Chapter 205: Wings Clipped
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Just as he was speaking, Wei Tiande had already led a group of people who seemed to have appeared from nowhere, rushing in from outside. They heard the last sentence from the old man and, without hesitation, one of them slapped him hard, causing him to fall to the ground. Then, pointing at him, he cursed loudly, “You d*mn fool! Don’t you know how to conduct business with harmony? You tripped our Madam and didn’t even apologize, now you dare to cause trouble? Where’s your boss? Tell him to come out and apologize to our Madam! Otherwise, I’ll show you what it means to ruin your business! Beating you up would be nothing!”
Seeing that the situation was turning against him, the old man immediately sat on the ground, slapping his legs and crying out, “Help! Something terrible is happening! There are robbers here in broad daylight! They want to kill and burn!”
In one moment, he was arrogantly looking down on them, and in the next, he turned into a street-scolding shrew. The speed of this transformation was astonishing, leaving Mingzhu amazed. She was about to express her opinion seriously when suddenly, Yuwen Chu quietly pinched her. She immediately caught on, clinging to Yuwen Chu’s neck and crying loudly, “It hurts so much! My dear husband, you must avenge me! Who does business like this? I demand an apology from him! Otherwise, I’ll smash his shop! No, I’ll burn it down!”
“Don’t worry, today I will surely help you get justice,” Yuwen Chu assured her. As soon as he finished speaking, Wei Tiande straightened his hat and signaled to the henchmen behind him to follow him up. They first punched and kicked the old man, then proceeded to smash windows, doors, and utensils everywhere.
Mingzhu saw the old man being beaten miserably, curled up and crying, and her heart shrank along with it. Even if this person was very annoying, it didn’t justify this treatment. Unexpectedly, Yuwen Chu decisively covered her eyes with his hand and whispered, “Don’t worry about it. Geng Momo’s son used to be a frequent visitor here. The merchant responsible for supplying spices to the palace and the eunuch in charge have also eaten here a few times. If you want to know what’s going on, just wait and watch the show.”
Mingzhu immediately closed her mouth. Her father had told her that Geng Momo’s family was so audacious because there must be someone behind them instructing and planning everything. However, her father and brothers hadn’t found out who that person behind the scenes was. Geng Momo’s family only admitted to their own greed, leading them step by step into the abyss…
It wasn’t surprising to be able to create such delicious food; what was surprising was that lowly servants like Geng Pingqiang, as well as merchants and eunuchs, could frequent this place regularly, while Yuwen Chu, a prince, had to wait in line for a meal. And in such a filthy place, the strange old man with his nose and eyes seemingly reaching the heavens was peculiar. Furthermore, despite their commotion, no one had come out to inquire. Even the chef who made the delicious food hadn’t shown his face!
This was too abnormal! Her father had also said that many big events were made up of small things and small people that were inconspicuous. Yuwen Chu always rose early for profit, so what kind of result would this spectacle lead to?
Mingzhu broke free from Yuwen Chu’s hand and whispered, “No one has come out to inquire all this time. Could they have noticed something wrong and run away?”
Yuwen Chu helped her stand and pushed open the window, motioning for her to look outside.
In the northeast corner of the courtyard was the largest and newest-looking building with a chimney on top. A group of people was running towards it, and the one leading them was recognizable to Mingzhu—it was Zhang Huan, the guard who had clashed with her at the Jade Emperor Temple. Zhang Huan ran to the door, lifted his foot and kicked it hard, and the door opened with a bang as the group rushed in.
“Is that the kitchen?” Mingzhu was eager to know what the mysterious chef who could make such delicious food looked like.
Yuwen Chu nodded. “Do you want to go and see?”
Of course, Mingzhu wanted to go. The two of them walked to the kitchen door together, and Zhang Huan came out, his face looking very unpleasant as he whispered, “Your Highness, there’s no one inside.”
Yuwen Chu didn’t show any anger. He led the way into the kitchen. Mingzhu followed closely behind, only to see an empty room with several elaborately built stoves and a row of neatly arranged kitchen utensils. Steam was still rising from the pot on the central stove, and the aroma of the food inside wafted out intermittently.
Mingzhu walked over and lifted the lid of the steamer to take a look. Inside was a bowl of steamed dish whose name she couldn’t identify. It didn’t look very appealing and had a bit of a smell, but it was incredibly fragrant, and the portion was equally small. She wanted to taste it, but in the end, she resisted. The food was safe before they caused trouble, but its safety couldn’t be guaranteed now.
But it smelled so good. Mingzhu stared at the bowl of steamed dish, torn between the desire to try it and the fear of being poisoned. How could there be someone in the world who could cook like this? She got too close, and accidentally touched the steamer, causing her to jump and almost cry out in pain. Afraid of being ridiculed, she quickly pressed down again, inadvertently pressing onto the stove, which scared her into shedding a tear.
She had thought that the stove, which had just been lit, would be extremely hot and might even burn off a layer of skin. However, when she touched it, the stove was as cold as ice, not at all like the temperature a stove that had just been extinguished should have. Something was wrong. Mingzhu subconsciously lowered her head to take a look and saw that there were still a few smoky firewood sticks in the stove, so why was it like this? Was it because she had been scalded just now and was numb? Or was this person’s culinary skills so advanced that the stove was built differently from others? Cold outside and hot inside?
Driven by her strong curiosity, Mingzhu persistently inspected each stove and touched them all with her hands, while also examining the food in each pot.
“Every room has been searched, and there’s no one. Yang Dianjun has been guarding outside with people, and no one has been seen leaving. Your Highness, what should we do about this?” Zhang Huan’s voice grew lower and lower. “If it’s a secret passage, we’ve even checked the well, but found nothing. Could he have flown away with wings?”
Yuwen Chu calmly said, “He can’t fly away. He must still be in this courtyard. You just haven’t found him yet. Search carefully again, dig three feet into the ground if necessary, but find him!” Seeing Mingzhu looking down at the pots with a face that showed both longing and restrained pain, he couldn’t help but shake his head lightly. She had eaten plenty in her life, so why was she still so eager?
“D*mn you all to h*ll!” came the bitter curses from the old man outside the door. Wei Tiande and the others dragged him over and threw him to the ground.
Yuwen Chu asked coldly, “Where is he?”
At first, the old man stubbornly refused to speak, but Zhang Huan grabbed his arm and twisted it, causing him to scream in pain, his face covered in cold sweat. He angrily shouted, “There’s no one! It’s just me, an old man!”
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