"Service!"
The kitchen of the restaurant banged on a metal pot, but the young attendant standing in the kitchen seemed lost in a daze, remaining motionless for a long time.
"What are you spacing out for? That's Lord Liya's meal in the private room upstairs. Hurry up and take it over."
The chef serving the dishes urged him incessantly.
Liya was a notorious bully in the Hanging City. Who would dare to cross him? When the cooks learned that the restaurant had been booked, they were quite pleased. Who wouldn't welcome a period of leisurely quiet?
However, upon hearing that it was Liya who had booked the restaurant.
All the cooks' nerves instantly tensed up.
Especially the head chef in the kitchen, whose every string was pulled taut, fearing even the slightest oversight in the dishes. This felt much more exhausting than when the restaurant was operating normally.
"I'm not going."
The attendant leaning against a pillar pouted.
"Whoever wants to go, go ahead. That private room upstairs is simply not a place for humans. The people standing outside are like rabid dogs, their eyes fixed on you, making your skin crawl. I'm timid; I can't handle this scene."
"What's the big deal? They aren't going to eat you, are they?"
"Then you guys go?"
The attendant spread his hands, and immediately those urging for the dishes to be served fell silent.
Despite what these cooks said, in truth, none of them dared to go up themselves.
Let alone the guard dogs at the door, Liya was always unpredictable. Who knew what might displease him, leading him to chop them down with a single blow? Liya wasn't one to shy away from such actions. Back in the spring, while drinking, he had directly chopped down an attendant out of bad mood.
And the result?
Liya suffered no consequences, and the attendant who was killed died in vain. It was said that a substantial compensation was given privately, and the compensation was considerable.
For people like them, struggling to make a living at the bottom, tens of thousands of gold coins might be a significant income. The problem was, even with compensation in the hundreds of thousands or millions, they were already dead. The money would only be for the living to spend.
What was the point of selfless sacrifice?
No one thought their lives were long. Even if they lived a more impoverished life, being alive was always better than being dead.
"Hey, why do you think Young Master Liya suddenly came down to our city to book a place?" a cook holding a wok frowned. "This young master of privilege rarely comes down to the city. It's rather unusual for him to book a whole establishment here."
"You think this is a good thing?"
"Just asking out of curiosity."
"Hmph, you think Liya's arrival is surprising? Let me tell you something even more surprising." The attendant suddenly chuckled and said, "When I went to deliver the dishes earlier, did you see anyone in the private room?"
"They still let you in?"
"Of course, they didn't let me in." The attendant spread his hands. "I just glanced through the doorway and saw someone inside wearing the insignia of the Elton family. Moreover, there was someone I recognized – the Grand Elder of the Elton family. I saw him before when the Elton family opened a shop in our city."
"What's so strange about that?"
The cook, upon hearing this, seemed indifferent.
"The Elton family is a prominent commercial clan in our Tatu Kingdom. And Young Master Liya is the only son of the Chief Financial Officer. It's only reasonable that they would have contact, isn't it?"
"The thing is..." Suddenly, the attendant lowered his voice and leaned in to whisper to the cooks, "Isn't it rumored lately that the Elton family is planning to betray the kingdom? The patriarch of the family has already fled to the Batu Kingdom."
"Hush!"
Before the attendant could finish speaking, the cook covered his mouth with his hand.
"Do you want to die?"
"What's wrong?" The attendant, whose mouth was covered, looked somewhat bewildered. "Aren't people in our Tatu Kingdom privately discussing this matter? Why are you so nervous? There's no one else here."
"Better safe than sorry."
"You're overreacting."
The attendant waved his hand, appearing completely unconcerned.
"The Elton family's attempt to betray the kingdom is being widely discussed in our Tatu Kingdom, yet I haven't heard of anyone being arrested for it. You tell me, could it be that Liya suddenly invited people from the Elton family here, specifically avoiding meeting in the Hanging City and instead booking a restaurant in our city... perhaps..."
"Impossible!"
Before the attendant could finish, someone in the kitchen spoke up.
"The Elton family's treason was actually a desperate measure. You might not know, but the royal family has been targeting the Elton family's businesses recently. Many of the Elton family's commercial sectors are operating at a deficit. Treason might be their only way out. Liya is the only son of the Chief Financial Officer. We all know the status of the Chief Financial Officer in our Tatu Kingdom – absolutely second to none, above ten thousand people. They have no reason to do something so foolish with the Elton family."
"There's such a thing? The Elton family served the kingdom so loyally, yet they are being targeted?"
Everyone who heard this news was stunned.
"Is the news reliable?"
"You all know, right? I have a cousin who works in internal affairs in our neighboring main city," a middle-aged man with a somewhat weathered expression whispered. "He's the one who said this. Do you think this news is reliable?"
"Hiss!"
Instantly, everyone couldn't help but gasp in unison.
If this were true,
It felt like the Tatu Kingdom was biting the hand that fed it.
"Then... if that's the case, it makes sense for Liya to meet with people from the Elton family, doesn't it?" Suddenly, someone in the kitchen's expression turned serious. "The Chief Financial Officer has always been ambitious. Could it be that he wants to take advantage of the kingdom's suppression of the Elton family to win them over? Even if the kingdom abandons the Elton family, the Elton family has been in our Tatu Kingdom for so many years and their foundation is strong. Perhaps they want to join forces to overthrow the Tatu royal family..."
The ominous murmur brought an absolute silence to the entire kitchen.
"Stop talking about it. It's getting too dangerous. Quickly... send the dishes that Young Master Liya ordered. If we delay any longer and get blamed, we'll all lose our lives," someone in the kitchen urged softly.
"Wait!"
The attendant suddenly raised his hand, his expression solemn.
"I suddenly remembered something. We have another distinguished guest at our restaurant, whom Liya seems to have invited. I caught a glimpse of them when they came in. Liya was very polite to those people, especially the young man standing in the center. At first, I didn't pay much attention to the young man because he was human. But now that I think about it, there seems to be a demon accompanying that young man."
"Demons!!!"
Several exclamations suddenly rang out.
"Yes, now that I think about it, that horn really looks like a demon's horn," the attendant's eyes narrowed. "Don't you remember? Not long ago, people here were saying demons had arrived. Could it be this very demon? And yet, Liya is so fawning towards the youth who associates with demons..."
As he spoke, the attendant paused, swallowed, and slowly looked up.
"Should... should we report this to the authorities!"