WMSG Chapter 35
by VolareYe Yueshen looked at the plump dumplings in his bowl as a servant standing next to him turned to retrieve another bowl from the tray.
Taking advantage of this moment, Ye Yueshen made a move to push his bowl towards Gong Xuyin, but the servant immediately quickened his pace and set the bowl down faster than he could.
Gong Xuyin also noticed his movement and was about to ask when he heard Gong Xunwu speak, “The servant is ill-mannered; it’s nothing to concern yourself with.”
It seemed he was saying that the servant had placed the bowls in the wrong order and that Ye Yueshen, knowing etiquette, was going to give his to Gong Xuyin. Naturally, Gong Xuyin generously said, “It’s fine.”
Ye Yueshen didn’t say anything; that wasn’t his intention at all.
The servant from earlier had already left, his steps still composed, but the slight increase in speed from before felt off.
Ye Yueshen felt a chill down his spine, his fingers trembling uncontrollably. Across from him, the Crown Prince and the Third Prince were still feigning innocence while constantly mocking Gong Shengyin. Gong Xuyin continued to listen with a smile, occasionally offering a ‘kind’ reconciliation.
Beside him, Gong Xunwu seemed indifferent to everyone else, his gaze subtly directed at him.
Ye Yueshen noticed his gaze but pretended not to see anything. Gong Xuyin, having eaten a dumpling, said to the others, “These dumplings are truly delicious. We all benefit from the Fifth Brother’s generosity; a rare delicacy from the mountains.”
The Crown Prince used a porcelain spoon to scoop up a dumpling, but without lifting the spoon far from the bowl, he dropped it back in, uneaten.
The Third Prince, on the other hand, ate one and said with a half-smile, “Fourth Brother, have you had too much Imperial cuisine that you find this gamey flavor so appealing?”
Gong Xuyin smiled without answering. Instead of trying to smooth over such malicious words, it was better to simply move on. He turned to Ye Yueshen and asked, “Zherong, would you like to try these dumplings?”
Ye Yueshen’s eyes flickered. He nonchalantly put down his chopsticks, picked up the porcelain spoon beside him, and just as the spoon was about to dip into the soup, he suddenly reached past his own bowl and plunged the spoon into Gong Xunwu’s bowl.
The scene fell silent. Everyone’s reactions were interestingly different.
Gong Shengyin stared wide-eyed at Ye Yueshen. Gong Xuyin first glared at Ye Yueshen, then somewhat Panic subconsciously looked towards the princes, assessing their reactions.
The Third Prince, after his initial surprise, watched to see how Gong Xunwu would react. Only the Crown Prince lowered his eyes, pretending not to see anything, and crunched loudly on a crispy lotus root slice.
Ye Yueshen, out of the corner of his eye, tried to observe everyone. The Crown Prince’s reaction made him even more convinced that someone had revealed his affair with Gong Xunwu to him, most likely the Third Prince, though the Fourth Prince couldn’t be ruled out.
“Mine was getting cold,” Ye Yueshen explained, neither servile nor arrogant. “Gamey flavors become fishy when cold. Qi Wang’s bowl is just right.”
Gong Xunwu, like a gentle and tolerant elder, pushed his bowl towards Ye Yueshen and casually said, unconcerned, as he picked up Ye Yueshen’s bowl, “It’s fine for me.”
Ye Yueshen ate the dumpling, then looked at the Third Prince, “Your Highness is of noble birth and naturally doesn’t appreciate mountain flavors. I, on the other hand, find it refreshing and could eat a whole bowl.”
Gong Shengyin, who had been passively silent in the face of the Crown Prince’s sarcastic remarks, suddenly said, “If Zherong likes it, the rest can be sent to your home.”
He didn’t want to give Gong Shengyin too much attention, adding unnecessary romantic misunderstandings, but Gong Shengyin seemed pitiful tonight, and he couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for him.
Ye Yueshen smiled at him, “Then I thank the Fifth Highness.”
It wasn’t so much to help Gong Shengyin, but rather a lament for a time when no one had ever given him a kind look.
