The clingy concubine ran away, and the sickly prince lost control.

Cui Rou followed the woman's gaze, muttering, "How frivolous! The scoundrels Luo Qingyan knows, how could they be decent people?"

"Meiniang, it's been a long time." Luo Qingyan greeted her with a smile.

"Hmph!" Cui Rou raised her head and went downstairs. Everyone has friends.

Speaking of friends, she was very depressed. All the women her age knew were in Qinghe, and she had no friends since coming to Beijing from Qinghe.

Consort Ming praised her so much at the palace banquet, yet when she saw those noble ladies again, she still pretended not to recognize them. How annoying!

Luo Qingyan glanced at the stairwell to make sure Cui Rou was gone, then took Qi Meiniang's hand and sat down: "Meiniang, how did you know I was here?"

"I was passing by the clinic when I saw it was a medicinal cuisine shop. I remembered that you used to be able to make a couple of dishes, so I stopped for a moment. When I looked up, I saw someone and it really was you."

Qi Meiniang exclaimed in surprise. She looked up at Kangning Pavilion on the second floor and saw Luo Qingyan by the window.

"It's been two months, Qingyan, how come you've become such a successful businesswoman?"

Luo Qingyan lowered her eyes and smiled, then recounted how Pei Shiyuan had opened the Kangning Pavilion for her after she entered the Duke's mansion.

"Really? Qingyan, you're so lucky!" Qi Meiniang exclaimed.

Good fortune? Maybe! But when she chose to leave her child at the Duke's mansion, she was also determined to risk her life.

To die and then to live.

"Meiniang, is your skin condition still not better?" Luo Qingyan guessed that Qi Meiniang had gone to the clinic again to see a doctor about her skin allergy.

The reason she became acquainted with Qi Meiniang was because there were no female doctors in the clinic. Every time Qi Meiniang went there, she would ask Qi Meiniang to examine her and then describe the symptoms to the doctor.

"Yes! It won't get better." Qi Meiniang pursed her lips helplessly.

Luo Qingyan thought for a moment and wondered if she could ask Jing Bufan to take a look at Qi Meiniang.

The old man has a strange temper, so it's best to talk to him first before telling Meiniang.

"Don't be discouraged, try seeing another doctor."

Luo Qingyan comforted her, hoping that Jing Bufan could cure her. Qi Meiniang was an orphan who lived alone by farming a small plot of land and selling embroidery. She was over twenty years old and still unmarried.

"Meiniang, why don't you come and help out at my shop? You'll earn more than you selling embroidery." Luo Qingyan wanted Qi Meiniang to come to Kangning Pavilion because she valued her resourcefulness, enthusiasm, and generosity, making her suitable to be a manager.

"Qingyan, I can't read or write, and I can't do this job," Qi Meiniang said shyly. She had already decided that she would never marry and would live alone on her meager land until she grew old.

She's not in a good position and can't marry a good man, so she doesn't want to compromise herself.

Her parents are gone, and she doesn't feel any pressure about not getting married.

"It's okay, you can learn it. I only like your quick wit and your feisty personality." Luo Qingyan shook Qi Meiniang's arm coquettishly.

"Really? Then I'll give it a try?" Qi Meiniang said with a smile.

"Come on, you can definitely do it." Luo Qingyan led Qi Meiniang to the kitchen to start by getting to know the kitchen.

Qi Meiniang spent the afternoon helping out in the kitchen, wearing an apron and looking quite professional. She was warm and friendly and got along well with everyone.

Dinner begins at dusk.

Cui Rou arrived early and ordered the two cheapest medicinal dishes.

Qi Meiniang took the initiative to ask the dishes to be served, "Miss, your medicinal diet is complete."

"Tch." Cui Rou rolled her eyes at Qi Meiniang. Sure enough, Luo Qingyan was a servant, and her friend was a servant too.

Cut her? Qi Meiniang frowned, then maintained her smile and said, "Miss, I'll serve you some more later."

Immediately remove the two plates from the table.

