The night had turned cool, with a crescent moon hanging high.

A burly man glanced furtively left and right like a thief.

May evenings were the perfect time for the capital’s residents to enjoy themselves, especially on the bustling and lively Qingxing Street.

The street remained filled with people coming and going, wine flags fluttering.

The stalls selling crispy oil cakes, fried white sausages, fried wontons, and cold locust leaf noodles were all packed with customers.

The burly man bypassed all these and stopped in front of a wine house.

This wine house was different—not even a sparrow stood at its entrance.

Thinking back to the subtle hints from the still-charming female innkeeper during the day, the burly man revealed a slight smile and strode in with his head held high.

Heh heh, he had deliberately brought plenty of silver!

Before even entering, the burly man smelled a marvelous aroma.

Good heavens, what was that fragrance?

The burly man hurried inside, and upon seeing the scene in the hall, he froze.

One table, three people.

Before each person sat a long wooden tray, though he couldn’t immediately make out what meat was piled on the trays.

But he knew that the mouth-watering meat aroma he’d smelled at the door came from these!

What puzzled the burly man even more wasn’t just this.

Though the three people clearly sat at the same table, they neither conversed nor touched their wine cups, each absorbed in their own rhythm of eating a bite of meat, drinking a sip of wine, eating a bite of meat, drinking a sip of wine—and their movements were remarkably swift.

If this weren’t the only table of customers in the entire hall, he would have thought these three were sharing a table with strangers.

Even stranger was that standing around the three people in a row were two male servers and one female server, their eyes fixed intently on the three diners.

The burly man’s first thought was: Does one customer really warrant one dedicated server?

Hearing the commotion, the three servers’ gazes reluctantly shifted from the dining table toward the entrance, their faces showing internal struggle.

Leave? They couldn’t bear to. Not greet the customer? That wouldn’t be proper either.

Kou’er, standing beside Luo Sheng, shook her head helplessly and quickly walked forward: “Please come in, honored guest.”

She knew those three—Hong Dou and the others—wouldn’t manage. How could they be as reliable as her?

Seeing the beautiful young woman standing before him, the burly man immediately snapped back to reality, his eyes lighting up at once.

He’d been wrong—he had actually doubted whether this was a real wine house.

With servers this pretty, one after another, how could it possibly be a wine house!

Kou’er led the strangely-behaving customer to a table and asked with a smile bright as flowers: “What would the guest like to eat?”

The burly man couldn’t help glancing at the adjacent table and asked: “What are they eating?”

“Roasted pig’s head.”

“Then bring me a roasted pig’s head too.”

It looked quite delicious, and besides, even at those brightly lit establishments, one couldn’t just go straight to bed, right?

One had to eat a little first, drink a little first…

“One whole roasted pig’s head is one hundred taels of silver.” Kou’er dutifully stated the price first, finding the newly arrived customer’s manner truly peculiar.

The burly man’s tone changed instantly: “One, one hundred taels?”

Just like the customers who had come in earlier and been scared away, he slapped the table and stood up angrily: “Why don’t you just go rob people?”

The three people eating with their heads down looked over.

Wei Han took advantage of this interval to pull out a snow-white handkerchief and elegantly wiped the corners of his mouth.

One hundred taels of silver for a roasted pig’s head was called robbery?

Then what did one hundred taels of silver for a bowl of minced meat noodles count as?

He couldn’t help glancing at the young woman seated not far from the counter, his expression inscrutable.

Luo Sheng noticed Wei Han’s scrutiny but couldn’t be bothered to look at him.

She sat here not because she was interested in the customers’ eating habits, nor because she was bored at the Grand Marshal’s residence.

She simply needed the wine house’s customers to become accustomed to Miss Luo’s presence.

Only this way, when she dealt with Prince Pingnan and appeared at the wine house, it wouldn’t seem out of place.

This wine house had been opened specifically for Prince Pingnan.

Wei Han silently withdrew his gaze and took a sip of wine.

