Chapter 12: Just Aim for Lu Zhi's Head!

Chapter 12: Charge it to Lu Zhi's Head!

"What did you say?" the manager asked again, incredulous.

With an unperturbed expression, A-Wei repeated, "Stew it into soup."

The manager didn't assume she was intentionally looking for trouble; he simply thought she was ignorant of the matter and that a clear explanation would suffice. "Miss, an old hen is better for stewing soup. Hens have a Yin nature; when stewed, the broth is fragrant, rich, and nourishing for one's qi. A fighting cock is a rooster—well-trained and with tough meat. It won't taste good in soup."

"I'm just looking for a novelty taste. If it doesn't taste good, I won't bother complaining to your General Pavilion," A-Wei said.

The manager sighed inwardly.

He had seen too many willful children of noble families, and usually, they didn't clash head-on with customers. Seeing this young lady's persistence, he decided to yield a step.

"Then I shall pick one out for you to take home and try."

A-Wei's goal was very specific: "I want that black-feathered chicken that won today."

At this point, the manager sensed something subtle. He didn't answer immediately; instead, he beckoned a young attendant over and whispered in his ear, "Did Young Master Lu lose his bet today?"

"He didn't lose," the attendant remembered clearly. "He even happily gave me a tip. He won."

Hearing this, the manager couldn't help but shake his head.

The brother won money just moments ago, and now the sister was buying a chicken to make soup. The affairs within these high-ranking households were truly a blur of confusion!

"This lady is determined to buy it," the attendant fretted. "What should we do?"

The manager was equally worried.

If it were any other fighting cock, they would sell it and be done with it. Since they were in this business, they had their own methods for training chickens and weren't afraid of failing to produce a good one.

But this was specifically the Black-Feathered Great General!

A thousand armies are easy to find, but a great general is hard to come by. No matter how skilled one's training was, one needed talent, and the Black-Feathered Great General was a rare talent among chickens!

If it were any other buyer, they could try to persuade them with kind words. If that failed, they could call upon the buyer's acquaintances drinking in the private rooms to join in the persuasion—drowning them in wine and food until they forgot everything once they sobered up.

But this was the cousin from the Marquis of Dingxi's manor!

She had no acquaintances here, she couldn't be pressured with wine, and she was utterly unyielding. If they showed a cold face and "asked" this guest to leave tonight, there was no telling if the mother and daughter would come back tomorrow to smash the General Pavilion's arena to pieces.

This wasn't self-deprecation; it was simply that her fearsome reputation preceded her.

The more the manager pondered, the more worried he became. Just as various stalling tactics were swirling through his mind, he suddenly heard a voice.

"Fifty taels."

The buyer had made an offer.

Seeing the manager remain silent, A-Wei continued, "One hundred taels."

The manager: "..."

"One hundred and fifty taels."

The manager put on a mournful face. "Good lady, you are forcing a sale upon us."

***

Upstairs, in a bright private room, Shen Linyu leaned halfway against the window, watching the commotion below.

To facilitate viewing the arena, the windows in this area were quite large, protected only by railings. However, the person's height meant the railing was far below his waist, yet he showed no fear, leaning boldly against it while holding a handful of peanuts, watching the "forced sale."

He looked at the young man below, who had not yet reached adulthood. Dressed in black, the youth possessed the spirited air of a young man, tempered with a hint of laziness.

"She really wants to buy it for soup?" Shen Linyu spoke to himself before turning his head toward the youth attending him inside. "Yuanjing, what does fighting cock soup taste like? I've never had it."

Yuanjing was used to his master's whimsical remarks and replied seriously, "Your Highness, neither I nor you have tasted it, so the Grand Princess's Manor would not use fighting cocks for soup."

His master was good in many ways, but sometimes he acted entirely on impulse. He was a dreamer. It was only because the Grand Princess indulged him, the Consort Prince protected him, and the Emperor was tolerant that he had turned out this way. This protection hadn't spoiled him into being a rogue; aside from being somewhat idiosyncratic, there was nothing wrong with him.

Thinking of this, Yuanjing added, "The Imperial Kitchen likely hasn't made it either."

"A pity!" Shen Linyu sighed with genuine emotion. "Is that lady from the Marquis of Dingxi's manor? She just returned to the capital at the beginning of the month, didn't she?"

Yuanjing was not surprised that he knew.

