Not long after Song Yinghuai took his seat, he saw Caiyu coming in as well. His eyebrows knitted slightly.
Why did she ignore his order again and come here on her own initiative?
Caiyu was holding a tray in each hand.
On one tray was a large bowl filled with the Three Delicacies Congee of the Mountain Family.
On the other tray was a large shallow porcelain bowl filled with the Golden and Jade Soup.
Both dishes were steaming hot and full of soup. The steam was billowing in the winter, obviously just out of the pot.
Caiyu, who had sprained her foot, had to struggle to walk while trying her best to keep the two trays of food balanced and not spill.
Song Yinghuai watched her move forward bit by bit from afar. Suddenly, he had a feeling as if the most beautiful mermaid in the world had stepped on the shore with her lotus feet. His eyes gradually darkened.
Jiang Jinyue came in later, followed by Zui'er and several other young maids and novice monks, also carrying dishes and filing in one by one.
However, the dishes carried by the others were all in very small plates, only the two dishes Caiyu carried were particularly precarious.
Song Yinghuai's face darkened.
Dong Yurong, who was sitting beside him chatting with Concubine Yao, also stopped talking. Looking at Caiyu who was coming slowly, she raised her willow eyebrows slightly.
She remembered that Song Yinghuai had told this maid not to come.
But she showed up again. She dared not to listen to her master's words, which showed that she had someone to rely on.
Moreover, Song Yinghuai had actually gone to the servants' quarters to give a massage to a maid before...
Dong Yurong's eyes darkened.
It seemed that this maid had a special relationship with Song Yinghuai. Maybe she was the concubine hidden secretly in the Prince Yan's Mansion.
That made sense.
At such a vigorous age, how could Prince Yan really abstain from women for six years?
Becoming a monk was just a guise!
Dong Yurong suddenly found Caiyu extremely annoying.
Suddenly, there was a soft but clear cold snort beside her ear.
Dong Yurong turned to look. Concubine Yao looked unhappy, with a pair of phoenix eyes glaring fiercely at Caiyu. She suddenly understood.
So Concubine Yao also disliked this maid!
As Jiang Jinyue entered the door, she said with a smile, "Auntie, Yue'er was worried that the vegetarian dishes in the temple wouldn't suit your taste, so she went to the kitchen to cook some dishes for you. Later, you can taste Yue'er's cooking skills."
Concubine Yao was very happy in her heart. "Yue'er is still filial. Hurry up and bring them up. Let me see what delicious food you've made."
Dong Yurong obviously also noticed that the food in Caiyu's hands was different from the others. Presumably, Jiang Jinyue deliberately made things difficult for Caiyu in order to curry favor with Concubine Yao.
Dong Yurong lowered her eyelashes, and a thick shadow fell under her eyes.
She also knew how to curry favor with her future mother - in - law!
Jiang Jinyue then urged Caiyu, "Hurry up. Auntie can't wait. You're walking so unsteadily. You're a maid, not a young lady!"
A drop of sweat slid down Caiyu's forehead, along her lotus - like face, and fell into her collar, disappearing deeper, arousing infinite reverie.
Song Yinghuai remembered that one day he had sucked the sweat bead that had been on her nipple. His body tightened, and his Adam's apple rolled up and down. He quickly averted his eyes.
Caiyu noticed the man's cold gesture of avoiding her gaze. A trace of mockery flashed in her eyes.
Song Yinghuai really didn't care.
She thought that after all her efforts, although she hadn't completely given herself to him, he had toyed with every part of her body.
Even a heart of stone should have been warmed up a bit. But unexpectedly, this man's heart was colder than stone.
She gritted her teeth, endured the stabbing pain in her ankle, and quickened her pace towards Concubine Yao.
Song Yinghuai turned his head back again. His cold eyes were fixed on Jiang Jinyue behind Caiyu.
Dong Yurong was smiling and chatting with Concubine Yao, but she winked at the maid beside her.
The maid, who had always been in sync with her master when doing bad things, immediately understood. When Caiyu passed by, she secretly stuck out her foot and tripped her.
Caiyu felt a sharp pain in her ankle. The hot porridge and soup in the two trays immediately splashed towards Concubine Yao!
