Chapter 102: Duplicate

Only Uncle and Aunt Li and Jinxin knew about Lin Yannan entering the palace to treat the empress dowager's illness. Lin Jingyuan really thought that his sister had gone to Yangzhou to visit their maternal grandmother. Every time he went to pay respects to their grandmother, Lin Jingyuan naturally showed his concern for her, which made everyone in the Ding'an Marquis's residence believe that he was genuinely worried about her.

Lin Yannan is not here, but the business at Tongyuan Building is still booming. This is because the medicinal cuisine at Tongyuan Building is exceptional, both delicious and nutritious. In just a few days, it has gained a great reputation. Moreover, it is the only restaurant in the entire city that specifically caters to female customers. Therefore, not only do young ladies flock to it, but even married women cannot resist coming to see what it's all about.

一时间京城掀起了药膳风潮。

同源楼的火爆，惹得京城做酒楼生意的掌柜们分外眼红，也想学同源楼做药膳，但怎么做也做不出同源楼的味道，几经尝试都以失败告终。

So someone came up with the idea of obtaining the medicinal recipe from Tongyuan Building. However, all the recipes at Tongyuan Building are controlled by Huinang, and it's impossible to buy them at a high price from her.

After all the hustle and bustle, the shopkeepers had no choice but to give up and could only watch Tongyuan Building make huge profits every day.

然而就在大家以为同源楼一家独大的局面将会长久保持下去之时，一家名叫养容堂的酒楼仿佛一夜之间冒出来，然后大张旗鼓的开张了。

而且开张当日的火爆程度完全不亚于同源楼。

翌日，林晏晏的几个好朋友齐聚荣国公府。

“没想到余晚晚学的这么快，我也是服气。”陈茜瑶不忿道。

“昨日去过养容堂的小姐来跟我说，养容堂从布置，摆设到菜单全都在复制同源楼，差异只在同源楼的色调以淡蓝色为主，而养容堂以粉色调为主。”文素妍对此也十分火大，照搬别人的东西，就不羞愧吗？

Chu Zhilan sneered and said, "I don't believe those girls who have been to the Yurong Tang can really boast about its medicinal cuisine surpassing Tongyuan Building. Can Ye Wanwan really have such great abilities? Can she find someone who knows more about medicinal cuisine than Sister Yanyan and is better at cooking medicinal cuisine than Sister Huining?"

"Have you noticed? None of us who went to congratulate the Tongyuan Building opening have received an invitation. But the ladies who went to the Yangrong Hall were not invited by Lin Yanyan and some who were invited did not come," Yang Yujun asked. Please note that the translation above is provided with the @ matches as requested.

Chen Xiyao nodded: "That's the case."

"Don't forget those who were invited but didn't come, why didn't they come?"

Wen Suyan exclaimed: "Are you suggesting... that there is someone supporting Yu Wanwan from behind, and that person is Princess Qingrou?"

Yang Chujun sneered, "Ever since the Peach Blossom Banquet, when Lin Yannan rejected Princess Qingrou's proposal to dance, Princess Qingrou has regarded Lin Yannan as an obstacle. How could she stand idly by and let Lin Yannan enjoy all the limelight? This is clearly a showdown between the two."

“那就让她唱，同源楼的品质如何是经受了大家的考验的，养容堂的斤两还需等待时间的检验，靠吹嘘是没用的，做不长。”陈茜瑶道。

"Exactly, I heard that Yongrong Tang offers free admission for the first three days of its opening, coupled with those people who intentionally praise it. So I just watched the excitement. Whether it can compete with Tongyuan Building, we'll see in the future," Wen Suyan said.

“几位姐姐，事情可能没有想的这么简单。”郑梓萱走了进来。

“梓萱，你的病好了？”杨琸君看到郑梓萱来了，欢喜地拉她入座。

“梓萱，你刚才的话什么意思？”陈茜瑶问。

郑梓萱神色凝重：“我收到养容堂的邀请，本不想去，但京城里多了一家做药膳的跟晏晏姐的同源楼打擂台，便去瞧个究竟，我刚从养容堂出来，立即便过来找琸君了。我尝了养容堂的药膳，跟晏晏姐做的差不离。”

"Is that true?" everyone exclaimed. "

Zheng Zixuan nodded earnestly, "I have tasted the medicated diet made by Sister Yanyan, and it left a deep impression on me. If I didn't know that I entered the Beauty Nourishing Hall, I would have thought I went to the wrong place."

"What... what on earth is going on? Could it be that the recipe of Tongyuan Building has been leaked?" Wen Suyan said, this was the only possibility she could think of.

Everyone's mood became heavy. They had initially thought that the counterfeit products were not worth the concern. However, if they had obtained the recipe of Tongyuan Building, coupled with Qingrou Princess and Yu Wanwan's background, it would pose a greater threat to Tongyuan Building.

"Zhu Jun, what should we do?" Chen Xiyao looked at Yang Xujun.

Yang Xujun contemplated and said, "Let's wait for Lin Yannan to come back. I believe she will have a solution. However, we should also inform Tongyuan Building and ask them to be vigilant for any leaked formulas."

郑梓萱道：“依我看，我们还是什么都不要做，让晏晏姐自己处理，毕竟我们不清楚到底是配方泄露了，还是养容堂找了高人调制出同源楼的配方，万一是配方泄露，那必定是出了内鬼，我们去通知，反倒让内鬼有了准备。”

“梓萱说的是，同源楼的人事咱们不熟悉，到底谁可信，谁不可信，只有晏晏姐自己最清楚。”楚知斓附和。

杨琸君点头：“那咱们就等晏晏回来，林晏晏说过太后寿宴之前她会赶回来的。”

In three days, it will be the Empress Dowager's seventieth birthday celebration, and the palace will be hosting a grand event. Not only have a group of noble ladies been invited to attend, but also many distinguished young ladies from esteemed families. Among those in attendance, including Lin Yanyan, have received the invitation.

Yang Chujun did not inform Tongyuan Building that the recipe may be leaked, but Mr. Liu has already begun to suspect.

Three days before Yongrong Hall's opening, they only received invited guests and did not operate publicly. However, a medicinal cuisine restaurant suddenly emerged in the capital city. Mr. Liu naturally did not take it lightly and quickly investigated the situation.

其他东西复制同源楼也就算了，但养容堂能做出跟同源楼不相上下，口味几乎一致的药膳，就不得不令人怀疑是不是自己这边出了问题。

So, Mr. Liu calmly called Hui Niang to the elegant room and told her, "Our formula may have been leaked."

Hui Niang was shocked and said, "That's impossible. I have kept the formula well, the drawer is locked, and I carry the key with me all the time..."

Mr. Liu said, "Keys can be duplicated. What if someone secretly duplicates the key while you're not paying attention? Think carefully, have there been any unusual occurrences lately, or has someone been constantly approaching you?"

他当然相信慧娘不会出卖大小姐，但店里还有其他人，每日一起共事，防不胜防。

慧娘急的快哭了，如果真是配方泄露，那她难辞其咎，沈家有恩与她，大小姐又这么信任她，她却把事情搞砸了。

"Stay calm, think carefully. Only by finding the problem as soon as possible can we turn the situation around and minimize the losses," Mr. Liu comforted.