Chapter 83

Half an hour later, Helian Jing escorted Ye Jiayao and Lady Xia You out of the mansion .

When it was time to part, Ye Jiayao bowed and said to Lady Xia You, “Thank you for speaking for me before, Lady Xia You . ”

Lady Xia You just turned to Helian Jing and said, “Little Jing, if you have time, you should come to our mansion, Chunfeng came back yesterday . ”

Ye Jiayao awkwardly straightened her posture, her lips pulling up in the slightest .  Fine, I’ll just get ignored . Stupid me, thinking that Chunyu’s mum really liked me .

“Really? Wasn’t he going to come back at the end of the year together with his father?” Helian Jing asked, surprised .

“He is not accustomed to that side where there is yellow sand everywhere . It is only your uncle who can stay in those types of places,” Lady Xia You said in a mocking tone, a hint of bitterness in her smile .

“Well, that’s good! I’ll go and find him tomorrow,” Helian Jing replied happily as he escorted Lady Xia You to her carriage .

“Well, I’ll also be leaving now,” Ye Jiayao said, “I’ll come and find you if there are any problems . ”

Helian Jing said, “I’ll go to Heavenly Residence for dinner tomorrow . Leave some dishes and cold drinks for me, okay? I’ll invite Xia Chunfeng, Brother Chunyu’s younger brother . He’s one year older than me and we played together all the time when we were younger . ”

Ye Jiayao nodded . “Xia Chunfeng? Will he look similar to his older brother?”

Helian Jing ignored her question and said instead, “I’m also going to invite someone else . ”

“That’s not a problem . You can invite whoever and as many people as you wish . I’ll reserve the Lotus Attic for you . ”

Ye Jiayao waved goodbye and left .

Helian Jing silently watched Big Yaoyao walk away . The person I wanted to invite is you…

Song Qi was waiting for Ye Jiayao at the street corner . “Did you get the deal, Brother Yao?”

Ye Jiayao smiled secretively and responded, “It was all thanks to your Lady . ”

She was beginning to understand why Lady Xia You helped her . It was not because she favored her, but most likely because Lady Xia You and Elder Princess Yi De were at odds . Chunyu’s mother sided with Ye Jiayao simply because she wanted to spite Elder Princess Yi De .

“I was kind of worried when I saw my Lady walk out of the Helian Mansion,” Song Qi admitted .

“What were you worried about? That I would be eaten by your Lady?” Ye Jiayao joked .

“It just seems a bit unexpected that you two would meet like this . ”

Ye Jiayao lowered her eyes . Yes, it was indeed unexpected .

“Let’s go and have a look around at the bronze shops,” Ye Jiayao said, changing the topic .

“Bronze shops? Are you buying bronze ware, Brother Yao? What for? Bronze cauldron? Bronze pot?” Song Qi was puzzled . Don’t most people use iron made cooking utensils?

“Ice holder,” Ye Jiayao simply said .

However, the ice holder she wanted was not the big and heavy ones which required a lot of complex work . She wanted a simple ice holder to sell the Ice Cream Mooncake in so that it could be stored for at least three to five days . Preservation was the key because if the ice cream melted, the Ice Cream Mooncake would not be worth much .

The place for bronze casting ware and forging iron were on the same street and the name was also easy to remember – Forging Iron Alley . The livelihood of the people here depended on iron forging or other trades that extended from it . Even before walking into the alley, the clanging sounds of forging iron could already be heard .

Ye Jiayao walked up and down the alley and found out that there was only one shop for bronze ware . She could only hope that the master here could make what she wanted .

Ye Jiayao took out her design and discussed with the master for a long time . Overall, the ice holder was separated into two simple layers . One of the layers had ice in between and the inner layer was for food . It had to be lightweight as well as presentable .

The master pondered over it for a while before saying, “I’ll have a try first . You can come back three days later and see the goods . However, if I can’t make it, you won’t be able to find anyone else in Jin Ling . ”

“Okay, I’ll leave this to you . ” Ye Jiayao paid the deposit .

By the time Ye Jiayao and Song Qi left Forging Iron Alley, it was already dusk .

“Brother Yao, you’re not going back to Heavenly Residence, right? How about we go to Fragrant House for tonight’s dinner?” Song Qi suggested .

Ye Jiayao liked that idea . “Yeah, let’s go . I was also thinking of going to try Chef Niu’s dishes . ”

Although the birthday banquet was important, she could not fall behind in the cooking competition . She heard that the rules for the competition were going to be out in mid-July .

Song Qi initially thought that it was going to take a lot of effort to complete the mission that Heir-Son Lord had tasked him with . Who knew that Miss Ye would agree right away?

Ye Jiayao observed the surroundings of Fragrant House and quickly realized why this restaurant was able to earn so much . There were many chambers of commerce, security firms and banks in the area, so there was no need to worry about the source of customers . Not to mention that these people were all quite wealthy . It would also be very convenient to come to Fragrant House to celebrate once they close a deal .

Song Qi immediately purchased the best private room . Ye Jiayao knew that if they sat outside, they wouldn’t get to taste Chef Niu’s cooking, but she still found it a bit wasteful to rent such an expensive room for just the two of them .

