Chapter 555: Mutton Soup (6)
Pressure gathered in He Ying’s chest and she almost spat up a mouthful of blood on the letter.
She slapped the letter onto the table and resisted the urge to throw the thin, yet harsh letter into the fires of a nearby brazier.
Pan Nianzhen was seated right next to her mother, so she had been reading along with He Ying as well. Rage boiled in her chest as well.
It wasn’t as if they didn’t want the restaurant to do well! Chu Lian had made things difficult for them on purpose. If not, why would she have taken away all the original staff of Guilin, leaving her mother to suffer all this unwarranted criticism alone?
Even the cowardly Pan Nianzhen was filled with jealousy and hatred towards Chu Lian at this moment.
What a peculiar line of thought from this mother-daughter pair. While they were getting resentful at others, they hadn’t thought of the whole reason behind this fiasco. They had snatched Guilin Restaurant from the hands of its original owner. It wasn’t something that belonged to them in the first place. Was their victim supposed to have offered it up with both hands willingly, with all bells and whistles attached?
There was no such thing as a free lunch in this world.
He Ying opened up a few more letters in succession. As she continued reading them, her expression darkened further. Even Old Duke Zheng, who had left politics behind, had written in to her. His words were especially sharp and harsh. He Ying seemed to have become a great criminal who had snatched away his one source of food in his eyes.
Eldest Madam He Ying scolded him right back silently in her heart and left the rest of the letters unopened.
She wrung her handkerchief as if she were holding Chu Lian’s neck in her hands.
Pan Nianzhen had never seen her mother this angry for a long time. Ever since they had come to the capital and started living in the Jing’an Estate, her mother had always been in high spirits. With her grandmother’s affection and blessings, she and her mother had never lacked nor wanted for anything here.
The luxurious life they had in the Jing’an Estate couldn’t be compared to the rural Siyang. No wonder her mother had always been talking about how great the capital was.
She held onto her mother’s arm and swayed it like a child, “Mother, don’t get angry. This isn’t your fault at all. Why don’t we go over to Songtao Court and see what’s going on?”
There was definitely something wrong with how quickly He Sanlang and Chu Lian had returned from the Ying Estate. The servants of Songtao Court had their lips sealed shut. In order to find out what had happened, they would have to pay a visit to Chu Lian themselves.
She hadn’t seen Third Cousin for quite a few days anyway.
Pan Nianzhen thought to herself bashfully.
She didn’t know if He Changdi was doing it on purpose, or whether he had sensed something, but recently, whenever he went to visit Matriarch He or Countess Jing’an, he would make an extra effort to miss meeting her entirely.
He Ying thought her daughter’s words made sense, so she immediately nodded.
“Let’s go! I’ll definitely find this Madam Chu’s weak spot somehow!”
Once they caught hold of Chu Lian’s weakness, they would be able to make her return the old staff of the restaurant.
Mother and daughter were both in great spirits over their ambitious plans. They made preparations and headed over to Songtao Court with their maidservants.
They arrived outside Songtao Court in less than fifteen minutes.
Before they even stepped through the courtyard entrance, He Ying’s nose twitched.
“What’s that aroma? It smells delicious…”
Pan Nianzhen had also detected the same. She subconsciously gulped as the smell hooked her taste buds. She looked into the courtyard and said, “Mother, it looks like it’s coming from inside.”
A shadow settled over He Ying’s face. However, at the same time, she couldn’t control her saliva from pooling in her mouth.
After living in the Jing’an Estate for so many days, it was a given that she knew that Chu Lian had plenty of secret recipes. Some of the dishes she made were even better than those made by the imperial cooks.
The cook in Qingxi Hall had only learned a few dishes from Xiyan, but now her cooking had risen to a whole new level and had become even better than the food served at most nobles’ banquets. It went without saying how delicious the food at Chu Lian’s own courtyard must be.