That… what’s his name… Wasn’t that Li Xiuxian from the west suburbs?
The Chengping Emperor had sent envoys three times to invite that sour scholar to become the princes’ private tutor, but that old fellow had kept refusing to move like a stubborn old tortoise. Well look now, a simple restaurant’s dishes had somehow lured him out of his home!
Look at how that old fellow’s body trembled as he got off his carriage. He looked like he was about to be blown away by the wind any second now, but he didn’t fall. Instead, he stood in front of Guilin Restaurant’s rear entrance, full of energy and spirit.
The Chengping Emperor was about to faint from the sheer intensity of his anger.
As Lord Yang watched clouds gather over the Emperor’s face, he smiled bitterly inside. He could only do his best to persuade the Emperor and say, “Your Majesty, perhaps we should return to the palace first. It looks like Guilin Restaurant has really shut its doors. There’s no meaning in waiting any longer.”
However, the Chengping Emperor remained stubborn as a mule. “We’ll sit for a while longer! We want to see which gluttons are going to show up now!”
Cold sweat was running down Lord Yang’s forehead. He lit a candle in mourning for his comrades who had come to Guilin Restaurant and been met with closed doors today.
“Yanfeng, does the food in this Guilin Restaurant hold such attraction? Half of my court has been enticed here.”
The Chengping Emperor felt a little uneasy.
When Lord Yang heard such a question from the Emperor, he tried his best to reply, “If Your Majesty might allow me to be bold, this humble subject thinks that even the imperial cooks in Your Majesty’s palace can’t compare.”
He had come to Guilin several times himself ever since Guilin had opened. As busy as he might be, he would definitely come to Guilin Restaurant every month with his wife to have a meal. There were small private courtyards in Guilin Restaurant, separated from other courtyards. Furthermore, their soundproofing and the way they had designed the place were excellent. Even if he knew that many of his colleagues came here to eat as well, if he didn’t make the effort to meet and greet them, they would never bump into each other while in Guilin.
If he were not kept busy by official business, Lord Yang would have liked to come to Guilin Restaurant every day for meals.
Unfortunately, most of them couldn’t enjoy their lives like Old Duke Zheng, taking all three meals of the day there and practically living in Guilin Restaurant.
When the Chengping Emperor heard Lord Yang ‘s appraisal, he was taken aback. Better than the imperial cooks… How could he leave it be now?
Once he thought of how his subjects were eating better than him, the very ruler of this dynasty, the Chengping Emperor felt a huge sense of unfairness.
“Hmph, so all of you have been eating such delicacies every day! What loyal subjects you are!”
Lord Yang had simply spoke the truth. He hadn’t expected his frank admission to have provoked the Emperor somehow.
He gulped anxiously. Keeping the Emperor company was really like lying next to a wild tiger.
“Your Majesty, this is the only indulgence this humble subject has. Furthermore, now that Guilin Restaurant has shut down, it won’t be possible to come here any longer.”
The Chengping Emperor only felt slightly better after staring at the tightly closed doors of the restaurant.
“Who’s the one behind such an impressive restaurant?”
When Lord Yang saw that the Emperor had dropped the previous topic, he relaxed and quickly replied, “Actually, Your Majesty has already met the owner of this restaurant.”
“Oh? Tell me more.”
Lord Yang smiled, “It’s the lady you’ve personally named, Honoured Lady Jinyi.”
“Jinyi?”
When that familiar face popped back into the Emperor’s mind, his mind went into a daze for a moment. By the time he regained his senses, there was a slight upward curve to his lips. “So it’s that girl. Where is she? Send someone to call her here. We will question her and see why that silly girl has shut down the restaurant.”
Lord Yang tried to hold back his sweat. “Your Majesty, Honoured Lady Jinyi has gone to the northern border. She’s not in the capital now…”
“What? She’s gone to Liangzhou in the north?” The Chengping Emperor started frowning deeply. With his fearsome gaze focused on Lord Yang, Lord Yang was starting to feel unwell.
He could only harden up his courage and try explaining the situation. Luckily, he had some connection with Chu Lian, otherwise he wouldn’t know how to explain everything.
“She’s been gone for two or three months. Your Majesty might have forgotten that He Sanlang is in Liangzhou right now! When the situation in the north changed, the He matriarch must have felt uneasy, so she requested the Empress Dowager to pass down a decree for Honoured Lady Jinyi to head to Liangzhou.”
“Even so, how could she send a young lady to the north! What nonsense is House Jing’an thinking?!”
Lord Yang didn’t know what to say. Helpless, he replied, “Your Majesty, there’s no one else House Jing’an can send other than Honoured Lady Jinyi.”
When the Chengping Emperor was reminded of this fact by Lord Yang, realisation dawned upon him. His eyes narrowed. Even though he now knew that Matriarch He hadn’t had any other choice, he still felt disgruntled.
Honoured Lady Jinyi was considered part of their imperial family after all, since he had personally given her her title. How could she be sent to and fro just like that by that old biddy in the He Family?
Since their conversation had turned to the topic of the war in the north, the Emperor lost the mood to remain in disguise. He brought Lord Yang with him as he returned back to his ‘estate’.
Once the Kitchen God Festival was over, time passed fleetingly.
In the blink of an eye, five days had passed and it was almost New Year’s Eve.
Even in the main camp of the border troops, the mood had turned festive and the army cooks had all started preparing the food they would need for New Year’s Eve.
However, at this time, Chu Lian seemed to be rather listless. She had been kept busy by the preparations for the past few days. Now that they were done, her mood had sunk quite low.
It had been ten days since He Changdi had left, and he wasn’t back yet.
Going by the news that Laiyue had brought, the Snow Mountain Mists flower on Mount Ah-Ming should have wilted yesterday.
Although Chu Lian had both hands stuffed into a rabbit fur tube with a little handwarmer to boot, she still felt cold all over.
She had been asking Wenqing and Wenlan to check at the entrance every day. She had even gone so far as to send someone to the border camp to ask after He Changdi.
The servants’ reports had left her disappointed each time. Chu Lian sat against the warm hearth bed lacking the mood to do anything at all. She tried hard to remember all the details in the story she had read, but unfortunately, the book had never mentioned the northern border in detail.
While she was still in a daze, Manager Qin came running into the room in a panic, all etiquette having flown out of his mind.
Terror and anxiety filled his face as he said, “Third… Third Young Madam, please come with me. Quickly! Third Young Master is hurt!”
