It wasn’t quite dinner time, but many ornate carriages were parked outside Juyuan Restaurant. Recently, the noble ladies and gentlemen of the capital had been visiting Juyuan with extreme frequency.
It was rumored that the Prince of Pingnan had quietly returned from the border. Juyuan Restaurant was an asset belonging to the Prince’s mother, the Consort Dowager. Originally, it had been the Juyuan Teahouse; every time the Prince of Pingnan returned to the capital after a campaign, he would host banquets there to feast the generals who had achieved great merit.
Teahouses were often too refined, frequented almost exclusively by scholars, and weren’t quite suitable for military men. Thus, the Prince of Pingnan had converted it into a restaurant.
However, Juyuan Restaurant still retained some of the charms of a teahouse.
As a prince with illustrious military achievements who remained unmarried at twenty-three, the Prince of Pingnan was the ultimate prize in the eyes of every noble lady in the capital. During this period, they haunted the restaurant in hopes of a “chance encounter.”
Ruyi couldn’t quite understand the author’s logic. This Prince of Pingnan was so outstanding, yet he was merely a minor supporting character who, like Cousin Rong Mo, only appeared a few times.
The thought flashed by and Ruyi tossed it aside; regardless, their paths wouldn’t cross.
As Ruyi led her group into the restaurant, a wave of cool air hit them.
It lived up to its reputation as the most famous, luxurious, and expensive restaurant in the capital—the favorite gathering spot for the elite. While heat waves rolled outside, the interior was refreshingly cool.
The manager at the counter saw Cheng Ruyi, dazzling in her deep red gown intricately woven with gold-threaded silk flowers. Surprise flickered in his eyes for a second before he greeted them with a smile.
Young Cheng Yu had clearly been here many times. He habitually headed for the private boxes on the second floor, only to be pulled back by Ruyi. He looked at his sister, confused. “Sister, what’s wrong?”
“Cousin’s situation is special. There aren’t many people down here, so we’ll just find a table on this floor.” Ruyi patted her brother’s shoulder. How can this kid be so thoughtless?
At her words, Cheng Yu shrank his neck. Oh no, I’m dead! He had actually forgotten that his cousin’s legs were inconvenient. He flashed a placating smile at Rong Mo.
“Cousin, I’m sorry! My mistake!”
Rong Mo glanced at him indifferently but said nothing. The footman behind him pushed the wheelchair toward a large table.
Seeing this, Cheng Yu breathed a secret sigh of relief and hurriedly called a waiter to order ice bowls. Ruyi glanced at the guards protecting them and had them sit at another table, ordering ice bowls for them as well.
Since it wasn’t peak dining hours, the ice bowls arrived quickly.
Ruyi had eaten plenty of chilled jelly made by ice-element users back in the apocalypse, but these ancient ice bowls were sweet, refreshing, and bursting with fruit flavor. Ruyi ate with joy, finishing her bowl in just a few bites.
She had no choice but to summon the waiter for more.
After consuming about ten bowls in a row, Ruyi finally stopped, though she looked like she could go for more. She then met Little Fishy’s conflicted gaze and the rare look of speechless exasperation from her cold Cousin Rong Mo.
The guards and the waiter were equally shocked.
“Ahem. What are you all looking at me for?” Ruyi’s face reddened as she huffed.
“Sister, you ate so much… is your stomach okay?” Young Cheng Yu was deathly worried, his face wrinkled in concern. Ever since his sister recovered from her illness, she had become obsessed with eating.
What if she eats too much, turns into a ball, and gets despised by my future brother-in-law?
Cheng Yu silently calculated his small private treasury. So little silver. No, starting tomorrow, I must work harder to ask Father for more money to save up and support Sister.
Having imagined a whole tragic future, Cheng Yu made a firm internal resolve.
“My health is great, nothing will happen.” Ruyi rolled her eyes. It was just ten bowls, is that a lot?
There was a reason Ruyi didn’t bother hiding her true personality, which differed from the original owner’s.
Of the four members of the Changle Marquis household, everyone except the Marchioness, was prone to “episodes.” They were unpredictable and eccentric; that was why the whole capital called them “oddities.”
Aside from the reborn female lead who might have suspicions, no one else would truly care about Ruyi’s change in temperament.
At that moment, the noble ladies from the second-floor boxes began to descend. They knew Cheng Ruyi had entered Juyuan and were waiting to mock her, but they hadn’t expected the “star of the show” to stay on the first floor.
“Oh? Isn’t this the Eldest Miss Cheng? Sitting in the main hall today? Are you out of silver?”
A girl dressed in a pink silk gown covered her mouth and giggled, her eyes full of mockery as she looked at Ruyi. This girl had a curvaceous, alluring figure and watery eyes, but her very plain face was the pain of her heart.
“Yalan, you’re mistaken. With the Marquis of Changle around, how could Cheng Ruyi ever lack silver?”
Another pretty girl in a blue-and-white floral dress chimed in. To many established families, the Marquis of Changle was a man of little pedigree—a mere branch-family member of the Chengs who only became a Marquis because he saved the Emperor. They didn’t think much of him.
“Oh my, I almost forgot that the Marquis of Changle is best at ‘scamming’ and acting like a rogue to rake in silver…” The plain girl named Yalan sneered.
This remark prompted the other ladies to titter behind their hands. They began to disparage the Marquis one by one, occasionally breaking into laughter. Only a few ladies of higher status stood by, watching with an air of superiority without joining in.
The manager and waiters were long used to the Eldest Miss of the Changle household attracting trouble and remained perfectly calm.
