Chapter 113：Lee Is Missing

Second Sister? Ye Jiayao was surprised. How was she able to join this kind of social circle?

Ye Jinrong saw the chef squint at her and her heart stuttered a bit.

Fortunately, Ye Jiayao recovered from her shock immediately and was able to look away as if she just had a quick and casual glance.

"Little Brother Li, if we invite you to work in the royal mansion, would you accept the offer?"

Ye Jiayao was stunned. She never expected for the Old Ancestress to ask this question. 

Helian Jing beamed and turned to Yaoyao expectantly, waiting for her to say yes.

Working in the royal mansion would mean that she would have a strong support system to rely on. Even Princess Liu Li would hardly be able to lay a finger on her. Not to mention the connection that she could build! She could gain hundreds of benefits from working in the royal mansion.

But what about Heavenly Residence? What about the promises she made to Shopkeeper Li? Also, what about the brothers? They placed their hope and loyalty in her. If she left, she'd be abandoning them in the lurch.

Furthermore, if she worked in the royal mansion, it wouldn't be as convenient to see Dumb Donkey anymore.

"Old Ancestress, thank you so much for the honor. I really want to work for the royal mansion, but I have a contract with Heavenly Residence and they can't survive without me. If Old Ancestress would like to eat anything, I would happily make it for you anytime. We can use warm bottles or ice cubes to keep the freshness of the food," Ye Jiayao said with a smile.

Once again, the Old Ancestress was surprised by this chef. She had thought that Li Yao would readily accept the offer. However, he rejected it in a very humble way that Old Ancestress couldn't help but admire him even more. He put fame and money behind righteousness and that wasn't something she sees every day, especially from commoners.

Helian Jing, on the other hand, was extremely disappointed with Yaoyao's answer.

Old Ancestress lifted her head and laughed in delight. "I will hold you to your promise. Just don't complain if I get too troublesome!"

"Old Ancestress, it is my honor that you like my dishes. You would never be troublesome," Ye Jiayao said pleasingly.

"Alright, Yu De. How do we reward him considering how much effort he put in?" Old Ancestress asked her daughter-in-law. However, before Yu De could answer, Old Ancestress declared to herself, "Silvers are too common. Or... yes, that'd do. Cui Yan, take the Wish Jade from my room."

Yu De and Helian Jing were both shocked. Would Old Ancestress really reward Li Yao the Wish Jade?

Ye Jiayao was surprised as well. The Wish Jade sounded expensive. And it was inside Old Ancestress' room! She couldn't take that!

"Old Ancestress, your recognition is already the best reward. I have gotten enough rewards today, I can't take more," Ye Jiayao said to her.

Yu De said nicely, "Li Yao, the reward from elders cannot be refused. Today, it's the reward from the god of longevity and it brings good fortune."

Ye Jiayao bowed, not daring to decline the reward again lest she offended them.

Others might not know the gravity of that gift, but Xia You understood it perfectly. The Wish Jade was a masterwork of fine white tallow jade. Its preciousness was not just from the item itself but also the sentimentality and the history behind it. It was a gift to the Old Ancestress from the mother of the Empress Dowager.

She couldn't figure out how a chef could be rewarded of such a precious thing. They get salaries for doing a good work, not the Wish Jade. If they wanted to reward him, 200 silvers would've been perfect.

After a short while, Cui Yan came out with the Wish Jade and everybody gasped at the sight of it. They knew how priceless this item was. They couldn't believe how ostentatious the Old Ancestress was being.

"You must visit here often in the future, okay?" the Old Ancestress said with a kind smile.

Ye Jiayao held the Wish Jade in her hand anxiously. She didn't really understand jade stones, but she knew enough to know that this was way too much for her. She felt as though the Wish Jade was burning a hole in her palms.

"I will, Old Ancestress," Ye Jiayao acquiesced shakily.

"Old Ancestress, where is my reward?" Helian Jing asked cheekily.

Yu De stared at him chidingly. "There are people watching, Little Jing. Don't you have any shame?"

The corner of his mouth twisted. He wanted to get rewarded in front of other people to prove how well he has arranged the birthday banquet.

Old Ancestress laughed, unoffended. "I will reward you later."

Ye Jiayao held the Wish Jade carefully as she walked out the flower hall.

"Little Jing, this thing is too precious. I don't think I deserve this."

Helian Jing shook his head with a smile. "It seems that Grandmother is really happy with what you've done. She wants to reward you with this, just take it. If you really want to pay it back, just make more good food for her in the future."

Ye Jiayao was embarrassed, but there was nothing she could do.

"By the way, Little Jing, I saw Wei Liujiang's wife just now," Ye Jiayao brought up, suddenly remembering Ye Jinrong.

