The gangster blinked his almond-shaped eyes and smiled, saying, "Girl, are you shopping alone? Do you want me to accompany you?" As he said that, he stretched out his dirty hands, put them on the shoulders of the girl in red, put his face close to the girl's shoulder, and took a deep breath.
The girl in red was naturally Ji Lingxue. She had asked a girl from Hongchunyuan and bought this enchanting dress for ten taels of silver. She also smelled strongly of rouge.
Ji Lingxue blinked, resisting the urge to beat someone up. She blinked and smiled, "Brother, I'm going to the west of the city. Will you come with me?"
Seeing that Ji Lingxue didn't reject him, the gangster smiled evilly. The west of the city is not as prosperous as the east. It's a slum. The gangster nodded and said, "Okay, okay. It's not safe for a girl to go out. There's a case of a faceless female corpse recently. It's really not safe for a girl to go out alone. I have my brother to protect you. Don't worry and go boldly."
Ji Lingxue nodded pretending to be weak, and went to the west of the city with the gangster. The gangster gestured to his companions, asking them to have fun on their own and not to disturb him who was accompanying the girl.
The gangster tried to find topics to talk about along the way, portraying himself as a hero, but Ji Lingxue just smiled and didn't say anything.
As they approached the city gate, the thug asked, "Girl, do you live in the west of the city?"
Ji Lingxue shook her head and said, "No, there is a restaurant in the west of the city that is doing very good business. I heard that the dishes they make are very special, so I went to try it."
The gangster hurriedly grabbed Ji Lingxue's hand and said, "Girl, listen to me, you'd better not go. The restaurant in the west of the city has closed down."
Ji Lingxue blinked her confused eyes and asked, "How could that be? I was there yesterday... How could such a good business go bankrupt? Are you kidding me, brother?"
The gangster laughed proudly, "Miss, you don't know this, right? The location of that restaurant is not good. You know, someone died in the past in that area of the restaurant. It's so unlucky, but someone still bought it to open a restaurant. Now people in the city are saying that the owner of the restaurant offended the ghosts in the underworld, so it went bankrupt?"
Ji Lingxue's mouth twitched, "Brother, you must have heard it from others. I won't tell you anymore. I'm still waiting to go out of town to eat."
The gangster coughed and wanted to use ghost stories to make the girl give up, but he didn't expect the girl to not believe it.
The gangster said, "I'll tell you the truth, young lady. The restaurant's good business is all thanks to a recipe created by a chef. The chef was originally the head chef at Deqing Tower. He didn't expect that the recipe he created after working hard all his life was stolen and used to open a restaurant... This restaurant in the west of the city is nothing without a recipe, so it will naturally not be able to operate. Come on, brother will treat you today. I'll take you to Deqing Tower for dinner." As he said that, he pulled Ji Lingxue and walked back.
Under a tree on the street not far away, Xiao Yichen looked at Ji Lingxue and the gangster passing by with a cold face. This woman, does she have to take risks on her own
Xiao Yichen stared at the hand of the gangster holding Ji Lingxue's arm, wishing he could chop that hand off with a knife. Thinking that his impulse would affect the next plan and even make Ji Lingxue unhappy, Xiao Yichen had to suppress this impulse.
Xiao Yichen turned to Chi Feng behind him and asked, "Who is the owner of Deqing Building?"
Chi Feng said, "Uncle, the Queen has been favored recently, and Uncle has become more and more outrageous. He bought a lot of restaurants as private property a few days ago. The sudden rise of Qingfeng Yashe has affected Uncle's interests, so it was destroyed by gangsters. These gangsters have been spreading messages in the city, which is very unfavorable to Qingfeng Yashe."
Xiao Yichen's face was as gloomy as water. "Let's go and take a look."
In Deqing Building, the gangster and Ji Lingxue sat opposite each other at a table by the window. Ji Lingxue took the menu handed to her by the waiter and looked at the names on it that she was not familiar with. A sarcastic smile appeared on the corner of her mouth. He was indeed the culprit.
Seeing that Ji Lingxue only looked at the menu but didn't order anything, the gangster asked, "What's wrong, girl? The dishes here are exactly the same as those at Qingfeng Yashe, and they're cheaper than over there."
Ji Lingxue said "oh" and ordered two signature dishes at random. The waiter quickly brought the signature dishes to the table. Ji Lingxue picked up the chopsticks, took a bite, and spit it out the next moment.
The gangster looked at Ji Lingxue strangely, "Girl, this dish doesn't suit your taste?"
Ji Lingxue said: "It's so disgusting, can you ask the chef here to come over?"
The gangster slammed the table and yelled, "Waiter, come here."
The waiter who was still serving customers from other tables came over happily. What was going on? After hearing Ji Lingxue say that the food was terrible, the waiter's expression became unfriendly. "Miss, the food we cook is definitely better than that of a certain restaurant in the west of the city. These two chefs are from the same master."
Ji Lingxue shook her head, disagreeing with the waiter's statement. The gangster wanted to please Ji Lingxue, so he stood on her side and scolded the waiter, "Waiter, I asked you to invite the chef who made this dish over, why are you so hesitant?"
The waiter curled his lips, not wanting to cause a big fuss for fear of affecting the business of the store, so he called the cook. The cook was a 40-year-old uncle with a face full of stubble. He glanced at Ji Lingxue and said, "Girl, I heard that you are not satisfied with the dishes I cooked?"
