How could Senior Servant Gui let her continue sleeping? Perhaps if it was a normal day, then she would allow it as she usually did- even the matriarch regularly doted on Third Young Madam, exempting her from the sunrise morning call so their young madam could sleep in a little bit longer. The servants of Songtao Court were no better; they sympathized with their third young madam and always let her sleep as much as she wanted.
However, today was different. It was the day of Guilin Restaurant's reopening, something that Third Young Madam had been planning for quite a few months. The matriarch was also eager to see the results of her work!
"Third Young Madam, Guilin Restaurant is reopening today! You have to go over there yourself! Senior Servant Liu from Qingxi Hall even sent someone over to ask after you just now."
After hearing Senior Servant Gui's words, Chu Lian opened her eyes and sighed. She sat up and ordered Xiyan to bring her clothes.
While dressing herself, Chu Lian told them, "Momo, you don't have to be so worried. Even if I don't go there myself today, Guilin Restaurant will still do well."
How could Senior Servant Gui believe that? As magnificent as Guilin Restaurant was after the renovation, even though it now looked just as good or even better than that Yuehong Restaurant on Zhuque Avenue, she still didn't believe that Guilin Restaurant would be able to fill its tables with customers right after opening. After all, its location was less than ideal: surrounded by residential areas and on a deserted street to boot!
Senior Servant Gui thought Third Young Madam was trying to placate her like she was a naive child!
When Chu Lian noticed the doubt in Senior Servant Gui's eyes, a corner of her lips lifted helplessly. She decided to use the results of today to prove it to her instead.
Xiyan picked out an apricot-coloured dress with plum blossoms for Chu Lian. It wasn't too outstanding, but still seemed celebratory enough due to the red plum blossoms on the skirt. Although Chu Lian wouldn't be making a public appearance at the opening, she had to personally attend to the guests she had sent invitations to.
There weren't many invites; only ten in total. She had personally written all of them. After all those months of practice, her calligraphy was finally passable enough to show. All the effort she had put into her daily calligraphy practice had paid off.
Although there were only a few invites, they had all been sent to the most distinguished guests.
The Zheng Estate and Prince Wei's Estate had received two invites each. Lord Ge and the young Marquis Weiyuan had also received one each. Of the remaining four invites, two of them had gone to the Yang Estate, while the other two had been sent to her maiden house, the Ying Estate.
These were the distinguished guests that Chu Lian had invited today.
Chu Lian got dressed and slowly enjoyed her breakfast without any sense of urgency. It was only after Senior Servant Gui's anxious urging that she finally went to Qingxi Hall.
Today, it was Wenqing and Wenlan's turn to accompany Chu Lian. The other maidservants were to wait until it was close to noon before following the two senior servants over to Guilin Restaurant to serve their distinguished guests.
Fuyan and Xiyan stood by one side and looked at Chu Lian's slender silhouette.
Fuyan was completely dumbfounded. She clicked her tongue in admiration. "Hey, why isn't our Third Young Madam worried at all? Will that out-of-the-way restaurant really become a booming business?"
Xiyan glared at her, confidence written all over her face. "Don't talk nonsense. I believe in Third Young Madam."
Fuyan was still filled with disdain in her mind. She was just speaking the truth, why was Xiyan stopping her?
She didn't know where Xiyan got that self-confidence of hers. In her heart, even a person as wise as the matriarch hadn't been able to save that lousy old restaurant. How could their Third Young Madam be even smarter than the matriarch?
In the courtyard of the main branch, Madam Zou waved her hand to dismiss the stewards who had come over to give their daily reports. A maidservant passed over a fresh cup of tea to her.
Madam Zou took the teacup and carefully sipped at it, her lips slightly curved into a smile.
If she remembered correctly, today was the day that her third sister-in-law was going to reopen Guilin Restaurant.
Guilin Restaurant was one of the matriarch's businesses. She knew better than anyone else about the situation of that old restaurant. She admitted that her third sister-in-law's secret recipes were really quite delicious, but the restaurant’s abysmal location couldn’t be denied: it was too desolate an area to attract a crowd. No one would think to walk over there just for a meal.
A dead district is a dead business, what more for a restaurant!
Building up a name for the restaurant wasn't something that could be achieved in just one or two days. By the time that happened, it would be too late. In the end, all of Chu Lian's hard work would have gone to naught, only for her to benefit from it.
When she thought of this, Madam Zou felt especially pleased. Today, she was waiting to see Chu Lian's disgrace.
Just as her thoughts were lifting her mood, she spotted He Changqi striding out from their bedroom. When she saw that he had taken special care in dressing up today, she frowned. "Dalang, where are you going?"
He Changqi straightened his collar and ordered a maidservant to bring over his breakfast. He then sat at the table and picked up some chopsticks before explaining, "Third Sister-in-Law's restaurant is going to open today, so I'm going there to help her out."
When Madam Zou heard this, her eyes immediately widened. "It's just a small restaurant, why do you have to be there too?"
He Changqi frowned as he looked at her. "Brother Ge, Tiancheng, and Marquis Weiyuan are all going there to support the restaurant's opening. If I don't go, who's going to attend to the male guests?"
Madam Zou stiffened and she looked at her own husband in disbelief. Suddenly, her heart was wavering with uncertainty. She thought back to the day that her husband had brought his friends over for a meeting and she had stolen Chu Lian's credit. Had... had they already known before that?
When he recalled the events of that day, He Changqi lost all appetite. He set down his chopsticks and lifted the edge of his robe as he stood up. Right before he left, he shot a meaningful look at Madam Zou. Finally, he walked right out of the courtyard without even a goodbye.
