Old Madam Tang plunked down boldly at the table. “This old lady’s here to deal with this yapping mutt. Where’s One-Ear hiding, that gutless coward?”
One-Ear was the nickname for Tang Laidi’s father, Tang Sanyi.
In his younger days, Tang Sanyi had worked as a constable at the yamen. He’d once been careless and let a bandit slice off one of his ears, earning him the moniker “One-Ear” ever since.
The moment Madam Lu heard Old Madam Tang’s question, she instinctively glanced back toward the door.
Everyone in the main hall couldn’t help turning to look. A middle-aged man wearing a thick cloth hat stepped inside. He looked to be in his forties.
It was none other than the “One-Ear” Old Madam Tang had mentioned—Tang Laidi’s father.
The moment Tang Sanyi entered, he greeted Old Madam Tang politely. “Auntie.”
As he spoke, he tugged unconsciously at the hat that already covered both his ears. A dry laugh tugged at his lips.
Most folks in Tang Village were related by blood or marriage, and those without direct ties went by generational hierarchy. Old Madam Tang was of the same generation as Tang Sanyi’s father, so he called her “Auntie.”
Old Madam Tang snorted. “So you were here after all, skulking outside and eavesdropping on everything?”
The smile on Tang Sanyi’s face grew even more forced, making him look rather comical.
He tugged at his hat again and mumbled, “Auntie, it’s not like we’re trying to make things hard for Laidi on purpose. She’s our flesh and blood too, same as any daughter. But Shopkeeper Lu’s got too much pull—even the county magistrate gives him face. Her mother and I had no choice.”
“All my kids might be my flesh and blood,” Old Madam Tang shot back, “but the palm’s thicker than the back of the hand. You know damn well how you’ve treated Laidi. This old lady doesn’t care how you play at being parents. Today, I’m only concerned with this shop. Let’s see who dares try to shut it down.” Her words carried unyielding resolve as her piercing gaze bored into Tang Sanyi.
Tang Sanyi fell silent for a moment before murmuring, “Auntie, this shop belongs to Laidi.”
Shopkeeper Lu had come to their home personally before this and laid it all out: their daughter was the restaurant’s owner, Old Madam Tang was the head chef, and the Tang Jin couple were employees.
He had no idea how Old Madam Tang had ended up as head chef, but the restaurant was still his family’s.
Old Madam Tang let out a cold snort and turned to Tang Laidi. “Laidi, tell them whose restaurant this is.”
She had already gotten the full story on how the three young ones had teamed up to start this business.
The lease contract was in Tang Jin’s hands, signed by Tang Jin. Tang Laidi had put up twenty taels of silver, but the unlucky granddaughter hadn’t been honest about it—she hadn’t included any profit-sharing clause.
Once Old Madam Tang understood everything, she’d originally planned to have Tang Jin amend the contract. She couldn’t let them bully an honest kid like that.
But considering Tang Laidi’s parents’ true colors, she’d held her tongue and kept it in her back pocket.
And sure enough, her suspicions had been spot on. These two had come looking for trouble.
She trusted Tang Laidi wasn’t a fool. The girl knew exactly what to say right now.
Tang Laidi paused for a beat, then hastily wiped the tears from her face. “It’s yours, Grandmother Tang.”
Old Madam Tang nodded in satisfaction. “You hear that? This restaurant belongs to this old lady. That twenty taels from Laidi? I authorized Tang Jin to borrow it, and it’s already been paid back. The girls calling each other ‘boss’ this and ‘boss’ that? That’s just how close they are. Unlike some ungrateful wretches waving a knife in front of Guan Yu, trying to decide who gets kicked out.”
Madam Lu opened her mouth, wanting to protest that she hadn’t demanded anyone leave, but her staff-smashed arm was still throbbing. She didn’t dare make a peep.
Old Madam Tang had always had a fierce reputation as an auntie. Ever since Madam Lu had married into Tang Village, she’d heard tale after tale of the old woman’s heroic exploits. This one was the real deal—she’d actually wield a blade and fight to the death.
Tang Sanyi glanced at his daughter, his eyes darting as he said, “If the restaurant isn’t Laidi’s, then we’re not getting involved. Laidi, come home with Dad.”
Meeting her father’s gaze, Tang Laidi clenched her fists. She didn’t speak, but her feet carried her a few steps to stand behind Old Madam Tang.
It was her way of declaring her choice.
Tang Sanyi frowned. Steeling himself, he turned to Old Madam Tang. “Auntie, you’re always one for reason. Since Laidi’s not the owner, let her come home with me. You can’t stand in her way. What if she drags down… our whole family again?”
