"Follow Sixth Miss Jiang. If she enters the Everpeace Pawnshop, come back."
Qing Qianxue's voice was cool and detached.
"Yes! I'll see to it at once!"
Qian Yan nodded obediently and headed outside.
He had barely taken two steps when he heard his master speak again.
"Starting today, no dinner for ten days."
Qian Yan promptly stumbled.
Could someone tell him what had happened?
Why was his master punishing him out of the blue?
After leaving the National Preceptor's Residence, Jiang Yourning had no idea that she had just brushed shoulders with death.
At that moment.
Having talked Lin Xiangyin into leaving, she changed her clothes and headed alone to a separate residence she owned.
Along the way, Jiang Yourning never entered a clothing shop.
She simply took off her outer robe in an alley where no one was watching, revealing a dark dress underneath that did not suit her usual air.
Then she deftly popped a pill into her mouth and Jiang Yourning strode out without a care.
Not far away, seeing Jiang Yourning undress in the alley, Qian Yan flushed and hurriedly averted his eyes.
By the time he looked back, Jiang Yourning had vanished.
The person emerging from the alley was an ordinary-looking woman in a purple dress.
"Where did she go?"
Qian Yan looked all around, utterly bewildered.
Still, he did have some brains.
He simply went to the Everpeace Pawnshop to wait for her.
When he saw the woman in purple from earlier take out a familiar token, towering waves of shock surged through Qian Yan's heart.
What on earth was going on?
The two women had similar figures but different faces. Could it be a disguise?
With his head spinning as though it were stuffed with paste, Qian Yan left in a daze and returned to the residence in the same state.
He recounted every last detail to Qing Qianxue, whose eyes flickered once again.
Someone this capable.
Was she really Jiang Yourning?
Or had the real Jiang Yourning already died?
Was the face Qian Yan had seen that woman's true appearance?
Then who exactly was this woman? What was her purpose at the Jiang Residence?
"Qian Yan, how many days until the empress's birthday?"
"Master, five days."
"Make the arrangements. I will attend the empress's birthday celebration in five days."
"Yes!"
Jiang Yourning had not expected the pawnshop to offer such good prices.
She sold a few bottles of medicine, exchanged the proceeds for some things, and had them delivered to a small courtyard. Once the delivery people left, she used the system to convert everything into points.
Those points were enough to expand her inventory space to two hundred cubic meters.
In better spirits along the way, Jiang Yourning even made a point of inviting Jiang Wanrong out for a meal at the Drunken Spring House.
"Waiter, bring us every one of your signature dishes!"
Now that she had money, Jiang Yourning was lavish with it.
"Of course! Please wait a moment, honored guests!"
The waiter obsequiously poured tea for them both before leaving.
"The Drunken Spring House really draws a crowd, and its head chef is an excellent cook."
The head chef? I remember the head chef at Drunken Spring House once went into the Imperial Palace to prepare the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet. But he had little ambition and turned down her gracious offer to stay at the Imperial Palace as an imperial chef.
He apparently got into some sort of trouble later and died. After that, business at the Drunken Spring House plummeted.
He's certainly talented. Should I find a way to poach him?
Jiang Wanrong glanced at Jiang Yourning, her feelings growing even more complicated.
Where did her younger sister get all this information?
How did she know more about the Drunken Spring House's head chef than anyone outside did?
Still, she agreed with Jiang Yourning's idea of poaching him.
Once the tavern the sisters were setting up together opened, they would need a capable head chef.
No one would be better than the Drunken Spring House's head chef.
"Ningning."
"Hmm?"
Jiang Wanrong lowered her voice.
"What do you think about finding a way to poach the head chef at Drunken Spring House?"
Jiang Yourning's eyes immediately sparkled.
"You're so clever, Sis! That's a great idea!"
The female lead really is amazing. She thinks exactly like me! Love her, love her!
A faint blush rose on Jiang Wanrong's face.
Her sister's notion that she was the female lead was rather fanciful, but she could not help being touched.
"But... how do we meet him?"
Jiang Wanrong turned her gaze to Jiang Yourning.
"That's easy. Just leave it to me!"
Jiang Yourning chuckled.
Before long, the waiter had brought all their dishes.
Jiang Yourning and Jiang Wanrong began eating.
Within minutes, Jiang Yourning's eyes suddenly brimmed with tears.
"Waiter, may I meet the head chef who made this pan-fried tofu?"
"Miss, is something wrong with the dish?"
The waiter's expression abruptly froze.
"No."
Jiang Yourning gently shook her head and began her performance with tear-filled eyes.
"This... this dish is so delicious, I feel as though I've seen my great-grandmother. Could you let me meet the head chef so I can thank him in person?"
As she spoke, Jiang Yourning obligingly let out a couple of sobs.
"I... I'd like to give him a little reward."
Covering her face, Jiang Yourning drew a gleaming gold leaf from her sleeve.
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