Pampered Poisonous Royal Wife Chapter 147

Chapter 147: Miss Mu and Her Ginger Tea Sent From a Thousand Miles Away

Once they had crossed into Yuexi, the bandits removed their face coverings. At their head was none other than Yu Heng, Yue Wang’s trusted personal guard.

The other guards, who had all been disguised as bandits, stared curiously at the tarpaulin-covered sacks in the carts. Some could not resist reaching out to squeeze one; others even leaned in and sniffed. Unfortunately, not the faintest scent leaked out, and there was no way to tell what was inside.

When Yu Heng turned and saw what they were doing, he immediately scolded them.

“Do not fool around with those. What is inside is the ginger tea Miss Mu had sent over. Eunuch Cheng repeated over and over that not even the slightest bit of it was to be damaged.”

The others exchanged glances, their eyes full of burning curiosity. Any young lady who could make Yu Heng respectfully call her “Miss” clearly had no ordinary status—but they had never seen Yue Wang especially close to any woman.

Those chosen for this mission were all Yue Wang’s trusted men, so they had fewer scruples when speaking.

“Which family does this Miss Mu belong to?”

Yu Heng shot the man a glance, the smile at the corner of his mouth turning ever more mysterious.

No answer came. That only made everyone itch with curiosity even more. They might not know what sort of “tea” this ginger tea really was, but they certainly knew how valuable tea could be. Even ordinary tea, in a quantity of more than a dozen cartloads, would cost tens of thousands of taels of silver. What kind of young lady could possibly spend money on such a scale?

All the way back to Yue Wang Fu, their curiosity never once diminished.

Once they returned to the residence, Yu Heng immediately went to make his report.

“Your Highness, the ginger tea sent by Miss Mu has all been escorted back safely.”

Yue Wang rose and stepped into the courtyard. There, he saw the guards unloading sack after sack from the carts.

Yu Heng picked up one sack and held it upright, then carefully opened its mouth so Yue Wang could inspect it.

The guards, who had long since been unable to contain themselves, all stretched out their necks to look. When the opening was loosened, they discovered that inside the sack there was yet another layer of waterproof, moisture-proof felt wrapping. Once that was opened as well, a fragrant aroma finally drifted out.

The men could not help inhaling deeply, and their eyes at once lit with delight.

In Yuexi, there was never much to eat. Even so, they still had to deal constantly with raids and harassment from Beijiang and the Yunnu. Once winter arrived, life became even tighter. Even the guards of Yue Wang Fu rarely had much oil or fat in their bellies.

Now, after having ridden hard for an entire day, the sudden smell of the ginger tea felt as though it had grown claws and was scratching directly at their stomachs, making their hunger roar.

Yue Wang reached in, took up a little of the ginger tea between his fingers, and rubbed it lightly. The look in his eyes remained cool and restrained, yet there seemed to be some different emotion flickering beneath the surface.

Eunuch Cheng had already come over with bowls prepared. In order to properly build up Miss Mu’s reputation, he had brought not just one or two bowls, but enough that nearly every guard who had escorted the ginger tea could have one in hand.

“Your Highness, after all this trouble to get the ginger tea here, how about letting everyone have a taste?”

Though he phrased it like a request, his hands moved without the slightest hesitation, and he had already scooped a ladleful into a bowl.

Yue Wang gave a slight nod, and the people around him immediately broke into smiles.

Some of the more impatient ones, seeing the ginger tea ladled into the bowls, could not even wait for hot water. They simply grabbed a pinch of the powder and stuffed it straight into their mouths. At once, their eyes widened in surprise.

“It is good! This ginger tea is really good!”

They had assumed it was tea leaves, but instead it was pale-yellow grain meal mixed with a little dried greens and cubes of meat. Even eaten dry, it was savory, fragrant, fine-textured, and delicious.

Eunuch Cheng immediately huffed.

“This was sent all the way from afar by Miss Mu. Had I known you lot would behave like this, I should never have let you taste it!”

The instant those words fell, they were met with a chorus of exaggerated groans.

“Don’t do that, Eunuch Cheng! We’ve always shown proper respect to you. Just let us have two more bites first—there’s so much of it here!”

“Eunuch Cheng, just who is this Miss Mu you keep mentioning?”

They had already heard Yu Heng mention her once, and now Eunuch Cheng had brought her up again. Their curiosity had long ago reached its limit.