Qi Meiniang, a cook, learned about Cui Rou's background from Luo Qingyan.

"Mei Niang, you did well. I thought you wouldn't dare offend such a glamorous young lady and would swallow your grievances." Luo Qingyan smiled. Mei Niang was even more shrewish than she had imagined. A woman should be like this when she's out and about. "Let her go hungry for a while before serving her."

Even the cheapest medicinal cuisine at Kangning Pavilion is meticulously prepared; neither people nor things should be treated with such disrespect.

"I'm not afraid of her at all. Don't I have your Grand Duke's mansion backing me up?" Qi Meiniang joked. She was the best at arguing in the village; even the old lady couldn't beat her. No one could argue with her.

This young lady is definitely no match for her.

Qi Meiniang bit her lip and glared at Cui Rou.

Cui Rou waited and waited, but the medicinal food still hadn't arrived. She called for the waiter, but he pretended not to hear. She couldn't get angry; she had to wait until the rat was put into the medicinal food.

"Miss, we need to hurry, the rats are smelling." Ginkgo had a dead rat tucked into her sleeve, and it had started to stink since noon, making her feel uncomfortable all over.

"I want to be quick too, but they're ignoring me," Cui Rou whispered.

Luo Qingyan observed Cui Rou through the kitchen window. It was truly unusual for this young lady to hold back her anger for so long, unlike Cui Rou's usual personality, unless she was harboring something bad.

"Meiniang, what do you think she's going to do?"

"She's looking for trouble. I'll go and deal with her." Mei Niang carried a rolling pin and walked towards Cui Rou.

She recognized that expression all too well; it was the same kind of face the villagers used to bully her, an orphan girl, when they came to her door looking for trouble.

Cui Rou was about to ask Qi Meiniang why the medicinal meal hadn't been served yet, but seeing her swaggering around with a rolling pin, she swallowed her words and muttered to herself, "What kind of people does Luo Qingyan know? They don't seem like normal people, which makes her afraid to speak."

Qi Meiniang, carrying a rolling pin, approached Cui Rou and suddenly frowned. "What's that smell?" she asked, sniffing around the two of them.

Ginkgo tucked her sleeves in.

"What is that?" Qi Meiniang grabbed Yinxing's wrist.

"Nothing?" Ginkgo tilted her head back, unconvinced.

"How dare you! Let go!" Cui Rou shouted.

"Hmph!" So that's where the trick was. Qi Meiniang curled her red lips. "Give it to me."

She pulled something out of Ginkgo's sleeve.

Luo Qingyan came over when she saw this.

"What is this? It stinks." Qi Meiniang pinched her nose with one hand; she had already recognized it as a dead rat.

It turned out that Cui Rou wanted to put the dead rat in the bowl and falsely accuse Kangning Pavilion of having a dead rat in its medicinal cuisine.

"Everyone, come and see what this guest has brought?"

"What are you yelling about? Luo Qingyan doesn't even care about your people. What kind of behavior is this, you gossip?" Cui Rou said angrily.

Nobody paid any attention to her.

Guests flocked over as soon as they heard there was something exciting to see.

Cui Rou tried to leave, but was blocked.

"Look everyone, what has this female customer brought?"

Qi Meiniang opened the handkerchief that contained the dead rat.

"Ugh, it smells awful." Many people covered their noses.

"Bringing a dead rat into someone's shop—are you trying to frame the shop owner?"

"That's right, that's right."

The onlookers pointed and whispered among themselves.

"I didn't!" Cui Rou screamed as she rushed out of the crowd, limping hurriedly onto the carriage, not noticing Lin You not far away.

"It's her, Gong Yan keeps giving me flirty looks."

"Young master, she's quite beautiful. Why don't you take her in?" the attendant flattered.

"This kind of idiot is only good for playing around with, and to annoy Pei Shiyuan along the way."

His fiancée is now being ravaged by him.

Cui Rou is the old lady's own aunt, yet no one cares about her, which shows how stupid this woman is.

"Young master, let's follow them."