"That guy is really something else," Helian Jing said with distaste. "The invitation was for his uncle. He's just a scholar and yet he has the nerve to show up here! He even brought his wife!"

"I dislike his wife even more," Ye Jiayao sneered.

"What happened with that whole ice ticket last time? Why did you clash with them?" Helian Jing asked as he remembered the incident with Mu Qinshu and Wei Liujiang.

Ye Jiayao told him about what had happened.

"Those f*cking bastards! If I had known of this earlier on, I would've taken care of them!" Helian Jing got mad at the thought of those two pansies bullying Yaoyao. "I'm going to look for them now."

"Ay, what are you doing? Today is Old Ancestress' birthday. Don't ruin her mood with your hotheadedness," Ye Jiayao said, dragging him back.

Helian Jing said angrily, "It was Brother Chunyu who requested that we invite the Mu family. If I have known what they did, I wouldn't have let them step foot inside the mansion."

Ye Jiayao hid her surprise. Chunyu asked him to invite the Mu family? They didn't seem to have any connection with each other. Chunyu barely even interacts with Mu Qinchu! Why did he do that?

As she was pondering over this, a servant girl ran inside and asked to enter the flower hall.

Helian Jing stopped her. "Why are you in a rush?"

She answered, "The servant that the Elder Princess asked to look after has gone missing."

Helian Jing scowled. "How? And which servant? Tell me everything."

Everyone was enjoying the festivities inside, Helian Jing doesn't want to let a stupid thing ruin their enjoyment.

"That woman had a disagreement with Assistant Minister Mu's nephew's wife, Madam Wei. Elder Princess asked us to look after the servant girl, but when Manager Liu brought Mu and Wei back to ask the servant a few questions, she was gone," the servant girl replied.

Helian Jing didn't quite get what was happening. What he was certain about, though, was that this mess was related to Mu Qinchu and Wei Liujiang. He'd be damned if he'd let them get away with messing around in the Helian Mansion.

Ye Jiayao's skin prickled as she processed what the servant girl was saying. "Do you know what happened with the servant and Madam Wei?"

"That servant woman said he worked for the Ye family before. When she saw Madam Wei, she went to talk to her and called her Second Lady. Madam Wei insisted that she was the first lady and denied seeing her before."

Ye Jiayao wanted to snort in derision. Was Jinrong really going to use her name forever? She asked, "What is the name of the servant?"

"I only know that her surname is Lee."

Lee? There were about three or four servants with the surname Lee in the Ye household. 

"What did she look like?"

The girl gestured in front of her and said, "About this height and a bit fat. She has small eyes and there's a mole near her nose.

Ye Jiayao remembered her now. How did Lee get a job in the Helian Mansion? 

And what were the odds that she'd see Jinrong here?

Was this related to Chunyu asking Little Jing to invite the Mu family?

This was too much of a lucky hit to be considered a coincidence. There had to be someone who was behind this and she'd bet everything she has that it was Chunyu.

"Why, Yaoyao? Do you know the woman?" Helian Jing asked.

Ye Jiayao shook her head. "No. I heard about this thing when I was in the kitchen so I'm just a bit curious. I think I saw her earlier."

Helian Jing nodded. "Okay, you go back to the kitchen and finish up. I will go find these bastards and ask them." He turned to the servant girl and said, "You don't have to report this inside, I'll handle it."

Ye Jiayao watched Little Jing leave and she made a mental note to grill Chunyu about this later.

On the other side, Song Qi was reporting the events to Xia Chunyu.

"She's already out of the mansion as planned. Mu Qinchu and Wei Liujiang would never be able to explain this now."

Xia Chunyu smiled coldly. They walked into the trap so easily.

"Alright. You can get off now." Xia Chunyu waved him away and went back to the dinner.

Ye Jiayao was still holding the Wish Jade when she got back to the kitchen

Everyone gathered around her and started chattering excitedly.

"Brother Yao, what reward did you get from Old Ancestress?"

"The red packet must be huge!"

"Did Old Ancestress praise our dishes?"

Ye Jiayao hesitated to show them the treasure she was given. Would they be too jealous of her because she wouldn't be able to share this with them?

Ye Jiayao revealed the Wish Jade a bit nervously. "This is the reward."

"Brother Yao, wow! How much is this thing worth?" Deng Haichuan's eyes were wide as he stared at the precious stone.

"I don't know and I really don't care. This represents the recognition of the Old Ancestress and that's all that matters," Ye Jiayao told them proudly.

"Brother Yao, we finally made it," Zhong Xiang said happily.

Ye Jiayao patted his shoulder. "Today is just the beginning. We can achieve more if we work hard together. We can beat everyone else in Jin Ling!"