In the Ming Dynasty 1498, my restaurant connects two worlds.

"Should I know? Even if I were knowledgeable about everything under the sun, I couldn't possibly know everything in the world. Are these trivial matters even worth my attention?"

"That makes sense. The Zhu family is headed by the third young master, Zhu Ding, a distant nephew of Prince Ning. But the steward was sent by Prince Ning."

"I know that the Prince Ning's mansion has long harbored ambitions, but they've already extended their reach to the capital, Yingtian Prefecture. They're even eyeing my little shop. What are they after?" Song Xiaoyi decided to tentatively expose their ambitions to avoid getting his own people involved. A rebellion would mean the extermination of an entire family.

"What's the motive? Naturally, it's for the secret recipe you possess, Brother Xiao Yi."

"The secret recipe I have?" Song Xiaoyi had just asked when he suddenly realized, "Venturing into the world? It's just wine. There are plenty of people in the world who can brew wine. Is it really necessary?"

"It's not just about 'Brave the World.' Little Yi, you don't know this, but your little eatery, besides 'Brave the World,' also offers all sorts of instant noodles, duck blood vermicelli soup, jianbing guozi (Chinese crepes), secret spicy sauce, Songfu hand-pulled pork, and other dishes from the Song family—any one of them is a money tree!"

"Brother Zhishan is absolutely right. Even those large, white Yangzhou pastries and this secret-recipe herbal tea that costs only a few coins a cup are definitely money-making machines," Gu Lan added.

"I understand that a rebellion needs money, but does it have to be so desperate as to get involved in such small businesses?"

"Hush——, my dear brother, be careful what you say!"

"Hehe, then let's have a go at them. Brother Zhishan, Brother Bohu, Brother Qian, surely none of you want to join forces with them?"

"We should avoid them."

"Alright, you guys eat quickly, and then take Lan'er and Sister Qiu back first. I can manage on my own here."

"Want to leave? Where do you want to go?" As they spoke, a group of young men in brocade robes and jade belts were escorted into the shop by six burly men with long swords at their waists.

The young master was fair-skinned and beardless, with a sinister look in his eyes. He was playing with a folding fan inlaid with jade in his hand. He must be Zhu Ding, the distant nephew of Prince Ning, Zhu Chenhao, known as the "Little Tyrant of Yingtian Prefecture".

Song Xiaoyi looked at Zhu Zhishan, who nodded slightly without making a sound.

"Tsk~, young lady, you are quite beautiful. Are you in charge of this shop?"

"Take Lan'er to the kitchen first, and don't come out," Song Xiaoyi whispered to Song Yunqiu. "I'll handle things here."

Song Yunqiu nodded, ignoring Zhu Ding, and pulled Zhang Miaolan towards the kitchen. Zhu Ding shouted, "Wait! Did I give you permission to leave?!"

"Who do you think you are? Do I need your permission to let my wife go back to the kitchen?" Song Xiaoyi retorted without any politeness.

"Oh ho! You've got some nerve, daring to speak to me like that!"

Suddenly, Song Xiaoyi launched a preemptive strike. Activating his basic combat skills, he moved with lightning speed, closing in on the lone, protruding Zhu Ding, grabbing his neck, and slamming him hard onto the table. "I wonder who let their pants slip and spilled your shit!"

They have absolutely no combat experience or vigilance; it seems they've gotten used to bullying people in Yingtian Prefecture.

After Song Xiaoyi pinned Zhu Ding down, the six burly men were stunned for a moment, looking at each other before reacting. They all drew their knives, and before they could finish speaking, Song Xiaoyi slapped Zhu Ding hard across the face. Taking advantage of his dazed state, he spun around and precisely grabbed the wrist of the nearest thug, disarming him!

The blade flashed like a bolt of lightning, and with a few clangs, the wrists of the other five thugs holding knives were instantly slashed open, blood spurting out, and they screamed as they dropped their weapons.

After taking down five thugs, Song Xiaoyi seized the opportunity to grab the first thug's hand, the blade pressed tightly against his carotid artery, and slammed him onto the table. "Brother, want to experience what suicide feels like?"

"Good sir...spare me!"

Having witnessed such unpredictable and supernatural skills, the six thugs were terrified and completely surrendered.

Song Xiaoyi wasn't a member of the martial arts world, but he didn't care about any of its rules. Surrender? Too late! With a swift movement, he precisely severed the tendons of the last thug.

"The Little Tyrant of Yingtian Prefecture?"

"Zhu Ding?"

"Now that you know my name, why don't you let go!"

"Little tyrant? How could you be so easily defeated?" Song Xiaoyi slapped Zhu Ding's face with his knife. "The steward is in front of you. You came in person this time, how could you forget your mistakes and only bring six people? Did your steward tell you how he got back?"

Seeing a hint of confusion in Zhu Ding's fierce and sinister eyes, Song Xiaoyi continued, "It seems you can't keep this steward."

"Tell me, who sent you? Prince Ning, Zhu Chenhao? Someone like you wouldn't even look at my little shop."

"Now that you know I'm one of Prince Ning's men, release me immediately, or I'll bring my soldiers and ransack this shop!"

"If I let you go, you won't bring people to raid my shop? Are you stupid? Or have you lied to so many people that you've started to believe it yourself?"

"All you have to do is give me your secret recipe for 'Brave the World' and your secret hot sauce..."

"Heh, they were right. You think you're worthy of my secret recipe? Looks like I need to leave a deep impression on you before you know what fear is."

After Song Xiaoyi finished speaking, he brandished the knife between Zhu Ding's legs. Zhu Ding was so frightened that he wet himself. "Shopkeeper, oh... no, sir, spare my life!"

"What, this is nothing! You're already chickening out? Scared? Where's the bravado of your little tyrant title?"

As Song Xiaoyi spoke, he continued to brandish the knife between Zhu Ding's legs, rubbing the back of the knife against his thighs. Zhu Ding squeezed his legs together, and his pants immediately became soaked.

"Heh heh~, this is a restaurant, and you're drowning here? How am I supposed to do business after this?"

Actually, this matter is a bit tricky. It came out of nowhere. Song Xiaoyi knew that this kind of bully was not a modern thug. In the Ming Dynasty, there was no rule of law. If you don't kill the snake, you will suffer the consequences. They will come to cause trouble for you every few days. It is easy for them to find the Song family in your area, and it is also easy to find the Song family Moling Village based on the household registration.

The key issue is that Mu Bin hasn't arrived yet. Song Xiaoyi is stalling for time to wait for the Embroidered Uniform Guard, but it seems that the Embroidered Uniform Guard is a bit timid. Could it be that the Prince Ning's Mansion is not so easy to mess with at this time?

Even the Prince of Ning's henchmen dare not provoke him? The Embroidered Uniform Guard! Mu Bin!

Are you forcing me to kill someone?

"Young Master Zhu, before you came, did you inquire about the origins of my shop? Did your butler trick you into coming? Before you arrived, I had already thrown your butler and his four thugs out. Tell me, why didn't he tell you?"

"Do you think I would dare to openly display so many secret recipes in Yingtianfu without some kind of backing?"

Where's your brain?

"Hero, spare my life! Please explain!"

"This shop is for the imperial treasury to make money. Otherwise, why do you think so many Imperial Guards would run errands for me? Have you seen those blue-vested deliverymen running around the streets delivering food?"

"I...I've seen it before."