Lin Kong waited in the private room, from noon until the sun tilted west, yet Xuexue was nowhere to be seen. The waiter had checked on him several times, looking as if he was afraid Lin Kong might skip out on the bill.

Finally, Lin Kong couldn’t sit still any longer; having no money on him, he thickened his face and called the waiter to settle the bill.

The waiter held a small abacus, clattered away at it, and announced loudly, "Sir, the total for the meal is five hundred and thirty-five taels."

Upon hearing this, Lin Kong immediately exaggerated his reaction, "Is this place a swindler’s den? Why is it so expensive?"

The waiter patiently explained, "Sir, these are our restaurant’s signature dishes; naturally they cost more than other dishes."

With not a penny in his pocket, Lin Kong didn’t know what to do. So he played the rogue, "I think your restaurant is a swindler’s den. We didn’t even order, yet you took the liberty of serving us a table full of signature dishes. What do you mean by this?"

The waiter, who had just taken over the shift, glanced at the table, mostly empty of food, and said, "I’m not sure, sir. If you have any issues, please consult our shopkeeper. He handled this matter; he knows the details best."

Lin Kong wore an angry face, "Quickly, call your shopkeeper over here."

The waiter apologized, "Sir, I’m sorry, but the shopkeeper is out and hasn’t returned yet. Would you be willing to wait here?"

Lin Kong replied, "Wait for what? I have other matters to attend to! Eating one meal and spending a whole day at the restaurant, what a lousy place you have. I won’t be coming back to dine here again."

Looking at the empty plates on the table, the waiter silently mused that this guest was obviously looking for a free meal. He knew the dishes served were wrong, yet finished them entirely, bringing it up only when it was time to pay. Didn’t that clearly indicate he intended to dine for free?

As the waiter’s face gradually darkened, he sternly said, "Sir, you knew from the start that the dishes were wrong, you shouldn’t have finished them before mentioning it. That’s on you. You’ve consumed the food, which shows you really liked our restaurant’s food, so please pay for your meal." 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Lin Kong was furious. If he had money on him, he would have thrown it in the waiter’s face to show disdain for the sneering contempt. But knowing he was under someone else’s roof, he understood not to act impulsively. Taking a deep breath, he adopted a negotiating tone, "Young man, how about this? I’ll give you an IOU, and you can go to the fourth prince’s mansion to collect the money, how does that sound?"

The waiter paused in surprise, "Are you from the fourth prince’s mansion?"

Lin Kong proudly tilted his head, responding coldly, "I’m the fourth prince’s Master."

The waiter suspiciously sized him up, muttering, "Is that true? Can the Master of the fourth prince truly not afford a meal?"

Lin Kong felt a bit of shame, "I forgot to bring any silver when I left today; it’s a momentary oversight."

The waiter was skeptical, saying, "How am I supposed to know if you really are the Master of the fourth prince? How about this — do you have anything valuable on you? Leave it with us first, and we’ll return it once we receive the meal payment."

Lin Kong was incensed, retorting angrily, "I don’t have anything valuable on me, except for these clothes; do you want them?"

Originally, Lin Kong was just speaking in aggravation.

However, the waiter took him at his word, eyeing Lin Kong’s clothes up and down. Amazingly enough, the fabric was top-quality — plain gauze, fabric only the wealthy could afford. It was said that a single outfit made of plain gauze could cost thousands of taels of silver, affordable only to royal nobility.