Chu Lian didn't expect Princess Duanjia, who appeared so noble on the outside, to be a little awkward and a little tsundere.

She couldn't hold back her smile. "Okay, I know."

"Right, this cat head snack can only be made for me alone. Otherwise, I'll hold you responsible."

Chu Lian added in her heart. Princess Duanjia wasn't just awkward and tsundere, she was also a little possessive.

They ate snacks and drank honey water in the Flower Hall. During this period, Princess of Wei asked someone to send some rare late-season cherries for them to satisfy their cravings. She was very sensible and did not disturb her daughter's rare friendship with a friend she liked.

Seeing that it was noon outside, Princess Duanjia coughed slightly. "Sixth Chu, I'll take you out to eat today. What do you think?"

Chu Lian didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Princess Duanjia's personality was too jumpy. Also, she was a guest at the prince's residence. Shouldn't she stay for a meal? Why was she going out to eat?

Seeing that Chu Lian was staring at her silently, Princess Duanjia pursed her lips. "Fine, I want to eat Yue Hong Lou's roast duck. Are you coming or not?"

Yue Hong Lou?

It was one of the top restaurants in Shengjing, famous for its roast duck. It was like a modern Quanjude.

Chu Lian still had Guilin House to take care of, so she could go see what the best restaurant in Shengjing looked like.

Chu Lian nodded with a smile.

Princess Ruanjia excitedly asked her servant girl to inform Princess Wei and a nanny to go to the front yard to arrange a carriage.

Before noon, Princess Duanjia and Chu Lian arrived at the side door of Yue Hong Lou. The two were helped off the carriage by servants. Chu Lian glanced around and her eyes widened.

Sure enough, this Yue Hong Building was extraordinary. It was located in the best area of Vermilion Bird Avenue. Just the number of people who came and went daily was innumerable. At this moment, looking from their position, the lobby on the first floor of Yue Hong Building was already full.

There was a dedicated waiter at the side door to lead the two in. Princess Duanjia seemed to be a regular of Yue Hong Lou. The discerning waiter led the two to a private room named Heaven.

As soon as Princess Ruanjia opened her mouth, she smoothly named quite a few dishes, some of which Chu Lian had never even heard of.

Chu Lian looked at the decorations in the private room of Yue Hong House. Everywhere was exquisite and luxurious. There were even bonsai plants placed on the flower table by the window. Everything was elegant and noble. She wondered how the food here was.

Princess Duanjia rested her chin on one hand and stared unblinkingly at Chu Lian's bright eyes. "Sixth Chu, you've never been to a place like this before?"

Chu Lian didn't expect Princess Duanjia to ask directly. She smiled and shook her head, "I've never been here before. This is my first time!"

In the original novel, Chu Lian didn't have a good relationship with her sisters. She was also suppressed by her stepmother. Her personal savings were pitifully small. Not to mention going out to play, she probably didn't even have money to tip the servants when she left the manor. How could she have the opportunity to come to Yue Hong Lou, a top-notch restaurant in Shengjing?

When Princess Duanjia heard her honest admission, she guessed that Chu Lian didn't have an easy time in the Duke of Ying's manor. However, when she saw that Chu Lian's eyes were clear and bright without a trace of darkness or resentment, she liked Chu Lian's temperament even more.

"Then eat more today. After dinner, let's go to the Defeng Teahouse across the street. I heard that the Defeng Teahouse is playing a song called 'A Phoenix Seeking a Phoenix'."

It was rare to have someone with similar temperament to eat, drink, and have fun with. Chu Lian was very casual about things like status. The two girls were like best friends going out for a walk. Of course, they were very comfortable. Chu Lian agreed immediately.

When all the dishes were served, Chu Lian, who was originally full of anticipation, couldn't help but twitch her mouth when she saw the dishes on the table.

There were more than ten signature dishes on the table. Only the roast duck looked passable. The other dishes were no different from what they had at Duke Jing 'an's manor.

However, Princess Duanjia's eyes lit up when she saw the dishes on the table. The senior servant girl beside her had already picked up a piece of roast duck and placed it on the plate in front of Princess Duanjia. She also picked up a piece for Chu Lian.

There were two small plates in front of her. One was filled with dark-colored soy sauce, and the other was filled with finely ground salt.

Princess Duanjia pointed at the two milky-white plates in front of her and said, "Chu Liu, this roast duck should be dipped in the soy sauce and salt in front of you for it to taste. Quick, try it."

After Princess Duanjia finished speaking, she picked up a piece of duck from the bowl and dipped it evenly in the small plate in front of her. Then, she stuffed it into her cherry red mouth. She closed her eyes slightly and looked like she was enjoying it.

After eating a piece, she smacked her lips as she savored the aftertaste. Then, she looked at Chu Lian expectantly with her large eyes.

Chu Lian could only use her chopsticks to follow Princess Duanjia's method and put the moderately sized piece of duck into her mouth.

Chu Lian was speechless.

Although the duck was crispy and oozing with oil, it was actually white and tasteless!

No wonder it had to be accompanied by soy sauce and salt.

Although soy sauce and salt could enhance the taste, it was a layer on the outside of the duck, so the taste wasn't uniform. One bite was like eating half a mouthful of salt. Moreover, even if it was the finely ground salt, compared to the salt of the future, the grains were too big. The inside of the duck was tasteless. The outside of the duck was so salty from the salt and soy sauce. How could it taste good?

