My Fantastic Chef Wife

337. Do Not Offer Her Meal

Translator: ChowvanLee

Jin Xiaoyu walked towards the gate of State Preceptor’s residence successfully. Usually, people would stop her, but this time, they didn’t.

When she saw State Preceptor in the front room, State Preceptor didn’t care about her and said to the chief steward, “Take her out!”

Jin Xiaoyu soon walked through the gate of State Preceptor’s residence.

It had been a long time since she walked out of the gate last time. When she was out, she felt she was in another lifetime. She felt like she could finally see the sun after being kept in a dark cell for too long.

There were many people on the street, and in the middle of the street stood a tall man. He looked serious and upright. People only focused on him and everything around him became his background.

Jin Xiaoyu’s heart started to beat again.

But she suppressed herself and walked in front of Xiao Baoshan. “You’re back!”

Xiao Baoshan nodded and asked, “Are you okay?”

“I’m all good!”

“Then come with me.” He didn’t say anything else.

He came on a horse. Now he let Jin Xiaoyu ride on the horse, and he led the horse with the halter.

The pedestrians on the side of the street made way for them.

Everyone envied Jin Xiaoyu who was on the horse.

Jin Xiaoyu’s heart raced again.

She kept telling herself that this was Little Ye’s husband and she shouldn’t have feelings for him.

She started to think about Tarico in the tribe, Little Xun, and… right, and Little Ye.

“Baoshan, where’s Little Ye?” Jin Xiaoyu asked.

“She’s still in the palace and Empress Dowager doesn’t let her go.” Xiao Baoshan answered.

“Why doesn’t Empress Dowager let her go?”

“Maybe State Preceptor let her do that.”

“Why does Empress Dowager listen to State Preceptor?” Jin Xiaoyu asked.

“They are good friends in private.” Xiao Baoshan was subtle, but Jin Xiaoyu immediately understood.

She said, “That means they have an affair. By the way, Baoshan, I heard from the State Preceptor’s chief steward that you’re assistant minister now? Are you not a general?”

“His Majesty appointed me. There’s no choice.” Xiao Baoshan added.

“Did you win the battle?” Jin Xiaoyu asked.

“Yes.”

“Then, why does he let you be that assistant minister?”

“I don’t know!”

Jin Xiaoyu blurted out, “The imperial court is ridiculous. No wonder someone is coming after Prime Minister Xun. Little Xun can’t settle down up till now. By the way, I heard that the Sixth King and the Seventh King returned to Baoning City? Do you got any news about them?”

“Not for the time being.” Xiao Baoshan said.

“…” They chatted as they walked and soon arrived at Xiao Baoshan’s new manor.

Most of the high-ranking officials lived in several streets near the imperial palace, but Xiao Baoshan’s manor was relatively far away from them. It was obvious that his position was not high or that he was not valued.

This new manor used to be an old official’s home who had already retired and went back to his hometown a few years ago. There were weeds growing around the manor. Some members of the Ministry of Rites had come over to clean it up, but it hadn’t been fully tidied up yet. The weeds were removed and thrown aside. The moment they walked in, the smell of the soil was floating in the air.

Jin Xiaoyu was annoyed, “What’s going on? You, a general who won the war, are arranged to live here? They didn’t even clean it up beforehand. They’re obviously warning you, and are not treating you as a hero.”

Xiao Baoshan said, “It’s not a good thing to be a hero.”

Jin Xiaoyu paused for a while and continued, “Right, if we have a great emperor, it is a good thing. But if he is not, it is better to keep a low profile, so we’d better stay wherever he offered.”

Xiao Baoshan made no response. After entering the manor, he asked two servants to clean a room up first for Jin Xiaoyu, but he was not in a hurry to get his room cleaned up.

There were only 10-odd servants in the manor, not as many as those in the State Preceptor residence.

But Jin Xiaoyu felt much more comfortable here; at least she didn’t have to be watched.

She asked Xiao Baoshan again, “Do you have a way to get Little Ye back?”

Xiao Baoshan thought for a while and said, “I will find a way.”

…

At Empress Dowager’s Palace.

Ye Xiaoxian already had Empress Dowager’s meals ready.

And then she asked Empress Dowager’s maids to bring the food over.

She was about to take a break, when Empress Dowager’s maids came over again and asked Ye Xiaoxian to come over to meet Empress Dowager.

Ye Xiaoxian also followed her over.

Empress Dowager was eating her meal. When Ye Xiaoxian greeted her, she ignored her.

Ye Xiaoxian stood on the side and waited. As she had nothing to do now, she would listen to Empress Dowager whenever she wanted to talk.

Empress Dowager was very satisfied with Ye Xiaoxian’s dishes. Every meal was light, different, delicate and delicious. She was reluctant to kill her at the moment.

However, every time she saw Ye Xiaoxian, she felt angry.

She hated Ye Xiaoxian for looking like her and State Preceptor’s attitude towards Ye Xiaoxian.

