Becoming the Empress: Golden Finger Set Under My Bed

Translator: Storm in a Teacup

It was An Rushuang’s voice.

“You think I can’t fulfill my promise?!” Mr. Cheng shouted loudly.

Completely infuriated, he intended to have a good argument with this noble lady who knew nothing about the outside world.

However, he was speechless upon hearing An Rushuang’s response.

“I know you can earn two thousand taels, but no more than that.”

It was his destiny.

Mr. Cheng froze over, regardless of the large amount of dust around him stirred up by the wagon running by. In the dazzling sunshine, his figure, as rigid as a puppet, turned much smaller on the empty street, his face ghastly pallid as that of a ghost.

Poking her head out of the window, Zhao Xiaotao couldn’t help feeling sorrowful when seeing his face. Though she had done him a favor, she still didn’t want to see Mr. Cheng suffer a severe blow.

She knew An Rushuang was right. It was so hard to make Baiwei Restaurant the most popular one in the capital, but effort was the decisive factor! According to Miss An, you would surely achieve something even not satisfying enough, as long as you worked hard. At least, you wouldn’t regret your giving up on the half way.

Mr. Cheng, sweating all over, slightly moved his rigid neck.The carriage had dwindled away, about to go out of his sight. The banknotes in his hand were already soaked by his sweat. “Please wait, lady!” He suddenly shouted loudly before rushing forward. Shocked by this lean and short man careering in the sunshine, several pedestrians gathered together to watch this strange scene in curiosity.

“Isn’t he the chef at Baiwei Restaurant?”

“It’s said his restaurant was sabotaged by someone two days ago. Has he gone crazy?” 𝐟r𝒆ℯ𝘄𝑒𝒃𝚗𝒐𝘃e𝗹.c𝘰𝐦

“What a poor man!”

Except for gossiping about his bad luck, there was no one really worried about his suffering. The sunshine was hot, but the fickleness of the society actually chilled one’s bones.

Mr. Cheng had never run that fast before, even more rapid than the wind. With his clothes soaked by his sweat for many times, Mr. Cheng, like a drown rat, kept shouting at the top of his lungs, “Lady, please wait!”

His apron had been thrown away as an encumbrance. He wasn’t afraid of losing face. If Baiwei Restaurant went bankrupt, there was no use to save his face!

“Lady!”

Qi Da, the carter, turned back. Gasping in shock, he reported to An Rushuang at once, “Miss An, the man is running behind us!”

Given Cheng’s savage expression, Qi Da couldn’t help doubting what Cheng was up to. Since he couldn’t get money through pleading, would he rob them instead? 𝗳𝐫𝘦e𝘸𝗲𝚋𝓃𝚘v𝘦𝘭.𝑐𝒐m

He had absolutely misunderstood Mr. Cheng, who ran so fast that he couldn’t spare strength to control his expressions.

“It doesn’t matter. Keep going,” raising her eyebrows, An Rushuang murmured after a period.

Following the lady’s order, Qi Da continued to drive the carriage at the same speed.

Hong Yu kept chattering excitedly, “You are wise enough to turn back on him! In my opinion, we should stop and get the banknotes back. It is unreasonable to squander so much money for that man, because we won’t get any reward at all. One or two taels of silver are enough. Why are you that generous...”

Hong Yu complained on and on, as annoying as the humming flies.

An Rushuang kept silent with a smile and stopped Hong Yu from talking a moment later. “Have a check whether he is still behind the carriage, Xiaotao,” she ordered Zhao Xiaotao who was in a daze.

Staring at An Rushuang with her eyes wide open, Hong Yu had no choice but to zip her mouth.

Zhao Xiaotao was a little stunned. She hadn’t uttered a word since boarding the carriage. Upon knowing from Uncle Qi that Mr. Cheng was running after them, she originally planned to put in a good word for him, but finally gave up when thinking of An Rushuang’s words.

Now hearing the lady’s order, Xiaotao responded energetically before lifting the curtain to look outside. “Miss Zhao,” Qi Da greeted her when seeing her face poking out.

Ignoring him directly, Zhao Xiaotao, eyes wide open, gazed at the lean man who tried his best to catch up with their carriage, his clothes dotted with oil spots. Maybe due to the long time run, his pallid face was now crimson, sweats, as shining as silver, dripping down from his cheeks, his blue clothes already drenched.

“Lady, Lady! Wait!” He still kept shouting.

Staring at him, Zhao Xiaotao felt her heartbeat skipping a beat, even a little hard to breathe. She clutched the clothes at her chest while taking a long breath. After returning to the carriage, she turned to An Rushuang and said briefly in calmness, “My lady, Mr. Cheng is chasing us behind the carriage.”

An Rushuang nodded without any expression. “I know,” she understated, still not ordering to stop the carriage.

Hong Yu lifted the curtain, light sparkling in her eyes. “My lady, what about having a stop?”

An Rushuang raised her eyebrows. She didn’t believe Hong Yu would be that considerate.

Just as she expected, Hong Yu, her face full of unwillingness, said, “Since he is exhausted now, we can take the banknotes back, then...”

What a miser. An Rushuang tried her best not to laugh.

Zhao Xiaotao was incensed at Hong Yu’s ruthlessness. They glared at each other as confronting with their enemy in their previous life.

The carriage continued to go forward. Zhao Xiaotao, almost poking all of her body out of the carriage, kept staring at An Rushuang with her eyes full of pleading.

Given her strong compassion, as well as Mr. Cheng’s insistence, An Rushuang ordered Qi Da to stop the carriage.

Qi Da responded while pulling the rein. The carriage stopped at the side of the road.

As pleased as she was, Zhao Xiaotao intended to jump off the carriage at once. It was until she met An Rushuang’s meaningful eyes that she sat back, blushing.

Seeing the carriage stop, Mr. Cheng was too tired to take a step further. Entirely exhausted, he stooped and gasped for breath, his legs as heavy as lead, impossible to move any longer.

After a long period, he shuffled toward the carriage slowly.

Mr. Cheng wiped the sweat off his burning cheeks. It was useless, because he kept sweating. He licked his dry lips, his heart almost jumping out of his throat.

“Lady!”