IHOEAYSTTTIW Chapter 44

Chapter 44 Some Past Events

Gu Zhan seemed intent on dismembering the vegetables in his hand, his movements becoming increasingly crude: “I get angry whenever this is mentioned…”

“Put the cabbage down, don’t ruin the food.” Yun Qi glanced at the vegetables in Gu Zhan’s hand. His chopping of the meat filling became a bit heavier, appearing particularly intimidating.

Gu Zhan’s movements froze. Only then did he notice that the vegetables in his hand had been tormented beyond recognition. He hurriedly put the vegetables down, trying to cover up his actions by using another intact leaf to cover them.

Yun Qi chopped the meat filling a couple more times but was still uneasy about the vegetables in Gu Zhan’s hands. He walked over to Gu Zhan, rescued the vegetables, and then gestured for him to continue: “Alright, you can continue talking.”

“The Cheng family’s ancestors were officials, but by the time it got to Old Man Cheng, they had fallen on hard times.” Gu Zhan spat in the direction of Cheng Que’s ancestral tablet, “He wasn’t much of a scholar, but he was a natural at mooching off women.”

“Mooching off women?”

“That’s right. Don’t be fooled by the fact that the shop used to be called Cheng Family Restaurant, but the ancestors were actually named Zheng.” Gu Zhan pointed towards the entrance, continuing to grumble, “Old Man Cheng became an live-in son-in-law of the Zheng family. It’s said that he treated Aunt Zheng quite well for the first two years, but Aunt Zheng damaged her health when she gave birth to Cheng Que and couldn’t conceive again afterward. That’s when Old Man Cheng showed his true colors.”

The kitchen door was knocked twice, and Cheng Que’s voice came from outside: “Is the takeout ready?”

“Ready, ready.” Gu Zhan stopped talking. He opened the door, handed the prepared food container to the worker, and then guided the somewhat bewildered Cheng Que outside, “Cheng Que, you should rest, leave this to me.”

Cheng Que looked into the kitchen, hesitant, “But here…”

“Go on, go on.” Gu Zhan patted Cheng Que’s head reassuringly, “The Xiang flavor’s accounts all depend on you. You can’t be overworked.”

Cheng Que nodded, finally choosing to obey Gu Zhan’s arrangement, “Okay then.”

Gu Zhan watched Cheng Que’s back, continuing the previous topic: “Cheng Que’s ability to read ledgers and manage the shop was learned from Aunt Zheng. Aunt Zheng said he was very talented and would hand over the shop to him when he came of age.”

Gu Zhan wasn’t usually like this, but as long as Cheng Que was mentioned, he would unconsciously ramble on for a long time, even starting from his first meeting with Cheng Que to Cheng Que’s future.

Seeing the topic getting further and further off track, Yun Qi had no choice but to pull the topic back: “So you still haven’t said what actually happened.”

“Sigh, it’s actually just a sentence’s worth of story.” Gu Zhan rolled his eyes, shaking his head repeatedly, “Old Man Cheng didn’t have much ability, but he was stubbornly old-fashioned, insisting on having a son. After the two Zheng family elders passed away, Aunt Zheng followed soon after…”

Yun Qi keenly noticed the oddness in his words, pressing, “Was Madam Zheng not in good health?”

“Excessive worry, I guess. After all, Old Man Cheng treated her…” Gu Zhan sighed, not continuing.

To be in good health, yet suddenly pass away, these words didn’t sound right.

Moreover, Cheng Que hadn’t grown up by then. Even thinking about the child, Madam Zheng would have quickly perked up. She knew very well what kind of person Cheng Xuicai was and wouldn’t leave her child with that person. At the very least, she would have left something for Cheng Que to rely on.

Yun Qi secretly noted this matter, preparing to find an opportunity to investigate it later.

“After Madam Zheng left, Old Man Cheng immediately brought a woman back from the outside.” Gu Zhan slammed the table, completely disrupting Yun Qi’s thoughts. Gu Zhan, however, didn’t notice, continuing to curse indignantly, “If it weren’t for the mourning period for Madam Zheng, that old thing would have immediately legitimized her.”

