Chapter 31: Who Doesn’t Want a Good Reputation?
I will make the mistress of your Xiao family respectfully invite me back!
Back in Linshui Pavilion of the Xiao Residence, Xiao Xian’s mind kept echoing with this sentence, his hand gripping a piece of silk getting tighter and tighter.
“Young Master, what do you think that young lady meant by her last words?” Feng D*ng couldn’t help but ask the question in his heart, then shook his head and said, “That young lady is really unfathomable! Every word she says is so puzzling… However, she can not only cure Young Master’s illness but also make dishes that Young Master likes. This is truly rare in the world!”
After saying that, he seemed to regret it a bit, “Oh, how could I forget to ask her for a recipe? That way, even in our residence, I could have the cook make it for Young Master!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Xian rebuked him with displeasure: “Feng D*ng, other people’s unique skills and techniques are their wealth, and you shouldn’t take them without permission. Remember not to say such things again in the future!”
Feng D*ng hung his head in shame: “Yes, Young Master!”
Suddenly, his eyes caught a glimpse of something strange on the silk in Xiao Xian’s hand and exclaimed in surprise, “Eh, Young Master, look at this silk!”
Only then did Xiao Xian loosen his grip and unfold the silk in his hand. He saw that lines of delicate handwriting were slowly appearing on the originally clean silk that only had one embroidered character.
Feng D*ng couldn’t help but lean closer to look: “Young Master, there are words! They weren’t there before. How did these words appear?”
Xiao Xian couldn’t help but narrow his eyes, greatly surprised. He saw that beads of sweat had already oozed out in his palm. Could it be that these sweat beads made the handwriting on the silk appear?
Feng D*ng, who had been following Xiao Xian since childhood, recognized some characters and read in a low voice: “Mandarin… Mandarin fish with flower cuts, coated evenly with flour, heat… heat the wok with oil, then add Sichuan peppercorns, wild ginseng… Young Master, this seems to be one recipe after another. Could it be that the young lady…”
Xiao Xian also seemed to have a sudden realization and said as if to himself, “Fragrant dishes steamed on orchid mats, offered with cassia wine and pepper sauce. So it’s about using the heat of Sichuan peppercorns to counteract the cold and dampness… She’s truly thoughtful!”
“What ‘what’ something? What ‘what’ something? Young Master, what are you talking about?”
Feng D*ng didn’t understand Xiao Xian’s feelings, and heard him say, “This is not just a recipe, but a medicinal diet!”
It turned out that she seemed to have anticipated all this and had written the medicinal diet on this silk early on, giving it to him through Ling Ye’s hand. It seemed that from the moment he met them, everything that happened afterward was already within her calculations…
So what will her next plan be?
Xiao Xian couldn’t help but fall into deep thought. At this moment, he didn’t know that the originally peaceful night was already filled with undercurrents.
✿✿✿
“What did you say? You failed?” In Fengxiu Pavilion, Princess Yunyin’s eyebrows furrowed in anger after hearing the servant’s report. “A young lady under fifteen and a ten-year-old boy, you’re telling me you failed?”
“Yes, Princess. This s*ave just received the news!” Nurse Jiang said tremblingly.
“How is that possible?” Princess Yunyin muttered, suddenly knocking over a white porcelain lamp on the table. “Where did the news come from? What about those assassins? Where are they now?”
Speaking of where the news came from, Nurse Jiang’s face turned even paler. She stammered for a long time before saying, “It came from the East Market. It was Eighth Young Master…”
“Eighth Young Master? Xiao Yun? What does it have to do with him?”
Nurse Jiang then replied, “It’s a coincidence. This morning, just as dawn was breaking, Eighth Young Master, after drinking all night with the young masters from the Wei and Zhu families, had just come out of Apricot Blossom and Misty Rain Tower when a group of people swarmed up and threw countless fruits, vegetables, and eggs at Eighth Young Master.
Eighth Young Master was naturally furious and was about to punish these unruly commoners, but unexpectedly, several large trees in front of Apricot Blossom and Misty Rain Tower had people hanging from them. Those people were none other than the assassins Princess sent to chase and k*ll those two young masters, and each assassin was wrapped in white silk, with poems written on the silk…”
Nurse Jiang seemed to find it difficult to continue and stopped speaking.
Princess Yunyin asked, “Poems? What did they write?”
Nurse Jiang then replied tremblingly, “They wrote… ‘Others laugh at me for being foolish, I laugh at others for not seeing through…’ ”
“What does that mean?” Princess Yunyin didn’t understand the meaning of the poem, and heard Nurse Jiang continue fearfully, “There… there was also a horizontal inscription, writing… writing that the mistress of the Xiao family is heartless, abandoning her granddaughter for fifteen years, and now even sending assassins to k*ll her!”
“What did you say?” Princess Yunyin’s almond-shaped eyes widened in disbelief. She angrily flung her handkerchief and was about to rush out, but Nurse Jiang followed behind and hurriedly stopped her, “Princess, don’t be angry. If you go there now, it’s admitting that those assassins were sent by you, which will be even more detrimental to your reputation…”
“Reputation?” Princess Yunyin stopped abruptly. “That lowly servant dares to slander me like this. Is it me who doesn’t want a good reputation, or is it her who doesn’t want a good reputation?”
