Chapter 146: Chapter 146: You Call This Immortal Brew?
"Miss, Brother Wu has delivered the Immortal Brew to the man from the Xie family’s table!"
Xiao Chun entered the back kitchen and said excitedly in a hushed voice.
Ming Lingyi was preparing a new order of the roasted, crispy-skinned pork belly. The dish was selling so well that she could barely keep up.
Hearing Xiao Chun’s words, Ming Lingyi took a moment to turn her head. "Have the students from the Imperial College been dismissed yet?"
"They have, they have. I checked the time; they should be arriving at our restaurant any minute now."
Ming Lingyi nodded, her hands moving even faster. ’The show is about to begin.’
Li Yan came to Ming’s Restaurant that afternoon as well. She was hosting a poetry competition; how could he possibly miss it?
What Li Yan hadn’t expected was that even after bolting from the Imperial College and having Cheng Yi rush him to the restaurant on horseback, he would be blocked from even reaching the entrance by a crowd of onlookers.
Li Yan was dumbfounded. The little boy sat high on the horse’s back and blinked.
The students from the Imperial College who arrived right after him were also stunned.
As students of the Imperial College, they weren’t as privy to the city’s gossip as the common townsfolk. They had no idea that Ming’s Restaurant’s poetry competition had become the center of a brewing controversy.
Xu Qian arrived in a horse-drawn carriage. When he saw how large the crowd was today, a look of smug satisfaction spread across his face.
’Today, in front of all these people, I can finally make a name for myself!’
’My masterpiece is surely worthy of being commemorated, worthy of being sung by all!’
The next moment, however, Xu Qian frowned in displeasure.
’I’m the main event today! The judging is about to start. How can I be shut out by a bunch of nobodies?’
"Men!"
With a wave of his hand, Young Master Xu commanded the servants and attendants behind him to clear a path.
Li Yan seized the opportunity and, under Cheng Yi’s protection, wove his way through the crowd to finally reach the restaurant’s entrance.
The moment he appeared, he was spotted by Little Stone.
After all, they’d bonded while sharing a courtyard for a night. Little Stone quickly waved to the Little Crown Prince. "Your Highness, over here!"
Ming Lingyi had saved a spot for her Little Bun, so Little Stone quickly led him over.
When Xu Qian finally squeezed out of the crowd, he couldn’t help but frown again.
’I should have known. With so many people gathered outside Ming’s Restaurant, it was bound to be packed inside.’
However, one of Xie Ruijing’s men soon invited Xu Qian over.
In truth, Xie Ruijing had no desire to see Xu Qian again. The other day, to save Wangxian Building from embarrassment, he’d had to invite the young master to discuss poetry, and the results had been... predictable.
But today, Xu Qian was the trump card Xie Ruijing was counting on. How could Xie Ruijing possibly let him go without even a seat?
Once seated, Xu Qian cupped his fists toward Xie Ruijing. "My thanks, Second Young Master Xie."
"It was nothing," Xie Ruijing said. "Does Young Master Xu have a piece in today’s competition as well?" He asked, already knowing the answer.
Xu Qian nodded confidently. "Indeed."
"Then I shall await a celebratory drink from you, Young Master Xu," Xie Ruijing said with a wide smile.
Xu Qian offered a few words of false modesty, and both men soon turned their attention to Ming Lingyi, who was now walking out.
In the rear courtyard, Jiang Yuchuan and Gongsun Liangce had already arrived. They had intended to come through the main entrance, but they hadn’t anticipated Ming’s Restaurant being so packed there was hardly room to set a foot down. Fortunately, Ming Lingyi had arranged for them to be escorted in through a back gate.
A flicker of surprise passed through Xie Ruijing’s eyes. He had heard the name of the Ming family’s boss quite frequently recently, but this was the first time he had seen Ming Lingyi in person. He hadn’t expected her to be so young, or so remarkably beautiful.
If he’d seen her on the street, Xie Ruijing would never have guessed she was a mere merchant woman. She looked more like the daughter of a high-ranking official.
He couldn’t help but make a soft ’tsk’ sound, a sign of his bemusement.
Ming Lingyi’s gaze swept over the crowd in the main hall, a warm smile on her face. "I never expected so many guests today. Your presence truly honors our humble establishment. I imagine you are all here for the competition we announced ten days ago. In that case, as the organizer, I won’t keep you in suspense. Today’s judging will be public. This means we will display every contestant’s poem for our three invited judges to evaluate here and now. Poems will be graded on a scale of zero to ten, with ten being the best. A contestant’s final result will be the sum of the scores from all three judges, and from these, we will determine the top three winners."
This public judging was something Ming Lingyi had planned all along.
’If you want to achieve fairness, you have to realize that many people only believe in the fairness they can see for themselves. It’s better to just lay everything out in the open.’
At this, Xie Ruijing frowned.
’This isn’t what I imagined.’
However... looking at Xu Qian beside him, who was nodding in emphatic agreement, Xie Ruijing decided this small change of plans was no big deal. ’After all,’ he thought, ’whether it’s public or private, with this little demon around, there’s no way Ming’s Restaurant can gain any advantage.’
"And who did the boss of Ming’s Restaurant get to be judges? If they’ve got no real credentials, isn’t this just a sham to fool us all?"
Someone in the crowd heckled. The words might have sounded reasonable on the surface, but on closer inspection, it was clear they were just trying to stir up trouble and sow discord.
Pleased, Xie Ruijing lifted the jug of wine before him and took a sip. He was caught off guard by the harsh, fiery taste of the burned saber and began to choke, nearly humiliating himself.
!
’What kind of swill dares to call itself Immortal Brew?’
’Are there any sane people in this Ming’s Restaurant?!’
When Ming Lingyi heard this question, she wasn’t surprised. Considering Xie Ruijing had created such a huge stir outside, getting people to come and watch her restaurant make a fool of itself, it would have been strange if he hadn’t arranged for people to cause trouble.
"Of course," Ming Lingyi said, her eyes crinkling into a smile. "Our restaurant may not be the most refined establishment, but we know better than to try and fool everyone in a matter like this. Especially with the precedent set by Wangxian Building, we cannot afford to disappoint the scholars who have put their faith in our event."
Ming Lingyi knew the heckler had intentionally avoided mentioning Wangxian Building, but she had no intention of playing along. The very thing they refused to mention was what she would bring up—and she would do it openly and without reservation.
Suddenly, a wave of laughter rippled through the crowd.
Clearly, the story about Wangxian Building hiring a Scholar from the West Suburb to critique the poetry of Imperial College students was already common knowledge. And that wasn’t all.
"I heard the accountant at Wangxian Building only hired that teacher to curry favor with his mistress. Tsk, no wonder the guy’s still just a Scholar at his age. Shameless! One was brazen enough to ask, and the other was actually brazen enough to come."
"I know that accountant! Feng Baiqiang, right? We live in the same market. For the last two days, his wife has been clawing up his face something awful. It’s a real work of art, colorful as a dyer’s shop, hahaha."
"How many of those cheating men are ever any good? Bah!"
"If you ask me, Wangxian Building has no respect for real academics. Hiring a mere Scholar to judge them? What an insult!"
Ming Lingyi heard the discussions spreading through the crowd. She hadn’t orchestrated this public opinion—it was simply that Wangxian Building had acted so disgracefully that they had left themselves wide open to criticism.
A smile touched her lips. ’Wangxian Building shot themselves in the foot. How can I not be happy about that?’
"If Boss Ming keeps insisting she’s not fooling us, then bring out the judges! Let’s all have a look!"
At this, another person grew impatient and yelled out.
