Helian Zhicheng stopped and poked her head fiercely with his finger. "Are you an idiot or a madwoman? Let alone cook the rice and get it done, even if you cook the rice until it blooms, it's useless. If she doesn't marry, she won't marry!"
"But, your son might not be your son anymore, he might become a eunuch, or he might pass away, or perhaps our country might not even exist!"
Helian Zhicheng gave her a sentence: "Think carefully about the matter of Baili Kai'en!"
This sentence made Duan Yao completely give up.
It wasn't out of fear, but mainly worry about her son becoming a eunuch. She believed that Fan Zehao could do such a thing.
However, they had clearly indirectly forgotten that Yumeng knew martial arts, and they had also forgotten to ask if Jinli agreed. This was purely a desperate, half-baked idea from a mother.
On the boat, they dropped anchor, and the fast boat slowly sailed away. Helian Zhicheng saw his wife's complexion was not good, turning red and white, then frowning with worry, then sighing.
She was clearly at her wit's end, and he had no solution either. They remained silent the entire journey.
Inner City.
Fan Zehao was unaware of the twists and turns of this couple's thoughts. He was sitting in a carriage, accompanying his wife to Qingzhou Prefecture to handle family affairs, and while he was at it, he would deal with the corrupt local officials.
On the way to Qingzhou Prefecture, they passed through a small town. The town was not large but was quite prosperous.
Seeing their hot pot restaurant, there were quite a few customers eating inside. It was packed, and people had to queue up if they wanted to eat.
The waiter saw the two of them come to eat, accompanied by a burly man over 1.8 meters tall. Their attire did not suggest they were poor, so he greeted them with a smile: "Three esteemed guests? All our tables and private rooms are currently occupied, but some will be finished soon. May the three of you wait a moment?"
Zhao Jiaqi stared at the waiter. From the moment he sized them up, she had been observing his expression. Only when he saw that their clothes were decent did his face break into a smile!
This was a typical case of judging people by their appearance. If they had been dressed in rags, they might have been kicked out as beggars before they even spoke!
In fact, it was true!
It was just that they hadn't expected that as soon as they sat down to wait for a table, they saw this waiter in the hall looking for a middle-aged couple who were dressed relatively ordinarily. Before they had even eaten, he was trying to drive them away.
Zhao Jiaqi and Fan Zehao exchanged a look, their eyes filled with anger. How could a business operate like this?
So, she went to the shopkeeper who was calculating accounts at the counter and pointed in the direction of the waiter. She said, "Shopkeeper, that table of guests hasn't eaten yet, and you're trying to drive them away, not to mention taking their money. Are you not going to manage this matter?"
The shopkeeper merely glanced in the direction she pointed, then looked away. He appeared impatient and scanned her from head to toe.
First, he didn't recognize her. Second, she was dressed ordinarily. Third, her words suggested she had never been to this hot pot restaurant and didn't know how things worked here.
Furthermore, hearing her speak with an accent from an adjacent prefecture, he knew she wasn't from this town. With impatience, he waved her away: "Go, go, go. If you want to eat, eat. Why are you minding other people's business?"
"It's like a dog catching a mouse. It's rare to see someone meddling in other people's affairs these days!"
Zhao Jiaqi watched as a mere shopkeeper not only failed to reprimand the waiter for the behavior she questioned but also resorted to veiled insults. At that moment, she was thoroughly enraged.
She slapped the table and grabbed the shopkeeper by the collar: "Who are you calling a dog catching a mouse?"
The shopkeeper was not afraid of her shrewish type. He had seen plenty of them these days. On the contrary, he was not scared and instead grinned flirtatiously, revealing a row of yellow teeth, and said with a cunning smile: "Little woman, have you thought this through? If I report you to the authorities for causing trouble in the restaurant, do you believe I can get you jailed for life!"
This threat was indeed to the point. Zhao Jiaqi slowly released his collar. The shopkeeper chuckled triumphantly: "Let me tell you, my owner is a princess from the inner city. Do you know what a princess is? Even a prince dares not provoke her. You're smart to let me go, or else... hmph!"
Or else... hmph again!
Zhao Jiaqi released her hand, her five fingers clenched into a fist, and punched the shopkeeper directly in the face. She put all her anger and hatred into this punch, and the force was naturally not small; she used all her strength.
At that moment, the shopkeeper lost two front teeth. His mouth leaked air when he spoke. He was on the verge of tears, blood flowing from his mouth, and he was still cursing.
Pointing at Zhao Jiaqi with bloodstained fingers, he cursed. Before she could react, Fan Zehao, who had arrived, delivered another heavy punch to his mouth.
Now his mouth was completely swollen. He glared at them in shock and anger. The commotion here was considerable. Those who were paying attention had already been secretly watching, and some had even whispered to them to run quickly, lest they be arrested and imprisoned.
Fan Zehao chuckled and reassured them: "Don't worry, not only will I not run, but I will also arrest this shopkeeper and beat him in front of all the townspeople!"
The diners heard him and groaned as if they had a toothache: "A newborn calf fears no tiger! You should listen to this old man's advice and leave quickly, or you'll be in trouble. This restaurant belongs to a princess, and the local officials dare not offend her. You'll be the ones in trouble!"
"Old man, whether there's trouble or not will become clear later. But no matter what, whoever opens a restaurant, anyone who comes in to eat should be treated like an emperor. Otherwise, even if the emperor himself opened it, I'd still smash it!"
The shopkeeper got up, a pile of bloody teeth in his palm, his words leaking air, and no one understood him. However, the waiter who had followed him for many years, who was also his nephew, spoke up for him: "Simply arrogant and conceited, you will definitely regret this!"
Saying this, more and more onlookers gathered. Faced with food and entertainment, the public chose the latter.
Soon, a dozen yamen runners arrived at the entrance, each with a sword at their side. Seeing many people gathered, they shouted a few times. The diners voluntarily cleared a path for them to pass smoothly.
The yamen head looked at the person whose mouth was badly swollen and frowned: "Did they cause trouble?"
The shopkeeper nodded frantically, and his nephew chimed in: "Yes, yes, and not only that, they also beat our shopkeeper. Look, he lost his teeth, his mouth can't even speak. These few people are blatant, and after knowing it's a princess's shop, they are still so arrogant, completely disregarding the prince and princess. We request you to thoroughly investigate and see if any spies have infiltrated our ranks!"
These words were very malicious. If they were judged to be spies, it would mean losing their heads.
This waiter wished they would all die!