Old Madam Tang glared at him. “Which eye of yours sees me blocking anyone? Don’t you, as her father, know why Laidi won’t go home? Who was it that kicked out such a good kid in the first place? A whole nest of conscienceless vermin. If heaven has any justice, it’ll strike you all down one day.”
Even under the barrage of insults, Tang Sanyi didn’t dare retort. He just stubbornly repeated, “Laidi has to come home with me.”
The atmosphere ground to a deadlock.
Just then, Tang Laidi spoke up, her eyes red. “If you and Mom are so afraid I’ll drag you down, then let’s sever ties. From now on, dead or alive, it has nothing to do with you. You already kicked me out once before anyway—it won’t make a difference.”
Her words came out fast, her voice flat and even, though tears brimmed in her eyes.
Madam Lu exploded at once. “You wretched girl! You ungrateful wolf with a heart of stone!”
No matter how disobedient her daughter was, the girl was still pretty enough to fetch a few dozen taels in betrothal gifts after all these years of raising her. Severing ties? That would mean all those years wasted. No way in hell.
Tang Laidi let out a tearful laugh. “I guess my heart is hard. Just like yours, Mom.”
“You…” Enraged and frantic, Madam Lu reached out to discipline her.
“Tang Jin, what are you standing around for? Pick up my staff!” Old Madam Tang barked suddenly. Tang Jin scrambled to retrieve it.
Madam Lu’s hand froze mid-motion. Her arm still ached faintly. She shot a wary glance at Old Madam Tang, then retreated two steps to huddle by Tang Sanyi. In a low whine, she grumbled, “Her dad, look at Laidi. You spoiled her rotten. Aren’t you going to do something?”
Like father, like daughter—in looks, temperament, even her love for wielding spear and staff, Tang Laidi took after Tang Sanyi through and through.
Tang Sanyi stared at his daughter, taking in the tears and defiance in her eyes.
He turned his head away, tugged at his hat, and muttered, “Laidi, you’re on your own from here. Your mother and I will pretend we never had you.”
With that, he dragged Madam Lu away.
He hadn’t explicitly agreed to sever ties, but it felt like he had.
Tang Laidi watched their retreating backs, forcing a smile. “Great. Now no one’s around to boss me. I can do whatever I want.”
Tang Jin eyed the bizarre mix of tears and laughter on her face and couldn’t resist poking, “If you wanna cry, just cry. No outsiders here. That fake smile looks creepy as hell.”
Bottling it up would only make things worse.
“I don’t wanna cry…” Tang Laidi opened her mouth, but the next instant, she buried her face in her hands and broke down sobbing.
Her best friend had such a sharp tongue. Couldn’t she say less for once? Waaah, her heart hurt so much.
Chu Lingyue sighed softly and went over to offer a handkerchief. Tang Jin’s mouth could use a good smack sometimes, but Tang Laidi really did need to let it out.
Every family had its own tangled mess.
Old Madam Tang, however, furrowed her brow. “One-Ear’s always been sly and underhanded. He doesn’t want the trouble of being dragged down, but he’s also afraid Laidi might make it big one day and he won’t get to ride her coattails. You could cry yourself to death, and he wouldn’t bat an eye.”
Chu Lingyue sighed again. Grandmother and granddaughter took after each other in that regard—neither could resist saying one more thing.
Tang Laidi’s sobs hitched. In a hoarse voice, she said, “Actually, my dad was always good to me…”
She and her little brother were just a year apart. As far back as she could remember, Dad had taught her brother martial arts, while Mom made her learn embroidery.
So she’d quietly gone to her dad and asked to train like her brother.
He’d smiled and sighed. “Good girl. You’re a true daughter of Tang Sanyi.”
From then on, she’d ditched the embroidery needle for the joys of martial training.
In her memories, Dad had never scolded her. He always spoke gently. It was Mom who’d beaten and berated her nonstop—but even she hadn’t stopped Dad from teaching her.
Later, to get her a spot as a constable at the yamen alongside her brother, Dad had retired early and pulled every string he could to make it happen.
Old Madam Tang sighed. “You kids don’t get it.” Was it really “good” just because there were no beatings or scoldings? He’d never lifted a finger to stop them when the blows were landing.
On the surface, the family revolved around Madam Lu, with her charging ahead at every issue. But that wasn’t the truth.
The one pulling strings from the shadows, staying clean on both sides—that was One-Ear, the real head of the household.
One-Ear had a respectable face and solid martial skills to boot. He was sharp-minded too, with a bright future ahead. It was just that in his reckless youth, he’d lost an ear in a fight.
