Xiyan had no words to describe how amazed she was. She hadn’t expected that a store Third Young Madam and Royal Princess Duanjia had casually decided to open would actually be so profitable! Could their Third Young Madam somehow be the reincarnation of the God of Wealth...

Jinxiu took in Xiyan’s slack jaw and glared at her rebukingly. “It’s not really that much. Don’t tell me that Guilin Restaurant earns less than this in a month.”

Xiyan looked a little embarrassed as she replied, “Well, no...”

She sighed inwardly. Wasn’t it precisely because Guilin Restaurant earned so much that they were facing these troubles now? While Third Young Madam was still away from the capital, others were eyeing the restaurant.

Jinxiu didn’t stay for too long. She left after an hour of chatting and tea.

Right after the Kitchen God Festival, Guilin Restaurant suddenly shut its business down on the very next day!

A die-hard group of their customers squatted in front of the doors of Guilin Restaurant early in the morning. It was only when the ancient doors remained shut even after noon had already come and gone that they finally gave up and left with many laments.

Actually, while most businesses would shut down for the new year celebrations, for restaurants and inns, they would usually wait till after the last two days of the year before shutting down. After that, they would usually open their businesses on the fifth day of the new year.

However, going by the sign that Guilin Restaurant had hung on its doors, they were going to close right when the new year celebrations had just started, and they would be undergoing renovation right at the start of the year. They didn’t even reveal when they would open again!

Even though the customers gathered outside Guilin Restaurant were brimming with anger, Guilin Restaurant had always gone by its own rules and they had never bent them for anyone. Guilin Restaurant likely wouldn’t change their minds even if the customers were to charge in and demand an explanation.

Furthermore, Guilin Restaurant had somehow been emptied out completely in the span of a single night. Not one person could be found in the restaurant now. It was clear that the staff had known about this for a while.

On the same day, when it was almost 11am, Old Duke Zheng rode his simple blue carriage over to the rear entrance of Guilin Restaurant. The servant driving the horses stopped the carriage and went over to knock on their doors, like he had done many times before. In a short moment, the doors were opened from within by a manservant dressed in blue.

𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

However, this time, the blue manservant didn’t come up to lead Old Duke Zheng’s carriage away. Instead, he bowed deeply towards Old Duke Zheng’s servant with an apology written all over his face. “Your Grace, our most sincere apologies. Our humble business will be closed from today onwards.”

Old Duke Zheng had just alighted from his carriage when these words hit him like a ton of bricks. His wrinkled yet spirited eyes glared at the manservant as he said, “What? What do you mean closed?! Since you’re running a restaurant, why aren’t you open for business? Are you trying to slack off while your owner isn’t in the capital?!”

The corners of the blue manservant’s lips twitched and he continued respectfully, “That’s not possible, Your Grace. We servants would love to work more and earn more money. We wouldn’t dare to skive. This decision didn’t come from us, but from Third Young Madam herself. We humbly beg for your understanding, Your Grace.”

Once the blue manservant had given his explanation, Old Duke Zheng frowned. He grumbled lightly, “What is that girl doing now?”

Following that, he turned to ask the blue manservant, “Are there any chefs left in Guilin Restaurant?”

Upon hearing this, the blue manservant knew that the old duke hadn’t given up. He could only grit his teeth and reply, “Your Grace, all the staff in Guilin Restaurant have already left. Only this servant and a few old servants have been kept here to look after the building.”

In the end, Old Duke Zheng had no other choice but to return to his own estate with a very stormy expression.

On this day, the blue manservant had to hold off at least twenty more waves of noble customers who had come to have a meal at Guilin.

Next to Guilin Restaurant, in a private room on the second floor of a newly opened teahouse, a middle-aged man harrumphed. He slammed the porcelain teacup in his hands back on the table, causing the tea within to slosh out and spill.

The middle-aged man’s voice was low and husky, filled with a domineering aura that only someone of a high status would have. “Yang Yanfeng. So this is the restaurant famed all over the capital that you’ve brought us to? So famous that it has shut down?”

Lord Yang coughed awkwardly. “Your Majesty, please forgive me. This humble subject did not expect Guilin Restaurant to have shut down so suddenly.”

The man who had forgone his imperial robes in favour of more ordinary clothing sitting opposite Lord Yang was the current ruler of the Great Wu Dynasty, the Chengping Emperor. The Emperor was dressed in a low-key grey brocade robe today, with a simple white jade crown on his hair. He looked just like any other rich nobleman. If not for the imposing aura that he wore like a cloak, he looked like a handsome, finely aged man.

Through the slats of the windows, the Chengping Emperor’s sharp eagle eyes narrowed as they focused on Guilin Restaurant’s rear entrance.

Very well. So this is where all his good subjects had been running to after morning court to enjoy themselves.

They had been sat here for two hours. Just look at the people who had come knocking on those doors.

Dukes, Great Generals, the Head of the Secretariat, the Minister of Transport, many of his cabinet and trusted officials. Even the reclusive and lofty scholars who never stepped out of their studies had come.

The Chengping Emperor didn’t understand how a restaurant tucked away in such a remote alley was so enticing to all of his subjects. All manner of important people were rushing up to their doors. Any one of them could make the entire capital shake if they simply stomped their feet. Could these people be trying something behind his back, rather than coming here merely for a meal?

However, it didn’t seem quite right the more he looked at it. If they were trying to plot something, why would they bring empty food containers along with them?

They were clearly planning to bring home another set of food after eating their fill!