“Stop prying into things you should not pry into. When it is time for you to know, you will know. Enough now. This ginger tea is not meant to be eaten dry. I have already had hot water brought. Each of you take your bowls, fill them with tea meal, and pour in hot water.”

“Yes, thank you, Eunuch Cheng!”

At the mention of food, the men temporarily pushed their curiosity aside and went off one after another to pour in boiling water.

Once the hot water hit it, the fragrance grew even richer. The dried ginger cubes and greens softened and unfurled, releasing a thick aroma, while the meat cubes turned out springy and chewy. A single mouthful, taken while blowing away the heat, warmed the whole body and left behind a long, satisfying aftertaste.

Eunuch Cheng prepared a bowl and brought it over to Yue Wang.

“Your Highness, will you try some as well?”

Yue Wang shook his head and walked straight to one of the carts instead. After a glance, he pulled aside one of the sacks and took out an exquisite wooden box hidden within. A slip of paper lay pressed on top of it, with the words written across it:

To be opened personally by Yue Wang.

Eunuch Cheng, slurping happily at his own bowl of ginger tea, leaned in to look. The moment he saw the handwriting on the note, his eyes filled with laughter.

“Your Highness, I imagine what is inside this box is something Miss Mu specially prepared for you. Won’t you open it and take a look?”

Yue Wang glanced toward the bowl in Eunuch Cheng’s hand.

“Uncle Cheng, they have already started on their second bowls.”

Eunuch Cheng immediately whirled around and smacked his ladle in that direction.

“You lot, all of you, put those bowls down! Hey—Yu Heng, I am talking about you. Not so much! Your bowl is only that big. If you heap in that much tea meal, once you add water it will turn into paste!”

Taking advantage of the loud noise and confusion, Yue Wang carried the wooden box back into the study. When he opened it, there was a letter resting on top.

The letter explained in careful detail how the ginger tea ought to be eaten, in what quantity, and how it was to be stored. It was written with great thoroughness. Yet when Yue Wang finished reading it, he could not help drawing his brows together slightly. Only after he opened the oil paper underneath and found that the ginger tea inside was clearly different from what had been packed outside did his expression ease somewhat.

Eunuch Cheng thoughtfully brought in hot water, a bowl, and chopsticks. Then, without saying a word, he withdrew with a smile stretching across his entire face.

Yue Wang mixed himself a bowl of ginger tea. From the scent alone, he could tell it was much more fragrant than what Yu Heng and the others were drinking outside. He glanced again at the wooden box, and only then did his brows finally relax. Slowly and methodically, he finished the bowl of ginger tea, enhanced with extra greens and extra meat, before sitting down at his desk to write a reply.

Meanwhile, in Jinxiu Garden in Jiangnan, Steward Qin stared in utter disbelief at the Yu Yi standing before him.

“What did you just say? Say that again.”

Yu Yi immediately sensed that something was very wrong. He edged back two steps.

“Steward Qin, please do not get worked up like this. Weren’t those your own instructions? You told me to place the letters in Yue Wang’s hands personally, and that is exactly what I did.”

“I told you to place the letters in Yue Wang’s hands, yes—but I never said that both letters were for him!”

Steward Qin looked as though he wanted to seize Yu Yi and stamp him twice into the earth. One of those letters had actually been meant for Old Cheng. In it, Steward Qin had heavily hinted that Miss Mu held secret feelings for Yue Wang, all for the sake of urging Old Cheng to keep sounding out the matter and helping to bring Yue Wang and Miss Mu together. But if Yue Wang himself had read it, what if the whole thing backfired?

Yu Yi felt that the look Steward Qin was giving him resembled the look one might cast at a mortal enemy. He retreated another two steps.

“That cannot be blamed on me. You were the one who never wrote on the envelopes who each letter was meant for. When I got back, Eunuch Cheng was standing right there beside me asking about them too. I looked at the envelopes—they were entirely blank—so naturally I handed both over to Yue Wang.”

“I… I never wrote on them?”

“No. The envelopes were completely blank. You did not write a single word.”

Yu Yi nodded firmly.

Steward Qin froze. Then he swallowed hard.

So that was why Yue Wang’s reply had contained only three words: Understood.

Yue Wang had understood that Miss Mu secretly liked him.

But in truth, all of that had been invented by Steward Qin himself!

What was he supposed to do now?

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