The sick king's bride to bring him good fortune

Ruan Mozhu glanced around and then walked calmly toward the second-floor pavilion.

Today's events were indeed somewhat strange, and to be on the safe side, she planned to question the two people who caused trouble earlier than expected.

Upon reaching the second-floor attic, they found it completely empty.

Oh no, she was still a step too late.

The ropes used to tie people up were scattered on the ground. Ruan Mozhu checked the windowsill and other places where she could have escaped, but found no trace of her escape.

Although his restaurant was a mixed bag, it shouldn't have lost face without a trace. It seemed there must be an inside man in the restaurant, and everyone in the restaurant today was a suspect, making it impossible to investigate.

It seems there's something fishy about what happened today; the mastermind behind it is probably far more complex than Xiangmanlou.

Ruan Mozhu lowered her head in deep thought, her beautiful eyebrows furrowed. She had to investigate this matter as soon as possible, otherwise the consequences would be dire. It would be a threat to both her restaurant and the Qi Prince's residence.

Ruan Mozhu tapped the ground a few times, and a person walked in through the door—a special method she used to communicate with her guards. The person looked like a waiter, swaggering in unnoticed by outsiders. In broad daylight, this was the only way to avoid being discovered.

"Your Highness, what brings you here?" the man asked Ruan Mozhu cautiously.

"The two we captured today escaped. Go and inform the others to find out everything about them as soon as possible," Ruan Mozhu whispered. Every moment of delay would increase the danger. For the sake of the Modern Restaurant and the Qi Prince's Mansion, she couldn't take that risk.

The guards left upon receiving the order. These men had followed him for many years; investigating such a small matter should be no problem for them.

Ruan Mozhu swaggered out, pretending nothing was wrong, and wandered among the guests, greeting them warmly.

Suddenly remembering that Wei Jingye was still in the third-floor attic, she rushed into the kitchen. Su'er was still busy preparing food for the guests, and all the chefs were cooking without a break. The entire Modern Restaurant was in a state of supply shortage all day long, and she had to think of a good way to resolve this situation.

"Su'er, hurry up and go to the third floor to carefully entertain the guests." Ruan Mozhu gave Su'er a meaningful look, meaning that the Crown Prince was still upstairs and she should keep a close watch on him. Su'er understood and went upstairs. Before leaving, she instructed the remaining guards to secretly protect Ruan Mozhu. She couldn't bear the responsibility if anything went wrong.

This is Wei Jingye's first time visiting her modern restaurant, so she has to find a way to treat him well. Only by providing excellent hospitality can she ensure a steady stream of income.

But she had almost exhausted all the new ideas in her mind. What new ideas could she give the Crown Prince? She thought about it for a long time but couldn't come up with any good ideas.

A thought suddenly flashed into her mind: she remembered there was a piece of mysterious ice hidden in the secret chamber, which she usually used to make cold drinks. Perhaps she could use this ice to make ice cream.

With this idea in mind, she immediately took action, gathered all the necessary materials, and stormed into the secret chamber alone. It was really cold there, but in order to please the Crown Prince and get him to spend a few more taels of silver, she didn't care about suffering a little.

Ruan Mozhu, you are so smart, she thought to herself with admiration.

Making ice cream takes time, and she wondered if Su'er could hold out until then.

After a long while, almost falling asleep, the ice cream she was making was finally ready. She hurriedly poured it into a container, preparing to serve it to the Crown Prince.

"Achoo!" She sneezed as soon as she stepped out of the dark chamber, having spent too long there. "Could I have caught a cold?" she wondered, rubbing her head. Carefully carrying her ice cream and cold drink, she headed up to the third floor.

"Young Master, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting." Ruan Mozhu presented the cold drink to Wei Jingye. Wei Jingye had never seen such a rare thing before, and his eyes lit up.

"This is something I specially made for you, young master. I don't know if it suits your taste, please try it." Ruan Mozhu handed the spoon in her hand to Wei Jingye. She had complete confidence in her invention. If Wei Jingye liked it, she could take this opportunity to make a fortune.

"This is..." Wei Jingye asked with a puzzled expression.

"Oh, young master, let me introduce this to you first. This is called ice cream, and this next to it is chilled plum juice, which is used to cool you down in the summer." Ruan Mozhu explained very patiently. To her, the person in front of her was neither a prince nor a young master, but just a god of wealth.

"Oh," Wei Jingye nodded in sudden understanding. "Then I'll try your cooking, Miss." This princess is indeed quite capable; no wonder Wei Jingnan is so infatuated with her. Just coming to this restaurant today, I've already seen quite a few rare things. I wonder how many more rare things are happening behind the scenes.

Wei Jingye used a spoon to scoop up a mouthful of ice cream and put it in his mouth. "Hmm, not bad. Sweet and sour, melts in your mouth. You really have excellent skills, young lady." He had never tasted such delicious food in all his years as the crown prince. How could this clever and mischievous girl make so many rare delicacies?