A quick-witted servant brought over a bowl and placed it in front of Gong Xunwu, saying softly, “Qi Wang, this bowl is cold; this humble servant will take it away.”
As he spoke, he reached for the dumplings that Gong Xunwu had just taken from Ye Yueshen, but Gong Xunwu glared at him, “I don’t like hot food.”
So the servant sheepishly withdrew his hand. Ye Yueshen subtly glanced at the servant, confirming that he wasn’t the one who had served the dumplings earlier.
The servant calmly walked away. Ye Yueshen knocked the chopsticks off the table, then bent down to pick them up. He looked up and saw the servant looking back before leaving. Their eyes met.
Outside the partition, Snowclaw, nestled on a soft cushion, suddenly raised its head. Thinking the chopsticks had been dropped by his master for him to play with, it happily ran over and barked at Ye Yueshen. If Gong Xunwu hadn’t kicked it away in time, it would have bitten Ye Yueshen’s hand.
The Crown Prince scolded, “Snow!” Then he quickly stood up to apologize to Gong Xunwu, “It’s all my fault for being negligent and not keeping an eye on this beast.”
Gong Xunwu had already kicked it. Even when hitting a dog, one had to consider its owner. As the Crown Prince’s uncle by blood, it wouldn’t be appropriate to embarrass the Crown Prince too much. He generously said, “It’s fine; no need to chase it away.”
He even kindly picked up a dumpling and tossed it on the ground. Gong Xunwu coldly watched Snowclaw and said in a light tone, seemingly gentle, “Eat.”
So the Crown Prince sat down again. He withdrew his gaze from Snowclaw, picked up the chopsticks, and ate a dumpling that he had previously looked down upon.
After tasting the dumpling, Snowclaw suddenly jumped up, its front paws on the table. It seemed to know who was not to be provoked, only trying to pounce on the bowl of dumplings in front of Ye Yueshen, opening its mouth to reveal sharp teeth, barking wildly at Ye Yueshen.
Ye Yueshen instinctively got up to avoid it and was quickly pulled aside by Gong Xunwu.
Gong Xunwu shielded him behind his back. The bowl had already been knocked to the ground by Snowclaw, and the dumplings were being devoured. The Crown Prince seemed a little embarrassed, losing his usual protectiveness, and scolded his servant, “Quickly, drive this beast out!”
Gong Xunwu was being overly accommodating. He scoffed, his gaze falling on Snowclaw, who refused to leave, and said to Ye Yueshen, “Zherong is afraid of dogs?”
“No,” Ye Yueshen said, his last words only audible to Gong Xunwu, “I just dislike how some people raise their dogs to be disgusting.”
Snowclaw was usually unrestrained and hadn’t suffered such “humiliation” today. It barked wildly at the servants who came to drive it away and even bit and tore the hem of one servant’s robe.
The scene became chaotic. Gong Xuyin and the Third Prince stood up to watch, and the Crown Prince also slowly rose, personally going to handle his beloved dog.
Of everyone at the table, only Gong Shengyin remained seated, staring intently at Ye Yueshen. He thought he should have been the first to protect Ye Yueshen, but he couldn’t let others discover his feelings, couldn’t expose his weakness.
“Snow!” the Crown Prince scolded, throwing a meat bun outside the door, “Go out.”
Snowclaw finally calmed down and started to walk out, its steps growing slower and slower until it stopped, turned around, and walked back to the Crown Prince, sitting next to him and sniffing his hand.
The Crown Prince petted Snowclaw’s head and said to it, “Go on, be good.”
But Snowclaw whimpered and lay down at the Crown Prince’s feet, exposing its belly and pawing at the Crown Prince’s leg.
The Crown Prince took another meat bun from the table. Snowclaw, seeing him leave, whimpered and cried incessantly. The Crown Prince threw the bun to it, but it didn’t eat, just kept crying.
Gong Xuyin was the first to notice something was wrong, “Is it…”
Snowclaw tilted its head back, lay on the ground, and didn’t move.
