Life After Being Claimed by the Disabled Dragon Lady - Chapter 40

The carriage was approaching the site of the Salmon Feast Competition. Kofi asked, “Governor, we are almost at the competition area for the Salmon Feast. If you are going too, shall I have the guards prepare to clear the congested crowd?”

Violet said flatly, “No need. There’s no need to disturb these commoners. You go ahead yourself.”

Kofi was puzzled. “Then I’ll go first.”

He jumped down from the carriage, straightened his suit and tie, checked his pocket watch—the competition was about to end and hurried over.

Violet’s carriage drove to the nearby White Tower, with Elena serving by her side.

From the highest level of the White Tower, the Salmon Feast Competition could be seen at a glance. When Violet’s gaze focused on the only highlight on the field, her pale fingertips clenched.

Long Ling had promised to only cook for her. Had she completely forgotten that now? Did she forget her own identity?

A cold look flashed across Violet’s eyes, her gaze fixed tightly on Long Ling in the competition arena.

Long Ling didn’t know that she had been discovered by Violet and was being watched. After all, according to general assumptions, Violet had been very busy recently, had no time to manage her, and wasn’t interested in her tavern.

No one should know that she was secretly participating in the competition.

Long Ling plated several of her specialty dishes. Just then, a bell rang on the competition field, signaling the end of the competition time.

The surrounding spectators had long been drooling with desire, but the judges had to sample the dishes first. The mayor, seeing the large crowd, sent more people to guard the railings and prevent the people from eating up all the new dishes he was looking forward to.

Meanwhile, Long Ling had already left, only letting Mina remain in the arena.

After all, this was all for the tavern’s publicity. Mina had only been learning from her for half a month, and some dishes weren’t perfect yet. With not much time left, Long Ling had to take the stage herself.

Fortunately, not many people who knew her were here. Long Ling thought this matter was perfectly seamless; even if the person on stage was replaced by Mina, the audience below would still be coming for the delicious food.

As Long Ling left, she waved to Mina: “When you win the competition later, remember to particularly recommend our tavern’s ‘Sour Cabbage Fish.’ That’s our specialty dish and is simpler and easier to make than the others.”

She then said to Nora, “Nora, remember to take them and hand out flyers. The tavern’s opening day will depend entirely on the customers attracted today.”

Nora hugged a large paper bag filled with flyers and happily told Long Ling, “Don’t worry, Miss Long Ling, I’ve got everything ready.”

Long Ling returned below the stage and let out a long sigh of relief.

Although there was a small mistake in the middle, it was completed successfully nonetheless.

She picked up a handkerchief to wipe the glistening sweat from her forehead, when she suddenly felt a gaze fixed on her.

Long Ling looked around at the surrounding crowd. Everyone’s eyes were on the food; no one was paying attention to her.

She looked into the distance and, as if by telepathy, her gaze suddenly fell on the tall white spire far away.

The spire was empty, with only the cold wind blowing the azure flag, which flapped loudly in the air.

Long Ling’s heart couldn’t help but pound faster. How strange, why did she feel like someone was staring at her just now?

Long Ling’s first thought was if it was Violet, but then she felt she was overthinking things. Violet wouldn’t specially come to watch her compete.

Long Ling patted her little heart, comforting herself. It’s fine, Violet must still be at Port Glis now. Don’t scare yourself.

As she turned her head, Nora’s magnified face suddenly appeared in front of her.

“Miss Long Ling, the mayor is bringing the judges to taste our dishes first.”

Long Ling’s icy-blue eyes were slightly unfocused. She steadied herself: “Yes, I see.”

Nora noticed a lot of sweat on Long Ling’s forehead and couldn’t help but ask worriedly, “Miss Long Ling, are you okay? You look a little pale.”

Long Ling shook her head slightly and smiled faintly: “I’m fine. Let’s watch the competition first and wait for the judges’ results.”

The mayor led the newly arrived councilor and the other judges, preparing to sample the dishes Long Ling had just prepared.

Mina stood nervously by the dishes prepared by Miss Long Ling, silently rehearsing her recommendation speech in her mind.

When she saw the mayor approach, she quickly presented the forks and spoons. As the mayor was about to take a fork, the burly Jones suddenly blocked Mina’s way.

A rare enthusiasm appeared on Jones’s face. He rubbed his large hands on his apron: “Mayor, you should try my roasted fish first. The large roasted fish just came out of the oven and is still hot, perfect for eating.”

In previous years, Jones always stood confidently by his roasting oven, but this year was different. A newcomer had emerged from nowhere and stolen all his glory.

Therefore, he could only resort to some tactics. Once people ate his large roasted fish, they wouldn’t be able to stop. If everyone ate until their stomachs were full, who would come back to taste Long Ling’s dishes?

Sure enough, as soon as he said this, the mayor couldn’t refuse. After all, Jones had been the Salmon Feast champion for many years and had interacted with him quite a bit, making him practically an old friend.

