The Female Supporting Role Shows Out - Chapter 30
Translator: NovelMultiverse | Editor: NovelMultiverse
Although Lin Dan left in a hurry, she took care of everything before she left. Not only did she sell the shop to Qin Er’niang, but she also sent a letter to Chef Qiu and explained the situation. After reading the letter, Chef Qiu was so angry that his hands were shaking. He had no idea that the Yan family could be so unscrupulous that they would even bully the vulnerable ladies and even set the shop on fire. “There is no justice!” He thought.
Seeing Chef Qiu’s angry face, the old manager asked him what happened. He shook his head and did not want to let him know the details. This was Lin Dan’s personal affair after all and he thought it was best not to spread the news. He suddenly thought of something and frowned. “Are there any guests in the dining hall? Go out and have a look.” He instructed the manager.
After a short while, the old manager came back and reported, “There are guests who filled up five or six tables and are waiting for Manager Lin.” There was an unspoken rule in Qiaoyuan Restaurant – whoever comes first would take a number and display it on the table. The tables with the first five numbers would be able to try the dishes made by the mysterious chef, while those with the next five numbers would be able to enjoy the mysterious chef’s cooking if they were in luck. Even so, diners who failed to take the first ten numbers would be reluctant to leave. They would rather order some food and sit in the shop to smell and look at the food served to the other tables.
For this reason, a large group of people would arrive at the restaurant early to grab a seat and never move their butts from the stool. Nobody could persuade them to leave.
Chef Qiu asked softly, “Is Prince Cheng here too?”
“Yes, he was already sitting in the shop early in the morning. I’ve hired a few singers to entertain him at the hall.” In fact, it would be unusual if Prince Cheng was not here. Ever since he had a taste of Lin Dan’s cooking, he had come to Qiaoyuan Restaurant on time every day. Later, he realized that Qiaoyuan Restaurant was getting more and more popular and got afraid that he would not be able to enjoy Lin Dan’s cooking, he sent a servant to stay in the inn opposite the restaurant. As soon as the restaurant was opened, the servant would rush in and take a number to secure a table before waiting for the prince to arrive.
These food connoisseurs in the capital had their own unique personalities, and it was not easy to please them. But if someone’s culinary skills were able to satisfy their taste buds, they would protect them like a treasure. For example, it was said that Marquis Yongding used to have a favorite chef and took him along wherever he went. But when the chef passed away, he had lost his appetite for several months and also lost a ton of weight. He no longer stayed in the capital which reminded him of the sad memories and went to fight at the borders.
Chef Qiu used to find this story ridiculous, but after learning that the chef was Lin Dan’s father, he suddenly could understand Marquis Yongding’s actions. If Lin Dan’s cooking skills were already extraordinary, he could not imagine how astounding would Lin Baotian’s cooking skills be.
However, since Lin Baotian was no longer alive, his great cooking skills did not matter anymore. It was more important to seek justice for Lin Dan at the moment. Thinking of this, Chef Qiu whispered, “Go and tell the diners that the mysterious chef has already left. As she won’t be cooking at Qiaoyuan Restaurant anymore, you may ask them to leave.”
The old manager was shell-shocked. “Without Lin Dan, how can the business of Qiaoyuan Restaurant continue?” He thought.
Chef Qiu shoved the old manager and sighed, “Go now and tell everyone to wait no more.”
The old manager went out muddle-headed, and everyone complained before he could finish his words. As expected, Prince Cheng had the biggest reaction. Not only did his hands and beard tremble, but his aged face also turned even more wrinkly as if he had taken arsenic. Ignoring the old manager and waiter, he strode into the kitchen that he would never set foot in and grabbed Chef Qiu, “Is that chef really not coming anymore? Where does she live? Tell me and I’ll hire her personally!”
In the past, he had the idea of hiring Lin Dan to work as his private chef, and even asked his servant to try and persuade her, but they did not even get to see Lin Dan herself. As he had the utmost respect for people who cook well, he did not want to force her and decided to visit wherever she cooked. Now that she had left without a word and enjoying her food become impossible, he regretted not taking her away by force.
Prince Cheng was filled with regrets and insisted Chef Qiu tell him about the chef’s whereabouts. Chef Qiu pretended he was unwilling to reveal before explaining the history between Lin Dan and the Yan family.
But to his surprise, Prince Cheng’s eyes widened, and his mouth was wide open like a man who was grieving for his dead parents. He asked in a shaking voice, “Do you mean that the chef who cooked here was Manager Lin from the restaurant in the South District? A-Are they the same person?”[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the “Novel Multiverse dot com” website @ novelmultiverse.com]
Chef Qiu could feel that Prince Cheng was reacting in an unusual manner, but he nodded.
“Since they are the same person, does that mean that the Hometown Kitchen would be closed as well?” Prince Cheng gradually showed a pained expression. It was actually a coincidence that the prince got to try Lin Dan’s cooking. Nobles like Prince Cheng did not usually visit the South District, but his servants would often head to the pier in South District to pick up some goods. At times, they would bring back some braised meat that Lin Dan made. There was once Prince Cheng saw the servants eating near the door and the overbearing fragrance of the meat captured Prince Cheng on the spot. After trying the food, he got even crazier about it that he sent his servants to buy some meat back for supper every night. He was totally addicted to the meat and could not sleep without having it as supper.
