Must Meet in Person
Knowing that Prince Ling had started setting his sights on Ali, Li Yanhao united forces with Xiao Zetian, determined not to let Su Li go to the Vegetarian Bistro to avoid running into Prince Ling.
Xiao Zetian's secret guards were extremely efficient; upon receiving orders, they immediately began assassinating Prince Ling's spies and killers. In the small town of Greenfield City, a bloody covert battle was underway.
Meanwhile, Li Yanhao used the excuse of discussing business to stubbornly keep Su Li at home, saying new clients were coming soon and that Su Li should wait at home to talk business.
Since it was a legitimate business matter, Su Li had no choice but to send word to Lingdang and the others to cover for her, promising she'd head to the Vegetarian Bistro to cook after finishing here.
Lingdang received the message, sighed in relief, and glanced outside.
She hadn't expected Prince Ling to come early again today, insisting on seeing Su Li. When she heard Su Li wasn't there, he stubbornly stayed in the restaurant eating and drinking, refusing to leave.
Even Lingdang was puzzled now—why did these Li family nobles all like the kind of woman their general's wife was? First a young lord, now a prince. It was truly headache-inducing.
Prince Ling waited from morning till afternoon, growing desperate, only to be told by a Vegetarian Bistro servant that Boss Su had urgent business and wouldn't be coming today.
Prince Ling's face immediately fell, his fists clenched tightly.
As a prince, he'd never been rejected by a woman before, but this little spicy lady kept refusing him one after another, completely ignoring him!
This made Prince Ling even start doubting his own charm.
"Your Highness, maybe we should leave," a nearby attendant suggested, unable to watch anymore. Their master had been so obsessed over a country girl these past days that he couldn't eat or sleep well, even delaying his return to the capital.
"Hmph! Leave?" Prince Ling gritted his teeth, thinking if it weren't for the little spicy lady's bistro, he'd have sent people to smash it down!
Just as Prince Ling was about to leave, he saw at the Vegetarian Bistro's door a middle-aged woman leading a boy, both peering inside.
"Zhaocai, stop staring, let's hurry home!" Tang said, but couldn't help glancing into the bistro, muttering, "Oh, so this is Su Li's place!? It looks so grand! And these tables at the door must be worth a lot!"
While Tang said this, she fondly touched the tables and chairs set outside for those waiting in line, her eyes shining: "These things are even better than what we use at home. How can Su Li bear to leave them out in the open, not afraid someone will damage them?"
Zhang Zhaocai tiptoed to peek inside, his expression a mix of hope and nervousness.
Tang hesitated at the door, feeling the bistro was too upscale to enter. Her timid demeanor looked quite comical to Prince Ling, who couldn’t help but glance at her a few more times.
Tang, oblivious to the prince’s gaze, stared at Su Li’s Vegetarian Bistro, mouth watering, and tugged at Zhang Zhaocai’s arm: "Zhaocai, you must bring Lingdang to our home. Lingdang is Su Li’s apprentice; maybe someday this bistro will belong to Lingdang! If you marry Lingdang, the Vegetarian Bistro will be ours!"
Zhang Zhaocai, impatient with Tang’s chatter, grabbed a Vegetarian Bistro servant and asked, "Do you have a girl named Lingdang here?"
The servant sized up Zhang Zhaocai, clearly poor, but still professionally wore a friendly smile and said, "Yes, Miss Lingdang is our Boss Su’s apprentice. Do you know her?"
Zhang Zhaocai nodded: "Yes, we’re villagers from the same place as Boss Su and Lingdang. Can you call Miss Lingdang out? I have something to discuss with her."
A villager from the same place? Prince Ling raised an eyebrow, looking at Tang and her son. Did that mean they knew the little spicy beauty and were aware of her silly husband Yuanbao?