Xiao Jin Yu's face darkened a shade, but he remained silent. He raised his hand and slowly poured a cup of cold tea that had been steeping for who knows how long.
Hearing the sound of tea being poured, Xiao Er rubbed his arm and shifted into a more comfortable position. "That's right, one should know how to read the situation..."
Xiao Jin Yu slowly picked up the teacup, gently sniffed it, then flung it forward, accurately drenching Xiao Er's head.
Suddenly doused with tea that had been left for several days, Xiao Er sprang up with a start. Frantically wiping the tea from his head, he glared furiously at the calm-faced man before him. "Are you fucking looking to die!"
Xiao Jin Yu set the teacup down on the table with measured force, his tone neither cold nor warm. "You're the one looking to die."
Xiao Er scrutinized Xiao Jin Yu fiercely. Noting the plain, ordinary white robe he wore, with no valuable items visible from head to toe, and observing his frail, thin frame and sickly complexion, Xiao Er raised his hand without hesitation and slapped him hard. He overturned the wheelchair and began kicking and beating the man on the ground like a madman.
"You fucking cripple! Who are you saying is looking to die! Who's looking to die! Who's looking to die..."
☆、32 Sweet and Sour Ribs (Twelve)
"What are you doing!"
Wan Niang was stunned by the scene as she entered the room, but Chu Chu, who had come in with her, immediately rushed over. She pushed the possessed-looking Xiao Er away with all her might and threw herself over Xiao Jin Yu, turning her head to glare fiercely at Xiao Er. "Don't you dare hit him!"
Pushed by Chu Chu like that, Xiao Er suddenly snapped back to his senses.
Just now... at first, he had only wanted to teach a lesson to this man who had calmly drenched him with cold water. He had only wanted to hear a word of apology, but the man hadn't made a sound, not even changing his expression. He had kept looking at him with what seemed like a mocking gaze, making Xiao Er angrier and angrier the more he hit...
Seeing the man on the ground who had already coughed up a large amount of blood, Xiao Er's body stiffened, and his face turned pale instantly.
Hearing Chu Chu's shout, Wan Niang also regained her senses. Her face pale with fright, she hurried over, pulled Xiao Er down, and knelt with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly. "This humble woman deserves death! Please calm your anger, Wang Ye! Please forgive us, Wang Ye!"
Wang Ye?
Xiao Er stared blankly at the man being carefully helped up by Chu Chu, and as if possessed, blurted out, "You... you're a prince? Prince An?"
Leaning on Chu Chu's shoulder, Xiao Jin Yu sat back in his wheelchair. His already fragile back and waist had taken too many blows, and for a moment, the pain forced him to slump weakly against the backrest. Yet, his voice remained as cool and calm as ever as it reached Xiao Er's ears. "I told you... you're the one looking to die..."
"I... I deserve death! I failed to recognize your eminence! I..."
Xiao Jin Yu cut off Xiao Er's frantic apologies with a stern tone. "Wan Niang."
Wan Niang hurriedly kowtowed. "This humble woman is here."
"This person assaulted me. Did you witness it with your own eyes?"
"Yes."
Chu Chu glared hatefully at Xiao Er kneeling on the ground, looking as if she wanted to pounce and bite him. "I saw it too!"
Xiao Jin Yu looked calmly at Xiao Er. "With both witnesses and evidence present, do you have anything to say?"
"I am guilty! I deserve death!"
Xiao Jin Yu nodded slightly. "Do you know the way to the Prefect Magistrate's Office... Go and tell Tan Cishi that you have committed the crime of assaulting a member of the imperial family. He will know how to handle it."
Xiao Er froze upon hearing this, but Chu Chu urgently said, "No! What if he runs away!"Xiao Jin Yu looked calmly at Xiao Er, "If you have the nerve and the courage, you can try..."
"I wouldn't dare! I wouldn't dare!"
Wan Niang shot Xiao Er a fierce glare, "Get out of here now!"
"Yes... yes!"
After Xiao Er scrambled away in panic, Wan Niang kowtowed deeply to Xiao Jin Yu again, "Please forgive me, Wang Ye... Nowadays there are rumors spreading that our restaurant uses human flesh in our dishes. Business has become unsustainable, our original staff have all left to seek livelihoods elsewhere, and ordinary people are afraid of being tainted by bad luck, so we could only hire such unreliable people... To have offended Wang Ye like this, Wan Niang truly deserves death!"
Suppressing a cough, Xiao Jin Yu said, "I brought this upon myself, it's no one else's fault... I'd still like to ask Wan Niang to prepare a portion of Sweet and Sour Ribs for us."
Both Chu Chu and Wan Niang were stunned. How could he still be thinking about ribs at a time like this?!
Xiao Jin Yu added with a faint smile, "It's important... If done well, it might help clear the rumors about you... or help solve this case."
"Yes, Wan Niang will prepare it right away. Please rest in the private room upstairs first, Wang Ye."
"No need, I'll stay here... Make it carefully, just like you used to."
"Yes, Wang Ye."
As soon as Wan Niang left, Chu Chu reached out her small hand and gently touched Xiao Jin Yu's reddened cheek, her eyes brimming with tears as she looked at him, "Does it hurt?"
Originally only one cheek was red, but with her touch, the other cheek reddened as well. Xiao Jin Yu shook his head slightly, "It doesn't hurt... Where did you go earlier?"
"I wanted to come early to tell the manager to start cooking sooner, so it would be ready when you arrived. But the manager said she doesn't know how to slaughter pigs and doesn't dare buy ribs from outside anymore. I don't know how to slaughter pigs either, so I went with her to buy ribs and helped her select them..." As Chu Chu spoke, her eyes reddened again. She suddenly threw her arms around Xiao Jin Yu's neck, buried her face in his shoulder and burst into loud sobs, "From now on I'll stay by your side every day, follow you everywhere, and never let bad people hurt you again!"
Xiao Jin Yu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Her crying made him feel worse than his physical pain. He raised his hand and gently patted her back, "It was my carelessness, don't cry..."
Chu Chu straightened up and wiped her tears, blinking her damp eyelashes as she looked at Xiao Jin Yu, "Take off your clothes, let me see how badly you're injured."
Here... of all places she could think of that!
"...No need, I'm not injured."
Biting her lip, Chu Chu looked at the bloodstains on the front of his white robe, tears streaming down her face again, "You're lying again... You coughed up blood! So much blood!"
"My stomach isn't well, this happens often. It's nothing serious..."
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