After that, it was like he’d become a different person. He wore that thick cloth hat year-round, as if ashamed to show his face. After marrying the plain-looking but fiery-tempered Madam Lu, he faded even further into the background, avoiding people and letting her take the lead on everything.
But Old Madam Tang saw through it. The old fox just couldn’t get past the hurdle of his missing ear. His mind was as sharp as ever—and growing more scheming by the day.
Today’s drama? Probably all his calculation.
Now he could tell everyone he disowned his daughter, while the household registry stayed unchanged.
If Tang Laidi ever struck it rich, he’d trot out filial piety to squeeze her dry.
Tang Laidi stared blankly, forgetting to cry. “Grandmother Tang, my dad…?” What did the old woman mean? It sounded like she was saying he wasn’t a good man.
Old Madam Tang shook her head, saying no more. In her eyes, One-Ear’s elaborate scheme to get his daughter into the yamen had never been well-intentioned.
And look at the results right in front of them. Tang Laidi poured her heart into the job as constable, her skills even surpassing her brother’s. Success was inevitable—and all her merits would end up credited to him.
They said children were a parents’ karmic debt. With a father like that, One-Ear was the real debt collector scheming against his own daughter.
Seeing Old Madam Tang unwilling to elaborate, Tang Jin broke the heavy silence. “Let’s put that aside for now. Time to open up and welcome customers, or we’ll miss the dinner rush.”
But the moment they opened the door, another uninvited guest arrived.
Tang Jin eyed the aggressively approaching Shopkeeper Lu and blocked the entrance. “What do you think you’re doing?”
Good grief. One wave hadn’t settled before the next crashed in.
Worse, Shopkeeper Lu had brought two constables this time. Had this smiling tiger bribed the officials to haul them all off?
Was ancient life always this thrilling?
Shopkeeper Lu flashed a crafty grin and nodded to the bailiffs behind him. “You’ll see for yourselves once you’re inside, brothers. It’s right there on this restaurant’s menu: Slippery Egg Beef Slices. Made from slaughtered draft oxen.”
The two constables exchanged a glance. The elder one barked coldly, “Official business. Stand aside, all unrelated persons.”
Tang Jin’s mind raced, latching onto the key point. From the original host’s memories, the Hundred Blades Code of Laws didn’t explicitly ban slaughtering draft oxen. But each county imposed varying restrictions.
In plain terms, there was no hard law against it, but the yamen could decide case by case. It could be a trifle or a major offense, all depending on the county magistrate’s mood.
She now understood why Old Madam Tang had said that Tang Laidi’s father was sneakily wicked. After all, ever since today’s menu had been posted outside, the only visitors had been One-Ear and Madam Lu.
She hadn’t expected that couple to be quite so ruthless. They must have gone straight to Shopkeeper Lu with the news the moment they stepped out the door; otherwise, the constables wouldn’t have shown up so quickly.
Tang Jin wasn’t the only one to realize this. Upon hearing Shopkeeper Lu’s words, Tang Laidi first stared in disbelief, then hurried forward.
“Big Brother Liu, Second Brother Liu, what brings you here?” she asked.
When Liu Da spotted Tang Laidi, his stern demeanor from moments ago vanished, replaced by a warm smile. “Lai Di, little sister, what are you doing here?”
Others might not know who had cracked that maddening theft case that had plagued them, but these constables, who had worked it together, knew full well.
That was why they felt such deep sympathy for Tang Laidi’s past troubles and still cherished the bonds from those days.
“I’m the owner of this restaurant,” Tang Laidi replied. She had realized by now that only her parents had seen today’s menu. With no intention of letting her own situation drag everyone else down, she promptly shouldered whatever responsibility might follow.
The Liu brothers exchanged puzzled glances for a moment. Then Liu Da put on a troubled expression. “The yamen received a report that someone is slaughtering draft oxen and selling the meat. We’re just following orders here, Lai Di little sister. Where did your restaurant get the beef for its dishes?”
As he spoke, he shot a glance at Shopkeeper Lu. It was this man who had filed the report.
Instinctively, Tang Laidi looked toward Tang Jin. After all, Tang Jin was the one who had bought all the ingredients for the cooking…
Tang Jin made no move to deny the menu’s existence. One-Ear and Madam Lu had already seen it, and taking it down now would be as futile as covering one’s ears to steal a bell.
But she stayed calm. “Since Shopkeeper Lu is accusing us of slaughtering draft oxen,” she said evenly, “does he have any proof?”
As someone from the modern world, she had no intention of stumbling foolishly into the trap of proving her own innocence.
Whoever made the claim had to provide the evidence. She was curious to see what Shopkeeper Lu could come up with.
