"Let the young lady be startled. Hurry up and apologize to the young lady!"
The old man in his sixties gave an order to the coachman. His voice carried a hint of authority without raising his voice.
The coachman was terrified and was about to perform the grand kneeling ceremony right on the street.
Li Ying looked at the carriage. Although it was not very eye - catching, it was carved with delicate hidden patterns. Her mind stirred slightly.
"Horses may stumble. It's an unexpected accident. You must be here to enjoy our fishing village night market. There's no need to be so formal. It's a blessing that no common people were hurt."
She was well - behaved and her words were so gentle that they made people feel as if they were bathing in the spring breeze. A look of approval appeared on the old man's face.
"If I'm not mistaken, the young lady is the highly - regarded female genius recently, Shopkeeper Li?"
Since her identity had been guessed, Li Ying didn't try to hide it. She smiled generously. "Sir, you have really good eyesight! You've come from afar and had quite a scare today. Why don't you come to my Li's Restaurant and have some simple food and take a little rest?"
While they were exchanging pleasantries and under everyone's watchful eyes, Lu Xunguang quietly let go of the hand that was holding her.
Li Ying knew that he was trying to avoid suspicion again. She leaned closer into his arms and took his hand.
"Sir, I'm not sure if this horse will go crazy again. My husband Lu is excellent at horse - riding. How about he lead the way and take you all to the restaurant?"
She deliberately emphasized the words "husband Lu". Sure enough, Lu Xunguang stiffened. A faint light suddenly flashed in his dim eyes.
Li Ying found it amusing. This man was so easy to please!
Being publicly recognized as her husband by her address of "husband", Lu Xunguang felt as if he were bathing in the spring breeze. Naturally, he assumed the posture of a host. He bowed slightly to the old man and invited, "Please."
The restaurant had received the news that she regarded this group of people as honored guests. They had already prepared several signature dishes to welcome them.
Li Ying said some polite words like "I wish the guests a happy and fulfilling visit" and then excused herself, saying that she had important matters to attend to and was not convenient to accompany them. She bowed and left.
After she and Lu Xunguang left the restaurant, A Man looked at her in confusion.
"Sister, is this some important person? You're rarely so polite and respectful to others."
Li Ying gave her a mysterious smile.
"If I'm not mistaken, this gentleman is probably the Imperial Commissioner Lin who has come from the capital from afar!"
What?
Hearing this, A Man couldn't help but gasp.
"Really? Sister, didn't the official document say that Imperial Commissioner Lin would arrive in our town on the Qixi Festival? There are still two days to go. Why did he come so early?"
Li Ying understood. She patiently explained, "This Imperial Commissioner is traveling incognito. Presumably, he doesn't want to reveal his whereabouts and wants to see if our night market is really as lively as the rumors say."
If he came in a grand manner, those with ulterior motives might make pre - arrangements to create a false appearance of prosperity.
It seemed that this Imperial Commissioner was really quite intelligent.
"But sister, how did you see through his disguise?"
Seeing that A Man was still confused, Li Ying carefully explained the exquisite carvings on the carriage to her.
"This carriage looks ordinary, but even the curtains are made of brocade from the Nanjing Textile Workshop. The bridles and saddles are decorated with turquoise and agate silver buttons. Such a grand occasion can't belong to an ordinary wealthy family."
Lu Xunguang also said, "Yes. The white horse pulling the carriage is called Zhaoye Cong. It's a rare fine horse bred in the imperial garden. If he weren't an imperial commissioner, how could he drive this horse?"
After a pause, Lu Xunguang added, "However, there's still one thing I really don't understand."
"Zhaoye Cong has a gentle temperament. Unless someone has tampered with it, it would never suddenly go crazy without any sign. But this horse is quite spiritual and vigilant. Unless it's its owner, it's very difficult for ordinary people to get close to it."
A Man bit her finger and murmured, "Who is so bold as to attempt to harm the imperial commissioner?"
As if she had thought of something, she exclaimed, "It must be Lady Lian! Now everyone in the town praises your merits, but only Lady Lian has always been resentful. I heard that she even ordered people to imitate your peach pastries yesterday. How self - important!"
Li Ying and Lu Xunguang glanced at each other and fell into silence.
Lady Lian was indeed the one who showed obvious hostility towards her.
But she was just an ordinary woman. How could she tamper with Zhaoye Cong?
Lu Xunguang's expression darkened, lost in thought.
"What? Have you thought of something?"
Lu Xunguang hesitated and shook his head. Just then, a waiter from the hot - pot restaurant rushed over to report that the new regular customer was very generous. He had booked the largest private room and said that he was going to celebrate his wife's sixtieth birthday.
Li Ying knew that the birthday celebration might be a pretext, and the real purpose was to experience the unique service of the hot - pot restaurant.
She told the waiters not to be too nervous and not to expose the identity of this imperial commissioner. Everything should go on as usual.
The waiter took the order and left. Li Ying was still a bit worried. Later, she still came to the hot - pot restaurant to check the situation.
The ingredients for the evening had been prepared in full. The open kitchen was clean and tidy, and everything was in plain sight.
However, for some reason, there was a huge food box in the corner with a big character "Lian" on it.
"Shopkeeper, this is the dim sum that the old customer pre - ordered from Lady Lian's shop. He said he wanted to give his wife a surprise and asked us to keep it here for the time being."
The "manager" of the hot - pot restaurant saw Li Ying's gaze lingering on the dim sum box and quickly came over to explain.
Li Ying had told them earlier that if customers brought their own ingredients when coming to eat hot - pot, the kitchen could help process them. If there were small birthday gifts, they could also be stored on behalf of the customers, all for the purpose of making every customer feel at home.
Li Ying was not a narrow - minded person. If Imperial Commissioner Lin wanted to taste Lady Lian's dim sum, she had no objection.
"Shopkeeper, you don't know... When the old customer sent someone to order the dim sum, I was right there and heard clearly. He said he wanted some soft, sweet and easy - to - eat food. But the food box that Lady Lian sent... We checked it according to the regulations, and inside were clearly... Qiaoguo."
Qiaoguo?
Li Ying couldn't help but frown.
Not only was Qiaoguo difficult to chew, but the meaning of "unmarried girls praying for a good marriage" was also really not suitable for Imperial Commissioner Lin to give to his wife.
She didn't know if Lady Lian did this intentionally or not.
Leaving a good impression on Imperial Commissioner Lin was crucial to the future development of the fishing village's tourism industry. She couldn't be careless!
Li Ying took a deep breath, opened the lid of the food box, knocked on the hard Qiaoguo that was like stones inside, lowered her eyes and made up her mind.
"Keep these Qiaoguo properly, but don't serve them during the meal. Wait for me to replace them with another dessert."