Chapter 205: Stealing the Recipe

For several consecutive days, Mo Junyan did not go looking for Chi Nan Yi again, and Chi Nan Yi had not been idle either.

She selected several capable ones from the Dark Pavilion to serve as instructors for the Chi Family Dark Guards, and also transferred a batch of people from the Dark Pavilion to supplement the Chi Family's ranks.

The Chi Family's Dark Guards grew from several dozen to over a hundred men; after intensive training, these people would certainly protect the Chi Family as tightly as an iron barrel.

On this day, Chi Nan Yi was sparring with someone in the martial arts arena when Ji Bai stepped forward and said respectfully, "Miss, several medicinal cuisine shops have recently opened one after another in Jingcheng."

"No matter." Chi Nan Yi stood at the edge of the sparring platform, breathing slightly fast. "I expected this day would come sooner or later. Let them open as they please."

Her medicinal cuisine contained Spirit Spring Water; no matter how they tried, they could never replicate her flavor.

Ji Bai's expression was somewhat off. After a moment's hesitation, he said softly, "But there is one medicinal cuisine shop called Hao Ke Lai — whether it is the dishes or the flavors of Hai Hui Temple, they are all extremely similar to ours. This subordinate has already had someone buy a few dishes. Please taste them, Miss."

Extremely similar?

How was that possible?

Chi Nan Yi swung her arm, and the spear in her hand flew out; the Dark Guard she had been sparring with caught it precisely in his hand. Chi Nan Yi frowned and walked toward the hall.

As soon as she approached, the familiar aroma of the dishes drifted out.

Chi Nan Yi frowned, scooped up a spoonful of soup, and ate a few bites of the dishes. The flavor was indeed as he had said. It was cold now, but if it had just come out of the pot, it would certainly be identical. Only the vegetables used inside were not very fresh — her vegetables were all irrigated with Spirit Spring Water, so their flavor was naturally vastly different from those outside.

However, she could conclude that there must also be Spirit Spring Water inside. If there was not someone else in Jingcheng who, like her, had a space within their body, then there was only one reason for this: there was a mole in the shop.

Someone had sold the Spirit Spring Water she kept in the shop to the manager of the new shop.

"Miss, what do you think?" Ji Bai watched her expression, his heart sinking. It seemed their shop's secret recipe had indeed been leaked.

"Has there been anything unusual in the shop?"

Ji Bai shook his head. "Nothing unusual. It is just that after the new shop opened, our shop's customers have decreased somewhat, because the new shop's medicinal cuisine is cheaper than ours."

"Good. It seems I have not returned to the shop recently, and some people's courage has grown considerably."

Chi Nan Yi did not change into men's clothing as before. Instead, she wore a blue dress with a white fur cloak over it, and brought the two sisters Qingmei and Yuzhu to the newly opened medicinal cuisine shop that Ji Bai had mentioned.

"Hao Ke Lai." Chi Nan Yi covered her face with light gauze, revealing only a pair of eyes bright as stars, her brows and eyes curved. Even seeing only half her face, one still found her breathtakingly stunning.

As she stepped down from the carriage, passersby stopped to stare one after another.

"Which family's young lady is this? So bright and captivating."

"Indeed! Just look at those features — she must be a great beauty. She might even be a few degrees more beautiful than the current First Beauty of Jingcheng, the eldest daughter of the Su Family."

"The Su Family miss? The one who had a private rendezvous with a man in a private room at the Number One Manor Under Heaven?"

"That's right. But do not underestimate that man." In the crowd, a man said in a low voice, "That person is no ordinary figure. He is the current Crown Prince."

Su Yuqing and Mo Junheng?

Those two…

In her previous life, didn't the Emperor directly bestow the marriage? At that time, the Crown Prince brought the Su Family's eldest daughter into the Crown Prince's Residence with half the ceremonial escort of a Crown Princess. Su Yuqing's status in the Crown Prince's Residence was the highest among all the side consorts.

In her previous life, why had she never heard of Su Yuqing and Mo Junheng having a private relationship?

Moreover, if they truly had a private relationship and it was spread so widely, how could the Crown Prince have brought her into the Residence with such a grand display?

Chi Nan Yi looked at the man in the crowd and only felt that his face was somewhat familiar, as if she had seen him somewhere before.

She moved with graceful steps and entered the medicinal cuisine shop.

She had to admit, the manager of this shop was quite meticulous — even the decor was extremely similar to their Number One Manor Under Heaven.

As soon as she entered the door, a waiter came forward enthusiastically to greet her.

"Guest, what would you like to eat?"

"Is there a private room on the second floor?"

"Yes! Of course there is. It is just that this is the time with the most customers right now, and only the largest private room is left. It is a bit spacious, so please do not mind."

The waiter was not lying. This private room was indeed very large, with windows on three sides.

Two sides faced the street and the street corner, and the window at the back overlooked the shop's rear door.

"What would the guest like to eat?"

"Anything, as long as it is delicious, bring it all up." Qingmei took out a few taels of silver and handed it to him. "This is for your trouble."

Seeing her spend so generously, the waiter's face filled with smiles. "Please wait a moment, guest. This humble one will go down and make the arrangements right away."

The waiter went downstairs joyfully to prepare the dishes. Chi Nan Yi walked slowly to the rear window. As luck would have it, right at that moment, a petite figure came to the rear door, carrying a basket covered with cloth. She looked around for a moment, then knocked a few times on the rear door.

Before long, a man dressed in plain cloth opened the door, took the basket from the woman's hand, handed her a pouch of money, and closed the door.

Seeing their furtive behavior, one could tell they were up to no good.

"Miss," Qingmei said in a lowered voice, "this servant will go to the kitchen to see what is actually in the basket."

"Good."

Just then, the waiter pushed open the door and walked in carrying the dishes. Before he could take two steps, he lost consciousness.

Qingmei changed into his clothes and walked quickly toward the kitchen.

Before long, Yuzhu came back, holding a porcelain vial in her hand.

"Miss, this is what this servant obtained from the large bowl in the basket. It is colorless and odorless, looking no different from water."

Hearing her say this, Chi Nan Yi was even more certain that this water was the Spirit Spring Water from her space.

"Quite bold, actually stealing from me." Chi Nan Yi gave a cold laugh. After Qingmei changed the clothes back, she gently patted the waiter's face.

The waiter's eyes snapped open, filled with confusion.

"I… I just now…"

"Are you too tired? You nearly fainted just now."

Hearing Yulan's words, the waiter scratched his head and said with a smile, "I am truly sorry. There have been many guests these past few days, and I got dizzy for a moment."

"No matter. You may go down."

"Yes."

After the waiter left, Qingmei and Yulan looked at her with heavy expressions. "Miss, it is exactly as you said. That secret water was stolen by them."

"Stolen?" Chi Nan Yi sneered, "Is it truly stolen, or is it a collusion of insiders and outsiders feeding on private greed, still requiring us to start with that woman."

The waiter brought four dishes in total; Chi Nan Yi again only took a few bites, then had the waiter pack them into a food box. Their food boxes cannot heat food, indicating that this has not yet been stolen and learned.

Chi Nan Yi stepped out of the private room and ran straight into an acquaintance.

It turned out to be Jiang Wan Yue and Meng Qinghe.

The two of them were arm‑in‑arm, chatting affectionately about something.