“Is that the woman from the day we came?”

“Yes, yes, that’s her.” Gu Zhan got more and more agitated as he spoke, the wooden cup creaking as he squeezed it, “That woman messed up the Zheng family’s accounts and wouldn’t let Cheng Que interfere, only teaching Cheng Que about the three obediences and four virtues.”

Yun Qi thought of a term he saw on Lin Yan’s cellphone, CPU or something like that, some kind of mental control. “Because of this…”

“Not just this.” Gu Zhan pointed around, lowering his voice a little, “Not long after that woman came, rumors started spreading, saying that Madam Zheng was reaped early because she was a shrew who inspired jealousy, and also said…”

“Who would believe such words.” Yun Qi scoffed in disdain, but his smile quickly froze on his face.

He remembered that such words always had a market. Whether it was Lin Yan being abandoned because of an unlucky statement, or him and the new Emperor suffering in the Cold Palace for more than a decade because of a statement that they were destined to bring harm to their relatives, wasn’t it all because of a single sentence?

Such things existed in the past, exist now, and will exist in the future.

Gu Zhan shook his head, bitterly smiling, “There are fools who believe it, and Cheng Que also…”

A flurry of footsteps came from outside, and the two hurriedly stopped talking.

“Brother Gu!” Cheng Que was uncharacteristically agitated. He rushed into the kitchen without knocking. The earrings that usually restrained his behavior swayed so much they almost flew off.

“What’s wrong?” Gu Zhan steadied him, checking him up and down to make sure Cheng Que was okay before he could relax a little.

“The officials are here, it seems like they’re looking for…” Cheng Que didn’t finish the sentence. He glanced in Yun Qi’s direction, the unspoken words were self-evident.

Yun Qi leisurely ladled the dishes from the pot, took off his apron, and walked towards the front yard in a leisurely manner.

“I know, they’re here for me.”

When Yun Qi arrived at the front hall, he saw a young official sitting in the middle of the table in a commanding manner. Behind him stood two guards on each side. The usually bustling front hall was now quiet. Many customers placed silver on the table and slipped away, and those reluctant to leave only dared to bury their heads in their food, at most whispering a few words.

The waiter wiping sweat from his brow, squeezed out a smile, “My lords, there are private rooms upstairs, would you like to sit in a private room?”

My lords, please go upstairs, the customers are all scared away.

“No need.” The man waved his hand, picked up the tea, and took a sip.

The taste of the tea was unexpectedly good. He raised his eyebrows, refilling it again.

The waiter took a deep breath, handing over the menu: “Then, what would you like to eat?”

“You can go down first.” Although he said this, the official kept the menu, studying the dishes on it with interest.

The waiter was preparing to retreat tremulously when he heard a clear voice from behind him: “Xiang flavor’s Double Pepper Fish Head is good, you can try it.”

Who is it? Who is so bold? This person clearly isn’t here to eat.

The waiter was so frightened that he almost jumped up. He looked towards the source of the voice in panic and saw Xiang flavor’s newly arrived worker for today, with the shopkeeper Cheng standing next to him.

The waiter frantically gave Cheng Que meaningful looks.

This lord clearly isn’t here to eat, still double pepper fish head? Shopkeeper, please take a look at him!!!

Cheng Que was also dumbfounded. He wanted Yun Qi to run away quickly, but Yun Qi directly came out of the kitchen, and… he seemed to know this lord, even intimately.

What surprised him even more was that the person who had been calm and composed just now stood up with a “whoosh”, barely stopping himself from rushing over. He struggled to maintain his composure, but his voice trembled slightly: “Your High… The shop’s specialties should be tried.”

Yun Qi gestured invitingly: “Shall we talk in a private room?”

The man nodded, habitually going to hook Yun Qi’s shoulder, but retreated under Yun Qi’s warning gaze, reluctantly following Cheng Que to the second floor.

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