First Outing With A "Friend"

A day after the banquet to welcome back the two high-achieving generals at war, Fan Ling received a letter from Yao Xiaodan.

In the letter, Yao Xiaodan wrote, 'Although you're very quiet and almost like my father, I shall forgive you and continue to be friends with you! Today, let's go out. There's a restaurant that I really really really really really loooooove! You've got to try their food at least once in your life. It's called Worldly Cuisine and it's located on the other side of the street that the bank is on. Just the name is more than enough to attract you, right?! Anyways, I'll be in private room one.'

When Fan Ling finished reading the letter, her very first few words were, "She truly is talkative in person, and even in writing."

"Miss, that means that Young Miss Yao probably has a favorable opinion of you," Xiong Qingzhao said while continuing to stare at the letter as though she would put the letter on a gold platter.

"Xiao Qing, stop staring at the letter so strongly. You are going to make the letter shy," Fan Ling jokingly spoke without a joking tone.

"Miss, it is the first time that Xiao Qing has seen someone invite you out. I really want to keep this letter for memory sakes," Xiong Qingzhao stated as she continued to give the letter an intense look.

Fan Ling sighed at the words that Xiong Qingzhao.

Just as she finished sighing, Fan Ping walked into her room and said, "Xiao Ling should go out. It is also the first time that I have seen someone invite you out. Nonetheless, someone who can be trusted."

"Da-ge trusts the Yao family?" Fan Ling asked as she shifted her gaze from Xiong Qingzhao to Fan Ping.

"Yao Xiaodan is one of two daughters of Duke Yao. Just like Father, Duke Yao only has one wife and no concubines," Fan Ping explained. "Not only that, but Duke Yao also has a son."

"Ah, is his son one of the men sitting at the same table as you yesterday?" Fan Ling made an informative guess.

"Yes. Father and Duke Yao have been working together, but so have his son and me," Fan ping answered while walking up to also read the letter. "Hm… Worldly Cuisine… It is not a bad restaurant. Although the food here is good, you should also learn to enhance your tastes. Go and have fun with her."

"Alright, Da-ge," Fan Ling gave a sigh of resignation. "Xiao Qing, help me get ready."

"Yes, Miss," Xiong Qingzhao happily accepted her order.

After Xiong Qingzhao finished dressing her up, Fan Ling looked at herself in the mirror and gave another sigh.

"Xiao Qing, you did not have to be so extra…" Fan Ling spat out a single word at a time.

In the mirror, there was a cute and enchanting girl reflected back. Her eyes were colored with a shimmering white shadow and lined with black charcoal to have a shape similar to that of a phoenix eye. Her lips were colored light pink and her cheeks were given a natural blush.

Atop her head, there were silver adornments to match the black dress that she was wearing which was embroidered with silver threads to have the appearance of a phoenix flying in the clouds. She was extremely adorable and lovely at this moment.

Sadly, the person who owned such an appearance gave off a somber aura that did not match the beauty on her face. Instead, her aura only matched the darkness of the dress.

"Miss, it is your first going out with a friend. You have to look your best to show your interest!" Xiong Qingzhao cheerfully expressed her thoughts.

"Then you should go dress up too – to look your best," Fan Ling commented as she continued to stare at herself.

Fan Ling was usually a pretty casual person in dressing. Normally, she did not wear makeup because she felt that makeup was too much of a hassle and a waste of her time. She also did not wear any jewelry because she felt that they got in the way of her movements or actions – too bothersome – so she did not like to wear any unless her mother forced her or jewelry was mandatory.

The only effort that she put in when appearance mattered was her clothes. Though, this was mainly because there was no such thing as an easy or casual set of clothes that she could wear. Probably because she was a daughter of a duke, her clothes needed to be as fancy as possible to show her noble status.

"Miss, Xiao Qing is just a maid. There is no need for me to look the best that I can. Unlike Miss, I am nothing more than a background," Xiong Qingzhao told her with earnest eyes.

"You are my maid, you must look more beautiful than the rest of the women, but less beautiful than me," Fan Ling gave her a forced reason to dress up.

Xiong Qingzhao knew that Fan Ling could very well just order her to dress up, but since she decided to say such – then, she probably wants her to dress up and feel beautiful just like any other woman in this world.

"Very well, Miss. Xiao Qing will go dress up now," Xiong Qingzhao took a respectful bow and left the room.

When the pair left for the restaurant, Xiong Qingzhao showed her excitement with much restraint. In fact, if Fan Ling was not too friendly with human psychology, then she would probably not even know how excited Xiong Qingzhao was about going out.

In the carriage, Fan Ling asked, "Xiao Qing, you seem to be excited to go out?"

"Miss, it is the first time that I have left the estate," Xiong Qingzhao answered honestly. "Of course, not only that but… I hope that I can have a chance to eat some of the dishes there… even if it is just leftovers."

"You will not be eating leftovers, and I will not be ordering too much. Being wasteful is not a good thing," Fan Ling stated as she looked out the carriage window curtain.

"Is the restaurant famous?" Fan Ling questioned as she changed her posture from one of etiquette to one of casualness.

"Worldly Cuisine is extremely famous in the capital. I heard that they use foreign ingredients to make some of their dishes. Not only that, but I have also heard that they have some things that are incredibly hard to get in this country. However, the most famous thing about their restaurant is probably their dishes that are extremely flavorful," Xiong Qingzhao told Fan Ling about the reputation of the restaurant.

"Foreign ingredients?" Fan Ling seemed to be interested.

"Yes, I heard that there are sea animals that look extremely weird and have skin that is super hard. The restaurant uses these as the main ingredient in some of their dishes. Also, I heard that they also cook vegetables that are not from this country," Xiong Qingzhao continued to state the status of the restaurant.

"I see… I suppose they are quite a rarity in this country, then," Fan Ling quietly replied before going silent to think deeply about some things.

"Miss Fan, we have arrived at the restaurant," the driver called out to them.

Hearing that, Fan Ling and Xiong Qingzhao left the carriage and entered the restaurant.

When they entered the restaurant, they were greeted by a waiter.

Before the waiter could even ask them a question, Fan Ling immediately said, "Private Room One."

Although a bit shocked, the waiter could tell that Fan Ling was someone of a noble status just based on her clothes and temperament alone. At the same time, the young lady standing beside her was also dressed in clothes that a normal working class could not afford.

"Yes, right this way," the waiter responded after recovering his shock.

As soon as the door to the private room was opened, Fan Ling heard a cheerful voice, "Ling Ling, you're here! I almost thought you wouldn't come!"

Fan Ling sighed and said, "If you want to invite someone, please make sure you give them a notice at least three days ahead of time. To do something like you… it is a miracle that I even came."

Yao Xiaodan immediately ignored her final statement and instead replied, "Alright, what do you want to order? Waiter, give her the menu."

"Yes, yes, right away," the waiter respectfully answered and brought out the menu.

Receiving the menu, Fan Ling quickly scanned the design and immediately saw the difference between a modern restaurant and an ancient restaurant.

In modern times, the menus usually had pictures to accompany their dishes. Sometimes, the dishes would not have accompanying pictures if there were too much customization that could be done. At the same time, the restaurants also had over sixty different dishes – including special menu items that were not placed on the menu.

In the menu that she was currently holding though, there were only twenty dishes at max and there were no customizations available. Although, there were sides that could be ordered to accompany the main dish.

At the same time, there was also an explicit message that stated, 'No special orders. The chef will cook however the chef feels like.'