Chapter 294
Chapter 294
Qin Dong turned his head and saw Wang Er storming in with another man.
"Old man Qin, I advise you to be smart. Either obediently pay back the silver your son owes, or hand over this Qin Restaurant to us!" The newcomer was named Wu San, a manager of the Xiaoyao Cave gambling den where Qin Dong's son, Qin Minghao, frequented.
Wu San naturally noticed Cheng Qingli standing to the side. However, Cheng Qingli was dressed in extraordinary attire.
There were many nobles in the capital, and since Wu San did not know Cheng Qingli's true identity, he naturally would not rashly offend an unrelated person.
Besides, his purpose for coming today was to take over the Qin Restaurant. After all, this was something his master wanted.
Otherwise, they would not have bothered setting such a massive trap for that fool Qin Minghao.
As for Cheng Qingli, she was indeed beautiful, but Wu San was not the type to forget his duty for the sake of lust.
He was also worried that Cheng Qingli's identity might be someone he could not afford to provoke.
"Brother San, and that woman too!" Wang Er, however, impatiently pointed at Cheng Qingli. The Qin Restaurant was what their boss wanted, but this woman was what he wanted.
The thought of taking this beautiful little lady back made Wang Er rub his hands together, his heart itching with anticipation.
"Shut up!" Wu San rolled his eyes at Wang Er, secretly cursing the fool for not knowing his limits.
"Third Master, I truly cannot produce one hundred taels of silver," Qin Dong said with a helpless expression.
He felt incredibly bitter. Back in the Qin Restaurant's heyday, let alone one hundred taels, even a thousand taels of silver would have been nothing to him.
Only now did he understand what it meant for a single penny to stump a hero.
"One hundred taels of silver? Who told you it was one hundred taels today? Today you owe three hundred taels of silver!" Wang Er smugly held up three fingers and walked up to Qin Dong.
In his heart, he was drooling over Cheng Qingli, who was sitting behind them.
He thought about how, once Qin Dong failed to produce the silver, he would force him to hand over this woman as payment.
At this thought, Wang Er revealed a malicious smile as he looked at Cheng Qingli.
Wu San frowned. The master had not mentioned three hundred taels.
However, the master wanted the Qin Restaurant. Demanding more silver to pressure Qin Dong wasn't a bad idea either.
"Second Master, Third Master, I truly do not have the silver. How about you let me open my restaurant for business, and once I earn the money, I will pay you back?" Qin Dong pleaded, looking at the two men.
These past days, they had come to make trouble every single day. Even if he wanted to open for business, he could not.
If these people stopped causing trouble, he was confident he could earn back the silver.
"Open for business? Are you dreaming? If you can't produce the silver, then use the Qin Restaurant to pay off the debt!" Wang Er said smugly.
"And that little chick too, hand her over as well," Wang Er added, a triumphant smile appearing on his lips.
It was as if the restaurant and the woman were already his.
"Hiss!" Qin Dong gasped. He had not expected Wang Er to be so greedy.
He especially had not expected Wang Er to target this young lady.
"Second Master, I don't know this young lady. Just take her silver and let it go. She merely had a bowl of noodles here. Please spare her!" Qin Dong sighed, feeling awful. In the end, he couldn't even protect this last piece of his ancestral property.
However, he absolutely could not let anything happen to this young lady.
"Yaoyue, give them three hundred taels and tell them to leave!" Cheng Qingli's cold voice rang out, stunning everyone present.
Yaoyue nodded, took out a three-hundred-tael silver note, handed it directly to Wu San, and said coldly, "Take the silver and get lost!"
"Miss? This..." Qin Dong never expected this young lady to step in and help him.
Thinking about the Qin Restaurant falling into the hands of these thugs, Qin Dong would rather give it to this young girl.
Cheng Qingli simply continued eating her noodles quietly, not even glancing at them.
Wu San was dumbfounded. He had not expected someone to suddenly interfere just as the Qin Restaurant was about to fall into his hands.
Thinking of this, Wu San sized up Cheng Qingli once more.
Originally, he figured that since her identity was unknown, he would not make things difficult for her.
But now, it seemed that while he was being polite to her, she was trying to steal his prize.
It appeared he no longer needed to be polite.
"Miss, I advise you not to interfere in the affairs of our Yue family!" Wu San glared at Cheng Qingli in displeasure, issuing a warning.
The look Wu San gave her was extremely vicious. If Cheng Qingli dared to meddle, he would not let her off easily.
"The Yue family? Which Yue family? I am unaware of when such a formidable Yue family appeared in the capital," Cheng Qingli said, the corners of her lips curling into a mocking sneer.
"What are you still standing there for?" Cheng Qingli signaled to Yaoyue to quickly kick the men out.
"If you know what is good for you, take the silver and leave! My lady is not someone a petty little Yue family can afford to provoke," Yaoyue said mockingly as she shoved the silver note in front of Wu San.
Let alone this unheard-of Yue family in the capital, even the Leng family would have to show her lady respect.
After all, her lady was the Empress's most beloved younger sister.
"Qin Dong?" Wu San looked at Qin Dong, his words full of warning. It must be known that Qin Dong's son, Qin Minghao, was still in their hands.
If Qin Dong dared to give the Qin Restaurant to someone else and ruin their master's plans, they would definitely not spare Qin Minghao.
"Thank you for your righteousness, Miss. However, he still holds my son's IOU," Qin Dong said respectfully to Cheng Qingli.
He had made up his mind. He would rather give the Qin Restaurant to Cheng Qingli than to these ambitious wolves.
"Bring out the IOU, take the silver, and get lost!" Cheng Qingli held out her hand toward Wu San.
"Miss, since you have no relation to Qin Dong, there is no need to offend our Yue family for his sake. It will do you no good!" How could Wu San dare to simply take the three hundred taels and leave?
What his master wanted was the Qin Restaurant.
Not three hundred taels in silver notes.
If he really went back like this, his master would not let him off.
"What is the Yue family, that you dare to threaten my lady? My lady is the young miss of the Cheng family. What, does your Yue family want to go against my lady?" Yaoyue stood protectively in front of Cheng Qingli and scolded him with a look of deep dissatisfaction.
Wu San's heart skipped a beat. He never expected that the young woman ruining his plans was a miss of the Cheng family.
The Yue family was merely a merchant household. Dealing with a small vendor like Qin Dong was fine, but going up against the Cheng family was completely beyond their capabilities.
Realizing this, Wu San could only say reluctantly, "Please forgive me, Miss Cheng. It was my blind eyes that failed to recognize Mount Tai. I didn't recognize you. It's just that I didn't bring the IOU with me..."
Wu San thought to himself that there was no way Miss Cheng could stay here keeping watch forever.