There was an immediate scream at the scene. Caiyu's face turned pale, but she still tried her best to hold the two falling trays of food.
Even Song Yinghuai rushed up like a gust of wind from the other side of the table and pulled Concubine Yao away from the chair to prevent the hot food from splashing on her!
Everyone was on guard against Jiang Jinyue, but no one expected that the troublemaker was someone else!
Jiang Jinyue seemed to be stunned. She stood still on the spot, only with a look of panic in her eyes.
Dong Yurong covered her mouth and looked at a loss.
"Clang!" There were two sounds.
Thanks to Caiyu's efforts to turn the trays, all the food in her hands finally smashed on the ground.
However, a lot of the hot food splashed on her hands during the violent shaking. Immediately, a large number of blisters appeared, red and swollen and eye - catching.
"Han Fen! Fetch well water! Get the burn ointment! Invite Master Guangzhi here!"
Song Yinghuai gave a series of urgent orders. The scene immediately became as noisy as a frying pan.
Dong Yurong immediately stood up from her chair and pointed at Caiyu, scolding, "How do you do things? You can't even hold the dishes steady! You almost burned the old princess. What's your crime?"
Jiang Jinyue seemed to have just come to her senses. She burst into tears and said, "Auntie! Are you okay? It's all Yue'er's fault for being so self - assertive. Why did I cook the dishes myself? I almost made Auntie get burned!"
Concubine Yao was still in a state of shock. She had to comfort the panicked Jiang Jinyue. Looking at Caiyu, who was standing aside with her hands covered and her head bowed, she was so angry that she trembled:
"Huai'er... Your maid wants to harm me... Even so, are you still going to protect her?"
Song Yinghuai tightened his lips. Just as he was about to speak, he saw Caiyu kneel down:
"Old princess, please calm down. Caiyu was tripped by Miss Dong's maid." Although Caiyu's hands were injured, her words were calm and composed.
She pointed at Ping'er, who had just tripped her, and said, "It was she who stuck out her foot and tripped this servant. It's not that this servant couldn't hold the dishes steady."
Concubine Yao was stunned. "What?"
Ping'er immediately knelt down and shouted her innocence. "Fifth Miss! Old princess, this servant asks the masters to see clearly. This servant didn't do anything. She is trying to shift the responsibility, so she framed this servant!"
Ping'er and Dong Yurong had been in good cooperation for many years. They were good at the tricks in the inner - house struggles and were also very good at shifting the blame.
As long as there was no third - party witness for the act of secretly sticking out a foot to trip someone, unless time could be reversed and the incident re - enacted, Caiyu would absolutely be unable to produce evidence to prove her claim.
Dong Yurong also looked at Caiyu angrily. "You impudent maid! Do you think you have the prince's support, so you dare to bite me recklessly?"
She also dragged Song Yinghuai into this.
What she meant was that if Song Yinghuai spoke for Caiyu at this moment, it would mean that he was supporting Caiyu to bully others.
After all, she was a guest and the daughter of the Dong family, the Commissioner of the Administrative Envoy, on an equal footing with Song Yinghuai. Song Yinghuai should be a little afraid of her, right?
Dong Yurong said, "Unless you produce evidence today, otherwise, even if I risk being considered impolite, I will ask the old princess to punish you, this unruly maid!"
A smile of victory finally appeared in Jiang Jinyue's eyes.
No one could help Caiyu. This low - status maid would soon be punished!
But how could Caiyu let her have her way?
When Jiang Jinyue asked her to go and serve, Caiyu had already expected that she would play some tricks.
It was nothing more than the common tricks like tripping someone or splashing hot soup.
So, on the pretext of changing clothes, she wore a jade - white maid's dress, jade - white silk socks, and jade - white plain shoes.
Although she couldn't prevent Jiang Jinyue's scheme, it wasn't difficult to leave some evidence.
Caiyu stood up, lifted her skirt, and showed one of her shoes. She said,
"This servant has a shoe print on her instep. It was left by Miss Ping'er's kick. Masters only need to take off Ping'er's shoe and compare it with the shoe print on this servant's foot, and then they will know whether this servant was tripped or not."
As soon as she finished speaking, the expressions on everyone's faces at the scene were extremely vivid!