The wine paired with the roasted pig’s head was burning liquor—it entered the throat like fire, yet didn’t scorch, and after swallowing, a cold, sharp aftertaste remained, perfectly suited to this summer evening.

The utterly contrasting sensations merged perfectly, making this wine seem unobtainable in the mortal realm.

Thirty taels of silver per pot was indeed quite cheap.

Wei Han’s gaze couldn’t help seeking out again that young woman who could make such fine dishes and brew such excellent wine.

In the end, he forcibly restrained himself.

Minister Zhao had sauce on his beard and hadn’t clearly heard Kou’er’s earlier price quote. With meat in his mouth, he asked Lin Teng: “What’s wrong?”

Lin Teng had heard clearly, and the small knife cutting pig’s head meat trembled several times before he managed to cut off a slice.

One—hundred—taels!

The most expensive roasted pig’s head he’d eaten in his entire life!

Yet also the most delicious roasted pig’s head…

After an internal struggle, Lin Teng said calmly: “This subordinate didn’t hear clearly either. Never expected the Minister to treat this subordinate to such delicious wine and food—this subordinate toasts the Minister.”

A roasted pig’s head costing one hundred taels per piece, and Minister Zhao was treating…

He meant nothing by it—Minister Zhao was eating so happily, finding out the price now would just spoil the mood.

Better to keep eating.

The roasted pig’s head was delicious, the wine was excellent. Seeing Lin Teng offer a toast, Minister Zhao immediately raised his cup to clink with his, completely forgetting about the newly arrived customer.

He’d seen plenty of poor beggars who couldn’t afford food yet made a fuss—not worth his attention.

Sheng Sanlang quickly walked over, his face darkening: “Clear pricing, honest to all—young and old alike. If the guest finds it expensive, you need not order it.”

Just at Prince Kaiyang’s table alone, they’d already ordered three servings of roasted pig’s head—it pained him to death!

Shi Yan also walked over, his face cold and silent.

Based on his understanding of his master, that table would need at least one more serving of roasted pig’s head.

If everything sold out by closing time—just thinking of this possibility made the young guard’s heart ache like being cut by knives.

The female innkeeper hiding behind the counter, watching this scene, was beyond words.

She needed to sort things out carefully and figure out how to properly fulfill her duties as innkeeper in the future.

The burly man had come for beauty, not for a fight. Seeing two servers approach who, though extraordinarily handsome, were also quite tall and imposing, his voice lowered considerably.

“What other appetizers do you have?”

Since roasted pig’s head was so expensive, he’d order something else.

Kou’er still smiled like flowers: “We also have roasted pig’s head.”

The burly man frowned: “I’m asking if you have any other appetizers.”

This heartless establishment—why only push the most expensive item to customers?

Kou’er’s face still maintained its smile: “The other appetizers are also roasted pig’s head. Our wine house today prepared only roasted pig’s head as appetizers. Guest, you can see from that table of customers—our roasted pig’s head is especially delicious. You being so picky won’t do…”

The corner of the burly man’s mouth twitched.

Was he being picky?

He found it too expensive!

“Then bring one pot of wine and a dish of peanuts.”

“One pot of wine is thirty taels of silver. We only have roasted pig’s head.” Kou’er discovered being a server was quite nice—she could explain the situation to customers in great detail.

The burly man wanted to slap the table again.

One pot of wine for thirty taels?

If he wasn’t mistaken, the wine pots on the neighboring table were at most palm-height!

The female innkeeper couldn’t bear it anymore and walked over, pushing Kou’er aside.

“If the guest finds the wine and food prices unsuitable, why not have a bowl of spring noodles instead? At this hour, eating a bowl of light and smooth spring noodles is actually good for the stomach.”

“Spring noodles are five taels of silver per bowl,” Kou’er said with a straight face.

She finally understood—he thought it was too expensive.

The burly man had wanted to slap the table again but was angered by the contempt in the beautiful server’s eyes.

He took a deep breath and shouted with full vigor: “Bring me a bowl of spring noodles!”

Five taels of silver—he had that!