In the years of famine, I led a comfortable life with my husband

Su Zhizhi finally calmed down and said, "Your Excellency, you are joking. Of course I believe what you said. Thank you for your guidance. I will definitely come to thank you in person someday."

The emperor didn't respond, but simply smiled and stood up. "Today... I'm very happy. This money is my thank you gift."

As he spoke, the emperor signaled the eunuch behind him to hand Su Zhizhi a bulging purse.

Su Zhizhi was immediately flattered, but she did not hesitate and accepted the purse. "Thank you very much, sir."

After seeing the emperor off, Su Zhizhi and Xie Chengjin returned to the box. They looked at each other, and neither of them could hide the excitement in their eyes.

"Xie Chengjin, you said that person just now couldn't be..." Su Zhizhi whispered her guess, but was stopped by Xie Chengjin, "Shh, it's hard to say, it's better not to say it."

Xie Chengjin was more cautious, and Su Zhizhi also restrained herself a little after hearing what he said.

After the excitement wore off, Su Zhizhi suddenly remembered another problem. "We know about this competition, but how do we participate? Competitions held in the palace shouldn't be open to ordinary people, right?"

This was what Su Zhizhi was most worried about. Xie Chengjin also frowned, as he had just forgotten about this matter.

Then Xie Chengjin said, "There should be an invitation. Now that we are in Yunlou, we should be able to find out some information. If that doesn't work, maybe we can go to the Princess."

After a few days, the two still found no information about the invitation letter. When they were at a loss, Shen Wenjun came to them again.

When Shen Wenjun arrived, Su Zhizhi and the other person were just about to take a rest. They heard the voice of the message. They looked at each other and soon stood in front of Shen Wenjun.

This time, Xie Chengjin cautiously protected Su Zhizhi behind him and looked at Shen Wenjun with a vigilant expression.

Shen Wenjun didn't care about Xie Chengjin's attitude, but just looked at Su Zhizhi with burning eyes.

Su Zhizhi cleared her throat, walked out from behind Xie Chengjin, and said to Shen Wenjun, "It's really over. What did you come to see me for?"

Shen Wenjun handed the item in his hand to Su Zhizhi and said earnestly, "I heard you were asking about the invitation to the chef competition. I happen to have one in my hand. Since you need it, I'll give it to you."

Su Zhizhi took a look at it and didn't take it. Instead, she asked, "Where did you get this?"

Shen Wenjun didn't get angry. After forcing the item onto Su Zhizhi, he said, "This was given to me by the Fifth Prince. I think he was trying to win me over to his side. I was originally wondering what use this item would have for me, but now it seems this is the biggest use."

Su Zhizhi remained silent, gently stroking the invitation in her hand, and whispered, "Thank you."

Shen Wenjun's expression softened. "Don't be so polite to me. It's my honor to be able to help you. I'm sorry to disturb your rest so late. I'll be leaving now."

After saying that, Shen Wenjun turned and left, leaving only Su Zhizhi and Xie Chengjin standing there.

It was not until Shen Wenjun walked away and his figure gradually disappeared into the darkness that Xie Chengjin snorted coldly, "I don't think he has any good intentions." His tone was sour, which made Su Zhizhi laugh.

Su Zhizhi felt somewhat helpless and tapped Xie Chengjin with the invitation in her hand. "Alright, stop thinking about it. Now that we have the invitation, let's think about what to do next."

After returning to the room, the two of them stared at the invitation on the table in a daze. After a long while, Xie Chengjin finally said, "I still think this competition is a bit weird. What do you think?"

Su Zhizhi was stunned for a moment before nodding. "I thought it was just my imagination, and it seems you think so too. This time, the cooking competition and the invitation came a little too easily. Sometimes I even wonder if this is a trap for me, but if it is, there's nothing I can do. If I want to know the truth about my father's murder, I have to take this risk."

Xie Chengjin's expression was also very serious, and he still wanted to persuade her: "Why don't you think about it again?"

Su Zhizhi shook her head. "No, let's do it this way. I must win this competition. Even if it means a Hongmen Feast, I must give it a try."

Seeing Su Zhizhi so determined, Xie Chengjin didn't say anything more.

The next day, Su Zhizhi and Xie Chengjin successfully obtained the registration qualifications with the invitation letter sent by Shen Wenjun. The moment Su Zhizhi saw her name appear on the list, she felt a lot of emotions in her heart, but now that she had successfully registered, she had to start preparing.

But just when Su Zhizhi was concentrating on preparing for the competition, someone jumped out to cause trouble.

This time it was Wang Jinghe, the owner of a top restaurant in Beijing. Before Lai Yunlou came out, Wang Jinghe's restaurant had always been the largest and most luxurious restaurant in Beijing, but now it was intercepted by Lai Yunlou.

For this reason, Wang Jinghe didn't know how much he hated Su Zhizhi and Xie Chengjin.

Wang Jinghe's restaurant was only a short street away from Laiyunlou. Standing at the door, he could see the endless stream of people coming and going in Laiyunlou. In contrast, his own restaurant was sparsely populated, which made Wang Jinghe even more jealous.

Out of jealousy, Wang Jinghe planned to teach Su Zhizhi a lesson. He wanted to let Su Zhizhi know who was the real Beijinger.

Since his own restaurant didn't have much business anyway, Wang Jinghe simply disguised himself and came to the door of Laiyunlou. This time he planned to destroy Laiyunlou from within.

Su Zhizhi was not familiar with the people in the capital, and Wang Jinghe took advantage of this opportunity to blatantly hang around in front of Su Zhizhi.

As expected, Su Zhizhi really noticed Wang Jinghe and became interested in him.

Xie Chengjin suddenly felt a headache. He could see that Wang Jinghe's intention in approaching her was not pure, but he couldn't strictly forbid Su Zhizhi from contacting him. He could only secretly remind Su Zhizhi, "Zhizhi, do you know the man who spoke to you recently?"

Su Zhizhi shook her head in confusion, not knowing why Xie Chengjin said that. "What's wrong?"

"I think that person has some ill intentions towards you. It's better for you to stay away from him." Xie Chengjin reminded Su Zhizhi in a tactful way.

Su Zhizhi waved her hand nonchalantly and said, "Oh, it'll be fine. I'm not a child anymore. I know he must have a purpose, but I also have my own purpose in contacting him. It's like we each get what we need. It shouldn't have any big impact." Su Zhizhi thought for a moment and said to Xie Chengjin.

Hearing this, Xie Chengjin choked, unable to utter a word. Su Zhizhi looked at Xie Chengjin seriously, "Xie Chengjin, I know you're worried about me, but I have my own choices. He's been living in Beijing all his life, so he naturally knows much more about those high-ranking officials than I do. I can use him to integrate into the Beijing circle of powerful people more quickly, so why not?"