Chapter 159: Chapter 159: "I am willing to be at Miss Ming’s disposal.

Jiang Yuchuan’s face paled.

He looked at Ming Lingyi, his voice dropping. "Miss Ming, are you upset with me?"

Ming Lingyi raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Of course not!" she denied immediately.

"Then why..." Jiang Yuchuan still looked unwell. He didn’t seem convinced.

Ming Lingyi explained, "I recently discussed a collaboration with the owner of Guanwen Hall. She’ll be helping me with promotions from now on, to see if we can attract some other talented judges. Otherwise, I feel a little bad always calling on you."

"There’s nothing to feel bad about. I want to help you of my own free will, Miss Ming. Besides, I enjoy observing others’ poetry. Being able to read their great works is a blessing for me." Jiang Yuchuan immediately clarified his stance. He had never considered helping Ming Lingyi a burden.

In fact, every time he had a chance to help Ming Lingyi, he felt happy, as if he wasn’t entirely useless to her.

Ming Lingyi chuckled. Putting other things aside, just being friends with someone like Jiang Yuchuan was undeniably pleasant.

"Then I must thank you, Lord Jiang. You’ve been very good to our eatery, I know. But one can’t be too greedy and always expect others to help with everything, right?" Ming Lingyi said with a smile.

Hearing this, Jiang Yuchuan subconsciously wanted to retort that he wasn’t just "others," but the thought had barely crossed his mind before he realized how inappropriate it was.

They had no official status, no defined relationship. How could he claim he wasn’t "others"?

Jiang Yuchuan’s eyes dimmed slightly. "Actually, if you wouldn’t mind it, Miss Ming, I am willing to be at your disposal."

As he said this, Jiang Yuchuan lowered his voice. He was very serious, and his expression grew even more solemn, showing the sincerity of his words.

However, these sincere words gave Ming Lingyi quite a fright.

How could she possibly "command" a court official?

The only person who could "command" such a man would be his wife.

Ming Lingyi couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

’Why was I just one step too late?’

’But the timing of that step is so important to me. I can’t force myself to compromise.’

’Sometimes, if you take one step back to compromise, you’ll have to keep compromising for the rest of your life.’

Ming Lingyi lowered her gaze slightly, hiding the regret in her eyes. When she looked up again, an impeccable, faint smile had returned to her face.

"Lord Jiang and I are friends. Friends don’t ’command’ each other. That sounds so disrespectful, don’t you think?" Ming Lingyi said.

Her words left Jiang Yuchuan stunned for a moment.

When he came to his senses, he blurted out anxiously, "Miss Ming, that’s not what I meant. I... I’m doing it willingly. I wouldn’t feel disrespected at all."

Ming Lingyi said, "But even the best of friends can’t be like that. Otherwise, your future wife will come looking to settle scores with me, hahaha. How would I dare command another woman’s husband? I wouldn’t do something so shameless!"

She was still beaming as she spoke. But to Jiang Yuchuan, that smile was heartbreaking.

Neither of them was a fool. Some things were understood without being stated so plainly.

Ming Lingyi’s gaze swept lightly over the man’s face, and she knew Jiang Yuchuan had understood her meaning.

"If you’d like to order anything else, Lord Jiang, just let us know. There are still things waiting for me in the kitchen." After saying this, Ming Lingyi stood up to leave.

Jiang Yuchuan opened his mouth, but he didn’t know how to ask her to stay. He could only watch as her figure gradually disappeared behind the curtain—a barrier that had never seemed like one to him before.

"Miss, Lord Jiang is still sitting out front."

What Ming Lingyi had said earlier wasn’t entirely an excuse. She really was busy in the kitchen.

With the Dragon Boat Festival approaching, she was preparing to make good money during the holiday.

The Dragon Boat Festival was, of course, a time for eating zongzi. For the fillings, Ming Lingyi planned to use a few of the ones from the green balls she’d made for the Qingming Festival. In addition, she was also preparing several different kinds of savory zongzi.

Based on her experience selling the green balls last time, the people of Shangjing City were actually quite fond of savory snacks.

Besides the salted egg yolk flavor, Ming Lingyi was preparing fresh pork zongzi and cured meat zongzi (ham).

She first made two in the shop and had everyone in the eatery try them. Perhaps it was because her eatery attracted food lovers, but not a single person found the taste strange. They even suggested she make more of these meat zongzi.

"I’ve only ever had the ones with red bean paste filling before. Every time my mom made me eat them, I could only manage one at most, or it would be too rich. But the ones you make, Miss, are delicious! I love them!"

Even Shi Mingyue, who was usually quiet, expressed her fondness for the meat zongzi Ming Lingyi made.

She preferred the cured meat zongzi, as the preserved meat had a unique flavor.

Having decided on the fillings, Ming Lingyi was now spending her efforts on the packaging.

First, the packaging had to be attractive to catch people’s eyes. Then they would discover the delicious flavor inside, and that would build a reputation through word-of-mouth.

In the past, Ming Lingyi hadn’t paid much attention to packaging. Wasn’t that because she didn’t have much spare cash or enough staff, forcing her to use "simple packaging"?

When Ming Lingyi heard Xiao Chun mention that Jiang Yuchuan still hadn’t left, she couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

Handing the bamboo strip in her hand back to Wu Zhao Yu, Ming Lingyi stood up from her stool. "I’ll go check on him."

The eatery out front had already closed for the night. With Jiang Yuchuan sitting alone in the main hall, it was really awkward for Xiao Chun and the others to urge him to leave.

When Ming Lingyi lifted the curtain and went out, the only light in the main hall came from a single candle on the table where Jiang Yuchuan sat.

As Ming Lingyi walked over, Jiang Yuchuan was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn’t even notice she was standing across from him.

"Lord Jiang," Ming Lingyi called out softly.

Hearing her voice, Jiang Yuchuan snapped back to reality. He was about to say something when his peripheral vision caught the surrounding darkness. Realizing what had happened, he hurriedly stood up. "Have I kept you from closing up?"

Ming Lingyi replied, "Not at all. The hour is just right."

Jiang Yuchuan said, "I’m sorry, I was just..." He wanted to explain, but felt there were some things he simply couldn’t explain to Ming Lingyi. Saying too much would just make him seem like he was pestering her.

"The moonlight is lovely tonight. Why don’t I walk you out, Lord Jiang?" Ming Lingyi thoughtfully finished his sentence, extending the invitation.

A flicker of emotion crossed Jiang Yuchuan’s face.

’How can I be content with the fact that such a thoughtful Miss Ming is not fated to be mine?’

Jiang Yuchuan followed behind Ming Lingyi, taking a deep breath. He had sat there for a long time, thinking. Earlier, with other customers in the eatery, he hadn’t been able to speak with her very clearly. ’What if I tried again now? Could the outcome be less terrible?’

At this thought, after stepping out of the eatery, Jiang Yuchuan quickened his pace to catch up with Ming Lingyi.

"Miss Ming, I have something else I want to say to you."

The moment the words left his lips, another man’s voice drifted over from a short distance away.

Deep.

"Yuan Niang."

Somehow, Li Yun had appeared outside the eatery again.