The mayor, mindful of his old friend’s feelings, led the crowd and said, “Then let’s go try Jones’s roasted fish first.”

Seeing the judges being snatched away, Mina couldn’t help but feel anxious.

Long Ling gave her a look to calm down. Even if that group of people left, their hearts would all remain with the dishes she had made.

Jones was mistaken if he thought he could conquer greedy diners with just a large roasted fish. That was impossible.

Everyone had already seen a table of delicacies. Refusing to let them eat would only make them more curious, like a small hook scratching at their hearts. They would definitely save room and come back.

With a comparison, her dishes would only receive more praise.

Indeed, everyone was about to leave, but a few judges were reluctant, their eyes still glued to the fish. Councilor Kofi also stood still.

He was the subordinate of Duke Violet and held a higher status than the mayor, so there was absolutely no need to give Jones face.

Kofi cleared his throat: “You can go eat the roasted fish. I’ll just eat the fish here. I’ve been riding through the cold wind all the way from Port Glis, and I want some warm, hot soup.”

As soon as he arrived, he smelled this potent, appetizing aroma that was sour and completely different from any soup he had tasted before. Not to mention it was steaming in such cold weather—anyone who saw it couldn’t walk away.

There was a full table of dishes, all of which he had never seen before. Why should he go the long way around? He would eat his fill first.

Mina quickly offered a spoon and chopsticks. Kofi scooped a spoonful of the sour fish soup into his bowl and took a sip.

This was more than just fish soup; it was so fresh it made one want to swallow their own tongue. Not only did it have the flavor of fish, but also the rich aroma simmered from a whole chicken and beef bones. This was clearly a rich, flavorful broth, and the unique flavor brought by the sour cabbage elevated the rich soup to another level.

He had never drunk such good fish soup. After tasting one sip, he eagerly asked Mina to serve him a full bowl again.

Just by watching Kofi eat, the surrounding spectators couldn’t help but swallow their saliva.

Who could say that Sour Cabbage Fish wasn’t delicious? Sour Cabbage Fish was the best food in this world.

The judges couldn’t bother with anything else either. While grabbing spoons for themselves, they told the mayor, “Mayor, you go first. We’ll accompany the councilor for a moment of eating—no, first, to sample the delicacies.”

In the end, only the mayor went alone to Jones’s roasting rack. Seeing how much fun others were having, the mayor ate two bites, wiped his mouth, and also hurried over to taste the dishes Long Ling had made.

Jones’s face immediately darkened. He never expected that an upstart who came out of nowhere could actually outperform his large roasted fish.

The judges ate heartily, each holding a fork, quickly consuming more than half of the table of dishes with an air of not having had enough.

Finally, after each judge had sampled the dishes of the other contestants, only the dishes made by Long Ling received perfect scores of ten, and the announcement was made that Long Ling’s “Mist Tavern” had won the championship of the Salmon Feast Competition.

Mina and Nora cheered and hugged each other, and the other maids also couldn’t help but celebrate.

For Long Ling, success was a matter of course.

But the feeling of holding the golden trophy was excellent. She enjoyed gaining everyone’s recognition through her cooking, so she was very happy.

This trophy would be displayed in the tavern from now on, serving as her first milestone in this world.

Most importantly, it was a thousand gold coins! Long Ling held the bag full of gold coins, opened it for a look, and was immediately mesmerized by the light radiating from the coins.

A little dragon with money is a happy one. As for the life of a poor wretch with no money, let someone else live it.

Jones only received a score of nine. He walked over with a dark expression, picked up a gleaming silver fork, scooped up a piece of fish, and his eyes were filled with shock.

There wasn’t even a single fish bone in this fish meat. He stubbornly tasted another piece of deep-fried fish, coated in a sweet and sour sauce. It still had no fish bones. The fish’s shape remained so perfect; without any fish bone support, the meat was perfectly separated in such a short time.

The surrounding crowd pushed Jones aside. Jones still refused to believe it and directly found Mina.

Jones held the fork, his neck flushed red: “Hello, I am Jones.”

Mina was startled by the burly man in front of her and involuntarily stepped back: “Hello, I’m Mina. Is there anything I can do for you?”

Jones asked directly: “Did you use some kind of magic potion? Why does the fish have no bones at all? Why is the texture so crispy, and how does it maintain the shape of the entire fish?”

Mina was at a loss and could only look at Long Ling: “This…”

Long Ling stepped forward and smiled at Jones: “No magic potion was used. I just filleted the fish bones and used a deep-fry method, coating it in batter and pouring a sweet and sour sauce over it. If you don’t believe me, you can check the trash can.”

Jones immediately rummaged through the trash can. Upon seeing the complete fish skeleton, he was utterly speechless.

The young girl in front of him was so young, yet her cooking skills were so remarkable. He was genuinely defeated.

