Chu Chu hurried over, her small face flushing red. "She... she wants to chop down the trees."
Xiao Jin Yu stared at her with a cold expression. Just recalling the earlier scene sent chills down his spine—this girl had recklessly rushed forward and used her own body as a shield. Had the maid been even slightly quicker with her blade... he would have had to watch helplessly.
"Do you care more about trees than your life?"
Chu Chu anxiously grabbed his hand. "Wang Ye, don’t be angry! I never said I didn’t want you!"
Xiao Jin Yu choked back his words, his anger instantly deflated.
Was she doing this on purpose, or was she doing this on purpose...
The maid finally noticed Xiao Jin Yu and hurriedly knelt in his direction. "This humble servant pays respects to Prince An!"
Chu Chu stepped in front of Xiao Jin Yu, puffing her cheeks indignantly. "Kneeling to the prince won’t help! You still can’t chop them down!"
Xiao Jin Yu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as he pulled this human shield from his line of sight to his side, finally getting a clear view of the trembling maid on the ground. "Was it Steward Wang who ordered the trees cut?"
"Replying to Wang Ye, yes, it was..."
"On my authority, leave them for now... Have Steward Wang come speak to me."
Before the maid could respond, Chu Chu couldn’t resist jumping in. "Anyone who disobeys Wang Ye will get their bottom spanked by him!"
No sooner had she spoken than she felt a light swat on her own backside. Turning around, she met Xiao Jin Yu’s stern face.
His expression darkening slightly, Xiao Jin Yu pulled her back to his side and looked down at the maid. "Rise and speak..."
"Thank you, Wang Ye!"
Xiao Jin Yu slowly surveyed the surroundings. Though it was the depths of winter, the garden remained vibrant, with even the lake unfrozen. "Are you the one maintaining this garden?"
"Replying to Wang Ye, yes... This servant’s duty is tending to this garden."
Xiao Jin Yu glanced deliberately toward a small pavilion by the lake. "Lord Ji and his wife reside nearby... Have you noticed anything unusual about the lady before she returned to her family home?"
☆、38 Sweet and Sour Ribs (Eighteen)
As the maid hesitated, Chu Chu couldn’t contain herself. "Yes! I know!"
Chu Chu widened her eyes at the maid. "Steward Wang told me everything! The lady went back to her family because she had a big fight with Lord Ji—a really big one! When the steward saw her off the next morning, she was still crying!" She added indignantly, "Wang Ye knows everything! Don’t you dare try to fool him!"
The maid panicked and knelt again. "This servant wouldn’t dare..."
"You almost did!"
Chu Chu’s voice carried clear fury. Xiao Jin Yu paused, frowning slightly—was this girl... genuinely angry?
Over a few trees?
The maid had completely forgotten about tree-cutting. Deceiving the prince was a capital offense, especially when dealing with a prince specialized in prosecuting crimes. Seeing Xiao Jin Yu’s frown, she panicked and kowtowed. "This servant is wronged... wronged! What the Imperial Concubine said is true, but... but the master and mistress quarreled often. This servant didn’t know if it counted as unusual and didn’t dare gossip recklessly before Wang Ye..."
Xiao Jin Yu’s brow relaxed slightly. "Often?"
"This servant wouldn’t dare deceive Wang Ye! The master and mistress quarreled frequently—over the smallest matters, a single wrong word could make them argue fiercely. The mistress would often run back to her family in anger... This servant usually stays in this garden, close to the master and mistress’s residence, and often hears them arguing. That day was nothing out of the ordinary."Xiao Jinyu shifted his gaze to the reflection of the pavilion on the lake's surface. "That argument before your mistress passed away... did you hear it?"
"That night, this servant happened to be tending these plum blossoms here and overheard... The master and mistress were arguing in their chamber. At first, their voices were quiet—couldn't tell what they were quarreling about. But then they grew louder and the words turned quite unpleasant. It wasn't until Steward Wang went upstairs to intervene that they stopped. The mistress wept for a long time afterward... If there was anything unusual, it would be how exceptionally angry the master was that day. The master has a gentle temperament, always kind to everyone, never speaks harshly to us normally. But that evening, I merely got startled by the sound of a waterbird diving into the lake and cried out, and the master leaned out the window to scold me fiercely..."
Xiao Jinyu nodded faintly, his eyes carefully scanning the barren lake surface as if genuinely searching for waterfowl.
Under Chu Chu's suspicious gaze, the maid dared not be careless and hurriedly added, "Actually... it was already completely dark by then. This servant only saw a dark shadow with a pointed beak and two wings plunge into the water—couldn't even say for certain if it was a waterbird..."
"Rise... Please ask Steward Wang to come to my chamber when he has a moment. I have important matters to discuss with him."
"Yes, Wang Ye."
Chu Chu didn't forget to add, "And no cutting down trees!"
"Yes, yes... Imperial Concubine rest assured, this servant wouldn't dare..."
When Xiao Jinyu and Chu Chu returned to their chamber, Steward Wang was already waiting.
"This old servant pays respects to Wang Ye and Imperial Concubine."
"Rise..."
"Thank you, Wang Ye." Steward Wang stood before Xiao Jinyu with his head bowed deeply, almost bending at the waist. "What instructions does Wang Ye have?"
Before Xiao Jinyu could speak, Chu Chu urgently declared, "You can't cut down the trees!"
Steward Wang stared in bewilderment. "This old servant... this old servant has never cut down trees in my life."
"But you ordered others to do it! Those plum trees by the lakeside—the maid there said you gave the order!"
Finally understanding, Steward Wang bowed his head even lower. "Replying to Imperial Concubine... This was the master's instruction. The residence is preparing for the mistress's funeral proceedings—no red colors can appear. Those plum trees happen to bear red blossoms right opposite the master and mistress's chamber window. The master finds them distressing... It's truly a pity, but they simply bloomed at an inopportune time!"
Chu Chu stamped her foot in anger. That Lord Ji seemed like a clear-eyed good official—how could he do something so foolish!
"No cutting! Absolutely no cutting! Felling trees damages one's virtue—whoever does it will have their family line severed!"
Steward Wang's knees trembled, nearly making him kneel before her. "Imperial Concubine..."
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