Left alone in the parlour, sitting on a fragrant wood chair, Madam Zou's face turned deathly pale.
She wanted to call him back, make him turn around with a cry of 'Dalang', but the word stayed stuck in her throat, even long after her husband had already left.
At Yuehong Restaurant.
A lively feast was currently underway in the restaurant. People were urging their friends to drink and creating a pleasant buzz of noise. Suddenly, they heard the sounds of a commotion coming from the street outside, followed by an uproar of voices. Everyone subconsciously exchanged looks before the person closest to the windows pushed open the window pane.
The cacophony from outside poured into the room.
"What a huge crowd on the streets!" someone said.
A large man with curly whiskers roared with laughter. "What's strange about that? There's usually a crowd on the streets."
Suddenly, all the people in the main hall laughed in unison.
The cheeks of the person who had first spoken up flushed red. "No, no, it seems like there's something going on. Someone's splitting up the crowd and making way for someone else... Some of them are dressed in lion dance costumes!"
The people of the capital all held a curious heart, no matter their status or rank. Very quickly, there were people poking their heads out to find out what the buzz on the streets was about.
"What a grand-looking lion dance troupe. I've never seen six people dancing at once. Don't tell me they've also prepared music to go along with this performance?"
"Is it really that grand?"
At this time, a young man dressed in blue walked in from the entrance. The moment he entered, he started shouting, "Quick, come with me to check out the performance! I just came over from Changping Lane and that grand lion dance troupe is preparing for their performance over there!"
The crowd couldn't hold back their curiosity. Quite a few of them came out of the restaurant and onto the streets one after another.
De'an Restaurant's Mr Wang had still been settling some accounts at the counter of his restaurant. Following the increase in noise from outside, the originally full main hall of his restaurant suddenly emptied out. A few waiters hurriedly chased after the leaving customers to settle their bills.
"What's going on?" the grey-haired Mr Wang frowned as he asked one of his waiters.
"Manager, will you allow this one to go out to check for you?"
Mr Wang waved his hand in permission.
After a short moment, the waiter returned. "Manager, Manager, there's something big going on outside!"
"What kind of event is it?"
The waiter gestured with his hands as he said, "There are six people dressed in lion dance costumes out there, with shining lion heads this big! They even have musicians and singers behind them, all wearing the same kind of clothes, and though they look very festive, no one knows what they're going to do. They're currently finishing preparations out on the streets. It looks like the performance is going to start in a while. Manager, do you want to go out and watch too? There are lots of people outside on the streets right now!"
The waiter was clearly excited, and it was written all over his face, too.
Mr Wang set down the abacus in his hands and strode over to watch together with the waiter. All the customers in the restaurant had been drawn away, so they couldn't do business anyway. Why not check out what was going on outside and find out who was trying to cause trouble?
When it was finally 10am, the lion dance troupe gathered on Zhuque Avenue right outside Yuehong Restaurant suddenly began shouting together. The golden lions behind them started dancing, and following that, the music troupe behind them began to play their instruments.
With the lion dancers in front and the rousing music behind, everyone was captivated. After a few beats, some of the spectators who had an interest in music began to cry out in surprise.
"What tune is this? Why is it so strange yet so full of emotion?"
Just as someone finished saying so, one of the musicians started singing in a rough, loud voice.
"The great rivers all run to the east! The stars in the sky look up to the North Star!"
Right after the first line, the remaining ten or more men in the troupe continued in a chorus, "Hey hey~ Look up to the North Star~ A cup of wine for our sworn brothers~"
The leading singer continued, "If I say march, we all march! Yours and mine are all shared between us!"
The low and fierce chorus line shouted, "Hey hey~ All shared between us~ No retreat come floods or fire!"
Of all the people of the capital, no matter if they were nobles or commoners, this was the first time they had heard such a strange yet catchy song.
These lyrics were like normal speech and the tune was easy to follow. The wild and heroic music made people's hearts soar with excitement.
The crowd on the streets started getting bigger and bigger as all of them tried to peek at what was going on.
Someone at the front of the crowd shouted, "The lion dance troupe is moving! They're moving! Everybody make way! Make way!"
Amidst the bobbing heads of the crowd, someone asked, "What are they doing? Why is it so lively here?"
"We don't know either. Look, the troupe is moving forward, let's follow along and see!"
A middle-aged man interrupted their conversation and said, "Hmm? That troupe looks like it's heading to the stage northwest of here. Don't tell me that it was this group of people who built it… That wooden platform was just set up a few days ago!"
The lyrics to the song 'Song of Heroes' were simple, and there were only two parts to it, yet the melody was rousing and majestic. The singing troupe had only repeated the song twice, but the crowd following behind them had already learned how to sing along.
The leader of the music troupe sung once again, "When I see injustice, I roar with anger! When it's time to act, I fight! I travel the world, doing as I like!"
Without waiting for the chorus from the troupe, the crowd had already started chanting, "Hey hey, hey hey yo hey hey, hey hey, hey hey yo hey hey."
That strange melody and magnetic song suddenly spread through the entire street in an instant. The lyrics were so easy to remember that even the little children had learned them. They ran alongside the lion dance troupe, chanting along with the singers.
With the lion dancers dancing and the troupe members singing, the wide Zhuque Avenue was actually filled to the point that even a pebble couldn't squeeze through.
"Look, the lion dance troupe is finally stopping!"
The lion dance troupe had indeed stopped before the wooden stage that had been built beforehand. Following that, they nimbly climbed up onto it, causing the crowd to gasp in admiration.
The sounds of singing and drums suddenly disappeared.
At the last moment when the singing and drums stopped, the raised lion head suddenly spit out a large red scroll.