Chapter 114: Chapter 114: I Never Look at the Master When Beating a Dog

Li Yun had no idea what Ming Lingyi intended to do. He pondered for a moment before speaking. "Today’s incident... it wasn’t necessarily orchestrated by someone with real influence in the Xie family..."

The Xie family’s methods weren’t usually so sloppy.

What Li Yun really wanted to do was warn Ming Lingyi that if the Xie family decided to truly make a move, it wouldn’t be nearly as easy to handle as this.

The safest option would be for her to entrust the matter to him.

But Ming Lingyi completely misunderstood him.

She narrowed her eyes, her gaze turning cold. "Then that’s on the Xie family for failing to control their own dogs. I’m going to beat their dogs for them. What can they possibly say about that?"

Ming Lingyi couldn’t stand bullies who threw their weight around.

The more someone acted like that, the more it stirred her rebellious streak.

She didn’t care about the saying "consider the master before you beat the dog." If the master couldn’t control their own watchdog, why shouldn’t she teach it a lesson for them?

Li Yun: "...Never mind."

The moment he met her gaze, he knew it was useless to say anything more.

When he and Ming Lingyi first married, many considered them a match made in heaven.

He was strong-willed, while Ming Lingyi was the very picture of a well-bred, gentle lady. She seemed destined to be the matriarch of a great house, managing all its affairs. Everyone assumed they would live in perfect harmony.

In truth, even before their wedding, Li Yun had discovered that his young fiancée’s temperament was, at times, quite similar to his own.

Decisive and stubborn. Once she made a decision, ten bulls couldn’t drag her back.

Just like now. Li Yun knew that no amount of persuasion would change Ming Lingyi’s mind. ’But it’s just the Xie family,’ he thought. ’I’ll just keep a close watch on her. If she runs into any real trouble, I’ll take care of it before it becomes a problem for her.’

With him here, the Xie family was truly nothing to fear.

Besides, he liked seeing Ming Lingyi so free-spirited.

It was still quite early, but Ming Lingyi figured Xiao Chun and Shi Mingyue would be back soon.

She looked at Li Yun, still standing in the courtyard, and frowned. "Why don’t you leave for now," she said abruptly.

Being so suddenly "shooed away" made Li Yun’s face darken.

"Li Yan is still here." He was the boy’s father; he couldn’t just abandon him outside the palace and go back alone, could he?

Ming Lingyi said, "Then you should leave first. You can come back and pick him up after dinner."

Ming Lingyi had finally gotten a chance to see her Little Bun; of course she wanted Li Yan to stay for dinner. As for where Li Yun would go or what he would eat in the meantime—that was entirely outside her realm of consideration.

Li Yun had to double-check that he hadn’t misheard. Ming Lingyi meant to keep Li Yan for dinner, and as for him... he could go get lost.

Li Yun’s face fell. "If he can eat here, why can’t I?"

Ming Lingyi replied, "Xiao Chun and the others all know Huazhao, so it’s perfectly normal for him to eat in the back courtyard. But you’re a grown man. Your presence here is already highly irregular, isn’t it?"

Li Yun: "..."

’If I could use my real identity, how could I not appear in my own wife’s courtyard?’

A tightness returned to Li Yun’s chest.

’He knew coming to see Ming Lingyi was just asking for trouble, yet he couldn’t stop himself. He knew she had nothing nice to say to him, but perhaps he was a glutton for punishment. He wanted to hear her speak, even if her words were harsh and grating.’

’It was better than being completely ignored.’

When Li Yun emerged from the back door of Ming Lingyi’s small courtyard, Liu Ye, who had been waiting by the carriage, hurried forward to attend to him.

Liu Ye was surprised to see his master emerge alone; the Crown Prince had not come out with him.

"Go and ask around. See if anyone is willing to sell the residence next to hers."

Before Liu Ye could even say a word, Li Yun’s orders came.

’So, another day where the master failed to win Her Ladyship over,’ Liu Ye thought in surprise.

’Does he mean to buy the residence next to hers and settle in for the long haul?’

’This sounds like it’s going to be a long siege.’

"Yes, sir." Liu Ye quickly complied. He could sense his master was in a foul mood. "As for the Crown Prince..." Liu Ye trailed off, unsure if they were returning to the palace, since the Crown Prince had come with them.

Li Yun was already climbing into the carriage. At the mention of his son, a complicated expression flickered across his face, hidden from view.

’If word got out that I, his own father, am constantly jealous of my son, what a joke that would be.’

"He’s still in the courtyard," Li Yun said. "I’ll have dinner at the restaurant out front in a little while."

’Ming Lingyi won’t let me stay for dinner, but that doesn’t mean I can’t eat out, does it? If I go to Ming’s Restaurant, surely no one there can throw me out?’

Even so, Li Yun was still furious!

But Ming Lingyi couldn’t care less whether he was angry or not, so all he could do was stew in his own frustration.

After seeing Li Yun off, Ming Lingyi turned her thoughts to dealing with Wangxian Building.

She knew perfectly well that if the people behind this were making trouble because students from the Imperial College frequented her restaurant, backing down now wouldn’t bring her any peace later.

As long as the Imperial College students enjoyed coming to her place for a meal, she would be hitting a nerve with Wangxian Building.

But what did someone else’s sensitive nerves have to do with her? If anything, she thought Wangxian Building was being overly sensitive and incredibly petty.

’Did they think she didn’t have a temper of her own?’

Several ideas were already forming in Ming Lingyi’s mind.

When Xiao Chun returned to the restaurant, she found that the impossibly precious Crown Prince was there again. By now, she was used to it.

After paying her respects to the Crown Prince, Xiao Chun found Ming Lingyi. She dejectedly admitted that she hadn’t been able to find out who was behind Wangxian Building.

"Some people say the boss is just some rich young master who doesn’t care about the business at all. He just invested for fun, so he’d always have a restaurant to hang out at," Xiao Chun said with a sigh. "I asked several people and got more or less the same answer. It’s probably the shopkeeper at Wangxian Building who thinks we’ve been stealing his business lately and decided to make trouble."

But even a young maid like Xiao Chun felt that the real boss of Wangxian Building couldn’t possibly be some clueless dandy. This cover story was obviously too flimsy.

Ming Lingyi said, "It’s alright. I already know who’s behind them."

"Who?"

"The Xie family," Ming Lingyi said.

In Shangjing City, a general reference to the Xie family could only mean one particular clan.

The current Xie Family Head served in the Ministry of Personnel, and many of the family’s younger generation were officials at court. The Xie Family had members in positions ranging from minor seventh-rank officials to high-ranking third-rank ministers.

Even a commoner like Xiao Chun had heard of the Xie family’s reputation.

"Huh?" Upon hearing the answer, Xiao Chun suddenly looked deflated.

"Then, Miss, what do we do now?"

The Xie family was a behemoth, and they were but a drop in the ocean. Even the normally bold Xiao Chun couldn’t help but let a shadow of worry cross her face.