Pastoral Splendor

With her fingers gripping the bamboo chopsticks tightly, Yan Ying lowered her head and picked up a golden shumai to put in her mouth. She had originally wanted to enjoy her breakfast, but suddenly a fly flew by, ruining her mood completely.

"Miss, Miss!" Lin Qinxun continued to shout, oblivious to the situation. He even twisted his neck in a self-important manner, striking a pose that suggested he was dashing and debonair. He propped his head up with one hand and tapped the table lightly with the other. His beady eyes kept blinking at Yan Ying, as if trying to squeeze out a tender and affectionate expression.

This person is really annoying. Sitting in front of her is an eyesore. Yan Ying raised her chopsticks several times, wanting to throw them at him, but then she thought that Ruyi Restaurant is still her bread and butter, and she can't offend him for the time being. She should wait until she is independent and no longer needs the restaurant to buy her pickled bamboo shoots and mushrooms before she can turn against him on the spot.

I will endure it. Yan Ying silently put away her chopsticks and took a big bite of the shredded shumai. They say that patience is a double-edged sword, and she has finally seen it for herself today.

The waiter brought over a plate of clear bird's nest, lotus seed, and lily bulb porridge, topped with a few bright red goji berries. A plate of crystal shrimp dumplings was translucent, and you could almost see the curved shrimp inside, with a slightly reddish hue. Red date and jujube cakes were cut into small, dark brown pieces and arranged there one by one, steaming hot.

"Miss, please try the breakfast I ordered for you." Lin Qinxun smiled at Yan Ying and pushed the bird's nest porridge towards her: "This is the most expensive porridge in our restaurant. Other restaurants don't have it. It's made with top-quality bird's nest, and a bowl costs five taels of silver."

Yan Ying smiled at Lin Qinxun: "Young master, I am poor and cannot afford such expensive food."

Lin Qinxun stared blankly at Yan Ying. This beauty's smile was truly captivating, sweet and charming, with two shallow dimples at the corners of her lips. Her fine teeth were like tiny seashells, perfectly aligned. "Miss, this bird's nest porridge is free. I'm giving it to you. A beauty like you should drink more bird's nest porridge; it's excellent for beauty and nourishing the blood. Come, let me feed you, okay?"

A small spoon was offered, filled with clear bird's nest porridge. Yan Ying clenched her fists and stood up abruptly. It is said that "poverty makes people lose their ambition," but there is always a limit to patience. This tactless young master Lin has repeatedly challenged her bottom line, and she has finally reached her limit.

"Young Master Lin, you eat it yourself. I'm a poor man and don't deserve to eat this good stuff." Yan Ying dragged the bag that was placed aside, turned around and walked towards the counter: "Waiter, check please."

The waiter had been watching behind the counter. When Lin Qinxun asked him to bring Yan Ying the bird's nest porridge, he had already sent someone to call Master Li. This young master Lin really didn't give his boss any face. Relying on his father's status, he acted recklessly all day long, and no one bothered to control him.

Fortunately, this young lady had some courage and didn't scream and run away. If she had made a scene in the restaurant, we might as well have closed down early today. "Miss, it'll be two qian of silver in total." The waiter looked at Yan Ying, who was dragging a bag over, and thought to himself with admiration. He didn't expect that although this young lady was poorly dressed, she wasn't stingy at all.

"Who told you to take her money?" Lin Qinxun, oblivious to the danger, rushed over, leaned over the counter, and glanced at Yan Ying. "Miss, it's fate that we met today. I'll treat you to breakfast, so you don't need to take money out of your purse." As he spoke, Lin Qinxun grabbed Yan Ying's hand. "I told you not to take out your money, why don't you listen to me?"

Yan Ying flipped her hand over, grabbed Lin Qinxun's wrist, and slammed his hand onto the counter. Her eyebrows shot up, and she yelled at the shop assistant behind the counter, "Go to the kitchen and get a cleaver!"

