Chapter 232 - 90: Qin Mei, You’ve Gone Too Far
"Stop," Aunt Zhang called out to Qin Mei.
Qin Mei stopped but kept her back to Aunt Zhang, not turning around. She waited for the other woman to finish vomiting, turn on the faucet, rinse her mouth, clean the sink, wash her hands, and shut off the water.
Aunt Zhang took a deep breath to compose herself, then glared furiously at Qin Mei and snapped, "Qin Mei, you’ve gone too far."
"Mrs. Zhang, don’t go looking for trouble. I’m not going to put up with it," Qin Mei warned.
"You threw an earthworm in my enamel mug! You’re so vicious, so disgusting!" Aunt Zhang railed.
"It wasn’t me," Qin Mei said calmly, the corner of her mouth ticking upward in a faint smirk.
"You were the only one in the courtyard. Who else could it have been?" ’She’d only ever clashed with Qin Mei; besides her, Aunt Zhang couldn’t think of anyone. Jie Jingshan? Given Jie Jingshan’s condition, she could barely leave the house without help, let alone dig up an earthworm to put in her mug. And based on her understanding of Jing Qi, she would never stoop to something so disgusting. It had to be Qin Mei; there was no one else.’
Qin Mei rolled her eyes. "Just because I was in the courtyard, that means it was me? I’ll admit to what I’ve done, but don’t even think about pinning something on me that I didn’t do."
"So you’re not going to admit it, is that it?" Aunt Zhang rolled up her sleeves, looking ready for a fight. But then she suddenly remembered that Jie Jingchen and Gao Hai were home. The fire in her was instantly doused, and her voice took on a tearful whine. "Fourth Wife of Jing, I know you can’t stand me. You put an earthworm in my mug... but never mind. I won’t press the issue."
"Qin Mei didn’t put the earthworm in there," Jie Jingchen said, stepping out of the kitchen. His gaze on Aunt Zhang was glacial, as cold and sharp as a knife.
Aunt Zhang put on a wronged, conciliatory expression. "Jing Si, if you say it wasn’t her, then it wasn’t. It’s all right, I’m not angry. After all, to all of you, I’m just a servant in the Jie Family."
"Aunt Zhang, it really wasn’t her. I can vouch for that," Gao Hai added, also stepping out from the kitchen.
Aunt Zhang froze. She was very skilled at managing her image in front of outsiders, always downplaying conflict. "Gao Hai, sorry you had to witness such a silly scene."
"Second Daughter-in-law Jing and Xiao You were the ones who put the earthworm in the mug," Gao Hai said. "Jing Si and I were cooking in the kitchen and saw the whole thing clearly. If you don’t believe me, you can go see for yourself. The new kitchen Jing Si built has a great view that overlooks the entire courtyard."
Aunt Zhang glanced toward the new kitchen. Having cooked in the old one for years, she could tell at a glance that the view from Jie Jingchen’s new kitchen was indeed excellent. ’Xu Chunyan and Xiao You would never try to harm me,’ she thought. ’They must have thought the mug was Qin Mei’s. They were trying to pull a prank on her.’
"I didn’t see Second Daughter-in-law Jing and Xiao You come home," Aunt Zhang muttered.
’Aunt Zhang wasn’t worth the effort it would take to clear Qin Mei’s name. Besides, it wasn’t as if Qin Mei had actually done it. And even if she had, so what? He would support her in anything she wanted to do.’
"Qin Mei, the food’s ready. Let’s eat." As Jie Jingchen turned to Qin Mei, his gaze softened.
"Okay, I’ll go get Jing Qi." Qin Mei turned and headed for Jing Qi’s room.
Jie Jingchen waited where he was for Qin Mei. Gao Hai turned and went back into the kitchen to set out the bowls and chopsticks. When Qin Mei emerged pushing Jie Jingshan’s wheelchair, Jie Jingchen walked over and took it from her. He pushed the wheelchair with one hand and took Qin Mei’s hand with the other.
Qin Mei froze for a second, then looked up at Jie Jingchen’s profile, her smile blooming like the first plum blossom of spring.
At the dinner table, Qin Mei stared at the spread of food. There were a few ready-made dishes she had bought, plus four freshly stir-fried ones—three meat and one vegetable—and a tender meat soup.
"Did you make these?" Qin Mei asked quietly.