Duke of Zhenguan

"It's over!"

Hearing the angry roar outside the door, Cheng Chun was so frightened that he almost lost his soul, and looked at his mistress with trepidation.

Cheng Churou was also frightened and her face turned pale. Her father had never been so angry before. Even if she made a mistake, he would only scold her at most. He would only scold her two older brothers. When had he ever scolded her?

Lin Chuan was also startled, instinctively thinking that the people outside had come to cause him trouble.

Seeing the two little girls turn pale with fright, Lin Chuan felt a little guilty and quickly said:

"I'm sorry to have startled you two guests, I'll go out and see!"

Cheng Churou looked bewildered and was about to speak when Lin Chuan had already reached the door.

Seeing the dozen or so heavily armored soldiers outside the door, he felt a little intimidated, but he had no choice but to bite the bullet and step forward, bowing and asking:

"I wonder how I have offended you all?"

"How dare you!"

Cheng Yaojin, enraged, laughed and drew the sword hanging from his saddle, slashing at Lin Chuan.

As the gleaming blade slashed towards him, Lin Chuan felt the hairs on his body stand on end, and his legs seemed to have a mind of their own.

The blade came to a steady stop in front of Lin Chuan, less than an inch from his eyes.

Cheng Yaojin looked at the handsome young man standing proudly in front of him, and the frost on his face softened considerably. Then he saw his daughter slowly walk out.

Cheng Churou stepped forward and timidly curtsied to Cheng Yaojin:

"Ah!"

Looking at the girl in front of him, and then at the young man standing beside her, he actually felt they were somewhat well-matched...

Cheng Yaojin sighed inwardly, silently sheathed his sword, and coldly snorted at his daughter:

"I'll settle the score with you when we get home!"

Upon hearing the girl call him "Aye," Lin Chuan realized he had misunderstood. Seeing the burly man in armor turn to him, he quickly cupped his hands and explained:

"General, I didn't know you were her father!"

Cheng Yaojin wanted nothing more than to tear the boy in front of him to pieces, but when he thought of his daughter, he forced himself to suppress the urge.

My daughter was already of marriageable age, but ever since she accidentally beat a lecherous man into a cripple two years ago, no one has come to our house to propose marriage.

Although this young man is of lower status, he has a decent appearance and is quite courageous...

But the thought that this guy dared to seduce her daughter made her furious. She was torn between her thoughts and her own, and didn't know how to deal with him.

Just then, Cheng Churou quietly explained from the side:

"Dad, I just came here to eat noodles!"

These words took on a different meaning when they reached Cheng Yaojin's ears:

"My daughter's arm is all bent like this!"

Cheng Yaojin's face darkened further as he noticed a crowd of onlookers gathered around. He sternly rebuked Lin Chuan:

"Is this how your parents taught you to treat guests?"

"..."

Lin Chuan looked completely bewildered, but since he was running a business, he naturally treated every customer as a guest, so he could only bow slightly and say:

"Please come in!"

"snort!"

Cheng Yaojin snorted coldly, threw his riding whip and sword to his guards, dismounted, and stood at the door for a few moments before casually walking into the noodle shop with his hands behind his back.

Cheng Churou followed her father with small, quick steps, and said with a flattering expression:

"Father, their noodles are delicious! You should try some, what do you think?"

The daughter has already said all that, yet this boy remains unmoved?

Cheng Yaojin's temper flared up again, and he turned to Lin Chuan coldly, saying:

"Kid, are you deaf?"

"They dare to rampage through Chang'an with more than ten armored soldiers; I definitely can't afford to offend them," Lin Chuan sighed inwardly and replied softly.

"Hold on!"

After saying that, he quickly walked towards the kitchen.

Upon entering the kitchen, seeing the worried expressions on Li Shi and Er Ya's faces, Lin Chuan said softly:

"It's okay! Cook more noodles, there are a lot of people outside!"

Inside the noodle shop, Cheng Yaojin pulled up a bench and sat down with an air of nonchalance. Cheng Churou stood obediently beside him, her head bowed, not daring to look at her father.

Cheng Yaojin glanced at the noodle shop, which was quite different from other eateries, and asked Cheng Churou beside him in a deep voice:

Who else is in his family?

Hearing her father's greeting, Cheng Churou, who had been vaguely sensing something was wrong, finally realized what the problem was. Her face flushed red, and she reached out to tug at Cheng Yaojin's sleeve, whispering:

"Father, it's not what you think!"

Cheng Yaojin's face darkened, and he reprimanded him unhappily:

"You're still trying to hide it from me?"

Cheng Churou was both angry and anxious, her voice trembling slightly:

"Dad, I just came here to eat noodles!"

Cheng Yaojin assumed his daughter was siding with outsiders and said coldly:

"Heh, I'd like to see what this lad is capable of!"

"Father, it's really not what you think! If you don't believe me, ask Cheng Chun! I really only brought her here to eat noodles a few times, and I didn't do anything!" Cheng Churou explained.

Cheng Yaojin was taken aback, and asked somewhat awkwardly:

"Rou'er, you really don't know that kid?"

"Father, I've only been here a few times with Cheng Chun, how could I possibly know him!" Cheng Churou said speechlessly.

Cheng Yaojin remained silent for a long while before awkwardly asking:

"So, Rou'er, you've been coming here every day just to eat noodles?"

Cheng Churou nodded with a look of utter despair.

Cheng Yaojin slapped his forehead hard, momentarily at a loss for words.

In the kitchen, Lin Chuan picked up the cooked noodles and said softly to Li Shi and Er Ya:

"Don't worry, it'll be alright!"

Lin Chuan placed the bowl of noodles in front of Cheng Yaojin and asked softly:

"Sir, would you like a bowl cooked for those brave men outside as well?"

Cheng Yaojin, thick-skinned as ever, acted as if nothing had happened when facing Lin Chuan, coldly waving his hand:

"Go cook!"

"Hold on!"

Lin Chuan nodded, turned around and went back to the kitchen to help cook noodles.

Cheng Yaojin glanced at the noodles in front of him and said speechlessly to his daughter:

"This is just soup noodles. Rou'er, if you want some, you can just tell your mother. Why did you have to sneak off here..."

"Father, you'll know once you try it!"

Cheng Yaojin picked up his chopsticks, took a bite, chewed it twice, and said in surprise:

"Absolutely delicious!"

After finishing his noodles in a few large bites, Cheng Yaojin picked up his bowl, drank several mouthfuls of soup, and shouted towards the kitchen:

"Another bowl, please!"

"Hold on!"

In the kitchen, Lin Chuan replied with a bitter face.

Er Ya said irritably:

"I'll choke you to death!"

A little while later, Lin Chuan brought out bowls of cooked noodles one by one, and Cheng Yaojin called out to the outside, "Come in and eat!"

The soldiers still wearing armor outside were already used to it; half of them stayed outside to continue guarding while the others came in to eat.

They finished eating in a flash, then went out to let the other half in.

After eating two bowls of noodles, Cheng Yaojin rubbed his stomach with a satisfied look and sighed softly:

"No wonder Rou'er runs out every day, she really loves good food!"

"Father, I know I was wrong!" Cheng Churou said awkwardly.

"Alright, let's go back!"

Cheng Yaojin took out a silver ingot from his pocket, threw it on the table, and waved to his daughter.

Standing at the door, watching the two little girls ride away on horseback, surrounded by a group of knights, Lin Chuan toyed with the silver in his hand and sighed softly:

"He may have a bit of a temper, but he's very generous!"