Chapter 67 But I Am Her Husband

Chapter 67: But I Am Her Husband

Qi Chengyun cast a cold sidelong glance at him before raising his eyes and walking into the private room.

Yang Xingxian, refusing to back down, followed him inside!

Yuan Lin was somewhat surprised: "Young Master Yang, my master prefers peace and quiet..."

"I have business with your master, what business is it of yours?"

Seeing that Yang Xingxian was starting to throw a tantrum, and noticing that his master showed no sign of annoyance—in fact, seemed rather intrigued—Yuan Lin decided to ignore him.

Yang Xingxian watched as Qi Chengyun sipped his tea elegantly, ignoring him entirely. Unable to hold back, he demanded: "Miss Bai has disappeared. Her mother said she went to play the pipa at some noble's residence. Did you take her away?"

"Would I need to take away a woman of that sort?" Qi Chengyun said disdainfully.

"What kind of woman? You'd better explain yourself clearly! How dare you disparage a pure and flawless lady like her?" Yang Xingxian clenched his fists, wishing he could land a couple of punches on him.

Qi Chengyun looked at him oddly: "You know I'm a person of rank, yet you haven't bothered to find out who I am, and you still dare to yell and shout in my presence? Who gave you the nerve?"

Achang grew nervous and discreetly tugged at Yang Xingxian's sleeve, gesturing for him to calm down.

The young master, too—whenever Miss Bai was mentioned, his emotions became unstable.

But Yang Xingxian sneered: "So what if you're a noble? It's not like you're a prince or a lord. Even nobles can't just seize common women, can they?"

"Seize a common woman? I simply paid two hundred taels of silver to buy her. Now leave. Don't disturb my dining."

Yang Xingxian was so anxious he was about to stomp his feet, but Yuan Lin grabbed him up and tossed him out the door.

"If you dare cause a disturbance here again, I'll throw you off this building."

Yuan Lin warned him savagely. His master was far too good-natured, tolerating this brat's antics.

Could it be because this fellow was Miss Xi's husband, and his master didn't want to cause too ugly a scene? Afraid that making things ugly would displease Miss Xi?

Yuan Lin imagined several scenarios in his head, and couldn't help but look at his master with a hint of sympathy.

Seeing his young master looking utterly dejected, Achang hastened to comfort him: "Young master, Miss Bai's mother didn't say she was bought away. That Sixth Young Master Qi must be deceiving us."

Yang Xingxian thought about it—indeed, it was so.

"That pale-faced pretty boy is just trying to disgust me because he knows I care about Miss Bai. Let's eat."

Yang Xingxian ordered quite a few signature dishes and generously granted Achang a bowl, portioning out a bit of each dish for him to eat together.

But to their surprise, after they'd eaten and drunk their fill, the manager came to settle the bill!

"That'll be eight taels and two qian of silver. I'll waive the two qian—eight taels even."

Yang Xingxian was so furious his nose nearly twisted: "I'm your boss's husband! And you still dare to charge me?"

The manager wasn't intimidated by him: "The boss has given me a list of people whose meals go on her account. For the sake of clear bookkeeping, even the boss herself has to have her meals recorded when she dines here."

"Then put this meal of mine on her account too."

Yang Xingxian was very impatient. Was this trivial matter worth bothering him over? He was still thinking about packing up all kinds of dishes to bring home for his parents to try.

The manager was unmoved by his words: "Young Master Yang, you're not on the boss's list..."

Both Yang Xingxian and Achang found this inconceivable.

"But I'm her husband!" Yang Xingxian bellowed.

"So being the husband doesn't work either, eh? Ha! Now that's the strangest thing in the world."

Qi Chengyun sneered and strode away.

"Did... did he settle his account?"

Yang Xingxian's finger was trembling slightly as he pointed at Qi Chengyun's retreating figure.

"That Master Qi is a distinguished guest of the boss. The boss said he could have three bills waived, but Master Qi generously deposited a thousand taels of silver in advance. That's why he's our restaurant's supreme honored guest."

What else could Yang Xingxian say? He tried to leave, but the manager and the waiter wouldn't allow him to.

The boss had said that if anyone used her establishment to do casual favors, and the accounts didn't balance, they'd have to cover the difference themselves.

How could they be willing?

Even if he was the boss's husband, he still had to pay the meal money.

"Young Master Yang, let's not make this too ugly. The other guests are looking over here."

The manager was also speechless. Eight taels of silver—and as the boss's man, he couldn't even pay for this meal?

"You know this is making things too ugly? No matter where you tell this story, it's you who'll be the laughingstock. I'm your boss's husband! You actually want your boss's husband to pay? What a joke."

"Let's keep things separate... If you feel aggrieved, you can pay first and then ask the boss to reimburse you. But the restaurant's books must balance, or it gets deducted from our own wages."

The manager's wages were not insubstantial—previously six taels a month, now raised to ten taels.

But he certainly wasn't going to stick his ten taels onto this man!

Yang Xingxian was flustered and exasperated but couldn't leave—the manager and waiter were both holding onto him.

"Fine, fine! I'll pay, I'll pay! Now let go, won't you? If you tear my clothes, can you afford to compensate me?"

Helplessly, Yang Xingxian paid the eight taels and finally got away.

Since he'd paid, he certainly had to take the leftover dishes back. Many dishes had only been tasted—it would be a shame not to pack them up.

"The mistress really is something—how could she not put you on her list? But you're husband and wife!"

Achang, having unexpectedly enjoyed a fine meal at Yang Xingxian's expense, naturally hurried to pledge his loyalty.

Yang Xingxian sneered: "She won't put my name down, but she'll put that adulterer's name on it!"

"It's not that he's an adulterer—he's a supreme honored guest... He deposited a thousand taels of silver."

Achang wasn't defending Qi Chengyun; it was simply an obvious fact. If he were truly her lover, why would he need to deposit so much silver? He could just eat for free, couldn't he?

Besides, the young master had lost his senses—why would he willingly call himself a cuckold? How embarrassing!

Lady Wu was delighted to see Yang Xingxian return with so many packed-up dishes.

"These dishes look really good—I've never seen them before."

She took a taste and was even more pleasantly surprised: "Delicious! Which restaurant is this? Let's go eat there another day."

"Better not go there anymore. Today, just for this meal, I had a bit of a quarrel with that shopkeeper. I don't want to go back."

Lady Wu looked incredulous: "But you're a distinguished guest. Does that shopkeeper not want to do business anymore?"

"This place is so popular you have to wait in line, and they don't really care about my patronage."

Saying this, he himself felt it was rather pointless.

Lady Wu, however, agreed: "It can't be helped. You can't fight the situation. With such good dishes, it's no wonder the shopkeeper is a bit arrogant."

Achang couldn't help but interject: "Madam, do you know whose shop this is? It's the mistress's restaurant, the Top Gourmet. The shopkeeper even charged our young master when he went to eat! That's why the young master is upset."