"Come on, we're just friends. You mustn't talk nonsense in the future, and never let it slip in front of our parents. Got it?"
"Yueru understands."
"Go tell Mother that I'm going to the shop. I won't be back for lunch. Also, tell her not to feed that gluttonous mastiff so many dried meats. Look how fat it's gotten. It doesn't look like a dog that can fight wolves at all!" Since she started planning for the shop, she had sent the gluttonous dog to Zhenyu Courtyard so that her mother could play with it when she was free. Although it was so fat that there wasn't much fun in playing with it.
She had told her parents that she wanted to open a restaurant outside without asking for their money. She wanted to do it on her own. At first, her father was opposed, but as long as her mother agreed, her father would go along. So now everyone in the Prime Minister's Mansion knew that the second young lady of the mansion had opened a restaurant outside, and the business was booming. As a result, she had more freedom to come and go in and out of the mansion. At least she didn't have to sneak through the back door anymore.
"Okay, Yueru understands."
After changing clothes, Mei Qingxue and Yueru came to the place where they had agreed to meet the Jade - faced Gentleman.
Du Guqing had already replaced the jade mask that covered his whole face with one that exposed his lips and chin. Otherwise, it would be really inconvenient not being able to drink tea or eat.
The second young lady of the Prime Minister's Mansion publicly named her restaurant "Chu Xiang Lou", but the real chain - hotel she had opened, "Ying Ke Lai", was the most popular one in the capital recently.
As soon as she entered the private room, she saw Du Guqing sitting at the table. His slender fingers were gently holding a white porcelain wine cup as he quietly sipped the fine wine.
"Brother Yu has such good taste." Since she didn't know his real name, she had to give him this simple name. Otherwise, constantly referring to him as the Jade - faced Gentleman would seem too distant.
"Brother Luo is here. Sit down." Seeing Mei Qingxue arrive, Du Guqing's perfect lips curved into a nice arc.
"I've kept Brother Yu waiting."
"It's okay. Sitting here drinking wine is also a pleasant thing. If Brother Luo's restaurant continues like this, it seems that all the restaurants in the capital will be monopolized by your 'Ying Ke Lai'. Before long, you'll become the king of the restaurant industry in the capital." Du Guqing concealed the deep look in his eyes and looked at Mei Qingxue with a slightly smiling black gaze.
"Brother Yu is overpraising me. It's not that easy to monopolize the restaurant industry in the capital. It seems that I still need to work harder." Although her shops were developing rapidly and her dishes were very attractive, some of the old restaurants in the capital had been around for many years, some even for hundreds of years. It wouldn't be easy to completely defeat them in a short time. Some things couldn't be rushed; they had to be done step by step. Moreover, she didn't want to drive other restaurants out of the capital. She just wanted to hold the majority share.
It was like the capital was a joint - stock company, and all she wanted was to be the largest shareholder.
"I believe you'll be able to do it, Brother."
"Then I'll need Brother Yu's care in the future."
"I'll spare no effort to help wherever I can."
"Yesterday, I came up with a few new dishes. Brother Yu, you must give me a good evaluation later." Since opening the restaurant, recalling the recipes she had seen in her previous life was something she often did. Whenever she thought of a new one, she would have it prepared and then taste it with the Jade - faced Gentleman to get his opinions and suggestions for improvement.
"Call out the boss of 'Ying Ke Lai', or we'll smash your restaurant!" Mei Qingxue and Du Guqing were chatting casually, waiting for the waiter to bring out the new dishes she had thought of. Suddenly, the commotion from the first floor made both of them in the private room frown involuntarily.
"Brother Yu, please wait here for a moment. I'll be back soon." Before this, there had been times when people came to cause trouble. But later, after the people from 'Bi Hai Ge' secretly taught those trouble - makers a lesson, they didn't dare to come again. Recently, she had just sent An Ying to other big cities in the Feng Kingdom to expand her business in the capital. Since a large number of people were needed, there was a shortage of manpower. So she had transferred the guards from some stable shops in the capital to other places. Now these people just took advantage of their absence to cause trouble. Well, let's see what tricks they were playing this time!
As soon as she went downstairs, Mei Qingxue saw more than a dozen tall and powerful men standing menacingly in the middle of the restaurant. Many first - floor customers were scared away without even settling their bills. Damn it! It was a loss every time they came!
