loose-leaf tea was one of the main branches of tea. Loose-leaf tea fell into two categories: normal and high-quality. However, if you weren’t a tea enthusiast, it wasn’t so easy to discern their quality.
The three ladies of House Ying could only distinguish what type of sencha this was. However, they couldn’t really tell much else about it. If it had been the former ‘Chu Lian’ though, she might have been able to discern its quality.
Miss Yuan sniffed and rolled her eyes. “Sixth Sister’s already opened a restaurant, how could she be so miserly as to serve her sisters this kind of tea?”
The maidservant who had brought in the tea was so embarrassed that her cheeks flushed red. She looked downwards, not daring to reply.
When Miss Yuan noticed the maidservant’s fingers trembling, she felt a little better. She turned to her handmaid and ordered, “Brew some tea for me.”
Her handmaid had a smug expression on as she slowly brought out a fine porcelain container. She then purposely placed the porcelain container in front of Miss Su and Miss Fu to show it off a little.
