Showdown Face to Face

Princess Mira stood in the crowd and immediately spotted the head chef she had poached.

At that moment, the chef was wearing his uniform, chatting with a table of guests, seemingly listening to their feedback about the food.

"Wretch!" Princess Mira shrieked at the chef, her voice slicing through the hall and instantly silencing everyone. All eyes turned to the furious, disheveled princess, who had lost all composure.

The chef, however, remained calm. Seeing Princess Mira, he greeted her, "Princess Mira, what brings you here?"

Princess Mira stormed in, cursing at the chef, "You ungrateful traitor! I treated you so well, and you still betrayed me by running off to Eight Treasures Bistro! How much did Lily Evans give you to switch sides? Tell me!"

The chef chuckled and replied kindly, "I have nothing to do with Suxin Pavilion, so where's the betrayal?"

“No contract, no job. What kind of employer doesn’t even know about contracts?” Lily Evans teased, her tone playful and sharp.

The crowd burst out laughing, some jeering, “Princess Mira, you don’t even know what a contract is, and you want to run a restaurant? You’d better check if your staff is slipping out the back door!”

"Tsk, I stole your staff?" Lily Evans walked over, arms folded, smiling at Princess Mira. She pointed at the chef and said, "He's my apprentice's apprentice, trained by me personally. He's part of Eight Treasures Bistro."

"Nonsense! He was head chef at Suxin Pavilion!" Princess Mira shouted.

"Do you have any proof? If he really was head chef at Suxin Pavilion, where's the contract? Show us!" Lily Evans smiled at Princess Mira.

Nearby diners watched as the Princess Consort and Princess Mira squared off face-to-face, clearly enjoying the spectacle and egging them on:

"Yeah, talk is cheap. Where's the contract?"

“No contract? That’s nonsense. Who would take you seriously?”

"Exactly! Princess, do you even know how to run a business?"

Princess Mira was at a loss, flustered by the crowd's words. She had no idea how to do business, much less what a contract was—she'd never even heard of such a thing.

Of course, Lily Evans and the chef both knew that hiring required a contract—just like a modern labor agreement.

Naturally, the chef wasn’t about to remind Princess Mira about paperwork, and Mira herself was completely clueless. When pressed, she could only stammer, "Contract? What’s that supposed to mean?"

Lily Evans just smiled, her confidence unshaken. "Whenever you want to talk business, Princess, let me know. I’ll be waiting right here."

The chef laughed, Lily laughed, and soon the whole restaurant joined in. The spectacle was more entertaining than the meal itself.

The crowd started heckling again: “Princess Mira, you don’t even know what a contract is—how can you run a business? No wonder your staff keeps leaving!”

“Exactly! What kind of legitimate business doesn’t sign contracts? Without a contract, who would believe you?” someone else chimed in.

Lily Evans turned to the chef with a warm smile and patted his shoulder. "Don’t worry, you’re one of us now. Welcome to Eight Treasures Bistro!"

The chef grinned, eyes shining with gratitude. "Thank you, Princess Consort! I’ll give it my all."