Chapter 34: Extortion

"Ah?" Not expecting the beauty to get angry, Shang Bin was startled and quickly explained: "Teacher Shen, I wasn't talking about you. I meant this Zhang Xuan—if he's broke, he shouldn't treat people to meals and then get stopped at the door, making a fool of himself and tarnishing our academy's prestige..."

Before he could finish, the goddess's face grew darker and darker, on the verge of exploding. Shang Bin was utterly confused when the waiter awkwardly interrupted him: "Young Master Shang..."

"What's wrong?" Shang Bin frowned and looked over.

"Ahem, the one treating is... this Teacher Shen!" the waiter said.

He had been ordered to cooperate with Shang Bin's act, never expecting that the man and woman dining would have the woman pay. Before he could report, Shang Bin had already rushed over, leaving no time to explain.

"Teacher Shen is treating?"

Shang Bin was startled, his eyes wide with disbelief.

Really?

He invited the goddess to dinner every day, and she wouldn't even acknowledge him. What right did this last-ranked student in the academy have to eat with her, and moreover, let her pay?

"What? So if I can't pay, I'm just putting on airs and embarrassing myself?" Shen Biru looked over coldly. She had been repeatedly humiliated by Zhang Xuan today and was already frustrated; now being mocked by this guy made her furious.

"No, no..." Shang Bin's face turned pale, and he nearly cried.

Only then did he realize he had tried to flatter but ended up offending. He quickly waved his hands: "I didn't mean that, I... I..."

He repeated himself several times, not knowing how to respond.

But, as the grandson of an elder and an academy teacher, he was experienced and quickly recovered. Turning to the waiter, he grandly waved his hand: "Alright, Teacher Shen's bill is mine. How much is it? I'll pay."

"Young Master Shang, what are you saying? You are our honored guest at Hongtian Tower; how could we take your money?" the waiter quickly nodded.

This was the script they had rehearsed, meant to showcase his status and power before the goddess.

"That's good..." Shang Bin was about to continue, flaunting his dominance, when Shen Biru's voice rang out again: "No need. I'll pay for my own expenses, lest someone accuse me of putting on airs!"

With that, she took the hairpin from her head: "This jade hairpin is worth at least five thousand gold coins. You can find an expert to appraise it. I'll leave it here as collateral and come back to redeem it after I get the money."

"This..."

Holding the jade hairpin, the waiter didn't know what to do.

None of this was in the script they had agreed upon...

"Teacher Shen, no need for that. Manager Wu of Hongtian Tower is a friend of mine. If I say a word, that little amount of yours won't be a problem..."

Shang Bin quickly stepped forward.

"That's your business. What does it have to do with me?" Shen Biru cut him off, then looked at the waiter again: "If you don't find someone to appraise it soon, I'm leaving!"

"I..." The waiter hurriedly looked at Shang Bin, his eyes pleading for help.

"What are you looking at me for?" Shang Bin frantically waved his hands, feigning anger: "I don't know you!"

"Enough!"

Not expecting a meal to turn into such a mess, Zhang Xuan shook his head and stepped forward. He took the jade hairpin from the waiter and handed it back to Shen Biru: "Why are you giving him this? This meal isn't worth 1,280 gold coins. If you give him money, are you letting him extort you?"

"Extortion? Hongtian Tower has been established for nearly ten years, with fair prices and honest dealings. No one has ever caused trouble here. What do you mean?"

As soon as Zhang Xuan finished speaking, a middle-aged man strode over.

Hongtian Tower's manager, Wu Chou.

He had also conspired with Shang Bin and originally didn't need to appear, but upon hearing Zhang Xuan mention extortion, he could no longer hold back.

The commotion here had already alarmed quite a few diners. If he didn't show up and let the other party spread the word, the restaurant would surely suffer a major loss of reputation. By the time the owner, Elder Hong Hao, returned, wouldn't he kill him?

"What do you mean? Do you insist I say it out loud?"