Hearing these insults directed at his father, young Cheng Yu and the guards were fuming. Rong Mo’s gaze in the wheelchair grew even colder.
“Have you said enough?” Ruyi’s eyes went cold. She stood up abruptly, unfastened the whip from her waist, and began to toy with it. A faint hint of murderous intent flickered between her brows.
These noble ladies were of the same social rank as Ruyi, but because Ruyi’s reputation was so foul, they felt inherently superior and mocked her whenever possible.
They all knew each other. Ruyi, having the original owner’s memories, recognized them too, though she didn’t care to match names to faces.
As for the real “top-tier” ladies—princesses, county princesses, or daughters of the highest clans—Ruyi had almost no contact with them, except for the reborn lead, Cheng Qingyao.
Murderous intent?
Rong Mo narrowed his eyes slightly.
Only young Cheng Yu glared at the group of ladies with shared hatred, his eyes red as he shouted, “They’re too much! Sister, you have to teach them a lesson!”
“What? Am I not telling the truth? Cheng Ruyi, you wouldn’t dare lay a hand on us, would you?” Yalan’s eyebrows arched defiantly as she glared at Ruyi, though her body instinctively shrank back.
Ruyi scoffed. With a sudden flick of her wrist, the whip snaked out and coiled around Yalan’s waist. With a sharp tug, Yalan screamed and fell clumsily to the floor.
It happened in a heartbeat; the ladies’ maids were caught completely off guard.
“Yes! Sister is amazing!” Cheng Yu clapped happily, his eyes shining as he looked at Ruyi.
The other ladies turned pale, their eyes filled with fear and wariness. Previously, whenever they mocked Ruyi, it was Ruyi who ended up frustrated and losing face. Now… Ruyi was lashing out without a word.
“I did it. What can you do about it?” Ruyi looked down at the disheveled Yalan, her gaze bone-chilling.
“Curse you, Cheng Ruyi! You dare touch me? I won’t let this go! Are you maids dead? Help me up!” Yalan glared at Ruyi, shouting at her attendants in a fit of rage.
Two trembling maids helped Yalan to her feet. Seeing the other noble ladies instinctively pulling away, a look of venomous spite flashed in Yalan’s eyes.
“This was just a small lesson. Next time… it won’t be as simple as losing face!”
Ruyi narrowed her eyes, casting a cold sneer at the ladies who made a hobby of belittling the original owner. She didn’t care about Yalan’s resentment at all. In the book, this girl’s full name was Zhao Yalan, the legitimate second daughter of a Vice-Commissioner. Secretly, she was a pawn and an “ear” for the female lead, Cheng Qingyao.
Zhao Yalan had a crush on the heir of the Marquis of Jian’an—Cheng Qingyao’s biological brother and Ruyi’s cousin. Cheng Qingyao exploited this, often performing her “distaste” for Ruyi in front of her.
Actually, a good portion of the original owner’s terrible reputation was Zhao Yalan’s “masterpiece.”
“It’s getting late. We should head back,” Rong Mo’s cold voice rang out. His gaze fell on Cheng Yu, who obediently stepped forward to push the wheelchair out.
Ruyi settled the bill and followed. Before leaving, she glanced at a few distinguished-looking men at the top of the stairs. Her gaze lingered for a moment on a man in white, then she left Juyuan Restaurant without looking back.
Ruyi hadn’t expected to see the original owner’s fiancé, Yan Zihao, at the restaurant.
But… he would soon be her ex-fiancé.
Calculating the time, the Yan family should be paying a visit soon.
This time, Ruyi definitely wouldn’t cling to the engagement like the original owner did—unwilling to let go and even using the Emperor’s decree to force an early marriage into the Yan family.
Ruyi didn’t actually have a bad impression of Yan Zihao. In the book, the man was reasonably decent to the original owner in both her lives.
Unfortunately, with the presence of a reborn female lead, the original owner’s situation in the Yan household plummeted. Eventually, she was framed for adultery, her purity ruined, and she was kicked out by the Yan family who had long disliked her.
Yan Zihao was a man of cold temperament. After the original owner’s family was seized and banished by the new Emperor, he had actually helped her. If she had just left the capital then, she might not have met such a tragic end.
But the Cheng Ruyi in the book was a supporting character who just wouldn’t stop courting death.
Of course, the original owner’s end wasn’t the most tragic. That title belonged to the female lead’s former legitimate sister (now concubine-born sister), the biggest “vicious” antagonist of the book.
Beyond her, almost none of the other concubine-born children in the neighboring Jian’an Marquis household met a good end. The reborn Cheng Qingyao trampled them under her feet one by one.
As the sun began to set, Ruyi’s group returned to the Changle Marquis residence with a hoard of food and seeds.
Coincidentally, they met the Marquis of Changle at the gate. He was happily humming a tune, followed by a servant in green carrying a red wooden cage for fighting cocks.
Dressed in a deep blue silk robe, the Marquis of Changle was a handsome middle-aged man. However, this handsome man was clearly a lover of leisure and luxury, radiating the heavy aura of a dandy.
Upon seeing his daughter and his “brat” of a son, the Marquis stopped humming and let out a hearty laugh. With a grand gesture, he pulled several banknotes from his robe and stuffed them into their hands.
“Daughter! Son! Your dad made another killing today. Here, a few hundred taels for pocket money!” The Marquis’s tone was incredibly boastful.
However, when he noticed Rong Mo, whom he had initially overlooked, he looked a bit embarrassed. He quickly pulled out two more banknotes and shoved them into Rong Mo’s hands.
Seeing this, Ruyi couldn’t help but laugh secretly!
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