Moonlit Calamity: The Dragon Girl's Life of Idleness is Broken

Ye Lingwei sipped her tea elegantly, looked at Fang Qiuyu, and smiled slightly with a hint of mockery: "You like the pastries here, so pack an extra portion to take home when you leave."

She grew up under the expectations of her family and received strict family education. Every day, she had to learn how to speak and behave properly and receive etiquette training in dealing with people. She is a person who pays great attention to etiquette.

That's why, when she saw Fang Qiuyu's casual way of eating, she couldn't help but feel a little disdain and contempt.

In her mind, a lady from a respectable family should always be elegant and dignified, and when eating, she should cover her mouth with a handkerchief and chew only in small bites.

Such vulgar eating habits are unbecoming of the elegant demeanor expected of noble ladies, as if only in this way can their status and position be demonstrated.

Eating as casually as Fang Qiuyu did just now would not be allowed in her residence, but even if she disdained it, she still had to maintain the appearance of harmony.

Actually, Fang Qiuyu's table manners weren't bad; she was just a bit casual. Plus, she believed that she didn't need to be too reserved in front of her sisters. However, she would follow standard table manners for important occasions.

But little did she know that her frankness in front of her sisters was seen as vulgar by others, and she was even unaware that she was being despised.

It's like being fake best friends; I show my true self in front of you, but you secretly criticize me behind my back.

"By the way, has anything interesting happened in the capital lately? Can you tell me about it?" Fang Qiuyu asked.

He Wanqing smiled and replied, "Nothing interesting happened. However, a few days ago, the Ministry of Rites suddenly sent people to request portraits of the daughters of noble families awaiting marriage."

Upon hearing this, Fang Qiuyu pondered for a moment. She was a little puzzled, took a sip of tea, and asked, "Could it be that the Emperor is going to select concubines again? But... it doesn't seem to be the right time yet!"

She had only been back in the capital for a short time when she was confined to her residence for several days, so she hadn't heard much about what was happening outside.

Ye Lingwei was pouring tea into a cup when she paused for a moment before continuing. She looked up at Fang Qiuyu and said with a gentle smile, "It may not be used for the Emperor to select his concubines."

He Wanqing smiled knowingly upon hearing this, "Qiuyu, you just got back and haven't gone out much, so you probably haven't heard that there's a rumor that the Emperor is looking to choose a principal wife for several unmarried princes."

Fang Qiuyu's eyes widened: "What? They're going to choose a principal wife for the prince?" Does that mean her cousin, the Prince of Jin, will also be chosen?

Ye Lingwei slightly raised her eyebrows and looked at He Wanqing, who was still gentle, and said, "This matter has not been confirmed, so it's best not to speculate."

He Wanqing smiled and replied, "Indeed, I was presumptuous." She then picked up her teacup and took a sip.

Fang Qiuyu wasn't stupid. Since they could bring it up, there must have been some inside information circulating, so it was probably true.

Leisurely time always passes quickly, and before they knew it, they had been sitting for more than an hour, and the storyteller had changed.

The previous story wasn't finished yet, which really whetted the customers' appetites and left them with suspense for the next installment. That's a marketing tactic, isn't it?

Ziguang wasn't interested in the storytelling and started to feel sleepy as she listened. She felt tired and her eyelids kept drooping. She kept yawning, and even drinking tea didn't help.

Ziguang drank a lot of tea to try and stay awake. The weather was cold and it was really not suitable to drink tea. Drinking too much tea also made him need to urinate. Ziguang went to the toilet three times in a row.

Long Chuqing didn't drink much tea. She listened attentively to the storyteller's tales, and even though the stories told by the two storytellers were not connected, she listened with great interest.

She rested her chin on her hand on the table, listening to the storyteller below, occasionally discussing the plot with Ziguang.

She saw Ziguang dozing off with his hands supporting his cheeks, and she gave a helpless bitter smile, feeling like a slacker in class, always getting sleepy as soon as class started.

“Purple Light,” she called softly.

Zi Guang was momentarily stunned: "Well... what you said is very true, sir."

Long Chuqing chuckled: "You must be tired! We've been sitting here for quite a while, let's get ready to go back! Go find the waiter, we'll pack some pineapple cakes and osmanthus cakes to take back."

Zi Guang scratched his head and smiled sheepishly, "Hehe... I just dozed off. I'll go find the guy to pack it up right away." With that, he went out the door.

Fang Qiuyu and her group in the private room were also getting ready to leave. Fang Qiuyu called over the waiter and said she wanted to pack pineapple cakes and osmanthus cakes.

The waiter looked troubled. These were regular customers of their shop, and he knew whose daughters they were.

"Miss Fang, I'm so sorry, we've sold out of pineapple cakes and osmanthus cakes for today. The last three were just reserved by the customers next door. Would you like to try something else? If you really like them, you can come back another day, or we can deliver them to your home tomorrow."

Fang Qiuyu felt a little regretful after hearing this, as she hadn't had enough to eat today! However, she didn't make things difficult for the waiter: "Never mind, since it's sold out, then forget it."

Upon hearing this, Ye Lingwei straightened her expression and asked the waiter, "The restaurant next door ordered three portions. Go and ask if they can spare one for us."

After hearing this, Fang Qiuyu said, "Ling Wei, let's forget about it. It's not like we have to eat it. If we want to eat it, we can come another day."

Ye Lingwei waved her hand, then turned to the waiter and said, "Why don't you go and ask for us?"

The waiter hesitated for a moment, then said, "Okay, I'll go ask for you."

The waiter explained the situation to Long Chuqing, who readily agreed after a moment's thought, and handed a pastry to the waiter: "Here, take it."

The waiter was very grateful. After thanking her, he took the pastries and left. He knew that Miss Ye next door was the daughter of the Prime Minister and dared not offend her.

Long Chuqing and Ziguang carried the pastries downstairs, and the shopkeeper recognized them as they passed the counter.

"Please wait, young ladies." He called out to them, stepped out from behind the counter, and greeted them warmly: "Young ladies, I had no idea you would be here today. I wonder if I have been slighted in any way?"

Long Chuqing stopped and turned to chat with the shopkeeper for a few moments. Finally, the shopkeeper took two packets of fine tea from the counter and gave them to her.

"I didn't know you were here today, otherwise I would have brewed you a pot of fine tea. These two packets of tea are the best in our building, please accept them."

Long Chuqing politely declined, replying with a slight smile, "You're too kind. I took your pastries last time, so it's not appropriate to take your tea this time. I'll come back if I want tea."

The shopkeeper saw them all the way to the carriage, and finally handed the tea leaves to the coachman.

Fang Qiuyu paid the money, and the three of them got up and left. When they got downstairs, they saw the shopkeeper politely seeing a young lady onto a carriage. The two pastries they were carrying were the same ones.

After seeing Long Chuqing off, the shopkeeper greeted Ye Lingwei and the others, saying, "Greetings, ladies. Are you heading back? Welcome to visit us again."

Ye Lingwei was very curious. She often came to Qinlan Teahouse and had never seen the manager fawn over anyone like this before. She raised her chin and looked at the manager with a bit of arrogance, asking, "Who was that woman just now?"