Chapter 33
Madam Chef’s Dirty Tricks
Early the next morning, Yu Yunxi and Qian Jiao left the Prime Minister’s Residence and went straight to the Revival Hall.
“The journey back to Xinan passes through Min Prefecture. There has been a flood recently. As such, Junjin will only leave the capital in a few days. Arrange for our people to secretly protect him over these few days,” Yu Yunxi said.
“Yes, County Princess.”
“Also, investigate the Wei family again.”
At the mention of the Wei family, Yu Yunxi’s eyes glinted coldly. She had a feeling that the Wei family had bribed Yang Shi and taken away all of her mother’s medical records and books and that they did it not only because they wanted to develop their medical hall.
“Yes, County Princess. I’ll investigate the Wei family as you ordered.”
“Scram! Where did this beggar come from?”
When Yu Yunxi and Qian Jiao were walking past a small stall, they saw a female beggar dressed in ragged clothes being kicked to the ground by the stall owner. The beggar got up, and she kept reaching out to grab the person next to her as she cried out, “Please, please! I haven’t eaten for many days!”
There were many beggars like her in the capital. The Imperial City was known to be rich and opulent, but it could not compare to any city in Xinan, the southwest of the country where every citizen’s clothing and food were ensured.
In the beginning, Yu Yunxi did not pay attention to the beggar, but when she heard the other party’s voice, she stopped in her tracks.
Seeing that someone stopped, the female beggar’s eyes lit up. She raised her head and smiled flatteringly. However, as soon as she saw Yu Yunxi’s face, the smile on her face vanished immediately. Then, she quickly covered her face with the broken bowl in her hands.
Yu Yunxi called out in a leisurely manner, “Aunt Qing, long time no see.”
The female beggar shook her head and denied, “Aunt Qing? What Aunt Qing? You got the wrong person. I don’t know you.”
“Aunt Qing, why are you scared? Are you afraid that I’ll seek revenge from you?” Yu Yunxi asked indifferently.
Yu Yunxi’s words seemed to have triggered Aunt Qing. She raised her head, revealing the hatred in her eyes as she shouted angrily, “I was forced to do many things back then! I’m just a servant! Do I even have the right to go against my master’s orders?!”
After that, Aunt Qing sat on the ground and continued muttering to herself, “From the day I heard you returned to the capital and caused a commotion in the Yu family, I had a feeling you’d seek revenge from those who harmed you in the past. I didn’t think that I’d be able to escape… Forget it. You might as well kill me now.”
Yu Yunxi looked down at Aunt Qing.
Not only was Aunt Qing dirty, but her body was riddled with wounds of various sizes. Some of them had also been infected.
‘It seems like she’s suffered a lot over the years…’
After a moment, Yu Yunxi asked icily, “I remember that Aunt Qing was Madam Chen’s trusted aide. You were even sent to monitor me. How did you fall into such a state?”
Upon hearing this, Aunt Qing smiled sardonically and said, “Back then, I was beaten half to death before being thrown into a woodshed. Before I could even breathe, I heard that His Royal Highness passed away. As his Princess Consort, you’d have to accompany him in the Imperial Mausoleum; and as your dowry maid, I’d have to accompany you. For that reason, I had no other choice but to beg that Chen woman to intervene…”
The hatred in Aunt Qing’s eyes grew stronger when she mentioned Madam Chen. She did not even address the latter as Madam Chen and directly addressed the latter as that Chen woman. She continued to say, “When she asked me to monitor you, she promised me that she would protect me. However, that day, she changed and left me for dead. I was unwilling so I used her past to threaten her. I didn’t expect her to fly into a rage out of humiliation and send someone to kill me. Fortunately, I was able to avoid the disaster by playing dead. However, when I returned home, I discovered that my family had been killed by her.”
When Aunt Qing mentioned this matter, she was so angry that her body trembled, and the hatred in her eyes seemed capable of devouring her. Then, as though she remembered something, she crawled over and grabbed the hem of Yu Yunxi’s skirt with her dirty hands and said loudly, “Eldest Miss, do you want revenge? I can help you! I can help you take revenge!”
‘Help me take revenge?’
Yu Yunxi smiled and shook her head. She bent down and slowly pried away Aunt Qing’s hands that were holding tugging at her skirt. Then, she said word by word, “Aunt Qing, you’re also my enemy.”
Aunt Qing cried and pleaded, “But I only harmed you and your mother because of that Chen woman’s orders! Moreover, I helped you back in the Prince Regent’s Residence, didn’t I?”
Yu Yunxi raised an eyebrow and drawled, “You have a point…”
Upon hearing this, Aunt Qing seemed to have seen hope. She thought she had successfully persuaded Yu Yunxi so she hurriedly said, seemingly sincere, “Eldest Miss, as long as you’re willing to take me in, I’ll do anything!”
“I can give you a chance, but… you’ll have to show me your value,” Yu Yunxi said in a low voice.
“Value? What value?”
“Think about what you can offer me. After you think about it, come and look for me at the Revival Hall,” Yu Yunxi said before leaving with Qian Jiao.
As they walked away, Qiao Jiao asked with a frown, “County Princess, do you really plan to take Aunt Qing in? Is she reliable?”
Previously, Qian Jiao had also investigated Aunt Qing. She knew that Aunt Qing had harmed Yu Yunxi many times in the past. She was filled with the urge to kill Aunt Qing earlier when she saw the latter.
“It doesn’t matter if she’s reliable or not. As long as she’s able to make those in the Yu family feel uneasy, it’ll be enough,” Yu Yunxi said with a sneer as her eyes flashed.
…
Revival Hall.
“What’s going on?”
Qian Jiao was furious when she saw that many dirty and smelly things had been poured onto the ground in front of Revival Hall. Moreover, it was also extremely noisy. After they chased those people away from Revival Hall, it had been quiet and clean, unlike now.
At this time, a chubby woman reeking of the smell of fish ran out of the shop next door holding a knife. She brushed the fish scales off her body and shouted, “Hey, you’re the new owner of Revival Hall, right? I’m the owner of the shop next door. I’m a fishmonger!”
‘Fishmonger? Shouldn’t the fishmonger be at the market?’
Qian Jiao’s expression darkened immediately.
In the capital, businesses were organized and operated in different districts depending on their nature. By right, a shop selling fish should not be next to a medical hall.
Apart from that, Qian Jiao remembered that the shop next door was still a teahouse yesterday.
At this time, the door of the shop on the left swung open, and the person inside led a horse out. He raised his chin and shouted, “Sorry, excuse me!”
When the man walked past, the horse even left a horse dung at the entrance of the Revival Hall.
“You! How can you be like this?!” Qian Jiao stomped her feet angrily.
The man stroked his beard and said calmly, “Sorry. The horse couldn’t stand it anymore. However, you don’t own the land in front of your shop, right? Why are you so angry?”
Immediately after that, a large group of local thugs appeared at the side.
“County Princess,” Qian Jiao called out worriedly.
From the beginning until now, Yu Yunxi’s expression was very calm. She walked toward the bearded man slowly.
“What are you doing?” the bearded man asked. When he looked into Yu Yunxi’s eyes, he actually felt a little intimidated.
When the man was about to retreat, Yu Yunxi grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
“It hurts, it hurts! You, you actually dare to hurt me! I’m going to report this to the authorities right now!” the man yelled.