"Could those poultry have contracted some disease? Why would they die for no reason?"
"Sigh, we've checked them all, and those poultry have no diseases at all. They just died for no reason!"
...
An Xin's heart skipped a beat.
Xu Ruolan asked gently, "Xin'er, what's wrong?"
An Xin suddenly came to her senses and smiled, "It's nothing, Mother. We didn't enjoy the banquet. Let's go to a restaurant to get something to eat."
Xu Ruolan felt sorry for the money and said, "Let's forget it. We'll make ourselves something to eat when we get back to the manor."
An Xin pulled Xu Ruolan aside and said, "Mom, it's okay to eat it once in a while."
Dewdrop chimed in with a grin, "Madam, Miss loves saliva chicken the most. You can see that the restaurant's signature dish is saliva chicken."
Xu Ruolan asked in surprise, "When did you start liking to eat Sichuan-style chicken? I didn't even know."
An Xin chuckled dryly and said, "She must have been raised in the Ling family."
Xu Ruolan paused abruptly, then sighed and walked towards the restaurant with An Xin.
The restaurant was extremely luxurious, and those who dined there must be either rich or noble. As soon as An Xin stepped into the restaurant, a waiter immediately came up to greet her warmly.
An Xin pointed to a window seat and said, "That's fine."
The waiter followed An Xin's gaze and immediately said with great embarrassment, "Miss, I'm so sorry, that seat has already been reserved."
This wasn't a big deal, so An Xin casually pointed to a spot to the side and said, "That's fine."
The waiter immediately agreed politely and led An Xin and the others over.
Xu Ruolan rarely came to restaurants like this, so she felt a little awkward. An Xin casually ordered a few dishes, but Lu Zhu tugged at An Xin's sleeve and whispered, "Miss, that woman is so beautiful."
An Xin glanced up indifferently. Several people had already arrived at the window seat. The person sitting there was indeed a woman with an exceptionally beautiful face and graceful demeanor. Her looks were truly beyond ordinary.
An Xin looked away and carefully massaged Xu Ruolan's hand. There are many acupoints on the hand, and since Xu Ruolan's health is not good, such frequent massage is naturally beneficial to her health.
Dewdrop tugged at Anxin's sleeve and whispered, "Miss, that beauty is looking at you."
An Xin didn't even lift her eyelashes and said, "Eyes are on other people's faces. They can look at whomever they want. There's no need to pay attention to them."
Lu Zhu was already used to her young mistress's personality. When the waiter quickly brought out the food, she didn't care about anyone else and immediately started eating.
Just as An Xin was about to start eating, someone walked over and said, "Are you An Xin, the daughter of An Youwei?!"
The question was rude and impolite. An Xin rolled her eyes and looked at the person who spoke.
She was a young maid, her face made up, her lips painted with lip rouge, and the material of her clothes was unlike that of ordinary people. An Xin glanced at her hands; her nails were painted with red nail polish. This maid must be at least a second-class maid, and ambitious; once she found a higher position, she would abandon her master and climb the social ladder.
An Xin then asked calmly, "What is it?"
The girl raised her chin slightly and said, "My young lady wants to see you. Please come with me!"
An Xin curled her lips in disdain and said slowly and indifferently, "Busy, I won't see you."
The girl clearly hadn't expected the other person to be even more arrogant than herself, and immediately flew into a rage, shouting, "Do you know who my young lady is?! How dare you refuse to see her?!"
An Xin said calmly, "I won't even see the Heavenly King himself."
The girl was furious and blurted out, "Ha! Just a lowly country bumpkin, daring to cause trouble in the capital!?"
"Xiuer, shut up." A gentle voice came, and the maid called Xiuer immediately shut up. Then, an elegant figure slowly walked over.
Xiuer said discontentedly, "Miss, she's too arrogant!"
Xu Ruolan looked at An Xin, only to see that An Xin's face was as pale as plain water, and she kept putting food on her plate. Xu Ruolan couldn't help but quietly tug at An Xin's sleeve.
An Xin paused for a moment, then looked up.
The one who walked by was indeed a beauty.
Her eyebrows were like distant mountains, her eyes like autumn water, her lips like red cherries, and her skin like solidified cream.
An Xin rummaged through her memories. The person in front of her was still a stranger. If a man had come up to her, she could understand it as him trying to pick her up. But a beautiful woman coming up to her... Either she harbored some unspeakable hostility towards her, or she had her eye on something she was wearing, such as her shoes.
"This girl is unreasonable, please forgive her, young lady." The beauty's eyes were fixed on An Xin, her speech and demeanor elegant and noble, but her gaze held a hint of scrutiny.
An Xin's gaze swept over the woman's slender fingers. On her fair wrist was a jade bracelet of excellent quality, with a small character pendant on it...
An Xin's eyes suddenly flickered with an unfathomable light, but quickly calmed down, and she gave a soft "hmm".
The beauty was clearly waiting for more, but An Xin's simple "hmm" shut her up.
Xu Ruolan felt slightly embarrassed and hurriedly said with a smile, "Miss, please don't stand, sit down with me."
The woman hesitated for a moment, then said, "In that case..." Her gaze shifted to An Xin, "I'm afraid it might not be a good idea?"
Xu Ruolan smiled and said, "There's nothing wrong with it. Please sit down. Dewdrop, go and ask the waiter to bring another set of chopsticks and a bowl."
Dewdrop immediately agreed, looked the girl named Xiuer up and down, raised her chin, snorted, and strode away. Xiuer's face suddenly darkened, and she stared coldly at Dewdrop.
Xu Ruolan smiled awkwardly and said, "Miss, do you recognize us? We're just too inexperienced to know who you are..."
The woman smiled faintly and said, "The name of Lord An is probably known to everyone in the capital. I heard about him from an old friend."
Xu Ruolan was taken aback: "An old friend?"