"May I ask what business you gentlemen have here?" Mei Qingxue deliberately lowered her voice, exuding an unprecedented coldness. Her originally bright eyes shot at those men like a leopard. She had never deliberately harmed others in developing her business. Everyone relied on their own strength. Why did these people come to cause trouble for no reason? Did they think she was a soft target that could be bullied at will?
Those tall and burly men didn't expect the boss of 'Ying Ke Lai' to be a young gentleman who didn't look very tall and strong. But the coldness she exuded couldn't be ignored. They involuntarily took a step back.
"Humph, the food in your restaurant can kill people. We're here to seek an explanation!" The leading burly man had seen a lot of the world. Although he was surprised by Mei Qingxue's aura, he still had to do his job well.
"What evidence do you have to say that the food in our restaurant can kill people? Without evidence, don't spout nonsense here." If her 'Ying Ke Lai' was branded with the crime of killing someone, not to mention expanding it across the country in the future, it wouldn't be able to stay in the capital either! These people were really vicious!
"The witness is here. Let's see what else you can say!" After saying that, the burly man asked his men to carry up something wrapped in a straw mat and threw it at Mei Qingxue's feet.
The straw mat fell apart, and a man with a gray face and purple lips rolled out. His limbs were stiff, and he was already dead.
Mei Qingxue never expected them to do such a thing. They actually carried a dead man into her restaurant. There were still some customers who had stayed to watch the show, but after seeing the dead man, they all ran out. Meeting such a thing when going out was the most inauspicious.
Mei Qingxue, who had never seen a dead man so closely before, was really frightened. It seemed as if all her strength had been drained away at once. She wanted to take a step back, but she found that her feet couldn't move at all. She had indeed experienced a lot in the past year, but it was beyond her psychological endurance to see a horribly - dead man lying at her feet so suddenly without reacting.
Mei Qingxue felt that her center of gravity was getting lighter and lighter, and she was about to fall backward. Just when she thought she was going to make a fool of herself in front of these people, a big warm hand gently supported her body. That hand was like a magical device that transmitted energy to her, making her strength gradually return. By the time she looked at the dead man again, she was no longer so scared that she couldn't move.
"Brother Yu..." Turning around, she saw Du Guqing's figure, which was a head taller than hers. At this moment, his right hand was supporting her lower back, and he was standing straight beside her. His black eyes glanced at the dead man on the ground and then focused on Mei Qingxue.
Mei Qingxue felt a momentary daze. If she wasn't mistaken, his eyes were full of pity when he looked at her... Did he have feelings for her? Thinking of the possible answer, her heart unexpectedly started to beat faster. She completely forgot that her identity outside was that of a man!
Mei Qingxue, you useless thing! Is this the time to think about such things? Snap out of it! Don't forget there's a dead man lying in front of you!
Du Guqing pursed his lips and looked at the burly men, but said to Mei Qingxue, "Brother Luo, don't worry. I won't let you be slandered like this."
At that moment when she heard this, Mei Qingxue even thought that it would be a happy thing to have such a person to protect her in this lifetime.
"You just bring a dead man here and say he was poisoned by the food in 'Ying Ke Lai'. Do you have any evidence?"
"Humph, evidence. Since you insist on evidence, I'll convince you today. Come on, bring that man up." The burly man obviously didn't expect Mei Qingxue to have a helper, and that helper was the Jade - faced Gentleman who couldn't be easily offended. But he was paid to do a job, and he couldn't become a person who took money but didn't do anything just because he was afraid of offending someone.
Soon, a thin man in coarse clothes was brought up. "This man can prove that the dead man became like this after eating in your restaurant. If you still don't believe it, let him speak."
"Okay, let's see what this man can say. Tell us, what exactly happened?" Humph, trying to slander her by simply bribing someone. Wasn't it an insult to her intelligence?
"Little... little one is... is the one who accompanied Wang Sheng to 'Ying Ke Lai' for lunch today. Little one has always heard that the dishes in 'Ying Ke Lai' are the most unique and delicious in the capital. Since it was Wang Sheng who invited little one to come, little one thought there was no need to pay, so little one agreed." The man who was speaking was obviously very scared. His whole body was trembling as he spoke intermittently, making it hard to understand clearly.
"And then you came with him?"