Chapter 84: Chapter 40: Fiancé
Hongfu Restaurant had three levels. The first floor was for ordinary people, the second floor held private rooms, and the third floor, that was reserved for entertaining distinguished guests. Ma Chengteng took Yueyao to a private room on the second floor.
The shop assistant led them attentively to the second branch’s private room.
The room was uniquely decorated, with a desk placed next to the dining table, laden with paper and brush. If one was in the mood, they could create and leave behind their calligraphy. The restaurant had collected many pieces of calligraphy from famous individuals.
Yueyao was carefully looking around when a young servant brought in tea and appetizers. The service was top-notch.
After Ma Chengteng explained Yueyao’s situation, the shop assistant immediately understood and recommended only vegetarian dishes. Yueyao ordered Hongfu Restaurant’s four most famous vegetarian dishes and a soup.
Yueyao felt somewhat regretful because she was still in mourning and could not eat meat. She missed out on tasting the restaurant’s most famed dishes like the lion’s head and braised pork knuckles, which were highly characteristic.
Ma Chengteng, seeing Yueyao’s face full of curiosity, smiled and said, “Didn’t your father take you to a restaurant when you were in Jiangnan?” Ma Chengteng spoke casually, not thinking that mentioning Yueyao’s parents would make her sad.
Nanny Deng’s heart sank. Uncle Master really had hit a nerve, bringing up the Old Master out of nowhere and was bound to upset the young lady.
Yueyao shook her head, “No. When I was in Jiangnan, Teacher Wen was very strict with me. My schedule from morning to night was completely full.” Although Teacher Wen did not officially take her as a student, he was even stricter with her than with his own students.
Looking back now, Yueyao knew that Teacher Wen had also hoped she would achieve something in this field. Unfortunately, in her previous life, she had let her teacher down. Despite her reputation, it was all just an empty name.
Ma Chengteng simply smiled and did not speak. He had already seen Yueyao’s artistic skills; without hard work, she couldn’t have produced such good paintings. He believed her words.
Yueyao, looking at the beautifully crafted white porcelain spoon and green porcelain bowl that were brought up, laughed. Just the tableware alone was quite valuable.
Ma Chengteng ordered another table on the first floor for the young servants and attendants who had followed. The shop assistant got the message and immediately gave the order. Those attendants were indeed in for a treat.
Yueyao ate quite a lot that day, polishing off two small bowls of rice and a good amount of vegetables. To Hua Lei and Nanny Deng, this was nothing out of the ordinary. But to Ma Chengteng’s eyes, it seemed the Lian family, no, the Lady family, had mistreated Yueyao. Otherwise, how could a young lady eat so much? It must be because she had not had delicious food before.
After the meal, Yueyao held a delicate white porcelain teacup, slowly drawing in a sip and then spitting it out, using it to rinse her mouth. Her movements were very elegant.
Watching Yueyao’s gracefulness, Ma Chengteng couldn’t help but think of his daughter. He mused inwardly that his sister indeed knew how to raise a child, not only in terms of poetry, painting, and learning but also in speech and etiquette. If his daughter could be half as fine as Yueyao, he would be reassured.
When the shop assistant came to settle the bill, Yueyao heard it was a total of eighty-three taels. Even with her mental preparation, she was still startled. Although her nature had changed, thinking it was better to indulge and spend the money now than to leave it to other people later, she had developed the habit of frugality during her last ten years in the Nunnery. The cost of this one meal felt like quite a loss to her.
Thinking about Ma Family’s grandeur and her uncle’s unrestrained spending, she became genuinely worried. Lian Mansion had many people, but their monthly expenses were definitely not as high as Ma’s Mansion. It seemed a suitable opportunity to remind her uncle was in order.
The group had just left the private room when a middle-aged man accompanied by a handsome young man approached from the opposite direction.
Ma Chengteng laughed, “Brother Shen, what a coincidence to bump into you here.”
Initially, Yueyao did not realize that Brother Shen was Shen Qian and was even less aware that Shen Conghao had also come. After Ma Chengteng finished introducing her and prompted her to pay respects, Yueyao’s body stiffened. Fortunately, she was wearing a veil cap, or else people might have seen her change of expression.
Taking a deep breath, Yueyao stepped forward and bowed. No matter how well she tried to hide it, her voice still carried a hint of coolness, “I have seen Uncle Shen.” Normally, she would not want to associate more than necessary with the Shen family. But what was going to happen in the future, even if she told it, nobody would believe. The Shen family was also from a century-old scholarly family. If she spoke out against them for being treacherous, she would likely be labeled insane.