“Assassins! Protect the Master!” the Crown Prince’s servant shouted, and many imperial guards rushed into the hall, surrounding the princes.
Gong Xunwu turned to look for Ye Yueshen and found that the person behind him was gone.
Ye Yueshen left through the back door. He asked a servant guarding the door for directions to the kitchen and was led there by the servant.
The person who had served the dumplings earlier was busy at work. His hairline was receding, a feature Ye Yueshen remembered. This person would sometimes squat down to stoke the fire, and sometimes sit on a small wooden stool plucking the feathers of today’s kill.
Ye Yueshen stood outside the window for a while. Among the dozen or so figures, he finally found the person who had gone to get Gong Xunwu’s wontons. This person had short, sparse eyebrows, and Ye Yueshen had a deep impression of him.
He showed no sign of panic, chopping meat on the cutting board with practiced ease, his sleeves rolled up to his shoulders.
Even if he apprehended them, he might not be able to get anything out of them. Ye Yueshen had read the original book and knew how loyal these people who served the masters in the palace were.
Snowclaw had already eaten the dumplings. Ye Yueshen had heard it whimpering and only came out after confirming it had been poisoned. Once the dog died, the poisoned food on the table would become evidence of a plot to harm members of the Imperial Family.
The cooks and helpers who made the food wouldn’t be able to escape, and the mastermind wouldn’t risk being exposed by watching them get arrested.
Only Ye Yueshen’s bowl of dumplings was poisoned, so it was very likely that it had been done during the serving process. At the very least, the person who served the food accurately placed the poisoned dumplings in front of Ye Yueshen, which meant he was at least aware, and the person who later wanted to take away the dumplings was also likely in on it.
What Ye Yueshen needed to do now was to keep a close eye on these two people and see whose men came to Response them.
He watched for a while until the light in his vision dimmed. He suddenly turned around and saw Gong Xunwu standing behind him.
Gong Xunwu looked at him, and after a moment, said quietly, “You knew all along that it was poisoned.” It wasn’t a question but a statement.
Ye Yueshen admitted, “It was just a guess.”
So he guessed that the dumplings were poisoned but gave the poisoned dumplings back to him. Gong Xunwu gave a cryptic sneer and asked him, “Why?”
“I wanted to see who would give themselves away,” Ye Yueshen said. “If the dumplings were really poisoned, the other party would definitely stop you from eating them. They only wanted to kill me; they wouldn’t dare implicate you.”
“So I ruined your plan?” Gong Xunwu looked at Ye Yueshen with extremely cold eyes, devoid of any emotion. “If no one had stopped me, and I really ate it?”
Ye Yueshen was stunned. He hadn’t considered this outcome. Even if he tried to think about it now, he couldn’t figure out his true thoughts. If Gong Xunwu had really eaten it, would he have stopped him? Or was it that whether he ate it or not, it would have been a favorable outcome for him?
Gong Xunwu certainly didn’t deserve to die, but he wasn’t the one who poisoned the dumplings. He just didn’t stop it. What was wrong with that? Wouldn’t it be perfect to get rid of this uninvited guest, Qi Wang’s control?
Ye Yueshen felt inexplicably overwhelmed by Gong Xunwu’s gaze. At this moment, if he had any sense, he should say, “I would have stopped you.”
But another thought that surprised him disrupted his emotions. Ye Yueshen opened his mouth, then pursed his lips.
Dozens of imperial guards quickly approached them. The dumplings were exchanged by Ye Yueshen to Gong Xunwu, and the only bowl of dumplings with poison was the one Ye Yueshen had touched. The current direction was obviously unfavorable to him.
Ye Yueshen questioned himself in his heart, what was he doing? Why hadn’t he clarified his intentions and sensibly asked Gong Xunwu for help?
But he just couldn’t bring himself to speak. He stared blankly at Gong Xunwu until the guards were in front of them. Gong Xunwu coldly took a step back and made way, watching from the sidelines as he was surrounded.
With no intention of helping him at all.