Becoming the Villain's Discarded Wife
Chapter 388: The Hand Behind the Curtain?

Chapter 388: Chapter 388: The Hand Behind the Curtain?

The coachman recognized Shi Tou.

Many of the customers who ate at the restaurant were willing to spend money, and late at night, those who had drunk too much would call for a carriage.

So, he would stand guard at the entrance of the restaurant every afternoon with some friends, waiting for customers.

Shi Tou was the former acting city lord, often visiting the restaurant to meet Shen Dong and staying up late into the night before leaving with him.

Indeed, when looked at it, they were a perfectly matched handsome man and beautiful woman.

Shen Miaomiao looked at the young man in white, somewhat in awe.

Back in Lihua Village, Shi Tou had been like this.

"Miaomiao, I’m here to fetch you."

Shi Tou moistened his lips, his eyes shimmering with starlight, casting a steady reflection of Shen Miaomiao’s figure.

Seeing him like this, Shen Miaomiao’s heart throbbed. She only gave the coachman a silver horn before stepping down from the carriage.

Shi Tou reached out to steady her, his eyes filled with worry.

"Miaomiao, are you okay?"

"Mhm."

The girl lowered her head so that no one could see the expression on her face.

"I..." Shi Tou wanted to say something, but he felt as if his throat were blocked by a stone, unable to utter a word.

"I know my situation has put you in a difficult position." Shen Miaomiao broke the silence quietly, not avoiding him like she used to.

"I don’t mind." Shi Tou quickly shook his head in denial, his heart pounding with excitement.

Just because Miaomiao said something like this, it implies that there won’t be any more issues between them.

However, these past few days had left his mind in turmoil, with Miaomiao always avoiding him.

Persistently absent in Yan City and unsure when he’ll be back, Shen Dong’s not around, Liu Jie seems to be utterly clueless, leaving no one to provide him with a useful suggestion.

He even thought that Miaomiao might already be uninterested in him.

Fortunately, it was just a false alarm.

"Shi Tou, if I go back to Kyoto with you, will you be nice to me?"

Except for the occasional chirping of insects, there were no other sounds outside the city gate.

They stared at each other, trying to read something from each other’s eyes.

"Yes, I, Shi Tou, swear to heaven that if I ever betray Shen Miaomiao, may I be struck by lightning and have a miserable death!"

Shi Tou lifted his hand to swear, his tone earnest.

The young man was standing solemnly, his heart devoted only to the girl before him.

"Alright." Shen Miaomiao didn’t block his mouth like the girls in novels do but instead nodded solemnly in agreement.

"Shi Tou, I, Shen Miaomiao, also swear that if I ever betray you, may I die a violent death and never reincarnate."

The two tightly embraced each other, each desperately wishing they could be a part of each other’s body and soul.

Old Man Wu at the city gate clicked his tongue twice and took another bite of his grilled lamb leg.

He had to say, the younger generation’s vows were genuinely deadly.

He could never compare, not a chance.

With another bite of the grilled lamb leg, Old Man Wu swung his legs satisfactorily.

At least he could still enjoy some lamb leg, thanks to this lady.

Inside the restaurant, Xu Chou, Lin Xiaoquan, and An Wazi were staring at each other incredulously.

"An Wazi, where did the grilled lamb leg go?" Xu Chou pointed at the grill in disbelief.

The lamb leg he marinated and put on half an hour ago was suddenly gone.

"I have no idea." An Wazi shook his head hastily - a grilled lamb leg cost two to three hundred wen, and sold for seven hundred. He couldn’t afford such a loss.

"I was just helping out in the front hall, Brother Aze can testify for me!"

Xu Chou turned his doubtful gaze towards Lin Xiaoquan.

There was a commotion in the front hall recently, but he recalled that Lin Xiaoquan wasn’t there.

"Uncle Xu, it wasn’t me! I was just in the toilet!" Lin Xiaoquan’s face was beet red.

He had been having difficulty going to the toilet for the past two days and had to squat for a quarter of an hour each time before he could excrete anything!

"That’s odd..." Xu Chou scratched his head, puzzled.

The lamb leg was originally ordered by a customer, but the restaurant had a disturbance and all the customers left. The order was to slice the lamb leg and let everyone eat it together at night.

However, when he came out to check, not to mention the lamb leg, not even a bone was left behind.

"What’s going on here?" Sister Nanzhi entered the backyard and saw the three of them huddled together, sparking her curiosity.

"Miss, the grilled lamb leg is missing." Xu Chou was somewhat helpless but could only tell the truth.

It’s common for cooks and waiters to sneak some food, but they usually just had a taste. Who would have the nerve to steal an entire lamb leg?

Moreover, their boss was always generous. If the workers wanted anything, they just had to request it and it would be cooked for the next meal. Even if new workers were tempted by the food, they would only taste a little. No one would have the guts to run off with an entire lamb leg.

"Missing?" Nanzhi paused, the first person coming to her mind was "Old Teacher Wu".

"If it’s missing, so be it. It’s late anyway, so let’s quickly prepare a few dishes for everyone to eat and rest."

Nanzhi didn’t pursue the matter any further and Xu Chou chose not to press it either.

Although Lin Xiaoquan and An Wazi felt wronged, they knew they were both responsible if anything went wrong in Shen Yuntian’s absence.

It wasn’t until the next day that Shen Miaomiao learned of the disturbance at the restaurant the previous night.

Looking at the cleaned-up shards of porcelain, she felt heartbroken.

One doesn’t understand the cost of living until they have to sustain a household, and one doesn’t appreciate the value of objects until they manage a business!

Five wen for a bowl, six for a plate, a set of tables and chairs for two taels of silver, not to mention the large amount of wasted food and drink last night.

"Sister Nanzhi." Shen Miaomiao clenched her teeth, looking at the pile of junk, her eyes turning red.

"Did you have a sleepless night? Your eyes are so red." Nanzhi patted her head with a smile.

"I’m to blame for not staying in the restaurant yesterday." The young girl felt somewhat defeated.

Every time there was a problem in the restaurant, she always seemed to be absent, as if she was an idler.

"If you were there, would the old lady not have made a scene? You silly girl, this is what running a business is like, you meet all sorts of people." Nanzhi’s expression was calm, indicating she didn’t overreact.

When she worked part-time in a bigger restaurant, she often encountered customers who started fights or broke things after getting drunk.

After seeing this happen repeatedly, she had become accustomed to it.

"The old lady...is she really Su Tao’s grandmother?" Shen Miaomiao was somewhat incredulous.

After all, even though she didn’t like Su Tao, she didn’t seem like the type of person who would incite her grandmother to cause a ruckus in a restaurant.

And since Su Tao left for Kyoto long ago, how did her grandmother know about the rumors and why did she decide to go to the restaurant and cause a scene?

"She likely is." Nanzhi nodded without further explanation.

"It’s strange, the rumors about Shen Dong and Su Tao have been around for a while now. So, who told her?" Shen Miaomiao furrowed her brow.

The He Residence.

Mrs. He looked at her son, who had lost considerable weight, with agony in her eyes.

"You foolish boy, how could you neglect your health like this?"

The young master of the He family looked sickly and didn’t respond to her.

His gaze fixed unwaveringly on the jade hairpin on the table.

How could this be possible...