Inside the palace, Liu Li sobbed in the embrace of the Empress Dowager. “How can I face the people after this? Everyone knew that I was supposed to marry Chunyu!”
The Empress Dowager sighed, knowing that there wasn’t anything that she could do. The Emperor’s words were final.
“Liu Li, stop crying. There are so many good men in Jin Ling, not just Chunyu. Don’t you worry, I’ll find you someone else who’s even better than him,” the Empress Dowager consoled.
“I am not going to marry anyone anymore, not after this embarrassment!”
“Stupid child! Don’t say such stupid things. This is not an embarrassment! Chunyu didn’t ditch you because you’re not good enough. He backed out of the deal because he’s already with another woman,” said the Empress Dowager.
“No, he just didn’t like me. Queen Mother, you have to help me,” Liu Li pleaded.
“Liu Li, listen to me and let him go.”
“No!” she said obstinately. “I want to be a part of the Jing An Mansion!”
The Empress Dowager scowled at her. “Why are you so stubborn, child? Chunyu and Lady Ye are together now and everyone knows that. You can’t do anything about it now!”
“Then I want to marry Chunfeng!”
The Empress Dowager’s brows shot up in surprise.
What?
Xia Chunyu wanted Ye Jiayao to start the preparations for their wedding instead of going to Heavenly Residence. Ye Jiayao, as usual, paid him no mind. She might not be the chef anymore but she still needed to talk to the other workers and get things in proper order.
Since he couldn’t change her mind, Xia Chunyu came with her to the restaurant.
When Manager Zhao saw her, his attitude changed and he began to address her as Second Young Lady. She ignored that and instead asked him to gather the workers for a meeting.
No one in the kitchen knew what happened. They just knew that Brother Yao had been gone for a day.
When everyone has been gathered, Manager Zhao came in to get her and Xia Chunyu.
Xia Chunyu asked, “Do you want to tell them yourself or do you want me to help you?”
“There’s no need. I’ll tell them myself.”
“It’s your decision. After all, the restaurant will be yours in the future.” He smiled and then added mischievously, “If no accidents happen.”
Ye Jiayao glared at him. This stupid donkey really is a piece of work! She sighed angrily and went to follow Manager Zhao.
Everyone was expecting for the new owner to come and give a speech, that they were kind of taken aback when they saw a familiar-looking woman come out.
“Is that… Brother Yao?” Deng Haichuan mumbled, confused.
Everyone was stunned.
Ye Jiayao cleared her throat uncomfortably and began, “He’s right, I am Li Yao. I am also Lady Ye Jinxuan, the one that everyone’s been talking about.”
No one spoke, beyond surprised at what she just said.
“To live peacefully and safely, I had to dress up as a man. I want to thank you, brothers, for your care and respect. I appreciated how you guys welcomed me. Don’t worry, even though I’ve recovered my identity, I’m still going to help every single one of you to become a Master Chef and get rich.”
“Lady Ye will be owning half of the restaurant in the future,” Manager Zhao added.
Ye Jiayao looked at everyone’s stunned faces and frowned. “Hello? Can someone say something?”
Deng Haichuan scratched his head and said, “Brother Yao, no, I mean… Miss Ye, this is all just a shock to us.” He could not get the image of her drinking with them like an actual man.
“He’s right, Miss Ye,” Cui Dongpeng said gloomily.
Zhong Xiang thought about all the trouble he tried to cause and felt even more ashamed.
“I know this is sudden to all of you, I feel that too. I assure you, in the future, I’m gonna be coming back here more frequently so I can teach you everything I know. In the meantime, you just have to keep working hard for the restaurant’s success. Don’t worry about anything else,” Ye Jiayao told them, trying to reassure the workers.
“Miss Ye, Manager Zhao said that you’ll be owning half of the restaurant in the future. Did you invest in it?” Deng Haichuan asked.
“No, she didn’t,” Xia Chunyu answered as he walked in. “She will own half of the restaurant because we will be getting married soon. You’d have to call her Second Young Lady from then on.”
He glanced at Yaoyao and couldn’t help but be emotional as he added, “Actually, she’s already my wife. ”
Ye Jiayao turned to him, trying to keep her face neutral. Why are you being so dramatic in front of these people?
The shock returned to everyone’s faces again.
“Why are you guys not wishing us congratulations?” Xia Chunyu demanded with a scowl.
Everyone jumped into action and started congratulating them and giving well wishes.
“Thank you. I will invite you all to a wedding meal another day,” Ye Jiayao said gracefully.
“Heir-son Lord, Heir-son Lord!” a servant called as he burst into the room. “Old Lord and Madame were summoned to the palace.”
Xia Chunyu’s face immediately tightened with worry. He turned to Yaoyao and said, “Stay here. I will go see what’s going on.”
Xia Chunyu hurried to the palace. Whatever the reason was for his parents being called to the palace, he knew that it couldn’t be good.