Hearing that the chef from Qiaoyuan Restaurant would not be here anymore, he originally thought that he could still enjoy some braised meat from the South District. He thought that Lin Dan’s culinary skills were comparable to the chef from Qiaoyuan Restaurant. But little did he expect that they were the same person! This meant that the chef who could satisfy Prince Cheng’s picky taste buds had left, and he would never be able to enjoy her cooking anymore!
He was a true food connoisseur who would rather starve to death than having mediocre food, and one could imagine the surprise and shock Prince Cheng was experiencing.
He gritted his teeth and said, “Looks like Imperial Chef Yan is a powerful figure, eh? I didn’t know that nobody else could enjoy the dishes that were offered to the Emperor. If that’s the case, am I not being disrespectful of the Emperor every day? Why didn’t anyone drag me out and annihilate my family? Deceiving the master and shaming her ancestors? Rubbish! I watched how the disputes unfold from the beginning to the end back then, and it was obvious that the Yan family was the one who lied about the matter! I knew they were shady people!” He left angrily after finishing his piece.
Prince Cheng had not gotten enough of that Immortal Boneless Fish yet and had been waiting expectantly all morning. But he did not expect that his wait had delivered him the bad news instead. He got frustrated and thought, “How can I live without Manager Lin’s cooking?” Then, he got even angrier and said, “Let’s go to Yan’s restaurant.”
The accompanying guard initially thought they were going to dine at Yan’s restaurant instead. But he saw that the prince ignored Lin’s second uncle who was sitting at the entrance and pointed at the signboard while walking towards the door. He yelled, “Take it down and smash it!”
Several guards snapped out of the shock and took down the signboard with bamboo poles before crushing it with their feet. Lin’s second uncle did not comprehend what had happened, but he dared not step forward to stop him. He could only cry pitifully, “Your highness, why are you smashing our signboard? We’ve not done anything to upset you. Please accept my kowtow and have mercy on us!”
First came Marquis Weiyuan, the son of Lord Dianqian, and now it was Prince Cheng. The status of these people who came just got higher and higher and Lin’s second uncle started to wonder just who did the Yan family offended. He was puzzled for a while and started to panic like ants on a hot pan.
“Hmph, this signboard can never be put up for as long as Manager Lin is gone. Just try me if you disobey my order!” Prince Cheng pointed at the signboard that was broken in seven to eight and said furiously. He was not only the late Emperor’s biological brother who helped him in seizing the throne but also the uncle who helped the current Emperor ascend to the throne. He held immense power and status by being put in charge of the Court of Colonial Affairs and the Imperial Civil Court. He was not somebody a mere imperial chef could afford to offend. Now that he had personally brought justice for Lin Dan, even if the Emperor was here, he would not dare to disobey him and let the Yan family hang the signboard back. Yan’s restaurant was doomed for sure.
People living in the West District were the most sensitive to power. Seeing that several powerful figures had ruined Yan’s restaurant and even created the fake wine and poisonous soup scandals, they had already completely denied the reputation of Yan’s restaurant. They stood on the side of the street and watched how things unfolded for a while before leaving the scene. They whispered as they walked away, “I don’t know what Yan Shouye has done to make these nobles personally come and punish him. Let’s not visit this restaurant anymore in the future, or we would upset those three nobles if we do! It’s not worth it!”
The heart of Lin’s second uncle sank even deeper when he heard those words. He did not expect that those nobles would actually come to seek justice for Lin Dan. He wondered how she was able to have such good connections when she had only returned to the capital for two or three months.
Meanwhile, Yan Shouye was dragged into the Yamen by the steward of Lord Dianqian to undergo a trial. Although only a dog had died, the dog died for the princess of Dianqian, who will enter the palace as a concubine in two months. Since the imperial decree was given, the Yamen officials did not dare to disregard it and had beaten Yan Shouye to a pulp, ignoring his yelling that he was wronged.
Yan Shouye had acted like a reputable man, but as compared to the nobles like the son of Lord Dianqian, he was as good as a piece of trash. He was beaten up badly and begged for mercy as he was close to losing his life. In the end, he paid the son of Lord Dianqian a hundred thousand silver taels before being dragged before the princess to kowtow and apologize before the matter was put to rest.
When he returned home half-dead, he finally spat a mouthful of blood when he learned that Prince Cheng had smashed the signboard of Yan’s restaurant and warned them that they would never be able to open the restaurant for business if Lin Dan did not return.
Lady Zhou was even proud of what she did after she created trouble at the Hometown Kitchen the day before, but she was now as anxious as a hen with one chick, “What should we do? Can this restaurant continue its business after we’ve done so many things?” She was more afraid of living the old life than anyone else after knowing that the glamorous and glorious days have passed.
“Yes, why not? Langqing is still working as an imperial chef in the palace. We can ask her to beg the Emperor for mercy. If the Emperor has a bit of interest in her, not to mention being an imperial chef, she could even be his concubine.” He gritted his teeth and said, “Servant! Go and pass a message to Langqing, tell her that her family is in trouble, and ask her to come back soon.”
The servant did not dare to hold up for another second and immediately went to the palace gates after taking some silver notes. Unfortunately, the Yan family had underestimated Lin Dan’s connections. Although she did not want to fight for anything in the world, it did not mean that those who care about her would not fight it for her.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the “Novel Multiverse dot com” website @ novelmultiverse.com]
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Man I love this development!