Ji Lingxue looked at the chef's arrogant face with a smile and sneered, "For this dish of candied yam, did you choose yam from Huainan? The yam meat in Huainan is powdery, and it's not very delicious after being made into candied yam. "
The cook narrowed his eyes, looked Ji Lingxue up and down and asked, "From your tone, young lady, you seem to be an expert. How do you make the candied yam delicious?"
Ji Lingxue smiled and said, "You can't choose Huainan yam. You have to choose wild yam grown locally. It's crisp and delicious. First, slice it into slices of moderate size, not too thick or too thin. Then put oil in the pot and heat it to 60%. Fry the yam until the edges are browned. Take it out, put new oil in the pot, and continue frying until the skin is crispy. Then start to boil the syrup."
"When boiling syrup, you should pay attention to the heat. If the heat is too high, the water will evaporate too quickly and the sugar will become mushy. When the heat is the lowest, the syrup will crystallize and precipitate again at the end. I usually use medium or low heat. After the syrup is boiled, be sure to turn off the heat and add the yam, stirring quickly and evenly, so that the candied yam will be tasty."
The cook listened carelessly at first, but his eyes widened as he listened, and he looked at Ji Lingxue with a strange look, "You...how do you know how to cook?" This girl's explanation was even more detailed than what was written in the recipe, could it be that she was...
Ji Lingxue stood up and smiled wickedly, "Yes, I am the creator of this sweet potato with sugar. Although you have the recipe, you don't know how to make it. It's still versatile." She spread her hands.
"What, girl, you are kidding..." The gangster opened his mouth and looked at Ji Lingxue with a strange expression. He thought she was a girl from an ordinary family, but he didn't expect that she was the creator of the recipe.
Ji Lingxue clapped her hands, and the ten guards waiting outside rushed in immediately. Perhaps it was because they carried evil spirits, the diners in the hall who were originally eating and chatting lively suddenly became quiet.
Ji Lingxue said: "It's not so easy to steal skills. You smashed my restaurant, so I will tear down your store!"
The cook raised his hand and waved at Ji Lingxue. This girl is really arrogant! Ji Lingxue raised her hand, and a powder spread around her. Ji Lingxue took two steps back and said with a smile: "I am full of poison. If you want to touch me, you must be prepared to die."
Upon hearing this, the gangster suddenly grasped his right hand, fell to the ground with a roar, and foamed at the mouth, which scared the cook so much that his face changed.
After the ten palace guards drove out the innocent diners, they started to smash the place. Some of them drank a few sips of the wine and then smashed the place. The remaining plates and dishes all rolled to the ground and broke into pieces with a clanging sound.
The shopkeeper and the shop assistants looked at the guards wearing the insignia of the Prince Chen's Palace with pale faces, not daring to breathe. In the capital, who is hard to offend? Naturally, it is the royal family.
Ji Lingxue sat at an empty table with satisfaction, looking at the mess on the floor, and finally let out the breath she had been holding in her heart.
Seeing that there was nothing left in the store that could be smashed, the guards returned to Ji Lingxue's side and waited for orders. Ji Lingxue pointed at the door and said, "There's still a store sign that hasn't been taken down."
On the street, the sign of Deqing Building fell to the ground with a bang and broke into several pieces. Passers-by stopped to watch and pointed.
Passerby A: "Hey, what's going on?"
Passerby B: "You don't know yet, this Deqinglou was doing well, but suddenly a woman came and smashed the store to pieces. Tsk tsk... What a vicious woman."
Passerby C: "Hush, keep your voice down, be careful what you say, this woman is from Prince Chen's Mansion."
Passerby A: "The King of Chen has always loved his people like his own children. When did he become so overbearing and unreasonable?"
As everyone was talking, Xiao Yichen stood behind the crowd and squinted as he watched the door plaque of Deqing Building fall. The corners of his mouth twitched. Ji Lingxue was very angry, but he made him take the blame. He was a good prince who loved his people like his own children.
In less than a quarter of an hour, the news that Deqing Tower was smashed by people from Prince Chen's Mansion reached the ears of the King's Uncle. At that time, the King's Uncle was playing chess with the beauty. Upon hearing the news, he immediately took out his official robe and went to the palace to file a complaint.
Chi Feng received the news from the secret guard and whispered in Xiao Yichen's ear: "Your Majesty, the king's uncle has entered the palace."
Xiao Yichen nodded and said to Chi Feng: "You stay here to protect my princess, don't let her be bullied."
Chi Feng frowned. The princess was so domineering, it seemed like she didn't need his protection.
When Xiao Yichen entered the palace, the uncle was kneeling in front of Xiao Yimo, crying and complaining: "Your Majesty, you have to make a decision for me. I believe that I have never offended the king, but today the king smashed my newly opened shop Deqinglou without any reason. The people on the street can make a decision for me. What I said is absolutely true."
Xiao Yimo put down the pen in his hand and looked at the uncle who was wiping tears with his sleeve with sympathy, "Uncle, please be patient. I will send someone to invite Prince Chen to come and find out the truth. Maybe there is some misunderstanding."
The uncle fell to the ground and said, "Misunderstanding... Even if I have offended you in the past, you should tell me clearly, but it is not gentlemanly to smash someone's shop behind their back. Your Majesty, you have to make the decision for me."
Xiao Yimo nodded, "I will make the decision for you. Please stand up, uncle. Someone, please invite the Prince..."
A shrill voice came from the palace gate: "The Prince has arrived!"
(End of this chapter)