She could tell that although State Preceptor pretended not to care about Ye Xiaoxian, he wholeheartedly wanted to take her away. In fact, he was protecting Ye Xiaoxian when they talked about her.

She could not tolerate State Preceptor’s attitude to Ye Xiaoxian.

Empress Dowager ate slowly for almost an hour. After she finished, she put down the chopsticks and asked someone to clean up the table.

Only then did she pretend to have just seen Ye Xiaoxian.

Ye Xiaoxian’s legs were numb.

She had been busy in the kitchen for so long, and now with another hour’s standing, her feet were sour and she couldn’t stand upright.

Empress Dowager asked slowly, “Madam Xiao, your husband is back after the victory. Do you know about this?”

Ye Xiaoxian was surprised, “I don’t know.”

“He’s back today. I heard that he won the war, and was appointed as the assistant minister. He’ll stay in the capital city in the future, managing soldiers’ registers and doing some paperwork.”

Ye Xiaoxian thought, ‘That’s really unfair. Xiao Baoshan must want to fight on the battlefield.’

Xiao Baoshan was clearly being suppressed

Empress Dowager added, “I heard that in the assembly today, he asked State Preceptor to let you go home, but you are in my place and the Emperor can’t do anything to me.”

Ye Xiaoxian thought, ‘You’re so great that the Emperor is afraid of you.’

Empress Dowager then asked Ye Xiaoxian, “Tell me the truth. Do you want to go home?”

Ye Xiaoxian said bluntly, “Naturally, I want to go back. I’ve not seen my husband for a long time. I’m sure he misses me, too.”

“What if I don’t want to let you go?” Empress Dowager asked again.

Ye Xiaoxian said, “Your Majesty, please show some mercy to us. My husband has suffered a lot on the front line. Please allow me to go back and take care of him.”

Empress Dowager continued, “Don’t worry. I will definitely let you go. But, as you said, he did not complete the mission that State Preceptor had given and did not agree to State Preceptor’s requirements. What are we supposed to do about that?”

Ye Xiaoxian said, “He fought for the imperial court on the front line, risking his own life. Doesn’t he have any contributions? He was just doing something right.”

Ye Xiaoxian stood there for so long and had gotten all mad.

Therefore, she blurted out whatever she was thinking.

Empress Dowager said coldly, “But you should know who was the one who gave him the chance to go to the battlefield. Wasn’t it State Preceptor? Even though he has contributed a lot to the war, it’s just one victory. No matter what, he is an official. Whatever the Emperor and State Preceptor ask him to do, he should do it.”

Ye Xiaoxian couldn’t retort and felt that Empress Dowager was too pedantic.

She was as cunning as State Preceptor.

“Why do you stop talking? Aren’t you quite eloquent just now?” Empress Dowager asked.

Ye Xiaoxian smiled, “I’m a citizen of Great Qi Dynasty, and You’re Empress Dowager of Great Qi Dynasty. I can only listen to whatever you say.”

The words completely irritated Empress Dowager. She couldn’t help but say, “How dare you!”

If it was someone else, he would have already knelt down.

However, Ye Xiaoxian came from modern times and had never knelt to anyone in her life. So when Empress Dowager scolded her, she stood on the spot without movement.

Empress Dowager was stunned to see Ye Xiaoxian not kneeling.

Whenever she got angry, plenty of people fell down, but Ye Xiaoxian actually dared to underestimate her!

She was just the wife of a little assistant minister!

Empress Dowager was so angry that she immediately called someone in. “Pull this woman away and ground her for a night. Do not offer her meal!”

Ye Xiaoxian was furious.

She was tired for a whole day’s work. She even stood there for a long time and couldn’t have a meal!

She just told a few words of truth.

‘Hmph, it doesn’t matter. I already had some food when I was cooking.’

…

Two eunuchs came over and asked Ye Xiaoxian to come with them.

Ye Xiaoxian followed them.

She passed through the garden and was brought to a quiet corner of the palace where there was a room for storage.

After she walked into the room, the eunuchs closed the door.

It was almost dark and there were no candles inside. Once the door closed, nothing could be seen inside.

‘Am I being grounded?’

She was angry and frustrated, but she knew that in the palace, she couldn’t do anything and no one would come to rescue her.

Therefore, she forced herself to calm down. With a little bit of visibility, she fumbled in the room for something useful.

She touched a candlestick and a firelighter beside her. It was probably because people would come to fetch things at night, so they left them here.

The candles lit up the room.

Although there were many kinds of things inside, desks, chairs and stools were stacked together quite neat.

She pulled out a few stools and placed them into a shape of bed, intending to sleep on them tonight.

Then she found some fabric in the back that could be used as a covering.

There were also some books, hard to understand. She used them to kill time.

Ye Xiaoxian suppressed her anger and told herself to accept where she was.

She lay down, then read a book by candlelight and fell asleep.

…

This night, no one was able to sleep tight except for Ye Xiaoxian.

After Empress Dowager lost her temper, she was in a bad mood.

She didn’t know why she sank into a bad mood, but she felt like her stomach was blocked by a ball of cotton, very stuffy.