Chapter 115: Chapter 115: When Love Rivals Meet, They See Red

"It’s alright." Ming Lingyi patted Xiao Chun’s head. "In the Dayan Dynasty, reason still holds sway. Whoever makes the first move is the one in the wrong."

She had no intention of engaging in any covert schemes with Wangxian Building. Even in striking back, Ming Lingyi was preparing an open strategy.

"In a little while, go to Mr. Du’s shop and buy some paper and ink," Ming Lingyi instructed.

Xiao Chun nodded. "Miss, what are you planning to do?" she couldn’t help but ask.

Ming Lingyi whispered a few words to her. Xiao Chun’s eyes widened. "Will that really work?" Then, she grew worried. "Won’t our restaurant lose money this way?"

When they first reopened, Xiao Chun had been very worried about losing money when she heard her mistress wanted to give things away for free. But the revenue from the past three days had utterly stunned her.

Even though they had expanded the restaurant, Xiao Chun had never expected the grand opening promotion to attract at least five times their usual number of diners.

And the revenue on their books had more than quintupled.

She still couldn’t understand it. Weren’t they already giving a free dish to every table? How could their revenue possibly increase so much?

Xiao Chun knew she should trust her mistress, but... but the promotional event her mistress had just described was practically the same as giving away free meals. How could she not be worried?

Ming Lingyi said, "Go on. It won’t."

After a moment’s thought, Ming Lingyi spoke again, explaining the issue that had been troubling Xiao Chun for the past few days.

"Diners can’t resist a good deal. On a normal day, one person might only be able to finish two dishes. But now that we’re giving one away for free, many people subconsciously think it’s a perfect opportunity to treat someone to a meal. Or, they see it as a special offer and invite their friends to eat together. Another person at the table means more dishes ordered. When a table orders a lot, giving one dish away is like rounding off the bill—it doesn’t seem like much to them. What’s more, many first-time customers at our restaurant also order takeout to bring home before they leave. So, the amount of silver we collect from each table is actually higher than before. We use one free dish to encourage them to spend more, so in the end, we still come out ahead."

Ming Lingyi knew well the principle of "you have to give to get."

The task she was sending Xiao Chun on now was based on the same principle.

It dawned on Xiao Chun. "You’re amazing, Miss!"

With that, Xiao Chun’s figure vanished through the back door.

Not long after Xiao Chun left, Shi Mingyue came in.

However, one could tell Shi Mingyue’s expression was rather odd, even through her veil.

Seeing this, Ming Lingyi couldn’t help but be curious.

After all, Shi Mingyue was a "little stoic." Unlike Xiao Chun, Shi Mingyue was very composed. Even without her veil, her small face rarely showed much emotion.

’For something to make even Shi Mingyue’s eyes look so strange, it must be a big deal.’

"What is it?" Ming Lingyi asked.

Shi Mingyue said, "There are visitors in the restaurant."

"Oh? Who is it?"

Shi Mingyue replied, "Lord Jiang is at the restaurant. And... and... the man who went to Xinghua Alley with you that day."

Shi Mingyue was a woman of few words. Her lips were sealed, even without being explicitly told to keep a secret.

After returning from Xinghua Alley, she had never mentioned to anyone the man who was with her mistress that day, a man who seemed to share an extraordinary connection with her. She didn’t ask questions, acting as though she had seen and heard nothing.

It was just that, recently, Shi Mingyue felt she hadn’t seen that handsome, intimidating man with the extraordinary air about him for a long time. She had even secretly wondered, ’I wonder if things are over between my mistress and that gentleman.’

’I can’t believe I’m seeing him again today,’ Shi Mingyue thought. ’It seems this gentleman hasn’t given up on pursuing my mistress after all.’

Just as Shi Mingyue was letting her imagination run wild behind her deadpan expression, Lord Jiang—who was already on familiar terms with their restaurant staff—also appeared and even greeted her with practiced ease.

In that instant, Shi Mingyue felt a gaze lock firmly onto her.

She didn’t need to turn around to know where that oppressive stare was coming from. After giving Jiang Yuchuan a slight nod, Shi Mingyue scurried back to the rear courtyard.

’Oh god! Help me!’

’The two men who are after my mistress have run into each other at the restaurant!’

Ming Lingyi was also stunned after hearing what Shi Mingyue said.

She hadn’t expected Li Yun to actually leave through the back door only to go around to the main dining area.

Ming Lingyi couldn’t help but press a hand to her forehead. ’What on earth is that man trying to do?!’

But she had no time to ponder Li Yun’s actions. She was more worried he would lose his mind when he saw Jiang Yuchuan.

Ming Lingyi’s fears were not unfounded.

In the main dining hall, not long after Li Yun sat down, he saw Jiang Yuchuan appear.

Li Yun’s face nearly turned as black as the bottom of a pot, especially when he saw how familiarly Jiang Yuchuan greeted one of Ming Lingyi’s maids.

’Just how many times does he have to come here to get so familiar with the maids?’

’It seems the Ministry of Justice is far too idle!’

’So idle that this Junior Minister of the Ministry of Justice has so much time to frequent Ming’s Restaurant.’

Perhaps Li Yun’s gaze was too oppressive, or perhaps his very presence was so commanding it was impossible to ignore. In any case, Jiang Yuchuan quickly spotted Emperor Jing’an sitting in a corner.

For a moment, Jiang Yuchuan thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. But the man standing beside Emperor Jing’an, the Chief Eunuch Liu Ye from the palace, was flashing him a toothy grin. Even if Jiang Yuchuan found it hard to believe, he had no choice but to accept it.

’So it really is His Majesty from the palace.’

’Perhaps he’s on a private inspection tour, or maybe it’s something else.’

But since he had seen the Emperor, regardless of whether His Majesty was on a private tour, it was a subject’s duty to step forward and pay his respects.

"Greetings, sir," Jiang Yuchuan said in a low voice.

Li Yun heard Jiang Yuchuan’s voice and saw him bowing slightly, discreetly offering a salute.

But he didn’t immediately bid him to rise. Instead, his gaze fell upon Jiang Yuchuan, sweeping over the man’s face for a moment before he finally lifted a finger slightly. "Rise and speak."

"Sit." Li Yun didn’t want his unusual presence to disrupt Ming Lingyi’s business, though he said the word with some reluctance.

Jiang Yuchuan hadn’t expected the Emperor to invite him to sit at his table. He was rather vexed; he had wanted to sit alone and wait for Miss Xiao Chun or Miss Ming Yue to appear so he could arrange a private meeting with Ming Lingyi.

Now, unexpectedly, sitting with the Emperor made things rather inconvenient.

After all, until Miss Ming agreed, he didn’t want to make his connection to her public knowledge.