Yunchu’s Vengeance - Chapter 40
Chapter 40: An Omen of Ill Omen
When Old Madam Xie personally tasted several of the dishes, she found that every single one of them was overwhelmingly, inedibly salty.
If a single dish had been slightly salty, it could have been dismissed as a cook's careless mistake, but for the vast majority of them to be loaded with a lethal amount of salt was clearly a deliberate act.
The old lady was beside herself with rage, completely at a loss for how to explain this away.
Having never experienced such a scene before, Madam Yuan could only offer an awkward, sheepish smile.
Xie Ping bowed her head low, doing her utmost to minimize her presence.
"I offer my apologies to everyone on behalf of the Xie family." Yunchu stood up, her face filled with genuine regret and sincerity. "Such a massive blunder at the birthday banquet is a failure of my household management. I shall punish myself with three cups of wine first."
Just as she raised her wine cup, Qin Mingheng spoke up.
"Who in the entire capital doesn't know that Madam Xie is still recovering from an illness? This birthday banquet wasn't even managed by Madam Xie, so it's not your turn to punish yourself."
"I am the mistress of the Xie household. Even if I didn't oversee it personally, the poor supervision is still my fault and deserves punishment." Picking up the wine cup, Yunchu tilted her head back, intent on draining it in one go.
With a furrowed brow, Qin Mingheng started to rise from his seat.
Before he could move, he watched as Xie Jingyu—who was standing right beside her—snatched the wine cup out of Yunchu's hand and drank all three cups straight down himself.
Qin Mingheng's gaze instantly turned dark and brooding, though a faint, ambiguous smile hung on the corners of his lips. "Lord Xie and Madam Xie are truly a deeply affectionate couple. How very enviable."
For some reason, Yunchu caught a subtle hint of mockery in those words.
Brushing aside that faint feeling of discomfort, she spoke up, "The Xie estate will arrange for people to procure a fresh banquet spread from a restaurant at the fastest possible speed. We ask everyone to bear with us a moment longer; for now, let us serve the longevity peaches and longevity noodles so that everyone can share in the old lady's blessings."
Lady Lin, the matriarch of the Yun family, nodded in agreement. "I will have my people assist as well."
With the Yun family being preeminent in the capital, everyone knew that having Lady Lin's assistance meant a proper banquet spread could be arranged in no time, and the tense atmosphere relaxed significantly.
The servants brought out the longevity peaches—red peach-shaped pastries made from flour, stamped with a large character for longevity. The largest peach was placed directly before the birthday star, Old Madam Xie, while a large platter was set at each of the remaining tables.
Having endured one fiasco after another, the Old Madam's spirits were heavily depleted, but she forced herself to muster the energy to cut the longevity peach.
However, the moment the peach was sliced open, she was so thoroughly frightened that she recoiled repeatedly, tumbling right out of her chair as the bowl of longevity noodles was knocked over and spilled.
Looking up from the lower tables, the guests dissolved into a state of chaotic pandemonium.
"Good heavens! Why is that longevity peach stuffed entirely with worms?!"
"My dear lord, finding bugs in a real peach is normal, but how on earth could a pastry made of flour have so many disgusting things inside it?"
"This is an ominous omen!"
Yunchu narrowed her eyes.
Last night after falling asleep, the little fellow had talked in his sleep, muttering something about bugs... Could all these bizarre mishaps at today's birthday banquet have been orchestrated by him?
No matter how bold He Xu was, he would only dare to substitute inferior goods and pocket some embezzlement money. Dead fish, heavy salt, and now worms... This was undoubtedly the work of Chu Hongyu.
Did that little fellow know she was having a miserable time in the Xie family, and thus decide to vent her frustrations by acting out?
Seeing the Old Madam paralyzed with fright on the floor and the Xie estate thrown into total disarray, the pent-up frustration in Yunchu's chest dissipated by quite a bit.
"Everyone, please don't panic." Stepping forward, Xie Jingyu maintained as much composure as possible. "Green insects symbolize green pines, and green pines signify a hundred years of longevity—it is an auspicious sign. If we have startled any of you, it is the fault of the Xie family. Since the new banquet spread has yet to arrive, why not enjoy some tea in the meantime? These tea leaves are tribute items presented to the imperial court from the Western Regions; once you taste them, you will understand."
