What?

Third Young Madam wanted to give her to Duke Zheng?

Ming Yan's eyes widened in disbelief.

The feeling of actively abandoning someone and passively being abandoned was completely different.

High Duke Zheng gave Chu Lian a meaningful look. His eyes were thought-provoking.

The old man had been immersed in court politics for many years and could almost see through Chu Lian's true intentions with a single glance. He thought that Chu Lian would be embarrassed by his gaze, but who knew that not only did the little girl in front of him not blush at all, her eyes were clear and moist, slightly curved with a smile. When their eyes met, it was he, the old man, who felt guilty first.

The old duke was stunned for a moment and then laughed loudly. "Fine, since Jinyi has good intentions, I will accept it."

Chu Lian bowed slightly to Duke Zheng. "It is Ming Yan's good fortune to have Duke Zheng's care."

"Alright, you little doll, don't talk about such nonsense with someone my age. If that servant girl wholeheartedly serves this old man's food and drink, this old man naturally won't mistreat her. On the other hand, Jinyi, you have to leave a small courtyard for this old man in this newly opened restaurant."

Chu Lian smiled and nodded.

Young Marquis Weiyuan also wanted to open his mouth and ask Chu Lian for a courtyard. Unfortunately, Old Duke Zheng was here, so he didn't dare to open his mouth. He could only scratch his ears and cheeks as he thought about making a move on He Dalang after the meal.

The conversation inside was very lively, but Ming Yan, who was standing outside, stiffened.

In the future, she would only be a member of Duke Zheng's household.

Thinking about the months she had spent in Songtao Court, everything seemed unreal.

Ming Yan pursed her lips and suddenly raised her head. The light in her eyes suddenly became resolute. This was the path that she had chosen. Right now, she had no other way out. Rather than following Third Young Madam and living like a widow in Duke Jing 'an's estate, she might as well try her luck in Duke Zheng's Estate. After all, she still had Third Young Madam's secret recipe!

Once she had a place in Duke Zheng's household, she would be able to stand tall in front of Third Young Madam. She wanted Third Young Madam to regret abandoning her today!

A trace of hatred flashed in Ming Yan's eyes.

Chu Lian threw away the baggage in her hands and felt refreshed. She was accompanied by Wenqing and Wenlan back to the Kun Jia Yard.

The main hall of Guilin Restaurant and the inconspicuous entrance were a stark contrast to the usual deserted place. If it weren't for the waiter's constant encouragement, the surrounding customers would have already charged in.

The thirty lucky customers who drew lots had already been seated by Steward Qin.

The waiters in the lobby shouted as they ran back and forth. Soon, four cold dishes, eight hot dishes, and a soup were all served.

The thirteen dishes were named after the auspicious meaning of the Thirteen Gangsters.

This was the first time the ordinary people of the Great Wu Dynasty had seen such a rich feast.

There were all kinds of steamed, boiled, fried, and roasted dishes on the table. Among them, the two most attractive dishes were the Spicy Boiled Fish with a porcelain basin full of spicy oil, and the Salted Crispy Chicken that was fried until it was crisp and golden.

This was the first time a spicy dish had appeared on the dining tables of the Great Wu Dynasty's commoners. When the waiter served the dishes, he had especially emphasized the introduction.

De 'an Restaurant's Mister Wang could be considered a glutton and loved to try new dishes. When he heard the waiter emphasize this strange Spicy Boiled Fish, his eyes widened.

On the way to Guilin Restaurant, he had already asked the waiter to inquire about this restaurant.

It was the property of Count Jing 'an's estate, but he didn't know who was managing it behind the scenes. However, the waiter had said that he had seen a carriage from the British Duke's estate outside. With this speculation, De' an Restaurant's Mister Wang had an idea.

Looking at the table full of dishes that he had never seen before, Mister Wang was already eighty to ninety percent sure that it was the person in his heart.

He had also heard about the longevity peaches from Marquis Dingyuan's estate. After all, the longevity peaches that were supposed to be presented to the old Marquis Dingyuan had come from his own hands. It wasn't strange that he found out about the situation later on.

He had always wanted to meet this Third Madam of Count Jing 'an's estate. No, he should now call her Jinyi Village Ruler. If Guilin Restaurant's new dishes were all made by this village ruler, then he had nothing to feel wronged about. He would accept his defeat wholeheartedly.

Mister Wang reached out with his chopsticks and picked up a piece of Spicy Boiled Fish. Chu Lian was afraid that the people of the Great Wu Dynasty wouldn't be used to spicy food, so the dried chilli in the Spicy Boiled Fish had already been processed. It wasn't as spicy as it looked, and it only had a faint spicy taste. Even so, it was still quite an impact on the diners.

The snow-white fish slices were smooth and tender. They broke into pieces without even needing to be chewed twice. They carried a faint burnt flavor of chili and were very appetizing.

Mister Wang's eyes widened in curiosity. He couldn't wait to try the other dishes. Every time he tasted a dish, the surprise in his eyes increased. By the time he had tasted all the dishes on the table, he could no longer maintain his usual composure.

Wonderful, wonderful. It turned out that such ordinary ingredients could be used to create such a delightful taste. He was now starting to believe that Guilin Restaurant lived up to its name.

Previously, in order to attract the attention of the commoners, they weren't exaggerating at all. He believed that after today, news of Guilin Restaurant, which had been hidden in the old Xi City for more than ten years, would spread throughout the streets and alleys of Shengjing City.