The waiter was shocked to see Yan Ying suddenly turn hostile. Standing behind the counter, he asked tremblingly, "Miss, what do you need a kitchen knife for?"

"What for?" Yan Ying smiled contemptuously and pointed at Lin Qinxun, saying, "Someone like him, who has hands but does nothing worthwhile, might as well have them chopped off."

Upon hearing this, Lin Qinxun screamed like a pig being slaughtered: "Miss, please have mercy!" His right hand was restrained by Yan Ying, but his left hand could still move. He tried to get around the fat body and move to the counter, trying to pry Yan Ying's hand open, but he couldn't move it no matter what he did. Yan Ying's hand was like an iron clamp that held him tightly.

The diners having breakfast at Ruyi Restaurant all stood up, craning their necks to look this way: "Oh, what's going on? A young girl actually managed to subdue Young Master Lin?"

"Young Master Lin's favorite pastime is flirting with women, and now he's met a flower covered in thorns!" Someone laughed loudly, looking at Yan Ying with great interest: "Look at that girl, she seems like an ordinary farm girl, but who knew she was such a hidden talent!"

"Release our young master at once!" Seeing that things were getting out of hand, Lin Qinxun's two attendants quickly followed and shouted at Yan Ying, "If you don't let go, you'll regret it!"

Yan Ying glanced back at the two men and chuckled, "Just the two of you? If you dare come up here, I'll cripple his hand first!" Although she was still a little scared, she couldn't back down verbally. Since she had already resorted to violence, she could only continue to hold on. Yan Ying used a little more force, and Lin Qinxun started yelling, "Don't come any closer! Don't come any closer! Miss, I've offended you, please have mercy and let me go!"

"Your hands look so chubby, they'd be perfect for making braised pork hock." Yan Ying smiled and ran her fingers along Lin Qinxun's elbow. "Chop them this long, add some five-spice powder, star anise, fennel, and cinnamon, then add some Sichuan peppercorns. Simmer them over low heat for half an hour, then stir-fry them with cooking wine. It'll be delicious."

Yan Ying described it so vividly that some of the diners standing nearby couldn't help but swallow hard: "Girl, what you're saying sounds so convincing, it smells delicious just thinking about it."

Lin Qinxun was practically slumped against the counter, his face pressed against it as he looked around. The people around him were staring at him with keen interest, their eyes gleaming with a sly green light, as if they were drooling over the dish the beautiful woman beside them had mentioned. His body convulsed uncontrollably as he howled loudly, his voice trembling with sobs: "Girl, let go, let go!"

"Young master, you must tell her that your father is Prefect Lin!" A servant suddenly remembered that this young lady dared to be so fierce to his young master, so she probably didn't know his identity. He should quickly remind her.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Lin Qinxun was reminded by his servant that his father was the prefect: "My father is the prefect of Yuzhou! If you don't let go, he might arrest you and lock you up in the yamen for life!"

"Really?" Yan Ying smiled and dragged Lin Qinxun toward the kitchen: "Rather than letting your father lock you up for life for no reason, it's better to chop off your hands first!"

"Ahhh!" Lin Qinxun screamed wildly, "Girl, girl, no no no, grandma, please, please don't chop off my hand!"

Yan Ying was only trying to scare him; if she really chopped off this young master Lin's hand, she would definitely go to jail. Having gotten a way out, she needed to know how to gracefully accept it. She loosened her grip on Lin Qinxun's hand slightly: "Young master Lin, you have these hands not for doing evil, but for writing, offering wise policies for the country, or for taking up arms and fighting to protect our homeland and ensure the safety of our Great Zhou!"

Hearing Yan Ying's words, which seemed to imply that she wanted to release him, Lin Qinxun quickly nodded, not caring what Yan Ying actually meant, and simply agreed: "Yes, yes, I will protect our country and ensure the safety of the Great Zhou!"

The area outside Ruyi Restaurant was completely blocked. Everyone craned their necks, like chickens and ducks with their necks squeezed, staring intently at every move inside, afraid of missing a single detail: "Even Young Master Lin has such a disheveled moment!"