The Prince had been tasked with investigating an old case recently, which involved the family of an official who had visited the Marquis of Dingxi's manor to offer incense on that very day. The events of that day had been widely discussed; everyone knew about the mother and daughter who had fought their way back from the Shu region.

And the lady insisting on buying the fighting cock was indeed that cousin of the Lu family.

It made sense. If not for such an uncompromising and stubborn personality, how could there have been such a "spectacular" family sacrifice?

Seeing Shen Linyu watching with interest as the price rose to two hundred taels, Yuanjing suggested, "The price is getting unnaturally high. Should I step in and speak to the proprietor?"

"No need," Shen Linyu said without a second thought. "It's just a chicken. The proprietor won't refuse to give face to the Marquis of Dingxi's manor."

Recalling the Grand Princess's frequent admonitions, Yuanjing plucked up his courage and said, "I saw you watching so intently that I thought you greatly admired the Lu family's cousin. I thought perhaps after the Grand Princess nagged you for two or three years, you had finally come to your senses."

"Come to my senses?" Shen Linyu turned his head slowly, his handsome face wearing an expression that was hard to describe. "You mean admiring a lady by gifting her a chicken on the very first meeting? How very unique."

Yuanjing: "?"

He didn't think that's what he meant.

Before he could explain, Shen Linyu added earnestly, "Yuanjing, let's not 'come to our senses' in that way."

Yuanjing: "..."

***

Below the stairs, the manager was already breaking into a cold sweat upon hearing "two hundred taels."

It seemed this chicken had to be sold today whether they liked it or not, but they couldn't let this lady continue raising the price, or word would spread that they were price-gouging.

Sigh! The money was clearly too hot to handle, yet they had no choice but to take it.

"We'll sell it to you, we'll sell it to you," the manager said repeatedly. "Please wait a moment. I will send someone to fetch the Black-Feathered Great General. Whether you stew, stir-fry, or deep-fry it afterwards, it will be entirely up to you."

Once he agreed, the lady finally stopped bidding and waited with an air of haughtiness.

The manager wiped his sweat and hurriedly urged the attendant to catch the chicken.

Nanny Wen, who had been standing behind like a Vajra without having spoken a word, prompted, "Get a live one! We will slaughter it ourselves!"

The attendant sprinted off, stumbling twice from the sheer killing intent, and returned in less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, holding a large rooster in his hands.

Its feathers were pitch black, gleaming under the lantern light; its comb stood erect, its beak was sharp, and its two powerful claws were bound with straw rope. Even as the attendant held it by its wings, the chicken's fierce aura remained undiminished.

The attendant tried to hand the Black-Feathered chicken to Nanny Wen.

Nanny Wen remained motionless; instead, A-Wei reached out and took it.

Seeing this, the manager hurriedly said, "Be careful, this chicken is ferocious..."

He only got halfway through his sentence before he saw A-Wei grabbing the wings and pulling the claws, observing it closely. Having its vital points gripped, the fierce bird tried to peck several times but failed, its "Great General" dignity lost as it let out continuous, angry clucks.

Well. No matter how loudly it crowed, it was useless. The human was far more ferocious than the chicken.

A-Wei fiddled with the chicken in her hands. This beast indeed had strength; there were fresh broken feathers on its wings, likely from the fight this afternoon. Once she was satisfied, she turned and walked away, carrying the chicken.

The manager asked, "Miss, the money..."

"Make it two hundred and fifty taels; I won't let you suffer a loss," A-Wei said, her footsteps never slowing. "Put it on my tab. Charge it to the Marquis of Dingxi's manor."

The manager's eyes widened.

It was a forced sale, yet she was actually paying. Why had it turned into a tab?

"My lady!" the manager chased after her. "The Marquis of Dingxi is not with us..."

A-Wei stopped and turned her head, asking righteously, "If my maternal grandfather isn't here, does that mean that boy Lu Zhi isn't here either? Just charge it to Lu Zhi's head!"

The manager: "..."

With this lady's ferocious temperament, the eldest Young Master Lu probably wouldn't dare set foot in the General Pavilion for a year or half a year. Were they supposed to go to the Marquis's manor to collect the debt?

The hot money had flown away!

Unexpectedly, that Nanny relaxed her Vajra-like expression, handed over a calling card, and instructed, "The Marquis's manor does not dodge debts. Bring this card tomorrow to collect the payment. You must come."