Seeing the deep meaning in Princess Yunyin’s eyes, Nurse Jiang asked in a puzzled tone, “Princess, what do you mean by that?”
✿✿✿
Princess Yunyin calmed down for a moment, and as if thinking of something, she smiled sinisterly, “She thinks she can slander my reputation like this, to highlight her pitiful state as an orphan and her reputation for kindness and weakness. It’s truly laughable and pathetic. Since she wants to ruin my name, why can’t I use her own methods against her and ruin her reputation…”
When Nurse Jiang heard this, her eyes lit up as if she had a sudden realization. Just as she was about to say something, Xiao Ninth Miss’s cries came from outside the door:
“Mother—”
The two saw Xiao Ninth Miss rushing in, covering her face and sobbing. When she reached Princess Yunyin, her wide sleeves fell, revealing egg yolk dripping down her face, looking both comical and extremely embarrassed!
“What happened to you?” Princess Yunyin asked.
Xiao Ninth Miss cried, “It’s all because of that lowly servant. Today, I just left the house to go find Princess Ningyuan. When I passed Jingyang East Street, I saw a crowd watching something, so I went to take a look out of curiosity. I saw a group of people throwing vegetables and fruits at my brother. I wanted to call someone to help him, but as soon as I shouted, those people didn’t spare me either and smashed my carriage to pieces!”
Princess Yunyin became even angrier as she listened and asked, “Where’s your brother?”
“My brother didn’t dare to see Mother and has gone back to his room to bathe. But Ninth Miss is not convinced. Mother, didn’t you already send people to… How is that lowly servant still alive? And she even dared… dared to write those words to insult Mother!”
“Insult?”
“Yes, those people… those people all said that Mother is a vicious and shameless person, not even sparing a fifteen-year-old young lady, and there’s still the bond of kinship!”
“Those people?” Princess Yunyin was suspicious and pondered for a moment. “Who are those people? Why should we believe what they say? They can say these things, and so can we!”
Xiao Ninth Miss seemed to have thought of something and stopped crying, asking, “What do you mean, Mother?”
“Ninth Miss, Mother told you long ago that there are some things we can’t do ourselves, but we can find others to do them for us. There are some things we can’t say directly, but we can also find others to say them for us. This lowly servant, as soon as she returned to Jiankang, wanted to ruin my reputation in such a simple and crude way, so naturally, our Xiao family can’t let her off easy!”
Princess Yunyin crumpled her handkerchief and looked at Xiao Ninth Miss, saying with confidence, “Now, Mother has something for you to do!”
✿✿✿
Not long after, the news also reached Linshui Pavilion, and Feng D*ng was already laughing so hard he couldn’t stand straight.
“Young Master, you didn’t see what Eighth Young Master and Ninth Young Lady looked like when they came back. They were covered in rotten vegetables and eggs, with streaks of color on their faces, wailing like ghosts and howling like wolves. They’ve probably never been so ‘gloriously’ in their lives. They should be back in their own courtyard taking a bath now!”
“I never thought that young lady would pull such a stunt, directly hanging those assassins in front of Apricot Blossom and Misty Rain Tower, the most conspicuous spot on Jingyang Street. That place always has the most guests, mostly young masters from aristocratic families and merchants. Now everyone knows that the mistress of our Xiao family sent assassins to chase and k*ll her own granddaughter!”
“Eighth Young Master and Ninth Young Lady have always been arrogant and domineering, and they often bullied Young Master with their sarcasm. The young lady’s actions have really vented some anger for Young Master!”
“If Young Master wasn’t also a Xiao, this s*ave would really want to take Young Master to see the excitement in front of Apricot Blossom and Misty Rain Tower… ”
Saying this, Feng D*ng looked at Xiao Xian somewhat embarrassedly, but saw the slight smile that had just appeared on his lips slowly fade away.
“I’m sorry, Young Master. I’m afraid those people will throw vegetables and eggs at anyone with the surname Xiao. That wouldn’t be good for Young Master, so it’s better for us to stay in the residence for now. But… this s*ave brought such good news to Young Master, why don’t you smile happily?” His tone couldn’t help but carry a hint of disappointment.
Xiao Xian chuckled softly, but said, “I’m not worried about being pelted with vegetables and eggs if I go out now. I’m just afraid that this will attract Princess Yunyin…”
“Oh, Young Master is worried about that young lady! But that young lady also said that Young Master doesn’t need to intervene, which means she already has a plan. And I think that young lady is truly intelligent and resourceful. Young Master, don’t worry too much…”
Xiao Xian nodded without saying more, but the worry in his brows couldn’t dissipate.
She actually exposed Princess Yunyin’s actions so directly in front of everyone. While this could garner some sympathy from the public, the Chen family’s ability to distort the truth and cover up facts is already a family specialty. With such a conflict escalating, it’s likely to provoke even more vicious retaliation from Princess Yunyin… She can’t be unaware of the consequences, but what benefit does doing this have for her?
