My Lady Always Lacks Ambition
Chapter 171 - 170 Hanging Qin Liuxi on the Wall

The good looks of this person aren’t without reason, he has a kind heart indeed.

Yu Changkong, perceptive as he was, noticed Qin Liuxi’s delight, and his own mood soared. He said, "Are you very pleased, Master?"

"Yes," Qin Liuxi replied. "You’re not too familiar with Li City, right? I know a place that makes delicious wontons. May I treat you?"

Beside her, Chen Pi lifted his eyelid and gave her a look. This was rare indeed—a stingy person actually inviting someone to eat.

Yu Changkong: "How can I let you spend the money? You’ve helped a lot with my eye condition. If anyone should invite, it should be Changkong."

"You’ve already paid the consultation fee, so there’s no need for any extra charges," Qin Liuxi waved her hand dismissively. "Come on, let’s go now. I fear the shrimp and meat fillings will be gone if we’re late."

Seeing this, Yu Changkong didn’t dawdle either. He looked to the guard standing like a pillar by the gate and ordered, "Da Qiong, get the carriage ready."

The wonton stall mentioned by Qin Liuxi was located in West Street Ten Inch Alley. It was just a small stall operated by two elderly grandparents and their teenage granddaughter. On the way to the wonton stall, Qin Liuxi greeted quite a few people along the road, some of whom even approached her, asking her to check their pulse and write a prescription for any recent discomforts.

Qin Liuxi was in a good mood. With just a glance, she would tell someone they had caught a cold and needed to bathe in ginger soup to reduce the fever. For others, without even checking their pulse, she would say they weren’t sick but had excess internal heat and needed only to consume some heat-reducing foods.

Upon arriving at the wonton stall, they found it already crowded with customers. Behind the stove, an old man was busy boiling wontons, and an old lady carried out a plate of freshly made wontons from inside.

There was also a young girl about eleven or twelve years old, busy cleaning tables and plates. She brightened up when she saw Qin Liuxi: "Brother Xiao Qin, you’ve come! Quick, sit over here."

"I haven’t seen you for days, Juan’er seems even prettier," Qin Liuxi said with a smile, playfully flicking the girl’s hair pinned up in buns.

Li Xiaojuan’s cheeks reddened as she protested, "You’re teasing me again."

"I’m telling the truth, don’t you believe me?" Qin Liuxi feigned sadness.

Li Xiaojuan replied in a hurry, "I do believe you, of course."

Uncle Li laughed heartily, "Young Master Qin has arrived. Will it be the usual?"

"Yes, two bowls. Chen Pi, whatever filling you’d like, just tell Uncle Li," Qin Liuxi walked towards the table that Li Xiaojuan had indicated, pulling Yu Changkong’s sleeve along the way, "Come on, let’s sit and wait."

Yu Changkong looked over at the indicated table, where someone was sitting, but as they took a couple of steps closer, he looked again and the person was gone.

Huh?

Was it a trick of the eye?

Just as they sat down, Li Xiaojuan brought over tea and a dish of fried peanuts, "Brother Xiao Qin, please enjoy. I need to get busy."

"You go on," Qin Liuxi picked up a pair of chopsticks from the holder on the table and handed one over, "Uncle Li runs a modest business, but the ingredients are always fresh, and everything is clean. The chopsticks are boiled in hot water, not dirty. If you find it unappetizing..."

"I don’t find it unappetizing," Yu Changkong interrupted promptly, "Besides, if I felt discomfort after eating, you wouldn’t just stand by idly."

"Of course not."

Uncle Li personally brought over two bowls of wontons filled with shrimp and fresh meat. In the clear soup bobbed over twenty wontons, each with thin skin and generous filling, garnished with a sprinkling of chopped green onions – a burst of green exuding a mouthwatering scent.

Qin Liuxi glanced at Uncle Li, "Uncle Li, are you having back pain?"

"You could tell?" Uncle Li patted his lower back and said, "I’ve been feeling rather uncomfortable lately, quite a bit of soreness and this uncomfortable chilly sensation."

"Spending all these years hunched over making wontons must take its toll; allow me to give you an acupuncture treatment later to help dispel the cold," Qin Liuxi said.

"Aiyo, that means troubling you again."

"It’s a small matter; please carry on with your work."

"Alright, Young Master Qin, take your time eating. And this young master too—if it’s not enough, just holler and this old man will add more," Uncle Li said with a nod and a smile to Yu Changkong.

Yu Changkong nodded back slightly in thanks.

Qin Liuxi continued: "Try it while it’s hot. Uncle Li’s wontons have thin skins and the filling is seasoned to perfection. The broth is especially delicious—simmered with large bones and enriched with mushrooms, along with shrimp shells and bay scallop meat, it’s exceptionally savory. Give it a taste."

She then took a spoon from the lower part of the chopstick holder and placed it in his bowl.

Yu Changkong took a sip of the broth first; the taste buds on his tongue barely reacted before the fresh sweetness and mushroom aroma hit him. He remarked, "It’s indeed very savory."

Qin Liuxi proudly said: "Of course, if it weren’t good, I wouldn’t vouch for it. Go on, eat."

She took a couple of sips of the soup herself, then picked up a wonton and put it into her mouth. As the flavors burst forth, the deliciousness made her eyes crinkle up in delight.

Yu Changkong watched her from close by, getting infected by her joy, which in turn stoked his appetite, and he began eating earnestly.

However, his eyes occasionally drifted to a certain spot, feeling as if someone was watching them. But upon closer inspection, the person would be gone.

In a refined courtyard in East City, Mu Xi kicked over guard after guard in frustration.

"Useless lot, all of you! Li City isn’t that big; it’s been days and no one can be found. What use are you, huh? Just useless!" Mu Xi was nearly fuming with anger.

He had always been accustomed to things going his way since he was young, and now he couldn’t believe that he couldn’t find a person in this small place called Li City—it was simply too embarrassing!

"Young Master Heir, while Li City may not seem large, the fact that it has the Li River Pier makes it one of the wealthiest among nearby cities with lots of merchants coming and going. That means many traders and citizens populate the city. Plus, we don’t even have a portrait to go by, so looking for someone is like finding a needle in the ocean," explained the chief guard in a dry tone.

"You still dare to argue? I don’t want to hear it. If you’re useless, then you’re just that!" Mu Xi huffed loudly.

The crowd all wore bitter expressions, like bitter gourds.

What could they do? They too were in despair. When they tried to draw a portrait, no matter how hard they thought, it just wouldn’t come out right; even Mu Xi himself faced the same issue—when trying to sketch, it was as if lifting a thousand pounds, incredibly sluggish, unable to produce any semblance of the person.

It was downright strange!

They even started to doubt whether that person had ever truly existed!

"Young Master Heir, why don’t we post a reward?" suggested Shuangquan, his most trusted servant.

A wanted poster?

Mu Xi’s interest was piqued: "Tell me, how do we go about it?"

"Draw a portrait, distribute it in busy places, and offer a heft reward for finding the person," Shuangquan suggested. "We might not find them being outsiders, but what if a local recognizes the person?"

Hearing the suggestion of drawing a portrait made Mu Xi irritated: "But we can’t even produce a portrait. How would we draw it?"

"Just draw a rough approximation? The key point is to state that the person was seen enjoying festivities at the Zhao Family residence. Word of mouth spreads swiftly—ten tells a hundred—and chances are, we might find them!"

This seemed to make some sense.

Mu Xi’s interest was renewed, and he said: "Bring paper and ink, I will personally draw, and we will plaster her all over the walls!"

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