“Three, two…” Ye Jiayao slowly counted, observing Zhu Wang’s wife out of the corner of her eyes. “One.”
Ye Jiayao sneered, “I might be a benevolent person, but I also stand by my words. I gave you the opportunity to come clean, but you decided to stay quiet. One thing to know about me, I never make threats, I make promises.”
The lips of Zhu Wang’s wife began to twitch.
Ye Jiayao directed her stare at her and slowly said,”Mother Zhou and Zhu Wang wife, stay here. The rest of you go back to the kitchen to work and speak nothing of this. Anyone here who lets their tongues loose will be punished.”
Everyone was surprised to find out that it was Zhu Wang’s wife. She’s always been honest. How would she benefit from sabotaging the wedding banquet? Was theSecond Young Mistress mistaken?
The women left confused.
Zhu Wang’s wife stood straight, but when observed more closely, her hands were shaking.
“Zhu Wang’s wife,what have you done?” Mother Zhou demanded angrily.
“I… I didn’t do anything,” Zhu Wang’s wife said guiltily.
Ye Jiayao scoffed. “I have no time to play games right now. Jiang Yue saw you throw this paperin the corner of the flower bed. There are salt grains on top of this. You’re the one who added the salt in theBazhen chickens.”
Mother Zhou was stunned. “How can you do this kind of thing? Do you have ill feelings toward me or theSecond Young Mistress? We have never treated you badly.”
Zhu Wang’s wife’s face fell, defeated. She had deliberately added salt to only one pot because she thought it would be easier to sneak past the chefs. She didn’t know that these chefs were so meticulous and particular!
“Who put you up to this?” Mother Zhou asked aggressively.
Zhu Wang’s wife bit her lip and gritted, “No one. This is my idea. If Second Young Mistress wants to punish me, then so be it.”
“How could you say this? I know that your family is not in good condition that’s why I hired you for this job. Why would you repay me like this?” Mother Zhou was shaking in anger.
Ye Jiayao frowned and asked Mother Zhou, “What happened to her family?”
“What happened to her family?” Ye Jiayao asked the wife of Zhou Xing.
“Her son contracted a strange disease and treatment costs a lot. Both she and her husband’s income were spent to cure him.”
Ye Jiayao suddenly understood how Zhu Wang’s wife was convinced to commit this crime.
She took a seat and asked Zhu Wang’s wife, “The one who contacted you promised you a lot of money, didn’t they? How much silver? Or did he or sheguarantee to cure your son’s illness? I am very compassionate, but I have my limits. The mistake you made today will cost you 50 slabs and your job at this mansion. Do you think that we’ll trust Zhu Wang after your betrayal? It’s a matter of time before he’s out of employment too. What do you think will happen to your sick son if you both lose your jobs.”
The coldness in Second Young Mistress’ voice scared Zhou Xing’s wife so much she couldn’t help but shudder.
Zhu Wang’s wife held firm. The person who made her do this promised her a lot of money and to have an imperial doctor treat her son, Zhonger.
Ye Jiayao has had enough. There were still a million things to do, she couldn’t keep interrogating this woman. She had to result to a ruthless tactic.
“Mother Zhou, keep her in here and tell Manager Zhong to keep Zhu Wang in another room. Have someone lock their house and station a guard there. Post one guard at each of their rooms, too. No one in and out at all places. They are not to be given food or water.” Ye Jiayao then turned to Zhu Wang’s wife and said emotionlessly, “Whenever you decide to tell the truth, you let us know.”
Zhu Wang’s wife panicked and started to beg, “Second Young Mistress, please let my family go. This isn’t their fault.”
“Since you won’t tell me who put you up to this, it’s up to me to decide who’s at fault. If the Empress Dowager find out that you tried to destroy the Princess’ wedding banquet, she’ll have your family killed.”
Zhu Wang’s wife rushed over and hugged Second Young Mistress’ leg, sobbing. “Second Young Mistress, I know what I did was wrong. Please, I beg you, pardon my son, Zhonger.He’s weak and he’s been suffering since he was very young. Please…”
Ye Jiayao was unmoved. “Last chance. Tell me who ordered you to do this.”
