Mockery Face to Face
Just thinking about her in-laws gave Lily Evans a headache.
Lily didn’t need to go to the academy these days, so she stayed at the Prince’s Manor. If Madam Lou sent someone to request a meeting, it wouldn’t be polite to refuse, but Lily really didn’t want to deal with her. So she decided that after leaving the spice shop, she wouldn’t return straight to the manor. Instead, she’d stop by Eight Treasures Bistro and treat Eugene Jr. to a good meal as a reward.
Lily brought Belle and Eugene Jr. along to Eight Treasures Bistro. As they reached the alley entrance, they heard Princess Mira’s furious roar erupting from the doorway of Suxin Pavilion.
Lily poked her head out to look. Lila was kneeling at the entrance, trembling, her face bruised and battered. Princess Mira was wielding a stick, swinging it wildly at Lila while cursing, “You wretched maid! Spouting nonsense! William said he’d go home for money and be back soon, yet you insist he won’t come back. Are you cursing me?”
Lila clutched her head and burst into tears, "Princess, I know I was wrong! Please stop hitting me, I won't dare to speak out of turn again!"
With a loud crack, the stick in Princess Mira’s hand snapped in two. She threw it to the ground angrily, pointed at Lila’s nose and cursed, “Wretched maid! Get inside!”
Lila hurriedly scampered inside, faster than a rabbit.
Lily lifted the curtain, her expression calm and composed as she smiled at Princess Mira. "Oh my, Your Highness, what’s got you so riled up? Who made you so angry?"
Princess Mira’s chest heaved as she glared at Lily. “Mind your own business!”
“Tsk, someone’s in a mood.” Lily clicked her tongue and grinned at Princess Mira. “I’ve noticed your restaurant isn’t doing so well lately. Didn’t you boast about beating my Eight Treasures Bistro? With you like this, how are you supposed to win?”
Princess Mira was mocked and ridiculed by Lily right to her face. Her cheeks flushed a deep liver-red as she argued, “Lily, don’t get cocky! You think I’m finished just because my head chef left? Let me tell you—Suxin Pavilion is only closed for renovations. When the chef I hired arrives in a few days, we’ll reopen, and business will boom. Don’t be so jealous!”
Lily tutted twice, secretly thinking Princess Mira’s lies were getting bolder and bolder. She immediately retorted, “Is Suxin Pavilion really reopening? Funny, I heard from a little bird at Eight Treasures Bistro that you brought in a foreigner and sold him all your spices. That doesn’t sound like someone planning to keep their business running, does it?”
"You—you’re so nosy! Those spices belong to me, and I can do whatever I want with them!" Princess Mira was furious at being exposed by Lily, stomping her feet in anger.
"Of course, Princess, the spices are yours, you can handle them as you please. But you’re really generous—such expensive spices, handed over to a foreigner, and you even paid him a thousand taels of silver on top of it. That’s real wealth!" Lily mocked, her face full of ridicule.
Princess Mira’s pupils shrank. "How do you know…? Was it the servant from Eight Treasures Bistro who told you? Lily, it’s not what you think! That foreigner just didn’t bring money, he went home to get it. The thousand taels was just a deposit—I wasn’t giving it away for free! How could you spread such nonsense!"
"Oh—is that so…" Lily gave Princess Mira a meaningful look, blinking. "Your way of doing business is certainly… unique! But what if that foreigner doesn’t come back? Do you know where he lives? Where will you go to collect your money?"