After thanking Xun Zhou, Wen Mingtang returned to the city with the two people. Having a rare moment of free time due to her finger injury, Wen Mingtang didn’t waste it and went to the pharmacy upon returning.

Although she thought it was just a cut on her finger and wouldn’t be a big deal, and that the wound would heal in a few days, Xun Zhou and Miss Huang followed her because of her insistence on going to the pharmacy.

Once inside the pharmacy, seeing the medicine Wen Mingtang “picked up”, they realized something was amiss.

A finger cut was a superficial injury, yet Mingtang (this Miss Wen) was picking up all sorts of strange medicinal herbs.

After Wen Mingtang finished “getting” the medicine and came out of the pharmacy, Miss Huang couldn’t help but say, “Miss Wen, to be honest, I’ve seen some of these medicines in the soup my cook makes!”

Wen Mingtang glanced at Miss Huang and said with a smile, “Miss Huang is right, these herbs are indeed used for cooking and making soup!”

Miss Huang: “…”

She thought to herself, this Miss Wen didn’t seem like a delicate person, so why did she come to the pharmacy to get medicine for a minor cut? It turned out it wasn’t for a minor injury, but because the cook came to the pharmacy to restock!

After visiting the pharmacy, they went to the Mule and Horse Market. Foreign merchants often set up stalls here selling things that Great Rong had never seen before. Wen Mingtang browsed the stalls selling various spices the most! Walking and browsing, Wen Mingtang bought two large bags full of foreign merchant spices, while Miss Huang bought an exquisite pendant made of cow horn. Only then did the three of them leave the Mule and Horse Market.

After leaving Mule and Horse Market, Wen Mingtang looked at the street food stalls bathed in the setting sun and touched her purse: the takeout orders had brought in quite a bit of money! Although she was still far from being able to buy her own house, she had some spare cash. Wen Mingtang thought for a moment and said to the two people, “Senior Brother Xun and Miss Huang have kept me company all day. Would you like to have dinner together?”

Xun Zhou was about to refuse when Miss Huang, standing beside him, agreed first, happily taking Wen Mingtang’s hand and asking, “Where should we eat?”

“Hongyan Restaurant!” Wen Mingtang thought for a moment and said.

She had often heard Liu Yuan and the others mention the restaurant’s reputation; the chef’s skills were superb, and of course, the prices were even more outrageous!

After entering the restaurant, she found a seat by the window. Although she didn’t eat in a private room, the screens separating each table prevented her from being disturbed by the other tables.

After the food was served, the three of them ate and chatted.

Compared to Wen Mingtang’s “variety”, the chef at Hongyanlou was known for his exquisite dishes: radish flowers were carved and decorated on the plates. Wen Mingtang picked up a radish flower with her chopsticks and looked at it with great interest. Third Miss Huang, who was drinking soup across from her, said, “When I first came to Hongyanlou, I was still young. I thought these things were edible, so I picked one up and put it in my mouth. As a result, I was choked by the raw radish and cried for a whole year!”

Huang Shizhong doted on his daughter, and Third Miss Huang had never suffered any grievances since childhood. Crying was extremely rare for her; she would hardly shed a tear for years. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have developed such a personality!

The statement that she was choked by the raw radish and cried for a whole year was not an exaggeration at all.

Wen Mingtang placed the radish flowers aside and said with a smile, “You can use fruits like apples and oranges to make flowers, so you can both look at them and eat them!”

Miss Huang’s eyes lit up at these words. After a pause, she heard Wen Mingtang add, “You can also make candied dishes with sugar, like candied apples and candied sweet potatoes. These little things are delicious!”

It was true that the chef’s words made your mouth water! Miss Huang’s throat moved, and she was about to speak when she suddenly heard a commotion coming from outside. Her eyebrows furrowed subconsciously, and she turned around and moved the screen to look outside.

Hongyanlou was frequented by distinguished guests, and the unspoken rule of not disturbing each other had become an established norm. Anyone who dared to make a scene here, without any regard for disturbing the diners, was either a clueless fool or a “distinguished guest” who didn’t care about others.

Watching the group descend from the private room upstairs, Miss Huang paused for a moment, then turned and pulled the screen back up. She then turned to Xun Zhou and Wen Mingtang, who were looking at her, and said, “They’re those imperial descendants who have benefited from their ancestors’ influence, the so-called ‘rich idlers.’Don’t mess with them!”

Seeing Miss Huang’s silence, Xun Zhou couldn’t help but show surprise: “It’s rare to see you so discreet!”

This fearless Miss Huang actually had a moment like this?

Upon hearing this, Miss Huang shook her head and said, “My father said, never easily provoke these people! Even many powerful officials in the court often have to avoid them!”

“They benefit from their ancestors’ legacy; they don’t need to take the imperial examinations to enter officialdom; they don’t need to make meritorious contributions. As long as they don’t cause any big trouble, this legacy will always be theirs, and it can’t be taken away!” Miss Huang said, “These wealthy idlers may seem ‘idle’, and in terms of outward prestige, they can’t compare to powerful officials. But if a conflict really breaks out, it’s the seemingly powerful officials who will suffer in silence!”

“These people are banding together, not openly confronting you, but secretly stirring up trouble among the people, letting them see the powerful ministers ‘abusing their power’ and humiliating these ‘rich idlers’!” Miss Huang said. “How many powerful ministers have worked so hard to reach their current positions, spending a lot of effort? How many of them would risk everything to fight these ‘rich idlers’? Everything they have gained is too hard-won, so they are more hesitant and restrained. After much thought, they choose not to confront them head-on and suffer in silence!”

If even powerful ministers suffered in silence, the common people were naturally in an even worse situation!

Miss Huang sighed, “It’s been like this for so many years! These ‘rich idlers’ are born to do only one thing—to manipulate the term ‘rich idler’ to the extreme!”

Wen Mingtang glanced at the sighing Miss Huang, then looked at the “idlers” who were laughing and leaving, and thought of the wealthy daughter who had also come from a wealthy family but had gotten into trouble, but did not reply.

Secretly bullying someone… It was more than just “bullying”!

…

After dinner, Lin Fei entered the main hall with a file. Wei Fu and Bai Zhu were discussing the matter of the Young Master Yang.

“That Yang fellow has indeed gone mad,” Wei Fu frowned. “Right now, we don’t know if he’s truly mad or just pretending! Getting him to speak won’t be any easier than getting Master Su to talk!”

With a head injury, were they supposed to split open Young Master Yang’s brain to see if he was truly insane?

“We’ve searched the Yang family’s house inside and out, and it’s not surprising we couldn’t find Zhenzhen! If the item were hidden in the Yang family’s house, those thugs would have already killed the Yang mother and son!” Bai Zhu shook his head and said, “These thugs, and even that Yang guy who’s probably really insane, are all watching! They’re waiting for us to arrest him first before they’ll talk!”

“They’re already in jail, but they still won’t talk!” Wei Fu sneered, “In the end, it’s all because those behind the scenes have been evil for so many years and haven’t fallen, giving them ‘confidence,’ making them feel that as long as their backers don’t fall, they’ll still be rescued one day!”

This stubborn tumor needed to be eradicated! If the evildoers didn’t fall, it would only make these villains think that the Great Rong Law was just a formality, a joke!

Just then, Lin Fei’s voice rang out from behind the two: “Come with me to see Li Zhou, the one who jumped out to take responsibility!”

(End of Chapter)

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