He immediately went to the kitchen. The place had been a complete mess ever since the banquet yesterday. With Lord Wei and Madame Wei passing away, there wasn’t any time for anyone to clean up everything. Within the kitchen, several servants were busy with their tasks. They stopped for a moment after seeing a new face in the kitchen. “Who are you?”
“I’m an old friend of Lord Wei.”
Once again, he used the “old friend” excuse. The answer remained as effective as before since the servants didn’t ask any further and returned to their tasks.
Fortunately, Wei Fu wasn’t present today since he had to go to the courtroom for the trial. If he was here, he would have recognized Jing Rong and revealed his identity as a prince.
“Are those the tablewares your masters used during the feast?” questioned Jing Rong.
One of the servants replied, “Yes. There wasn’t any time to clean it up yet.”
Jing Rong no longer spoke as he observed the tablewares in front of him. After a short moment of reflection, he inquired again, “Who was in charge of the banquet wine? And where did the wine come from?”
“That… The wine came from our residence. After the wine bottle is filled by the wine jar, it would be sent back.”
“Which tableware did your lord and mistress use yesterday?”
Another servant pointed to a set of tableware. “Those over there.”
Jing Rong looked in the pointed direction and saw a neatly arranged and almost covered set of tablewares. Unfortunately, they were already cleaned and dried. The servant, who had pointed, started to explain. “Milord had instructed us before the feast that he would receive noble guests which required the use of proper sets of tableware.” As he spoke, he pointed a particular set. “This is the set used by milord and mistress.”
The set of tableware was composed of two pairs of chopsticks, a wine bottle and two wine cups, in addition to two pairs of exquisite bowls and plates. Such a magnificent set of tableware truly deserved to be found in a wealthy household!
Jing Rong muttered in a low voice, “They have already been cleaned, how am I going to check it?”
Regardless, Jing Rong still took the wine bottle and the two wine cups and stated, “I’ll be borrowing them for a bit.” Before the servants could realize what was going on, he had already escaped without leaving a trace!
At first, he planned to take those things to Ji Yunshu, but as he contemplated the idea and saw that the day was getting late, he decided against it in order to let her rest tonight. He would bring everything tomorrow. Hopefully, what he had found would be of use to Ji Yunshu.
At this moment in the prison.
It was unclear whether or not Jing Rong had bribed the jailers, but Ji Yunshu was transferred to another cell, one that was quite similar to Madame Jiang’s cell. It was furnished with a table, a chair and a bed which also included a quilt. It even had two hot furnaces!
She barely went inside when she heard sounds of activities coming from outside before hearing the echo of hurried footsteps approaching her cell.
It was Luan’er, bringing with her a four layered lunchbox and a blue cloak. As she took in the inside of her young miss’ cell, her worry lessened a bit, but it didn’t stop her from tearily looking at her young miss.
After the jailer opened the cell door, Luan’er quickly went inside. She put everything on the table and pulled Ji Yunshu close. Her voice was filled with distress as she spoke. “Miss, you must have suffered.” She choked from her upheaval of emotions.
“Luan’er? Why did you come?”
“I went back home to kneel and beseech milord to save you. Right now, he must have already left for the yamen to find Lord Liu. Young Miss, nothing will happen to you.” Her tone was a bit grave as she was doing her best convincing herself that her words were true.
Ji Yunshu sneered. “Luan’er, don’t be stupid. This time, it’s impossible for father and grandmother to save me.”
“That can’t be! Milord will save young miss. You didn’t kill anyone, so nothing will happen to you.”
Seeing Luan’er filled with tears, Ji Yunshu couldn’t bear shattering the hope her young maidservant firmly believed in.
She went along with Luan’er. “Alright, alright! Stop worrying about me. I can take care of myself.”
“Hmm!” Luan’er pursed her lips and energetically nodded. Immediately after, she took the cloak and draped it over Ji Yunshu before opening the four-layered lunch box, revealing several plates which contained only pastries Ji Yunshu loved to eat!
“Miss, it’s cold here. Your body won’t be able to endure it. What’s more, I baked some of your favorite pastries. You should eat a bit more.”
“Okay, calm down. I can take care of myself, so don’t worry.” Ji Yunshu grabbed Luan’er’s hand and told her, “You shouldn’t stay here. In the case something happens, I don’t want to involve you.”
“Young miss…”
“I don’t want to scare you, but truthfully, I am not completely optimistic about the current situation. Besides, I am in prison and dealing with certain matters is quite inconvenient. Luan’er, listen to what I say. If misfortune befalls me, I left you money, take it and leave the Ji family. Do you understand?”
She spoke every word while looking straight at Luan’er’s eyes, fearing that the little girl wouldn’t listen to her.
The maidservant shed tears while shaking her head. Her expression completely showing her extreme unwillingness to part with Ji Yunshu. It caused Ji Yunshu to grip her hand tighter.
She pressed on. “You must listen to what I say.”
“But Miss, I don’t want to leave you. Milord and Old Madame will certainly think of a way to save you.”
“Luan’er, just do what I say.”
“Miss, you will be fine.” The naivety of this foolish little girl was quite a rare thing.
Ji Yunshu’s hand gently wiped the tears off Luan’er’s face. After a short moment, she pushed the other away.
She spoke with an unwavering expression. “Go back quickly. Promise me that you won’t involve yourself with this matter.”
“Miss! Let me help you.” Luan’er tried to close the distance between them with small steps, but Ji Yunshu retreated each time, keeping their distance unchanged.
“You don’t want to listen to me?” Ji Yunshu uttered harshly.
“No, it’s not that.” Luan’er hurriedly shook her head. “I… promise you. I will obey you.”
“Then, hurry and leave.”
Luan’er was extremely reluctant to leave Ji Yunshu, but despite the aggrieved expression, she still acquiesced. While biting on her lips, she paced around a bit. Seeing that her young miss was unwavering in her decision, she left while turning back three times at each step.
After Luan’er left, Ji Yunshu’s resolute expression gradually loosened, replaced by one of sadness. If something bad really happened to her, she absolutely didn’t want Luan’er to be implicated. She had to harden her heart otherwise her maidservant would refuse to listen to her.
She lightly sighed as her sight landed on the pastries placed on the table. Her slender fingers picked up a sticky rice pastry and brought it to her mouth. She took a small bite of it, the sweetness slipping on her tongue and washing away the bitterness inside her heart. Like the fluttering of a butterfly wing, her lips slowly arched.
…………………………
In a room within the yamen.
Magistrate Liu’s expression was grave as he fixed the cold tea in front of him. His hand clenched into a fist.
A runner came in to notify him. “Milord, Lord Ji has come.”
Ji Shuhan came! Your daughter was imprisoned. As her father, how could you not come too?