Zhang Xuan lifted his eyelids, his expression full of laziness.

"Hmph, every dish in our Hongtian Tower uses the most precious ingredients, fresh and delicious, and the prices are reviewed by the Hongtian Academy. If you can't explain yourself, even if you're a teacher at the academy, don't think of leaving today!"

Steward Wu's face darkened.

For a restaurant, extorting customers was a serious accusation. If it wasn't clarified and word got out, the Hongtian Tower might as well close down.

"He's really asking for death!"

Thinking that this time he couldn't deal with Zhang Xuan, but seeing him actually accuse the Hongtian Tower of extortion, offending Steward Wu, Shang Bin's eyes flashed with excitement.

Steward Wu usually seemed easy to talk to and had a good temper, but when it came to the reputation of the Hongtian Tower, he would never back down!

This last-ranked guy from the academy was in for trouble!

"What is this guy babbling about..."

Shen Biru looked anxious.

Given that the Hongtian Tower could be established within the Hongtian Academy and built so large, one could imagine the power behind it. Accusing them publicly of extorting customers—wasn't that asking for trouble?

Such a big restaurant valued its reputation highly.

"Since you insist I say it, then I won't hold back!"

Facing the threat, Zhang Xuan remained unfazed and walked over to the table.

"This 'Purple Fragrance Bear Meat'—according to your claims, after slaying the bear, you soak it in purple fragrance flowers for three days to make the meat crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, full of aroma. Unfortunately, you only soaked it for a day and a half before taking it out, stir-frying it and serving it. Although the texture is similar, the medicinal properties of the purple fragrance flowers haven't penetrated at all. Eating more does no good!"

"As for this 'Honghu Mandarin Fish,' you advertise it as wild mandarin fish caught from Honghu Lake, but in reality, it's farmed mandarin fish from Yeluo Bay. The difference is simple: wild mandarin fish, having to face their natural enemy the 'Qinghe Turtle,' have harder tail fins and thicker tails than normal farmed mandarin fish. A little inquiry will reveal the truth!"

"This 'Stir-fried Heartwarming Grass' goes without saying—it's not heartwarming grass at all, but bitter heart vegetable! These two plants are actually the same species, but due to different growing environments, they have different names. Heartwarming grass grows near the lairs of savage beasts, cared for by them, so its roots and stems are generally large, and its nutritional value is much higher!"

"Bitter heart vegetable, on the other hand, grows in the wilderness, is very cheap, has thin roots and stems, and its nutritional value is far lower! For the same dish, the price difference is at least tenfold! They are not comparable! Labeling it as heartwarming grass but using bitter heart vegetable—if that's not extortion, what is?"

…

Zhang Xuan casually pointed at a dish and clearly stated its origin and flaws. The originally aggressive Steward Wu turned pale upon hearing these words.

As a steward of Hongtian Tower, he handled not only front-counter customers but also matters in the back kitchen, so he naturally knew whether what the other said was true or false.

It wasn't random nonsense, but... too accurate!

These matters were unknown to the boss; he had secretly changed them for exorbitant profits, especially the Honghu mandarin fish and heartwarming grass. The two substitutes were almost identical, and even professional food connoisseurs had found nothing unusual.

How did this young man see through it? And he spoke without a single error?

"Outrageous!"

"We came all the way here to eat authentic heartwarming grass, and it turns out to be fake!"

"Me too. I heard the Honghu mandarin fish here was the most fragrant, authentic, and good, so I made a special trip. And they fool us like this!"

"Refund, refund! The number-one restaurant of Hongtian Academy uses counterfeit goods. And I'm a regular customer—to be cheated like this!"

…

Zhang Xuan spoke calmly, with reason and evidence, and the crowd of onlookers immediately erupted.

Hongtian Tower was a famous restaurant throughout the Tianxuan Kingdom, with many signature dishes attracting countless powerful individuals. They never dreamed that all of this was fake!