Mother Zhou anxiously urged, “Just confess to Second Young Mistress! Do you really want Zhonger to suffer? Didn’t you say that he can’t be without medication for even a day!”
Zhu Wang’s wife cried, “I don’t know who the man is but he gave me 30 silvers. I was told to mess upthe wedding banquet so the Second Young Mistress would look like a fool. He also told me that I will be given twenty silvers afterward and the imperial doctor will be brought to treat my son.
“Second Young Mistress, I’m telling you the truth. If you have to punish someone, please punish me and let my family go.”
Ye Jiayao’s mouth curled up in a sneer.That petty bitch. She’s willing to sabotage her own wedding just to get back at me?
She got up and said to Jiang Yue, “Yue-er, bring Song Qi here, tell him to take care of Zhu Wang’s wife. We’ll revisit this issue after the wedding.”
Fortunately, they caught this complication in time and they were able to complete the wedding banquet successfully.
Xia You listened to the constant words of praise regarding the food and felt a sense of pride rise inside her. She completely forgot the disdain and prejudice she had when she heard that Chunyu wanted to marry a chef.
After the end of the feast, the lively mansion gradually returned to tranquility, with only the red lanterns hanging high and the double happiness sticks posted everywhere as the remnant of the grand celebration.
In the wedding room, Xia Chunfeng got so drunk he was unaware of his surroundings. Princess Liu Li bristled with annoyance at him. Why would he get drunkon such an important day?
The understrapper in the house broughta hangover soup for him and Little Ya was just about to help him eat it when Princess Liu Li stopped her. “No, leave him be.”
Little Ya hesitated. “But tonight is your wedding night.”
“He knows this is the wedding night but he still got drunk,” Liu Li spat.
Little Ya reasoned, “The Third Young Master drank so much because he’s happy. He couldn’t have very well declined all the toasts that the guest asked of him.”
Liu Li rolled her eyes. “Forget it. Just change his clothes.”
Chunfeng was drunk but he was still able to hear their conversation. He wanted to protest and say that he’s drunk because he couldn’t stand the spoiled brat he married.
When Little Ya went to the bathroom to prepare a sponge bath for the Third Young Master, Princess Liu Li followed her.
“Was there anything wrong at the banquet today?” asked Liu Li.
Little Ya shook her head. “I heard that the food is very good, everyone enjoyed it.”
Liu Li’s jaw clenched. “Little Guizi really is useless.”
Even at her wedding, Jinxuan has the attention of the people.
“Do you want me to find out what happened?” Little Ya offered.
“Don’t worry about it.Let Little Guizi fix this himself,” Liu Li said seriously.
Xia Chunyu also drank a lot, but he wasn’t as drunk as his younger brother. He leaned back on his pillow and sighed in relief. “It’s finally finished.”
Ye Jiayao gave him a cup of strong tea to help prevent a hangover and said, “Yet the trouble is just beginning.”
“Stop worrying. I don’t think Liu Li will cause too much trouble,” Xia Chunyu told her.
“Ha!” Ye Jiayao chortled, incredulous. “You give her too much credit. She has barely even crossed the doorway and has already started playing tricks on me.”
Chunyu’s eyes narrowed. “What did she do.”
She told him what happened in the kitchen earlier.
“Are you sure Liu Li’s behind it?”
“Who else has the power to summon an imperial doctor?” She shook her head and added, “I wanted to tell Mother but I was afraid she’d punish Zhu Wang’s wife. Although what she did was wrong, she just did it to help her son.”
“What did you do about Zhu Wang’s wife?” he asked.
“I let Song Qi take care of her.”
Xia Chunyu thought about it for a moment. He then put his teacup down and put his boots on.
“Where are you going?” Ye Jiayao asked curiously.
“I will deal with this matter,” he said as he donned on his robe.
“What are you going to do?” Ye Jiayao followed.
“I will go and see if I can get solid evidence.”
He was wrong for thinking Liu Li would ease up with this marriage. It was now clear to him that she would do anything to hurt Yaoyao.
Chunyu was not going to let that happen.
