amaotonovel Chapter 223 I Didn't Refuse
Chapter 223 I Didn't Refuse
Zhou Hanzhang stopped picking up food with his chopsticks. "Is there something wrong with this side dish?"
Zhou Tong calmly slurped up a mouthful of porridge before continuing, "This is a side dish made with the juice of snake vine. It's fine to eat on a normal day, and it even has the effect of clearing heat and detoxifying, but..."
She didn't say it aloud, but both of them understood.
There was also a rare fairy plant on display at the flower viewing party.
Zhou Tong herself picked up some side dishes and put them in her bowl, then ate them with relish.
……
"Didn't you say this was a side dish with snake vine juice added? How could you eat it?"
Are you kidding us?
Zhou Tong was eating with relish. "Why would I lie to you? If you're not worried, just eat it. My body is special, so even if it's poison, it won't have much of an effect on me."
The two of them looked at Zhou Tong, who was completely uninhibited, and were truly envious.
Who wouldn't want a physique like that?
Seeing the two motionless people, Zhou Tong urged, "Eat quickly, we're going to see a play later."
"I was thinking of calling someone to interrogate her about how Bitao ended up on my table. If you weren't here today, I would have had to eat this side dish!"
Jiang Mingyun pointed to the dish on the table that was her favorite side dish.
"You already know she did it, so what's the point of interrogating her? Don't go back and alert her."
Zhou Tong looked at her and took another steamed bun.
Zhou Hanzhang echoed, "Zhou Tong is right. Now that we know their plans, we shouldn't make any noise."
Jiang Mingyun then gave up.
The group quickly finished their meal. At that moment, a servant came to report, "Miss, Madam said that one of your classmates has come to the door and asked me to ask if you invited him."
Although Madam Jiang was warm and hospitable, she was not a naive and clueless person who knew nothing. She wouldn't let just anyone who came to her door claiming to know her family into the house.
She was cautious, but she wouldn't offend anyone over this. While she was making arrangements up front, she sent someone over to ask Jiang Mingyun about it.
Zhou Hanzhang and Zhou Tong both looked at her, and she looked puzzled as well. "I didn't invite any classmates. Who is it?"
He said his name was Ye Gui.
The group's eyebrows furrowed. Jiang Mingyun was about to speak again when Zhou Hanzhang smiled and said to the man, "He is indeed our classmate."
"Then I will go and inform the lady first."
"Wait, let's go there ourselves."
While such people can be allowed in, they cannot be allowed in casually; they must be kept under close watch.
Zhou Hanzhang looked at Zhou Tong, who was still eating, and said, "You're not full yet? Are you going to keep eating here? Mingyun and I will go out and take a look."
Zhou Tong quickly grabbed a large steamed bun and stuffed a small one into her mouth, saying indistinctly, "It's okay, I can go with them."
Just kidding, how could I not go see a good show?
When they arrived at the door, they saw that Bitao, having somehow received the news, had rushed over and was explaining to Madam Jiang.
“Madam, this is indeed Miss’s classmate. She had dinner with Miss and the young prince yesterday.”
Madam Jiang glanced at Bitao silently, without saying a word.
In reality, how many of the women in the inner quarters are simple-minded?
Madam Jiang had long seen through Bitao's ulterior motives and realized that she was full of scheming.
She had always wanted to find an opportunity to replace this person, but unfortunately, her naive daughter trusted him so much that she couldn't replace him even if she wanted to.
However, Madam Jiang noticed that Jiang Mingyun had become more intelligent lately, perhaps because she often followed Zhou Hanzhang around, and knew to move her out of the side room.
This reassured Madam Jiang somewhat, but only somewhat, because although Jiang Mingyun moved her out of the side room, he still placed her in his own courtyard.
In the past, whenever she received something good, she would share some with Bitao, which made her ambitions soar.
She had heard many people discuss how Bitao often secretly tried on Jiang Mingyun's jewelry and clothes. She had also asked someone to talk to Jiang Mingyun about it a few times, but Jiang Mingyun only said one thing: "It's nothing. Bitao grew up with me since she was little, and I trust her the most."
What else could Madam Jiang say?
The only thing to do is to keep a close eye on them and prevent this person from taking advantage of any loopholes and harming their daughter.
To be honest, Bitao was truly devoted to Jiang Mingyun in the early stages.
However, there are some people in this world who become increasingly greedy the better you treat them, and they feel that they deserve it all. If you treat them a little worse one day, they will resent you for it.
Bitao is that kind of person.
At that time, the eldest prince had not yet developed any intention to get close to Jiang Mingyun, and Ye Gui had not yet met the eldest prince. He was still studying hard in the countryside, hoping to one day pass the imperial examination.
An accident led to Ye Gui saving the eldest prince. Seeing that Ye Gui had some talent, the prince kept him by his side. Later, through their interactions, he learned that Ye Gui had a younger sister who worked as a maid for Jiang Mingyun.
And so, his mind started to wander.
Now that his elder brother is also a key part of the Crown Prince's plan, how can he be kept out of the picture?
If he can't get in, then everything we've done today, while not entirely in vain, won't be as effective.
Bitao enthusiastically recommended Ye Gui to Madam Jiang, saying, "Yesterday, Young Master Ye learned that our mansion was going to hold a flower viewing banquet, and he even told Miss that he wanted to come and watch."
Madam Jiang naturally wouldn't believe Bitao's one-sided story.
Just then, Zhou Hanzhang and the others arrived. On the way there, Zhou Hanzhang had already told Jiang Mingyun not to let anyone notice anything amiss.
Although Jiang Mingyun knew that the matter was important, he couldn't help but feel sorry for Bitao, so he walked directly up to Bitao and retorted, "You seem to know a lot."
Bitao smiled shyly, seemingly a little embarrassed. "Yesterday I was standing outside and heard Young Master Ye tell you that he wanted to come and see the flower viewing banquet. I thought that you and Young Master Ye usually have a good relationship, so now that Young Master Ye has come, I suppose you didn't refuse."
"I didn't refuse, but I don't remember agreeing either, right?"
Jiang Mingyun looked at Ye Gui with a half-smile.
Let's see what explanation he has.
Ye Gui said calmly, "I was presumptuous. I have never attended such a banquet before. I remember you told me at the academy that if I wanted to attend your family's banquet, I could just come to your house."
For Jiang Mingyun, this was something from her past life, so long ago that she had almost forgotten it.
She frowned and thought about it, realizing that she had indeed made such a promise to him.
I couldn't help but want to slap myself.
However, since everyone was already there, and he had received instructions from Zhou Hanzhang, he couldn't very well turn them away.