Mister Wang suddenly thought of his old friend who was about to come to Shengjing City. If that old man tasted these dishes, he would probably immediately become addicted.

By the time Mister Wang snapped out of his reverie, he saw that the table in front of him was already in a mess. He was so shocked that his mouth was wide open. His right hand was still in the position of picking up his chopsticks, but the dishes in front of him were already empty. There was even an exaggerated diner who had poured all of the marinade on the plates into his bowl, mixing it with rice and gulping it down in big mouthfuls.

"Motherf * cker, I've lived for more than thirty years, but I've never eaten such delicious food before," a burly middle-aged man wearing a short robe said gruffly.

Mister Wang angrily slammed his chopsticks on the table. Although he despised this group of people for eating as if they were fighting a war and didn't understand etiquette at all, he thought that if he could react in time, he would probably be no different from these people.

Actually, Mister Wang felt the same way as that burly man. He had lived for more than fifty years, but he still felt that all of the food he had eaten in the past was for nothing, let alone thirty years.

After eating such delicious food, he felt that he had lived in an abyss of suffering for the past fifty years.

No matter how exciting a life was, it would eventually come to an end.

The busy opening of Guilin Restaurant finally came to an end, and the old Xi City's entrance finally returned to its usual peace and quiet.

Before evening, Chu Lian had already returned to Count Jing 'an's estate with her maids and old servants. Steward Qin was taking care of the remaining matters in Guilin Restaurant, so she didn't have to worry about it.

After returning to the estate, Chu Lian first went to Qingwen Hall to pay her respects before returning to Songtao Court. Old Servant Gui knew Chu Lian's habits. After a tiring day, she definitely needed a good rest.

Thus, she had already prepared some fragrant soup for Chu Lian. After bathing, Chu Lian ate a bowl of red bean porridge and went back to her room to lie down.

The next day, before the sun had even risen, the narrow old Xi City's entrance seemed to have returned to its bustling state from more than ten years ago.

Not only were there wealthy commoners, but there were also quite a number of luxurious carriages from various manors crowding around the old Xi City's entrance.

In order to take care of Guilin Restaurant's business, Steward Qin had recently been resting in the courtyard behind Guilin Restaurant. When the opening day finally came to an end, everyone felt as if a stone had been lifted from their hearts. They couldn't help but feel completely relaxed when they rested at night.

Who would have thought that before they could sleep to their heart's content until the next morning, someone would knock loudly on the front door of Guilin Restaurant's main hall.

Steward Qin opened his eyes with difficulty and got out of bed. He opened the window slightly and saw that it was still dark outside. He glanced at the crescent moon that was still hanging high in the sky and estimated that it was, at most, five in the morning.

Just as he was about to lie back on the bed and continue sleeping, a servant knocked on the door. "Steward Qin, Steward Qin, wake up! Quickly go to the front and take a look!

Someone has barged in! "

What?!

The servant banged on the door anxiously and his voice was filled with anxiety. Steward Qin was instantly frightened out of his sleepiness. He couldn't be bothered to lie back on the bed anymore. He pulled out his outer robe from the screen and draped it over his shoulders before opening the door.

"What's going on?!"

The servant carried a lantern and saw that Steward Qin looked as if he had just crawled out of bed. He hurriedly explained, "The main entrance is packed with people. Ah Zhong doesn't know what's going on, but when he opened the door, those people instantly squeezed in. They were all clamoring to make reservations. I was just about to get someone to chase them out when I saw that there were a few stewards from noble families in the crowd. The main hall is now packed, and I can't even get them out."

The servant's face was filled with worry. It was the middle of the night, and he was so anxious that his forehead was covered in sweat. Just now, a manservant working in Guilin Restaurant said that a part of the door had been squeezed open …

Other people were worried about business, but Guilin Restaurant had to worry about how they could chase away so many customers.

When the servant thought of this, he couldn't help but frown.

Steward Qin thought that Guilin Restaurant had been targeted by someone with bad intentions, but he didn't expect it to be like this. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but he didn't dare to delay. He changed his clothes and followed the servant to the main hall to deal with the situation.

Although his mistress was the third madam of Count Jing 'an's estate, Shengjing had no lack of noble families. If he didn't handle the situation well and offended a noble family, he would be in trouble.

Steward Qin led a few of his capable subordinates and busied himself until the sky was bright. Only then did he manage to pacify and settle this group of people. However, before he could take a sip of water and rest for fifteen minutes, another group of people appeared at the end of the alley at the entrance of the old west market. The people in the lead were a few middle-aged men. Before they even reached the entrance of Guilin Restaurant, they were already pointing and gesturing at the entrance of Guilin Restaurant to the group of people behind them. They had smiles on their faces and were mumbling something incomprehensible.

It wasn't time for the restaurant to open in the morning, so Steward Qin was already sitting at a table in the main hall near the entrance. He held a teacup in his hands and saw about ten to twenty people walking over from afar. His scalp instantly went numb.

This … this group of people wouldn't be here to eat or book a table again, right?

Their table at Guilin Restaurant had already been booked for the month after next!

No matter how smart Steward Qin was, he had never encountered a situation like this before. In the end, he sent someone to Count Jing 'an's estate to consult Chu Lian. Only then did he come up with a temporary solution.