"Miss, what would you like to buy? The counter is over there." Sanni came over, clearly annoyed, blocking the maid’s line of sight.
Chun Tao quickly regained her composure, coughing awkwardly, "I’ll have one of each item you have here." Her tone carried a hint of arrogance, typical of a maid from a grand household, exuding a sense of superiority.
"We currently only have pancakes and roujiamo in the store, pancakes are eight wen each, and roujiamo are six wen each," Sanni said with a sweet smile, "It’s our opening day today, we have a buy-one-get-one-free offer, and you can also enjoy a complimentary bone broth..." she gestured towards where payments were made.
Zhou Xiao took on the role of the cashier.
A flash of scorn crossed Chun Tao’s eyes as she took out fourteen copper coins and handed them over, "Hurry up, my mistress is waiting." Her eyes darted back, but why was there no one there? She quickly glanced around and couldn’t see where the handsome man had gone, feeling an instant sense of loss.
"Don’t worry, it’ll be ready in no time," Zhou Xiao said as he took the copper coins and fetched two bamboo sticks of different lengths from the drawer, handing them to Gu Yao, "Will the young lady have her meal here or take it away?"
"Of course, take away," Chun Tao replied with a look of disdain.
Gu Yao took the sticks and knew exactly what to prepare. He promptly got to work with Erni, and they soon had the order ready, wrapped it in paper, and handed it over.
Chun Tao took it and, after giving Sanni a glare, ran out of the shop.
But Sanni stuck out her tongue at Chun Tao’s retreating back.
Zhou Xiao saw it and couldn’t help but chuckle to herself. This girl got even; that’s a good trait. If only her mother... if her mother had stood up for herself too, rather than always making concessions, maybe...
Just then, another customer came in, interrupting Zhou Xiao’s thoughts, and she focused on serving them.
Once out of the shop, Chun Tao hurried to the sedan chair, "Miss, I’ve got everything, one of each. But we didn’t get a flyer; otherwise, they would’ve thrown in an egg cake too." Despite her earlier disdain, the more she smelled the food, the more she wanted a taste.
The curtain was lifted, revealing Shen Yila’s delicate face as she took one of the items and opened it, "It smells quite good."
She had been placed under house arrest by her father after plotting with Shen Yizhen against Prince Tiangang. She had thought that she would soon enter the Prince’s residence, and even being a consort wouldn’t have been so bad, but after Tiangang left, there was no word from him.
She had thought it wouldn’t matter since neither of them could marry in, but then that wretch Shen Yizhen had managed to get pregnant. After sending word to the capital, the Prince replied that a messenger would be sent to take her elder sister to the capital, without a single mention of her.
She regretted it; she should never have listened to Aunt’s advice to plot against Prince Tiangang. She should have targeted Prince Ba instead.
But there is no medicine for regret in this world.
Now, her elder sister’s status at home soared while her own was stagnant. She knew she had to make plans for herself, but how could she make contact with Prince Tiangang or Prince Ba? That’s when she recalled a piece of information she had gotten: both princes had stayed in Dapu East Village and were familiar with Yang Ruxin.
Luckily, her confinement was lifted. She tasked someone with inquiring about Yang Ruxin’s circumstances and learned about the shop’s opening day. She came with the intention of buying their food, having a taste, and then complaining of a stomachache to threaten them. What she hadn’t expected was for the food, which smelled delicious, to actually taste even better. In that case, she’d finish eating before feigning a stomachache.