Chapter 96: Chapter 96: Beaten Up
The Xiao Family indeed does not fear the Pei Family.
But the Pei Family also does not fear the Xiao Family.
As they say, foes meet with particularly red eyes, and on a narrow path, the brave shall win.
If you’re not satisfied or convinced, just fight it out until you are.
At times like this, the class and capability of the guards become apparent.
Qu Fulan is someone heavily utilized by Heir Pei; the guards he personally arranged are top-notch in both skills and other aspects.
Whereas the Xiao Family arranged ordinary guards for Miss Ji, to intimidate common folks or if the opponents are also ordinary guards, they could still have an evenly matched fight.
Now—
Not even requiring all four great guards to take action, just sending out the weakest one, Shi Si, is enough to utterly crush those from the Xiao Family.
One among them was even hit and sent flying onto the carriage, startling Ji Nishang inside, who cried out in panic but quickly realized it was unseemly and promptly stopped, putting her hand on her chest, trying to calm her inner turmoil.
Chun Chan did not have such good self-control, screaming for quite a while embarrassingly, only to stop after being lightly rebuked by her older cousin.
Ji Nishang suppressed her mild anger, angered by Chun Chan’s disobedience to her advice, and also angered by the rudeness of the carriage ahead.
After all, the blame lay partially on their side; moreover, she was new here, and acting discreetly was the prudent choice.
If today’s incident involved another noble house, she might let someone offer a simple apology, but not with the Pei Family.
Aunt had warned before that in the Capital City, other families were not much of a concern, but only the Pei Family and Xiao Family were at odds, and should she encounter them, she need not fear nor back down.
Now the two sides had fought, although the Xiao Family had fallen short, at least this matter was settled.
Letting the other side buy breakfast first.
Douya did not care about the situation behind her carriage; once Fulan spoke, she was not afraid, especially since their guards won, making her more fearless.
Walked boldly towards the vendor.
The vendor witnessed a brief skirmish, initially worried it might affect his business, but surprisingly, the guard of this family was so formidable, dealing with the opponent’s four people alone without damaging his goods; his heart filled with fear, but he cautiously nodded and bent over, asking, "What would you like to buy, sir? I have buns, fried dough sticks, soybean milk, wontons, sesame cakes, and flax porridge..."
Douya interrupted before he finished speaking: "Give me four buns, four sesame cakes, and fill this kettle with soybean milk."
It was evident that the usual breakfast items were just these, needing no introduction from the vendor.
"All right, sir, please wait a moment!" The vendor carefully took the kettle from Douya’s hand, immediately recognizing the extraordinary material, not something an average household could afford—a double-layer insulated kettle.
The vendor could not help but carefully glance at the carriage several more times, noticing the conspicuous carriage insignia; he lacked the insight to know which noble family it belonged to in the Capital City but knew there were many families with the same surname.
Though his mind spun with thoughts, his hands moved quickly, packing things neatly.
"Here you go, sir."
Douya took the items, tossed over a string of copper coins, and without waiting for change, turned and got on the carriage.
The vendor was stunned for a moment, then exclaimed several times; the carriage had already gone far.
"Stop calling, it’s a privilege of the wealthy families, receiving such largesse is our good fortune," said the vendor’s wife.
The vendor sighed, then bowed towards the direction of the carriage.
Seeing the vendor’s demeanor, Chun Chan felt extremely irked, venting all her previous humiliation, "What are you standing around for? Can’t see I’m waiting here? Delay one more moment, and be careful of what you get!"
The vendor promptly packed breakfast for this fierce guest, who took the items and left, not even paying, and the vendor dared not utter a sound.
Chun Chan was ultimately not the type to buy things without paying, yet unwilling to fall behind the Pei Family in this matter, but she didn’t have enough on her, so she returned to the carriage, saying.
"Miss, we must give the vendor more money, otherwise not only would he look down on us, but more importantly, we’ll be outdone by the Pei Family."
Ji Nishang felt it unnecessary, and was in no mood to haggle over this, merely expressing some impatience, "The money is in the box, take care of it yourself."
Watching the carriage speeding away, the vendor felt indescribable emotions.
Was this a case of "When the snipe and the clam quarrel, the fisherman benefits?"
Yet Qu Fulan was unaware she had encountered a key character in the book.
As the saying goes, ten thousand miles apart, yet destined to meet, no fate, no recognition upon meeting.
Arriving at the "Flower Garden Ode," she first handed the manuscript to the storyteller.
The storyteller, after glancing over it, could not help but repeatedly exclaim.
Having told stories for many years, this was his first encounter with such excellent material; he initially thought the front content was already superb, worried that the later narrative might not surpass it, but that was not the case.
The storytelling for today is "Zhu Bajie Carries His Wife," marking the beginning of Tang Seng collecting his second disciple, which is indeed very exciting.
Following the acquisition of Sun Wukong as a disciple by Tang Seng, the identities of the remaining three disciples have been a hot topic of discussion.
The storyteller guarantees that today’s round will become the next hot topic for discussion over tea and meals.
Qu Fulan did not worry about the storytelling session, as she went straight to the kitchen.
The dishes and milk tea at the restaurant need regular updates in order to attract more returning customers.
Upon seeing her arrival, Zhang Cai warmly greeted her.
"Is Miss Qu planning to use the kitchen? Do feel free to ask if you need help; I’ll arrange two nimble assistants to assist."
Managing Zhang Cai is Qu Fulan’s newly selected kitchen manager.
Around forty years of age, he is neither particularly honest nor overly cunning, but the type who gets things done without presuming, and importantly, follows orders.
Qu Fulan dislikes having her word questioned, and Zhang Cai excels in this aspect; her orders are followed to the letter, not missing a word.
Qu Fulan explained some matters, and Zhang Cai promptly went to handle them.
She stayed in the kitchen for two hours, and preparations for the storytelling upfront commenced.
Qu Fulan did not intend to stay at the restaurant for further observation and turned to leave the "Flower Garden Ode".
If anything were to happen at the "Flower Garden Ode," someone would contact her.
And just as Qu Fulan left, the restaurant welcomed a pair of master and servant.
Who if not the Ji Nishang from earlier clashing with the Pei Family carriage on the road? But she wore a veil hat now, accompanied by another maid, not the previously outspoken Chun Chan.
Ji Nishang came today to investigate the situation, unwilling to reveal her true identity, led to the third-floor private room by the server.
The "Flower Garden Ode" was fully occupied on the first and second floors, with only the third floor catered exclusively to female guests. Female noble guests had less interest in listening to tales than male guests, so there were still some private rooms available on the third floor.
Ji Nishang ordered a cup of milk tea and some signature dishes, and while waiting, she began scrutinizing everything within "Flower Garden Ode".
Suddenly from below came a "bang" that startled Ji Nishang.
It was the storyteller striking the wooden block.
"As the tale goes, Wukong and his master pass through Gao Village; the master and disciple lodge at the village, hearing about a strange incident at Gao Village..."