Aside from the Yun family and the Marquis of Xuanwu, the remaining guests were all minor officials of the fifth, sixth, or seventh ranks who had virtually never laid eyes on genuine imperial tribute items. Hearing Xie Jingyu say this, they swallowed their urge to take their leave and instead remained seated to drink their tea.
Since these tea leaves had been procured under the direct supervision of Xie Shian—whom Xie Jingyu had ordered to watch over the matter without a single loophole from start to finish—he dared to present them to the crowd.
Imperial tribute tea was naturally of the highest caliber. The guests, who had been thoroughly terrified just moments before, relaxed their expressions and began chatting amicably once more.
Escorted by the female relatives of the Xie family, the Old Madam was helped away to freshen up and change.
Crash!
A teacup shattered against the floor.
Shattered with fright, Xie Ping's knees buckled. "Old Madam, it was all my fault! I failed to prepare the birthday banquet properly, and I made the Xie family a laughingstock! Please punish me with death!"
Lifting her foot, the Old Madam fully intended to kick Xie Ping away.
She was intercepted by Madam Yuan. "What's done is done; blaming Ping'er now is useless. Besides, Ping'er is just an unmarried young maiden—it was never right to let her handle such a massive undertaking in the first place. Ping'er is too young, Chuchu has been ill, and you, Old Madam, are getting on in years. If you trace the blame back, it's actually my fault. If I possessed true household-managing talent, how could things have ever reached a point where the Xie family became the laughingstock of the capital..."
"Mother, this is not the time for self-reproach," Yunchu said indifferently. "Mother Zhou, take a few men and place He Xu under immediate custody."
"That's right, tie He Xu up first!" the Old Madam said through gritted teeth. "To dare tamper with his masters' birthday banquet—he must be tired of living. Once the banquet concludes and the guests disperse, see if I don't skin him alive!"
Xie Ping shuddered violently.
Once the banquet ended, the Old Madam would undoubtedly punish her as well, and she had no idea what fate awaited her.
Without a moment's hesitation, Mother Zhou led her men off to apprehend He Xu.
He Xu had been living the high life lately. First, Chen Defu had handed several shops over for him to manage personally, giving him a large following of subordinates. Following that, he had been entrusted with managing the vast majority of Old Madam Xie's birthday banquet, pocketing an untold amount of illicit kickbacks in the process. While the birthday banquet was underway up front, he had used his own silver to buy some wine and braised pork head, sitting by the back gate with several of his cronies to eat, drink, and gamble.
Just as they were deeply engrossed in their game, Mother Zhou's men suddenly pounced and pinned him down.
"What are you doing? What do you think you're doing?!" Struggling violently, He Xu—who was heavily intoxicated—possessed immense strength, making it difficult for the two matrons to hold him down.
Mother Zhou ordered someone to strike He Xu squarely across the body with a heavy club, stuffed a gag into his mouth, and had all four matrons drag him away together.
Just as they reached the covered corridor, they ran into Madam He, who was coming out to look for He Xu.
Madam He's jaw dropped in shock. "Mother Zhou, what is this about? What offense has Steward He committed?"
"A mother surnamed He should worry less about matters that aren't her concern," Mother Zhou said coldly. "Today is the Old Madam's birthday, and the estate is filled with distinguished guests. A criminal serving a sentence like Mother He would do well not to wander about... The Madam remitting Mother He's grounding for a single day was an act of benevolence; Mother He shouldn't trample upon the Madam's kind intentions."
With that, she dragged the still-struggling He Xu away.
Burning with panic, Madam He rushed over to question several people and quickly learned what had happened in the front courtyard, causing her heart to instantly plummet to the depths of despair.
He Xu getting captured was only getting his just deserts.
Yet why should her Ping'er have her reputation utterly ruined?
Kawning the truth now, she suddenly realized why the Madam had claimed illness and dumped the entire burden of the birthday banquet onto a thirteen-year-old miss—was this not a deliberate scheme to sully Ping'er's reputation?
An'er had been forced by the Madam to kneel in the ancestral hall.
Wei'er had suffered family corporal punishment at the Madam's hands.
And now, Ping'er's marriage prospects had been destroyed by the Madam as well.
What a terrifying, deep-laid plot the Madam possessed!
Once this banquet concluded, Ping'er's entire life would be completely finished.
She could not just stand by and watch such a tragedy unfold.
With that thought driving her, Madam He hurried toward the front courtyard; she needed to find Xie Jingyu and discuss a remedy.