Just as the waiter was growing impatient waiting at the door, the little beggar finally finished tidying herself up and came out.
The waiter was stunned on the spot; he hadn't expected that such a slovenly little beggar could look so delicate and lovely after washing up.
The waiter paused for a moment, coughed, and said, "Hurry up and go!"
The little beggar looked messy, but after washing up and putting on clean clothes, she really looked quite nice.
In the private room, Ye Qingcheng was drooling while looking at the various delicacies.
"Quail Crystal Salad, Braised Pigeon, Lotus Steamed Duck, Beggar's Chicken, Jade Glutinous Rice with Lotus Root, and this Dongpo Pork... Heavens, these are all my favorites! This, this, this... Wonderful, wonderful!" Ye Qingcheng was practically about to collapse onto the table.
The exquisite plating was appetizing just to look at, complemented by the milk and peanut dew, and the peach blossom pastry was as delicate as a peach blossom itself.
Just as Ye Qingcheng's mouth was about to water profusely, the waiter knocked on the door.
"Come in..." Ye Qingcheng painfully lifted her head from the table and looked toward the door.
She saw the waiter bringing in a delicate and lovely, clean little girl. The little girl looked to be only about ten years old, but because she was too thin, her real age was hard to determine.
"Come, come, come! Sit down quickly, I'm starving waiting for you!" As soon as Ye Qingcheng saw the little beggar, she immediately rushed over, pulled the girl to sit down, and then ran back to her own seat.
The little beggar sat down, just looking at her, while the waiter also stood there, showing no intention of leaving.
"Eat! Can you get full just by looking at me? Hurry up and eat!" Ye Qingcheng had no choice but to urge the little beggar again.
"Thank you, Miss, for treating me to a meal!" The little beggar's name was Ugly Girl, but she didn't look ugly at all.
"Don't be polite! Hurry up and eat!" Ye Qingcheng waved her hand generously, unable to wait any longer, and immediately dove in to start gnawing on the food.
Seeing Ye Qingcheng eating so heartily, Ugly Girl also cautiously picked up her chopsticks and began to eat.
Since childhood, she had been an orphan little beggar, living with many other beggars in a ruined temple. She had never eaten such clean and delicious food before; this was her first time, and it almost made her forget who she was.
After the two of them devoured everything, little was left of the dozen or so dishes on the table.
After eating her fill, Ye Qingcheng contentedly patted her bulging stomach and smiled at Ugly Girl.
"Um... can I... can I take the rest with me?" Ugly Girl felt a bit uneasy under the stare and started stammering.
"Do you have companions?" Ye Qingcheng roughly understood that beggars often banded together for warmth.
"...Yes..." Having been a little beggar since childhood, Ugly Girl was very good at reading people's expressions. This fairy sister treating her to such delicious food must be a good person and wouldn't make things difficult for her, so she dared to say it.
"No!" Ye Qingcheng shook her head. Just as Ugly Girl showed a sad expression and lowered her head, Ye Qingcheng loudly called for the shop assistant.
"Miss, our shopkeeper said that this table is on him! You don't need to pay!" When the shop assistant heard that this formidable lady was calling someone, he rushed in and quickly said she didn't need to settle the bill and could leave after eating.
"Stop right there! No matter who your shopkeeper is, or who the Master behind you is, or what their intentions are, I can afford this meal myself! Hurry up and get down there to prepare more food for me to take away! And! Settle the bill for this meal as well!" Ye Qingcheng waved her hand magnanimously, showing no gratitude at all.
When she brought the beggar in, the shopkeeper had deliberately looked up toward the second floor. She had seen it; she was just pretending not to know. Although she couldn't figure out why Taoran Residence had suddenly changed its attitude toward her, nor who the owner behind this shop was or what their intentions were, she needed to get away from here! She wouldn't come again in the future.
"Understood, Young Lady! I will make the arrangements!" The shop assistant received the instruction. If this young lady insisted on paying herself, they shouldn't force the issue; they just needed to satisfy all her requests.
Soon, the shop assistant ran back, saying that the food prepared for her to take away was ready!
Ye Qingcheng went out to check and saw they hadn't fooled her; the food prepared for her was quite good. She decided to settle the bill then.
But what stunned her was that those dozen or so dishes, plus what was packed up, cost over one hundred and twenty taels of silver.
She currently only had a little over eight hundred taels of silver in total, meaning if she ate at Taoran Residence seven or eight more times, she would be broke again. This instantly pulled her out of the excitement of becoming rich.
No wonder they were afraid she couldn't afford it, afraid she would dine and dash.
There was a reason for that; putting other things aside, Taoran Residence was truly expensive—each dish cost around ten taels of silver.
After paying, Ye Qingcheng and Ugly Girl came out, both carrying food boxes, looking at each other wordlessly.
"Let's go! I'll take you back!" Ye Qingcheng looked at the sky; it was already past noon. If they didn't hurry home, her two little tiger babies would starve.
"Miss, I can carry it back myself!" Ugly Girl said hesitantly.
She was afraid of tiring the fairy sister; carrying the food box to the ruined temple would be quite strenuous, and the distance wasn't short.
"Stop the nonsense. Where do you live? Let's hurry and get you back; I have two babies waiting for me at home!" Ye Qingcheng said as she walked. She had noticed while wandering around looking for a restaurant that there were carriages for hire; she wouldn't be foolish enough to walk there.
It was easy to guess that a group of beggars like Ugly Girl wouldn't live nearby.
"Ah? Madam... Madam, we live in a ruined temple outside the city; it's very far. You should go back! What if your children..." Ugly Girl started stuttering again.
She looked at the girl who was at most a teenager; she didn't look like a Madam with two children, but since the other person insisted that two children were waiting at home, she couldn't keep calling her Miss.
Ye Qingcheng rolled her eyes when she heard Ugly Girl change her address. She had become a mother again; another misunderstanding.
It's fine! We can just rent a carriage! I was already heading toward the carriage rental when I was talking to Ugly Girl, and now we're here.
Although she felt the pinch of spending over a hundred taels of silver on one meal, she wasn't stingy with the twelve copper coins for the round trip carriage fare.
The two got into the carriage, and Ugly Girl started marveling at everything again.
Actually, Ye Qingcheng also wanted to act like Ugly Girl, but fearing exposure, she had to sit upright. Fortunately, the original owner often rode in carriages before the age of ten, so she wasn't unfamiliar with it.
The carriage bumped along, and by the time they reached the ruined temple outside the city, Ye Qingcheng had already been rocked to sleep.
She kept dreaming of her past life, dreaming of many acquaintances, both good and bad, almost reliving her entire short life from before.
"Madam... Madam, wake up! We've arrived!" Ugly Girl gently nudged her, afraid of startling her.
By this time, there were many people around the carriage, but they didn't dare approach, only watching from a distance and pointing.
Such carriages had come here before, but the nobles inside never got out, letting their servants select a few they fancied and take them away. Everyone was discussing who might be lucky enough to be taken away this time.