After ordering, Ye Jiayao excused herself to go to the bathroom .

Although the ancient bathrooms were simple, there was an advantage . One bathroom holds only one person, disregardless of the gender . It rid of Ye Jiayao’s worries as to whether she’d have to go to the men’s or women’s bathrooms . It was also private so she could rest assured – as long she doesn’t accidentally step in the hole .

The sign on the bathroom door said that it was occupied . Ye Jiayao waited for a long while, but no one came out .

“Is anyone in there?” she called out .

Silence .

“Is there anyone in? If there’s no one there, I’m going to come in,” Ye Jiayao called again .

Someone hurriedly replied, “It’s occupied!”

Then why didn’t you say something earlier? She wondered how long this person has been squatting there . Diarrhea? Constipation?

Ye Jiayao waited for some more, cursing internally .

A few minutes later, the person weakly asked, “Excuse me, is it possible to borrow a piece of toilet paper?”

Ye Jiayao glared daggers at the ‘occupied’ sign on the door . You were stuck in there because you didn’t bring any toilet paper? This person really has a problem with speaking up when needed to .

Ye Jiayao felt around for a piece of paper . Just as she was about to pass it in, the person inside the bathroom said, “I can buy it from you . What do you think about ten coppers for a piece of paper?”

Well, looks like we have Mr . Money Bags here .  A pile of toilet paper costs only two copper coins! “How about five taels of silver because there isn’t even enough for me here,” Ye Jiayao jested .

She was surprised when he actually agreed . “Fine, five taels . ”

An ingot of silver was thrown to her .

Ye Jiayao was laughing hysterically on the inside . Who knew that she could earn five taels just by going to the bathroom? The guy inside must be some rich prodigal son .

That was alright since Ye Jiayao doesn’t really feel bad about earning money from rich people .

“Okay, I’ll be giving you the only two pieces of toilet paper I have,” Ye Jiayao said and shoved the two pieces of paper inside before returning to the hall with the silver .

The guy inside must be embarrassed and he probably didn’t want people to see him stuck in the bathroom . She also didn’t want to be recognized as the person who rips off others so its best that she waited away from the bathroom .

Not long after, a man wearing pale green silk clothing walked out of the bathroom and headed upstairs, his head bent low .

Only then did Ye Jiayao wandered about to the bathroom .

Once she returned to the private room they rented, she unexpectedly found that Song Qi had turned into Xia Chunyu .

“Why are you here? Where’s Song Qi?”

“Why are you gone for so long? I thought you fell in . ”

The two spoke at the same time and stared at each other, both waiting for an answer .

Xia Chunyu was the first one to break the silence . “Didn’t I say yesterday that I would come?”

Ye Jiayao didn’t remember that because she was pretty certain that he did not say anything about coming to eat with her . However, she couldn’t be bothered arguing with him as she knew that nothing good would come out of it anyway .

Xia Chunyu told the waiter to bring the dishes and ordered him out .

“I heard that you are taking care of the old princess’ birthday feast?” he began .

“Yes,” Ye Jiayao calmly answered as she poured a cup of tea for herself .

Xia Chunyu handed his cup over, motioning for her to serve him some . Ye Jiayao reluctantly poured a cup for him .

“I also heard that you met my mum today?”

“Yes,” Ye Jiayao replied once again .

Xia Chunyu felt a bit uneasy with her acting so indifferent towards him . Was it because he kissed her last night? This just piled up to his anxiety about his mum and Yaoyao’s meeting . That ruined all his plans .

“My mum didn’t make it difficult for you?” Xia Chunyu asked in a casual pretense, his deep black eyes locked on her face, looking for any slight changes in her expression .

Ye Jiayao looked up slightly and glanced at him . “In your mum’s eyes, I’m just a chef . I’m not cooking a banquet for your family, so I have nothing to do with her . Why would she even bother making things difficult for me?” Ye Jiayao responded with a hint of self-ridicule .

Xia Chunyu thought about it . She was right . His mother had always disregarded things that had nothing to do with her . Yaoyao was cooking for the Helian family, so his mother couldn’t care less about her .

There was nothing to be worried about .  His frown turned into a smile . He said merrily, “Where do you want to eat tomorrow? Qi Lin Pavilion? Or Vegetarian House?”

“Why are you taking me out to eat?” Ye Jiayao looked at him warily .

“The food at home doesn’t taste good . Helian Xuan is also very busy now, so there is no one to eat with me beside you,” Xia Chunyu answered idly .

Ye Jiayao scoffed, “Are you seriously telling me that you can’t find anyone else to eat with you? I’m pretty sure that if you call out on the streets for a dinner companion, people would queue up . ”

Xia Chunyu frowned . “Eating is not just about the dishes . The mood as you eat is also important, and that mood is greatly dependent on who you’re eating with . Eating with you is good for my mood . First, we have similar tastes in food . Second, you have the plain face that could help people focus on their meals . . . ”

Ye Jiayao glared at him fiercely .  You stupid donkey! Did you really just say that I look plain?