Someone nearby said, “Miss Yao has arrived.”

Indeed, after the woman stood still, she introduced herself: “My surname is Yao, I’m the manager of Shun Dongfeng. The owner gave clear instructions long ago—forget about Wei people, not even a fly from Wei is allowed to enter this restaurant. Please leave, sir.”

Her words were filled with arrogance as if she were looking down her nose at people. Qiao Tianxing, as the second son of the Marquis of Military Valor, had never received such cold treatment even in Wei. He was so angry his dark face flushed red: “Wait! You, a mere woman, dare to boss around an envoy from Wei!”

Miss Yao snorted: “This is Yinzi City, not your Wei capital. Take that authority of yours back home to show off!” She waved her hand toward the exit and made two shooing sounds with her mouth as if driving away a stray dog.

As her words fell, laughter erupted all around, and someone cheered: “Well done, Miss Yao!” Not afraid of making trouble, especially when the trouble was for Wei people, passersby gathered around.

Qiao Tianxing, barely controlling his anger, said: “I won’t argue with a woman like you. Get the owner of Shun Dongfeng here.”

“Our owner isn’t here.” Miss Yao patted her chest. “I’m in charge here.”

A person struggles for dignity. Even with his good upbringing, Qiao Tianxing finally erupted in anger: “Today I insist on entering the restaurant. I can’t believe I can enter the Yao King’s palace but not a mere Shun Dongfeng!”

He stepped forward toward Miss Yao, and the two large men blocking the stairs unhesitatingly moved forward. Qiao Tianxing’s guards were no pushovers either and immediately tried to push these two aside.

“What are you trying to do? This is a place of law and order, not like your barbaric State of Wei!” Miss Yao’s cold laugh was sharp and piercing. “I warn you, the gentlemen from the South City Guards are dining upstairs. If you dare force your way in, you’ll suffer the consequences!”

Though her words were harsh, she stepped back half a pace. Unfortunately, her three-inch-high shoe sole slipped, making her body suddenly sway. Off-balance, she grabbed the arm of the large man beside her.

As both sides were pushing and shoving, this large man, who had been wrestling with several guards, suddenly let out a loud “Ah!” and fell backward, crashing heavily at the entrance of the stairs.

His right arm was dislocated.

Miss Yao steadied herself and immediately raised her voice: “The Wei people are attacking!”

During this busy hour when customers were most numerous, with the large man’s roar followed by Miss Yao’s sharp scream, diners upstairs all leaned over to watch the commotion.

The attendant from earlier had already run upstairs to seek reinforcements. Yun Ya had just put down his wine cup when he saw those South City Guards file out of the private room and rush downstairs.

True to their reputation, the City Guards handled brawls routinely. They charged into the crowd, forcibly separating both sides while shouting: “What’s going on here!”

Qiao Tianxing was pushed back a step, glaring at the large man in front of him with furrowed brows: “I am the Wei envoy, invited here tonight for a banquet. How dare Shun Dongfeng—”

Before he could finish, Miss Yao cut him off, her words shooting out like jumping beans: “You gentlemen all know that Shun Dongfeng doesn’t do business with Wei people.” She turned to face Qiao Tianxing. “You’re not welcome here, stop trying to force your way in! Look, you’ve injured my subordinate. We haven’t even settled that score yet!”

Qiao Tianxing ignored her and coldly addressed the City Guards: “This woman is incredibly arrogant. How do you intend to handle this?”

The one who had stopped Qiao Tianxing and his men was the captain of these City Guards. He coughed lightly: “You don’t know Shun Dongfeng’s background?”

Qiao Tianxing paused slightly, then shook his head. This was his first diplomatic mission to Yao, but why would a dignified envoy need to know the history of a small lamb restaurant?

“I think we should let this matter go. Yinzi City is big enough; you can find another place to dine. Their guard is injured, so compensate him for medical expenses, and we won’t pursue your responsibility further.”

This bias was taking partiality to the extreme. Qiao Tianxing’s eyes widened in disbelief: “Like this? You allow her to insult a foreign envoy?”

The captain gave a smile that didn’t reach his eyes: “This is their restaurant. They can choose whose business they want and whose they don’t. We City Guards have no authority over that, but if you force your way in, then we have grounds to intervene.”

Whether by reason or by principle, the City Guards stood firmly on Shun Dongfeng’s side.

Wei and Yao had fought many wars over the years, with many casualties on both sides, creating deep enmity. Moreover, Wei had a much shorter history, incomparable to Yao, and during its founding had occupied large tracts of Yao territory. Over the years, Wei had made repeated incursions, never hiding its predatory ambitions, behaving like someone who takes advantage and then plays the victim. Consequently, anti-Wei sentiment ran high among Yao civilians, especially in Yinzi City. These City Guards were also Yao people, still chewing Shun Dongfeng’s lamb meat, naturally biased toward Miss Yao, especially since they clearly understood the relationship between the restaurant owner and their lord.

However crude their words might be, their reasoning wasn’t wrong. Despite Shun Dongfeng’s fame, it was ultimately private property; the Yao King received the Wei envoy out of diplomatic courtesy, but Shun Dongfeng had no such concerns. Sometimes, even a nation’s ruler wasn’t as willful as common people.

Qiao Tianxing’s face darkened as he pointed at the captain’s nose and rebuked: “Wait and see, Yao will have to give me an explanation for this! How could they raise such fools who judge people with a dog’s eyes!” As a representative of Wei to Yao, receiving such treatment was equivalent to these people publicly humiliating Wei.

The captain gave a cold laugh: “Even if you report to the royal court, I’m just enforcing the law!” Who was he trying to intimidate? With relations between the two countries so poor, this envoy might be ambushed and killed any day. A smart person would have slipped away long ago, not stayed to show off.

He was considering whether to investigate where this Wei envoy was staying and perhaps give him a lesson in the middle of the night.

However, before this thought could be completed, a sudden, intense pain shot through his chest!

The pain came so strongly and unexpectedly that the captain, completely unprepared, cried out “Ah!” and staggered a couple of steps, clutching his chest. By now, Qiao Tianxing had already shaken his sleeves in anger and shouted: “Let’s go!”

As he took a step, his attendants quickly followed, parting the crowd to leave.

But the captain crouched on the ground, clutching his chest and moaning in pain. Qiao Tianxing was startled, looked back twice, and snorted: “Self-inflicted misery!” He felt greatly vindicated.

The other City Guards hurried to help their leader up, but halfway through, his cries suddenly stopped, and their hands sank—

The captain had stopped moving.

Not just the onlookers, but even these guards were dumbfounded. One of them pressed the captain’s neck twice, his face instantly paling: “His heartbeat is very weak!”

He laid the captain flat on the ground, and when everyone looked, they all retreated two steps in horror: the man’s face was as black as the bottom of a pot, his fingers swollen like carrots, his entire face also bloated, with his features, especially his eyes, squeezed into slits, appearing both swollen and bizarre.

When the guard accidentally pressed on his swollen right palm, there was a “pop” sound as the index finger suddenly burst, spraying a thick, black pus, like stepping on a squid filled with ink.