Chu Lian, who was used to having bland tastes, instantly felt uncomfortable. However, under Princess Duanjia's expectant gaze, Chu Lian couldn't spit it out. She hurriedly chewed a few times and swallowed with difficulty.

Princess Duanjia saw that Chu Lian had eaten a piece and coughed to cover it up. She asked, "Chu Liu, how is it? Does it suit your taste?"

Chu Lian raised her head to look at Princess Duanjia. Although her expression was indifferent, the eagerness in her eyes was very obvious.

Chu Lian couldn't bear to brush away her good intentions, so she could only avoid the question and dwell on the trivial. "It's alright."

Princess Duanjia immediately frowned when she heard this answer. "Is it bad?"

Chu Lian smiled awkwardly. She was already numb to it. The food of the Wu Dynasty was probably the same as the food of the imperial banquets.

Suddenly, Princess Duanjia's eyes brightened. "Chu Liu, do you know how to make better roast duck?"

Chu Lian was just about to refuse when Princess Duanjia quickly said, "Don't lie to me!

Otherwise, I'll tell my lord father that you're bullying me. "

Uh … Chu Lian didn't expect Princess Duanjia, who had been so friendly just a moment ago, to suddenly become so arrogant.

She thought about Prince Wei's identity, then thought about the declining Duke of England's Public House and her father who did not have much ability and only had an idle job. It was better to forget about it. Her father was too powerful, there was no hope for her to compete with him.

Chu Lian was still very tactful. "Princess, I can't say that the roast duck is better, but it's at least a little better than the roast duck at Yue Hong Lou."

As Chu Lian spoke, she even extended her fair and tender right hand and pinched two fingers together to compare.

Princess Duanjia didn't expect that this girl in front of her would actually know how to make roast duck. Her eyes darted around. "In a few days, I'll invite you to the Prince Estate. How about we make roast duck together?"

Although Princess Duanjia said this, she was laughing so hard inside that she was about to fall over. Hmph, I already said that this crappy roast duck was average, but Fourth Brother had to spend a lot of money on the secret recipe. Now, even Chu Liu could make something better than this. She was going to die of laughter. The next time Chu Liu made it, she was going to let Fourth Brother taste it first. She was going to piss him off.

Princess Duanjia was so pleased with herself that she completely forgot how she had been thinking about coming to Yue Hong Lou to eat roast duck.

However, with Chu Lian's comment, this roast duck didn't seem as delicious as it was before. She felt that it didn't matter whether she ate it or not.

Chu Lian didn't know why, but on this day of gathering with Princess Duanjia, she just spent her time eating and drinking.

She really didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Princess Duanjia of Yue Hong House only had her eyes on the roast duck and didn't care about the other dishes. Now that her interest in the roast duck was ruined by Chu Lian, the two ladies ate some casually. However, the fruit wine in Yue Hong House was mellow and sweet, so the two of them drank a few more cups.

Princess Duanjia and Chu Lian's conversation in this private room was just a joke. Neither of them knew that it had already fallen into the ears of the person next door.

Tang Yan couldn't help but put his fist to his lips. His cheeks were red and he finally couldn't hold back the laughter in his chest. He coughed twice and then no longer tried to hide it. Instead, he laughed out loud.

Prince Jin, the fourth brother mentioned by Princess Duanjia, had a face full of displeasure. His blue eyes, which were different from an ordinary person's, glanced coldly at Tang Yan, which made people shudder for no reason.

Receiving such a warning look, Tang Yan hurriedly held back his laughter. He pretended to be serious and said, "This lowly official would like to ask Your Highness, how much did the secret recipe of this roast duck cost?"

Prince Jin's face stiffened and he shot another sharp look at Tang Yan. "Tang Yan, do you think that your salary is too high and that you have extra money to eat at Yue Hong Lou?"

Tang Yan immediately shut his mouth. However, like Princess Duanjia, he looked at the crispy yellow roast duck in front of him and lost his appetite.

He sighed and said, "I wonder how the roast duck of Princess Duanjia's close friend is. This lowly official really wants to try it."

Prince Jin didn't hesitate to give him a cold look and said coldly, "Are you addicted to it?!"

Tang Yan coughed awkwardly and hurriedly got back to business. "Your Highness, He Sanlang has already arrived in Liangzhou. This is a letter he sent."

Tang Yan was a subordinate official of Prince Jin and also a strategist. He was quite valued by Prince Jin.

Prince Jin took the letter from Tang Yan and only read the one that He Changdi wrote to him. The other two letters were for Count Jing 'an's estate. He put them away carefully and planned to send someone to deliver them to Count Jing' an's estate as soon as he returned.

"Arrange a group of people for Changdi and have them listen to his orders."

Tang Yan nodded.

When the two of them were almost done with their discussion, Prince Jin heard the two young ladies next door preparing to leave and go to the Defeng Teahouse across the street to watch a play.

Prince Jin and Tang Yan recalled He Changdi's words in the letter asking him to take extra care of Chu Lian. They got up and quietly followed them to the Defeng Teahouse.

In fact, He Changdi's letter to Prince Jin, "take care of Chu Lian" was written through gritted teeth. When he wrote those two words, the tip of his pen trembled a little and almost fainted.

He didn't know if Prince Jin could understand the tangled anger in his heart.