"If you like it, young master, you must come to my restaurant often. I will certainly treat you well," Ruan Mozhu said excitedly. It seemed that she was sure to make a fortune today.

Wei Jingye tasted a few bites of ice cream and smiled approvingly. Su'er stayed close to Ruan Mozhu, not leaving her side for a moment, afraid that something might happen to her. He knew that the Crown Prince was ruthless.

Before long, the ice cream on the table was completely gone, and Ruan Mozhu had a smug smile on her face.

"Your Highness, why not have a few more sips of plum juice? Plum juice can invigorate the spleen and promote the production of body fluids, which is very beneficial to your health," Ruan Mozhu said with a smile, pointing to the plum juice on the table.

Wei Jingye peeked into the blanket. Could this dark stuff really be drunk? He gave Ruan Mozhu a questioning look, and Ruan Mozhu nodded confidently.

"Young master, why don't you try it?" After receiving Ruan Mozhu's repeated invitations, Wei Jingye picked up the plum juice on the table and took a small sip. It was indeed a different taste altogether.

"This is really great. I didn't expect your small modern restaurant to have so many delicious dishes. It seems that I will have to come here often in the future."

When Ruan Mozhu heard Wei Jingye say this, she was overjoyed. What businessperson doesn't want the God of Wealth to visit them often?

"Please come, young master. Our shop also has other specialty snacks. I guarantee you'll eat your fill," Ruan Mozhu said happily. This princess of the Qi Prince's mansion is really interesting. What is the Qi Prince's mansion lacking that makes her show her face in public every day to earn money?

"Good!" Wei Jingye laughed. This Princess Qi was really straightforward. If Wei Jingnan hadn't forced her first, he would have really wanted to take her in.

Wei Jingye continued to drink the plum juice in his hand. He had been living a life of luxury since childhood, but he had never tasted anything so delicious. He couldn't help but praise the Princess Consort of Qi in front of him.

"Alright, it's getting late, I should be going now." Wei Jingye put down his teacup and prepared to get up.

“Five taels of silver in total.” Before he could even fully stand up, Ruan Mozhu held up five fingers.

Su'er sighed to herself. This princess consort was really something else! This was the Crown Prince! How could anyone ask for such an exorbitant price from him? Su'er kept gently tugging at Ruan Mozhu's sleeve, hoping she would notice, but this princess consort had no idea what she meant.

Wei Jingye stared at the five fingers Ruan Mozhu held out, momentarily stunned, then laughed. This Ruan Mozhu was truly interesting. Anyone who knew he was the Crown Prince would probably never ask him for money; Ruan Mozhu had certainly got some nerve. However, he really needed someone with such boldness.

"Give it to her," Wei Jingye chuckled, instructing the servant beside him to hand Ruan Mozhu a purse filled with heavy silver coins.

Ruan Mozhu weighed the silver in her hand; it must be more than five taels. She had really made a fortune today.

Wei Jingye walked past her and said, "This young master will definitely come again."

"Alright, welcome. Goodbye, young master," Ruan Mozhu said warmly.

It was nearing dusk, and the restaurant had shrunk considerably. Ruan Mozhu calculated her earnings for the day: over two hundred taels of silver. She instructed Su'er and the servants to clean the room and was preparing to return home when a thought popped into her mind.

The restaurant is doing so well lately that customers are queuing up to eat there every day, and the food it can provide is far from meeting the demand. How can this be resolved? If this problem is solved and every customer can enjoy the food of a modern restaurant, the daily revenue will probably double.

"You, come here," Ruan Mozhu said to a servant beside her.

"What are your orders, young lady?"

"Go and inform the Prince that I won't be returning to the manor today; I have other matters to attend to," Ruan Mozhu said casually.

Hearing this, Su'er, who was tidying up the tables and chairs nearby, said with some concern, "Miss, isn't this a bit inappropriate? You know things haven't been peaceful in this city lately."

"That's why I asked you to stay and keep me company," Ruan Mozhu said with a grin.

Su'er shook her head helplessly. She really had no way to deal with her princess.

"Alright, go now." Ruan Mozhu gave the servant another order, and the servant had no choice but to leave.

After the two finished tidying up, Ruan Mozhu went up to the second-floor attic and instructed Su'er to close the door.

She took all the silver she had earned in the past few days from the secret storehouse, counted it, and found it to be more than 40,000 taels. It was time to open a branch store.

But then he thought about it again. Opening a branch would definitely take a lot of effort. Not to mention that he wouldn't be able to rely on Wei Jingnan's influence, just finding a location and a restaurant would take a long time. Moreover, not to mention the renovations of those branches, nothing could be worse than what we have here now. If it were worse, that wouldn't be good either.

Suddenly realizing this, Ruan Mozhu felt a headache coming on. She didn't know how to plan this matter.

This book is first published on Kanshuwang Novels.