Unfortunately, a eunuch stopped him before he could enter the room where his parents were.
Xia Chunyu had to wait outside. He just hoped that his parents could handle whatever it was and all the drama from his and Ye Jinxuan’s marriage is now over.
He waited for almost two hours. Just as he had enough and was about to rush into the room, his parents came out, both of them looking deep in thought.
Xia Chunyu’s heart fell out.
“Father, Mother, what did the Empress Dowager want from you?”
His father saw the anxiety in his son’s eyes so he answered, “You don’t need to worry about it, it doesn’t concern you.”
Xia Chunyu sighed in relief, secretly rejoicing.
Xia You, on the other hand, gave him a deadpan look. “It’s because of what you’ve done.”
“What did I do?” he asked, confused.
Before Xia You could retort, Xia Zhoufeng started ushering them out. “Come on, let’s get out of the palace and we can talk then.”
As soon as they arrived home, the Old Lord sent someone to get Xia Chunfeng.
“The Empress Dowager wants Princess Liu Li to marry you. You’ll become a lord and you’ll take over the Seventh Prince’s area,” Xia Zhoufeng said to Chunfeng.
“What?” Xia Chunfeng yelled. “Why do I have to marry Liu Li? I don’t want to do this! What is wrong with the Empress Dowager? Why is Princess Liu Li so desperate to get into our family? Just because she couldn’t marry Chunyu, she decided to marry me instead? I’m serious, I don’t want this!”
The Old Lord chided, “You can’t say anything bad about the Empress Dowager.”
Xia Chunyu turned to his father and asked with a bit of dread, “Father, you didn’t agree to this proposal, right?”
His father remained silent.
“I don’t care about the Empress Dowager! I don’t want to get married to Liu Li!” Xia Chunfeng said angrily. The princess was a spoiled, evil troublemaker! Why would he want to tie himself to her?
The Old Lord leveled him with a fierce glare and said, “This is a command from the Emperor and the Empress Dowager. You are not going against this.”
“I don’t care! I am not marrying Liu Li. The Emperor and the Empress Dowager can take my head,” Xia Chunfeng declared.
“What are you talking about? Don’t you understand that you can’t go against the command of the Emperor? Your second brother has already rejected Liu Li once. If you refuse this, the royal family will never forgive us. Your head isn’t the only thing we will lose if you don’t get your act straight! Stupid!” the Old Lord said furiously.
“Old Lord, can you ease up? Chunfeng is still a kid,” Xia You interjected, trying to defend her son.
“He’s 17, he’s not a kid anymore. You have spoiled him so much that’s why he’s acting like this,” Xia Zhoufeng said sullenly.
Xia Chunfeng groaned. Why was he so unlucky?
“Father, are you sure there’s no way around this? What did the Empress Dowager say?” Xia Chunyu was feeling extremely guilty. If he hadn’t refused the marriage, it wouldn’t have fallen onto his brother. His brother was going to suffer because of what he did.”
Xia You answered, “The Empress Dowager wants them to get married immediately. They even called the fortune-telling eunuch in the palace and he said that they are a good match. He also chose the date for the wedding next month. Chunfeng will gain so much after the marriage, why would we refuse?”
Xia Chunyu looked at his younger brother, feeling very sorry for him. Chunyu, at least, had a proper excuse to refuse the marriage, but Chunfeng? His brother was doomed.
“Third Brother…” Xia Chunyu began.
Xia Chunfeng didn’t let him finish before turning around and running away.
“Ayy! That stupid kid!” the Old Lord griped.
Xia You immediately ordered a servant to follow Xia Chunfeng. They can’t have him running away otherwise, they would truly land in hot waters with the royal family.
“No, I will go!” Xia Chunyu said and hurriedly chased after Chunfeng.
Heavenly Residence’s business was good, but Ye Jiayao couldn’t help but worry over what’s happening with Xia Chunyu and his family.
Half of the day had already passed when Song Qi came to pick her up.
“Where is the Heir-son Lord?” she asked him.
“The Heir-son Lord is going after the Third Young Master. He told me to tell you that the wedding will still go on as planned, though. I’m here to take you back.”
Ye Jiayao asked curiously, “Going after the Third Young Master? What happened to Chunfeng?”
Song Qi replied unhappily, “The Empress Dowager invited the Old Lord and Madame to the palace today to tell them that Princess Liu Li wanted to marry the Third Young Master. They have set the date for the wedding next month. The Third Young Master is mad and the Heir-son Lord is trying to soothe him.”
Ye Jiayao was stunned. Liu Li wants to marry Chunfeng? What the hell? What is that girl’s obsession with the bachelors of the Jing An mansion?
Just as she thought that building a relationship with everyone in the mansion would be smooth-sailing, she was hit with this news. Liu Li’s going to be her sister-in-law!
Poor Xia Chunfeng!