Jones bowed to Long Ling, full of respect: “Esteemed lady, where do you work? Will I have a chance to discuss cooking with you in the future?”

Long Ling curved her lips: “I’ve passed on my cooking skills to my apprentice Mina. You can ask Mina if she is willing to discuss it with you.”

Mina never expected Long Ling to consider her an apprentice. She was just an ordinary maid. How could she be worthy of being Miss Long Ling’s apprentice, let alone discussing cooking with Mr. Jones? She was still far from it.

Jones looked at Mina, who immediately became flustered: “I, I can’t. I’ve only learned a little bit. I’m not as good as Miss Long Ling, and not that capable. I’m sorry, Mr. Jones.”

Long Ling patted Mina’s shoulder: “It’s okay. Everyone goes from being unskilled to proficient. Just be brave enough to try. I have high hopes for you. You just need to do your own job and don’t apologize to anyone.”

Mina’s eyes immediately reddened. She never realized that Miss Long Ling had placed such high expectations on her. She was clearly just a humble maid.

If that was the case, how could she repay Miss Long Ling? She could only try her best to guard the tavern as if it were her own life.

Jones noticed the name of the tavern embroidered on Mina’s clothes and said solemnly: “Miss Mina works at the Mist Tavern? I will frequently patronize your tavern.”

Mina felt immense pressure but still managed to say: “Thank you, welcome to visit, Mr. Jones.”

Jones left. Nora ran over with a stack of flyers, anxiously saying: “Mina, hurry up and help hand out flyers! So many people are asking where they can eat such delicious food. We need to make the ‘Mist Tavern’ sign a hit today.”

The Salmon Feast Competition was a great success. Beautiful light flickered in Long Ling’s icy-blue eyes. Now, every flyer was being kept in the pockets of the people who received them. She believed that when the tavern officially opened, there would surely be many, many customers.

Perhaps the wine in her tavern’s wine cabinet could also be sold. When the farm’s fruits and vegetables ripened, she would make some alcoholic beverages to earn more gold coins. Then she could repay the evil dragon lady the renovation money she owed and buy the evil dragon lady some things.

Long Ling sat in the carriage on the way back, clutching the large bag of gold coins, feeling overjoyed. She completely pushed out of her mind the possibility that Violet might have discovered she personally participated in the competition.

During dinner, she was informed by Butler Marcia that the evil dragon lady had finished her dinner and was waiting for her in the study.

Long Ling quickly finished her dinner, took a nice, fragrant bath, and changed into a new dress. With a joyous mood, she held the grand trophy in one hand and the large bag of gold coins in the other, walking to the evil dragon lady’s study door.

A brilliant smile bloomed on her face. She knocked twice on the door, and the door was opened from behind.

Long Ling’s current mood was such that she would praise a small blade of grass for being cute.

Seeing Elena, she couldn’t help but ask with a smile: “What did the Duchess have for dinner? Why didn’t she eat with me?”

Elena quietly lowered her head, hurriedly whispering: “Miss Long Ling, it’s best you pray to God for peace tonight.”

If Her Grace the Duchess got angry, the little silver dragon might not even see the sun tomorrow.

Long Ling was completely oblivious to Elena’s warning. She smiled and said goodbye to Elena. Turning around, she saw Violet writing documents at her desk with a quill pen.

Violet had her long hair coiled up today, wearing a white shirt with the top two buttons undone, revealing her delicate and charming collarbone. Her fingers, holding the quill pen, were cold, white, and slender, adorned with luxurious jewels, making her look noble and cold.

Long Ling walked up to her, happily saying: “Duchess, I won the competition today! First place! I got the trophy and a big bag of gold coins.”

She looked proud, her glistening dragon horns emerging. She shook the big bag of gold coins in her hand, the clinking sound of the coins clear and pleasant.

Violet frowned and commanded: “Stand against the wall. Stand aside.”

Long Ling didn’t understand Violet’s sudden cold tone. She obediently moved to the corner of the wall, hugging the grand trophy and the big bag of gold coins.

“Turn around.” Violet’s voice sounded cold.

Long Ling turned around, pricking up her ears, and heard the sound of the wheelchair rolling from behind her.

She wasn’t sure what Violet was going to do, when her butt was suddenly hit hard by a cold staff.

Long Ling hadn’t been spanked in a long time. The intense feeling of shame made her cheeks flush bright red, and her dragon tail involuntarily popped out.

“Why are you hitting me?” Long Ling’s voice was full of grievance.

Her dragon tail and butt were hit again by the cold staff.

“Have you forgotten the promise you made to me?”

She turned her head and saw Violet roll up her shirt sleeve, revealing her fair wrist bone.

The fair, slender fingers held the ornate staff. The strained back of her hand showed blue veins winding beneath the cold, white skin. Violet’s hands were astonishingly beautiful.

She didn’t recall the promise immediately and was hit several more times. It was painful and shameful, and her unsteady body had to lean against the wall.