"Isn't that right? He always acts arrogantly on the streets, but now he's finally met his match!" Someone laughed. "I wonder which family this girl belongs to. She's either a young lady from a wealthy family, dressed up for fun, or she's just plain stupid for daring to treat Young Master Lin like that!"

Hearing Lin Qinxun's assurance, Yan Ying released her hand. Lin Qinxun, who was leaning forward, instantly fell backward. Two servants quickly stepped forward to support him: "Young Master, Young Master, be careful!"

Lin Qinxun caught his breath, straightened up, glared at Yan Ying, and waved his short, stubby hand: "Hurry up and take this girl back to me. I want to take her as my concubine!"

Yan Ying's eyebrows furrowed. She hadn't expected Lin Qinxun to be so persistent. She had just released him, yet he turned on her immediately—faster than flipping through a book. Seeing the two servants slowly approaching her, Yan Ying revealed a cold smile and reached for her waist—where hung the waist token of the Prince of Yu's residence. She wouldn't take it out unless absolutely necessary, but now, in this urgent situation, she had no choice but to use it to intimidate them.

"Stop! Stop it now!" came an urgent shout from the crowd. Everyone turned around and saw several people rushing over, forcefully pushing through the crowd and squeezing into the restaurant.

Chapter Sixty-Seven Seeking Help

Several people squeezed through the crowd, panting, and walked up to the two attendants, stopping them: "Stop it! What are you doing?"

Yan Ying lowered her hand. She recognized two of the people who came: Master Li and the manager of Ruyi Restaurant. It seemed she didn't need to use the Prince Yu's badge to intimidate them.

Master Li looked at his son-in-law with some worry. He had married his precious daughter into the Lin family in an attempt to curry favor with Prefect Lin, but he never expected his son-in-law to be such a scoundrel. Not only did he philander everywhere, but he also didn't even bother to find out who she was before making his move!

This Miss Xiao dared to attack Lin Qinxun, so she must have someone backing her. And that person, without a doubt, is none other than Prince Xu. Although Miss Xiao comes from a peasant family, she's undeniably beautiful and popular. A prince's wife certainly needs to come from a good family, but what about concubines and maids? They don't have such strict requirements.

Young Master Xu is still young, his heart as pure as a crystal goblet, unbound by worldly constraints. Naturally, he cherishes Miss Xiao dearly. His foolish and lustful son-in-law is truly overestimating himself!

"Qinxun!" Master Li shouted, "What are you doing?"

When Lin Qinxun's two servants saw that it was their young master's father-in-law, they quickly stopped what they were doing, took a step back, bowed their heads and called out "Master." They only dared to look at the ground. Their young master liked to look at beautiful women, but when he saw his father-in-law, he had to restrain himself.

"Father-in-law, didn't you see that I've taken a fancy to this beautiful girl?" Lin Qinxun cupped his belly with both hands: "I'm planning to take her back to be my concubine."

"You..." Master Li was so angry that he couldn't catch his breath. His old face turned red instantly, as if he had been slapped several times: "Qinxun, stop fooling around and go home right now!" His son-in-law said he wanted to take a concubine in front of his father-in-law. This was really a slap in the face. It was a mistake he made in a moment of confusion. Now that he had been slapped in the face, there was nothing he could do.

"Why do you want me to go back?" Lin Qinxun's beady eyes darted around, and his face lengthened. "Do you want to take her as your concubine?"

Master Li was so angry that he trembled all over. He glared at the shop assistant beside him and said, "Quickly send Young Master Lin back!"

The servants responded and helped Lin Qinxun walk outside, saying, "Young Master, you should go back and rest. Don't let people laugh at you!" The two attendants, seeing their young master arguing so irrationally, also quickly came over to help persuade him, "Young Master, now is not a good time. There are so many people watching outside. If you insist on bringing that girl back to the manor, you'll inevitably be branded as someone who abducted a woman. It won't be good if the master finds out!"